It was a cold and rainy Monday night, but that didn’t keep the fans away. St. Vincent, aka Annie Clark, was performing at the Great American Music Hall in support of her latest album, Actor (4AD) and the sold-out event was packed with smitten groupies.
Wearing a tiny black dress, her curly crown of hair bouncing to every beat, St. Vincent entranced her audience with her sweet voice and unusual lyrics. She played along with the help of a band that included flutes, violins, clarinets and drums. But when she took the stage solo, aided only by her electric guitar, these were the moments when the whole room seemed to glitter. The opening band, Wildbirds and Peacedrums from Sweden, were also wonderful, pounding out drum-driven beats that actually gave me goosebumps. The husband-and-wife duo use only voice and a variety of percussive instruments — a musical concoction that made me think of Björk at a powwow. What a perfect night to warm up under a blanket of fiery musical talent.
So here it is, my favorites of 2k9 list — my adobe slabs, as it were. Last year’s dance and electronic music tunes felt looser, fresher, and downright sexier than previous years. For too long on too many dance floors, it seemed like people were either trying too hard to have fun or all doing homework together (those darn laptops!). Now, genre boundaries shruggingly blurred, and it seemed that — despite the ready availability of quick and dirty technology — people were spending much more time and thought on their compositions while at the same time freeing the audience to indulge in some sweet escape.
The tunes that retained my ear most this year were ones that took me on a journey — in mind and in feet — full of excellent flourishes, multi-hued grooves, a voracious sense of intelligence, some cheeky historical finagling, and solid production. A variety of organic instrumentation also shone through. And, yes, they were a ton of fun. Here’s a whole bunch in no particular order, because I just couldn’t settle on any given number or place of prominence. I’m lazy that way.
Still Going, “Spaghetti Circus” (DFA)
It took New York’s Still Going boys years to come out with this track and it sounds like it, not just in the exquisite production, but also in the perfect timing of the release. The dance world, apparently, was aching for a sexy Sylvester funk-rock explosion. The underground queer dance contingent loved it, too. That guitar!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgaOg3_XG0A
House of House, “Rushing to Paradise (Walkin’ These Streets)” (Whatever We Want)
“Oh, and hey,” Still Going member Liv Spencer must have thought as he prepared to unleash “Spaghetti Circus” on the world. “Why don’t I team up with vocalist Saheer Umar and reinvent the deep house epic for a digital-jaded world?” So he did. And now we have this beautiful, slippery, ecstatic thing.
http://www.youtube.com/v/o2qXAifCMnk
Floating Points, “K & G beats” (Planet Mu)
Joy Orbison’s “Hyph Mngo” and Joker’s “Digidesign” — outstanding slices — were widely credited for reinvigorating the dubstep sound in 2009 by making it more rapturous and accessible. But even though it lacks the classic dubstep bass riproar, this knocky, worldly track by young Mancunian Floating Points got my dubber goat more than either of those. (And brought back fond memories of this.)
http://www.youtube.com/v/k4iONfj0gRQ
The Lowbrows, “Dream in the Desert (Flight Facilities Remix)” (Bang Gang)
Tokyo art-wave duo The Lowbrows teamed up with super-buzzy Flight Facilities for a good ol’ fashioned Italo house barnburner, saxophone solo included (and that guitar again!). I looked really embarrassing all last fall dancing down the street to this.
http://www.youtube.com/v/BrHzN8qNMWs
Silver Columns, “Brow Beaten” (Silver Columns) There’s a lot of talk in musical sphere about being in a “post-gay” period — and this tune, which twists the falsetto melodies and structural openness of Bronski Beat together with the Hi-NRG sounds of Patrick Cowley to form a biting riposte to Hercules and Love Affair’s fiercely over-dramatic “Blind” (Don’t blink your eyes, your eyes won’t blink) could arguably be the first post-meth anthem. Plus: this bit of interview with the uber-mysterious, Hot Chippy fellows:
Would you care to introduce yourself? Hello. I are Silver Columns.
How would you describe the music you make? I would describe it as ‘effervescent’ and ‘sparkling’. That doesn’t necessarily mean ‘gay’.
How did you start out making music? Turning on the computer.
http://www.youtube.com/v/gXLR9JzVbYU
Sia, “Buttons” (CSS Remix) (Astralwerks)
Every pop remix should sound like this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrjMlNxQ-co
Coyu & Edu Imbernon, “El Baile Alemán” (Liebe Detal)
The Berlin-Spain underground railroad was in full force this past year — and not just on the isle of Ibiza. This was the seminal track, a deep-gong summons to minimal technicians to get some simple Latin-tinged swing going. Plus, Spanish DJs are hot. Einfach?
Two of last year’s most buzzed-about players, Losoul and Dyed Soundorom, took lovely French chanteuse nu-jazz singer Fadila’s voice and made it transdimensional, genderless. Show me more.
http://www.youtube.com/v/tA7ZjI4ANL0
Mr. Raoul K., “Sun of Gao” (Fatsouls)
An absolutely lovely, leisurely paced journey through Africanica, courtesy of Germany’s dreadlocked Mr. Raoul K, on local label Fatsouls.
Tribalish chants replaced brass snatches as the go-to samples of choice on most dance releases in 2009, culminating in Dennis Ferrer’s runaway vocal house hit, “Hey Hey.” (And this was Ferrer’s year — I loved his Sinfonia Della Notte, even if it was an energized redo of Octave One’s classic “Black Water.”) But Londoner Alex Celler kept it nice and nervy, and his attention to the drums is superb.
Finally, hometown future blap heroes Lazer Sword officially released this sonic tesseract. The shift at the end is crazy. And the video delights me.
http://www.youtube.com/v/YWJZcPeT74M
Junior Boys, “Work” (Prins Thomas Remix) (Domino) Another possible post-gay wonder, this time in an autumnal vein, jangling with legendary space-discoer Prins Thomas’ acoustic tweeks. Cruising never sounded so sunset.
http://www.youtube.com/v/meTFfeWOsP4
Guy Gerber, “Timing” (Cocoon)
Deep tech meets a little Doctor Who. If only all Israeli trance sounded like this …..
