Mission Mission

Yum.

[via WesBurger on Instagram]

Summer time in San Francisco means free theater in the park from the long running (57 year old) SF Mime Troupe. No, they’re not silent mimes. They’re a troupe committed to creating socially relevant theater. In the throws of one of the most dramatic election seasons in recent history, we needed to see something that would make us both laugh, and think. So off we went to see SF Mime Troupe’s Schooled at the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival for some drama talk and drinks.

Velina Brown (Lavina Jones) and Rotimi Agbabiaka (Thomas Jones) in Schooled. Photo: Mike@mikemelnyk.com

Katie: Seeing a play in San Francisco produced by a democratic-socialist theater company about why one shouldn’t vote for Trump seemed….I don’t know, like singing to the choir? Did I like the song? Hell yes! It was the song I like to sing;  anti-Trump, anti-oppression, anti-big business and lets do what’s right for the people and not just what’s right for the bottom line. I was into it, but it didn’t feel like it was changing any minds. It was great to feel part of the community though.  What an awesome crowd.

Brittany: Yeah, the crowd was genuinely diverse, which was neat. You don’t see that at a lot of shows. You are totally spot on with the fact they are singing to the choir, but I don’t know if that’s a problem.  It was terrifying that in the end the character which was most like Trump won. The liberals couldn’t get their shit together. If our election plays out like this super liberal theater troupe is saying, we are going to have a Trump presidency and, as you’d guess, it doesn’t end well.

K: Terrifying for sure, I think that’s the point, to show the audience what’s at stake if we don’t all work to make sure he loses. The actors did such a great job. A really well rounded cast with some great singers. They all played multiple characters really well too.  The show moved and held my attention. Here we are, in this busy urban park in the middle of downtown, people everywhere and I was so in it. It had good pacing, scene changes, and use of music and sound effects. It all really came together in this piece.

B: Their sets are so cool. I love the way they are so small but do so much. The song where the actors were being spun on and off stage singing about why they should be elected for president of the school board was really well done. You have to think, they do this in different locations where they have to set it up break it down. They’re outside, people everywhere, and technically it goes perfectly. Really impressive and so on point. The show was maybe too real for me, despite being satire. It didn’t feel as hopeful as other Mime Troupe shows I’ve seen, and we need a little more hope in politics right now. That really has nothing to do with the show though, just my depression regarding the current state of political affairs.

Verdict: Relevant. Entertaining. Well done. It’s FREE & anti-Trump. We think this is a well spent day in the park.

The Drama Talk:  There’s good reason SF Mime Troupe has been around so long, producing high quality, politically relevant theater, they’re very good at it. Although the show is obviously intended as a satire of the current election, with characters representing Hillary, Bernie and Trump, they did a good job creating their own story-line (a school board election) so it doesn’t feel stale. Although by the end of the play you can’t mistake the commentary on contemporary events, they also tackle some interesting topics which go beyond the election including the purpose of education, the mechanization of labor, and other important themes. The actors are all extremely talented, the band is fun, the set is great. Although none of the songs are super memorable, the message of the show is.

The Drinks: We have been hearing a lot about Susan Sarandon’s ping-pong bar and restaurant project called Spin and since it was very close to Yerba Buena Gardens we decided to check it out. We didn’t play ping-pong (It’s $50 for 1 hour!) but we did have some cocktails which were delicious and average SF prices. This extremely modern, street artsy, swanky “social club” was quite the contrast to our afternoon in a park watching free community theater. Fun, but fancy enough that you could imagine Jay-Z making an appearance.

Schooled runs through September 5th at various parks (see below). Tickets are FREE.

Lakeside Park- (Lake Merritt)in front of the Edoff Memorial Bandstand

Wed., July 27-7:00 pm (Music 6:30)

Thurs., July 28 – 7:00 pm (Music 6:30)

Bellevue Ave. & Perkins St., Oakland

McLaren Park-Jerry Garcia Amphitheater

Sat., July 30-2:00 pm (Music 1:30)

100 John F ShelleyDr.,

San Francisco

Walnut Park-Petaluma Progressive Festival

Sun., July 31-4:00 pm (Music 3:30)

201 4th St. (at D St.), Petaluma

See the complete schedule HERE.

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7×7 reports:

La Taqueria, home of America’s best burrito, is opening up a second location on Thursday. But as splendid and amazing as this news is, you’ll be sad to know that the new location is in Turlock, a small town near Modesto and a two hour drive from San Francisco. The second restaurant will run by the owner’s daughter, Irene Gonzales, and will have the same recipes and secret menu as the original. There will also be more meats on the menu: al pastor, grilled chicken, and shrimp, as well as a shrimp cocktail (which just may be reason enough to make the trek). [link]

Turlock here we come!

[Photo via Burrito Justice's post about how La Taqueria used to be a dive bar]

It started as an accident and then spiraled out of control:

1. Eloise – The Damned
2. Delilah – Tom Jones
3. Dawn – The Four Seasons
4. Julia – The Beatles
5. Veronica – Elvis Costello
6. Beth – KISS
7. Jolene – Dolly Parton
8. Valerie – Amy Winehouse

It was awesome.

Support your local karaoke night! (In the Mission we recommend DJ Purple on Thursdays at Slate and Roger Niner on third Fridays at Pop’s.)

Noise Pop is proud to present the fourth annual 20th Street Block Party.

The 20th Street corridor will be transformed into a free party to showcase and celebrate a diverse neighborhood that blends modern ideas with community traditions to create a new San Francisco experience. This free, delicious summer feast and dance party will feature some of the City’s best restaurants, local businesses and artisans as well as a variety of indie bands.

Read all about Noise Pop and the Mission Language and Vocational School here, check out the musical lineup here, or purchase Headliner Experience tickets here.

At Shotwell’s starting tonight:

Pouring Two Rivers Cider blackberry tonight. Fruity, yet dry. Ask for a little ice in your glass. 😍

— Shotwells Bar – Beer (@Shotwellsbar) July 26, 2016

Here’s a photo:

[Photo by Amy K.]

Now please enjoy all these other Drinks of the Weeks…

Local animator David Enos just finished this great short film about some young people having a party:

Capp Street Crap reports:

One of the most loved murals in the Mission is disappearing.

“Generator” — its intertwined birdhouses and frantic birds sprawl across an entire side of 3469 18th St. — is being painted over to complete much needed repair work to the building, according to Andrew Sorensen, who owns the shop at that address, Lexington Standard. The silver lining is that artists who created it, Andrew Schoultz and Aaron Noble, have agreed to paint a new mural in its place, he said.

Read on for lots more info.

Here is what it will be like:

A video posted by Allan Hough (@punkgirls) on May 2, 2016 at 10:20pm PDT

Plus ping pong.

American Tripps (the “Berlin-style” ping pong party) is now EVERY MONDAY and Pop’s (and the big 5th anniversary party is coming up on a Friday night at Rickshaw Stop next month), and Tristes Tropiques hosts a radio show this Saturday on Radio Valencia.

This Sunday FPWK return to Pops Bar! So dust off those funky records if you got ‘em and join in the mayhem. Come dance to vintage funk and soul with the funnest people you know. Have a favorite old dance song? Have it on vinyl? Bring it! We want our neighborhood friends to come play records and dance with us. You ARE the Funnest People We Know!

Check out the full line up this week at Pops:

(more…)