Dark Star Orchestra replicates the live Grateful Dead experience from every era of the iconic band’s existence. Relive the old days when the seven-piece band performs at Golden State Theatre on Thursday, Feb. 5.
Thursday, Feb. 5
Close to Dead
If you were too young to see the Grateful Dead in person (or if you did actually see them and just don’t remember, for reasons you don’t have to share with us), here’s the next best thing. The seven-piece Dark Star Orchestra has performed more than 3,000 shows with the mission of recreating the Dead’s live concert experience. Expect to hear and see the different styles over each era of the Dead. “We offer a sort of a historical perspective at what it might have been like to go to a show in 1985, 1978 or whenever,” keyboardist and vocalist Rob Barraco said in an interview on the band’s website. “Even for Deadheads who can say they’ve been to a hundred shows in the ’90s, we offer something they never got to see live.” [EC]
7:30pm Thursday, Feb. 5. Golden State Theatre, 417 Alvarado St., Monterey. $64. (831) 649-1070, goldenstatetheatre.com.
Thursday, Feb. 5- Saturday, Feb. 7
Ghost Stories
Joyce Sherry started melding the creative legacies of Disney and Dickens as young as 5 years old, when she wrote her first play. Her style has evolved since then, but her curiosities – think spooky stories, ghosts – remain the same. The playwright-turned-novelist has partnered with sci-fi icon Ray Bradbury on a stage adaptation and works as a life coach. She presents on her writing process and her novel, A Tale for the Shadows, in two upcoming talks. The story starts with the ghost of Senka, a one-time rising television star, trapped in the cabin where she died. In Senka’s quest for justice, there are alliances (and risks) in partnership with a vampire, a cat and more. Read the book first to avoid any spoilers, or buy the book there and get it signed by the author. [SR]
5pm Thursday, Feb. 5 at El Gabilan Library, 1400 N. Main St., Salinas. 1pm Saturday, Feb. 7 at Old Capitol Books, 482 Alvarado St., Monterey. Free. (831) 758-7311, joycesherryauthor.com.
Friday, Feb. 6
Toad-ally Cool
Learn how to responsibly find your own adorable arboreal salamander (and other creatures) in a talk by herpetologist Emily Taylor on Friday, Feb. 6.
Maybe you’ve been hiking and kept your eyes and ears peeled for charismatic megafauna. News flash: Looking for tiny creatures at your feet can be far more fascinating than watching a deer frolic away. Amphibians are interesting little creatures that not only look cool, but live amazing lives with some out-there adaptations. Red-spotted toads drink water through their bellies; tadpoles go through metamorphosis to become frogs; territorial California newts become cannibalistic when food is in short supply (but OMG aren’t they the cutest?). Learn about the wonders of California’s amphibians and how to find them in a book talk by herpetologist Emily Taylor. She’s previously written on how to find snakes and lizards, and focuses here on sharing insights from her new book, California Amphibians and How to Find Them. (See story, p. 34.) [SR]
5:30-7pm Friday, Feb. 6. Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History, 165 Forest Ave., Pacific Grove. $10; $7/museum members; $5/children under 10. (831) 648-5716, pgmuseum.org.
Musical Memoir
Not all conversations involve words; some are about listening to music, responding to lyrics that bring memories or feelings to the surface. Jazz at the Lincoln Center, directed by Wynton Marsalis, takes listeners back to the musical Golden Age with songs of Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Bobby Darin and others. The repertoire in this program (“Great American Crooners”) includes such hits as “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” “Misty” and “I Only Have Eyes for You.” [CJ]
7:30pm Friday, Feb. 6. Sunset Cultural Center, San Carlos and 9th, Carmel. $45-$84. (831) 620-2048, sunsetcenter.org.
Hippity Hop
We love Bad Bunny, and the fact that he’s going to be performing at the Super Bowl Halftime Show a little more than an hour’s drive away means we have to start the party somehow. Thankfully, it looks like Live@Heirloom has us covered. They’re bringing two Bay Area hip-hop artists to Salinas: San Quinn and Turf Talk, with special guest CTru and DJ Mix n Spin. These guys know Bay and West Coast rap well, with a resume that includes collaborations with the likes of E-40. Bonus additions to the pre-gameday buzz are pizza and beer, which Heirloom also has covered. [SC]
9-11pm Friday, Feb. 6. Live@Heirloom, 344 Main St., Salinas. $20; ages 21 and up. (831) 998-8824, heirloompizzapie.com.
Saturday, Feb. 7
Man of History
When it comes to the saga of Old Fisherman’s Wharf, perhaps no one is more knowledgeable than Monterey Bay fisheries historian Tim Thomas. Monterey’s favorite tour guide describes the history of the iconic landmark along with tales of the ocean-loving people that populated Monterey’s coastline, from the Indigenous Rumsen to the whalers of the Azores and the Chinese, Japanese and Italian fisherfolk who later immigrated to the region and shaped it. [AS]
10am-noon Saturday, Feb. 7. Old Fisherman’s Wharf, Monterey. Free. (831) 238-0777, montereypl.libcal.com.
