Bay Area arts, 9 great shows and concerts to catch this weekend
From Brandi Carlile in concert to John Malkovich going classical to a musical named for an iconic breakfast meat, there are a lot of great shows and concerts to catch this weekend.
Here’s a partial roundup.
Brandi Carlile is back, sans football
Fresh off her performance at Super Bowl XL at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara — where she delivered a winning pregame rendition of “America the Beautiful” — singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile returns to the Bay Area for a concert at Chase Center in San Francisco on March 6.
Carlile is supporting her critically acclaimed latest album “Returning to Myself,” which she produced alongside Andrew Watt, Aaron Dessner and Justin Vernon. The record debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard 200 after being released in October — marking the folk-rock-pop artist’s fifth such Top 10 offering to date. The album features “You Without Me,” which Carlile penned with the legendary songwriting team of Elton John and Bernie Taupin (as well as co-producer Watt).
Carlile, an 11-time Grammy winner, has been performing plenty of songs from “Returning to Myself” on this tour, as well as numbers from her other acclaimed albums. The Head and the Heart opens the Chase Center show.
Details: Showtime is 7 p.m.; tickets start at $67; chasecenter.com.
— Jim Harrington, Staff
‘Mystery Train’ celebrates a milestone
What do you do when you’re a famous music critic whose well-known book just had its 50th birthday? Throw a party, of course, and invite an equally famous musical friend.
On March 7, Greil Marcus is holding a book talk at Oakland’s California Ballroom to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his 1970s tome, “Mystery Train: Images of America in Rock ‘n’ Roll Music.” A veteran of Rolling Stone magazine and The Village Voice, Marcus has seen his work become a sacred tract for generations of music fans and cultural historians — writing on influential acts like the East Bay’s Sly Stone, Elvis, The Band and blues singer Robert Johnson. No less a music expert than Bruce Springsteen called it “Mystery Train” his favorite book of all time; it’s also one of Time magazine’s list of best nonfiction books of the modern era.
Marcus will discuss the book’s legacy and how music still defines much of America’s ideology, along with Daveed Diggs, writer, producer and star of the Oakland-set 2018 film “Blindspotting.” A native of the city, Diggs has a long list of creative accomplishments, including winning a Tony, Grammy and Emmy. He also starred in the original production of “Hamilton” on Broadway. It should be a treat to see what insights these two heavyweights have on something that’s energizes so many lovers of music.
Details: Talk runs 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. March 7; 1736 Franklin St., Oakland; admission begins at $27; details are at baybookfest.org/events or Eventbrite.com (search for “Mystery Train”)
— John Metcalfe, Staff
Classical picks: Malkovich, Handel’s ‘Zadok,’ ‘Hercules’
Comedy, drama, and music history are all hitting high notes for this week’s classical music attractions.
Dishing the greats: Award-winning actor John Malkovich comes to the San Francisco Symphony this week, and he’s more than ready to star in “The Music Critic.” A comic send-up of the great composers, it’s written by conductor and violinist Aleksey Igudesman in a way that combines performances of classical works with negative reviews written when the works first premiered. With Malkovich in the critic’s role, he joins Igudesman in a hilarious take-no-prisoners pan of Bach, Beethoven, Handel, Mozart, and others.
Details: 7:30 p.m. Friday; Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco; tickets start at $39; sfsymphony.org.
“The Enigmatic Voice”: Handel also figures in this week’s events, as Symphony San Jose performs a program inspired by historical/cultural musical moments and traditions. Grant Llewelyn conducts performances of Handel’s “Zadok the Priest,” Vaughan Williams’ “Dona Nobis Pacem” (Grant us Peace); and Edward Elgar’s “Enigma Variations.” Audiences are invited to come early for “Music Notes,” with pre-show talks and interviews.
Details: 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday; California Theatre, San Jose; $24-$121.50; symphonysanjose.org.
A Baroque “Hercules”: The English Concert, a London-based Baroque orchestra, returns to Berkeley with Handel’s “Hercules.” Maestro Harry Bicket conducts this dramatic oratorio composed in 1744 to an English libretto by the Reverend Thomas Broughton. One of the great works of its era, it remains what musicologist Paul Henry Lang called “The crowning glory of Baroque musical drama.”
Details: 3 p.m. Sunday; Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley; $46-$140; calperformances.org.
— Georgia Rowe, Correspondent
In praise of canned, pre-cooked pork product
In a now-classic 1972 sketch by the legendary British comedy team Monty Python, performer Graham Chapman plays a female customer (Mrs. Bun) at a greasy spoon restaurant who grows irritated at the eatery’s inclusion of Spam in practically every dish.
“Haven’t you got anything without Spam in it?” Mrs. Bun asks incredulously, though her words are nearly drowned out by a chorus of voracious Vikings who have begun singing of their love for the salty, oft-mocked meat product.
