Oakland

Comedy Up and Comers at Amber Lounge

I was coaxed out by Amber Lounge’s comedy night on Thursday. The price was right (free) and the location was irresistible (on my way home).

Local Music, Re-Channeled

Producer Beth Cloutier termed this event a ​“relaunch” of her Local Music Channel…​and this live music show as a means of ​“bring[ing] people together to bond and create long lasting friendships that transcend time.”

Shapeshifters Cinema: Avant-Garde on the Edge of Town

Housed in adjoining Victorians, The Shapeshifter’s trifecta—cinema, brewery, and cafe, occupies a stretch of 5th St…I have to admire the building surviving the one-two punch of urban renewal and imminent domain that razed countless other neighboring structures.

Oakland Comedy: No Bridge and Tunnel Required

Comedy Oakland does things a little different…

What’s In A Name? San Enrique Makes Art For All

Painted on a cinderblock enclosure for Two Star’s Dumpsters, it caught my eye with its somber yet gentle rendering of a pair of cupped hands with a diamond floating above them against a stark black background, framed by the words ​“Dimond District” and ​“Oakland.”

Comedy Bang! Bang! All Star Improv Takes the Stage

“Come see my improv group” are five words that have ended many friendships and estranged family members from one another. But these are professionals.

LOW LIFE SCUM THAT’S WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT ME

These rambunctious, cheeky, ketamine-loving miscreants also happen to be smart, angry at the British, and versed in Welsh, a dying language and deeply important part of their heritage. Cue the mayhem, and wear your stomping boots.

A Sophisticated Forest

I certainly didn’t expect Ross-esque paintings, and the works on exhibit are definitely not ​“happy little trees.”…This is a decidedly more sophisticated forest than those broadcast on PBS years ago.

Bahn Mi Brings It, Sans Sriracha

Just a few short blocks from Lake Merritt, this low profile all-day cafe makes good on its name...[with] sandwiches and salads, wraps, rice bowls, breakfast bites, a handful of pastries, and smoothies and juices a plenty, the small kitchen has something for many palates.

DNC Diary Day 3

DNC Diary Day 2: Unite and Conquer

Making Waves: New Barbers On the Block

The frenzy began, with a dozen students vying for aesthetic bragging rights, and all laser-focused on the model (often a fellow student) in their chair. Tools, spare hair, and gel flashed in hands, on hands, on the floor.

DNC Diary Day 1: Finding The Light In Chicago

Love in the Laurel: ​“I Eat My Vegetables, I Eat My Fruit”

Every August, eight blocks of Oakland’s Laurel District becomes the locus of eyes, ears, noses, mouths, and wandering feet for the annual Laurel Street Fair & World Music Festival.

A Big Burger Surprise

10th and Wood 945 9th St. Oakland It may not seem like much, but for the past 11 years, 10th and Wood, located at the corner of said streets, has

Avant Pan Africanism In ​“Lake Walking, Revolutionary Talking”

Lake Walking, Revolutionary Talking BAM House 1540 Broadway, Oakland August 9, 2024

“Tell Them We Were Here”: Artists Talk to Artists About Arting

“Tell Them We Were Here” Screening with filmmaker Q&A East Bay Photo Collective 302 8th St, Oakland July 7th, 2024