DEC. 8
Dance
Paco Gomes and Dancers: Many Little Pieces
Paco Gomes grew up in Bahia, where he studied and then taught folkloric and religious dance; more recently, he’s led Afro-Brazilian and Afro-Peruvian dance classes in the Bay Area. Since 2004 he’s overseen Paco Gomes and Dancers, putting on performances rooted in parable and myth that depict warrior queens while also choreographing autobiographical work. His company begins a home season at Dance Mission with Many Little Pieces. (Johnny Ray Huston)
Also Sat/9
8 p.m.
Dance Mission Theater
3316 24th St., SF
$18
(415) 273-4633
www.dancemission.com
www.pacogomesdance.com
Music
Menomena
Portland experimentalists Menomena traffic in the same kind of expressive pop alchemy as do David Longstreth’s the Dirty Projectors but lean the boat even further toward suggestions of prog rock. The band’s debut, I Am the Fun Blame Monster! (Film Guerrero, 2004), used a nifty software innovation that fluidly cuts together song fragments. After spending 2005 working up the score for an experimental dance performance, the band is now on the verge of its proper follow-up, Friend or Foe. (Max Goldberg)
With 31 Knots and the Bad Hand
9:30 p.m.
Hemlock Tavern
1131 Polk, SF
$10
(415) 923-0923
www.hemlocktavern.com
www.menomena.com