Ode to Joy

Standing on the IPA-soaked floor of Oakland’s Fox Theater, Wilco’s pummeling alt rock oeuvre reverberated in a tidal wave of post-pandemic jubilation.

While taking AP and honors classes, my sister and I would come home and trade stories about how the teachers would awkwardly stare in our directions after reading the N-word.

Even when not scheduled for a professional performance, the 12 pianos scattered throughout the garden’s 55 acres seldom stood unplayed.