jcm’s Top 10 Show Picks of 2018

WELCOME to my 10th ANNUAL (!) post of the finest shows that the SF Bay Area has to offer. I’ve loved taking in local live/stage shows all these years, and sharing my resonances and reactions with you. In that vein, I pass on to you Langhorne Slim’s poignant message (from the Rooster Stage at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, my #5 entry below): “Wishing you peace, love & ALL THE SWEET SHIT in life!”

Especially in the past few years, the amount of what I’ve been able to experience has necessarily lessened, so this is hardly a comprehensive list. But I know what I like, and am grateful to have sampled even this much crème on top of another year of shows!

What were your favorite Bay Area performances of the year? Please share in the comments.

1) Erasure, World Be Gone Tour, The Masonic, August 17

Andy Bell gave us all (esp. the gays) a lesson in what 50-something can look like. He displayed boundless energy and a giving spirit, a fearless and bold play with his sensuality/sexuality (donning a faux tattoo full body tight), a voice nearly as fresh as in their earliest recordings (starting in ’86)…and THIS from someone who has had BOTH hips replaced! It was wonderful to dance with them for nearly half the concert. It was nearly impossible to stay in our seats.

(credit: Fredy Rimando)

Their setlist included every hit I craved to hear: Oh L’Amour, Ship of Fools, Breathe, Just a Little Love, Chains of Love, Sweet Summer Loving, Victim of Love, Phantom Bride, World Be Gone, Who Needs Love Like That, Atomic (Blondie cover), Love to Hate You, Blue Savannah, Drama!, Love You to the Sky, Sometimes, Always, Stop!, Encore: A Little Respect

2) Stacey Kent, I Know I Dream, The Fairmont, February 24

This was my second time seeing Stacey, her husband and bandleader Jim Tomlinson at the Fairmont. This concert was just as transporting. I lapped up the broad range of songs she performed, from diverse cultures and song traditions. But it is her Bossa Nova repertoire that will remain my favorite from her. Thankfully, this setlist offered at least 4 of them. Stacey always leaves me wanting more…just like travel, love, and sex, which most of her songs are about.

Highlights included: Make it Up, (a Jobim song), Les Amours Perdues, Happy Talk (by Rogers & Hammerstein), The Very Thought of You, Polka Dots and Moonbeams (Sinatra’s first hit, a requested song), Bullet Train, To Say Goodbye (by Edu Lobo, Brazilian), La Rua Madureira, Je Palle d’amore (by Nina Ferrer, performed as a samba, with a more hopeful air), Mon Jardin Hiver

The lyrics to their original, Make it Up really resonated to me:

“I love you and you love me
And I can’t tell you why
You’d have thought by now we’d have figured out
The reason and the rhyme
You love me and I love you
And it’s been this way so long
That if we knew what were doing
We’d be doing it all wrong
So let’s just make it up as we go along.”

3) Roberto Devereux, San Francisco Opera, September 18

Sondra Radvanovsky displayed dramatic and vocal fearlessness. A voice of this grand scale (aka true dramatic coloratura) was a treat in this repertoire. It made me crave some Wagner rep. from her, perhaps Senta, or even an attempt at Isolde, neither or which she has performed. Her final mad scene was surprisingly beautiful, and affecting. Her haggard and harried appearance never disrupted the sung line. It elicited a level of feeling from me the rest of the opera hadn’t, as much of it was VERY technically polished, but perhaps a bit too period.

(credit: Cory Weaver)

I really liked the production, particularly the mini opera that accompanied the overture. Jamie Barton delivered gobs of glorious tone, and with great dramatic commitment, even if some of the surtitles, and period cultural considerations elicited laughter. As always, she called to mind Marilyn Horne’s fach, but with cleaner technique. I could have done without her rape by the Duke.

