THURSDAY, NOV. 6
GOTH ROCK
NOX NOVACULA
Emerging from the pallid cemetery known as Seattle, Nox Novacula breathes cold, dead air into the gothic scene with their theatrical, deathrock hymns. Their dark, seductive energy pays homage to the genre’s origins but stays urgently modern. There are echoes of Christian Death, Sisters of Mercy and Death Cult, twisted and experimented upon. On their latest LP, Feed the Fire, Charlotte Blythe’s commanding, virtuoso vocals guide the listener through icy-hot tales of despair and action, giving a traditional macabre art a new electronic pulse. – SONYA BENNETT-BRANDT
INFO: Thu, 9pm, Eli’s Mile High Club, 3629 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland. $12/adv, $15/door. 510.808.7565.
THURSDAY, NOV. 6
PUNK/RAP
WORLDS COLLIDE
There’s no denying we live in a divided society. The citizens of this country are having a wedge driven further and deeper between us, separating rich and poor, liberal and conservative, “legal” and “illegal.” Isn’t it time we just all came together to get along? That’s the idea behind Worlds Collide, a mash-up show of Bay Area rap and punk artists featuring, but not limited to, Kai the MC, Blunt Force Karma, TheeRemendy and Durango Dog. Celebrate the best in Bay Area underground music with eight different acts that celebrate the DIY ethic. – MAT WEIR
INFO: Thu, 7pm, Continental Club, 1658 12th St., Oakland. $10/adv, $15/door. 510.542.5742.
FRIDAY, NOV. 7
JAZZ
JOEL FRAHM TRIO
Over some three decades, Joel Frahm built a sterling reputation in the New York jazz scene as a commanding tenor saxophonist whose warm, brawny tone, compelling sense of swing and boundless improvisational imagination made him an invaluable collaborator. With more than 100 albums as a leader and sideman to his credit, Frahm can be found in the midst of a bevy of brilliant projects. In his only Bay Area date on a Western tour, he performs with his long-running trio featuring bassist Dan Loomis and drummer Ernesto Cervini, a band ideally equipped to match his intense lyricism and muscular, rhythmic expression. – ANDREW GILBERT
INFO: Fri, 7:30 pm, The Sound Room, 3022 Broadway, Oakland. $31.72. 510.708.9691.
FRIDAY, NOV. 7
INDIE
Y LA BAMBA
The famed los luchadores wrestlers take their name from “lucha,” which means “fight,” but is also a nickname for “light.” Y La Bamba is touring in support of its seventh album, Lucha, and both meanings resonated with the band’s lead vocalist and producer, Elena “Luz” Mendoza Ramos. The isolation of the pandemic, Ramos’ move to Mexico City after 15 years in Portland, her struggle to reconcile her multiple identities—female, queer, Mexican American/Chicanx—all influenced the songs that became the album described as “sonically sprawling.” Ramos sings, “I was very confused / By the memories / Of a sorrowful yesterday” on “Nunca,” from Lucha. Confused, maybe. A survivor, definitely. – JANIS HASHE
INFO: Fri, 9pm, The New Parish, 1743 San Pablo Ave., Oakland. $32.55. 510.227.8177.
FRIDAY, NOV. 7
THEATER
HIRSCHFELD’S BROADWAY
Shotgun Players, the beloved ant-meets-Goliath jump-start theater company, hops a few blocks northeast to Brower Center with this production. An evening with David Leopold from the Al Hirschfeld Foundation, playing host to a multimedia presentation, celebrates Hirschfeld’s legendary art. The option to simply gawk is there, but so is the opportunity to purchase limited-edition prints hand-signed by the artist. A portion of all sales supports Shotgun Players’ contribution to the East Bay’s theater scene. Copies of Sondheim, an oversized tabletop book offering star essays and Hirschfeld’s more than 50 drawings of Sondheim and his musicals, plays and films, will be available. – LOU FANCHER
INFO: Fri, 7pm, David Brower Center, 2150 Allston Way, Berkeley. $20. 510.841.6500.
