Brightmillion Playing at Johnny V's Downtown

Great indie band is coming to Johnny V's on the 26th. They'll also be doing an afternoon show earlier that day in San Jose's Streetlight Records. You can have a listen over at their Myspace page (start with Wasting Away, I really like that one).


** BRIGHTMILLION ONWARD & UPWARD TOUR 2010 **

Los Angeles Alternative rock band Brightmillion will be on tour in Sept/Oct 2010 and will be playing in San Jose, CA Sept 26th @ Johnny V's

9pm 21+
Johnny V's
31 East Santa Clara Street
San Jose, CA 95113
(408) 947-8470

"It’s hard to believe that Southern California’s Brightmillion is a duo. That is not because they can raise an unholy racket like other rock duos including The White Stripes and the Black Keys, but because their songs on Myspace including “Wasting Away” and “Even Though” are so radio ready that it’s hard to imagine that just two people can create such a polished product." - Monterey County Weekly

BURN THE FLOOR Sets Downtown San Jose on Fire!

Okay, I think it's time for me to come clean with everyone. The show "So You Think You Can Dance" has become a guilty pleasure of mine. Perhaps around season 2 or 3, my wife started watching it and I was forced to be a passive viewer. I would sit on the couch with a laptop in front of me, doing work or surfing the web... not really paying much attention to what's going on. A season later, I would put down the laptop anytime a hip-hop routine came on. Fast forward to their last season and magically the laptop was nowhere to be found whenever the show came on.

What I think that show really did for dance was take decades of tradition, and modernize the heck out of it so that even people that know absolutely nothing about dance (e.g. me) can enjoy it. BURN THE FLOOR essentially did the exact same thing to ballroom dancing. They took elements of traditional ballroom as well as jazz, contemporary, and even paso doble routines and made it so that literally anyone can enjoy it. This isn't just a good show for people that like watching dance... it's a good show period.

The routines are simply amazing. You'll see moves that human beings shouldn't be able to physically pull off. What's even more impressive is how these moves can be consistently executed throughout the performance without any slips or falls. The level of talent required for this show is off the charts... all of the dancers were at least great, and some were astounding. The "So You Think You Can Dance" graduates--Pasha, Anya, Ryan, and Ashleigh--were definitely in the astounding category. There was even a special cameo from "So You Think You Can Dance" judge, choreographer, and hot tamale train conductor, Mary Murphy!

Backing up the dancers are twin percussionists and talented singers that help keep the mood lively from curtain to curtain. The sets were fantastic. Choreography? As good as it gets. How about the pace? The show never got boring, even for someone with a very short attention span (last time I saw The Nutcracker, I fell asleep at least 3 times). In a nutshell, this is the best show I've seen at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts. If you're interested, I would try to get tickets before they're all sold out. Here's the direct link!

Baseball San Jose: City Council Approves Resolution

For Good Measure: San Jose City Council Again Approves Resolution to Bring the A's to Town

by noreply@blogger.com (DLo)

Buoyed by the recent show of Silicon Valley corporate support, the City Council tonight passed another resolution in support of an A's move to San Jose. The vote was unanimous, though clearly, everyone is getting antsy. Councilman Liccardo, noting that Milwaukee recently erected a statute in honor of MLB Commissioner Bud Selig, even jokingly offered to build him a replica in San Jose.

Still, the fact remains that San Jose is admirably positioned to land the A's. Certainly, no other location in the Bay Area can boast such an attractive offer.

You're up to bat, San Jose!

Alaskan Preps New International Flights to Guadalajara, Mexico

Alaskan Airlines just keeps pumping out more and more flights out of SJC. Beginning Dec. 15th, Alaskan will add 4 flights per week to Guadalajara. The flights will leave at 10:50pm on Mon, Tues, Thurs, and Sat and arrive at 5:00am local time the following day. For more info, click here.

Phantom Galleries: Two Buck Tuesdays ($2 Art!)

TWO BUCK Tuesday September 21st

from Phantom Galleries by Cherri Lakey

TWO BUCK Tuesday September 21, 2010
$2 Art Sale begins at Noon
Main event starts at 7p.m.
Curated by Drew Clark
Seriously, what else are you doing Tuesday night? Come out, enjoy some of the cool culture that the San Jose art scene has to offer! Where else will you find not only $2 dollar original artwork from local artists, but also ...
LIVE ART!

Timothy Tsun - Discovery, the "Humanature" (the relationship between human being and nature), is the theme of my art. I am always observing the shapes and texture of tree trunks, which I utilize to make the connection to human forms. http://www.timtsun.com/


Michael Foley will be there making $5 portrait transformations, creating stylized portraits you'll not find anywhere else.
Michael Foley is an artist from the San Francisco bay area whose works show nationally and internationally. First discovered by scientists after the great quake of 1906. Believed to be the cause of the catastrophe it was decided that he would be placed deep in the arctic sea to be forgotten. Seventy-Two years later he resurfaced and returned to California to exact his revenge on civilization through the use of art and his poorly scripted interpreted dance and slam poetry.
http://www.onibatsu.com

MIND EXPANDING SPEAKING SERIES

MoGo BBQ is a mobile food truck company serving up Koreanstyle BBQ in our taco truck serving the San Francisco Bay Area: San Jose, Oakland, Berkeley, Palo Alto, and more. They bring you the convenience of affordable gourmet food combined with good olʼ Korean family recipes handed down to them, resulting in portable street food fare. Take your pick from our Short Rib Tacos to our Spicy Pork Quesadillas—theyʼre all up for the tasting'.


