THURSDAY 24
MUSIC
Floating Goat
If you’re a slave to the riffs and are told a particular guitarist has better chops than other well-renowned fret board slayers, it’s not an assertion to be ignored. So when I heard this about Floating Goat, my ears perked up, and now they won’t stop ringing. The local hesh trio has been playing together for a decade, and their longevity shows — they’re a solid, balanced metal machine, with that sweet-spot ability to seamlessly transition from psychedelically heavy, Sabbath-worship rock into solos reminiscent of 1980s thrash titans. Be gotten, throw some hornss. Whatever floats your goat. (Kat Renz)
With Begotten and Hornss
9 p.m., $6
Hemlock Tavern
1131 Polk, SF
(415) 923-0923
PERFORMANCE
“Way Behind the Music: From Miley Cyrus to Mötley Crüe”
February already brought us the Grammys and Justin Bieber: Never Say Never, and this week Litquake and Noise Pop join forces to spotlight the actual published literary efforts of Mr. Bieber, along with Jewel, Gene Simmons, George Jones, Marilyn Manson, Tori Amos, Vince Neil, Denise McLean (mother of Backstreet Boy A.J. McLean), and others. During this evening of hilariously odd music memoirs brought to life onstage, musicians and writers (including Mark Eitzel, Thao Nguyen, Beth Lisick, Linda Robertson, Michelle Tea, Bucky Sinister, Jesse Michaels, Paul Myers, and Tom Heyman) read excerpts from a selection of music autobiographies. (Julie Potter)
7:30 p.m., $15
Make-Out Room
3225 22nd St., SF
(415) 647-2888
FRIDAY 25
EVENT
“A Night Featuring Chocolate and Other Culinary Gems of the Americas”
Mole, cacao, marimbas, and collage! It’s Friday night at the de Young Museum and the chocolate-y themed evening includes live painting of Mesoamerica’s cacao-related art, demonstrations transforming cacao beans to drinking chocolate, and a discussion of “cacao glyphs,” a Mayan tradition. Learn easy-to-follow dance forms like the bolero, waltz, cumbia, and the traditional “Guatemalan son” to marimba music featuring Ana Nitmar and Mi Bella Guatemala. From the café to the artist studio, there will be beats, sweets, and fun. The museum is open late for perusing the galleries, so bring the family and get your art on. (Potter)
6 p.m., free ($7–$11 for gallery admission)
de Young Museum
50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Dr., SF
(415) 750-3600
deyoung.famsf.org
MUSIC
Aesop Rock and Kimya Dawson
There’s a theory that the political spectrum is circular; follow it far enough and the extremes meet up. The musical spectrum must work the same way, causing fringe artists to connect in unpredictable ways. At least that’s the only sense I can make out of the emerging collaboration between abstract hip-hop MC Aesop Rock and anti-folk singer Kimya Dawson, two inventive wordsmiths with no shortage of winding lyrics. Aesop Rock is contributing to Dawson’s upcoming Thunder Thighs and the two are reportedly at work on a combined album, making this gig a preview of things to come. (Ryan Prendiville)
With Rob Sonic, DJ Big Wiz, and DJ Clydeoscope
8 p.m., $20
Great American Music Hall
859 O’Farrell, SF
(415) 885-0750
SATURDAY 26
DANCE
Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company
In the early days, Israeli folk dancing was a rich tool for nation-building. But internationally-flavored dance theater — think the Inbal Pinto and Bathsheba Dance Companies — has become one of the country’s important cultural exports. The latest to make its local debut is the Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company, which was founded in (and is still is at home in) a kibbutz in Galilee, where it also runs an international dance program for children. Its work is reputed to be fast-paced and highly theatrical as well as very physical. The 15 dancers are bringing the 2009 Ekodoom — It’s not Time, It’s Us which takes on environmental issues and the catastrophe to come if we don’t get our act together. Choreographer and artistic director, Rami Be’er is also a respected musician and painter. (Rita Felciano)
8 p.m., $20–$32
Kanbar Hall
Jewish Community Center of San Francisco
3200 California, SF
(415) 292-1233
EVENT
“Monster Jam 2011”
A stampede of horsepower comes thundering into town today with the Monster Jam series of monster truck races and events, featuring ground-shaking custom creations such as “Time Flys,” “Iron Man,” and the long-running fan favorite “Grave Digger.” Spectators will be treated to races and freestyle events, where the 10,000 pound muscle machines can fly through the air at distances up to 130 feet and reach heights of 35 feet in the air — not to mention crushing cars aplenty. And don’t miss “Megasaurus,” the giant auto-eating, fire-breathing monster that’s sure to scare up a ton of entertainment for this SATURDAY SATURDAY SATURDAY night event! (Sean McCourt)
