Many years ago, club owner Mike O'Connor told me of his dream, to open a spot in Oakland. The man behind the Informal Nation parties and the legendary Justice League--SF's last dedicated hip-hop venue--had become somewhat disillusioned and disentranced with The City, particularly the lack of anything but a transient community when it comes to nightlife. O'Connor still maintains part-interest in the Independent, arguably the best mid-sized club to see live music in SF on a consistent basis. But O'Connor doesn't book the venue, and it seemed apparent that he missed such direct involvement.

If Oakland was on its way to becoming both a home for culturally-vibrant, ethnically-and-socially diverse folks--some refugees from SF; some not--and a nightlife destination which can hold its own with its more famous and celebrated neighbor a few years ago, it's even closer to that now. The infusion of new residents and new venues has resulted in a new feeling; Oakland's renaissance may be in its infancy, but it takes another important baby step forward this weekend when The New Parish--a joint venture between O'Connor and Skyblaze Entertainment honcho Namane Mohlabane--opens its doors.

Situated in the heart of Oakland's up-and-coming Uptown district, at the site of the former Sweet Jimmie's--a venue known to attract such hip-hop celebrities as E-40 and Too $hort--The New Parish promises to be anything but ostentatious, flashy, and ghetto-fabulous. The bookings for its first shows hint at a more progressive bent for which Oakland currently has no equal. Saturday's opening weekend features Cuban soul singer and Canadian transplant Alex Cuba (who's just reissued his second album, Agua del Pozo), as well as legendary hip-hop DJ, crate-digger, and shoe fetishist Bobbito (aka DJ Cucumber Slice). In the coming weeks, the New Parish serves up a tasty gumbo of shows: Oakland hip-hop/funk revolutionaries the Coup, SF experimental space-rock guitarist Stu Allen, and interstellar bassist-vocalist Meshell Ndegeocello. The New Parish's website offers few details--as of press time it merely said, "Open Soon"--but ads are running in weekly pubs and more info, including links to ticketing details, can be found on the club's Facebook page.