Here's what you're doing this weekend:
State of Mind
The most ambitiously curated show in the East Bay right now is also the most enigmatic. To fully appreciate State of Mind, New California Art circa 1970, at the Berkeley Art Museum (2626 Bancroft Way, Berkeley), set aside a couple of hours and come ready to work — work at grasping the amount of art (more than 150 works by 60 artists), encyclopedically presented, all of it wonderfully strange. Consider not only the greats of California conceptualism (e.g., Baldesarri, Nauman, Ruscha, and Burden), but also the army of lesser giants, who are often more interested in documenting the satirizing of the process of art-making as an art itself. It gets complicated pretty quickly, but hang on, the journey is worth it. The show itself emulsifies all these disparate, intellectual game-things into one, beautiful, museum experience — arguably more of a work of art than any of the pieces are individually. Show runs through June 17. 510-642-0808 or BAMPFA.Berkeley.edu. — Obi Kaufmann
Religious Girls
Let's just get this out of the way: the people behind Religious Girls are neither girls nor particularly religious. They are, however, one of the more promising bands in Oakland at the moment, with an inventive, unapologetic sort of Battles-meets-Animal Collective sound that's best illustrated by the unofficial motto "Shred til We Ded." And now, after an all-too-long hiatus, the band is back in a major way, having just released a new album and embarked on an ambitious mini-tour, which includes the Uptown (1928 Telegraph Ave., Oakland) on Friday, April 6. Bring earplugs. 9 p.m., free. UptownNightclub.com — Ellen Cushing
Easter Brunch at Joshu-Ya
Where better to celebrate the season of the resurrection than at a critically acclaimed sushi restaurant specializing in sustainable seafood from around the world? Joshu-Ya Brasserie (2441 Dwight Way, Berkeley) serves a special Easter Sunday Brunch on Sunday, Apr. 8; owner-chef Jason Kwon's a la carte offerings include eggs Benedict, California omelets, pulled-pork sandwiches, custard French toast, bistro-burgers, and cranberry-almond spinach salad. 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m., prices vary. 510-848-5260 or Joshu-Ya.com — Anneli Rufus
Plus...
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