Berkeley Archives — Page 2 of 96 — San Francisco Bay Guardian Archive 1966

Lee and UC Berkeley institute take on income inequality

Sasha Cuttler

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September 10, 2014

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) and U.C. Berkeley’s Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society are teaming up today [Wed/10] in Washington DC to release and discuss the institute’s first policy prescriptions for reducing inequality.

The policy brief—the first to be issued by the Haas Institute—will introduce research-based approaches suggested by a diverse array of economists looking at inequality through different lenses.

The policy brief calls for the integration of regions through land use rezoning to decrease inequality, an increase in public investments in preschool programs, raising the minimum wage, and the reformation of unfair tax policy that favors the wealthiest 1 percent.

“Inequality is a defining issue for America’s future,” John Powell, director of the Haas Institute, said in a press statement. “The good news is that we know variation in inequality and mobility imply that local, state, and federal policies can have an impact. Therefore, the solution is within reach, but only if policymakers learn from and apply researched based initiatives.”

While this is the Haas institute’s first policy brief, it is far from being Lee’s first foray into the issues of inequality. In fact, it’s become an area of her expertise. Lee, will give this morning’s keynote address, has been introduced two bills to curb the growth of inequality.

The first, the Income Equity Act (H.R. 199), would limit the tax deductibility of executive compensation packages. Currently, the more a firm pays its CEO, the more the firm can deduct from its taxes, leaving “cash-strapped taxpayers picking up the tab,” said Lee in a 2013 blog post.

“Despite record corporate profits, none of it is being shared with the American working class—the strongest work force in the world,” Jim Lewis, Lee’s press director, told the Guardian. “We’re pushing for research-based initiatives that are realistic when implemented.”

Locally, state Sens. Mark DeSauliner (D-Concord) and Loni Hancock (D-Oakland) introduced a pay-disparity bill (SB 1372) in April, which would tax companies with a wide income gap between CEOs and workers, and give tax breaks to companies with lower income disparities.

The second, Lee’s Pathways Out of Poverty Act (H.R. 5352), addresses unemployment in minority communities, namely African Americans and Latinos. It aims to create good-paying jobs and increase social mobility while strengthening the social net for those still struggling.

Research based solutions seem like a perfectly practical way to go about solving our evident wealth gap, but “1 percenter” and “the 99 percent” have only been part of the national lexicon since 2011’s Occupy protests.

A Gallup poll from January this year revealed that Democrats and independents are overwhelmingly dissatisfied with income and wealth distribution, as well as a majority of Republicans. The poll also found that only slightly about half of Americans are satisfied with the opportunity to get ahead by working hard.

“For many years, income inequality was viewed as an important factor and byproduct of growth,” said Powell. “That has been largely discredited by economists. It’s not a necessary byproduct of technological advances and globalization.”

All of this comes at a time when the wealth gap in the United States—and especially in the Bay Area—is reaching exorbitant proportions.

In June, the San Francisco Human Services Agency released a report stating that while the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, the city’s middle class—those earning around the median household income of $72,500—is disappearing altogether.

A recent study by the Brookings Institution revealed that between 1990 and 2012, the city’s middle class has shrunk from 45 percent of the population to 34 percent.

“There’s no need for this kind of gap, it’s unsustainable,” Powell said. “We need to work on a local level, especially when we have a more liberal legislature in California. Closing the gap can enhance economic growth. It can bring the country together.”

SOS: A bill to protect oil refineries also threatens public access rights

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September 9, 2014

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Gov. Brown. Veto SB 1300

This bill would establish a stealth template for how to gut the California Public Records Act one economic and political sector at a time.

By Bruce B. Brugmann (with a First Amendment Coalition emergency message and a button for readers to request a Gov. Brown veto)

Possibly the bill most damaging to the public interest in years is sitting on Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk for signature. It is SB 1300, which amounts to an oil refinery protection bill proposed by Sen. Loni Hancock (D-Berkeley) and Assemblyperson Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley), two legislators living in the shadow of the East Bay oil refineries who ought to know better. It was supported by oil companies, organized labor, and the California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) and was passed by the Assembly on a 68-5 vote and by the Senate on a 34-0 vote. No debate, no discussion, no questions asked.

