The best deal in live classical music performance in the Bay Area…read more For mere $20 ($16 if Brisbane resident), you can join world-class musicians play in an intimate setting. I sat 20 feet away from musicians whose regular gig is the SF Symphony this past Sat! Lots of parking, beautiful setting, and it's all to support the local library! 2007-2008 season ended, but get on its mailing list to listen starting November!

Live at Mission Blue, which is hosted at the lovely Mission Blue Center in Brisbane, is one of my…read morefavorite musical concert series. I would encourage anyone who is interested in bright, lively and very well-done chamber music to take the opportunity to travel to Brisbane, which is located about 5 miles south outside the city limit of San Francisco. The price for tickets is a value and anyone would be hard pressed to find such good quality music for so reasonable a cost. Recently, my husband and I enjoyed a stunningly beautiful chamber music concert, performed by the New Esterházy Quartet, and will be going to Music of 17th Century Spain on the 18th of February. I'm looking forward to that performance and future performances. Kudos should also go to Kevin Fryer, Artistic Director of the Music at Mission Blue concerts. Kevin, a musician in his own right and creator of stunning hand-made harpsichords, brings his own love of great music, fine instruments and high caliber musicians to these wonderful concert offerings. The Mission Blue Center is in a magnificent location on the Southeast side of Brisbane, overlooking a canyon. Inside, the intimate performance space is perfectly suited for exceptionally enjoyable listening to chamber music played by very fine musicians. Parking is adjacent to the Center and is free.

We have been involved with RCCT as patrons and more recently as participants in their summer show…read more Overall, a fantastic company to support as patrons or performers. As patrons: they have amazing shows with top notch quality (for a community theatre type). Definitely great production value. Music orchestra is excellent, and performers work really hard. They also employ all local members of the community. As performers: very supportive environment, you learn tons, and make great friends. Too bad they only do one show a year (in the summer).

Kinky Boots is a marvel. Not usually a fan of musicals, but this performance made me want to burst…read moreinto song. I haven't laughed or clapped this hard in years.

October 5-8, 2006 in Burlingame, CA. is the best West Coast Swing dance competition in the US…read more Usually on the Columbus day, holiday weekend of October. 1200 WCSwing competitors and social dancers come from across the US, Canada, England, Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, Scotland and France to compete, take workshops and social dance on a 5200 sq. ft. dance floor. Four days are allotted for WCS dancing and socializing. There is also a second ballroom for Lindy dancers. If you want to see the best West Coast swing in the country, come out on a Saturday or Sunday night and see the best of the best compete, it is awesome to see. If you love partner dancing, love dancing to top 40's, R & B, Motown, Blues and Jazz, this is the dance for you. The 3 day event pass covers watching the competitions, social dancing, 10+ workshops and Saturday buffet. There are one day passes and evening passes avail for those who just want to check it out. Nearby to other restaurants, Max's Opera Cafe, Elephant Bar and a movie theater.

Came here for their early bird class (marching orders from my West Coast Swing prof at ccsf)…read more First off, it's rather expensive to park in their parking structure (charges by the hour - my final tally was around $14 for a little more than 2 hrs), so look for some on the street - should be plenty within a couple of blocks. The lessons and the dance were just $10. I've never taken a class that had 200 students in it! It is a spectacle to see so many pairs of wcs enthuasiasts, all their slots lined up in parallel - there were four rows of maybe 50 people each running across the entire dance floor, which was held in the main conference room. As we rotated partners, I think I barely got through one row to the other side of the floor. The teachers, Kyle and Sara, were fabulous, complementing each other as they gave commentary and critique in rapid-fire succession. And of course, there was a free dance afterwards, where all the convention competitors took to the floor and lit in on fire. Literally.

If you're looking for a fun night out SoundBox is for you. It made for a wonderful date night…read more Enjoy masters of their craft in a more relaxed environment. Get their early to get dibs on the best seating as it's first come first serve. Though no seat is a bad a seat. Beer, wine, and limited cocktails are available and the staff is friendly. I just wish I discovered SoundBox sooner!

This was the worst SF Symphony event I have ever heard/attended. The venue is great but the actual…read moresound was really bad. The instruments did not sound tuned and/or keys were way off tone. I struggled with hearing a collective sound and it seemed like everyone was just playing their own free for all. I was also not impressed by the conductor really dragging out certain times and there were many instances where the audience did not even know when to clap at the end of that section. I really like contributing to the performing arts but I would not recommend this specific event.

