THURSDAY, AUG. 14
JAZZ
ZSIGMOND GERLOCZY
At 29, Hungarian pianist Zsigmond Gerloczy has cut a fascinating musical path far beyond his native Budapest. A dedicated improviser inspired by jazz but also deeply engaged with currents flowing through Viennese classicism, baroque, post-romanticism, funk and pop, he’s performed spontaneously generated solo recitals since he was a child. A fall visit with his supreme idol, Keith Jarrett, gives a good sense of where Gerloczy is coming from. He released 2023’s Narrow Path, his first solo piano album, which garnered a good deal of attention. – ANDREW GILBERT
INFO: Thu, 7:30pm, The Sound Room, 3022 Broadway, Oakland. $34. 510.708.9691.
FRIDAY, AUG. 15
ROCK
STRFKR
Mixing existential dread, fierce belief in aliens and the desire to dance yields STRFKR. The Portland-based synth-rock outfit spent the better part of the last two decades crafting shimmering, groove-forward anthems about love, death and the futility of everything. Their latest album, Parallel Realms, leans into atmospheric textures and unstoppable basslines. STRFKR delivers euphoric live sets, generally featuring matching jumpsuits, LED lightscapes and the occasional astronaut costume. Fans of MGMT and Passion Pit may find that this show focuses all their energy on the now while also, somehow, transporting them back to the indie pop of the 2010s. – ADDIE MAHMASSANI
INFO: Fri, 8pm, Fox Theater, 1807 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. $50-$74. 510.302.2250.
FRIDAY, AUG. 15
HIP-HOP
DOUBLE LIFE
Double Life is bringing back the Golden Era of hip-hop. Comprised of the duo of L*Roneous and Gennessee, Double Life picks up the torch carried by the Roots, Jurassic 5, Hieroglyphics, Zion I, Living Legends and Talib Kweli. Surgically clean rhymes slice with precision over smooth beats that are reminiscent of ’90s and early 2000s hip-hop but all originally their own with cat scratches mixed in. This is the type of real hip-hop that gives hope for the future of the genre that continues to be a mouthpiece for the people. – MAT WEIR
INFO: Fri, 7pm, 924 Gilman St., Berkeley. $10. 510.525.9926.
SATURDAY, AUG. 16
EXPERIMENTAL
‘ROBOPOCALYPSE’
Puppeteers for Fears return with Robopocalypse: The Musical! a two-hour, R-rated cyberpunk puppet odyssey about the rise of artificial intelligence and the plucky teen hacker who accidentally started it all. Set in a neon-drenched near future, the show follows Jolie Daniels—screen name “Ha.G.”—as she battles sentient appliances, rogue algorithms and her own garage-built bot in a synth-scored quest to save the world. Fresh off a national tour, the Oregon-based troupe behind Cthulhu: The Musical! levels up with 13 new songs, an all-puppet cast, a Hype Bot Chorus and plenty of analog weirdness. – SONYA BENNETT-BRANDT
INFO: Sat, 8pm, Cornerstone, 2367 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. $29. 510.214.8600.
SATURDAY, AUG. 16
INDIE
LUCY DACUS
Any package containing three-time Grammy Award-winner Lucy Dacus and Jay Som (Melina Duterte) is more than worth opening. Mighty and magnetic in every sense of the word, the night promises stellar rewards: Dacus with her fourth studio album, Forever Is A Feeling, which follows a “sabbatical” year with boygenius; Duterte demonstrating the results of time spent with a vintage Neve console; collaborations with other artists; and a return to Jay Som and Duterte’s 2019 release of a studio album, Anak Ko. Dacus is a charismatic performer and terrific storyteller, so expect the strands to weave into a gorgeous tapestry and a night of music made transcendent by the venue’s amazing architecture. – LOU FANCHER
INFO: Sat, 8pm, Greek Theatre, 2001 Gayley Rd., Berkeley. $65-$280. 510.642.9988.
SATURDAY, AUG. 16
WORLD
ALAM KHAN
Internationally acclaimed sarod virtuoso Alam Khan comes to town this weekend to share the gorgeous tradition of Hindustani music. Born into a legendary family—including his father Ali Akbar Khan and his grandfather Allauddin Khan—Alam carries the North Indian classical style into the present, embracing contemporary rhythms, creative collaborations and improvisational flair. He does not take the responsibility of preserving the 500-year musical lineage lightly. He told News India Times in 2023, “I am trying to fill the space of a torch bearer. But it is like carrying the torch and running.” – AM
INFO: Sat, 8pm, The Freight, 2020 Addison St., Berkeley. $34/adv, $39/door. 519.644.2020.
SUNDAY, AUG. 17
LITERARY
PETER GOODMAN
Fancy a bite of Berkeley culinary history with samples included? The Berkeley Historical Society & Museum presents an author talk/signing by Peter Goodman for his book, Eclair Pastries: Growing Up in My Family’s Iconic Berkeley Bakery 1947-1973. The memoir recounts the story of his immigrant family’s flight from the Holocaust with “nothing but baking skills and treasured recipes.” The Goodmans established Eclair Pastries in 1947 and were part of the flourishing Telegraph Avenue scene of the ’50s and ’60s. The author was not only a kid in a pastry store, but helped bake the yummy, European-style desserts for decades. The book features recipes. Double yum. – JANIS HASHE
INFO: Sun, 3pm, Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St., Berkeley. Free. 510.848.3227.
MONDAY, AUG. 18
ROCK
HICKOIDS
The Hickoids came up in the mid-1980s Austin, Texas, punk scene, a time when “punk” could mean anything. Today, people like to call them “roadhouse punk,” which is a form of cowpunk with a more grizzled flair. That’s all to say the Hickoids are just a heavy-hitting, $#!+-kickin’ rock ’n’ roll band. Sure there’s a thick odor of Western fried goodness in their music, but get past all the subgenres and labels and it’s easy to see the Hickoids have a knack for the eccentric. They revel in the beer-soaked carpet of a dive bar and thrive with a showmanship that makes the freaks laugh and the normies cringe. – MW
INFO: Mon, 7:30pm, Ivy Room, 860 San Pablo Ave., Albany. $20. 510.526.5888.
TUESDAY, AUG. 19
FILM
‘AND THEN THEY CAME FOR US’
This documentary delves into Executive Order 9066. This United States Federal Government action taken 75 years ago led to the unjust incarceration of roughly 120,000 Japanese Americans. Massively violating the civil rights of U.S. citizens identified as Japanese or of Japanese descent, the abominable event might have been swept under the table. That is, except for the photographs, documents, oral testimonies and memories that endure and serve to tell the truth. Testimonies from George Takei and others who were incarcerated, rediscovered photographs by Dorothea Lange and other elements create a powerful film that preserves decades-old history. – LF
INFO: Tue, 7pm, La Pena, 3105 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. $10-25. 510.849.2568.
WEDNESDAY, AUG. 20
PUPPETS
‘HAPPY ACCIDENT’
Happy Accident is a puppet show, but probably not the kind one remembers from childhood. Powered by fried circuitry, grotesque beings, found objects and the surreal, it’s a Cronenbergian joyride through the freakiness of modern life. The deranged Portland-born spectacle spins out strange tales as glitter-coated fever dreams with oversized puppets and sputtering lights, reimagining childhood, Saturday morning TV and a heap of discarded pop culture through the off-kilter, absurdist humor of late-stage Americana. – SBB
INFO: Wed, 8pm, Thee Stork Club, 2330 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. $13-16. 510.859.8709.