The gist of the damage is that SB 1300 was amended at the last minute to force a CPRA requester to pay fees if a court rules against disclosure. As the California Newspaper Publishers Association explained in its current legislative bulletin, SB 1300 “would expand the definition of what constitutes a trade secret and erect an insurmountable barrier to any effort by a member of the public to obtain information about DOSH’s performance in its role as a consumer watchdog over a refiner’s conduct.”

Peter Scheer, executive director of the First Amendment Coalition (FAC), warned in a special message that “it’s safe to say that no one will ever file a CPRA request for refinery information once it becomes known that a mere request may thrust the requester involuntarily into a costly battle against oil companies.” But just to be sure no one even contemplates filing a CPRA request, Scheer noted that the last minute amendments to the legislation also provide that the requester will have to pay his/her own fees as well as the fees of the oil company’s lawyers if he/she loses the suit.

CNPA General Counsel Jim Ewert and Staff Attorney Scott Merrill worked furiously to try to negotiate with Hancock’s staff and DOSH representatives to eliminate the toxic effect on CPRA requesters. But all CNPA amendments were rejected before the bill was taken up by both houses. Hancock told the CNPA advocates repeatedly that she would rather have the information in DOSH’s hands even if that meant that the public wouldn’t have access to it.

Scheer wrote that “some may say that these changes to existing law, while terrible, are not such a big deal since they only curtail access to information about refineries. (This is presumably the view of organized labor, which cynically backs SB 1300 after getting a special carveout for refineries’ employment and financial data that unions want.)

“Try telling that to the families who live downwind of refineries. But more than that, SB 1300 establishes a template for how to gut the CPRA one economic and political sector at a time. First, it’s information about oil companies; next it will be information about schools or about law enforcement or about water supplies. SB 1300 creates a dangerous precedent for other industries and special interets to follow.

“Don’t let that happen. Tell Governor Brown to veto SB 1300.”

Below is the full text of Scheer’s message on the FAC website with a response button to email, fax, or phone requesting Gov. Brown to veto SB 1300. CNPA is emailing Scheer’s message to its member papers in its Sept.12 Legislative Bulletin, several are preparing stories and editorials, and public access activists are mobilizing opposition across the state. Brown was expected to sign the bill, until CNPA and FAC blew the bugles and started blasting away.

Meanwhile, ask Hancock and Skinner and DOSH how they came up with this abomination and ask your local senators and assemblypersons why they voted for it without gulping. You can start with the San Francisco delegation, all of whom voted for the bill (Assemblymen Ammiano and Ting and Sen. Leno). On guard, b3

Gov Brown, Veto SB 1300. Ostensibly about oil refineries, SB 1300 threatens public access rights.

P.S. CNPA laid out this Kafkaesque scenario for people who have the gall to request information on emissions from a nearby oil refinery fire:

“ A mother and her family driven from her home by the emissions from a fire at a nearby refinery submits a CPRA request to DOSH for information that she believes is disclosable about the next turnaround at the refinery to determine how safe the refinery is. Because her request could include trade secret information as now defined, DOSH notifies the refinery that a request for the refiner’s information has been received.

“The refinery files an action against DOSH for injunctive relief to prevent the disclosure of the information and, since the bill requires the refiner to name the requester as a real party in interest, the requester is named as a party in the lawsuit filed by the refinery.The requester, who may or may not have been willing to go to court to enforce her rights under the CPRA, now finds that she is an unwilling party in a lawsuit.

” If she decides to participate in the action to pursue the information she believes she has a right to obtain she will have to pay her own expenses for a lawyer and the costs associated with the action. If she decides not to pursue her rights she risks that a default judgment could nonetheless be entered against her.

“If the court denies her request, or a default judgment is entered against her, the court would be required to order her to pay the refinery’s attorney’s fees and costs.

“SB 1300 was also amended to provide ‘the public agency shall not bear the court costs for any party named in litigation filed pursuant to this section.'” Incredible. Simply incredible. b3

For the CNPA letter asking Gov.Brown to veto the bill, click the link below

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B8sxRIlFa7G4Ql8xRExkT095cU1tbzdOeHRNLTZaRDIwUkMw/edit

(The Bruce blog is written and edited by Bruce B. Brugmann, editor at large of the San Francisco Bay Guardian. He was the editor and he and his wife Jean Dibble co-founded and co-published the Guardian, 1966-2012.)

