Arts & Entertainment
Worth a Look Music
French music festival The first-ever French Music Festival at the Community School of Music and Arts in Mountain View is scheduled to kick off this weekend, June 20 and 21. The event will feature several performances, covering a range of French music from the mid-19th century to modern times. On the first day of the festival, the Ensemble San Francisco will perform a collection of works that they are calling “Une Soiree Parisienne� (An Evening in Paris). The group, which was founded by clarinetist Roman Fukshansky and pianist Christine McLeavey Payne, will perform Darius Milhaud’s 1923 ballet, “La creation du monde.� Penned at a time when the Western art world was highly influenced by the African continent, the piece tells of the creation of the world through African mythology. Also on the first day, violinist Moni Simeonov will perform Maurice Ravel’s “Tzigane,� and cellist Jonah Kim will play a “fascinating melange of tunes� made famous by Edith Piaf. During the festival’s second day, in a program entitled “Musique de chamber virtuose� (Virtuoso Chamber Music), a group of 20 musicians and singers will perform four French works, including the evening’s major work, Ernest Chausson’s “Concert pour violon, piano et quatuor a cordes� — a double concerto featuring violin soloist Stephen Waarts and Gwendolyn Mok on solo piano. The music begins at 8 p.m. on both June 20 and 21 at the CSMA, 230 San Antonio Circle, Mountain View. For more information, go to frenchmusicfestival.org.
Vans Warped Tour
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The Warped Tour, the Vans-sponsored, longrunning punk and alternative festival, is coming to Shoreline Amphitheatre this Saturday, June 21, with a massive lineup of bands and other artists, spanning a wide variety of genres, including hardcore, indie, Every Time I Die rock this year’s a lt e r n a t ive , Warped Tour. punk, metal, ska, electronic and hip-hop. The festival kicks off at 11 a.m., giving attendees plenty of time to take in all the storied tour has to offer. Still, with 94 bands performing, fans will have to make some tough choices. But don’t worry if you’re the type that has a hard time with decisions. Here are eight artists that run the gamut from pure pop rock to dance-floor shaking electronic, from classic punk to face-punching hardcore. Poppy punks: Florida quintet We The Kings make unapologetically gleeful punk-tinged pop rock, full of soaring melodies, sweet harmonies and lyrics about falling in and out of love and getting into trouble under the sun and palm trees. Classic punks: Another Florida act, Less Than Jake, have been skanking around the country with their signature brand of ska-punk since 1992. All the ‘80s babies who ever owned anything in a checkerboard pattern will remember these Warped Tour veterans. But younger crowds will enjoy their infectious horn-tinged anthems, too. Party rocker: Crizzly is a Texas-based button masher who rocks the dance floor with style that sounds a bit like what Skrillex might sound like if he
came up in the South. Plenty of boom-bap kick and snare, with rapid fire Dirty South high hats giving way to some serious womp and fax-machine-death sounds when Crizzly lets the beat drop. No wonder he calls his sound “crunkstep.� Screamo darlings: Before Skrillex (and Crizzly) introduced a generation to the bass drop, bands like Midwestern melodic metal heads The Devil Wears Prada were practicing a different kind of drop. Along with other groups like Scary Kids Scaring Kids and Underoath, this Ohio band helped pioneer the mashed up genre of screamo, which combined the introspective lyrics of emo, the heavy breakdowns of death metal and the shimmering, melodic guitar work of ‘80s hair metal. Southern hardcore: Every Time I Die know how to get the pit started. With sardonic lyrics, heavy breakdowns, and riffs that skew toward bluesy rock, this band from Buffalo, New York, certainly has a unique sound that will leave you feeling like you got punched in the face (in a good way). Honest hip-hop: K.Flay, an alumna of Stanford University, didn’t stick around Silicon Valley after graduating. Instead she moved to Oakland and eventually New York City, refining her introspective, hilariously self-deprecating flows along the way. Part Lana Del Rey, part Slug, part Azelia Banks, she spits rhymes that are by turns painful, truthful and hilarious. The Warped Tour begins at 11 a.m. on June 21 at Shoreline Amphitheatre. Tickets range from about $60 to about $90. For more information, go to vanswarpedtour.com.