Russell Targ is a physicist and author who was a pioneer in the development of the laser and laser applications, and was cofounder of the Stanford Research Instituteʼs investigation into psychic abilities in the 1970s and 1980s. His work in this new area, called remote viewing, was published in Nature, The Proceedings of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the Proceedings of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Targ has a B.S. in Physics from Queens College, and did graduate work in physics at Columbia University. In 1997 Targ retired from Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space Co. as a senior staff scientist.


Randall King co-founded San Jose Stage Company in 1983 and has served as the Artistic Director for the past nineteen years. Under his direction, the Company has produced over one hundred twenty-five stage plays and musicals and premiered thirty-nine new works, including nine World Premieres. Most recently, Randall directed ALWAYS…PATSY CLINE, A TUNA CHRISTMAS and GREATER TUNA and the Companyʼs original and return engagement of IDOLS OF THE KING at the California Theatre. In addition to directing,
Randall is an award-winning actor, most recently appearing with the Company as Milan and The Waiter in ROCK ʻNʼ ROLL. He has performed in leading roles at many theaters, including San Jose Repertory Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Sacramento Theatre Company and the Alaska Theatre Festival, among others. Randall has worked with Francis Ford Coppola, Lawrence Kasdan and Michael Bay, among others, and has also appeared in numerous television projects.

PERFORMANCE & DEMONSTRATIONS!

Keith Bunnell is a ceramic artist based here in Silicon Valley. He focuses on what he refers to as "the dark side of pottery, bringing out the true fear that resides within the clay."


Body painting by Trina Merry
Trina Merry, an American artist, currently lives in the Bay Area in a little town called Willow Glen. After receiving her BA in Communications/Media from Azusa Pacific University, she worked for companies like Sony, Paramount, Icon Productions (Mel Gibson), Yamaha, & Showtime's Golden Globe nominated TV Show "Sleeper Cell" (art department). She is truly a multi-media artist working in paint, video/film, installation & performance.

LIVE MUSIC!

Gianfranco & Friends - It all started for the love of the accordion sound and the passion of meeting the very friendly local musicians. Gianfranco had courage to ask them, one at a time, to do some notes together. The first he had asked was Kate and the answer was a curious: "Marimba and accordion? Yes...When?...Where?". A few weeks later he asked Jessica, and the answer was just lovely: "Piano and accordion?...Do they have a piano there?...OK...When?". Well.....We did our first notes at the Caffé Trieste and I continue to do notes at the caffé every second Friday of the month with all my friends musicians. That's how "Gianfranco and Friends" came alive around San Jose.
TWO BUCK Tuesday- September 21st, 7-10pm FREE and open to the public.
KALEID Gallery
88 South 4th Street
San Jose, CA 95112
http://www.KALEIDgallery.com
(408) 947-1785

San Pedro Square Market: Construction Update Video

Looks like the Plaza is coming along nicely. This is where you'll be able to enjoy al fresco dining, music, and entertainment throughout the year... all while enjoying the company of the oldest structure in San Jose, The Peralta Adobe.

BURN THE FLOOR is Coming to San Jose!

A very popular Broadway-caliber show featuring many famous dancers is playing Downtown from Sep. 21st through the 26th. I'm hoping to catch it early in the week and do a full review. For now, there's a video preview below and a direct link to see ticket options right over here.

Cajun Music Coming to the Bay

I rarely promote events outside of San Jose, but this one seems particularly unique. I've never even heard Cajun music before, so I thought I would toss this out there for anyone interested.

Sunday, September 19

Joel Savoy & Jesse Lége

Cajun Dancehall Music from SW Louisiana

Don Quixote’s Music Hall, Felton CA

Tickets $12

Matinee Show at 1pm

http://www.donquixotesmusic.info/

6275 Highway 9 in Downtown Felton, CA

831-603-2294

Cajun fiddler Joel Savoy (son of master accordionist Marc Savoy) is spearheading a growing movement of young Cajun musicians taking back their roots music. Founder of the Grammy-nominated label Valcour Records and the acclaimed Red Stick Ramblers, Savoy is equally at home playing the old twin-fiddling of Cajun masters like Dennis McGee, as he is playing swing or country fiddle for honky-tonk dancing.

He’s touring now with Cajun accordionist and vocalist Jesse Lége. Growing up in a rural, pre-electricity home in Gueydan, Southwest Louisiana, Jesse spoke Cajun French as a first language and learned music from relatives, neighbors and the family’s much-loved battery-powered radio. Listening to the Grand Ol’ Opry was as natural to him as staying up late at a Cajun fais do-do, and he brings that love of old school country and Cajun music to his collaboration with Joel Savoy. Jesse sings in the classic, old-school style of Cajun vocalists, and since French is his first language, he’s able to write new songs in this old style. He’s a master of Cajun dancehall music and the real deal.

Barry Ancelet, Professor of Folklore at USL: “Jesse Lége . . . is one of the great vocalists of contemporary Cajun music. His penetrating style and emotion-laden lyrics can make veteran festival producers such as this one weep backstage. This is the real stuff, straight and undiluted.”