Cy and David's Picks: A Play About What Unites and Divides Us, and Two Music Fests to Clear the Fog

July 10: Singer-songwriter Margaret Glaspy writes smart lyrics about relationships with a voice that’s sometimes girlish, sometimes raspy, both sweet and angry. “You and I have been a mistake,” she sings on her new album, “I let it linger too long” — a line that reminds me perfectly of the recent experiences of someone I know. We have to mention Glaspy’s local connection. She’s from Red Bluff, though she lives in Brooklyn now. So I’m waiting (maybe in vain) for her to record a song about the glories of the Upper Sacramento Valley.  Details of her Rickshaw Stop show on Sunday are here.

July 8-10: Amy Seiwert (prounced SIGH-wurt) is a very busy dance maker, and she’s back with her sixth annual Sketch series (this weekend at Ft. Mason), a chance to experiment and mix modern and classical styles. This time she’s commissioned new work from the Bay Area’s prolific Val Caniparoli, and from young choreographer Nicole Haskins of Smuin Ballet.  The theme at Sketch 6 is language, so, Seiwert’s new dance is set to a poem by Neil Gaiman. Ticket and show  details are here.

July 9-23: The programming for the Mendocino Music Festival made David use a cliche he says he hates: “Something for everyone.” The two-week festival in Fort Bragg and the town of Mendocino features adventurous (and personable) classical musicians like Geoff Nuttall (Stanford’s St. Lawrence String Quartet) and Gloria Cheng, a mini-Beethoven festival, a production of Mozart’s Abduction from the Seraglio, and then there’s a pop lineup as well — including Peter Mawanga and his band out of Malawi, guitar wizard Alex Di Grassi, busker Jack Broadbent (he plays a mean slide guitar), and the amazing gospel and soul singer Liz Vice. Yes, it is so worth the drive to Mendocino and Fort Bragg. Details here. 

July 10: The Bay Area’s little opera company that tries harder, San Jose Opera, is offering a free concert — so it’s our CHEAP THRILL! Sunday in Bramhall Park in Willow Glen at 6:30,  with selections from their new season — La Boheme, Lucia de Lammermoor, Barber of Seville, Silent Night. Details here.

July 9-Aug. 27: We both loved the one-man play Dan Hoyle wrote and performed a few years ago about the way the country was so divided over President Obama and the Tea Party. He compiled the work out of interviews he did across America, and out of his eloquent imagination. Now he’s updated the show, with new conversations about Trump and the politics of 2016. But he told me this week that the concerns of 2012 remain sadly relevant. “Because the financial housing bubble of 2008,” he said, “is still wreaking havoc on people’s lives, and they want a radical change. Almost everyone I talked to was excited about either Trump or Bernie, and sometimes at the same time.” Details of this fresh revival at the Marsh in San Francisco are here.

July 9: I like to think that the sun always comes out somewhere in San Francisco, no matter how foggy the weather (like it’s been this week). But there will definitely be some heat on the stage when all the little indie bands play at Phono del Sol Saturday. This is a co-production of The Bay Bridged and John Van der Slice’s Tiny Telephone studios. Which means impeccable taste, with Chairlift as the headliner, and San Francisco bands Hot Flash Heat Wave ( new album), Oakland’s The Seshen, Alvvays, Born Ruffians, Mr Little Jeans,  The She’s, SF rapper Adam Vida (very cool), and more. Details here.