Berkeley-based musician Lia Rose enchanted SFBG videographer Ariel Soto-Suver and a handful of others with her beautiful voice during an intimate living room concert in the Castro hills last week.
Ariel Soto-Suver
Ceviche secrets with Culture Kitchen
After an incredibly steep hike up 24th Street, Sam Love and I arrived on the doorstep of Culture Kitchen, a traveling cooking class that hires immigrant women to teach their home recipes and share spicy and savory secrets of their culture.
Using the kitchen that a friend offered up, our chef for the night was Maria, a native of Peru, who gave us a lesson in ceviche — that beloved raw fish dish one “cooks” in lime juice — a classic chicken dish called aji de gallina, and sweet filled alfajores.
We all got to work squeezing limes, chopping onions, mixing dough, and swapping travel-food stories. We discovered some great cooking tips, like how to make instant dulce de leche by sticking a can of condensed milk in a boiling pot of water and letting it simmer for a few hours. We also learned how to properly plate Peruvian ceviche, a style that includes two kinds of corn, yam, iceberg lettuce (for show. Ok, I ate it!) and of course delicious white fish, smothered in onions and tangy lime juice.
Two hours after we started, we all sat down at a long communal table, the full moon glistening over the city (the kitchen we were using had the most amazing view. Bonus!), to enjoy the foods of our labor. We asked Maria how she learned to cook and she said that in Peru, her abuela is a master home chef and taught her all these recipes. She also told us that her abuela won’t like her sharing them with us. Good cooking is a way to a man’s heart and you don’t want just anyone to know how to make all the good dishes. Sworn to secrecy, Sam Love and I left that evening with over-stuffed bellies, a few lovely new friends, the recipes to throw a super-authentic Peruvian dinner party (that not even friends of Abuela can replicate) and, I kid you not, leftovers.
For information on the next Culture Kitchen get-together, head to www.culturekitchensf.com
Live Shots: New Fire at Brava Theatre
Stirring together a mix of contemporary theater and actual traditional ceremonies, New Fire (which opened last night and runs through Jan. 29) is a play that gives its audience insight into the beautiful world of Indigenous American culture.
The performance attempts to show how ancient ceremonies are relevant in today’s modern society, especially in a world with so much suffering. There is wonderful live music, video montages, dancing, and a trouble-making Coyote, that is always getting herself into mischief. The Brava Theater is celebrating 25 years of women’s theater and this play, by Cherríe Moraga, is a perfect way to commemorate two-and-a-half decades of female-fueled creativity on stage.
NEW FIRE
Jan. 11-29, $10-$30
Brava Theater
2781 24th St., SF.
Live Shots: ‘Yes Sweet Can’ at Dance Mission Theater
Sweet Can Productions puts on a gonzo circus show, but with a focus on quotidien, real-world concerns. For its upcoming “Yes Sweet Can” show, running for over two weeks at Dance Mission Theater, the performance is inspired by everyday chores — and actually makes them seem like fun.
Cleaning can be a blast, apparently, and making a cup of hot chocolate — while balancing a pot of hot milk on your head, of course — can also be rather exciting. The performers’ talents as acrobats are obvious, their flexibility undeniable. Whenever I see them do those super-exaggerated back bends, I always think “Man, that must feel sooo good!”
The storyline at moments can seem a little vague, but that didn’t really seem to matter since the show is always moving forward (sometimes actually flying forward) with aerial feats, high up in the rafters of the theater.
“Yes Sweet Can” by Sweet Can Productions
Dance Mission Theater
3316 24th Street
Thru Jan 1, check website for times and prices
www.sweetcanproductions.com
Last-minute gifts: Vagabond Indie Craft Fair gems
You may have missed the awesome Vagabond Indie Craft Fair this past Saturday in the backyard of Urban Bazaar, but luckily all the great, hecka-local vendors have shops online, so you still have time to snatch up some of their lovely wares for the holidays. And what do they have to offer you, you might ask? Check it out:
>>Dorklandia: Ridiculously cute and absurd, self-proclaimed “goofy little things.” Octopi that are fuzzy and loveable, a just-right gift for that clingy friend of yours.
