Panhandle Bandshell

R.I.P. Bandshell.
You were the best thing this city had.
Lazy afternoons with wine, listening to a jazz quartet or a jugg band festival pre-​show. It was intimate, impromptu and inspiring. and now it’s gone.
While I admire the art collective I have to say that I really hate you for removing it. And even more for taking it from me to move it to Treasure Island??? A structural element of the Bay Bridge? A town with a population of less than 2k??? An island you can’t even get to by bike or by foot??? Absurd!
Smooth move exlax!
Bring it back to Panhandle where it was used and appreciated!

Motherboards and car hoods make up this bandshell in the middle of the Panhandle. Is that weird? Kind of. Does it look totally strange in the park. Definitely. However i think its just the thing the panhandle needs to bring everyone together to enjoy music on a beautiful day.
Hippies. Burners. Basketball players. Dog Walkers. Kids. Parents. Hipsters. All there for the music.
Rumor has it its only going to stay up till September. I hope that isnt so and they keep it up year round. The somewhat Grand Olé’ Opre style shit i saw today most definitely doesn’t show up at random street fairs. Its the art bandshell in the park that brings the weird out. Probably because the Black Rock Arts Foundation set it up. Burningman year round. Makes for a much more colorful city.

***IT’S COMING BACK!!! THE BANDSHELL IS BEING PUT BACK UP IN A NEW LOCATION THIS SPRING!!! CHECK OUT THE WEBSITE FOR WAYS YOU CAN HELP (donations are super-​encouraged!) AND FIND OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING WITH THIS AMAZING PUBLIC ART INSTALLATION!***
AND HERE’S MY OLD REVIEW:
dang, I thought I’d be the first to review this!
well, I must confess I am biased. My friends have been working hard on this project for months. And now that it’s finally going up in the Panhandle (@ Clayton) it’s amazing. The city of San Francisco is such a wonderful place in its acceptance and support of public art!
This public art piece is made almost entirely from re-​used materials. Seriously, I think the only new materials were the nails, screws, glue and paint. The stage is a canvas of solid-​core doors from Building Resources. The shell is constructed of salvaged car hoods. And the back wall… something you probably throw out or «recycle» every day… water bottles!
Already people are starting to gather and chill out in front of it, even with the big chain link fence still up. You can book your own show at
OR make your secret Broadway dream come true impromptu-​style whenever the bandshell is not already in use.
The grand opening is this Saturday… for sake of ease of reading I’ve just cut n pasted the details below. There’s time for kids, open stage for anyone to use, and a slew of performances scheduled. 2pm is the grand unveiling with the Mayor onhand to welcome it. Be sure to check out the website for full info on how this project came about
Panhandle Bandshell Grand Opening Celebration
Saturday, June 23^rd Noon– 7pm
Clayton St Crossing Between Oak & Fell
*Please join us to celebrate the opening of our open
performance space that will be in our community all
summer long for everyone to enjoy*
*Noon– 2pm Kid Friendly Performances
*2pm Opening Ceremony
*3pm-​7pm Live Entertainment
*7pm-​8pm Open Stage
Bring a picnic, your friends, your family, your
neighbors, & an instrument to share your talents
with the community
MC’d by International Pop Star Bene (Bennett Jones)
*Music by: *Rupa *Guacho *Jenny Kerr * Clide vs.
Crocodiles *Think 13 *Daniel Ross *Jesse Wilson
*Naomi Adiv *Dizzy Decimal & *Dan Cantrell *Merrill
and Chris Ray Collins
*Performance by: *Stilt dancers SF *Sterling Johnson
the Bubblesmith *Ascend Dance Project *Aerialist Tara
Quinn
*Dancers Melissa and Elizabeth Castaneda *Kecak
with Grady Cousins *Sweet Can Productions (aerial &
german wheel)
*Comedic Performances: *BanBana Unstoppable *Risa
Lenore*Jen Colasuonno *Ben Turner *Cynthia Aviance
*Christina Shonkwiler *Julia Baldassari-​Litchman
*Hernan the Clown

«Field of Dreams» meets «Babes in Arms» (‘Let’s put on a show in the barn’). This is a very cool idea, building a band shell out of old car hoods, and inviting acoustic artists & musicians to sign up to perform (with the exception of drumming). I’m not sure if the car hoods will give it the acoustical qualities of the Hollywood Bowl — perhaps something closer to Hollywood Boulevard.
Hats off to Black Rock Arts Foundation for a creative, original, and best of all, fun idea, executed by volunteers. And as much as I like a good drum circle enjoyed from a good distance (the better to see and not hear), if they had to place one restriction on the types of performances allowed, this couldn’t have been a better choice.

I’ve been watching out my window as this miniature hollywood bowl is being constructed across the street by the Black Rock Arts Foundation. It will provide an acoustic venue for daytime concerts — the first one (and grand unveiling) on June 23. More information to come.
UPDATE:
As the other reviews mention, the bandshell has been constructed out of car hoods and the guts of car radios. Hats off to the designer (s) for their awesome vision of turning the discarded into something strangely beautiful. Unfortunately I was out of town for the opening but rumor has it there was even a trapeze artist at one point. If that is the case, this will be one of the coolest venues around. What’s great is that it is totally accessible at all times for anyone to wander onstage, test stage presence, or even give an impromptu concert. (They take official bookings at their website.) One small downside: there is no signage at the venue nor on the website regarding upcoming shows. Still, I look forward to being able to either catch a concert or encourage some of my more musically inclined friends to give one.
UPDATE 2:
The bandshell was carefully dismantled an is currently searching for a new home. I was a bit against this at first, but grew to love the great energy it brought. Hope it is relocated somewhere soon.