Engineer's Daughter

openharvest japan

The Headlands spring season is really starting to heat up in this their 30th anniversary year, and they kicked things off with a bang at the OPENharvest Japan event last Thursday.  Ramen swimming with fresh vegetables, art installations (that's Anandamayi Arnold's amazing life-size paper tuna pictured above), a Japanese whisky bar...All this and more to commemorate local chef/artist collective OPENrestaurant's expedition to Japan in the fall of 2011.  During their time there they visited farms and restaurants and breweries and markets, made food with the locals, and investigated the aftermath of the tsunami and its resultant nuclear disaster.  Many artifacts and photos from their trip were on display in the Headlands gym for the milling crowd to examine, while bowl after bowl of steaming ramen was handed out of a makeshift kitchen to be eaten sitting cross-legged on the floor with new friends and old.  You know, just another magical night at Headlands.

See also:

• Headlands Center for the Arts
• OPENharvest Japan
• OPENrestaurant

agenda 09.07.11

Two full weeks of events tonight, since I'll be out of town next week.  I'll try to update if anything crops up on my radar before I go too.  Because I love you guys.

Thursday, September 8:

• "Everybody's happy nowadays." opening reception at Mina Dresden Gallery
• Peter Daltrey (UK Kaleidoscope) + Kelley Stoltz + Bart Davenport + Asteroid #4 at Cafe Du Nord
• The Twelfth Annual San Francisco Electronic Music Festival at Brava Theater Center

Friday, September 9:

• Rex Ray at Gallery 16
• Terry Riley at the Berkeley Art Museum
• Experimental Notations at Royal NoneSuch Gallery and MacArthur b arthur
• Sabertooth Zombie record release show + Creatures, Prizehog, more at 924 Gilman

Saturday, September 10:

• Mission Creek: Free Concert in McLaren Park
• Keeping an Eye on Surveillance Opening Reception at the Performance Art Institute
• Young and Free: Contemporary Australian Street Artists at 941 Geary
• Battalion Of Saints, Attitude Adjustment, Visual Discrimination, Oppressed Logic at 924 Gilman
• Ikue Mori - final concert of David Tudor Residency at Littlefield Concert Hall, Mills College
• Ninjasonik at Bhopal
• Chick Habit at the Ruby Room

Sunday, September 11:

• Soul Food Farm Work Days in 3 parts- Week 1
• Enough War, We Declare Peace at the Golden Gate Bridge
• The Vibrators, BOATS!, Emily's Army, Bobby Joe Ebola, Ol' Cheeky Bastards at 924 Gilman
• Marco Eneidi Quartet/Thomas Dimuzio/With Strings at Amnesia

Monday, September 12:

• RTX + Ty Segall + Heavy Cream at the New Parish

Tuesday, September 13:

• Medusa's Mirror: Fears, Spells & Other Transfixed Positions at Pro Arts

Friday, September 16:

• Create: The Artists Are Present at the Berkeley Art Museum
• Opening Reception for Todd Bura and Madiha Siraj at Triple Base
• Connected - Theatrical Opening Weekend in the S.F. Bay Area
• Rorschach (NJ), Brainoil, No Statik, Needles at 924 Gilman
• The People: San Francisco at Z Space
• Official SJMADE Pre-Party at South First Street Billiards
• Victory and Associates - Record Release with Repeat After Me, Sister Grizzly at Brick and Mortar Music Hall
• The Album Leaf at the New Parish
• SHAKE! Presents Magic Christian Live In Concert at Milk Bar

Saturday, September 17:

• SJMADE with SJEATS, Fall 2011 at San Pedro Square Market
• Rock Make Street Festival 2011 at Treat Ave @ 18th Street
• BBQ w/Kitchen's Floor (AUS), Fat History Month (BOS), Waste Rig, GAZE at 3137 Telegraph
• Coarse Drawn Heart and other stories: new work by Tim Svenonius at Truesilver Gallery
• Zounds (UK), Swann Danger, Fucktard, Bite, Falcon A at 924 Gilman

Sunday, September 18:

• Godwaffle Noise Pancakes does Electronic Puppenhorten at The Lab

Monday, September 19:

• Theater Pub 2.9: Home-Fair Lanford Wilson's Roommate Plays at Cafe Royale

Tuesday, September 20:

• Bob Mould in conversation with Shepard Fairey at Herbst Theatre

Wednesday, September 21:

• Organ Spectacular at The Lab

agenda 08.24.2011

My picks for your next week in the Bay Area (and beyond)

Friday, August 26:

• No Babies / Whitman - US Tour
• Sounds Of The Underground: Punk N' Ska Fest- 3 Days at 924 Gilman
• The Men (ny), Milk Music (olympia), Mothercountry Motherfuckers at Revolution Cafe
• The Usuals present Park Bench Collective
• High Castle record release / tour kick off show at Jam City
• International Freakout A Gogo at First Church Of The Buzzard