>>Heathered: Super cool recycled wallets made out of those old vintage things we called the “fast pass.” Plus, ones made of maps, for your always-traveling auntie.
>>Art History Nerd: Edgar Allen Poe pendants and Picasso bracelets. Give one to that library school grad student in your life.
>>Yarrow Jewelry: Elegant dripping copper and crystal necklaces, and delicate pendant earrings. Your lady friend will love anything from this shop!
>>MzCreation: Penguin and giraffe felt hats. Wonderfully weird and so cozy. Your niece wants a panda one.
>>The Enchanted Square: Artist Ruth Tillman didn’t take a break and was busy at her stall crocheting cute aviator wool hats and adorable owl coin purses. Your brother will dig the aviator hat (crocheted goggles included).
>>Lady Alamo: Beautiful felt jewelery, plus super hip screen printed tote bags. Umm … I want one!
Live Shots: A peep at the upcoming “Revolutionary Nutcracker Sweetie”
Rehearsal was in full twirl this weekend, as dancers prepared to perform “The Revolutionary Nutcracker Sweetie” at Brava Theater this coming weekend.
This is not your classic, bourgeois version of the Nutcracker, but more of a Cinderella tale. Clara is an undocumented worker, working for the richest family in town, the McGreeds, whose gay son (with a pink hairdo) gives Clara a freedom fighting doll from Africa.
Later, the pair embark on an adventure of a lifetime. They make their way through a magical world, of melting ice caps and even underwater, concluding with the a beautiful “dance of the flowers,” which I caught a few photos of during the rehearsal. So start a new tradition this year, and check out Dance Brigade’s spunky and cool version of this holiday favorite, because, sweetie, you don’t want to miss it!
December 10-11
Saturday 2pm and 6pm; Sunday 1pm and 5pm, $15-$17
Brava Theater
2781 24th Street, SF
Purchase tickets here
Telegenic Band Check: Corpus Callosum
SFBG videographer Ariel Soto-Suver met local SF band and performance troupe, Corpus Callosum, in their studio to record a live set and learned all about their love of video game music.
Live Shots: The Destiny Muhammad Jazz Trio at Red Poppy Art House
Destiny introduced herself to the audience as “your friendly harp player from the ‘hood.” Word. This ain’t your grandmama’s tea parlor harp music. This is jazz harp – maybe the only jazz harp in the world – with all the syncopation and improvising you would expect to hear at any classic jazz joint.
Destiny and her trio worked together to create familiar rhythmic curiosities like “Bye Bye Blackbird,” but then also went above and beyond by taking a classic nineteenth-century Celtic jig and making it jazz-tastic. Super inventive. It’s fun to see people do what they truly love, and as a musician, Destiny has definitely found her path in life.
Fun Jazz Harp Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_sFSlukHp0
Live Shots: Pilot 59 at ODC Dance Commons, 11/19/11
After eleven weeks of creating, fine-tuning, and probably lots of serious sweating, six emerging choreographers presented their work this weekend at ODC for Pilot 59 that showed an eager, sold-out audience what they’ve got. It turns out, that entails quite a bit — the diversity in dancers and themes was striking. Two pieces especially caught my eye.
I loved the sex-bot, robo-girl piece choreographed by Bianca Cabrera, titled “Feral.” It gave a peculiar vision of the future, with a hint of zombie take-over and a pinch of nasty. The glittery costumes were fantastic. Major props to her dancers on capturing pixilated pulsations perfectly. Very impressive.
I also enjoyed “Allegretto,” choreographed by Charles Slender. I’m a bit of a FACT/SF groupie and find their work incredibly innovative and perfectly quirky. Set to Beethoven’s familiar Symphony No. 7 in A Major (if you heard it, you’d recognize it), the dancer’s movements struck me as innovative and beautifully strange. The beginning of the piece made me think a bit of traffic guards, while my husband said that it reminded him of Russian kittens (the fuzzy hats probably had something to do with that). Slender’s ability to make people dream of the bizarre (i.e. flag signals and cute pets, all in the same dance) for me, is the genius of his choreography.
