{"id":18629,"date":"2011-03-11T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2011-03-11T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.metroactive.com\/best-of-silicon-valley\/2011\/arts\/reader-picks.html"},"modified":"2022-09-16T10:03:53","modified_gmt":"2022-09-16T17:03:53","slug":"arts-reader-picks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metrosiliconvalley.com\/arts-reader-picks\/","title":{"rendered":"Arts | Reader Picks"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Rosicrucian Museum<\/strong> For readers, no other museum is quite so esoteric as the Rosicrucian. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Best Small\/Quirky Museum<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Rosicrucian Museum<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1660 Park Ave., San Jose; 408.947.3636. The Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum essentially began with one artifact: a statue of Sekhmet on Harvey Spencer Lewis’ desk. That was almost 100 years ago, and after many life-cycles of expansion, the museum continues to be part of the social fabric of San Jose, housing 4,000 artifacts, the largest collection of authentic ancient Egyptian artifacts on display in Western North America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

History Park, San Jose<\/b> 1650 Senter Road, San Jose; 408.287.2290<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Computer History Museum<\/b> 1401 N. Shoreline Blvd., Mountain View; 650.810.1010<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best Art Gallery<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Anno Domini<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

366 S. First St., San Jose; 408.271.5155. San Jose has always been a place where, if folks want anything interesting to happen, they have to fight for it. For 11 years now, Brian Eder and Cherri Lakey of Anno Domini have done exactly that. The gallery has brought artists from all over the world to San Jose. They’ve also been intertwined with almost every interesting countercultural meme that’s emerged during those last 11 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art<\/b> 560 S. First St., San Jose; 408.283.8155<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Empire Seven Studios<\/b> 525 N. Seventh St., San Jose; 408.668.4434<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best Local Festival<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Boogie on the Bayou<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Downtown Campbell; www.campbellchamber.com. Campbell does its downtown festivals right, and where it was once considered sort of a season opener for Big Bands & BBQ in July and especially Oktoberfest, Boogie on the Bayou has now officially arrived. Held every third weekend in May, and featuring live music along with arts and crafts booths and Cajun cuisine, the point is not so much gritty down-on-the-bayou authenticity as it is a great excuse for a Big-Easy-style party to kick off the summer season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

San Jose Jazz Festival<\/b> Downtown San Jose; www.sanjosejazz.org<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gilroy Garlic Festival<\/b> Christmas Hill Park, Gilroy; 408.842.1625<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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CINEQUEST<\/strong> John Turturro received a Maverick Spirit Award at this year’s Best Of film festival.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Best Film Festival<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Cinequest<\/b> Downtown San Jose; 408.295.3378. At 21, Cinequest seems like it has been around forever. It’s hard to remember that, once upon a time, it was just the most recent attempt to start a film festival in a market where more than a couple of such festivals had died on the vine. Today, this event brings the cinematic world to our doorsteps, through dozens of celebrated directors and actors. Cinequest is also the launching pad for numerous local talents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Midnight Movies at Camera Cinemas<\/b> www.cameracinemas.com<\/p>\n\n\n\n

San Jose Short Film Festival<\/b> www.sjshortfest.com<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best Open-Mic Night<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Johnny V’s Cypher, Wednesday<\/b> 31 E. Santa Clara St., San Jose; 408.947.8470<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rooster T. Feather’s, New Talent Showcase, Wednesday<\/b> 157 W. El Camino Real, Sunnyvale; 408.736.0921<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Barefoot Coffee Roasters, Wednesday<\/b> 5237 Stevens Creek Blvd., Santa Clara; 408.248.4500<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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San Jose Rep<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Best Theater Company<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

San Jose Rep<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

101 Paseo de San Antonio, San Jose; 408.367.7255. San Jose Rep is a cultural ornament to the valley; since 1980, it has been entertaining and enlightening hundreds of thousands of attendees. The Rep’s upcoming season includes the provocative hit musical Spring Awakening, and then, in January 2012, the world premiere of a stage version of the noir gem Double Indemnity. They’re continuing “Pay as you will Tuesdays” (March 24 this month) and continue with community outreach programs too numerous to name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TheatreWorks<\/b> Performances at the Lucie Stern Theatre, Palo Alto, and the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts; 650.463.1950<\/p>\n\n\n\n

City Lights Theater Company<\/b> 529 S. Second St., San Jose; 408.295.4200<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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BALLET SAN JOSE<\/strong> The discipline and beauty of dance are well served at San Jose’s resident company. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Best Dance Company<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Ballet San Jose<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

