THURSDAY, SEPT. 4
METAL
BONGFATHER
Born out of “the boredom of 2020,” this stoner doom/desert sludge band bloomed, and the local metal community is better for it. While they incorporate sounds from acts that came before them, like Kyuss, High on Fire and Bongzilla, what differentiates Bongfather is the high-octane injection of punk they infuse into their music. Especially when it comes to the vocals of Connor Watson, whose clean singing and growls add a harder edge than if he were to incorporate death vocals. This is some heavy, head-bangin’ hesher music. Clean-cut people need not apply. – MAT WEIR
INFO: Thu, 7pm, 924 Gilman St., Berkeley. $15. 510.525.9926.
FRIDAY, SEPT. 5
POWERVIOLENCE
WEEKEND NACHOS
Some bands need a break, and Weekend Nachos was one of those acts. Formed in 2004, this powerviolence band made waves in the underground scene with five heavy AF albums, four of which were released on Relapse Records. However, their fifth record, Apology, marked their announcement to end, which they did after fulfilling a number of previously scheduled dates leading to their final show in their hometown of Chicago on Jan. 14, 2017. Fast forward six years later and the band decided it was time to dust off the instruments and hit the road once more. – MW
INFO: Fri, 9pm, Eli’s Mile High Club, 3629 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland. $20/adv, $25/door. 510.808.7565.
FRIDAY, SEPT. 5
JAZZ
ALAN BROADBENT & HARVIE S
Pianist Alan Broadbent is a jazz treasure best known in some circles as a brilliant, Grammy Award-winning arranger and orchestrator who has created lush settings for the likes of Shirley Horn, Natalie Cole, Paul McCartney and Diana Krall. For others, the New Zealand-born accompanist is inextricably linked to bassist Charlie Haden’s nostalgia-laden Quartet West, which conjured sepia visions of film noir L.A. Broadbent is at his most alluring in intimate duo settings, and for this show he’s joined by bass virtuoso Harvie S. Formerly known as Swartz, S is a celebrated duo partner himself, ever since his landmark vocal/bass albums with legendary, just-departed singer Sheila Jordan, who also recorded with Broadbent. – ANDREW GILBERT
INFO: Fri, 5:30pm, Piedmont Piano Company, 1728 San Pablo Ave., Oakland. $30-$35. 510.547.8188
FRIDAY, SEPT. 5
THEATER
‘THE RESERVOIR’
Preview the first show of Berkeley Rep’s new season with Jake Brasch’s comedy The Reservoir. The 20-something protagonist, Josh, has just dropped out of school. He’s queer, struggling with sobriety and memory loss and is, in fact, a “hot mess.” His long-suffering mother has had it with him. His job at the bookstore is in jeopardy. To the rescue come his four grandparents, who assist him on a journey that includes Jazzercise classes, memory games, handfuls of spinach, unsolicited advice and wildly inappropriate jokes. Who is saving who here? In either case, a little healing goes a long way. Performances until Oct. 12. – JANIS HASHE
INFO: Fri, 8pm, Berkeley Rep, Peet’s Theatre, 2025 Addison St., Berkeley. $66-81. 510.647.2949.
FRIDAY, SEPT. 5
CIRCUS
‘THE SOILED DOVE’
This year’s Vau de Vire Society megaplex touring show takes place under a massive, 12,000-square-foot circus tent. An evening of indulgence includes the spectacular cast performing high and low magic, masterful musicianship and California Gold Rush storytelling laced with risk, dark history, light humor and tales of debauchery. A three-course meal delivered by the artists and adult beverages from the Soiled Dove Saloon make it all slide like a greased pig surfing on a hot tin roof. According to the website, singer, activist and cultural icon Joan Baez is slated for a guest appearance as she continues a lifetime of work advocating for peace, civil rights and radical imagination. Performances go until Nov. 1. – LOU FANCHER
INFO: Fri, 7:30pm, Radium Runway, 2151 Ferry Point, Alameda. $85.
