St. Patrick's Day Events

The Blank Club A St. Patrick's Day Eve party with DJ Billy Nova spinning Irish music. Fri, Mar 16, 9pm. No cover. Plus a performance from This Charming Band, a Smiths cover act, and DJ Jeff spinning '80s underground. Sat, Mar 17, 9pm. $7.

Britannia Arms San Jose Two days of Irish cheer, including corned beef and cabbage, Irish stew, the Turco School of Irish Dancers and the Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Pipes and Drums. Fri-Sat, Mar 16-17. 173 W. Santa Clara St, San Jose. 408.278.1400.

British Bankers Club An all-day blowout with food and drink specials and more. Sat, Mar 17. 1090 El Camino Real, Menlo Park. 650.327.8769.

Coach's Sports Bar Serving a St. Patrick's Day menu all day long, including Irish breakfast and corned beef and cabbage, cooked by an exclusive chef from Ireland and an entirely Irish staff. Plus DJ dancing from 11pm-2am. Sat, Mar 17. No cover. 2240 Winchester Blvd, Campbell. 408.379.2654.

El Toro Brewing Company Featuring a special brew and a huge party in honor of St. Pat. Sat, Mar 17, 11:30am-close. 17605 Monterey Rd, Morgan Hill. 408.782.2739.

First Billiards Celebrate the day of the Irish saint with live music from Celtic group Tempest and drink specials on Guinness, green beer, Irish Pride shots and more. Sat, Mar 17, 4pm-close. $15/$20. 420 S. First St, San Jose. 408.206.4884.

Franzen Vocal Studio "Look to the Rainbow," a program of opera, operetta, musical theater and Irish favorites celebrating St. Patrick's Day. Sat, Mar 17, 7pm. $10 suggested donation. First Congregational Church of Redwood City, 2323 Euclid Ave, Redwood City. 408.288.8519.

Graeme Matthew Studio Celtic world jazz fusion with Ahl-i Nafs, roots rock from the Bird Dogs and Khidr dances with the Green Man. All ages. Sat, Mar 17, 7-11pm. $5. 912 Bascom Ave, San Jose. 408.295.2787.

Mission Ale House With Irish menu specials daily through St. Patrick's Day, plus 24 beers on tap and more beginning Friday at 4pm (midnight on Saturday in Ireland). Wed-Sat, Mar 14-17. 97 E. Santa Clara St, San Jose. 408.292.4058.

Mountain Charley's A full weekend of live music, with Magic Wanda on Friday, Drive the Band on Saturday and DJs Masta B and the Doctor both nights. Fri-Sat, Mar 16-17. 15 N. Santa Cruz Ave, Los Gatos. 508.395.8880.

Murphy's Law Irish Pub & Sports Bar A St. Patrick's Day party with live music and more. Sat, Mar 17. 135 S. Murphy Ave, Sunnyvale. 408.736.3822.

O'Flaherty's "Be Irish the entire weekend" as the Irish pub hosts a two-day Irish party, beginning at midnight in Ireland on St. Patrick's Day (4pm, Fri, Mar 16), including 16 beers on tap and various Irish drink specials. Fri-Sat, Mar 16-17, opens at 11am. 25 N. San Pedro St, San Jose. 408.947.8007.

Orchard Valley Coffee Roasting The coffeehouse hosts live band Celtic Rose. Sat, Mar 17, 7pm. No cover. 349 E. Campbell Ave, Campbell. 408.374.2115.

Patty's A parking lot party, including corned beef and fixings, bag pipers, live music from Jerry Sauceda, the Miller Lite Girls and Sky Vodka Girls and more. Sat, Mar 17. No cover. Montgomery and San Fernando, San Jose. 408.998.4566.

Poor House Bistro St. Patrick's Day party with Guinness on draft, Irish jello shots and live blues from John Nemeth beginning at 6pm. Sat, Mar 17. 91 Autumn St, San Jose. 408.292.5837.

San Jose Bar and Grill A St. Patrick's Day party with green beer, food and drink specials and more. 85 S. Second St, San Jose. 408.286.2397.

San Pedro Square The Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Pipes and Drums will be entertaining in front of and inside San Pedro Square restaurants such as the Tied House, O'Flaherty's and Britannia Arms. Free. Sat, Mar 17, 7-7pm. San Pedro Square and Santa Clara St, San Jose.

Smoke Tiki Lounge The lounge features Irish menu specials daily through the saint's holiday, along with drink specials, live music and more starting at 4pm on Friday (just as St. Patrick's Day is beginning in Ireland). Wed-Sat, Mar 14-17. 152 Post St, San Jose. 408.292.4266.