Joe Goddard, “Apple Bobbing (Fourtet Mix)” (Greco-Roman)
Hot Chip member + dubstep jazzer, with Cassy samples = solid gold. The original is quite genial as well.
http://www.youtube.com/v/2wtbWxp_Td0
The Streets, “Trust Me” (Twitter)
Fed up with label shenanigans, the sort-of creatively moribund Mike Skinner started posting tracks directly to Twitter. He never sounded better, and “Trust Me” could be the anthem of a club generation.
http://www.youtube.com/v/k-_NmsxW6go
Destroyer, “Bay of Pigs” (Merge)
For ravers of a certain age (ahem) this is the 13-minute post-caravan comedown epic we’ve been waiting for. Syd Barrett meets Dubtribe in indie prince Dan Bejar’s not quite stream-of-consciousness narrative, and the shards of singalong ambient disco pierce the nightlifer soul.
He argues that the deck is stacked in PG&E’s favor here — the utility can spend all the money it wants — $30 million, $40 million, whatever — and the public agencies that will be hurt by the measure have no ability to fight back since they can’t spend taxpayer money that way PG&E can spend ratepayer money.
His conclusion:
Every candidate for governor should be required to state, for the record, whether he or she thinks it’s OK for PG&E to subvert the electoral process by spending $6.5 million (and counting) exclusively for its own corporate benefit. Thus far the GOP candidates, Meg Whitman and Steve Poizner, have been silent as far as I can tell, as has the putative Democratic nominee, Attorney General Jerry Brown.
And the rest of us should turn out to vote June 8, by the millions, to make a statement about who owns the state of California: the people, or PG&E?
If you haven’t heard about Richie Cunning yet, take a peek at his new Ferris Bueller-inspired video.
This local SF rapper has been killing it lately with his mixtapes and brand new album Night Train (Routine Fly). Plus major bonus points for featuring a bear dancing on my street in the opening of the video.
You know, I think I feel a cold coming on right now. Anyone want to call in sick?
The battle over 555 Washington — the too-big highrise that will house 248 luxury condos that San Francisco doesn’t need — is going on right now, and you can watch it on sfgtv.
Supporters and opponents have been testifying for more than two hours. Sue Hestor mae one of the key points toward the end of the testimony: Does “new urbanism” say that we have to fight suburban sprawl by putting 400-foot buildings everywhere in San Francisco?
She also pointed out that the building has so much parking that the lines to get in and out of the underground garage will impact the only downtown fire station, a block away.
Already, Planning Commissioner Hisashi Sugaya is arguing that the EIR on the project is completely bogus and invalid (although he carefully avoiding saying he will vote against the project).
This is one of the major development battles of the year, and will demonstrate whether the Planning Commission and Recreation and Park Commission have the independence and integrity to reject a project the mayor and the Chamber of Commerce support.
UPDATE: The hearing ended in the strangest way. After more than two hours of testimony — most of which showed the inadequacy of the EIR, which has to be certified as complete before a final vote on the project itself — Sugaya moved NOT to certify the document. That motion failed, 3-2. At that point, the commission secretary said that the matter would be put off until March 18th.
The strange thing is that if the motion had been in reverse – a motion TO certify — that also would have failed (either way, four yes votes were needed, and two commissioners weren’t there). And then the matter would be over; the EIR would not be certified, and the developer and city planning dept. would have to go back and redo it. In this case, since a motion to reject failed, and there was no motion to accept, it’s not clear where the EIR is.
Aaron Peskin, a foe of the project, told me just now that he doesn’t see how the commission can legally continue the hearing. “There’s nothing to continue,” he said. “There’s no certified EIR.” That, in the end, will be up to the city attorney. I’ll keep you posted.
City economist Ted Egan yesterday released his analysis of the payroll tax exemption for new hires that Mayor Gavin Newsom has proposed, one of several business tax cut proposals that we discuss in this week’s Guardian. Egan estimates that the net revenue loss (which takes into account taxes paid by the new hires) to the city would be $72 million over the next two years.
“The proposed policy will have a strong positive effect on local hiring, albeit at a steep costs the City’s General Fund,” Egan wrote, later adding, “The policy would also make the City’s serious current budget deficit worse, and likely lead to significant employment reductions in the City’s workforce.”
While the tax breaks amount to only about 1 percent of businesses’ payroll costs, Egan’s models predict they would spur the creation of 4,330 jobs, or about 5 percent of the jobs lost since 2007. Yet he also notes that the unemployment rate in San Francisco has been dropping in recent months and the economy is predicted to add about 20,000 jobs in the next two years even without this subsidy by taxpayers.
Both Newsom and Egan have tried to cast these tax breaks as similar to the approach being taken by President Obama. Egan writes, “The policy is a targeted tax cut that mirrors the President’s New Jobs Tax Credit, which is supported by a wide range of economists.”
But the big difference is that the federal government can deficit-spend and doesn’t have to reduce its own spending, which would have a negative impact on economy, as Egan’s report acknowledged a few pages later: “Because the City cannot run a fiscal deficit from one year to the next, the lost revenue would necessitate reductions in City staffing and services, like any revenue shortfall.”
The report specifically doesn’t analyze the impact of that reduced government spending on the local economy, with Egan writing that, “is not considered, because the City could adjust to that impact in many ways.” New taxes, for example, which Newsom has avoided proposing as a partial solution to the city’s gargantuan $520 million projected budget deficit.
For example, Egan said that another current Newsom tax cut proposal – a $2,000 tax break for businesses that provide health care to employees – “would have a negative effect on the economy” because it doesn’t encourage hiring.
While the report is generally favorable to the notion of these targeted tax cuts, it doesn’t make a recommendation. And it does take away a key argument that Newsom and other believers in trickle down economics generally make, that the tax cuts will ultimately be paid for by increased economic activity. Instead, the report shows the cuts will cost $85 million of two years and the new hires will generate $12 million in increased sales, hotel, and other taxes. Even stretching that analysis out over 10 years, assuming the new hires remain employed after the tax exemption ends, the reports says the policy will still cost the city $42 million.
Sup. John Avalos, the chair of the Board of Supervisors Budget and Finance Committee who has been skeptical of Newsom’s tax cut proposals, has set a Feb. 24 hearing on the proposal.