3 p.m. pit party; 7 p.m. main event, $7.50–$30
Oakland Coliseum
7000 Coliseum Way, Oakl.
1-800-745-3000
DANCE
Ellis Wood
From Amy “Tiger Mother” Chua’s rules to Ayelet “Bad Mother” Waldman’s guilt, the stories about motherhood are not only filling bookshelves and mommy blogs, they’re being danced on stage. For one night only, Ellis Wood, choreographer and mother of three, performs the world premiere of Mom, a 50-minute solo, sharing a layered, thought-provoking and not always pretty look at motherhood. Wood maintains strong ties to the Bay Area, having visited to teach and perform in the region every year for the past decade. Her parents, both Graham dancers, started the dance program at UC Berkeley. Now, in a return to solo work, Wood refocuses herself back to the way she started choreographing 15 years ago. (Potter)
8 p.m., $20
Southside Theater
Fort Mason Center
Marina at Laguna, SF
(415) 345-7575
THEATER
Orphée
In 1954, at the tender age of 17, Philip Glass showed up in Paris and fell in love with French counterculture — and the tripped-out films it produced. The young composer became a Jean Cocteau groupie, later saying, “the bohemian life you see in his Orphée … was the life I was attracted to. Those were the people I wanted to hang out with.” Fast-forward half a century: Glass pays tribute to Cocteau with his own operatic take on the myth of Orpheus. Immersed in the decadent lifestyle of a Parisian artist but ultimately unsatisfied and obsessed with his waning inspiration (sound like anyone you know?), Glass’s poet Orphée embarks on an epic journey to unravel the existential mysteries of life. See his far-out flight presented by the award-winning cast from Ensemble Paralléle. (Emily Appelbaum)
Sat/26, 8 p.m.; Sun/27, 3 p.m., $25–$85
Herbst Theatre
401 Van Ness, SF
(415) 392-4400
SUNDAY 27
EVENT
“Sh*t My Dad Says with Justin Halpern”
“I just don’t want to celebrate a bullshit holiday. I’m plenty romantic. I own a home and I have never shit my pants. Two things you can’t say.” (Feb. 14, 10:09 a.m.) After being dumped by his long-term girlfriend, the now-29-year-old, then-unemployed Justin Halpern moved back in with 74-year-old father and began to document on Twitter some of the outrageously funny things his dad says. Halpren’s hilarious tweets (@shitmydadsays) have accumulated more than 2 million followers and became the basis for a best-selling book and a CBS sitcom of the same name starting William Shatner as the potty-mouthed paterfamilas. Halpern chats about his homegrown road to comedy gold at tonight’s event. (Jen Verzosa)
7 p.m., $10–$25
Jewish Community Center of San Francisco
Koret Center
3200 California, SF
MUSIC
Growlers
With its jangly, surf-tinged grooves run through a filter of well-worn psychedelia, the Growlers are torch carriers of no-frills, modern rock ‘n’ roll. Based in Costa Mesa, the Southern California group’s songs creep along with a dark, subdued underbelly that contrasts perfectly with a knack for hazy, sun-kissed hooks and melodies. Lead singer Brooks Nielson holds the whole thing together with a tattered rasp of a voice that sounds right at home atop the reverb-laden garage and loose Western swing of his bandmates. (Landon Moblad)
With Fresh and Onlys, Pleasure Kills, and Wrong Words
1 p.m., $12
Bottom of the Hill
1233 17th St., SF
(415) 621-4455
MONDAY 28
MUSIC
“Under Raps”
At “Under Raps,” an open mic at the Showdown (formerly known as the Arrow Bar), there won’t be an emo kid whining about holding hands for the first time or a punk rocker screaming about teenage angst. Instead, drink a $5 pint of gin and juice and expect to throw your hands in the air and wave them like you just don’t care to the sounds of fresh freestyles. Every last Monday of the month, the Showdown features a local producer and emcee showcasing your favorite local hip-hop artists doing what they do best — spitting some rhymes. (Verzosa)
9 p.m., $3
Showdown
10 Sixth St., SF
(415) 503-0684
EVENTS
“Wishes, Dreams and Insults: The World of Yiddish Speakers”
If self-deprecating humor, free-floating anxiety, and the greatest assortment of onomatopoetic words ever amassed sounds like your kind of thing, se brent nit (don’t get all excited). But do consider heading to the Public Radio International-sponsored collection of Yiddish short stories, “Wishes, Dreams and Insults.” These tales of triumph, trial, and tribulation — probably not so much triumph, actually, considering the source — promise plenty of chutzpah and humor. Hosted by Isaiah Sheffer of PRI’s Selected Shorts, the event also features Tony Award-winner Denis O’Hare and Drama Critics Circle Award winner Kristen Vangsness. (Appelbaum)
7 p.m., $10–$35
Jewish Community Center of San Francisco
3200 California, SF
(415) 292-1200
TUESDAY 1
MUSIC
Swans
“This is not a reunion. It’s not some dumb-ass nostalgia act,” writes Michael Gira re: bringing back noise-rock pioneers Swans for the first time since 1997. (Swans Are Dead? Now ironic.) The revival of the oppressive, ominous band comes after spending time running Young God Records, home of Akron/Family and Devendra Banhart, and making music as Angels of Light. “I needed a way to move forward, in a new direction,” Gira says. For the band with a reputation for being a devastatingly intense listen, this direction includes having Gira’s three-and-a-half-year-old daughter duet with Banhart. The result is an unexpected harmony and strange beauty on the other side of Swan’s bottomless doom. With a title like “You Fucking People Make Me Sick,” some things never change. (Prendiville)
With Wooden Wand
8 p.m., $34
Regency Ballroom
1300 Van Ness, SF
1-800-745-3000
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