Best Album
Green Day, 21st Century Breakdown
You can’t beat home-grown rock operas. — T.
Abaigael
Sweetbread
They have more soul in one finger than Green Day can pack in a
stadium — Gina Petersen
Best Art Gallery
Johansson Project
There’s grass on the ceiling! OK, seriously … they stay Oakland
edgy, but without giving up any integrity of showing real art. —
b b
Pro Arts
Pro Artist. — Hiroko Kurihara
Rock Paper Scissors
I once saw a suitcase full of hot dogs there. Works for me. —
Justin Champlin
Best Arts Organization
10,000 Steps
Connecting downtown history and community through art installations
at the historic parks. — Jonathan Bair
California Revels
An incredible celebration of the solstices through community,
ritual, music and dance. — Theresa Nelson
Destiny Arts Center
Serves all kids from all walks of life, teaching violence prevention
through dance and martial arts. The real deal. — Karen
Hester
Independent Arts & Media
Put on the annual Expo for the Arts in Frisco, helps local arts
& media like MRR, Gilman, Hyphen Magazine, Counter Corp Film Fest
2009-06-18 — Jesse Townley
MOCHA
Arts for kids, no brainer. — Jesse Kupers
Oaklandish
They represent. — Daniel Schulman
Shawl-Anderson Modern Dance Center
Few dance studios that provide such a high caliber of classes are
also so welcoming and joyous! — Amanda Whitehead
Best Artsy Cafe
As opposed to what other kind of cafes? Dive cafes?
— Bridget
Awaken Cafe
Perfect espresso, delicious sandwiches, sexy staff, and local art on
the walls. What more could you want? — Brendan
Darrow
Cafe 504
It’s a wine bar for coffee. It’s Blue Bottle without the pretension.
— Matt R
Local 123
Finally, a lovely little spot for people to hang out on San Pablo!
— Christa
Mama Buzz
Best coffee, most hipsters — Jade
Nomad Cafe
Poetry Readings — Amanda
Rooz Cafe
Rooz is a place to get great coffee without surly-hipster-service.
— Daniel McChesney-Young
Best Band
Carne Cruda
Most original, and with a conscience! — Daniel del
Solar
Green Day
First I thought my kids were into my music, now I realize I am into
THEIR music. — Joe DeVries
High on Fire
Because they effing rock! — Jesica Jordan
MiRthkon
Have you heard them? Blow your brains out! — Patricia
Wakida
Olehole
They invade your mind with awesomeness. — Emily
Harrison
Primitivas
4 hot girls playing LOUD garage punk. — Mitch
Cardwell
The Von Trapps
They play the songs you know that you want to hear but are afraid to
admit it! — Kevin Suto
Why?
Yoni has the heart of Oakland lodged in his throat. — Bree
Phillips
Best Blogger
A Better Oakland
Getting the facts right when Full Disclosure gets them wrong since
2007. — Max Allstadt
Claire Light: clairelight.typepad.com/seelight/
Racial politics, East Bay art reviews, media watchdog, sci-fi
writer. She’s awesome. — Patricia Wakida
Inhuman Eating Machine
There is something about one guy eating a crap-ton of food that is
just awesome. — Henry Garcia
Because farts are always funny. — Kelly
Tschantz
Michele Ellson, The Island
Ellson’s work covering the town of Alameda is simply incredible. I
have no idea how she does it. — Echa Schneider
V Smooth — A Better Oakland
She’s thorough, objective, and consistent! — Consuelo
Jacobs
Best book
A Dirty Job
Demon fights on BART— need I say more? — Cailey
Pedersen
Michael Pollan, In Defense of Food
This book is the Silent Spring of the new century. — Scott
Roberts
Leaving India — Minal Hajratwala
Delicious prose about the diaspora of Indian folks and her family in
particular. — Margo Rivera-Weiss
The Loneliness of the Electric Menorah
Aaron Cometbus’ history of Telegraph Avenue. Easily the best writing
to come out of this area in quite some time. — Mitch
Cardwell
Bryant Terry, Vegan Soul Kitchen
Have you had any of the recipes? They incite me to violence (in a
loving way…) — Tiffany Golden
Best Church Music
Chochmat HaLev
You can’t beat get-up-and-dance Shabbat service 1st & 3rd Friday
nights! — Kerrick
The church you hear outside San Pablo Park on Sundays
Makes sports fun. — John
East Bay Church of Religious Science
Positive, progressive, accepting, and gospel style — clap your
hands, while dancing! big smiles and warmth, friendly people. —
Michelle Lane
Huh?
— Adam Beck
St. Columba Church in Oakland
The wonderful liturgical music styling of Rawn Harbor make this an
amazing experience. His blend of Southern Gospel with Catholic hymns is
brilliant. — Jefe St. Clair
Best Club
?? in Oakland?? you’ve got to be kidding
— Kelly D
Mua
Funky, fresh, and amazing drinks! — Camille
Gebert
Stork Club
That’s my life. — Peter St. Lawrence
Uptown
Coolest bar — the actual wood piece that drinks are placed
upon. Formerly at the Old Spaghetti Factory in Jack London Square.
