It’s been more than a decade since Kanye West first burst into the mainstream with his triumphant, soul-sampling debut, “The College Dropout.” He’s come a long way since his early days, spinning up beats for Roc-A-Fella Records. In 2016, Ye is everywhere—from fashion, to producing, to creating his own unapologetic, boundary-pushing tunes. He comes to town on the heels of his latest effort, “The Life of Pablo.” Also this week, British producer Mat Zo brings his psychotic EDM circus sounds to Pure Lounge, Dream Theater unfurls their sprawling new concept album, “The Astonishing,” at City National Civic, and a collection of some of San Jose’s best musicians get together to celebrate Nirvana by covering their seminal 1994 album “Unplugged” in its entirety at the brand new Forager.
Giddens & Powell
Wed, 7:30pm, $15-$65
Bing Concert Hall, Stanford
This concert brings together two award-winning folk music artists—Rhiannon Giddens of Carolina Chocolate Drops, and renowned fiddler Dirk Powell. Fresh off her first solo debut album, Tomorrow is My Turn, Giddens returns to the stage to perform alongside Powell, who is widely considered to be one of the world’s leading experts on traditional Appalachian fiddle style. Together they merge the rich musical heritage of North Carolina and Kentucky. With three Grammy awards under her belt for albums with Carolina Chocolate Drops, T. Bone Burnett-collaborator Giddens is truly one of folk music’s living legends. (JT)
The Perpetual Circus
Wed, 12pm, Free
Empire Seven Studios, San Jose
Avery Palmer’s drawings and paintings carry the psychic weight of another century. The background colors range from a variety of nudes to deliquescing corpse grays. These arid landscapes are peopled with hybrid forms of humanity—animals, insects, dolls—all sharing our bodies. In addition to this palette of washed-out anomie, the remote facial expressions express a recessive dream world. Palmer’s surrealism fleshes out the unconscious, where bent thoughts thrive. Here every sleeping mind looks directly into the eyes of death. The canvases are less populated than those of Hieronymus Bosch, but they both share the sense that with tomorrow comes some fresh hell. (JE)
Masego
Thu, 9pm, $15-$25
The Continental, San Jose
Creative, funky, and above all, smooth, multi-instrumentalist and producer Masego weaves trap beats, soulful vocals and jazzy saxophone lines into fresh, danceable tracks. He even throws in a bit of old-school beat-boxing—a.k.a. scat singing—into the mix. The result is sound that feels both contemporary and timeless, boundary-pushing and classic. At 23 Masego displays serious potential, drawing inspiration from the likes of Kanye West and Ryan Leslie, while delivering a sound all his own. Currently on his international “Melanin Man” tour, Masego brings the party to The Continental’s weekly Changing Same party this Thursday. (JT)
Kanye West
Thu, 9pm, $43+
SAP Center, San Jose
The cult of Kanye comes to San Jose this week, as Yeezy brings his Saint Pablo Tour to the Shark Tank. A producer, emcee and professional provocateur, West began his career in the mid-’90s, working behind the boards as an engineer and beat-maker. Since breaking out as a solo artist with 2004’s The College Dropout, Ye has demonstrated a knack for innovation—pioneering the use of sped-up soul-vocal samples, paving the way for Drake and The Weeknd with his indie-rap crossover 808s & Heartbreak, and making his own rules on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and Yeezus. His latest, The Life of Pablo, has proven both a commercial and critical success. (TJ)
Artrage: Evan Holm
Thu, 7pm, $5
San Jose Museum of Art
Multidisciplinary artist Evan Holm is the Aquaman of DJs. For the San Jose Museum of Art’s current exhibition Indestructible Wonder, Holm’s contribution Watertable took up the entire length of one gallery. The hollowed out table contained a pool of black water with music machinery that, despite being entirely wet, could still emit sound. For “Artrage,” Holm will play records underwater in a performance piece called Submerged Turntables. Can we anticipate an urban dance party set against a fairytale idyll? As the DJ himself puts it, don’t be expecting a rave: “The pool, black and depthless, represents loss. I am enacting a small moment of remorse towards this loss.” (JE)
Mat Zo
Fri, 9:30pm, $20-$25
Pure Lounge, Sunnyvale
With a sound reminiscent of Daft Punk and the Chemical Brothers, Grammy-nominated British DJ and producer Mat Zo takes his futuristic house and electronica sounds to break-neck speeds on Mad, his latest, aptly named EP. The three-track set is an explosive mix of glitchy synths and room-spinning beats sure to induce feelings of vertigo—whether from the music itself, or from the wild dancefloor freakouts it’s bound to produce. Just check out Mad’s lead single, “Troglodyte,” to get a sense the fantastical alien-circus Zo is leading. Currently on a nationwide tour, he comes to the South Bay this weekend to push Pure patrons out of their respective comfort zones. (JT)
Nirvana Unplugged
Sat, 7:30pm, $10-$12
Forager, San Jose
Recorded just months before Kurt Cobain’s death, Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged In New York went on to serve as an enduring epitaph for the Seattle band—despite all odds. The band clashed with MTV producers in the runup to the Nov. 18, 1993, performance; the setlist featured few Nirvana hits and was heavy on obscure covers; and the day before the show, Cobain threatened to walk, only to show up the next day in the throes of heroin withdrawal. San Jose Presents celebrates the 23rd anniversary Unplugged this weekend—gathering 16 local musicians to perform the album in its entirety at the new Forager Tasting Room and Eatery. (NV)
Radkey
Sat, 8pm, $8-$10
The Ritz, San Jose
Young, hungry and talented, the Radke brothers—Isaiah, Solomon and Dee—hail from St. Joseph, Mo., and have a muggy, muscle-car-infused sound to match their Southern heritage. Inspired by the likes of Jimi Hendrix, The Misfits, Led Zeppelin and Jack White, Radkey crank out white-knuckled garage rock anthems for a new generation of punk kids. Recently, the boys have been touring behind their debut LP, Dark Black Makeup, gaining fans at festivals like SXSW, Coachella and Afropunk, with their blistering odes to mashing on Nintendo controllers and roaming the burbs on their skateboards. (JT)
Calendar Girls
Sat, 8pm, $19-$42
City Lights Theater, San Jose
Queue up and brew a cuppa in preparation for City Lights Theater Company’s newest production—Calendar Girls. Based on the hit 2003 British comedy, which itself was based on a true story, Calendar Girls follows a group of senior Yorkshire women who after the death of one member’s husbands from Leukemia, find an unconventional and exhibitionist way to fundraise for Cancer Research—printing and selling nude calendars of themselves. The results are more humorous than salacious…and ultimately touching. Directed by Jeffrey Bracco, City Lights Production of Calendar Girls premieres Saturday, Nov. 19. (TM)
Sandow Birk & Lori Wood
Tue, 7pm, $10
Montalvo Arts Center, Saratoga
Artists have different ways of expressing themselves—from painting to sculpting to the creation of interactive pieces. Making centuries-old books come to life is his Sandow Birk’s forte. Birk made a name for himself by dedicating five years of his life to illustrating and translating Dante’s Divine Comedy into a contemporary vernacular—with the aim of giving the late-medieval text a 21st century appeal. Birk took nine years to do the same for The Qur’an. His recently released adaptation of Islam’s holy book reads like a modern-day illuminated manuscript. Birk will talk about his intentions and process with veteran art professional Lori Wood. (TJ)
