• Submitted by: admin
• Music
• United States
• 04 / 17 / 2010

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1. Cuba/Caribe Festival: The acclaimed annual three-week celebration of Afro-Caribbean music and dance opens at San Francisco's Dance Mission Theater this weekend.

Performers include the Cuba-centric Alayo Dance Company and New Orleans
treasure Ausetta Amor Amenhum and the Kumbuka African Drum and Dance Collective.

Details: Performances are Fridays-Sundays through May 2; show times vary. $12-$22 individual events, $50 for full festival pass; go to www.cubacaribe.org for details; tickets are available by contacting 415-273-4633 or www.brownpapertickets.com.

2. Contra Costa Wind Symphony: This outfit is always local events  cooking up enticing concert programs, and this weekend's centerpiece work is a Bohemian doozy: the U.S. premiere of Brit composer Tolga Kashif's "Queen Symphony" — inspired by tunes from the legendary rock band.

Details: 8 p.m. April 17, Walnut Creek Presbyterian Church; $10; www.ccwindsymphony.org.

3. Josh Kornbluth: The always-engaging monologuist tackles Andy Warhol and his own troubled encounters with spirituality in his latest work, "Andy Warhol: Good For the Jews?"

Details: 8 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays, 2 and 7 p.m. Sundays through May 16; the Jewish Theatre, S. F.; $15-$45; 415-292-1233; www.tjt-sf.org.

4. Berkeley Opera: The Advertisement company presents "The Tender Land," Aaron Copeland's rural coming-of-age tale reportedly inspired by the photographs of Walker Evans and James Agee's novel "Let Us Now Praise Famous Men."

Details: 8 p.m. April 16, 2 p.m. April 18; Performing Arts Theater at El Cerrito High School; $15-$35; 800-838-3006,

www.berkeleyopera.org, www.brownpapertickets.com.

5. East Bay Gay Men's Chorus: The vocal group's weekend concerts, titled "Peace Within," feature a performance of Luigi Cherubini's "Requiem in D minor," a work the composer apparently penned for his own funeral.

Details: 7:30 p.m. April 17, 5 p.m. April 18; Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church, Oakland; $12-$20; 800-706-2389, www.oebgmc.org, www.brownpapertickets.com.

6. Jeff Beck: Few guitarists have been as consistently inventive and on top of their game as this legend has.

Details: 8 p.m. April 16, Nob Hill Masonic Center, S.F.; $42.50-$78; 800-745-3000, www.ticketmaster.com.

7. "Girlfriend": Matthew Sweet's gorgeous pop-rock album about love and heartbreak has been adapted into a boy-meets-boy stage play getting its world premiere at Berkeley Repertory Theatre.

Details: 8 p.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, 7 p.m. Wednesdays, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays and 2 and 7 p.m. Sundays through May 9; $33-$71; 510-647-2949, www.berkeleyrep.org.

8. Divafest: Exit Theatre in San Francisco is once again hosting this eclectic mix of theatrical productions by women writers, with shows ranging from a musical ode to the Tenderloin to a drama inspired by the Irish ballad, "The Wind and the Rain."

Details: Through May 1; for tickets, show times and more information, go to www.theexit.org.

9. Bay Area Black Comedy Competition: Need a post-tax-day source of amusement? The finals of this annual laugh-off are this weekend, with Don "D.C." Curry hosting.

Details: 8 p.m. April 17, Paramount Theatre, Oakland; $35-$45; 800-754-3000, www.paramounttheatre.com.

10. Parisii Strong Quartet: The award-winning Parisian ensemble specializes in works by — surprise! — French composers, and its show in Livermore this weekend focuses on Debussy.

Details: 8 p.m. April 17; Bankhead Theatre at Livermore Valley Performing Arts Center; $20-$30; 925-373-6800, www.livermoreperformingarts.org.

By Randy McMullen

Source: www.insidebayarea.com/