40 N. First St., San Jose; performances at San Jose Center for the Performing Arts; 408.288.2800. As Ballet San Jose’s acclaimed production of Swan Lake just demonstrated, the movies are no substitute for the grace and discipline of real dancers. Dennis Nahat’s nimble company upholds the classical dance tradition with technical skill, exuberance and dedication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Studio 10 Dance<\/b> 6190 Bollinger Road, San Jose; 408.446.0103<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flamenco Society of San Jose<\/b> Performances at the Historic Hoover Theatre, San Jose; 510.792.8355<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Los Lupenos<\/b> Performances at the Mexican Heritage Plaza, San Jose; 408.920.6070<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best Small Theatre Company<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Children’s Musical Theater<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

271 S. Market St., San Jose; performances at Montgomery Theater; 408.288.5437. Not only does CMTSJ provide young actors the chance to experience the thrill of live performance, the company also puts on consistently entertaining and often quite elaborate shows. Over the course of some 40 years, CMTSJ has instilled more than 100,000 kids with a feel for the magic of the stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Retro Dome<\/b> 1694 Saratoga Ave., San Jose; 408.404.7711<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cardboard Box Theater Project<\/b> Performances at WORKS\/San Jose; www.thecardboardbox.org<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best Concert Venue<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Mountain Winery<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

14831 Pierce Road, Saratoga; 408.741.2822. Featuring arguably the best view of the valley one can get to without a grueling hike, a concert at Mountain Winery is like a mini-getaway. The lineups tend to do a excellent job of balancing veteran headliners with edgier openers, just as the bowl seating combines star-power shows with an intimate feel\u2014which is perhaps why this spot gets more performers off the stage and up in the crowd than any other in the South Bay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shoreline Amphitheatre<\/b> 1 Amphitheatre Pkwy., Mountain View; 650.967.4040<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HP Pavilion<\/b> 525 W. Santa Clara St., San Jose; 408.287.7070<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Improv<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Best Comedy Venue<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Improv<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

62 S. Second St., San Jose; 408.280.7475. With the “Improv” name providing industrial-strength comedy cred, this spot is able to snag big standup headliners the South Bay wouldn’t otherwise get. The classic theater setting ranks it among the top clubs in the Bay Area for rolling in the aisles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rooster T. Feathers<\/b> 157 W. El Camino Real, Sunnyvale; 408.736.0921<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ComedySportz<\/b> 288 S. Second St., San Jose; 408.985.5233<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best Local Winery<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

J. Lohr<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1000 Lenzen Ave., San Jose; 408.918.2160 Last year, Wine Enthusiast Magazine named them American Winery of the Year. And just like last year, Metro readers again named the San Jose wine maker their favorite local winery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cinnabar<\/b> 14612 Big Basin Way, Saratoga; 408.867.1012<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Testarossa Winery<\/b> 300A College Ave., Los Gatos; 408.354.6150<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Gordon Biersch<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Best Microbrewery<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Gordon Biersch<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

357 E. Taylor St., San Jose, 408.278.1008; 33 E. San Fernando St., San Jose, 408.294.6785; 640 Emerson St., Palo Alto, 650.323.7723 Gordon-Biersch started right here in 1988, in the days when brewpubs were a complete novelty. The original location in Palo Alto led to the downtown San Jose landmark, with its Old World brick courtyard. This patio is the one of the best places around to be on a hot Friday afternoon. Over the years, G-B specialized in German-style beers; lately, it is also brewing heartier, hoppier beers to accompany their popular line of wheat, dark and lagers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rock Bottom Brewery<\/b> 1875 S. Bascom Ave., Campbell; 408.377.0707<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Los Gatos Brewing Company<\/b> 130G N. Santa Cruz Ave., Los Gatos, 408.395.9929; 163 W. Santa Clara St., San Jose, 408.292.9928<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best Local Jock (except Greg Kihn)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Audio Dru<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is Audio Dru the hardest-working man in the South Bay electronic music scene? All we know is that while turning out a weekly radio show that Metro readers consistently vote among the best in the valley, he also runs open-mic fixture the Cypher (another Best Of winner this year), spins at local DJ showcases regularly, helps out Pacific Art Collective, pursues a photography career and writes a mean haiku.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ophelia Necro, The Suicide Watch, KFJC<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Robert Emmett, KFJC<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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