Saturday, August 27:

• OPENeducation by OPENrestaurant at the Berkeley Art Museum

Sunday, August 28:

• Godwaffle Noise Pancakes at The Lab
• aWay station: An Afternoon with Headlands' Artist Donald Fortescue at Headlands Center for the Arts
• Zoo, Spencer Owen, the Comfort Creatures (...and more?) at Merchant's Saloon

Tuesday, August 30:

• DJ Jesse Luscious- Power Pop, Punk, and so much more at the Mel-O-Dee
• New Groove Tuesday with DJs Spaced Ghost and Psychic Hands at Laszlo Bar SF

Wednesday, August 31:

• Key West @ Mama Buzz Cafe

agenda 07.27.11

My compendium of excellent events this weekend, just for you

Thursday, July 28:

• Comedy at Escapist Comics
• Mind Cemetery/Sister Fucker Tour Kick Off + Cops & Waste Rig at Three Doors Down
• SFWAR Benefit at Lipo Lounge

Friday, July 29:

• Sister Fucker/ Mind Cemetery 4 Day Tour in SoCal and AZ
• The Book: Free Closing Reception at SOMArts
• Common Eider King Eider+Paul Clipson, Bill Orcutt, lazyboy at The Lab

Saturday, July 30:

• Doggie Ice Cream Social at Alpha Pet Supply & The Wild Bird's Nest
• Sneaky's Summertime Social at Sneaky's BBQ
• Whiskey Waxing at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
• Hands Up: Drawing Sesh and Talk at RockPaperScissors
• Ringworm, Nails, New Lows, Crucified, Deep Cover at 924 Gilman
• NO/HO/MO, American Splits, Prison Library, Sunny Reaper & Meat Pressure at Jam City

agenda 06.29.2011

My picks for the week ahead, including some long-weekend fun:

Thursday, June 30:

• Calvin Johnson, Joey Casio, Bam!Bam! at Escapist Comics
• Japanther at the Old Compound
• REDSHIFT premieres Arctic Sounds + Jack O' The Clock at Brick and Mortar Music Hall

Friday, July 1:

• Local Label Faire with Moveable Feast at the San Mateo County Event Center
• Guilty By Association, Go Time!, Lazerwolf, Protest Authority at 924 Gilman
• Nucular Aminals/.Psychic Feline/.Dadfag/.Joey Casio at 1709 Goss

Saturday, July 2:

• Killing The Dream's last show w/The Carrier/All Teeth/Dcoi at 924 Gilman
• Cello/voice to shake/wake the soul at the Starry Plough
• Saturday Night Soul Party at the Elbo Room

Sunday, July 3:

• Second Sanctuary Poetry Reading - David Brazil and Sara Larsen at Martina }{ Johnston Gallery
• Harm's Way, Xibalba, Buried at Birth, Vital Nerve at 924 Gilman

Monday, July 4:

• Sissisters, Brandon Nickell, Wrong Hole, Holly Herndon, Concrete Shiva at The Lab

Wednesday, July 6:

• Jack Leamy Tournesol Award Exhibition at the Luggage Store Gallery

agenda 04.20.2011

Thursday, April 21:

• Off the Grid: Embarcadero Center on Drumm Street between Three and Four Embarcadero Center
• Pure Views: Contemporary Chinese Art + MATCHA at the Asian Art Museum
• God Only Knows Who the Audience Is at the CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts
• Alexis Gideon's Video Musics II: Sun Wu-Kong, Lily Taylor, Alee Karim at The Lab

Friday, April 22:

• OFF!, Thee Oh Sees, Ty Segall, Culture Kids, Zero Progress at 924 Gilman
• Activating The Medium XIV: Radio at The Lab
• Mary Love live with the Satisfactions & Franco Nero at Milk Bar

Saturday, April 23:

• I Am America at the Performance Art Institute
• Record Swap at 3223 Mission St
• Mike Andrews at Important Projects
• The Maxies, 9:00 News, Disabled Intent, The Sprains at 924 Gilman
• Debaser | 420 Hip Hop Edition at The Knockout
• Primary Colors, abiku, hrs/dys at Mama Buzz

Sunday, April 24:

• California Electronic Music Exchange Concerts, Mills Edition
• Ska Night- Skampida, Whiskey Avengers, The Lucky Ejects, 3 Karmaz at 924 Gilman
• ** Abiku ** Group Rhoda ** Jackal Fleece ** Galls ** at Lobot Gallery

Wednesday, April 27:

• Chen Santa Maria, This Invitation, Pink Canoes at the Hemlock Tavern

agenda 03.23.2011

As much as I always love running around NYC it's also very good to be home, especially with the pile of awesome events coming up this weekend.  Excellent live music, artists talk shop, spontaneous queer art, and lots more.