What an incredible find. Came here on 2/26/12 for the Cypress String Quartet performance and I was…read moreblown away. About once a month, Kohl Mansion hosts musical performances (chamber concerts) in the Great Hall, a very intimate setting nothing like a symphony hall. Think of a Victorian era sitting room/parlour with a gloriously high ceiling and this is what you get - musicians on a slightly raised stage in front of a (non-operational) fireplace, and just several rows of seats surrounding the stage on 3 sides. I felt like I was enjoying my favorite Beethoven string quartet in a Beauty-and-the-Beast setting. You know what I'm talking about - that scene with the Beast sitting in front of the fireplace w/ the doggy footrest? Concert performances start at 7pm, but their resident musicologist, Kai Christiansen, gives a pre-concert talk at 6pm. If you are under 30, you are really in for a treat in the form of a generous discount - their "Gen Y & Z" discount tickets are only $15, compared to $45 for adult and $42 for senior tickets. To my fellow under-30 yelpers... get on this before you make it over the 30+ hill!! The parking lot fills to capacity with concert-goers so I recommend arriving no later than 6:30pm to ensure you get a parking spot. Complimentary refreshments are served after the concert - e.g. wine, cheese, charcuterie, fruit & other finger foods. One of the best refreshment spreads I've ever seen to be honest...without sounding too gluttonous. ;) You can meet and mingle with the musicians at this post-concert reception. So glad I found this place. Can't wait to be back in the coming months.

My first time going to Central Park Music Series, I met my friends and all our dogs. It was a great…read moretime! Electric Rodeo was performing. Great crowd, beautiful park, easy parking, can't wait to go back.

A nice family friendly event. Bring a picnic and some wine and enjoy a free concert. Runs 8 weeks.read more

I won tickets through BARTable to see the Smuin Ballet perform at the YBCA Theater a while back. I…read moreended up taking my brother's partner since he didn't want to go. The performance we saw was unusual. Part of it was short numbers performed by two, three, or four dancers at a time; part of it was a slightly longer work that involved most (all?) of the ensemble; part of it was these duet snippets almost previewing parts of a larger upcoming performance. The dancers were amazing. They were really skilled, and it was neat during the intermission to read their bios. It also felt kind of uncanny, because they had recently moved into the regular-person dance studio that I had passed on the bus for years, so I won this random contest to see a ballet company that I had never heard of but whose future rehearsal space I knew well. When I was in college, a good friend of mine was a dance major, so I used to go to all of her shows, and I sometimes spent time with her in the studio while she practiced. I got to know some of her classmates and actually learned quite a bit about dance and choreography just by spending time with her. All of that experience from years before was helpful, because I don't think I would have enjoyed this particular show as much as I did if I hadn't seen all kinds of dance, not just the most traditional, well known forms. If, unlike me, you're paying for your tickets, be sure to find out what actual show you're seeing. Again, some people only seem to enjoy the most traditional forms of dance, including ballet. Based on the show and what I read afterward, Smuin incorporates all kinds of styles. If you're happy with The Nutcracker that you've watched every year since the '80s, this might not be the ballet troupe for you. I'm crossing my fingers that San Francisco can continue to support multiple ballet ensembles. The rich techies in our midst have more money than they know what to do with, yet the arts can't get the funding they need. It's really sad, and proof that taxes are way too low.

This was my first time attending The Smuin's Christmas Ballet on December 8, 2024. I was amazed at…read morethe performance and selection of holiday songs. There were two acts, and this performance in Mountain View was their last one and their next stop is San Francisco. The two acts were 40 minutes with one twenty minute intermission. The first act was more traditional with classical music, and dance/music from different cultures: Spanish, French, Czech, and Jewish. Act 2 was more contemporary, modern songs and the second half started with the song "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" by the Jackson 5, children's art work projecting on the closed curtains on stage, and lastly, a reading of A Night Before Christmas. This was a nice touch to start act 2. During the last song of the performance, snow fell to the stage and in the middle section of the audience. A winter wonderland! The only thing during the falling snow was the noise of the contraption that the employee was pulling it was loud and distracting. This holiday ballet performance got me in a festive mood from the holiday classics of "Santa Baby", to "Last Christmas" by Wham. The performances were magical, a delight to watch. The dancers were enthusiastic, the stage was festive, and both acts went by quickly. I wanted the performance to go on forever. I was pleasantly surprised since I had no idea of what I would be seeing and this was my first time hearing about the Smuin Ballet. I will definitely come back next year. The Smuin Ballet will be performing in San Francisco till Christmas Eve, "2024".

I used to go there in the late 1980's. Pete Douglas ran the place. Very hip Jazz venue. It was…read morebring your own food and drink. Very laid back. Many hipsters from Silicon Valley plus reight on the ocean. Afterwards we would go to Miramar Beach Inn which was pretty much a dive bar then. What a Sunday. I have not been back since the '90's. J

Best jazz on the West Coast. If you've never been, you have got to go. It's on the coast and the…read moreMiramar restaurant is just walking distance down the street. I can't think of a better way to spend a day on the coast.