Rep Clock: September 10 – 16, 2014

Michael Redmond

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September 9, 2014

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Schedules are for Wed/10-Tue/16 except where noted. Director and year are given when available. Double features marked with a •. All times pm unless otherwise specified.

ARTISTS’ TELEVISION ACCESS 992 Valencia, SF; www.atasite.org. $7-10. “ATA Lives!”: “Mission Eye & Ear #6,” live music and film, Fri, 8. “Other Cinema,” works by Bryan Boyce, James T. Hong, and Sylvia Schedelbauer, Sat, 8. “Paper Circus,” animation by Luca Dipierro with a live soundtrack, Sun, 8.

BALBOA 3630 Balboa, SF; cinemasf.com/balboa. $10. Duran Duran: Unstaged (Lynch, 2011), Wed, 7:30. “Thursday Night Rock Docs:” Under African Skies (Berlinger, 2012), Thu, 7:30. The 78 Project Movie (Steyermark, 2014), Fri, 10.

CASTRO 429 Castro, SF; (415) 621-6120, www.castrotheatre.com. $8.50-11. •If … (Anderson, 1968), Wed, 7, and The Chocolate War (Gordon, 1988), Wed, 9:05. •The Dog (Berg and Keraudren, 2013), Thu, 7, and Dog Day Afternoon (Lumet, 1975), Thu, 8:55. California Independent Film Festival, Fri, 1pm; Sat, 11am. For complete schedule, including screenings in Orinda and Moraga, visit www.caiff.org. Frozen (Buck and Lee, 2013), Sun, 1. Presented sing-along style. •The Fisher King (Gilliam, 1991), Sun, 7, and Good Morning, Vietnam (Levinson, 1987), Sun, 4:45, 9:30. •Alive Inside (Rossato-Bennett, 2014), Tue, 7, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Forman, 1975), Tue, 8:30.

COURTHOUSE SQUARE 2200 Broadway, Redwood City; www.redwoodcity.org. Free. Spaceballs (Brooks, 1987), Thu, 8:45.

FINNISH KALEVA HALL 1970 Chestnut, Berk; www.paratheatrical.com. $10. Dreambody/Earthbody (Alli, 2012), Thu, 8:30.

GOETHE-INSTITUT SF 530 Bush, SF; www.goethe.de/ins/us/saf/enindex.htm. $5 suggested donation. “100 Years After WWI:” The White Ribbon (Haneke, 2009), Wed, 6:30.

GRAND LAKE 3200 Grand Lake, Oakl; www.sf911truth.org. $15. “9/11 Truth Film Festival,” films and speakers, Thu, 1-11.

MECHANICS’ INSTITUTE 57 Post, SF; milibrary.org/events. $10. “CinemaLit Film Series: Critics’ Choice, Classic and Quirky Americana:” M (Losey, 1951), Fri, 6. With critic David Thomson in person.

NEW PEOPLE CINEMA 1746 Post, SF; http://legacyfilmfestivalonaging.org. $12 (all-fest pass, $50). “Legacy Film Festival on Aging,” shorts, features, and documentaries from around the world that take on “the challenges and triumphs of aging,” Fri-Sun.

PACIFIC FILM ARCHIVE 2575 Bancroft, Berk; (510) 642-5249, bampfa.berkeley.edu. $5.50-9.50. “Alternative Visions:” Big Joy: The Adventures of James Broughton (Silha, Slade, and Logsdon, 2011), Wed, 7. “Activate Yourself: The Free Speech Movement at Fifty:” Berkeley in the Sixties (Kitchell, 1990), Thu, 7. “Jean-Luc Godard: Expect Everything from Cinema:” Sympathy for the Devil (1968), Fri, 7. “James Dean, Restored Classics from Warner Bros.:” Rebel Without a Cause (Ray, 1955), Fri, 9:10. “Eyes Wide: The Films of Stanley Kubrick:” Spartacus (1960), Sat, 7. “Banjo Tales and Musical Holdouts:” Banjo Tales (Aginsky, 2014), Tue, 7:30.