Climate Cooking
Food plays a huge role in contributing to climate change – about a third of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions are linked to food. Yet at the same time, our food systems are most susceptible to our rapidly changing climate. Modern advancements in agriculture, factory farming and globalization have all changed the way we grow and consume food, but there are ways to look at what we buy and how we structure our meals that can lessen our footprint, maintain a healthy diet and also be absolutely delicious. MEarth hosts a workshop called “Cooking for the Climate: Plant-Forward Cooking” with health practitioner Emily Reistetter, where you learn how to incorporate knowledge about cooking with the season and selecting produce grown in specific ways. [KR]
11am-1pm Saturday, Feb. 7. MEarth, 4380 Carmel Valley Road, Carmel. $100. (831) 624-1032, tinyurl.com/MEarthCCooking.
Black is Back
Celebrate Black History Month at CSU Monterey Bay’s All Black Gala. Singer Skylar Walters, in her appearance at the 2023 gala, is shown above.
Celebrate Black history and culture at the All Black Gala with CSU Monterey Bay. This year’s theme is “Still We Rise: Resistance, Resilience and Reclamation” with keynote speaker Phillip Agnew, who in 2019 joined the Bernie Sanders presidential campaign and became a senior adviser. He is a past co-director of Black Men Build, an organization which leads efforts to bring Black men into the movement for racial, social and gender justice. The event include an awards ceremony that celebrates Black Excellence exemplified by students, staff and community members. [AP]
4-6pm Saturday, Feb. 7. CSUMB University Center auditorium, 4314 6th Ave., Seaside. $20; donations welcome; RSVP required. (831) 582-3000, tinyurl.com/k4fsrmdt.
Cash Back
Is that Johnny Cash? Yes, kind of – it’s singer James Garner, whose tribute show captures not just the music but also the look and style of the legend. He performs at the Fox Theater in Salinas on Saturday, Feb. 7.
Singer-songwriter Johnny Cash was an icon, not just of country music, but of the American culture of the 1960s, 1970s and beyond. His songs of universal themes of sorrow, redemption and moral struggle crossed all genres – “Ring of Fire,” “I Walk the Line,” “Folsom Prison Blues,” “A Boy Named Sue” – and made him beloved by fans everywhere. Singer James Garner, in Cash’s signature black suit and pompadour, and his band have faithfully recreated the performer and his band, the Tennessee Three, for the past 18 years in a fun, toe-tapping performance. This is your chance to experience Cash’s memorable songs all over again. [PM]
7pm Saturday, Feb. 7. Salinas Fox Theater, 241 Main St., Salinas. $38-$65. (831) 758-8459, foxtheatersalinas.com.
Celestial View
For many, the work of space artist Chesley Bonestell was the first vision of what worlds beyond Earth might look like. Born in 1888, Bonestell was a painter and illustrator, famous for his incredibly realistic depictions of space exploration and what stepping on the Moon might look like. Each year, the Monterey Institute for Research in Astronomy (MIRA) presents a public lecture supported by funds from Bonestell, highlighting notable astronomical discoveries from the past year. This year, they host Steve Ritz, a professor at UC Santa Cruz, to give a lecture on what we can observe in space with the largest digital camera ever built. [KR]
7:30-8:30pm Saturday, Feb. 7. Monterey Peninsula College, Lecture Forum 102, 980 Fremont St., Monterey. Free. (831) 883-1000, mira.org/calendar.htm.
Sunday, Feb. 8
Ninja Skills
Pianist Lisa Spector has performed internationally and won several national piano competitions. But when the music teacher shattered her right hand in what she described as a “bizarre fall” in 2017, she was told that she’d never be able to play her beloved instrument again. That didn’t deter her. Spector began playing with only her left hand, and along the way, learned many tricks that she shares with others looking to grow their piano skills. Known as the “Piano Ninja,” Spector now plays with one and both of her hands. She will tell her story and perform as part of Wendi Kirby Music’s Creative Rx series, where wellness is combined with art and music. [EC]
3-4:30pm Sunday, Feb. 8. Wendi Kirby Music, 550 Hartnell St., Suite F, Monterey. $50. wendikirbymusic.com.
Monday, Feb. 9
Nick On Wood
It’s not often that a guy who writes books on woodworking gets the stage at Golden State Theatre. But this is Ron Swanson… sorry, Nick Offerman. He’s a multi-talented guy. Not only can he manage a city parks and recreation department (at least fictionally) and operate a busy LA woodshop (in real life), Offerman is a stand-up comic, an actor in films, television programs and stage productions, an award-winner – including an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series – and has written five books, his newest being Little Woodchucks: Offerman Woodshop’s Guide to Tools and Tomfoolery. And that’s what you can expect on stage – a little woodworking wisdom and a lot of humor. [DF]
7pm Monday, Feb. 9. Golden State Theatre, 417 Alvarado St., Monterey. $65-$275. (831) 649-1070, goldenstatetheatre.com.
Tuesday, Feb. 10
Organizer Supreme
Legendary organizer Fred Ross Sr., front left (with Cesar Chavez), is the subject of a new documentary, American Agitators, which has a sense of urgency in the current moment.
If ever there was an appropriate documentary for our time, American Agitators, released last year, is it. The film chronicles the life of Fred Ross Sr., born in 1910 in Los Angeles, who organized Dust Bowl refugees in the 1930s and helped former Japanese internment prisoners find homes and work after their release in the 1940s. He spent his life organizing around the country in opposition to police brutality and segregation, as well as leading voter registration and get out the vote campaigns. Ross trained many other organizers in the process, including Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta. The screening includes local speakers An McDowell and Bill Monning, who worked with Ross. [PM]
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