San Francisco Scene: December 13-20, 2019

Source: Bay Improviser.

Friday, December 13

Fri 12/13 8:00 PM Uptown Nightclub [1928 Telegraph Ave Oakland]
Mike Baggetta, Stephen Hodges and Mike Watt return to the Uptown with their newly formed trio, mssv, in support of the release of a new live album. Henry Kaiser & Scott Amendola duo open the night.

Fri 12/13 8:00 PM Private home in Berkeley Hills [Private home in North Berkeley Hills]
Spectral, a trio consisting of Dave Rempis (alto and baritone saxophones), Darren Johnston (trumpet) and Larry Ochs (tenor and sopranino saxophones) perform a house concert in a private home in the Berkeley Hills. The trio will play 2 sets, with cheese/wine/fruit served during intermission. Seating is limited. Email harry@fullplatemedia.com for info.

Fri 12/13 8:00 PM The Lost Church [65 Capp St San Francisco]
Thomas Carnacki + Leila Abdul-Rauf

Saturday, December 14

Sat 12/14 12:00 PM Noisebridge Hackerspace [2169 Mission St SF]
G|O|D|W|A|F|F|L|E||N|O|I|S|E||P|A|N|C|A|K|E|S

Sat 12/14 7:00 PM Center for New Music [55 Taylor St SF]
Global Arts Bridges: Inception Part II

Sat 12/14 8:00 PM Zellerbach Playhouse [Zellerbach Hall UC Berkeley Berkeley]
Pamela Z with EIGHTH BLACKBIRD at Cal Performances
Saturday, December 14, 2019, 8pm
Chicago-based Eighth Blackbird, a four-time Grammy-winning contemporary music sextet, performs with multimedia artist and composer Pamela Z. The performance includes the Bay Area premiere of Pamela Z’s Ways of Looking, a new composition exploring the musicality of speech sounds, commissioned by Eighth Blackbird, as well as a short, solo performance by Pamela Z on voice and electronics.

Sat 12/14 8:00 PM Old First Concerts [1751 Sacramento St. SF]
Hank Dutt with Hadley McCarroll & John Harbison

Sunday, December 15

Sun 12/15 6:00 PM Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive [2155 Center St. Berkeley]
Los Angeles–based composer Tashi Wada presents his new group featuring Julia Holter and percussionist Corey Fogel, performing music from Wada’s album Nue. This collaboration ranges from minimalist bagpipes to otherworldly vocals, creating, in Wada’s words, “a vision, an endless night of dreams, and a personal history of sorts, full of joys and demons.” From the doubling of tones—and the world of harmonic nuances such an action produces—to the interplay between individual musicians, Wada’s compositions allow space for these elements to join and grow.

Sun 12/15 7:00 PM Center for New Music [55 Taylor St SF]
Charlie Rauh

Sun 12/15 7:30 PM SIMM Series @ The Musicians Union Hall [116 9th St @ Mission SF]
Koskinen/Heckman
Heikki “Mike” Koskinen – piano, e-trumpet, tenor recorder
Steve Heckman – saxophones, flutes
Free Sax
Aaron Saul – alto saxophone, Andrew Ferren – tenor saxophone, Brian Rodvien – drums/percussion

Sun 12/15 7:30 PM Temescal Arts Center [511 48th Street Oakland]
Doors That Only Open in Silence (open participation, non-hierarchical workshop in free improvisation)
The monthly series of improvisation research at Temescal Arts Center continues. Bring your instrument or come to listen. No advance notice needed — just show up. Small groups will be randomly assembled from submitted names immediately before each group plays. We try to keep transition time between groups at a minimum. Over by 10pm. It’s free. If you want to contribute, bring snacks and drinks.

Monday, December 16

Mon 12/16 7:30 PM The Chapel [777 Valencia St SF]
Thurston Moore Group at The Chapel

Wednesday, December 18

Wed 12/18 7:00 PM San Francisco Public Library, Richmond Branch [351 9th Ave. San Francisco, CA 94118]
A free screening of the Sublime Frequencies documentary “Phi Ta Khon: Ghosts of Isan” (2006).

Wed 12/18 7:30 PM Peacock Lounge [552 Haight St, SF, CA 94117]
An earlier start than usual, 7:30pm, to accomodate FIVE BANDS starting with Ava Mendoza!
Evil Moisture
Fragility itself leaps from his fingertips, circuits keel away catastrophically perishing in sounds you’re sure never to hear again.
http://evilmoisture.free.fr/mdh.html
Hobo Sonn
Hobo Sonn is the dissolver of sound and with it go all touchstones of reality, every grain beneath your feet. With releases on Chocolate Monk, Ruralfaune, and Pendu.
http://leuropeparisien.free.fr/freefolkloreCD.html
Thomas Dimuzio
Thomas Dimuzio celebrates his first all-Buchla album where signals fetched from the modulated airwaves are sent corruscating through custom algorithmic crossfades.
https://resipiscent.com/artist/view/51
DemonFace
To hear the music of DemonFace is to glimpse the anchorline beneath it all. In sunless depths where noord, tranoe, toe fetish and larynx converge an immense hunger hunts without rest.

Ava Mendoza
Since moving from Oakland to Brooklyn, Mendoza’s guitar powers have only amplified, her voice intensified, her collaborators multiplied, and her chops been verified. Tonight expect a solo set.

AVA MENDOZA

Wed 12/18 8:00 PM Ivy Room [860 San Pablo Ave Albany]
Will Bernard, John Schott, Scott Amendola, Jenny Scheinman, Todd Sickafoose

Wed 12/18 8:00 PM Envelop SF [900 Marin St San Francisco]
Suzanne Ciani – LIVE Quadraphonic : LISTEN

Thursday, December 19

Thu 12/19 6:00 PM Contemporary Jewish Museum [736 Mission Street, SF]
Experiments in Sonic Potential
duo performance with Lisa Mezzacappa, bass and dancer/choreographer Kara Davis

Thu 12/19 8:00 PM Envelop SF [900 Marin St San Francisco]
Steve Reich – Music for 18 Musicians : LISTEN

Friday, December 20

Fri 12/20 7:00 PM Center for New Music [55 Taylor St SF]
Bay Area Composer Group: The Unquiet Grave

Fri 12/20 7:30 PM Game Shop Downstairs [124 Santa Clara St, San Jose]
Córdova / flukemogulMurray / Borin&Patrick / Dust Lord /Huguenor

Fri 12/20 8:00 PM The Back Room [1984 Bonita Ave Berkeley]
The ACTUAL TRIO with special guest Cecilia Engelhart