SATURDAY, SEPT. 6
INDIE
HENRY MORRIS
Henry Morris first earned acclaim as one-half of the duo Playyard, whose beachy, widescreen pop carved out a loyal following. Now Morris has turned inward, crafting songs that feel more intimate and unguarded, but no less cinematic. On Jawbreaker, his first full-length album under his own name, he delivers 16 songs with a desert-noir, slow-burn melancholy, loaded with understated grooves and moody reverb that evoke Lana Del Rey. And, like Lana, his storytelling is strong and dark. Morris spins small-town fantasies into bittersweet, emotionally jagged landscapes. – SONYA BENNETT-BRANDT
INFO: Sat, 6:30pm, Cornerstone, 2367 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. $28. 510.214.8600.
SATURDAY, SEPT. 6
GARAGE ROCK
ORCUTT SHELLEY MILLER
Orcutt Shelley Miller is a true power triad, sparking where the wires of Bill Orcutt, Steve Shelley and Ethan Miller meet. Together, Harry Pussy’s guitarist, Sonic Youth’s percussionist, and Comets on Fire and Howlin Rain’s frontman ignite a lineage that runs from free-jazz abandon to experimental-psych and noise-rock fusion. Their debut album, out Sept. 5 on Silver Current, is three tectonic plates grinding together. The avant-rock legends’ distinct histories converge in real time into sharp-edged and unpredictable riffs and rhythms. – SBB
INFO: Sat, 8pm, Thee Stork Club, 2330 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. $30. 510.859.8709.
SUNDAY, SEPT. 7
PSYCH-POP
THE FLAMING LIPS
Oklahoma City-based Flaming Lips has been spinning out alt-rock tunes for 42 years. That could mean a retro show, with 1980s tunes playing out like broken records. Except that a time warp this band is not. Every album, show and new song carves out fresh territory. From late-night television appearances to Super Bowl commercials to their NPR Tiny Desk concert, the trail shows why Flaming Lips has won three Grammy Awards, a Tony nomination and an RIAA Gold-certified Record. The surreal sound is owned, not borrowed, by the musicians, who are committed to crashing through boundaries, erecting monuments that honor the best in songwriting and, throughout, leading audiences, like Pied Pipers, on a marvelous journey. – LF
INFO: Sun, 6pm, Greek Theatre, 2001 Gayley Rd., Berkeley. $84. 510.871.9225.
TUESDAY, SEPT. 9
BLUES-ROCK
MOONLIGHT BENJAMIN
Haitian vocalist Moonlight Benjamin makes her California debut at the Freight, introducing a potent sound from the far-flung Haitian diaspora. Singing mostly in Creole, she possesses a forceful contralto that seems to emerge from deep in her chest. Her incantatory vocals, accompanied by a pummeling rhythm section and dense matrix of electric guitars, tend to maintain the same dynamics, but her stage presence is striking as she moves between portentous anthems and celebratory rave-ups. Now based in Toulouse, France, Benjamin has been described by The Guardian as “the Caribbean Patti Smith” and billed as the priest of Voodoo rock ’n’ roll, but Benjamin is a singer and songwriter with her own sound and vibe. – AG
INFO: Tue, 8pm, The Freight, 2020 Addison St., Berkeley. $38. 510.644.2020.
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 10
FUSION
MOHINI DEY
Young, gifted and badass are the words to describe Indian bass guitarist Mohini Dey, whose music combines classic Indian music styles with funk, jazz, rock and metal. At 29 she’s traveled the world, played with both Zakir Hussain and Steve Vai, and was the only female bassist on Music Radar’s “Top 10 Bassists in the 21st Century.” No surprise that she’s also a composer, arranger, producer and vocalist. Listen to “Introverted Soul” from her self-titled 2023 album and be amazed that fingers can move that fast as she shreds with the very best. – JH
INFO: Wed, 7:30pm & 9:30pm, Yoshi’s, 510 Embarcadero West, Oakland. $34-$79. 510.238.9200.