ROXIE 3117 and 3125 16th St, SF; (415) 863-1087, www.roxie.com. $6.50-11. The Longest Week (Glanz, 2014), Wed-Thu, 7, 9. No No: A Dockumentary (Radice, 2014), Wed, 7, 9:15; Thu, 9:45. Forward 13: Waking Up the American Dream (Lovell), Thu, 5. Free screening. Metro Manila (Ellis, 2013), Thu, 7. God Help the Girl (Murdoch, 2014), Sept 12-18, 9:30 (also Fri-Sat and Mon-Tue, 7). Second Opinion: Laetrile at Sloan-Kettering (Merola, 2014), Sept 12-18, 7, 8:45 (also Sat-Sun, 3:30, 5:15). All This Mayhem (Martin, 2014), Sun, 7.

SMITH RAFAEL FILM CENTER 1118 Fourth St, San Rafael; (415) 454-1222, www.cafilm.org. $6.50-$10.75. The Notebook (Szász, 2013), Wed-Thu, call for times. Take Me to the River (Shore, 2014), Sept 12-18, call for times. “Alec Guinness at 100:” Our Man in Havana (Reed, 1959), Sun, 4:30, 7:30.

TEMESCAL ART CENTER 511 48th St, Oakl; www.shapeshifterscinema.com. Free. Works by Tommy Becker, Sun, 8.

YERBA BUENA CENTER FOR THE ARTS 701 Mission, SF; www.ybca.org. $8-10. San Francisco Cinematheque presents: “Life is An Opinion: Films by Mary Helena Clark and Karen Yaskinsky,” Sat, 7:30. Filmmakers in person. *

Theater Listings: September 10 – 16, 2014

Michael Redmond

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September 9, 2014

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Stage listings are compiled by Guardian staff. Performance times may change; call venues to confirm. Reviewers are Robert Avila, Rita Felciano, and Nicole Gluckstern. Submit items for the listings at listings@sfbg.com.

THEATER

OPENING

The Barbary Coast Revue Sub/Mission Gallery, 2183 Mission, SF; www.barbarycoastrevue.com. $28. Opens Sat/13, 8pm. Runs Sat, 8pm. Through Nov 29. Join Mark Twain on an interactive musical tour of Gold Rush-era San Francisco.

Old Hats ACT’s Geary Theater, 415 Geary, SF; www.act-sf.org. $20-120. Previews Wed/10-Sat/13 and Tue/16, 8pm (also Sat/13, 2pm); Sun/14, 7pm. Opens Sept 17, 8pm. Runs Wed-Sat, 8pm and Sept 30 (also Sat, 2pm); Sun, 2pm; Sept 23, 7pm. Through Oct 5. American Conservatory Theater presents Tony winners Bill Irwin and David Shiner in the West Coast premiere of Signature Theatre’s story of “clowns getting older — and even crazier.”

BAY AREA

House and Garden Pear Avenue Theatre, 1220 Pear, Mtn View; www.thepear.org. $10-35. Previews Thu/11, 8pm. Opens Fri/12, 8pm. Runs Thu-Sat, 8pm (check website for Sat matinee dates); Sun, 2pm. Through Oct 5. Pear Avenue Theatre performs Alan Ayckbourn’s two interlocking but separate comedies, a unique theatrical experience in which the audience stays put and the actors travel between adjacent theaters, performing each play at the same time.

ONGOING

Cock New Conservatory Theatre Center, 25 Van Ness, SF; www.nctcsf.org. $25-45. Previews Wed/10-Fri/12, 8pm. Opens Sat/13, 8pm. Runs Wed-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2pm. Through Oct 12. New Conservatory Theatre Center performs Michael Bartlett’s comedy about a man who meets the woman of his dreams — while on a break from dating his boyfriend.