Telegenic Band Check: Timmy Mezzy
After picking up some bulk food items at Rainbow Grocery, SFBG videographer Ariel Soto-Suver crossed Folsom to join local SF band Timmy Mezzy in its studio to check out the band’s sugar-soaked sound.
Dancing with the dead at Día de los Muertos
Candles were lit, marigolds were trimmed, and white face paint was spread carefully over cheeks.
A large crowd gathered by sunset, meandering their way through Garfield Park to look at all the exquisitely decorated altars that honored friends and family who have passed on. The annual Día de los Muertos procession and display is always such a vibrant and colorful event, embracing the reality that eventually we’ll all disappear, to who knows where, but buoyed by the thought that we’ll never be forgotten. There is sadness, but that’s part of life — so why not have an amazing night party in the park to make things just a little happier!
¡Felíz Día de los Muertos mis amigos!
Telegenic Band Check: Tiny Home
SFBG Videographer Ariel Soto-Suver spent an early Sunday morning in Glen Canyon with Tiny Home, who serenaded her, along with the help of some birds in the nearby trees.
Live Shots: Zahara! at Swedish American Music Hall
Yeah, so sometimes I cry a little when I listen to live music. You got a problem with that?
This may have happened last Friday night (10/21) when I went with Sam Love to Zahara!, a performance that featured singing and dance with roots in passionate flamenco from Kina Mendez, live Moroccan musicians (a group by the name of El Hamideen), and even some belly dancing.
My love for flamenco stems from when Sam Love and I lived in Cádiz, a small town in southern Spain, when I went to university. The first day of Spanish Lit class, my classmates and I sat down in a rather plain classroom, save for a poster on the wall of a man with a huge afro, and low-buttoned shirt revealing stacks of gold medallions around his neck. Beneath the photo, one word: Camarón.
In our naivete (and lack of Spanish culture) we thought it had something to do with shrimp. Our teacher entered and one of the first questions asked was not to do with Lorca, but about the dude in the photo. Our teacher’s answer: “ Camarón es Dios.” Wow! Here we were in a Catholic country and this guy was God? We needed to know more. Turns out, Camarón was one of the most famous flamenco singers in Spain, so much so that people wore gold saint medalions of him around their necks in place of Santa Maria. From that moment on, I couldn’t get enough of the emotional, heart-wrenching, powerful ballads known as flamenco.
So when Kina Mendez started singing during the Zahara performance, the potency, the tradition, the Spanishness that came from her lips induced salty tears to roll down my face. It was beatiful. I loved the mixing of cultures happening on stage, the air of pure nostalgia, and the fact that despite their different geographical provenances, the singing of Spain and the drumbeats of Morocco can come together in perfect harmony.
VALE! VALE!
Kina Mendez:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VouPdlUE5I4
Camaron:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJKpyDEJs2U
Street Threads: Look of the Day
Today’s Look: Cindy, Hayes and Octavia
Tell us about your look: “I love vintage and I own vintage stores in Hayes Valley.”
Street Threads: Hayes Valley Edition
Today’s Look: Beatriz, Hayes and Laguna
Beatriz: “Soy de Bilbao, España.”
Live Shots: The Hula Show 2011 at Palace of Fine Arts
Images of chilling fog sweeping over the Golden Gate Bridge and a glowing sunset illuminating the Painted Ladies might not conjure thoughts of hula and Hawaii, but the Hula Show at the Palace of Fine Arts bridged that connection, bringing swaying hula hips to San Francisco in a unique aloha tribute to our fair city.
All the classic Hawaiian moves were there, with a twist of Bay Area flair — plus some Arabic chanting, Hindi ragga, New York house music, and even a cheeky tribute to Lady Gaga. A heart-stoppingly lovely performance of the classic Frank Sinatra song “Somethin’ Stupid,” a wholly enthralling Mexican-tinged hula solo, and a dance in honor of the Dungeness crab (performed with snappy aplomb by the warrior-like male members of the company) proved the full range of the graceful Na Lei Hulu I Ka Wekiu dancers. They flashed genuine, welcoming smiles when dancing; it was clear that they were having fun, and their easy island spirit wafted down from the stage. With live musicians giving rhythm to the dancers movements, a breath of fresh Hawaiian breeze didn’t seem all that far away. See them this coming weekend if you have the chance, and partake of the global island spirit.
