CAKE return to the Fox for two nights billed United for Ukraine

The band's first East Bay shows since 2012 are a Jan. 12–13, 2027 stand at the Fox Theater with Tune-Yards and Kyiv's DakhaBrakha.

The last time CAKE played the East Bay, it was April 28, 2012, at the Fox Theater on Telegraph. Nearly fifteen years later they're coming back to the same room, and they're staying two nights: Tuesday, Jan. 12, and Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2027, both at 7 p.m. Tickets run $94.15 to $300 through Ticketmaster (Jan. 12, Jan. 13).

Ticketmaster lists both nights as CAKE: United for Ukraine, and the bill backs that up. The openers are Tune-Yards and DakhaBrakha, the Ukrainian quartet that has spent the years since the full-scale invasion using its shows to keep attention on the war at home, as PBS NewsHour and OPB have reported. NPR covered the group on its U.S. visits too.

That's an unusual bill, and it's the reason to pay attention to these dates beyond the nostalgia. CAKE are the draw, but a CAKE show with DakhaBrakha and Tune-Yards in front of it is a night built around a cause, with three acts that don't sound much like each other sharing the stage. At 2,800 capacity per night, the Fox is a big room to fill twice midweek in January, and the higher end of that price range suggests the organizers are counting on it.

The 2012 show was its own moment. That week KQED's Forum had frontman John McCrea on the air, and the band had already played the Fox the previous fall, per JamBase's archive. Then the East Bay went quiet for them. For a band from Sacramento, a couple of hours up the road, that's a long time to skip Oakland.

What we don't know yet is the detail of the benefit side: which organizations the shows support and how proceeds are handled hasn't been spelled out in anything we've found from the band, the venue or the ticketer. If that matters to how you spend $95 or more, it's worth watching CAKE's and the Fox's own channels before you buy.

What we do know is the bill and the room. DakhaBrakha are a band people tend to walk out of talking about, and Tune-Yards add a third flavor most CAKE crowds won't have planned for. Get there for the openers. The listings are on JamBase for Jan. 12 and Jan. 13.

Fifteen years away, then two nights back to back. Pick one, show up at 7, and stay for the whole thing.

Sources: Ticketmaster: CAKE United for Ukraine, Jan 12 2027 (ticketmaster.evyy.net); Ticketmaster: CAKE United for Ukraine, Jan 13 2027 (ticketmaster.evyy.net); PBS NewsHour: Ukrainian folk band DakhaBrakha uses music to bring attention to the war (pbs.org); OPB: Ukrainian folk music group DakhaBrakha US tour (opb.org); NPR transcript: DakhaBrakha (npr.org); KQED Forum: CAKE's John McCrea (kqed.org); JamBase: CAKE at Fox Theater, Oct 30 2011 (jambase.com); JamBase listing Jan 12 (jambase.com); JamBase listing Jan 13 (jambase.com); Cake (band) - Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org); Fox Oakland Theatre - Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)