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Francisco and perform for critics and the public,� Hooshmand says. Fortunately, he and his fellow actors helped lift each other up when they were down or having doubts. “We’re all really close. We all help each other. ... I think it makes a huge difference in the quality of our performances.� Another secret to this production, according to Kienitz, is that all the characters are teens. The play opens as the group of young men and women rendezvous at a cabin in the woods. They’ve come there at the instruction of their parents, who have gone missing. The plan is to sit tight and wait for the adults to arrive, but they never do. “Body of Water� is about what the teens do as they slowly come to realize that they may have to make it on their own, without the help of their mothers and fathers. Kienitz says he believes that making his characters all the same age as the actors playing them makes for a more authentic performance. Though plenty of the teens have played adults in other productions, Kienitz insists that a child could never truly play an adult the way an adult could. “How do you explain to them a 40-yearold’s perspective?� he asks. “You have nothing to draw on.� But in “Body of Water,� the ac-
tors have plenty to draw on. At least, Kienitz says, they can try to imagine what it would be like if their parents were to disappear one day and they had to figure out a way to survive on their own. Much of the play is set to music, all of it created by Portland-based singer and songwriter Jim Walker. Slipper describes the songs chosen for “Body of Water� as all having a jarring effect, as Walker frequently juxtaposes bright and shining musical phrases against dark lyrics, such as in “Love Shining Through,� which Slipper explains sounds “sentimental and romantic,� but is really about “torture and intolerance and persecution.� Slipper and the rest of the cast are all excited for the remainder of the production, which shows Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays for two more weekends. “It has been extremely exhilarating and extremely new and an experience I very much cherish,� Slipper says, noting he’s gotten to meet people he never would have met, explore a character at a depth he never would have been able to otherwise and experience things, such as some “amazing� choreography, that he likely wouldn’t have engaged in if he hadn’t been asked to join the cast of “Body of Water.� “It’s an honor to be a part of A Theatre Near U, it really is.�N Arts & Entertainment Editor Nick Veronin can be emailed at nveronin@paweekly.com.
Stanford Jazz Festival Smooth, cool, complex and energetic — the sounds of jazz are diverse. And beginning this weekend, running through early August, Stanford University will be overflowing with just about every kind of the most American of musical genres. The Stanford Jazz Festival, now in its 43rd season, has seen many of the world’s top performers in its day. Hosted by the Stanford Jazz Workshop, the event grew out of informal jam sessions held in the early ‘70s, blossoming into what it is today — a showcase for rising stars and jazz veterans alike. This year the festival features 35 individual concerts with around 40 acts, including some of the biggest names in jazz today. Ernie Rideout, marketing director for the Stanford Jazz Workshop, says attendees have plenty to look forward to this year. Renowned jazz pianist Fred Hersch will be performing a duet every night during the first week of August — sometimes with artists he’s played with before and other times sharing the stage with artists he’s playing with for the first time. “Fred is famous for his wonderful duets with a wide variety of jazz musicians,� Rideout says. “It’s going to be a real interesting opportunity to hear brand new jazz being created. It’s a very special thing that you can’t hear any place else.� Also this year, the Stanford Jazz Workshop has booked a far higher concentration of “marquee� names to the bill, such as Chick Corea, the Yellowjackets, the Kenny Barron Trio and Arturo Sandoval. Of particular interest to fans who’ve attended the festival in the past, Dinkelspiel Auditorium now has air conditioning, Rideout says. In prior years, jazz fans have endured high temperatures while taking in the music they love. This year, they’ll get to enjoy a climate-controlled environment, he says. The festival kicks off this weekend and runs every weekend until July 18, when the concert goes full-time — with a concert every night — until its conclusion on Aug. 9. For more information on tickets and concert dates, go to stanfordjazz.org or call 650-725-2787. N
NOTICE OF A PUBLIC MEETING of the City of Palo Alto Architectural Review Board (ARB) 8:30 A.M., Thursday, July 3, 2014, Palo Alto Council Conference Room, 1st Floor, Civic Center, 250 Hamilton Avenue. Plans may be reviewed at the Development Center at 285 Hamilton Avenue or online at: http://www. cityofpaloalto.org/planningprojects; contact Diana Tamale for additional information during business hours at 650.329.2144. 385 Sherman Avenue [13PLN-00528]: Request by Daniel Minkoff for major Architectural Review of a proposal to demolish the existing 21,600 sq. ft. one story ofďŹ ce building and construct a new 55,566 sq. ft. three-story mixed use building with two levels of underground parking for 103 spaces on a 27,783 s.f. site in the Community Commercial (CC(2)) zoned district. The proposal includes a Design Enhancement Exception (DEE) for a ďŹ ve foot encroachment into the required ďŹ ve foot street side yard setback along Sherman Avenue. Environmental Assessment: A Mitigated Negative Declaration has been prepared and will be available for public review beginning June 6, 2014 through July 7, 2014. Amy French Chief Planning OfďŹ cial The City of Palo Alto does not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. To request an accommodation for this meeting or an alternative format for any related printed materials, please contact the City’s ADA Coordinator at 650.329.2550 (voice) or by e-mailing ada@cityofpaloalto.org.
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