Now that you’ve eaten your own weight in mashed potatoes and worked it all off fighting people for Black Friday deals at Best Buy, it’s time to enjoy the weekend. Here’s how:
Antwon.Feels IV
Now in its fourth incarnation, Feels has grown large enough to be considered a festival, though the homegrown event still carries the scrappy ethos of its DIY, warehouse party beginnings. Wine & Bowties — a music and culture blog and promotional outfit that longtime friends Max Gibson and Will Bundy operate together — is throwing the music and art event at American Steel Studios in West Oakland. This time around, the sought-after Canadian producer and DJ Ryan Hemsworth tops the bill. Also headlining is Antwon, an LA-based rapper with a booming voice who got his start in Oakland’s music scene. Antwon’s sound is steeped in Nineties nostalgia and his energetic live shows hark back to his punk roots. Oakland band Meat Market, which is known for its distorted yet hooky pop tracks with a noticeable punk influence, will also perform, as will Shruggs and Rayana Jay, a new, local singer-producer duo. A plethora of local artists will fill American Steel with their artwork, zines, and collectibles, as well. DJs Neto 187, Namaste Shawty, the MoreVibes crew, and others will keep the dance party going all night. — Nastia Voynovskaya Sat., Nov. 28, 6 p.m. $25-$75. WineAndBowties.com
“100 Suns.”Synesthesia
For her piece entitled “100 Suns,” Mills College Book Art & Creative Writing MFA student Keri Miki-Lani Schroeder made one hundred snow globes, each featuring an identical image of an atomic bomb pluming over Japan. When you pick one up and give it a shake, little, white flecks float around the explosion in swirls — turning what typically depicts charming snowfall into a representation of smoke and mass destruction. The piece sharply critiques the aestheticization of the atomic bomb in American cultural memory and the ways in which old nuclear testing sites in Nevada have become tourist destinations. Schroeder’s piece is one of many in Synesthesia, this year’s Mills College Book Art & Creative Writing MFA Thesis Exhibition, currently on view at Aggregate Space Gallery (801 West Grand Ave., Oakland). And it’s an apt representation of the range of sculptural works that come out of Mill’s acclaimed book arts program — despite its seemingly narrow title. The last day to view the show will be this Saturday, November 28. For the closing, there will be an artist talk at 6 p.m. — Sarah Burke Sat., Nov. 28, 6 p.m. Free. AggregateSpace.com
Leftöver Crack.Leftöver Crack, Theories, Rats in The Wall, Heartless Folk
Though the storied New York punk band Leftöver Crack never signed to a major label, the group developed a cult following after it debuted in the late Nineties with its self-released demo, Shoot the Kids at School. Like the project’s title suggests, the group’s peppy-yet-gritty ska-punk discography is snarky and contrarian. Lead singer Scott Sturgeon, aka Stza, has used his lyrics to call out capitalism, police brutality, racism, and homophobia, and his social criticisms are as relevant today as they were more than ten years ago when Leftöver Crack released most of its material. On the track “Gay Rude Boys Unite” from its 2001 album, Mediocre Generica, for instance, he criticizes people who purport to be anti-racist but have homophobic beliefs. The track was definitely ahead of its time, as the concept of intersectionality — or seeing the overlap between different kinds of marginalized people’s struggles — has only entered into mainstream feminist discourse recently. So come on, leave the closet, and on your way out grab a bat/’Cause there’s a battle to be fought, and the prize is fucking fat, he growls. Leftöver Crack performs at 924 Gilman on November 28 with Theories, Rats in the Wall, and Heartless Folk. — N.V.
Sat., Nov. 28, 7 p.m. $15. 924Gilman.org
Techie Blood
There’s little available information about Techie Blood, the new hardcore band that features members of Stressors and Cudgel, other than its abrasive, seven-minute mixtape, Neighborhood Watch #12 aka Millions of Dead Techies. The short recording was uploaded to a mysterious YouTube channel called Guy Fieri Official in August, though the account does not appear to belong to the bleach blond, hedgehog-haired celebrity chef. Techie Blood’s music is punchy, fast, and violent, with distorted, steely instrumentation that culminates in a barrage of noise. Though Neighborhood Watch #12 sounds mechanized and industrial, it ends with a washed-out, distorted beat that strangely evokes R&B. Techie Blood’s extreme name and aesthetic resonates with the anti-gentrification current in the Bay Area’s rock scene, with many bands reacting to the region’s skyrocketing cost of living with aggressive, angry music that departs from the garage-pop of years past. The group performs with Seattle band Lysol and Oakland band The Light on November 28 at 1-2-3-4 Go! Records. — N.V.
Sat., Nov. 28, 7 p.m. $7. Facebook.com/1234GoRecords
Disgraced.
Credits: Liz LaurenDisgraced
Ayad Akhtar’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Disgraced, has made its way from Broadway to the Berkeley Repertory Theatre (2015 Addison St., Berkeley), bringing shrewd director Kimberly Senior with it. The West Coast debut makes Disgraced the most produced play in the country this year, and for good reason: The explosive story about a Muslim-American man grappling with his both sides of his identity has never felt more prescient. Amir (Bernard White) hosts an upper-class dinner party with the hope of getting ahead at his law firm, but when sociopolitical conversations snarl the affair, it becomes clear that unspoken prejudices mar even the most progressive social circles. As Amir watches his American Dream crumble, he realizes that assimilation in a post 9/11 America may be futile after all. Riveting performances and even better writing render Disgraced worthy of the acclaim the play has received nationwide. It might just be the best, most poignant play you see this year. — Gillian Edevane
Through Dec. 20. $29-$89. BerkeleyRep.comBerkeleyRep.com
If your pockets are feelin’ light and you’re still yearning for more suggestions, we’ve got a ton, and these ones are all FREE! We’re Hungry: Got any East Bay news, events, video, or miscellany we should know about? Feed us at [email protected].