Basically, this is a policy decision rooted in ideological beliefs: Should the city subsidize private companies at great cost to the public treasury, payroll, and services? Does the public sector exist solely to serve private corporations? Economic conservatives who are hostile to government generally think so, but progressives think it’s crazy to make deep cuts to government spending and services just to subsidize private sector economic growth, most of which is going to occur naturally anyway.
In honor of Valentine’s Day, a series of parochial films called “Love, Sex, and Venereal Disease,” presented by Oddball Film and Video, will premiere at 275 Capp Street on Saturday/13. Local filmmaker Stephen Parr runs the enterprise, and Oddball’s public showings are compiled from Parr’s enormous archive of offbeat film stock footage.
“Love, Sex, and Venereal Disease” is a motley repertoire. Included are films like “VD Attack Plan,” a Disney animation about syphilis and gonorrhea, and the judicious “Social-sex Attitudes in Adolescence,” which assures viewers that, being merely a phase, teenage gayness is not to be feared. There is also “Lot in Sodom,” a 1933 avant-garde interpretation of the well-known Biblical story, and “The Innocent Party,” about a lascivious teen whose past is checkered by venereal disease.
“Dater,” “Lovemaking,” “Chew Chew Baby,” “How to Date,” and a “Candygram” from Peter Lawford round out the selection. What the instructional program lacks in relevance, surefire entertainment makes up for. These desultory artifacts cannot said to be wholly irrelevant, however, even for an audience of San Franciscan been-there-done-thats boasting lifetime Tetracycline refills.
Freed from the polyester girdle of the 1950s, these films concede some unintentional revelations, like that cone-shaped brassieres look good on no one. Never very cohesive, my attention span has become a fragmented mess thanks to, among other things, 24/7 access to the Internet. Perhaps this is why I derive great pleasure from short films. For a time, Wholphin was the single greatest source of my procrastination (a title since supplanted by Jersey Shore).
Attending a showing at Oddball Films is like discovering a clip on YouTube that none of your friends have seen. It is found art for people who don’t necessarily want to do the legwork behind actually finding art. This lassitude is forgivable in our age of mechanical reproduction. Context-deprived weirdness is a potent antidote for cinematic ennui care of mainstream Hollywood soullessness. A lazy spectator myself, I’m am glad there are those, like Parr, driven to amass, catalog, and share the best specimens on others’ behalf.
Outside, the night was horrid and pouring sheet after sheet of chilled rain. Inside, Popscene at 330 Ritch’s stage was blazing with bold UK women and their undeniable vocal prowess. The evening started with Brit babe VV Brown, a young singer/songwriter — on tour to promote her recent Travelling Like the Light (Universal, 2009) — who qualifies as the indie version of the Adele and Duffy types.
The set started shy, with VV Brown (born Vanessa Brown) hiding behind a glamorous Mardi Gras mask of shimmering silver, adorned with a fan of black feathers and peacock accents. Song one, “Game Over,” was spent with her vocals streaming into a small megaphone pointed towards the mic. The sound quality was a displaced and muddled, similar to an old record player. Her tiny frame was decorated in a shiny gold swimsuit top and red-plaid tapered pants, cinched tight at the waist.
When the mask came off, Brown’s face was painted with a red blindfold, her trademark bouffant standing tall and proud. She was full of energy, hopping around stage, singing with full facial expressions, banging on the drums and pounding the bongos.
Brown happily announced that the show was her first gig in San Francisco and only her 2nd show in the U.S. “And I wrote this song while sitting on the toilet,” she said as a preface to “Back in Time.” “It’s about Einstein, love, and betrayal.” Hitting the gong with four solid swings, her voice chimed in with an eerie echo and not three seconds later, cut short when her mic cord fell onto the floor.
“Isn’t that what we all love about live music? We just keep going,” she smiled with a confident grin. She played through a majority of the songs on her freshman album, “Traveling Like the Light”, including her most recognizable tracks, “Crying Blood” and “Shark in the Water.”
Brown’s cover of “The Best I Ever Had” by Drake was quite impressive — the girl can rap! Totally sexy and 100 percent more badass than one would assume, Brown sang the lyrics “You’re the fuckin’ best” with her fist pumping and voice creamy smooth.
Afro-punk-electro-pop songstress Ebony Bones didn’t hit the stage until midnight, but took it over by storm with a full band decked out in color, makeup, wigs and beads. I managed to drool over the awesomeness of the first song and snap a few photos, but I regretfully had to pull myself away in order to catch my train. There’s no way it wasn’t amazing.
Yesterday, Sup. David Campos called for a status report on steps taken by San Francisco’s Juvenile Probation Department to implement an ordinance that the Board passed last fall to protect the confidentiality of juveniles’ immigration status.
And it already sounds like JPD has done nothing to implement it—and isn’t planning to, either, any time soon.
Campos announced that he met with Juvenile Probation Department (JPD) Chief William Siffermann today, and Siffermann told him that he had no intention of complying with the ordinance, which the Board passed Nov. 10, 2009.
JPD has had three months to figure out how best to implement the ordinance, which Campos helped author last year, and which seeks to give kids their day in court before handing them over tofederal immigration authorities for possible deportation.
Campos said he called the hearing so all the folks who worked to pass the legislation, and those it impacts, “have a public forum to hear about the decision not to implement it.”
Campos also requested a report on the impacts of JPD’s current policy towards suspected undocumented juvenile felons—a policy that Newsom ordered without public review and that JPD implemented on August 2008.
The report, Campos said, will include but is not limited to, the following:
1. Determinations of cases of undocumented immigrant youth—original changes and final determination by the courts.
This will involve exploring not only what these youth were originally charged with at booking, but also what the local juvenile courts ultimately determined in their cases. So, expect to see a pattern in which the courts throw out or reduce the charges that resulted in these juveniles being reported to the feds at the moment of booking. Only, by the time the courts reach this determination, these kids have already been nabbed by the feds and transferred to detention facilities outside the city and/or state—a practice that has already resulted in the needless ripping apart of immigrant families.
2. Policies, procedures and training provided to staff regarding inquiry into the immigration status of youth and compliance with the 1989 City of Refuge ordinance.
