If you want an unforgettable experience this weekend, join us on Sunday afternoon for an intimate performance by Luz Elena Mendoza and Edna Vazquez, in town from Portland to play The Fillmore the night before; they both make beautiful music and we’re thrilled to have them as part of our first collaboration with Name Drop Swamp Records and The Emerald Tablet.
Well, technically this is our second collaboration, but it’s the first in this new ongoing series we’re doing because the first one was so inspiring. Read what Chris Peck the Town Crier had to say about the first one:
Was it the Portuguese wine? The fearsome beautiful bands? Surely not. It must have been that poet, Jon Siegel. His voice was booming and sweet when he asked “Where is there a place left to Breathe, to Regain Strength, to Build New Hope, and Prepare For A Better Tomorrow?” Was it J.Brandon Loberg’s poem, which quoted Alter the Path’s poem, which spoke of some Uncle named Failure? No no. It was the cigarettes we smoked outside in Fresno Alley. It was a small region of sky I looked at, as I paused between two undefendable assertions. After some cocktail of the above, I said “This must be culture”.
If I know you, you’ve read much about the death of culture in San Francisco. This is not one of those entries. This is about a small culture, of which I am a part. Across ten years, mainly in one venue and on one street corner and a smattering of roofs, we’ve made something. We know each other’s poems, and each other’s moments. Some happened in front of a crowd: a rude, lovely man takes a well-deserved sandwich to the face. Other moments were private, and then seeped out through the lenses of the tribe: I am naked and dusted by a fire extinguisher. These people did these things here, though many of us have moved.
Last Sunday, June 22nd I went to the Emerald Tablet to listen to poetry, hear some bands and see old friends who were either back in town or still living here. If I’d only accomplished that, I would have gone home very happy. In addition to these things, though, I answered for myself a couple nagging questions: Are we a culture? One that’s worth re-uniting? Read the rest of the entry…
Joining Luz and Edna will be Terry Taplin, Monica Mody, Liza St. James, and Raul Ruiz, writers we are proud to share with you. We’re going to have two readings, followed by a performance, followed by two readings and more music. There will be cheap ice cold draft beer, thanks to Lagunitas Brewing Company, and (as always at The EmTab) complimentary snacks. Join us! You won’t forget it.
Here’s the RSVP | Get tickets here
show at 5pm, doors at 4:20
80 Fresno St.
$10-20 sliding, no one turned away
Submissions open to September 15 show
We’re doing a special show in September at a secret location TBA … shortly before the show. But it will be in SF. We’re doing this one in the middle of the month because our October show with Litquake + ArtSpan is on the 13th. Submit here!
Read and/or watch our last two shows