— Brent Durning
Best Concert Venue
Fox Theater
Phil, thanks. — Max Allstadt
Beautiful. Just the sound needs improvement. —
Ken
Freight and Salvage
Except for the chairs. — Jenmy Holland
Cheeseboard pizza collective
Price of a piece of pizza = you get to hear the INCREDIBLE
California Honeydrops live band. — Alice
Armstrong
Roosters Roadhouse
Best underground metal scene. — Michelle
Best Dance Club
All Mighty
All Mighty is the joint we all should experience at least once, with
its b-boys and b-girls battling it out juxtaposed next to all the
beautiful people shaking what their mother gave them. — Maurice
Lyles
Oasis.
At least until they went under due to City of Oakland permit
hassles! — Ken
White Horse
Best mix of people of all races, ages and sexual expressions.
— Lisa Harbus
Best Event
Chapel of the Chimes — Summer Solstice concert
Experimental music in a mausoleum on summer solstice … eerie and
amazing. — Patricia Wakida
Election night 2008!
— Gwynne Coffee
First Friday Follies
It’s a monthly community-supported burlesque variety show. Nothing
beats NPR with boobies! — Margaret France
Maker Faire
Some of the best creativity the Bay Area has to offer — and
flaming metal death on a stick. — J. Crow Bolt
Best Festival
California Coastal Cleanup Day
Do good, have fun for our bay and oceans. — Eli
Saddler
Fire Arts Festival
How can you not love things made with fire? — Adan
Tejada
The Outer Lands
Whatever the concert is called. — Kevinn Minor
Best Museum
Oakland Museum
Wiggle yer toes and the mammoth koi will nip them. — Shirley
Brewin
Makes you proud to be a Californian — Claudia
Perkins
Best Musician
Gary Hegedis
The oud player for Stella Mara. He’s awesome. — John C.
Sulak
Gene V Baker
His Supreme 80’s show off not only his skills as a composer &
performer, but also his heart & originality! All while u tappin’ ur
toes! — La Mantia
Best New Culture Scene
Burlesque
It should be best old culture scene. — Margaret
France
Hyphy-Norteño aka Corrido-Hyphy
Haven’t heard of it? Check it out. — Camilo
Landau
First Friday Art Murmur
Live bands and weird art. — Vanessa Brake
Uptown
Assuming good bar drinks count as culture. — Susan
Raffanti
Best Painter
Tyrell Collins
Lovely surreal oils on brushed metal canvases in her West Oakland
studio — a great place to check out during East Bay Open Studios!
— Mindy
Best Performer
Bronkar Lee
Beatboxing juggler, houserocker, heartbreaker. — Margaret
France
Honey Lawless
Her burlesque performances are like no other! Perfect and utter
madness. — Maggie
Best Photographer
Jason Montano
His pictures are all local that expresses the soul of the Bay Area.
— Fred Montano
Jennifer Waicukauski
Best pinhole photos I have ever seen. — Jon
Freel
Richard Misrach
He captures the true spirit of the West with his eye and his
political conscience. — Lisa Harbus
Best Purveyor of Local Crafts
5733
All products are handmade locally, with toxic free, environmentally
safe dyes and methods. And the stuff is freakin awesome. — Mai
Nguyen
ACCI
50 yrs of cooperation! Gallery/store — still going strong!
— Hannah Jo
Afterglow
I can’t afford most of their items, but they’re gorgeous and
handmade! — Alexis Babayan
Art in the Park (Alameda)
100 percent local (so local it was canceled last year). —
John
Metro Lighting
Super cool handmade fixtures and blown glass! —
Christa
Rock Paper Scissors
Uterus panties! — Vanessa Brake
Best Sculptor
J.B. Lowe
Creepy, well-constructed objects that evoke magical stories. —
Christa
Richard Akers
His sculptures tower up to seven feet in the air. Sociological
stalagmites, as he calls them, are an assemblage of cultural icons
relating to the post 911 world. — Mike Paunovich
Best Singer or MC
Too Short
The best experience of my life in the East Bay occured when I saw
Too $hort emerging from the Oakland Grill. I asked him to “Blow the
Whistle” and he obliged by giving me the power fist. Awesome. —
April de Costa
Best Theatrical Production
1001 Arabian Nights @ Berkeley Rep
Mary Zimmerman is amazing, always. — Tracy
Tingle
Beach Blanket Babylon
Hilarious, always fresh and relevant. — Miyoko
Kawashima
Dracul: Prince of Fire at the Crucible
Fantastic multimedia extravaganza. And fire! —
Dunn
Faust at Ashby Stage
Absolutely brilliant. I hope this one sees many revivals. Faust done
with 2 simple sets, 5 actors, 2 hours and perfectly. — Steven
Schwartz
Walden School upper group play — every year!
Russell Wright, the drama teacher at Walden, is amazing and gets the
kids doing the most awesome work. — Christa
Best Warehouse Parties
Andy Warhol Factory Party
I saw a six year old pulling off the warhol schtick and I nearly
peed my pants. — Little Lisa Chavez
Not the Amoeba/wharola Factory
Talk about facetiously crass. — East Bay Big
Balls
Your Mother’s
When you print _________, it puts them above ground, hence they’ll
most likely get shut down this year. Don’t “help ’em out” anymore. Like
you helped all the other warehouses. 🙂 — Willis
Stork
