Visual art
Kanthy Peng's "Objects in Mirror" opens at Best Practice, located inside Bread and Salt. This is Peng's first solo exhibition in California and it includes black and white silver gelatin photography, sculptural inkjet prints and video projections, each telling a separate story about the wrought history and future of coastal towns. Opening reception is 5-8 p.m. on Saturday.
Max Lofano: "Matinee" opens this weekend at ICE Gallery, also inside Bread and Salt. It's a site-specific installation made of translucent, accordion-folded materials arranged and layered across the room. It's mathematical, architectural and perhaps a bit astonishing — everything I've come to expect from both Lofano and ICE Gallery. It opens with a reception Saturday from 4-6 p.m. or can be seen by appointment from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. The art is also visible from the sidewalk, through the gallery's large windows.
More art worth checking out while you're at Bread and Salt:
- Glen Wilson's "TexarkanaCaliCool / Relaxing With Mr. Dafney" piece in Quint ONE, which is on view only until July 8. It's a sculptural work made of chain-link style mesh and photography that appears to weave through the fencing. The piece touches on themes of redlining, race and memory. The artist will be at the gallery for a closing reception from 6-8 p.m. on Saturday.
- The Athenaeum Art Center just opened a new exhibit of art by faculty of the Athenaeum's School of the Arts as well as Athenaeum staff.
- Also still on view in the main gallery is Pablo Castañeda's "Bodegón Contemporáneo Fronterizo," featuring collections of refined still life paintings with takeout boxes, instant ramen, candy and soda.
Details: 4-8 p.m., Saturday, July 8. Bread and Salt, 1955 Julian Ave., Logan Heights. All exhibitions and receptions are free.
Oriana Poindexter and Dwight Hwang open a two-artist show, "Impressions in Light + Shadow" at Perspectives Space in Encinitas. Poindexter has a series of kelp print cyanotypes, and Hwang works with gyotaku, or fish prints. Each artist's work is distinct and compelling on its own, but placed side-by-side they tell a more singular story of the ocean's mystery and beauty — and its complicated role in an uncertain climate future.
Details: Opening reception July 8 from 5-8 p.m. On view through July 30 by appointment. Perspectives Space, 555 2nd St., Ste. 1, Encinitas. Free.
Music
Aklasan Fest, the only Filipino punk festival in the United States, comes to San Diego this summer. To warm up, the organizers are hosting a pre-show concert and Radical History Club zine launch event this Saturday at the Che Café.
The festival has its roots in San Francisco, and the San Diego iteration will take place (also at the Che) on August 12. This weekend's pre-show spotlights five Southern California bands, including local dark pop/synth band The Fazes. The Fazes recently released a new album, "Underground Starz," which seeps a coming of age sentiment in plenty of darkness, punk and synth.
Details: 7 p.m. (doors: 6:30 p.m.) on Saturday, July 8. The Che Café Collective, 1000 S. Scholars Dr., UC San Diego. $8 advance, $10 door. Masks required indoors.
Tribute to the Jazz Crusaders takes place at Dizzy's featuring local jazz group The Soto Six. The sextet includes tenor sax, trombone, guitar, piano, bass and drums, and they'll honor the Jazz Crusaders (who shortened their name to The Crusaders in the early 1970s).
"The Crusaders left behind an incredible legacy that spans sub-genres of jazz, is incredibly diverse, yet often does not get its proper due," said Dylan Soto, bandleader and saxophonist in The Soto Six.
Details: 8 p.m. on Saturday, July 8. Dizzy's Jazz, 1717 Morena Blvd., Bay Park. All ages. $20 ($15 students).
Theater and Dance
"Passengers," now on stage at The Old Globe is not a traditional theater production. Taking elements of acrobatics, circus, dance, narrative and music, the Montreal-based group The 7 Fingers tells a powerful story of a group of strangers whose lives intersect while passengers on the same train.
The 7 Fingers describes itself as a "contemporary physical theatre troupe," and bring intense physical feats like trapeze and acrobatics to the stage along with movement, dance and more. This production is impressive — with lush, elaborate sets, costumes and props.
Details: On stage through July 30. The Old Globe, 1363 Old Globe Way, Balboa Park. $49+.
Broadway's "SIX: The Musical" is on stage through Sunday at Civic Theatre downtown. "SIX" is structured as a revue, so at times it feels more like a concert than a play — except instead of rock stars, the characters are the six former wives of King Henry VIII, known in history primarily for their tragic fates. These six women are here to rewrite history, under the guise of a song contest to determine who was dealt the worst hand from their famous ex.
The contest construct is loose as far as narrative threads go, but that's quickly overshadowed by the comedy and powerful performances from the "ex-wives." My favorites: an absurd and brilliant performance by Olivia Donalson as Anna of Cleves, and local fave Storm Lever (recently seen in The Old Globe's "Hair" and La Jolla Playhouse's "Fly") as Anne Boleyn.
Details: Remaining showtimes are 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 6; 8 p.m. on Friday, July 7; 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Saturday, July 8; and 1 p.m. and 6 p.m on Sunday, July 9. San Diego Civic Theatre, 1100 Third Ave., downtown. $44+.
Books
Adam Gnade, Lora Mathis with Matty Terrones, and Ana Carrete will appear at Verbatim Books to kick off Gnade, Mathis and Terrones' summer tour. Gnade will perform his "talking songs," which are settings of fiction to a backdrop of solo electric guitar music. Mathis will read poetry set to Terrones' music, and Carrete will read from her latest poetry collection, "Blush and Blink," published earlier this year by Lang Books.
Details: 7 p.m. Friday, July 7. Verbatim Books, 3793 30th St., North Park. Free.
Miscellaneous
Liberty Station's First Friday event is July 7, with events running at various arts and performance venues beginning in the late afternoon. Some highlights: a community mending event at San Diego Craft Collective from 4-7 p.m.; the San Diego Watercolor Society's "Where the Fun Is" exhibition opening from 5-8 p.m.; live music at Carruth Cellars from Apt 4 Music musicians; and an ArtWalk Liberty Station Summer Series along the North Promenade from 3-8 p.m. Full details and schedule here. Various locations, Liberty Station, 2875 Dewey Rd., Free.
For more arts events, to submit your own, or to sign up for the weekly KPBS/Arts newsletter, visit the KPBS/Arts Calendar.
