Time to get your weekend on. Here's how:
"Paid Regulars"
Until recently, Oakland held the unfunny distinction of being one of the few big American cities with no professional comedy club. Enter the Continental Club, first opened in 1945 as a eatery-by-day (Christy's Grill) and supper club-slash-dance-spot by night (Rumboogie). The current owners decided to launch a comedy club in the space after a trip to LA, where they saw just how much a supported comedy scene is lacking in their city. Join them each Friday and Saturday night, including Mar. 29-30, as they host "Paid Regulars," their new comedy show of ten- or twenty-minute sets for local comedy talent. 8 p.m., $15. 510-673-8813 or ContinentalComedy.com — Azeen Ghorayshi
Bomba Estereo
Bomba Estéreo may sing in Spanish, but its global electro and hip-hop beats translate to any dance floor. The Bogotá, Colombia-based band will come to The New Parish on Monday, Apr. 1, for the second stop on its Caribbean Power US tour to promote its fourth full-length album, Elegancia Tropical, which Spin called "riveting." According to Spin, Bomba Estéreo has been touring the world for the past two years and refining its live performances, which combine the traditional cumbia music of its native Colombia with more modern electronic influences. Vocalist Liliana Saumet — who sings, raps, and dances with seemingly limitless energy — has earned comparisons to M.I.A., Santigold, and Brazilian female rockers CSS for her explosive stage presence. Saumet's three bandmates feverishly multitask on various instruments — laptop, keyboard, sampler, synth, bass, guitar, and drums — to create Bomba Estéreo's huge live sound, which has translated to massive arena and festival gigs back in Colombia. Don't forget earplugs. 9 p.m., $20. TheNewParish.com — Lenika Cruz
"Apichatpong Weerasethakul / MATRIX 247"
Thai filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall his Past Lives) fills Berkeley Art Museum's matrix gallery space with his 2007 short film, Morakot (Emerald). Running eleven minutes on loop, the quiet, dreamlike film exposes interiors of a once lively, now abandoned Bangkok hotel. Weerasethakul digitally superimposes layers of glittering debris, such as dust and feathers, upon the already oneiric scenes to the accompaniment of a trio of voices, all speaking in Thai. Even without benefit of subtitles, it is clear enough that the voices share a reminiscent tone (however, curator Dena Beard's supplementary material points out that the content of the speech is rather more traumatic than one might expect). While the video's visual content is rich, the gallery itself is spare, consisting only of the screen and a hanging green light that seems to bridge the physical and cinematic spaces. It makes for a ghostly and compelling eleven minutes. Morakot (Emerald) runs through April 21 at the Berkeley Art Museum. 510-642-0808 or BAMPFA.Berkeley.edu — A.B.
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