The Hula Show 2011
Through Oct. 23
Palace of Fine Arts Theater
www.naleihulu.org
Tickets $35/$45
Telegenic Band Check: The GoldDiggers
SFBG videographer Ariel Soto-Suver met up with local alt-country band the GoldDiggers in Golden Gate Park for a live concert at the band stand, and learned about the band’s passions for spelunking and mumblety-peg.
Fire it up: Checking out works at this weekend’s Ceramics Annual of America
Clay is one of the most expressive forms of art. It can be pushed and pulled and molded into any sort of creation — given that the artist knows what they are doing, since clay can turn finicky in a flash. This weekend (Fri/7-Sun/9), the gigantic festival pavilion at Fort Mason will open its doors for the Ceramics Annual of America, which will be filled with a smorgasbord of wonderfully creative and delicate pieces of art, all hailing from the mediums of mud, fire, and glaze. I wandered around for almost two hours last night sucking on eye candy that ranged from intricate sculptures to modified pots that reminded me of sea creatures.
Two artists were especially memorable. If you end up at the show this weekend, make sure to scout them out. The first was Carmen Lang, whose sculptures ranged from doggies chilling on a mini couch to lovers wrapped up in a rather intimate embrace. Her choice in glazes was reminiscent of colors used in the 1960’s, giving the pieces a vintage flair. The were cute, a bit silly, and I wanted to take one home.
And then there was the work by Gail Ritchie. Her pieces bring together birds and chairs and are pure whimsy — they take you to a dream world. There, a girl holding an acorn is perched on the back of a docile pelican. An origami bird, stretching it’s neck, sits on a chair made of “recycled materials” (it’s all made of clay!). Ritchie’s work is truly beautiful, and paired with her incredible talent as an artist, her pieces really got me fired up.
Ceramics Annual of America
Fri/7-Sun/9, $10 one day/$20 weekend pass
Festival Hall, Fort Mason
Buchanan and Marina, SF
Street Threads: Hayes Valley Edition
Today’s Look: Eleonore, Yse, and Phoebe, Octavia and Hayes
Describe your look:
Eleonore: “Paris”
Yse: “Not my own clothes”
Phoebe: “Fun!”
Live Shots: Smuin Ballet in rehearsal at Palace of Fine Arts
The stage was sheathed in a cloak of purple smoke, that coated the dancer’s skin as they whirled their way across the black floor. Smuin Ballet was doing a final run through of their piece Tango Palace at the Palace of Fine Arts last week, in preparation for opening night, and I was there to snap a few photos of those final moments of rehearsal on 9/23/2011.
The dance piece, which is supposed to invoke “the brothel, the barrio, and the barroom,” mixed classic tango with hints of ballet, just along the fringes of the dancer’s dresses. The dancer’s strong, sculpted bodies moved with each beat to create a theatrical sense of old-time tango, whose Argentinian roots were brimming with passion and romance, and quite a bit of naughtiness.
Here’s a video from earlier this year of the company in rehearsal:
SMUIN BALLET
Through Oct 1, various times and prices
Palace of Fine Arts
www.smuinballet.org
Telegenic Band Check: Dominant Legs
SFBG videographer Ariel Soto-Suver spent the afternoon with SF act Dominant Legs to shoot a mini-concert on its back porch, just before the band’s national tour.
Been There: Autumnal Equinox Gathering at Gospel Flat Farm in Bolinas
On the purposefully unmarked road heading into Bolinas, there is a very wonderful spot you don’t want to miss. The Gospel Flat Farm is a family-run organic edible haven, with an honor-based farm stand that is open 24 hours a day.
Sam Love and I were introduced to the farm when we met a couple of wonderful free spirits, Kalie and Scott, while hiking in Samuel P. Taylor Park a few weeks back. Scott is the resident bread baker at the farm’s wood powered oven, and he and Kalie invited us to a photography show and autumnal equinox gathering down at the farm. So last Friday, after a sun-soaked hike on Mt. Tam, we wended our way down the hill to Bolinas to explore the farm.
