THURSDAY, JAN. 22
HIP-HOP
MISTAH F.A.B.
Mistah F.A.B. (“Money Is Something To Always Have – Forever After Bread”) moves through Bay Area rap as both participant and connector. Son of a Pimp, sharp with punchlines and unafraid of local specificity, made him an Oakland fixture in 2005. A decade later, Son of a Pimp Part 2 widened the frame: 21 tracks, pulling in heavy hitters from across the country onto a record about loss, survival and fatherhood. Since then, F.A.B. has stayed visible with freestyles, battle rap, ghostwriting platinum hits and community work. Don’t forget to celebrate Mistah F.A.B. Day on Feb. 8, officially declared in Oakland. – SONYA BENNETT-BRANDT
INFO: Thu, 7:30pm & 9:30pm, Yoshi’s, 510 Embarcadero West, Oakland. $59-84. 510.238.9200.
FRIDAY, JAN. 23
AMERICANA
MAURICE TANI
When it comes to telling tales mined from the dark and bruised chambers of the human heart, Maurice Tani is Bay Area’s poet laureate, a gimlet-eyed troubadour with a hat that means business. Returning to the Sound Room with a killer band, he’s focusing on his eros-gone-wrong repertoire “Sangnoir: Dark Songs of Romance.” What other twangified singer/songwriter could deliver a tune like “Soap & Water,” which sounds like a Steely Dan B-side, complete with a perfectly crafted guitar solo, courtesy of Chris Cain? For this show, he’s joined by a veteran cast of players similarly steeped in jazz, country and American roots music, including bassist Kenny Kehret, drummer Kenny “KO” Owen and pianist Henry Salvia. – ANDREW GILBERT
INFO: Fri, 7:30pm, The Sound Room, 3022 Broadway, Oakland. $32. 510.708.9691.
FRIDAY, JAN. 23
THEATER
‘HOW SHAKESPEARE SAVED MY LIFE’
Would the Sweet Swan of Avon, Will Shakespeare, have dug Tupac and Biggie? Playwright/actor Jacob Ming-Trent thinks so and makes his case in the one-man show previewing at Berkeley Rep, How Shakespeare Saved My Life. Ming-Trent points to the crucial use of rhythms by all three artists, who are all “urban poets.” The piece, developed through Washington D.C.’s Folger Shakespeare Library, is also about his personal journey to find community and meaning, and is directed by the Rep’s former artistic director, Tony Taccone. Catch it through March 1. – JANIS HASHE
INFO: Fri, 8pm, Peet’s Theatre, Berkeley Rep, 2025 Addison St., Berkeley. $66-81. 510.647.2949.
FRIDAY, JAN. 23
DANCE
MARK MORRIS DANCE GROUP
The prolific dance-maker has always been an extraterrestrial creature who travels the fringe of the movement universe. A consummate explorer of music from every corner of the earth, it’s little wonder Morris has turned his ears and eyes to outer space. Moon manifests a plethora of themes, live and recorded music, and imagery. Among them, contemplation of time, fertility, awe; Claude Debussy’s Clair de Lune, American songbook tunes and earth-sound excerpts from NASA’s Golden Record; videos, animation, stills of the Moon. The nine-dancer troupe in costumes by Isaac Mizrahi manipulates rolling stools and maneuvers around toy spacemen and other props. Performances go until Jan. 25. – LOU FANCHER
INFO: Fri, 8pm, Cal Performances, Zellerbach Hall, 101 Zellerbach Hall #4800, Berkeley. $41-$156. 510.642.9988.
SATURDAY, JAN. 24
WORLD
MEKLIT
The Ethiopian-American vocalist, songwriter, and composer lands at The Freight with her latest full-length album, A Piece of Infinity. Ethiopian folk songs meld with infusions of jazz in original compositions sung in multiple languages. Fans in the Bay Area may know Meklit as YBCA’s former Chief of Program—or as a visiting artist at Stanford University, National Geographic Explorer, TED Senior Fellow, Taproot Fellow, co-producer of the “Movement” podcast/radio/performance series and initiative. Her silky, soaring, soft tones have been featured in collaboration with Wangechi Mutu, Kronos Quartet, Preservation Hall Jazz Band and many others. Joining her are guest artists harpist Brandee Younger and flutist Camille Thurman. – LF
INFO: Sat, 8pm, The Freight, 2020 Addison St., Berkeley. $34-39. 510.644.2020.