Forty-three years later, Monty Python and Spam are tightly linked (with or without the singing Vikings). It’s one reason why the hit musical co-written by Monty Python member Eric Idle is titled “Spamalot.” Actually, the full title is “Monty Python’s Spamalot: A Musical (Lovingly) Ripped Off from the Motion Picture Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” but you won’t see that on too many billboards.
The musical, as the title notes, is drawn from the comedy troupe’s hit “Holy Grail” film, which itself included bits from and references to the comedy troupe’s more popular sketches from its five-year TV show, “Monty Python’s Flying Circus,” which debuted in 1969 in England. That’s a long time ago, but don’t worry, the jokes are as salty as ever. Fid out for yourself when “Spamalot” checks into San Francisco’s Golden Gate Theatre for a three-week run.
Details: Through March 22; Golden Gate Theatre, San Francisco; 2 hours and 20 minutes with one intermission; $62.01-$175.50; spamalotthemusical.com.
— Randy McMullen, Staff
Your freebie of the week
One of the Bay Area’s best and most popular spots for concerts — that is, free concerts — is back in business. We’re talking about the Golden Gate Park Bandshell, which annually hosts close to 200 free concerts a year drawing some 300,000 music fans to the site that has been carrying on its musical tradition for 144 years. There has been a bandshell in Golden Gate Park’s Main Concourse since 1882. The current bandshell, aka the Spreckels Temple of Music (named for sugar magnate, Claus Spreckels, who gifted it to the city) has been on site since 1900. So, yeah, lots and lots of folks have had the opportunity to melt into a perfect melody or bust a move to a ripsnorting riff over the years.
This year’s free concert series, created and managed by the San Francisco non-profit Illuminate Live, promises more of the same. The Illuminate Live series offers shows three nights a week: Singer-Songwriter Wednesdays (4-7 p.m.), Friday Happy Hour (4:30-7:30 p.m.) and Crucial Reggae Sundays (4:20-7:30 p.m.). On Friday, the series hosts Ariel Marin Band, fronted by the Bay Area singer known for her powerful pipes and for tackling everything from pop and rock to soul, R&B, jazz and even metal. Her Sade tribute show has been a big hit in the Bay Area. Sunday’s reggae show features a quartet of talented spinners headed by DJ Goddess Nette. Other upcoming performers include singer-songwriter Frankie West (March 11), a St. Patrick’s Day celebration featuring a double-bill of Caledonia and Shana Morrison (March 13) and DJ Guid8nce, DJ Sep and others on March 15. The concert series runs through mid-November. Find the full schedule and more information at illuminate.org. Meanwhile, the Golden Gate Park Band, whose high-spirited shows tackle a variety of genres, will perform some 25 free concerts at the bandshell April 10-Sept. 27. More information on that is at goldengateparkband.org.
— Bay City News Foundation
In praise of musical Mormons
It’s been 25 years since “South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone decided to unleash their seriously button-pushing brand of humor on the theater world, with the help of songwriter Robert Lopez, whose “Avenue Q” was a huge hit despite some button-pushing humor of its own. The result of their collaboration was “The Book of Mormon,” which was a monster hit as well as what a Vogue reviewer called “the filthiest, most offensive, and — surprise — sweetest thing you’ll see on Broadway this year.”
“Book of Mormon” went on to win nine Tony Awards, including for best musical, and has grossed some $800 million, making it one of the most successful musicals of all time. It’s also won a Grammy Award and been honored by the Drama Desk Awards, the NY Drama Critics Circle, the Drama League and the Outer Critics Circle. Not bad for a musical about Mormon missionaries trying to convert the residents of a remote Ugandan village — an idea that, let’s face it, sounds ripe for disaster. This weekend, a touring production of “The Book of Mormon” comes to the Center for the Performing Arts in San Jose, presented by Broadway San Jose.
Details: The short, three-day run features performances at 7:30 p.m. Friday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $99 to $365 and subject to change. Go to broadwaysanjose.com
— Bay City News Foundation
ODC’s downtown dancing is back
ODC/Dance’s annual Dance Downtown event can usually be counted on to unveil some exciting new choreography, and this year looks to be no exception. Running March 5-8 at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts’ Blue Shield Theater, the 2026 edition of Dance Downtown features two world premieres. One is “Caught in the Act,” a work by Gypsy Snider, who is best known as co-founder of The 7 Fingers performance troupe that stars in the long-running show “Dear San Francisco.” “Caught” is described as a response to our unreal media/political landscape, in which Snider asks, “Have we unknowingly yet willingly surrendered the power of our humanity?” The other world premiere is “After the Deluge,” by ODC founder and artistic director Brenda Way, who describes the work as inspired by Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. Also on the bill is “Theories of Time” by Mia J. Chong, ODC co-artistic director.
Details: Performances are 7:30 p.m. March 5 and 7, 8 p.m. March 6 (which also serves as ODC’s annual gala) and 2 p.m. March 8. Tickets are $30-$125; go to odc.dance
— Bay City News Foundation