Russell Thomas was very impressive too. It was great to see this trio back together again after our ’14 SFO Norma!

jcm’s Top 10 Show Picks of ‘15

It’s time for my seventh annual Top 10 Bay Area round-up. Seventh?! Can it be? As always, this doesn’t attempt to be a comprehensive Bay Area review list, more a fun way to highlight what was most memorable for me in ’15. As a student working full-time, there are plenty of great offerings I have to pass on (i.e. dance and plays are sadly missing from this Top 10), but this tradition is a constant reminder of the embarrassment of riches we have to draw upon here. No doubt one of the things that keeps me in the Bay Area, despite the ever-unfriendly cost of living. Care to share your favorites of ’15?

1) Stacey Kent, Venetian Room, The Fairmont Hotel

Stacey was near the top of my list in ’11. She was slated to return to SF in ’13, but had to cancel. After that long wait, she returned at last again this year. She and her band were as transfixing as before. Few can weave the spell she does. There is a sort of personalized intimacy about her craft.

In some patter between songs she shared that she had taken part in the commemorative Corcovado festival honoring the Cristo Redentor monument in Rio de Janeiro, telling magical stories of meeting and working with the great Marcos Valle. With excited humility she said that one of the Brazilian jazz greats had upheld her to the younger generation as the model for modern bossa nova technique (perhaps more than even the current native Brazilian singers, was the assumption). I wasn’t surprised by this. Her clean, distinct, but always compelling tone and delivery are like a modern day Astrid, or Blossom Dearie. Never to be mistaken for another, but in that lineage.

In this concert she performed This Happy Madness, Só Danço Samba, The Face I Love (Marcos Valle), Waiter Oh Waiter, O Barquinho, The Changing Lights, So Nice, One Note Samba, How Insensitive, Waters of March (duet with husband, Jim Tomlinson), I’ve Grown Accustomed to His Face, and Ice Hotel.

After she performed “How Insensitive” she said “I be that hit home.” To see if that’s true, check out the lyrics here.

2) Les Troyens, Opening Night, SF Opera

This opera sat on my wishlist for decades. There was a false start during the Rosenberg era, when it was announced but pulled due to the onset of the recession. It was last mounted at SFO in the late ‘60s. So rarely performed, and so challenging to mount, it’s no surprise it took so long for the SFO to do so. It was worth the wait.

Opening night held three surprises. The first was the 25th Anniversary of Susan Graham’s debut with SFO. The second was the onstage presentation to La Graham of the SF Opera Medal by David Gockley. This whole affair was very moving, and included long, rapturous applause. During her acceptance speech, she spoke about her debut as Minerva, in Ulysses, as well as notable memories from Iphigenie…, and Xerxes. The third was that this was one of only a few performances that included stellar high tenor Bryan Hymel, as he pulled out early in the run.

The orchestra, chorus, and ballet were essential to the production’s success. Highlights included Graham’s devastating Adieu, fière cité, during which she stood onstage alone, in front of a plain black curtain, and appeared to be welling up as she sang. The audience was rapt. The Nuits d’ivresse duet was sensual and intoxicating, with Hymel particularly tender and affecting. He had a more slender voice than expected, but a thrilling top, which he is lauded for. Chong Wang and Rene Barbera delivered glorious ariettes of sorts. Antonacci proved her singing-actress status. Sasha Cooke was stunning, offering a dark, clarinet-like tone. She seemed a true vocal successor to Susan, and it felt as if one could see a passing of the torch here, in their particular vocal fach. The metallic-looking horse was a stunning, giant malleable puppet, not unlike the dragon from the SFO Ring Cycle. Berlioz’s orchestration was like a soothing bath.

3) Mighty Real, The Brava Theater

This musical based on the life of local, SF legend Sylvester was the love-child of a gay couple from NY. Broadway producers had turned it down, but they championed this important SF story. One of them, Anthony Wayne starred in the title role. Another producer, Cheryl Lee Ralph, was present, and offered a moving speech after the bows. She shared that “Sylvester was a man who walked in the light of his own truth.” Indeed. The musical made that loud and clear. And they brought him very much to life.

Many from the local City of Refuge fellowship were in the audience. This added to the aliveness of the show, through audience reactions. Wayne as Sylvester offered a falsetto that never faltered and stellar storytelling abilities. The supporting cast was very memorable, especially the women who portrayed Martha Wash and Tina Turner (in Proud Mary). It made me long for the disco days, which I am too young to have fully experienced (aside from a long-time Donna Summer obsession via cassettes).