This exploration will likely lead to some eye-opening revelations as to how juvenile probation officers are expected, under the policy that Newsom ordered in 2008, to question youth suspected of being undocumented, and how that contrasts/compares with the city’s original sanctuary ordinance which the Board implemented in 1989. 3. The numbers of undocumented immigrant youth that have been reported to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) since Newsom ordered his change in sanctuary policy direction in 2008.
Up until now, it’s been almost impossible to discover exactly how many kids the city has handed over to ICE under Newsom’s new policy. Yes, even though the city is now spending local tax payer dollars to hand local immigrants’ kids over to the feds, the city has not told the public how many kids have been handed over or their current whereabouts. This information, coupled with information about the final determinations that local courts made in these kids’ cases, will likely be another mind blower.
4. Changes in caseload and staffing as a result of implementing Newsom’s new sanctuary policy direction in 2008. Again, expect to see some interesting patterns emerge. Has the city saved money by referring kids to ICE at the moment of booking? How about time? And just how well trained are juvenile probation officers in the intricacies of immigration law, anyway?
5. Information about department financial and human resources dedicated to collaboration with ICE.
This is where the proverbial shit may truly start hitting the fan. Are we needlessly alienating the immigrant community? Are we doing so in counter productive ways?
As chair of the Rules Committee, Campos promised to schedule this hearing as soon as possible, so watch the Board’s committee calendar and expect to see sparks fly.
A dark movie house is a great thing. Single? Slink in and bury yourself in the tumultuous happenings of others’ lives. Hot and heavy with a special someone? Gangbusters- find a nice secluded spot in the back row and try not to gross out the single people. Whatever your mood/Facebook relationship status is this Valentine’s Day weekend, the city’s movie theaters have a love-related flick for you and (if that’s where you’re at these days) yours. Grab some buttered popcorn and take a peep.
“A Valentine’s Day Weekend Tribute to John Hughes”
‘80s babies, I need go no further. The 16 Candles/The Breakfast Club/Pretty in Pink triple feature on Saturday provides ample time to get busy… or have a good cry. Again, whatever you’re into. Hughes is going to put your love of love back into you, at any rate.
A formative force in many an adolescent’s budding sex lives, this week’s Rocky will feature a lingerie show that teenagers cannot participate in and the standard singing, vamping and pratfalling that they can, and will. Find your love in fishnets and golden hot pants?
Look… if Woody Allen can swing Diane Keaton, even temporarily, there’s hope for everyone. This movie approaches Closer on my list of top don’t-watch-with-your-boo-things-will-get-weird flicks, but by all means view in the midst of breakup- see, someday you’ll be able to chat intellectually over coffee too!
Fri/12-Sun/14 7:15 p.m., 9:20 p.m. (also 2 p.m., 4 p.m. on Sat and Sun), $7-9
Annette loves Frankie! Bonnie loves Steve! Erik Von Zipper loves Sugar Kane! Wait, South Dakota Slim loves Sugar Kane? Plus they’re all sky diving? With 1960s technology? Oh my, but love can be complicated. The showing is brought to us by portable retro movie cabaret Thrillville and features old skool cartoons, previews, ukulele variety artist Kitten on the Keys, and a performance by Donna Loren, member of BBB’s original cast and sweetheart songstress of that most tumultuous decade.
“I’M A HARD-LIVING, YOUNG QUEEN WITH A BIG HEART AND A LOT TO SAY.”
I’m listening. Alexis Penney is part of Party Effects, which Marke B. wrote about recently. This solo track is like if a badass version of Erasure and Crystal Waters’ “Gypsy Woman” had a love-hate child. But way better. “Lonely Sea” makes me wish Frankfurt was next door to Oakland, so I could program a club night with performances by Alexis and ChelonisR.Jones. For now, I’ll just listen to this song, and its classic throwaway (as in throw your heart away) lines about good pillows and last names – at least a few times a day.
The syncopated sounds of the congo, hand claps and guitars — combined with Joe Cuba’s suave vocals — melt hips and hypnotize feet with irresistible dance beats. Known as “sabrosura,” it’s the urge to shimmy and shake your luscious body parts when music with this much flavor hit your senses. The late Latin legend was known as the “father of boogaloo” and a man who melded together genres into one of his own.
Fania Records will release Joe Cuba’s El Alcalde Del Barrio on Thu/11, one year after the iconic musician’s passing, and celebrate with a live performance by Chico Mann at the Elbo Room’s global-funky Afrolicious party. The 34-track box set features digitally remastered recordings never before compiled in album form and include a diverse array of his totally hot hits, from “Bang Bang” to “El Pito (I’ll Never Go Back to Georgia).” El Alcalde Del Barrio or “the mayor of the barrio” refers to Joe Cuba’s pioneering role in the world of modern Latin music and his dedication to keeping it fresh.
Boogaloo was a product of the New York barrios during mid-late 60s when Puerto Rican, Cuban and African American residents began swapping and combining musical stylings with their one another. Boogaloo became the soul behind R&B braided into the saucy rhythms of mambo and Cuban son montuno. Perfectly placed maracas, sweetly clanging bells, saxophone, easy keys and most importantly, a whole host of drums, fuel this genre with unwavering energy.
Joe Cuba, born to his Puerto Rican parents as Gilberto Navarro on April 22, 1931, grew up in Spanish Harlem and became fascinated by the Sabu Martinez’s conga playing. Gilbert learned to play, jamming in the streets with friends until he was asked to step in for his idol, Martinez, for a show in 1950. The name “Joe Cuba” was coined by his publicist and stuck with him throughout his career.
Swooning the Jewish and Italian markets in New York and eventually worldwide, his 1966 hit “Bang Bang” achieved unprecedented success for Latin music in the US, selling over one million copies. In recent years, acts like Chico Mann of New Jersey, the Boogaloo Assassins in LA and DJs Guillermo and Beto in San Francisco have begun playing reinventions of boogaloo sounds, churning out a sort-of renaissance in the genre.
Chico Mann is the brain-child of New Yorker Marquitos Garcia, known for pumping out vintage afro-latino beats that make any dance floor a sexy, sweat fest. Chico Mann will be playing live versions of Joe Cuba songs throughout the CD Release show. The Guardian chatted up the East Coast musician as his plane touched down in SF about his love for old fashion funk and why Joe Cuba would think his music is rad.
