Cheap Date: 'The Art of Rock,' Drunk Writers, and a West Coast Craft-Tacular

Hello, fellow Bay Area dwellers on a budget! How’s your week going? Did you blow your allowance on Kendrick Lamar at the Fox Theater (if you were lucky enough to get tickets)?

Never fear: Here are eight sweet, affordable chances to atone for your spendy ways. You know the rules — nothing over $20. Here’s this week’s Cheap Date.

Thursday, Nov. 12: The Max Savage Show at the Starline Social Club, Oakland. This live-audience talk show promises an evening of the unexpected — and come prepared to take mental notes, because one of its rules is leaving “no digital trace” behind. The third installment of this fledgling spectacle features Avery Trufelman (host of the wildly popular 99% Invisible podcast), Oakland indie favorites Waterstrider, marijuana journalist David Downs, a DJ set from one-man powerhouse Astronauts, etc., and a super-secret musical guest who — hint, hint — was arrested in a rather high-profile manner earlier this year. All profits go directly to the nonprofit Art for Oakland Kids. $10–$12; details here. [Note: Max Savage Levenson is a contributing writer here at KQED Arts.]

Friday, Nov. 13: Paul Grushkin presents The Art of Rock at Green Apple Books on the Park, San Francisco. From large-scale advertisements for Elvis and B.B. King to full-color flyers for the Sex Pistols at CBGB — and on up to the free 11″x17″ mementos that showgoers still receive after attending a sold-out show at the Fillmore — poster art is a fascinating lens through which to study rock ‘n’ roll history. The Bay Area’s own Paul Grushkin is considered the genre’s expert; accordingly, this new publication claims to be the “complete” visual history of the rock concert poster. Free; details here.

Friday, Nov. 13: Friday Nights at the Computer History Museum with a preview of Katharine Hawthorne’s Mainframe, Mountain View. Sure, an evening party at a museum dedicated to documenting computations throughout time might sound geeky — but throw in food trucks from Off the Grid and a sneak preview of acclaimed choreographer Katharine Hawthorne’s computer-infused dance piece (literally, five dancers meet six old Macintosh computers) and things get pretty damn interesting. Half-price admission to the museum doesn’t hurt either. $6 – $12; details here. 

Saturday, Nov. 14: Writers With Drinks at the Make Out Room, SF. This monthly series invites local journalists, fiction scribes, and poets to do what they do best: Drink. Lucky for you, they read a little bit too. This month’s lineup is a doozy, with fascinating journo/internet and law expert Sarah Jeong (The Internet of Garbage), novelist Carrie Patel (The Buried Life), sci-fi phenom K. Tempest Bradford (Strange Horizons, io9) and more on deck to speak between cocktails. Hosted, as always, by local treasure Charlie Jane Anders, this month’s nonprofit (as in, where all proceeds go) is the Center for Sex and Culture. $5 to $20, no one turned away; details here. 

Saturday, Nov. 14 – Sunday, Nov. 15: West Coast Craft at Fort Mason Center, SF. If you’re one of those people who gets a monthlong jump on your holiday shopping, this could be a one-stop mecca. Either that, or just do what the rest of us do, and go in thinking “gifts” but leave with a dozen new “gifts” for yourself. No judgment — just 250+ craftsmen and women hawking wares inspired by “the cultural and natural histories of the West Coast.” Three commissioned, site-specific exhibitions from local visual artists will be on view as well. Free; details here. 

Sunday, Nov. 15: An American Ascent at the New Parkway, Oakland. On the 100th anniversary of Denali’s first summit, this new documentary follows “the first African American expedition to tackle…North America’s highest peak, and explores the complex relationship many African-Americans have with the outdoors.” The screening doubles as a fundraiser for Bay Area Wilderness Training, which helps get city kids outdoors. $5 – $20; details here.

Sunday, Nov. 15: Aquarius Records’ 45th Anniversary Party, San Francisco. In the year 2015, a fiercely independent record store doing well is cause enough for celebration any day of the week — but lasting 45 years is another thing altogether. Aquarius Records, the Mission District hub for punks and DJs and all other manner of fringey, freaky music lovers and collectors, is throwing itself a bash to mark the occasion. Expect live tunes from DJ andeeeeeee (from A Minor Forest, also the store’s co-owner), KALX’s DJ Matokie, Josh Cheon of Honey Soundsystem, Swiftumz, and plenty of other friends/family/secret rockstars who are affiliated with aQ. Free, but as usual, don’t expect to get out of the store without seeing something you want to buy. Details here.

Tuesday, Nov. 17: Bells Atlas with Y La Bamba at the New Parish, Oakland. What does Oakland sound like? If you had to cram it into one band, Bells Atlas would be a pretty good bet: Sumptuous percussion, powerfully layered vocals, equal parts Afrobeat, indie pop, R&B, hip-hop, and other genres that don’t quite define them perfectly all come into play. Y La Bamba, the soulful indie chanteuse who recently revamped her Portland-dwelling band, opens — likely with some Bay Area characters backing her. $8 – $12; details here.