Category: music

Jack London Square to Get Bowling Alley, Beer Garden in New Entertainment Complex this Fall

JLSThe final concept will include casual dining featuring gastropub and coastal California cuisine, luxury bowling lanes, both state of the art and vintage interactive games and a large outdoor beer garden with a long bar and bocce courts.

In addition, the entertainment venue will offer live music and entertainment on weekends featuring local talent as well as an area that can be separated for corporate events and private parties. This centerpiece to Jack London Square will leverage the large outdoor elevated patio along with expansive communal seating areas to maximize the waterfront experience and serve as a community gathering spot.
Construction has already begun in Jack London Square, and the entertainment complex is scheduled to open this fall. The developers said they will announce more details about the project later this summer.  The development will transform the 34,000-square-foot indoor site and 15,000-square-foot outdoor plaza in the heart of Jack London Square.

Ellis’ statement added: “Since Barnes and Noble closed in 2010, we have been on a national search for a concept for the building that would accentuate the surrounding retail space and maximize the one-of-a-kind location at the foot of Broadway and adjacent to the Estuary.”

High-Fidelity: Oakland Museum Explores Sound and Culture of Vinyl

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High-Fidelity: Oakland Museum Explores Sound and Culture of Vinyl

Artist Raphael Villet interviewed collectors and photographed them as part of the Oakland Museum of California’s new exhibition, Vinyl: The sound and Culture of Records. Photo: courtesy of Raphael Villet

People perusing the gallery can take an album out of the sleeve and play it on a turntable. With eight listening stations, and a social space outfitted with beanbag chairs, this is one exhibition that invites you to linger.

The launch of “Vinyl: The Sound and Culture of Records” was timed to coincide with Record Store Day, an annual celebration of the medium that sends avid collectors to independent sellers around the world to hunt down new releases and rare gems. The exhibit has that same participatory vibe: whole walls framed by stacks of empty black crates, giant beanbags decorated like sound waves and a bunch of working turntables.

“What I envision is a lot of people spending a lot of time talking to one another, listening to music, exchanging stories and then recommending records to play for one another,” de Guzman says.

Vinyl: The Sound and Culture of Records is on view at the Oakland Museum of California from April 19 to July 27. OMCA, 1000 Oak St., Oakland. 

 

Birdland Jazzista Social Club takes over former TeaCakes in North Oakland

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Birdland Jazzista Social Club takes over former TeaCakes in North Oakland

Birdland Jazzista Social Club, located at 4318 Martin Luther King Jr. Way (about three blocks from the MacArthur BART station), is scheduled to have its soft launch June 20-21.

Beginning that weekend, six businesses along a five-block stretch of Martin Luther King Jr. Way — including Marcus Bookstore, MLK Cafe, Ray’s Barbershop, The Fruit Basket, Gallagher’s Liquors, and Micro’s Market — will begin offering free music on Fridays and Saturdays from 9 p.m. to midnight. Opening weekend will include blues, samba, bossa nova, West African, neo-soul, jazz, and Cuban music.

The Birdland Jazzista Social Club plans to host live music two to four nights per week at its new location. Entry cost will likely be a $10 donation. By day, the 2,700-square-foot building will also serve as a retail space for Parayno’s birdhouses. Parayno said he expects dance and music classes to begin at Birdland in July, and for the cafe component to open by Thanksgiving.