Fred Armisen entertains crowd at Archbishop Mitty gala

"Saturday Night Live" and "Portlandia" actor and comedian Fred Armisen brought his talents to San Jose on Saturday night as the featured performer for Archbishop Mitty's Black and Gold fundraising gala at the Signia by Hilton hotel.

Dressed in a white denim jacket and jeans, Armisen didn't do a traditional stand-up set but took the audience of more than 800 people on an absurdist, entertaining ride. He did some impressions, played guitar and drums and even mimicked the accents you'd find across the United States (yes, his accent from SNL's "The Californians" was in there).

Of course, like every entertainer at Mitty's signature event, he had to follow an impressive performance by Mitty students, who put on a musical revue that spanned the decades since the San Jose Catholic school opened in 1964. There was a Beatles medley to represent the '60s, a Huey Lewis and the News tribute for the '80s and a bit of Taylor Swift to bring us up to date. Mitty 2010 alum Matt Hall — who has appeared in the national tour of "Les Miserables" and played Olaf in "Frozen" for Disney Cruise Lines — made a guest appearance to sing "In Summer" from that show.

For 1992 — the year Mitty President LaTanya Hilton graduated from the school — there was a full rendition of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody." Yes, that seems wrong because the song itself is from the 1970s, but Doug Santana, Mitty's director of performing arts, noted that it had a huge resurgence that year because of the "Wayne's World" movie.

Armisen stuck around after the show to take pictures with Mitty's student performers, as well as VIP guests including Mitty staff and teachers.

Perusing the archives, I saw that for its 10th anniversary event in the fall of 1974, Eli Thomas Menswear offered free champagne to customers who came to the store at the old Town & Country Village in San Jose. The wine was again flowing Friday afternoon as the store celebrated its 60th birthday — and in nearly the same location.

Eli Thomas died in 2022 at the age of 93, but his family has kept the tradition and the store going. Jim Thomas, who took over the business when his dad retired, welcomed customers in for the party, along with many members of his family, including his wife, Josephine, his sister, Michele, and his mother, Dorothy (who made Cornish pasties by hand just for the occasion).

In its six decades, the Eli Thomas store went through periods of growth and contraction. The original store survived the transformation of Town & Country Village into Santana Row more than 20 years ago, and for the past decade has been in a space facing Winchester Boulevard that's outside but adjacent to the swanky shopping center — a spot that's had its own benefits.

"This is more successful because we have parking right in front of us," Thomas said. "Nobody else has storefront parking and that's important for our executives who want to get in and out as quickly as possible."

While fewer guys wear suits to work in Silicon Valley, Thomas says the "business casual" business is booming, especially as more people are starting to travel again to conventions and just going out more in the wake of the pandemic. The rental business — whether it's for a high school dance or a wedding — has remained a steady part of the operation and Thomas said it's a major feeder to introduce people to the store.

"It's all about the customers. With them, we couldn't have made it that long," Thomas said. "My dad always said, 'Take care of the customer, and the customer will take care of you.' "

FILM FEST FINALE: The 33rd annual Silicon Valley Jewish Film Festival will have a special closing event Sunday, with the documentary "Call Me Dancer" at the Oshman Family JCC in Palo Alto. The film tells the story of Manish Chauhan, who was tutored by an Israeli dance instructor and went on to perform with a contemporary company in New York. Chauhan will be in attendance to demonstrate his dancing after the 7 p.m. screening and will also have an onstage Q&A with Sramana Mitra, founder and CEO of tech startup incubator One Million by One Million.

Get tickets and more information at www.svjff.org .