While scoring big on the food front - Anchor And Hope, Axis Cafe, and Hog Island Oyster Co., I was finding it difficult to come up with an appropriate jazz experience. By "appropriate" I wasn't expecting Miles Davis, but I didn't want to settle for a house band.
Stephen's and my old haunt, Jazz at Pearls, is now unaccountably closed. Not being a committed jazz follower, the only other places I could think of were Yoshi's in San Francisco's Fillmore district, or the parent Yoshi's in Oakland.
When Pavey heard that R&B smoothie Dwele was playing in Oakland, "we" decided that was where we were going for our jazz. Stephen, Simi, Pavey and I had a so-so sushi experience before filing into the intimate venue for the 10.30pm show. Before I focus on the music, Yoshi's is definitely not worth visiting for its sushi restaurant. There were tasty offerings in the Hamachi department - sashimi, carpacchio, and in rolls - but the rest was several rungs down from Blowfish, Tsunami or any number of San Francisco's sushi restaurants. Shambolic goings on at the front desk set the scene for what was a fun meal from the company perspective, but as I said, sub-par from the food angle.
Anyhow, cut to the music, which was - even for this R&B non-believer's ear, top notch. My differently-motivated fellow revelers LOVED the show, which was exactly what I was aiming for, so job well done.
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