#craneway pavillion

[sassysophiabush]

[radicaladventure]

July 3rd Fireworks by Dan Gildor

Via Flickr

It was just another 3rd of July in Richmond, CA with the Oakland Symphony playing at the Craneway Pavilion and fireworks lighting up the sky.

[radicaladventure]

The Prometheus Leader and Craneway Pavillion by Dan Gildor

Via Flickr

No matter what, your eye is drawn to the hulking ship astride the quay, glowing in the night, with the Craneway Pavilion at the old Ford Motor Company Assembly Building in the background.

[nocklebeast]

Denver Roller Dolls Mile High Club roll out before the championship bout. by nocklebeast

[jessicalanglois]

Overheard at KPFA Crafts Fair

Almost instantly, I knew I was back in the East Bay.

In the short, bright hours of Winter Solstice on Sunday, Bay Areans flowed through the Craneway Pavillion. Outside the massive hangar’s glass walls, the Bay waters lapped rock jetties, and it was clear enough to see Angel Island, two bridges, and San Francisco’s spires and scrapers poking out of perennial fog western fog.

On sale was everything from $300 opal necklaces to $3 artisan chocolates — an ample range for the ethically upstanding and well-heeled. The crowd was mostly older, mostly white, and eclectically dressed, and their conversations slingshot me back to years of slinging fair trade coffee in the Berkeley bubble. The trifecta of decidedly political, a hair self-righteous, and charmingly bizarre personas.

Here’s a sampling:

"I took my magnets on a photo shoot by the Golden Gate Bridge because they’re so photogenic."

"To tell you the truth, I hate banks."

"This chocolate has a modulated appearance."

[At the anarchist press stand, a man picks up a vacuum-sealed book] “Is there an open copy for me to look at? Now, I’m almost certainly not going to buy it, so don’t open it just for me.” [Later, after flipping through it] “See, this is printed in Malaysia. That’s no good. It should be printed in this U.S. or Mexico.”

[At the entrance — it cost $10] “Is there a discount if you rode BART here? How about if you’re old?”

"Bicycles should get in for free!" [This one was actually my mom, who chimed in when I read her my list back at home.]

And, for your holiday enjoyment, here’s a picture of the orange feral cats living in the nearby Richmond Marina — which I discovered on my phone that day after my sister borrowed it to make a call.

[teamwerk]

Real Live Flesh: Bjork @ The Craneway Pavillion, Richmond CA

Over the last week, Björk had a three-date residency at Richmond's Craneway Pavillion. If you're not from the Bay, that probably reads as a standard opening line for a concert review. Except this is Björk  who doesn't tour extensively, playing in Richmond, which is Oakland's sister city in both culture and crime. Factor in that this was the first high-profile concert that the restored Craneway has ever hosted, plus the poignant truth that I grew up out here, and that my very gully high school was not the kind of place one was praised for liking esoteric Icelandic pop, and you're starting to settle into the profound weirdness of these events for me.

I couldn't afford the show; when tickets went on sale, I was preparing for two vacations and a move, but due to a public path that runs directly alongside the venue, I was able to stand outside the place, see the entire stage & hear everything. As a person who grew up on the periphery of some hood shit, it is a sublime inversion that one of my favorite artists played in that very same hood, and I stood outside, where I still had a better view of the stage than 75% of the concert's paying customers.

Björk's current tour is focused heavily on the interactive, instructive material of her last record, Biophilia. The reason she played in Richmond, as opposed to Oakland or SF, is because the tour is designed for an "in the round" performance, in which the stage is a circular island in a sea of audience.  Above her were several screens, which displayed the visual components of those songs' apps. Much like the record itself, the Biophilia live experience is a meticulously realized work of art.

It should go without saying that Björk is an incredible performer. On top of her grandiose vision for the stage (neon afro wig, 20-person choir, huge pendula downstage, the aforementioned screens), her body practically vibrates with energy. Even in the ballads, she moves like the dancing flora in the Nutcracker part of Fantasia. Also, her voice is pitch-perfect! Particulary in chromatic pieces like "Virus" and "Dark Matter," her lead pierces right through the densely layered vocals, giving the listener some solid ground in the more harmonically challenging sections.

Beyond the scope of Biophilia's sound and vision, it was actually the earlier pieces that provided most of the evening's highlights. On all three nights, she performed an updated arrangement of "Possibly Maybe" that replaced some of the serene, rounded tones of the original with some distorted, fuzzed-out synth bass, matched by a lightning-clash visual. Elsewhere, she played "Hidden Place," which was hugely improved by an extra 20 voices assisting those ethereal shifts into and through the chorus. And on the final night, she answered my teenage heart's silent prayers with an incredible adaptation of "Pagan Poetry." Once again, the additional voices (and their reverberations in the space) were crucial in bringing to life the dark foreboding of the original.

I don't know what else to say -- Björk is good, did you know that? I guess really, the more important thing for me personally, was to see that Richmond is making strides to better itself. If it can reel in a few more quality performers, and possibly widen a street or two, Richmond could have a major boon in the Craneway Pavillion. And when that happens, I promise I'll actually buy a ticket or two.

-Patrick Shipp

[starlyclimler-blog]

I plan to make a video about the concert as soon as I get the chance but right now, I want to say there was this male couple at the show that we talked to for a bit & we took each other's pictures. They were looking for a ride to the Richmond airport to get back to Canada, I was wondering if they got home okay? If you guys see this can you let me know?