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Week of July 16-22, 2008
Picks by Gabe Meline
San Rafael
It's Not Unusual
Somehow over the years, I've grown to prefer Tom Jones' hokey version of "Kiss" to Prince's original. Why these things happen is anyone's guess, which might as well be the career motto for Jones—as in, "Hi, I'm Tom Jones, and why these things happen is anyone's guess." He's not particularly sexy, he's not particularly a great singer, but somewhere underneath that oh-so-hairy chest and curly hair lies a charisma that none can refute. With all of his schlocky, post-heyday, Vegas-cocaine opulence and his lousy versions of even lousier songs, not to mention that he now actually discourages the throwing of panties at his concerts, I should by rights be bummed out on the guy. How can you argue, though, with that winning smile and dorky confidence? Sneak some panties in when Jones rocks the stage on Friday, July 18, at the Marin Center. 10 Avenue of the Flags, San Rafael. 8pm. $40–$95. 415.499.6800.
Cloverdale
On Fire
Of all the zany places for a singing cellist to perform, the ultra-imaginative and captivating Bonfire Madigan has chosen, in a repeat appearance, the Cloverdale Plaza. There's gotta be some secret connection—maybe her brother works at Pick's Drive-In? Because surely Madigan, who's just finished a lauded run with ACT's 'Tis Pity She's a Whore, for which she composed and performed the music, has bigger things on her mind. One part PJ Harvey, one part Arthur Russell and one part Jacqueline du Pré, Madigan in concert is dazzling; she can build a skyscraper of sound with a full-bodied fortissimo and then knock it into dust in one breath. Once a stray puzzle piece on the early '90s Olympia scene, Madigan has settled quite comfortably into San Francisco's Mission district. Buy her a milkshake at Pick's when she performs, inexplicably, on Friday, July 18, at the Cloverdale Plaza, Cloverdale Boulevard, between First and Second streets, Cloverdale. 7:30pm. Free. 707.894.4410.
Napa
A Leavened Life
When I was a very broke teenager living on my own for the first time, tips about where to score free food were like gold. One such tip resulted in many, many meals: "Go to the alley behind Brother Juniper's Bakery," my friend told me, "they put all their day-old bread out there for people to take." It sounded too good to be true, but night after night, we'd bring home loaves from the alley and figure out new ways to eat it. I have Brother Juniper's, and its owner, Peter Reinhart, to thank for helping me through those early lean years of the "real world," and I have never forgotten his simple kindness of leaving bread out for strangers. Reinhart has since moved away from Santa Rosa, and though he's one of the most respected bread makers in the country, he passionately cares about each and every person's baking success. He gives a demonstration based on his latest James Beard Award–winning book, Whole Grain Breads: New Techniques, Extraordinary Flavor, on Sunday, July 20, at COPIA. 500 First St., Napa. 1pm. $35. 707.259.1600.
Bolinas
Singing Brakeman
Hank Williams' yodel, which, as anyone who's heard "Lovesick Blues" can attest, is a thing of untamed wonder, so natural and yet so wild at the same time. Although Williams' version of "Lovesick Blues" can be traced directly, note-for-note, yodel and all, to an obscure 78 rpm recording by the turn-of-the-century blackface minstrel Emmett Miller, Williams was in the long lineage of country music a vocal descendant of Jimmie Rodgers. With a beautifully high whine, Rodgers became known as the "singing brakeman," and before his untimely death, his influence had extended far and wide. Just how wide is evidenced in Toshio Hirano, a 57-year-old Japanese performer who evokes Rodgers' yodel with haunting precision. Hearing is believing when Hirano sings on Thursday, July 17, at Smiley's Saloon. 41 Wharf Road, Bolinas. 8pm. Free. 415.868.1311.
Sebastopol
Check Your Bucket
It's nothin' but a funky good time when the New Mastersounds, a group of British musicians who channel New Orleans funk down to an ass-shaking science, hit the stage this weekend in Sebastopol. In the company of revered sensations Quantic Soul Orchestra and Nostalgia 77, the New Mastersounds offer a faster, more high-energy boogie-jazz; no doubt they had to scale back a bit when they backed Blue Note legend Lou Donaldson on a recent U.K. tour. A heaven-sent group for anyone who's worked up a sweat dancing to vintage 45s at the Hopmonk's Thursday-night Juke Joint series, the New Mastersounds are on the pioneering trail of crisp drum beats, snaky guitar and thick-ass Hammond B3 chords. Get down like you've never gotten down before on Wednesday, July 16, at the Hopmonk Tavern. 230 Petaluma Ave., Sebastopol. 8pm. $16–$18. 707.829.7300.
