The Fox Theater

TV on the Radio | March 31, 2015 | Oakland

By Kimberly Maroon

The Fox Theater is a dazzling palace, something out of your dreams.

Yes, I am a huge fan of TV on the Radio, but this was another night that was more about the venue.

At the beginning of January, when I found out I was going out to California, I researched all the music clubs in the Bay Area, making a list, scouring through their calendars for artists I wanted to see. There were tons of historical theatres, but this one in Oakland blew me away—The Fox Theater.

I had to see and capture the inside of The Fox and pulled all the stops to get the access for my camera to come along. It took a full month to get approval to cover the show. I was able to get one pass for myself and split the cost of a second ticket on Stubhub with my friend Ellen so we could party and dance our butts off the rest of the night.

Signs of a 1920s Movie Theatre

Photographs do not do justice to how beautiful this is. Standing in The Fox felt as though I was in an Egyptian temple, transported to another place and time. I couldn’t stop looking up and to every corner of the room. It reminded me of photos I had seen of the Los Angeles Theatre and the recently restored Kings Theatre in Brooklyn, also movie palaces in their prime.

The Fox was filled with gold leaf, terra cotta, decoratively carved ceilings, and two statues of warriors which sat on either side of the stage. History tells me that the theatre survived fires, several threats of the wrecking ball, and years of lying dormant, decaying, waiting to be restored. Was there a magician at work here?

I was shocked to learn who was responsible for leading the funding and restoration process—a developer.

That same week, I attended another show in San Francisco and was chatting with some locals. I asked an older woman why there were so many historic venues still in San Francisco and mentioned the gorgeously restored Fox. I was surprised why these places had not been demolished or left to rot. She reminded me about the history of the East Coast vs the West Coast and the importance of taking care of the places that are special….

We hold onto these things because we have no history.

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TV on the Radio

I covered the sold out show for QRO Mag. As always, TVOTR put on a show no short of fantastic. The horns were impressive! I was also glad to hear a lot of the old favorites throughout their set.