On the Cheap listings are compiled by Caitlin Donohue. Submit items for the listings at listings@sfbg.com. For further information on how to submit items for the listings, see Picks.
WEDNESDAY 3
LitUp Writers’ “Habitat for Insanity: Stories of the City” 111 Minna, SF. www.litupwriters.com 7:30pm, free. Chaos – it flows more freely in city streets. Or maybe that’s just in our lives. Or not – tonight’s presentation by the humor-reading LitUp Writers focuses on urban madness, from Wellington, New Zealand to Rome and our much-loved City by the Bay. City-themed raffle prizes sweeten the draw, as does tunes by DJ Free Food Fong.
THURSDAY 4
Thorn: Zombie Dungeon Survival videogame release party Viracocha, 998 Valencia, SF. www.viracochasf.com. 8pm, $5. Is it foolish to be over-attached to life? We all must part one day – why not get used to it now with an iPhone app that challenges our idea of success? Zombie-killing success that is. Celebrate the release of SF’s new independently-designed Viking versus undead dungeon game with this party in Viracocha’s calmly lovely setting – DJs and kiosk for testing out Thorn included. The beauty of the game is that you can never win the whole thing – but you’ll bust a lot of zombie skull trying!
FRIDAY 5
North Beach First Friday North Beach neighborhood, SF. Facebook: First Fridays in North Beach. 7-9pm, free. At least 10 galleries in SF’s cannoli-spangled climes will be throwing their doors wide open for your perusal pleasure. Yes, there will be free wine – save some for us.
Oakland Art Murmur Broadway and Telegraph, between 22nd and 26th Sts., Oakl. www.oaklandartmurmur.org. 6-9pm, free. We very much enjoy cruising East Bay’s most happening (gasp! Berkeley’s gonna be pissed) arts district each month, taking in the rewardingly sophisticated take on snacks, sights, and sounds. This month, drop by the Uptown Club for free indie rock and Vessel Gallery (471 25th St.) for Bryson Bost’s intricate pen and ink gear worlds.
SATURDAY 6
Writers With Drinks The Make Out Room, 3225 22nd St., SF. www.writerswithdrinks.com. 7:30-9:30pm, $5-10 sliding scale. You know what happens when you get a writer drunk? They talk about their books. Leave it to this long-running lit series to break them of the habit. This week, watch Ted Chiang (author of The Lifecycle of Software Objects), Melissa Febos (she penned Whip Smart), and Lee Konstantinou (Pop Apocalypse: A Possible Satire) step outside the box with readings of divergent genres, which they will recite boozily.
Dub Fillmore Festival Fillmore and O’Farrell, SF. www.dubfillmorefest.com. 10-6:30pm, free. The Mayor’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development actually funded this al fresco fest. The goal is to draw more young people – the neighborhood’s median age is reported to be around 30 – out onto Fillmore Street, revitalizing the once-packed neighborhood. Anyways, if you’re in the area you’re going to be inundated with dub-step. You may as well go dance your ass off.
MONDAY 8
Rum bartender’s challenge Smuggler’s Cove, 650 Gough, SF. www.appletonreservemixologychallenge.com. 6-9pm, free. Banana liqueur, pineapple syrup, lime, egg white, coffee tincture – Aunt Vi’s shopping list for her killer summer BBQ dessert? Nope, it’s a truncated rundown of what bartender Josh Harris shook up last year to win the Appleton Estate Jamaica rum cocktail contest. Mix masters will want to be on hand to see what takes it this year.
TUESDAY 9
Art Criticism Conference San Francisco Art Institute, 800 Chestnut, SF. www.sfai.edu. Through Aug. 12. Today’s performance: 7:30pm, free. Finally a place where your snide asides on aesthetic context will be lauded for the genius that they embody! Today kicks off SFAI’s three-day conference with a live reading of Oscar Wilde’s The Critic as Artist.