SATURDAY, JAN. 24
ROCK
‘PAMELA ROSE’S WILD WOMEN OF THE SIXTIES’
What the world needs now is love, sweet love, and Bay Area vocalist Pamela Rose knows it. Famous for her blues and jazz vocal stylings, Rose is bringing the power to the people and reminding audiences it might be a man’s world but it’s nothing without a woman’s touch. For one night only, she has assembled a talented band of fellow women rockers to celebrate the music that defined a generation of female singers and songwriters. From blues tracks by Janis to soul hits by Aretha and numbers by Carole King, Laura Nyro and Cynthia Weil, this is a night to let one’s hair down and get into the feels with some good ol’ fashioned girl power. – MAT WEIR
INFO: Sat, 7pm, Rhythmix Cultural Works, 2513 Blanding Ave., Alameda. $36-$130. 510.865.5060.
SATURDAY, JAN. 24
METAL
CAPTURED! BY ROBOTS
Well, here we are. It’s officially the future and while the dystopian world around us crumbles, one man has already skipped to the end of the book. Formed in 1997 by Jason “JBOT” Vance, Captured! By Robots is a grindcore metal act of animatronic robots playing music with their human subservient. Enslaved by robots GTRBOT666 and DRMBT 0110, Vance is forced to play nose-bleeding, eye-exploding metal that—while it might be against his will—is pretty freakin’ epic. Basically, if Skynet from The Terminator series had a band, it would be this, so welcome our inevitable overlords now and maybe they’ll be lenient in the future. – MW
INFO: Sat, 8pm, Thee Stork Club, 2330 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. $16. 510.859.8709.
SATURDAY, JAN. 24
JAZZ
TAMIR HENDELMAN TRIO
A regular presence on the Bay Area jazz scene for the past quarter century, L.A. pianist, composer and arranger Tamir Hendelman is a thrilling improviser. He’s made the trip north for numerous gigs with Jeff Hamilton’s trio and the Grammy Award-winning big band that the drummer co-leads, the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra. Hendelman has toured and recorded with Natalie Cole, Barbra Streisand, Roberta Gambarini, and Tierney Sutton—his musical partner at numerous Piedmont Piano performances. Returning to the Oakland showroom, he’s playing with his own trio featuring L.A. bassist Alex Frank and Bay Area drummer Lorca Hart. – AG
INFO: Sat, 5:30pm, Piedmont Piano Company, 1728 San Pablo Ave., Oakland. $35-$40. 510.547.8188.
SUNDAY, JAN. 25
SYMPHONY
FABLES & FOLKLORE
Closing Berkeley Symphony’s 25/26 Symphonic Series is an evening full of sprites, folk tales and spritely folk tales. Folk Songs for Orchestra, by Huang Ruo, was inspired by his childhood love of traditional Chinese songs, while the Brazilian rainforests are the site of Clarice Assad’s Concerto for Guitar and Chamber Orchestra. “O Saci-Pererê,” featuring the shapeshifter Saci-Pererê. Audience members will then venture into the Czech countryside for Dvořák’s Symphony No. 8, in which the beloved composer also returns to the countryside of his childhood, and its lilting melodies. Carolyn Kuan of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra conducts. – JH
INFO: Sun, 8pm, First Congregational Church of Berkeley, Sanctuary, 2345 Channing Way, Berkeley. $15-$96. 510.841.2800.
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 28
R&B
NEW EDITION
The New Edition Way Tour is a live map of modern R&B’s DNA. New Edition leads the night with the polished group mechanics that shaped pop and R&B for decades: precision footwork, rotating leads and songs built to travel from street corners to arenas. Boyz II Men brings legendary ballads and a locked-in vocal blend. Toni Braxton closes the circle with a sultry catalog where heartbreak is carried in tone as much as lyrics. Seen together, it’s a rare chance to hear the blueprints that generations of R&B artists are building from. – SBB
INFO: Wed, 8pm, Oakland Arena, 7000 Coliseum Way, Oakland. $100-$500. 510.569.2121.