It shared a story of sadness and loss, but also transcendence. It was deeply moving to mix with men seated near us who lived through this SF era.

jcm’s Top 10 SF Performances of ’11

It’s time for my third annual Top 10 round-up. These don’t attempt to be comprehensive reviews…but rather an Amuse-bouche of the most stellar performances I witnessed by the Bay, in ’11. How in the world can I compare a Pop Star to a Handel opera, you ask? Well…I warm up the jcm-ulator, and out come the tabulated results. It doesn’t lie. I seem to be trending towards opera, with musicals taking a back seat. Why? They sing louder, higher and without mics?

1) RING Cycle, SF Opera  details

With the carefully crafted characterizations of a stage play, this Cycle was a well-deserved hit and had the city abuzz with Wagner. Nina Stemme’s Brünnhilde was an utter triumph, equal parts true Wagnerian and singing actress. Stunning SFO leading role debuts were offered by Heidi Melton as Sieglinde, and Daveda Karanas as Waltraute. There wasn’t a weak link in the cast. Francesca Zambello’s concept was fortunately not too heavy-handed, largely staying out of the way of the story and score…more often informing it, and only periodically misstepping. I found the Industrial Revolution concepts throughout Das Rheingold to be the most iconic and potent. However, the mythic Die Walküre was the emotional highpoint, featuring the burnished, virile tenor of Brandon Jovanovich’s Siegmund. Siegfried was also surprisingly engaging. I had the good fortune of serving as Super Captain and Supernumerary in Walküre and Götterdämmerung.

2) Stacey Kent, Venetian Room, Fairmont Hotel  details

I fell in love with her voice three years ago. After stalking her tour schedule for a Bay Area performance, I got to experience her art live at last. She’s a real pixie…a gentle spirit, with a frail flutter to her vibrato. She completely transported me and her audience, casting a convincing spell. Her palpable, loving connection to her band leader, sax player and husband Jim Tomlinson added to the glow. She embodied “less is more,” drawing us in, rather than overworking her numbers in a too extroverted manner. Her set included lots of brazilian and french songs unfamiliar to me, some off her just released album. Come back soon Stacey!

Three Notable Female Vocal Jazz Discoveries

Since I run my design biz from my home office, I have the freedom to follow my musical whims throughout a workday. But, I tend to craft a pretty predictable soundtrack. Almost without fail, I start the day with the equivalent of aural wallpaper: low-key, instrumental, classical music (ie: KDFC, or an iTunes playlist). It helps me focus, and offers just the right flavor and vibe to support my work, as I find my daily mojo.

Around the time 11:30 – noon rolls around, I normally make a switch over to jazz. I’ve grown to love 1.FM, Adore Jazz, a primarily vocal jazz station offered on iTunes. By the time 4pm hits, I’m usually on my way to pop, rock, bluegrass, or dance. Unless it’s friday, in which case I make that transition much earlier. But I digress…

Adore Jazz has introduced me to a slew of artists I’d likely not otherwise know. For that I am very thankful. I wanted to share and highlight a few of the best discoveries. Perhaps you jazz/vocals aficionados already know these singers well, but they feel to me to be unjustly under the radar, and were certainly outside of my mainstream. I’m not sure why this is so, as I’ve quickly grown to consider them some of the finest, certainly of the contemporary crop.

Stacey Kent

In trying to describe Stacey Kent to a friend, I likened her to a modern-day Blossom Dearie. She has an impossibly sweet tone. Coming from another artist, it could threaten to be cloying, but her delivery is so honest, it never rings false. She feels very much a product of a different time (ie: 50s-60s)…not only calling to mind Blossom, but also Astrud Gilberto.

Stacey, a Jersey girl, has been nominated for a Grammy, so I suppose she’s hardly a best-kept secret, but I’ve never heard another vocal-phile reference her, or heard her recordings in another venue or on a different station.