Thursday, March 24:

• Opera Mort, Caldera Lakes, BOC, Huele/Dryer, Angela and Scott at Mama Buzz Cafe
• Open Space Thursdays: Shop Talk (Part One) at SFMOMA
• This Time Next Year, Daytrader, Seahaven, P+ at 924 Gilman

Friday, March 25:

• Asshole Sunset, solo exhibition by Ryan Pierce at Sight School
• DEBASER | 3 year anniversary party at 111 Minna Gallery

Saturday, March 26:

• Night Market - SF Underground Market at Public Works
• Witchaven, Hatchet, Killbot, Desecrator, Blessed Curse, Apothesary at 924 Gilman
• Pimmon, SpaceBurn, PopDrone, Freemountain Pulsewave at East Nile

Sunday, March 27:

• SQUART! Into the Wild at Headlands Center for the Arts
• Foot Village, High Castle, No Babies, MOM, Religious Girls at Sugar Mountain

bitter is better?

I am not a bitter person, but many things in my day-to-day life make me feel bitter.  People who don't stand to the right on escalators.  Men who don't call.  Unfair BART parking tickets that are upheld even when you have photographic evidence you were in the right.  But I digress.  According to the National Bitter Melon Council bitterness is defined as loss with attachment, which I learned when NBMC co-founders Hiroko Kikuchi and Jeremy Chi-Ming Liu stopped by SOMArts a few weeks ago for a special presentation during the group exhibition A Sensory Feast.  The show (co-sponsored by SOMArts and Kearny Street Workshop) was populated with art that cleverly activated all five of your senses, and on this particular evening the Council kept with the theme by offering bitter melon chips for the brave to munch on while Kikuchi and Liu explained their group's mission.  The NBMC is genuinely and earnestly devoted to the promotion of bitter melon, but they also use their projects to foster community and have some fun too.  Whether they're cross-breeding melons in an attempt to produce ones that are bittersweet, using salt to try to remove the bitterness from a neighborhood, or convincing farmers to put bitter melons into their CSA boxes, the NBMC intentionally operates on a number of literal and metaphoric levels.  As for bitterness itself, in life as in food, maybe it's just an acquired taste.

See also:

• SOMArts
• Kearny Street Workshop
• The National Bitter Melon Council

agenda 01.19.2011

Thursday, January 20:

• Opening and Booksigning at Gallery 16

Friday, January 21:

• Opening Reception: Isn’t It Obvious? at the SFAC Gallery

Saturday, January 22:

• Life of The World To Come: Twist and Crawl at the National Institute of Art and Disabilities Gallery
• Debaser | East Coast vs. West Coast Hip Hop Edition at the Knockout

Sunday, January 23:

• Godwaffle Noise Pancakes at The Lab

Monday, January 24:

• KALX - Best Of Week at KALX 90.7FM

Wednesday, January 26:

• BFC Fundraiser at Saturn Cafe

flora & fauna

I have a lot of sublime experiences out at the Headlands Center, but last Thursday night pushed the bar to another level entirely when Max La Rivière-Hedrick and Julio César Morales presented a special dinner in the mess hall.  Entitled Flora & Fauna, the meal was a five-course affair (six if you count the opening cocktail) with each wave of food themed to a natural aspect of the Headlands and carried out to the tables on giant family-style Corian platters fabricated for the event.  While we ate musical duo Shimomitsu performed their own experimental compositions created to correlate directly to the food courses, including some interludes that represented the sorts of ghostly encounters well-known among Headlands regulars.  The whole thing took about four hours from end to end and left every one of my senses sated.  And then I drove home and passed out.

The courses/compositions:

• FOG - Gin with laurel essense served from glasses chilled on blocks of dry ice
• GHOSTS FLOOD
• ISLAND - Deviled "seabird" egg presented in nests of Headlands grass
• FIELDS - Wildflowers and Miner's lettuce scattered over a kaleidoscope of sliced heirloom tomatoes
• GHOSTS FLUTTER
• OCEAN - Halibut and risotto soaked in black ink resting on tangles of seaweed
• HILLS - Red boar dusted with fennel pollen accompanied by heaps of whole carrots and shaved fennel (no pig for this pescetarian, but I was told it was delicious)
• GHOSTS FLOW
• CLIFFS - Broken meringue with wild berries in tidal pools below, surrounded by billowing crests of fresh meringue Morales toasted with a small blowtorch right at the table

See also:

• Headlands Center for the Arts
• Photos of the courses
• Max La Rivière-Hedrick's blog
• Shimomitsu