words by Patty Riek
photos by Jon Bauer
House of Tarot presented by Beats Antique & Zoe Jakes offered a sensual immersive performance art piece with the historical San Francisco Mint as a backdrop. January 2024 Edwardian Ball attendees may remember a tiny iteration of House Of Tarot. Parlaying that event into the 1874 Mint was a spectacular feat!!
After ascending the majestic staircase, a staff member introduced this version of the Tarot as a life’s journey and suggested that if we are not happy with our lives, we should change them now. Entering, we had to choose door 1, 2, or 3 to start the journey. Door 1 led to purgatory where participants fill out a “post-death questionnaire” which was promptly shredded.
Once in the House Of Tarot, we roamed about the different rooms of the enchanting experience. In a resplendent red hued room, Jessa embodied The Empress offering tarot readings to give guests insights into love, money, or destiny. Beside her we were invited to a cozy tea service in front of a gnarled tree (of knowledge?).
For those not wanting a public tarot reading, next door was the oracle. After knocking on the red door, we were ushered into the Delphi-esque grotto and instructed to ask a yes or no answer. The multi-ocular oracle danced her way into an answer.
A sublime and soothing “white” room offered sofas, lanterns, delicate flowers, white trees and another stage for dancers and musicians.
Downstairs, we explored our subconscious in a series of rooms which included a participatory pole dancing room, psychedelic mirrored triangle with dancers and fiber optic light sequence with meditative music, an eerily quiet room tangled with neon and black light, and an opportunity to “join the cult” of Circus Something. Given chalk when entering, we shared our fears on the walls of the subterranean room.
Beats Antique played four sets in the band room; the percussive sound of Beats Antique melded a variety of musical genres and styles to enchant the audience. The size of the room gave folks a chance to get close enough to see the plethora of instruments, new and old, the musicians use to craft their unique sound.
When not playing their solo sets, the band backed Zoe Jakes and her dance troupe. Zoe Jakes, a bay area performance art maven (who can forget Jakes’ embellished antler head-dress wearing a diaphanous white dress? ), demonstrated time and time again her artistry. During one dance, with a vessel perched atop her head, she traversed the stage, did the splits, backbends and tree pose with one leg fully extended all without toppling the vase. Her expressive face and mesmerizing hands captivated the audience – especially in such an intimate venue.
La Zuli played musical interludes throughout the venue. Their string forward sound complemented the percussion based style of Beats Antique. We could follow the sound of the strings to different mini-stages in the venue – sometimes in the hall, sometimes outside the oracle’s door. One highlight was a sultry violin-dance duet in the white room.
Beats Antique have long delighted audiences by expanding expectations about music and dance. The House Of Tarot is another version of how the arts intersect and enhance each other. After one set Jakes thanked everyone – the artists, staff, and audience for supporting this unique vision. Long time fans and neophytes could see band members and dancers up close as they created art. Dancers floated throughout the venue on the way to the next installation, but seeing them just moving about was part of the magic as well.
The centuries old tarot has been appreciated for different reasons: insight, oracle, introspection. Tarot is an artform – each deck includes both the tradition of the Major and Minor Arcana, but each deck also reflects the sensibilities of the artist. Beats Antique have taken the tradition of the two dimensional tarot and transformed it into a living piece. As the hostess who welcomed us to the event reminded us, “Death is coming for all of us.” Beat Antique modeled that we should get out there to create and enjoy art before death arrives. We are lucky to live in the Bay Area replete with opportunities to enjoy, participate in, support, and create myriad art forms.
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