SFJAZZ presents Buster Keaton's Go West, accompanied by Club Foot Orchestra
2015-08-23
Miner Auditorium
SFJAZZ Center, 205 Franklin St, San Francisco, CA
Late show, 5:30 PM, Sunday, August 23, 2015

Back to the previous event! ☸ Up to the 2015 yearbox! ☸ Up to the 2015 event list! ☸ On to the next event!

Buster Keaton's Sherlock Jr. (1924) & One Week (1920)

No explanation given by SFJAZZ for the bait and switch, but Club Foot Orchestra posted this announcement on their facebook page on August 4: “Because of a change in ownership of the Keaton films, “SHERLOCK JR” and “ONE WEEK” are now unavailable for public showing. We will substitute “GO WEST” for our engagement at SFJAZZ and are feverishly writing a new score! Hope to see you there…”

Seems really strange to me that NO ONE made an announcement about the switch at the show today.

[5:29 PM lights down, announcements]

1. [5:30 PM] Otto Messmer and Pat Sullivan: Felix Woos Whoopee (1928)
    
   [5:39 PM brief words from conductor Deirdre McClure]
    
   
2. [5:42 PM] Winsor McCay: How a Mosquito Operates (1912)
    
   
3. [5:49 PM] Max Fleischer: Koko the Convict (1926)
    
   [5:57 PM founder Richard Marriott speaks for a few minutes about the origin of Club Foot Orchestra]
    
4. [5:59 PM] Buster Keaton: Go West (1925)
   
   [show ends 7:04 PM, no encore]

Club Foot Orchestra

• Myles Boisen: guitar, bass;
• Sheldon Brown: alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, B-flat clarinet, bass clarinet, Turkish G clarinet, piccolo, flute, guitar;
• Beth Custer: alto clarinet, B-flat clarinet, bass clarinet, guitar ;
• Chris Grady: trumpet;
• Steve Kirk: guitar, vox;
• Richard Marriott: trombone, euphonium, woodwinds, brass, electronics;
• Deirdre McClure: conductor;
• Gino Robair: drums, percussion, electronics, guitar ;
• Matthew Szemela: violin;
• Cory Wright: clarinet, soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, bass clarinet, baritone saxophone.

Kind of frustrating to have SFJAZZ pull the old bait and switch once again – made all the more aggravating by the fact that they fail to own up to it. How hard could it be to notify patrons of an unanticipated problem that requires changing the program? Extra lame that the web page leaves the you-tube clips up for the originally scheduled pieces.

Stupidly, we arrive about an hour before the show tonight, based on my incorrect belief that the show starts on the hour instead of half past. Doh! Measure twice, cut once! Gave me more time for pleasure reading though, so it wasn't a total gaffe.

Eventually the staff open the house, and after a bit, we wander in to our assigned seats. Listening to folks around us, it's apparent that more than a few were caught by surprise with the switch in program – basically everyone who bought tickets early is in the same boat – and we ALL have tickets that prominently list the original program. Seems kind of stupid to piss off the hard core fans, but neither the house nor band made any mention of the situation.

Back to the previous event! ☸ Up to the 2015 yearbox! ☸ Up to the 2015 event list! ☸ On to the next event!