By the time we got there, the stone oven was already working away, roasting a huge platter of fresh farm veggies, and while he gave the vegetables a turn, Scott told us about the relationship he has formed with the ancient-looking oven. Baking bread becomes a two-day process, starting the night before, when he loads the oven with wood, lights it, and then comes back the next morning to remove the embers. The oven reaches almost 1000 degrees, which then cools throughout the day, and the heat gets used to bake and then, later on, to roast our dinner.
Inside the farm stand, Kalie showed us her beautiful photographs, that document the wood fire baking process. The images are evocative and also mysterious, capturing the beauty and power of traditional breadmaking.
We sat and drank fresh peppermint tea with other guests, and helped make a batch of guacamole, while we waited for the veggies to finish roasting. Before we left, we picked out some precious artichokes from the farm stand and a bunch of flowers. Sam Love and I were so relaxed and contented, having escaped the rush of the city and made new friends — with our bellies full with farm delights. Hugs all around and then it was time to leave.
A coyote watched us from the side of the road as we slowly wiggled our way along Stinson Beach, back home to San Francisco.
Free Farm Stand faces an uncertain fall harvest after call from Rec and Parks Department
Every Sunday at the Parque Niños Unidos in the Mission, an eager group of people gather to receive free, organic food from the Free Farm Stand. The incredible project has been going on since since 2008 and has to date given out almost 17,000 pounds of fresh produce.
This is the brainchild of Tree Rub, a volunteer who started the project “to create a network of neighbors and local farmers who grow fruit, vegetables, and flowers and share their surplus with the community and especially with those in need.” But last Sunday Tree announced that the SF Recreation and Parks Department had received two complaints that the Free Farm Stand is “having a negative impact on the park.”
He was also informed that the group would need a permit for its tent, which it set up to protect to food and volunteers from the sun. Tree says he applied for a permit in 2008 but “never heard back” from authorities.
Sometime the produce that’s given out is extremely ripe and almost past it’s peak, but the savvy San Franciscans who receive the Free Farm Stand’s food (the bounty can include heirloom tomatoes and sun-kissed white peaches) are happy to take the time to can and preserve them. The stand not only creates access to extremely nutritious foods, it saves them from getting composted. Tree also distributes organic seedlings so that people can grow their own veggies and then share any surplus they might have with the community — a feedback loop of neighbors nourishing each other.
I contacted the permits office at SF Rec and Park to ask about the future of the Free Farm Stand and got a message back from Dana Ketcham, the permits and reservations manager.
According to Ketcham, her office doesn’t want to shut down the Free Farm Stand, but employees there “have received complaints that families feel overwhelmed by the crowds as they use this park with their children.”
As of two weeks ago, people waited in line outside of the park, and were only actually in the park when receiving produce. Since the lines have gotten long, last Sunday a new system had been implemented in which numbers are handed out so that people can relax in the grass until it their turn to get food.
Ketcham said that parks are “not authorized places for distribution of food” and “that we needed to give the organizer time to find a new location.” The Free Farm Stand has until October 15th to find an alternative location.
As a long time patron of the Free Farm Stand, this came as very sad news. Tree has created an amazing community that feels like a gigantic potluck. You can meet up with friends and enjoy the sunshine there, in addition to getting fresh food for dinner.
Ketcham suggested the Free Farm Stand re-locate to an “empty parking lot” in her email to me. That plan would mar the beauty of having the stand alongside a community garden where people sometimes wander while they wait and are able to relax in the shade of a tree.
I made of a video of the Free Farm Stand right when it opened, back when it was still a pretty small operation. Tree was handing out jars of honey from his personal bee hives and sprouts. Now, there’s the Free Farm and more than 200 people receiving food each week. It would be a horrible loss to San Francisco if Free Farm Stand disappears.
If you know of any locations where the Free Farm Stand might be able to re-locate, please contact Tree at: iamtree99@gmail.com.