Peregrine falcons have long nested atop the Fruitvale Train Bridge, hunting prey and raising their young. One particularly photogenic pair living there captured local imaginations during the pandemic (although perhaps not as much as the falcons perching atop Cal Berkeley’s campanile).
“Peregrine falcons are really all over the place here. They’re not just a part of the ecosystem, they’re a part of life,” musician and composer Deborah Crooks said over the phone from her home in Alameda. “They’re on almost every bridge in the Bay Area. I’m just flabbergasted that I can look out my window and see them.”
Crooks has been a longtime falcon enthusiast, deeply involved with the local ecological history of bringing the species back from the brink: At UC Santa Cruz, she changed her major from English to Environmental Studies, so she could be a part of the Predatory Bird Research Group, which helped peregrine numbers recover after toxic, population-decimating pesticides like DDT were banned. “I just grew up enjoying birds, loving birds,” she said. “And while I grew up to be a musician rather than an ornithologist or field researcher, I still keep up on what’s going on in bird world.”
It’s only natural, then, that she produce a work about birds—especially the peregrines she can see from her window. Flight Lessons (Sat/8, 7pm, at Rhythmic Cultural Works, Alameda) takes on the gripping story of one well-known pair of Fruitvale Bridge-nesting Peregrines from about a decade ago, who met with tragedy when the female and one of her fledglings were shot. “Their story is fascinating, because although the female member of the pair was shot, she ended up recovering. But in the time it took for her to recover, the male had already found another companion. So, then what?
“The story opened up all kinds of opportunities—I wanted to tell it from the points of view of the original pair, but also of the new mate, who has her own side of things. And then broadening out from that, of course, is the whole question of how humans and wildlife interact and exist with one another. It intersects with so many of my interests.” Inspired, Crooks set out to create a fully-fledged folk opera from the tale.
“It’s not an opera in the traditional sense, it’s a narrative told through music, a set of intertwining songs. And while we don’t wear bird costumes onstage, we do have projections of the falcons, and bird masks on our faces—or our heads, depending on when we need our glasses,” she laughs. She’s joined for the evening by singer-actor Tania Johnson, musician-actor Mick Shaffer, and multi-instrumentalists and performers Kwame Copeland, Liz Stuart and Peter Whitehead.
“One of the big bonuses about ‘Flight Lessons’ is that to gets to celebrate Alameda,” Crooks says. “It’s a great place to live. For both humans and birds, if we can get along.”
FLIGHT LESSONS Sat/8, 7pm, Rhythmix Cultural Works, Alameda. Tickets and more info here.
MORE EVENTS OF NOTE
Remember to check our Arts & Culture section for more great events.
THU/6: DISCO NEVER DIES One of our old homies Jefferey Paradise of chill electronic act Poolside lost everything in the SoCal fires, including the house he had just totally redone and his studio, containing his incredible record collection. He’s tapping his deep network of DJs and performers to host a special night of fire relief fundraising at 1015 Folsom for others who have been displaced, via www.cafirefoundation.org and www.themalibufoundation.org. 9pm, 1015 Folsom, SF. More info here.
THU/6: TENDERLOIN FIRST THURSDAYS ART WALK Nothing makes me feel more like I live in one of the coolest cities on Earth than this monthly event, which leads you into some incredible galleries, shops, bars, restaurants, and unexpected spots, like a pop-up show of 1970s Swiss erotica in an old magazine store or a show by a punk rock photographer legend. (I highly recommend the very affordable Korean chicken takeout from Aria, right up the street from Dark Entries Records, though there are cool pop-up eats sometimes as well.) 5pm-9pm, more info here.
THU/6: ZOOM COMEDY BENEFIT FOR CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION WILDFIRE RECOVERY FUND One of our hometown heroes of comedy, Lisa Geduldig, is hosting an online laugh jam to benefit those affected by the fires down south. With Cathy Ladman, Wendy Liebman, Scott Blakeman, Eve Meye, and Lisa herself. 7pm, Pay what you want directly to the Wildfire Recovery Fund here, and you’ll receive a Zombie link to the show.
FRI/7 + SAT/8: BLACK CHOREOGRAPHERS FESTIVAL AT MOAD The Black Choreographers Festival kicks off its 20th anniversary celebrations with two nights at the Museum of the African Diaspora. Friday brings a panel discussion moderated by Dr. Halifu Osumare with featured (and fabulous) artists Joanna Haigood, Robert Moses, Raissa Simpson and Dazaun Soleyn. On Saturday, the museum’s “Liberatory Living: Protective Interiors & Radical Black Joy” exhibit will be activated by dancers and performers Dazaun Soleyn and Algin “Align” Ford. Can’t wait to see what’s in store for the rest of the season! MoAD, SF. More info here.
FRI/7: ‘HOME’ BY LADY MAGS I belatedly discovered the dreamily abstract and immersive art of Lady Mags at a Tenderloin Art Walk, in fact, when it was shown at Moth Belly Gallery as part of an eye-popping exhibition called Candy Crush curated by Lady Henze. Now, Mags is the curator, collaborating with artists she loves like Apex, MadC, and, yes, Lady Henze for a rad-looking show at 111 Minna. Opening reception 5pm-2am, show runs through April 1. More info here.
SAT/8: BEDOUIN Look, there has always been a strain of “exotic” Orientalism in progressive/melodic techno—who can resist those soulful, chromatic flights that connect you to ancient worlds of wonder? It’s so much better, however, when the music is coming from actual Arabs and other people from the Middle East North Africa region. All hail Bedouin, then, consisting of Tamer Malki and Rami Abousabe, for sharing their “broad sonic vision that pulls from their diverse influences owing to their Middle Eastern heritage, Western upbringing, and world travels.” 9:30pm-3am, Great Northern, SF. More info here.
SAT/8: LUNAR NEW YEAR WITH THE SF SYMPHONY The symphony welcomes the Year of the Serpent with some lovely traditional Chinese tunes and rousing performances from conductor Francesco Lecce-Chong with Wu Man on the pipa and Amos Yang on cello. There’s also a starry banquet option. 5pm, Davies Symphony Hall, SF. More info here.
SAT/8: MARC-ANDRÉ HAMELIN The brilliant and flurry-fingered pianist from Montreal has always mixed experimental flights with solid-ground classics. At his San Francisco Performances appearance, he’ll play Frank Zappa’s “Ruth is Sleeping” and sample pioneer John Oswald’s “TIP” alongside Haydn’s Piano Sonata in D Major and Rachmaninoff’s “Etude-Tableau.” 7:30pm, Herbst Theater, SF. More info here.
SUN/9: DILLA DAY Detroit producer and rapper J. Dilla changed the way we hear music, and this celebration of his birthday at the Midway is HUGE. With an appearance by Dilla’s mom, Ma Dukes and Bay Area heads J.Rocc, Shortkut, Fran Boogie, and more on the tables, plus record vendors and a donut pop-up paying homage to Dilla’s iconic album? Come on, now. 2pm-late, The Midway, SF. More info here.
TUE/16: M LAMAR: MACHINES & OTHER INTERGALACTIC TECHNOLOGIES OF THE SPIRIT The alien, exquisite, gothy counter-tenor performance visionary M LAMAR‘s new piece “encapsulates the Negrogothic aesthetic: a practice he developed synthesizing opera, metal, performance, video, to create epic, immersive narratives.” He is appearing at tiny experimental powerhouse Roar Shack, brought to us by adorable avante-gardist duo the Living Earth Show. 6:45-9pm, Roar Shack, SF. More info here.
