Since it’s apparently this has been the week to reveal your endorsements, the Express would like to officially announce our endorsements for the top five things to do this weekend:
Credits: G. CharlesBeast Crawl
Beast Crawl is back for its fifth literary pub crawl extravaganza on July 16 from 5–9 p.m. (with after parties from 9:30–11:30). For the uninitiated, Beast Crawl is Oakland’s scrappier and edgier answer to San Francisco’s LitQuake — which means it’s a festival of literary events that takes place all around the city. (Millenial translation: It’s like Pokemon Go, except instead of combative creatures, you’re catching literary experiences). Beast Crawl is split up into three hour-long legs separated by half-hour breaks. During each leg, about thirteen events take place at venues all over downtown Oakland — everywhere from Econo Jam on 25th Street to E.M. Wolfman on 13th Street. The events are all free, and they highlight pockets of the East Bay literary scene by featuring shows curated by publishers and organizations — such as Pandemonium Press, Youth Radio, Brown people Don’t Read?, and Lyrics & Dirges. There are a lot of choices to choose from, but typically, wherever you find yourself will be entertaining. — Sarah Burke
July 16, 5–9 p.m. BeastCrawl.Weebly.com
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Spray TanSpray Tan
Oakland punk three-piece Spray Tan labels itself “genderqueer shameless slutrock,” and its music is a bold, in-your-face celebration of self-expression that’s not limited by the binary of male vs. female. Embracing bright lipstick, mesh, leopard print and other hallmarks of queer kitsch, the band’s glam rocker fashion taste is as fun and rebellious as its music. On its debut album Soloslut, the trio delivers punchy, major-chord punk anthems that challenge assumptions about gender and sexuality. The album’s title track is a celebration of getting down with yourself when your love life has you down. Meanwhile, “Morning Sex” embraces kink and BDSM. Whatever your sexual proclivities, Spray Tan is here for you — especially if your tastes and preferences fall outside of what’s accepted by the patriarchy. Catch the trio live with Tyler Holmes (of the storied, local, queer electroclash band Daddie$ Pla$tik) and Trap Girl on July 15 at One Fam in West Oakland. — Nastia Voynovskaya
Fri., July 15, 9 p.m. One Fam (1606 7th St., Oakland). $5. OneFam.org
Goodbye LoBot
Sadly, LoBot is the latest underground venue and art space to lose its lease amid the housing crisis in Oakland, and the current tenants — a loose collective of twenty or so artists — have to leave by the end of the month. As they move out the equipment and art supplies they (and tenants before them) have accumulated throughout the course of LoBot’s thirteen years of existence, the collective’s artists and musicians are also throwing one last hoorah: the Goodbye LoBot concert and art sale. They’ll have cheap art, food, and drinks for purchase, and a wide variety of performances by folks including rapper Squadda B (of Green Ova South and Main Attrakionz), electropop outfit Aquacure, punk band Unity (which features Jeff Cheung, Alex Shen, and Ian Tatum of Meat Market), and many more. Party one last time before LoBot is — very regretfully — gone forever. — N.V.
Sat., July 16. Art sale at 5 p.m., music at 7 p.m. LoBot Gallery (1800 Campbell Street, Oakland). $6. CargoCollective.com/LoBotGallery
On the Streets : Under the Trees
Common terms like “The Homeless” can make an extremely nuanced issue seem simple. In his current show at the Asian Resource Gallery (317 9th St., Oakland), journalist and Express contributor David Bacon presents an extensive photo-documentary project that gives faces to some of California’s homeless. Titled, On the Streets: Under the Trees, the collection of images provide a look into the lives of people living in both urban and rural homeless camps, highlighting the similarities and differences between them. “While there are important differences, it is not surprising that the experience and the circumstances are so similar, as is the effort to create community, no matter how difficult the conditions,” Bacon wrote in the project’s description. “In both urban and rural areas people also fight for better housing, and for their right to exist in a public space.” The urgent, eye-opening series will be up until July 23. — S.B.
Free. DavidBaconRealityCheck.blogspot.com
Credits: Marco SanchezThe Soiled Dove
The Soiled Dove, a four-course dinner vaudeville circus show, recently had to relocate because — you guessed it — it’s former venue (Cellspace in San Francisco) closed due to a new development project. But in a less familiar ending to a typical story, it’s producer Mike Gaines then traveled to Italy and bought a 12,000-square-foot circus tent, which is now set up on the Alameda waterfront. (If only we all had that opportunity). There, the Vau de Vire Society will once again put on its elaborate burlesque show featuring twirling tutus and titillating dances set inside a “reincarnation of SF’s notorious Barbary Coast red light district.” That means over forty performers and musicians filling out the circular space. Shows will take place Friday, July 15 and Saturday, July 16 at Alameda Point (2153 Ferry Point, Alameda) at 7:30 p.m. The full experience costs $120 per person, but those uninterested in the meal can slip in at 9 p.m. for $45. — S.B.
Fri., July 15 and Sat., July 16. TheSoiledDove.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].