On how Chico Mann became identified with the “afro-latino vintage-funk” genre… I guess I don’t really see it as me playing any particular genre and instead, I’m developing a genre that didn’t exist before, one that’s comprised of multiple musical elements and vocabularies.
On growing up around so many styles of music… My dad owned a record label in Hell’s Kitchen and so I was constantly around Latin music and living in New York meant I was around freestyle. I was an 80s kid and therefore I love electro and old school hip-hop. All of that informs what I do. So when was I introduced to this music: in the womb.
When did he hear Joe Cuba for the first time? I don’t even remember. It was just always around.
Why play at the Joe Cuba CD Release? Wax Poetics pitched the idea and I said yeah—if we can recontextualize his music and pretty much flip it in a whole new way. The Urban Latin roots of what I do are pretty closely connected to Joe Cuba and this was a way to flesh out that tradition. We’re not a boogaloo band, but five different generations of Latin music cooked up into a new music soup.
On how he plans to reinvent Joe Cuba’s songs… What can I say? We’re sampling Joe Cuba and adapting to its melodic lyrical content. My only worry is that people won’t be able to differentiate between Chico Mann and Joe Cuba— that they wont get the references. Well, I guess that’s not a worry, I just want people to know how much love we’ve put into this. I’m really excited.
What should newbies expect? One hell of a dance party and I know San Francisco gets down. Whether or not you know Joe Cuba, the energy of the music is so strong. The Latino, afro beat and what I do, it’ll make your ass move. Physiologically your body can’t help but move and react. That’s the sheer beauty of it.
If Joe Cuba would hear Chico Mann… I’m thinking he would totally appreciate it, considering how he was forging a new sound based on the Cuban musical roots. He blazed that trail. He’s one the earliest pioneers of creating an urban, new york, latin sound. We are very much coming at it at the same level. And he would probably want to take a few solos— we’d make room for a few Joe Cuba congo solos.
And FYI: Bring a voice along with those dancing shoes… So much of afro-Cuban music is based on call and response. When I sing the call, the group and the audience should both come back with the response. I’ve been trying to stress this on my Facebook and Twitter. When you hear the coro, you gotta come back with the coro. We can all get on the same page— and even if you don’t speak Spanish, phonetically, we can all come together and fully appreciate and understand Joe Cuba’s music and Chico Mann’s music. That would draw the thread.
Afrolicous + Wax Poetics + Fania Records Presents Joe Cuba CD Release Party Thu/11, 9:30pm, $6/ $8 Elbo Room 647 Valencia Street, San Francisco www.elbo.com
While still basking in the afterglow from their radically successful Underground Farmers Market last month, new cool kid on the block forageSF is running full steam ahead—offering a Valentine’s Day version of their Wild Dinners event that will coincide with their one year anniversary. The theme? Best dishes of the year (contingent on what can be rummaged, of course). For $99, diners can look forward to an eight-course meal with uncultivated delicacies such as escargot (I have come to consider myself a instinctual gourmand after listening to my parents’ horrified accounts of my predilection for plucking snails off the backyard walk and gnashing them up into foamy bits as a toddler), nettle soup with Cowgirl Creamery crème fraiche, slow roasted wild boar porchetta, acorn bread with candy cap mushroom ice cream, and more bounties from the Bay Area wilderness.
If you’re confused about the concept of foraged meat, Jacky Hayward from Chef’s Blade gives two basic definitions: meat scavenged from a dead animal found in the wild or meat processed from an undomesticated animal killed by the forager. Or is that hunter? Anthropological argument aside, I suspect that the not-scavenged variety will be the meat du jour.
It’s a communal dinner, so be aware that private romantic chats and politely ignoring the lectures on the ingredients of your meal will not be the norm of the night. The group is also open to bartering if the basically-a-hundred-bucks bill seems too steep for your freegan wallet.
The Bay Guardian will be in court Thursday morning, Feb. 11, to ask a San Francisco judge to force SF Weekly to hand over half its advertising revenue as partial payment on a $21 million judgment.
The paper also filed a motion Feb. 9th asking Judge Marla Miller to add two of the corporations that make up SF Weekly’s parent company to the judgment.
The judgment came as the result of a Guardian lawsuit charging SF Weekly and the national chain that owns it with predatory pricing — that is, selling ads below cost in an effort to harm the locally owned, independent competitor. A San Francisco jury awarded the Guardian $6.3 million, which Judge Marla Miller increased to $15.6 million. With attorneys fees and interest, the judgment is now worth more than $21 million.
The motion that will be heard Feb. 11 before Judge Paul Slavit marks the latest effort by the Guardian to collect some of the money. The paper has already seized two SF Weekly vehicles and the rent the company gets from subtenant.
The other motion, which will be heard March 12 in Judge Miller’s court, seeks to amend the May, 2008 judgment to include Village Voice Media LLC and Village Voice Media Holdings LLC.
VVM is arguing that that the Weekly has no unencumbered assets and that New Times Media LLC, which owned the weekly at the time we filed the suit, is just an empty holding company.
The Guardian’s lawyers argue that VVM and New Times are essentially the same company, with the same directors and same owners, and that VVM is a successor to New Times because of a 2006 merger.
Valentine’s week is in full effect, but whether you’re single, double, triple, or just all-encompassing there’s a lot of fun (and smarts!) to be had out there in Big Sexyland.
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Swinging Chinatown: The Golden Age of Chinese Nightclubs Opening Gala Bay Area author and personality Ben Fong-Torres will host this celebration of the rare exhibit, featuring the “Grant Avenue Follies,” a troupe of former nighclub dancers. Thurs/11, 6pm $85-$100 Old Mint 88 Fifth St, SF www.sfhistory.org
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Bawdy Storytelling: Your Cheating Heart Adulterers, polyamorists, and jilted lovers tell stories in honor of what the hosts have dubbed “Filthy February.” Wed/10, 7pm $10 Blue Macaw 2565 Mission www.bawdystorytelling.com thebluemacawsf.com
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Beerlesque Beer and breasts: What goes together better? Hubba Hubba Revue and Shmaltz Brewing Company celebrate the return of Coney Island Human Blockhead with a full-on cabaret show featuring Sister Kate, Honey Lawless, Pin Key Lee, and Vagabondage. Thurs/11, 8pm $8 Paradise Lounge 1501 Folsom, SF www.hubbahubbarevue.com
Underwear Party Trade in your underwear for a free drink at this weekly party in honor of undressing. Featuring wet underwear contest and Room and Locker passes from Steamworks.