St. Patrick's Day Parade and Festivities For the past 155 years in San Francisco, Irish dancers, marching bands, floats and drill teams gather for a promenade in celebration of the Irish saint. Sat, Mar 17, 10am-5pm. Parade begins at 11:30am at Second and Market streets and ends at City Hall. Civic Center Plaza, San Francisco. 415.675.9885.

St. Patrick's Day Party An afternoon of dancing, wine tasting, live music from the Groove Kings and dinner. Sat, Mar 17, 2-6pm. $19; reservations recommended. Adagio Winery, 4355 Monterey Hwy, Gilroy. 408.842.5649.

St. Patrick's Day Singles Party A night of catered appetizers, dancing, prizes and maybe a little luck o' the Irish. Sat, Mar 17, 8pm-12:30am. $10-$20. Sheraton Silicon Valley Hotel, 1801 Barber Ln, Milpitas. 408.557.8885.

Tied House An evening of Irish food and drink specials. Sat, Mar 17. 65 N. San Pedro St, San Jose. 408.295.2739.

Toon's Nightclub A DJ party with DJs Danny V, Jason Vee, Inferno and Quick Mix. Sat, Mar 17. 52 E. Santa Clara St, San Jose. 408.292.7464.

Classical Moves

FROM BACH to Bolero, this weekend promises to run classical-music fans ragged trying to figure out how to fit some many concerts into so little time.

Symphony Silicon Valley Leslie Dunner handles the guest-conducting duties for the symphony, which appears happy to keep up this rotating arrangement rather than pick a single maestro. The program features Ravel's barn-burner, Bolero (close your eyes and think of Bo Derek), Aaron Copland's Symphony no. 3 (remember Fanfare for the Common Man) and Hary Janos suite from Kodály's comic opera of the 1920s. Saturday at 8pm, Sunday at 2:30pm; California Theatre, 345 S. First St., San Jose; $36-$72; 408.286.2600

Bach Celebration For the second weekend of its three-part Bach Celebration, the Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra honors the composer on his 322nd birthday with a wide selection of his chamber music. The series concludes on March 28. Sunday at 7:30pm; Presbyterian Church, 945 Portola Road, Portola Valley; $10-$12; 650.856.3848.

Peninsula Symphony In one of the great collaborations between a film director and a high-brow composer, Prokofiev wrote the music for Eisenstein's epic Alexander Nevsky. The Peninsula Symphony, led by Mitchell Sardou Klein, performs the cantata from the score, with assistance from the San Jose Symphonic Choir and alto Wendy Hillhouse. The evening also features David Requiro in Elgar's Cello Concerto in E Minor. Friday at 8pm at the San Mateo Performing Arts Center, 600 N. Delaware Ave., San Mateo; Saturday at 8pm at Flint Center, 21250 Stevens Creek Blvd., Cupertino; $28-$33; 650.941.5291.

Cantabile Chorale For a concert called "Transformations," Cantabile Chorale performs Rachmaninoff's Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, a piece that should provide a close simulacrum to being inside a Russian Orthodox church. Russian basso Nikolai Massenkoff leads the vocal charge, and Elena Sharkova will discuss the work at a preconcert talk at 7:30pm. Saturday at 8pm, St. Mark's Episcopal Church, 600 Colorado Ave., Palo Alto; $15-$60; 650.424.1410.

Quadre The noted horn quartet from Mountain View offers "Brassy Dances," a concert based on dance rhythms. The program includes Afro-Cuban beats, waltzes and even the Charleston. Monday at 8pm; SecondStage, Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro St., Mountain View; $12-$22; 650.903.6000.

Ensemble Mirable Chamber Orchestra The San Jose Chamber Music Society welcomes Ensemble Mirable to its concert roster. Again, as with Palo Alto Chamber, this program salutes J.S. Bach with the Concerto for Solo Violin in E Major (with Stanley Richie on Baroque violin) and the Harpsichord Concerto in A major (with JungHae Kim). Sunday at 7pm; Le Petit Trianon, 72 N. Fifth St., San Jose; $21-$36; 408.286.5111.

The Saratoga Symphony Music director Jason Klein leads the local orchestra in a performance of Mendelssohn's Piano Concerto no. 2, with Emil Gilliam as soloist, Reinecke's Symphony no. 2 and Matt Doran's Overture. Sunday at 3pm; St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, 13601 Saratoga Ave., Saratoga; free; www.saratogasymphony.com.

San Jose Youth Symphony Yair Samet directs the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Youth Symphony in a lively program highlighting pieces by Copland, Barber and Bizet. The young guest performers are violinists Vivian Luo and Theodore Chao and flutists Ray Furuta and Lauren Gripenstrawusic. Saturday at 2:30pm ; California Theatre, 345 S. First St., San Jose; $5-$15; 408.885.9220.

Michael S. Gant

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