The Do List: Rock the Boat, Kendrick Scott, Armenian Food Festival and More

Looking for things to do in the Bay Area this weekend? The Do List has you covered with concerts, festivals, exhibitions, plays, performances and more.

You can listen to this week’s episode above with Gabe Meline, Nastia Voynovskaya and Grace Cheung, or read about our picks below.

Kendrick Scott Oracle: Kendrick Scott’s a leader in this new style of jazz drumming that’s exploding right now; a mix of jazz and skittering electronica-style beats played on the drums. Some of the players in this style have taken all the swing out of jazz drumming, but not Scott. He’s recorded for Blue Note Records, and his music often references social change, such as his tribute to Philando Castile. With his group the Kendrick Scott Oracle, his show this week in San Jose is part of a new series called Black Cab Jazz, where the capacity is just over 100 seats. That’s on Sunday, Oct. 20, at the Hammer Theater Center’s black box theater in San Jose. Details here.

‘Primary Wurld’: This group show at SWIM Gallery comes with a unique twist. All the installations, outfits, performers, snacks and even the audience will be in primary colors: blue, red or yellow. The curator, Baby Buu, seems really serious about this—there will actually be someone at the door checking outfits to make sure showgoers comply with the dress code. They’re keeping the art itself pretty hush-hush, but some interesting looking sculptures and club-kid looks related to the show have popped up on Instagram. The overall goal, though, is an immersive experience where the audience becomes the art. Primary Wurld takes place on Saturday, Oct. 19, at SWIM Gallery in San Francisco. Details here.

Armenian Food Festival: When you think of Armenians in California, you might think of the Kardashians. But if you’re looking for traditional Armenian cuisine, it’s not exactly a staple of their TV show. Those curious about Armenian food are in luck, though, because fall is when Armenian churches in the Bay Area break out the food and dance. For 77 years, the St. John Armenian Church has held their food festival, where you can expect to see bread and butter (probably in the form of phyllo dough desserts), plus candied nuts and fruits, kufta and more. Proceeds benefit Armenian charities. That’s on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 19 and 20, at St. John Armenian Church in San Francisco. Details here.

Headlands Center for the Arts Open House: If you’re looking to get out of town, the remote and beautiful Headlands Center for the Arts in the Marin Headlands holds an open house on Sunday. This isn’t your regular open house: it’s in a former Army barracks building that’s 100 years old, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. So if you get tired of seeing the studios of artists-in-residence—and I guarantee you won’t, the art is often astounding—but if you do, you can always go on a hike, or walk down to the beach. In fact, the building itself is art, since famous artists like Ann Hamilton and David Ireland added to it, and the bathrooms there are the weirdest and most fun bathrooms I’ve seen in years. That’s an open house on Sunday, Oct. 20, at the Headlands Center for the Arts. Details here.

Rock the Ship Festival: It seems only natural that the punk label Pirates Press Records would throw a show on the water. The centerpiece of the Rock the Ship festival comes on Saturday, Oct. 19, with an all-day punk rock extravaganza on the U.S.S. Hornet in Alameda, with influential British underground bands Cock Sparrer and Subhumans as headliners. Also playing: CJ Ramone, the Ramones’ bassist in the ’90s; all-woman anarcho-punk band Bad Cop/Bad Cop; and Oakland’s own Harrington Saints, plus lots of others. Off the ship and back on land, the festival also hosts four nights of shows at Starline Social Club in Oakland, Oct. 17–20. Details here.