Little Minsky’s Douglas Good, the Flying Fox, and a few shady characters present Kellita, Sugar la Vie, Lady Monster, and a bevy of beauties in this monthly burlesque show. Thurs/11, 9pm $5 Club Deluxe 1511 Haight, SF www.myspace.com/little_minskys
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Luv Up the HeARTbeat RED PARTY The folks behind the Hearbeat Amplifier Art Project host a Valentine’s themed Lingerie and Lace party, featuring DJ Knowa Knowone, Aradia Tribal Fushion Bellydance, and a linger and lace fashion show. Show up in your undies or pay the higher cover. Thurs/11, 9pm $10-$15 Supperclub 657 Harrison, SF www.supperclub.com
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Red Hots Burlesque Dottie Lux celebrates two years of weekly shows with host Jukie Sunshine and a performance roster that reads like a who’s who of the Bay Area burlesque scene.
Ladies and Couples Night at Galleri The adult retail store in South San Francisco invites women and the paramours who love them to an intimate private party showcasing the shop’s merchandise. Guests will enjoy wine, Valentine’s gifts, special discounts, and a chance to sample the merchandise. Guests must RSVP. Fri/12, 8pm Free Galleri 168 Beacon, South San Francisco (650) 827-3946 www.thegalleri.com
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Lucha VaVOOM: From Lucha with Love Everyone’s favorite combination of Mexican masked wrestling, burlesque, and comedy has come up with its most romantic Sexo y Violencia extravaganza yet.
Lick It Party with naughty and nice gogo boys and compete for prizes and giveaways at this party hosted by Lance Holman, Mr May in the Bare Chest Calendar. Fri/12, 10pm $5 Powerhouse 1347 Folsom, SF (415) 552-8689 www.powerhouse-sf.com
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Be Our Valentine: Customer Appreciation Night Good Vibes celebrates Valentine’s Day with complimentary chocolates and wine as personal shoppers help you select the perfect gift for your sweetheart – or yourself.
Whipped: ATPOC Recipes for Love, Sex, and Disaster Mangos with Chile present the second annual show about the miracles, dreams, and cream our hearts make, featuring true life queer and trans stories of love through music, spoken word, theater, dance, burlesque, drag, and video. Fri/12-Sat/13, 8pm $10-$15 La Pena Cultural Center 3105 Shattuck, Berk www.lapena.org
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Water Tantra for Couples Fancy dinner’s overrated. If you really want to impress your sweetie, sign up together for this special workshop for couples who want to deepen their erotic connection. Topics will include water yab yum, water lap dance, partnered breathwork, and sensual mediation.
When the state Legislature approved the law allowing cities to create local public power co-ops, the bill specifically barred private utilities from interfering. So it’s easy to argue that Pacific Gas and Electric Co.’s ballot initiative to squash public power is, in fact, direct interference.
After all, the measure would create an almost insurmountable obstacle to creating community choice aggregation.
And the attorney general of California ought to be making that precise argument in court and trying to get this ballot initiative thrown out.
Sen. Mark Leno, a strong foe of the measure, told us he’s been in touch with Attorney General Jerry Brown’s staff, and is urging them to take action. He said he’s been assured the office is looking into the issue.
It will be interesting to see what Brown does. As governor, he was a strong opponent of PG&E’s Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant, and spoke at anti-nuclear rallies, but since then, he’s been awful wishy washy (and has, for example, never been an open supporter of public power.)
Now, however, he’s running for governor — and PG&E is one of the most hated institutions in the state. The old Jerry took on corporate power and positioned himself as a populist; this latest incarnation of Jerry could pick up a lot of progressive support (which he badly needs) and force Meg Whiman into a corner (what, is she going to support PG&E?).
So how about it, Jerry?
(And by the way, the San Francisco supervisors ought to pass a resolution calling on Brown to sue to get this evil measure off the ballot.)
By the time I made it to the 2010 Black History Month kickoff ceremony at San Francisco City Hall, on Friday, Feb. 5, California Public Utilities Commissioner Tim Simon was talking about how the African American community can make sure it doesn’t get left on the sidelines in future.
Simon advised folks to know their resources, community and strategy to ensure that people of color are included in the burgeoning Green economy—a topic in keeping with the history-of-black-economic-empowerment theme.
“And I want to encourage all of us to celebrate the month of Black History and teach it to our children, because we could lose this generation,” Smith said, noting that just three blocks away from City Hall in the Western Addition/Filmore, “young men talk about and celebrate it when they reach 25 years old.”
California Public Utilities Commissioner Tim Simon advised folks how not to get left behind in the Green economy.
The community was encouraged to attend the Human Rights Commission’s Feb. 18 meeting in the Bayview and to get involved in the 2010 Census, which will provide temporary, part-time jobs with flexible hours.
Destined to Dance enlivens the corridors of power at San Francisco’s City Hall.
And then dancers with Destined to Dance wowed the audience by infusing the typically staid marble corridors of power with a “Swing low, sweet chariot” inspired blend of energy, grace and light-footed gaiety.
After the main program concluded, a who’s who of San Francisco’s black community lingered for a moment to chat.
Sup. Sophie Maxwell told me that she saw the failed attempt to recall her as “democracy at work.” She also repeated earlier statements that she is not yet ready to endorse any of the candidates vying to replace her when she is termed out in January 2011.
“It’s not just about Bayview Hunters Point,” Maxwell observed. “The common thread is the entire District 10 community.”
D. 10 candidates Eric Smith and Tony Kelly smile for the camera.
Kelly told me that to his mind the common thread is that residents of the district, which is home to the worst toxic hot spots in the city, can’t rely on corporations to solve their problems.