SATURDAY, NOV. 8
JAZZ
MALI OBOMSAWIN QUARTET
Brooklyn bassist, vocalist and composer Mali Obomsawin stands at the center of a rising movement of Native American jazz artists expanding the tradition by drawing on Indigenous music and highlighting the contributions of overlooked masters from the past. A member of the Julia Keefe Indigenous Big Band, Obomsawin also leads several projects of her own. At the Freight she performs her score for Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie’s documentary, Sugarcane, an investigation into the history of abuse at Indian residential schools in Canada. Her score for Sugarcane draws on her dedication to free jazz, rock and American roots music. – AG
INFO: Sat, 8pm, The Freight, 2020 Addison St., Berkeley. $39-$44. 510.644.2020.
SATURDAY, NOV. 8
SQUARE DANCE
DARE TO BE SQUARE WEST
Remember “Swing your partner, do-si-do” from middle school? No? Then learn it for the first time when Dare To Be Square West promenades into Berkeley. Founded in 2003 in North Carolina, the dance group’s western arm was started in—where else?—Portland in 2007. Ashkenaz is hosting a whole weekend of calling, music and traditional square dances, featuring mentor callers and dance bands L.A.’s Echo Mountain and Portland’s Stumptown Stringband. Local talent is also promised. This is an all-ages event, so small sashayers are welcome. Performances on Nov. 8-9. – JH
INFO: Sat, 7:30pm, Ashkenaz, 1317 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley. $20-$150. 510.525.5099.
SUNDAY, NOV. 9
EMO
TRSH
Springfield, Missouri’s TRSH stirs volatile punk into the Midwest emo revival. Their lyrics are self-deprecating and transparently honest portraits of messing things up, sliding towards rock bottom and not caring, but actually caring a lot. Live, the gap between the audience and the band thins as the crowd is pulled into the wry, raw chaos. With their new LP, String Theory, they merge high-energy, riff-heavy technicality with irreverent humor and their own flair. Who else would title a song “Drown Me in a Bathtub Filled with Wingstop Ranch”? – SBB
INFO: Sun, 7pm, 924 Gilman St., Berkeley. $18. 510.524.8180.
TUESDAY, NOV. 11
INDIE
PORTUGAL. THE MAN
It’s impossible to decide if Portugal. The Man’s fervor for social justice or for turning out ear-worm singles and RIAA-certified Platinum albums like 2017’s Woodstock is greater. Instead, simply sink into the sonic mental health of the drum-forward, lyric-led, alt-rock band. Their Pass The Mic Foundation and Frances Changed My Life initiatives focus on activism related to the genetic disease DHDDS—band members John and Zoe Gourley’s daughter has the condition—and on human rights, community health and the environment. How those forces impact Indigenous Peoples is a central concern. While raising and contributing millions of dollars to related charities, Portugal can’t help but add favorite tracks to fans’ audiophiles—a win-win for everyone. – LF
INFO: Tue, 8pm, Fox Theater, 1807 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. $66-89. 510.302.2250.
WEDNESDAY, NOV. 12
PSYCH
MELT-BANANA
All last month independent, nonprofit radio station Psyched! Radio hosted multiple shows around the Bay. Under the banner of Psyched! Fest, this multi-day, multi-venue fest celebrated the best in psych-rock from Shannon and the Clams and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club to up-and-coming artists like Gabi Bravo and Dark Chisme. It even had a movie day featuring director Lance Bangs and a literary night with authors Tate Swindell, K.R. Morrison and Ayla Ginger. Now it all culminates into this, the Psyched! Fest After Party with the wildly crazed headliner, Melt-Banana. Since forming in the early 1990s, this Japanese noise-rock/punk/psych act has pushed the boundaries of what it means to play music. – MW
INFO: Wed, 7pm, Cornerstone, 2367 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. $38.06. 510.214.8600.