“District 10 can think for itself,” Kelly said. “They don’t have to look outside. But to my mind, up until now, the approach in city hall has been that there is no mess in D. 10 that can’t be fixed by a friendly corporation.”
Kelly observed that folks in the eastern neighborhoods came up with a better revitalization plan than what the city proposed, and that community activists managed to close the power plant, after the city said it was impossible.
“We have the worst schools, transportation and pollution,” Kelly said. “Candidates in the D. 10 race tend to fall into one of two groups: those that are responsive to Lennar and PG&E’s plans, and those who oppose them.”
D. 10 candidate Kristine Enea, who attended the Navy’s Feb. 2 “community involvement plan” meeting at the Bayview YMCA told me that at least the Navy showed some willingness to let the community speak at that meeting, Chris Jackson San Francisco Community College Board Trustee chats with D. 10 candidates Tony Kelly and Kristine Enea.
“But they need to stop being so defensive,” Enea said, as she questioned why the Navy refuses to speak in public about why it dissolved the Shipyard Restoration Advisory Board.
D 10 candidate Lynette Sweet told me that she thought California PUC commissioner Tim Simon “hit it on the head with his comments,” at the Black History Month kickoff event. D. 10 candidate Lynette Sweet poses for the camera.
“We’re not the sum of our parts, we’re not murderers and poverty pimps, there is some real leadership and quality people within our community,” Sweet observed.
I’ve been thinking about how Moon Duo‘s name sounds a little like Amon Düül. Maybe that’s just tangential coincidence, but the SF twosome’s songs allow for the kind of daydreaming that produces such thoughts.
Escape delivers on the great promise of Ripley Johnson and Sanae Yamada’s earlier recordings, especially last year’s Killing Time (Sacred Bones). Like that EP, Escape is made up of four songs, but the lunar flares sprawl ever outward to album length. We’re only a month into 2010, but here’s a contender for Bay Area album of the year.
On the heels of a first time ever Super Bowl win for my beloved city of New Orleans, comes Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday, Lent. No one celebrates this time of year like Nola, but we try in our own little way here. At least there’s some local outlets for wistfully wishing I was there…
February 15-19: Fat Tuesday at the Front Porch Outer Mission’s Front Porch always knows how to throw a good party, and Fat Tuesday will be no exception. I can’t think of a better way to usher in Mardi Gras than with a front porch crab boil. Don’t forget to eat plenty of their jambalaya, drink Abita beer, and don those beads. Even better, if you can’t make it Tuesday, they’re doing the boil and French Quarter menu specials all week long, starting Monday. 5:30pm until close 65a 29th Street 415-695-7800 www.thefrontporchsf.com
Mint Julep at Pican. Photo by Virginia Miller
February 16: Fat Tuesday at Pican – Oakland’s Mardi Gras “It” Party Bring your masks for a Mardi Gras feat at Pican, a restaurant that keeps Southern spirit swinging throughout the year. There’s live bands and all that fine bourbon on Pican’s shelf. Fill up on Louisiana crawfish etouffe, chicken and andouille gumbo, red beans and rice, grilled boudin sausage, and Pican’s ever-popular smoked ribs and buttermilk fried chicken wings. Ash Wednesday will come tomorrow, but tonight, it’s Fat Tuesday! 5:30pm Advance tickets $60; $75 at the door 2295 Broadway, Oakland 510-834-1000 www.picanrestaurant.com
February 12-16: Miss Pearl’s Jam House Mardi Gras Festival Miss Pearl’s Jam House throws down in Jack London Square with its first Mardi Gras Festival. The week starts off with this Friday’s Gumbo Jam kick-off (blues and gumbo, naturally). Pearl’s new chef, Peter Jackson, cooked with one of my favorites (and one of New Orleans best chefs), John Besh. On Saturday, he launches Gumbostravaganza, a gumbo cook-off showcasing friendly gumbo competition among East Bay chefs from the likes of Picán and Henry’s. Fat Tuesday is going to be a big one with $5 Hurricanes and $4 jello shots all day, plus beignets, King’s Cake, a prize trip to New Orleans, and live zydeco music. Free admission; check Web site for schedule Miss Pearl’s Jam House, One Broadway (at Jack London Square) 510-444-7171 www.misspearlsjamhouse.com
I didn’t have a Bat Mitzvah when I turned 13, but if I had, I would’ve wanted it to be just like the one Shmaltz Brewing Company threw for its newest Jewbelation ale last night at Amnesia. (And yes, I just said that I wish my 13th birthday party had been at a bar.) The event, which replaced the spot’s regular Tuesday program of open mic and Rock’n’Schlock karaoke in honor of SF Beer Week, was hilarious, fun, and exactly as tongue-in-cheek as you’d expect from a brewing company whose first beer (He’Brew) was the result of an inside joke between founder (and Bay Area native) Jeremy Cowen and his high school friends.
Highlights of the night included performances by Meshugga Beach Party, whose schtick is playing Jewish favorites like “Shalom Alechem” and “Ose Shalom” in Dick Dale surfer style (while wearing fake beards), and Sex with No Hands, a klezmer polka party band with nearly a dozen members and a range of danceable songs from covers like “Sunrise, Sunset” to originals like “Golden Showers” (yes, the latter’s about what you think it is). And of course, as at any Bar Mitzvah, guests received commemorative yarmulkes (in either blue or maroon, with the Shmaltz logo on top and “This is not a frisbee” written inside).
Meshugga Beach Party played favorites from albums like Let’s Go Shleppin’ while Hebrew School alums channelled memories of Israeli dance class.
But this whole evening was really about the beer, a dark, complex, special edition brew that goes down deceptively and dangerously smooth at 13 percent alcohol. (Get it? Shmaltz has been around 13 years? The beer’s 13 percent alcohol? It’s called Bar Mitzvah?) In fact, it seems to be the quality of Shmaltz’s beer, in addition to the label’s sense of humor, that’s responsible for its success (and especially so far beyond the demographic of Jews who love a good pun). Though there were certainly more members of the tribe in attendance at Amnesia than I’ve seen in one place since summer camp, there were plenty of goys also happily getting their drink on. And I expect the ratio will be even closer to 50/50 at Thursday’s Beerlesque event at Paradise Lounge, which celebrates the return of Coney Island Human Blockhead with a night of burlesque courtesy of Hubba Hubba Revue. Beerlesque Thurs/11, 8pm $8-$10 Paradise Lounge 1501 Folsom, SF www.sfbeerweek.org
Yesterday’s San Francisco Chronicle reports on a long history of illegal practices by Mercury Insurance – including discrimination against soldiers, artists, bartenders, and other professions in auto insurance coverage and rates – and the long-overdue political and regulatory attention being paid to the company.
But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The real story of Mercury’s dealings in California is even more insidious, and it has implications to the health care reform legislation being pushed by President Obama and congressional Democrats, which would require all Americans to buy health insurance, just as all California motorists are required to buy car insurance from Mercury and other companies.
Documents from the California Department of Insurance (275 pages worth, which we also obtained and which you can download here) detail the Mercury’s deceptive practices, but it was hardly a secret how Mercury operated, brazenly and openly defying standards and regulations that voters created in 1988 by approving Prop. 103.
The author of that measure, respected activist Harvey Rosenfield of Consumer Watchdog, has been sounding the alarm about Prop. 17, a measure that Mercury has placed on the June ballot that would overturn key parts of Prop. 103, allowing insurance companies to jack up premiums for those who haven’t been loyal and continuous insurance customers that paid every bill on time.
Rosenfield recently stopped by the Guardian and offered a fascinating history of insurance regulation in California – and his battles with his number one nemesis, Mercury Insurance.
“Prior to the passage of Prop. 103, which the voters approved in 1988, insurance companies were not regulated in California. They could basically get away with anything and they did. In 1984, the state Legislature mandated that people buy auto insurance and guess what happened? After that, everyone in the marketplace is required to buy insurance and there’s no protection against how much insurance companies could charge you for it or even if they refused to sell it to you because of where you lived or the color of your skin, there were just no protections,” Rosenfield told us.
“One of the most pernicious practices after the Legislature said you have to buy insurance was that when you went to the insurance companies and said, ‘OK, I’m required by law to buy insurance, now sell it to me.’ They’d say, well you didn’t have it before, so we’re not going to sell it to you now. Or, you didn’t have it before so therefore we’re going to surcharge you and double the price of insurance. Talk about a Catch 22.”
So consumer groups sued and Rosenfield started writing Prop. 103. In 1987, the courts said this was a legislative issue, not a judicial one, so the groups turned to the California Legislature.
“Of course, the Legislature was too beholden to the insurance lobbyists to do any of the proposals that we were offering, so we went to the ballot box in 1988. Prop. 103 did many things: it called for a rollback, requires insurance companies to open up their books and justify premiums, it requires auto insurance companies to base your premium on your driving record, the number of miles you drive every year, and your driving experience. No longer would your ZIP code be the dominant determinant for how much you pay. And that battle, just to get that put it in place, we didn’t win that until 20 years after 103 began. We won in basically in 2006, 18 years later, after court challenges and going to the commissioner.”
While Prop. 103 allows the insurance commissioner to set additional reasonable factors in setting insurance premiums, Rosenfield said, “The one rating factor that Proposition 103 prohibits is the one that insurance companies used before. Prop. 103 says you cannot base insurance premiums or refusing to insure somebody on the absence of prior insurance.”
But as the new documents and other court findings showed, Mercury ignored that provision and used it as a factor anyway, setting a surcharge of about 45 percent of the premium price if you hadn’t had insurance before, for which they were again sued.
“Mercury realizes they’re going to lose the civil suit, goes to Sacramento, spreads a fortune in campaign contributions, and lo and behold, gets a bill passed overriding this provision of Prop. 103, legalizing its surcharges. [Gov. Gray] Davis vetoes it in 2002 on the grounds that it violates Prop. 103. Another year goes by, Mercury spreads even more money around, and this time Davis is up in a recall election and needs Mercury’s money. So he takes the money, it’s $100,000 or more, and Davis signs the bill. We have to go to court and challenge the bill as an unconstitutional amendment to Proposition 103, which we finally succeed in doing and it’s upheld by the Court of Appeals in 2005. All that time, Mercury is overcharging people. Ultimately, Mercury is told, the law you sponsored is invalid and you can’t do it anymore, so it stops in 2005 – 10 years of wanton, brazen violation of the law. And that brings us to the Mercury initiative.”
But because these surcharges are so lucrative – in some states, a Consumer Watchdog investigation found, doubling or tripling premiums – Mercury decided to spend millions of dollars to place Prop. 17 on the June ballot, and it will spend millions more to fool consumers into believing that its somehow good for them.
“The Mercury initiative is even more pernicious than what it was doing before, and here’s why. Under Mercury’s initiative, if you’ve never had prior insurance, you can be surcharged for the first time. It overturns the Prop. 103 provision and legalizes these surcharges. Then they’ve thrown in some other tricks and traps, as you’d expect an insurance company to do on a ballot measure.”
What are those tricks and traps? How have they been able to get away with this for so long? Why did Attorney General Jerry Brown, a candidate for governor, give the measure such a favorable and misleading ballot title and summary? Why has the Democratic Party been so unwilling to challenge them? We’ll have much more on Mercury and its corrupting corporate influence in future issues of the Guardian.
Coby King, Mercury’s vice president and spokesperson, wouldn’t speak directly about the newly revealed documents or the concerns they’re causing among regulators and politicians, sending us the same prepared statement he send to Chronicle, which says consumer groups are trying to “mislead consumers and rehash old allegations.”
Yet I pressed him on why Mercury has for decades shown such contempt for the regulatory framework created by Prop. 103, which the company has now challenged through lawsuits, sponsored legislation, lavish political contributions, the new ballot measure, and even through blatant violations of the law. He tried to refer me to Kathy Fairbanks, who headed the Mercury-backed front group, Californians for Fair Auto Insurance Rates, which is pushing Prop. 17.
But when I noted that the group is supposedly independent of Mercury, and it is the company’s hostility to Prop. 103 that I was asking about, he finally said this: “Prop. 103 is the law of the land, but to the extent there are improvements that can be made that are pro-business and pro-consumer, Mercury has not been shy about acting in the public interest.”
Ah, so it’s the public interest that Mercury has been acting in. Got it.