Each and Every Thing Marsh San Francisco Main Stage, 1062 Valencia, SF; www.themarsh.org. $20-50. Thu-Fri, 8pm; Sat, 5pm; Sun, 2pm. Extended through Oct 4. The latest solo show from celebrated writer-performer Dan Hoyle (Tings Dey Happen, The Real Americans) winds a more random course than usual across the country and abroad but then that’s the idea — or at least Hoyle warns us, right after an opening encounter with a touchy young white supremacist, that the trip he’s taking us on is a subtle one. Displaying again his exceptional gifts as a writer and protean performer, Hoyle deftly embodies a set of real-life encounters as a means of exploring the primacy and predicament of face-to-face communication in the age of Facebook. With the help of director Charlie Varon (who co-developed the piece with Hoyle and Maureen Towey), this comes across in an entertaining and swift-flowing 75-minute act that includes a witty rap about “phone zombies” and a Dylan-esque screed at a digital detox center. But the purported subject of connection, or lack there of, in our gadget-bound and atomized society is neither very original nor very deeply explored — nor is it necessarily very provocative in a theater, before an audience already primed for the live encounter. Far more interesting and central here is Hoyle’s relationship with his old college buddy Pratim, an Indian American in post-9/11 America whose words are filled with laid-back wisdom and wry humor. Also intriguing is the passing glimpse of early family life in the Hoyle household with Dan’s celebrated artist father, and working-class socialist, Geoff Hoyle. These relationships, rather than the sketches of strangers (albeit very graceful ones), seem the worthier subjects to mine for truth and meaning. Indeed, there’s a line spoken by Pratim that could sum up the essence of Hoyle’s particular art: “It’s so much better,” he says, “when you find yourself in other people than when you just find yourself.” Hoyle’s real frontier could end up being much more personal terrain, much closer to home. (Avila)

Foodies! The Musical Shelton Theater, 533 Sutter, SF; www.foodiesthemusical.com. $32-34. Fri-Sat, 8pm. Open-ended. AWAT Productions presents Morris Bobrow’s musical comedy revue all about food.

The Haze ACT Costume Shop, 1117 Market, SF; http://bit.ly/thehazeplayACT. $20. Thu, 7pm; Fri-Sat, 8pm. Through Sept 27. Heather Marlowe performs her solo show, a sharp-witted, autobiographical play about recovering from rape — and the way rape cases are mishandled by the justice system.

King Fool Various locations TBA to reservation holders; www.weplayers.org. $30-50. Fri-Sun, times TBA. Through Sept 28. We Players presents a new, intimate, site-specific work inspired by King Lear.

LongShotz: The Things That Separate Us Tides Theatre, 533 Sutter, Second Flr, SF; http://amios.wordpress.com. $25. Program A: Wed/10 and Tue/16, 8pm; Program B: Sept 17, 8pm. Amios presents two separate programs of three 30-minute plays, each written by a different author. Each play is inspired by the Radiohead lyric, “Just ’cause you feel it doesn’t mean it’s there.”

Motown the Musical Orpheum Theatre, 1192 Market, SF; www.shnsf.com. $45-210. Tue-Sat, 8pm (also Wed and Sat, 2pm); Sun, 2pm. Through Sept 28. Over 40 hits (“My Girl,” “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”) pack this tale of Motown founder Berry Gordy’s career in the music biz.

Noises Off! Shelton Theater, 533 Sutter, SF; www.sheltontheater.org. $38. Thu-Sat, 8pm. Through Oct 25. Shelton Theater performs Michael Frayn’s outrageous backstage comedy.

San Francisco Fringe Festival Exit Theatreplex, 156 Eddy, SF; www.sffringe.org. $10 or less at the door; $12.99 or less online (passes, $45-75). Daily through Sept 20 (no shows Mon/15). Unique, daring indie theater (murder mysteries! Tech tales! Dating dramas! Clowns!), with 35 shows and 150 performances over 14 days.

Semi-Famous: Hollywood Hell Tales from the Middle New venue: Marsh San Francisco, 1062 Valencia, SF; www.themarsh.org. $20-100. Sat, 8:30pm; Sun, 7pm. Through Oct 19. Don Reed’s latest solo show shares tales from his career in entertainment.

The Taming of the Shrew This week: Presidio, Marin Post Parade Grounds, between Graham and Keyes, SF; www.sfshakes.org. Free. Sat/13-Sun/14, 2pm. Continues through Sept 21 at various Bay Area venues. Free Shakespeare in the Park presents this take on the Bard’s barb-filled romance.

Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind Boxcar Theatre, 505 Natoma, SF; www.sfneofuturists.com. $11-16. Fri-Sat, 9pm. Ongoing. The Neo-Futurists perform Greg Allen’s spontaneous, ever-changing show that crams 30 plays into 60 minutes.

BAY AREA

An Audience with Meow Meow Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Roda Theatre, 2015 Addison, Berk; www.berkeleyrep.org. $29-89. Previews Wed/10, 7pm; Thu/11, 8pm. Opens Fri/12, 8pm. Runs Tue and Thu-Sat, 8pm (also Sat, 2pm but no matinee Sept 20; also Sept 19 and Oct 16, 2pm); Wed and Sun, 7pm (also Sun, 2pm). Through Oct 19. British singer-comedian Meow Meow world-premieres her new show at Berkeley Rep, under the direction of Kneehigh’s Emma Rice.

Berlin to Broadway with Kurt Weill Masquers Playhouse, 105 Park, Point Richmond; www.masquers.org. $22. Fri, 8pm; Sat, 7pm; Sun/14, 2pm. Through Sept 20. Masquers Playhouse performs a revue celebrating the life and work of Kurt Weill.

“Breaking Chains Festival” Various venues, Oakl (one venue in SF); www.ubuntutheaterproject.com. $15-25. Through Sept 27. New company Ubuntu Theater Project presents this festival of six site-specific works. Authors include Marcus Gardley, Tim Price, Clifford Odets, George Brant, Bennet Fisher, and N’Jameh Camera.

Cops and Robbers Marsh Berkeley, 2120 Allston, Berk; www.themarsh.org. $20-100. Fri/12, 8pm; Sat/13, 8:30pm. Hip-hop artist and law enforcement officer Jinho “The Piper” Ferreira performs his 17-character solo show.

Flower Drum Song Woodminster Amphitheater, Joaquin Miller Park, 3300 Joaquin Miller, Oakl; www.woodminster.com. $18-59. Thu/11 and Sun/14, 7pm; Fri/12-Sat/13, 8pm. Woodminster Summer Musicals performs the “new” version of the classic Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, with a fresh script by Tony-winning playwright David Henry Hwang.

Funny Girl Hillbarn Theatre, 1285 East Hillsdale, Foster City; www.hillbarntheatre.org. $23-42. Thu-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2pm. Through Sept 21. Hillbarn Theatre performs the classic romantic musical comedy, with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Bob Merrill, and book by Isobel Lennart.

An Ideal Husband Forest Meadows Amphitheater, 890 Belle, Dominican University of California, San Rafael; www.marinshakespeare.org. $12-35. Runs in repertory Fri-Sun through Sept 27; visit website for specific performance dates and times. Marin Shakespeare Company performs Oscar Wilde’s witty tale.

The Last Days of Judas Iscariot Flight Deck, 1540 Broadway, Oakl; brownpapertickets.com/event/780550. $15-25. Thu-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 7pm. Through Sept 21. Stephen Adly Guirgis’ courtroom drama takes on the fate of the New Testament turncoat.

Life Could Be a Dream Center REPertory Company, Lesher Center for the Arts, 1601 Civic, Walnut Creek; www.centerrep.org. $37-66. Wed, 7:30pm; Thu-Sat, 8pm (also Sept 20 and 27, 2:30pm); Sun, 2:30pm. Through Oct 5. CenterREPertory Company performs Roger Bean’s doo-wop musical.

The New Electric Ballroom Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby, Berk; www.shotgunplayers.org. $20-30. Wed-Thu, 7pm; Fri-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 5pm (Oct 5, show at 2pm). Through Oct 5. Shotgun Players perform Enda Walsh’s poetic nightmare about three sisters who are obsessed with their memories.

O Best Beloved Parker Street Odditorium, 2310 Parker, Berk; www.obestbeloved.org. Free (donations accepted). Sat/13, 2pm. Also Sun/14, 2pm, location TBA; check website for updates. Idiot String’s Joan Howard and Rebecca Longworth bring their SF Fringe Festival hit, an adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s Just-So Stories, to local public spaces aboard a mobile stage.

Rapture, Blister, Burn Aurora Theatre, 2081 Addison, Berk; www.auroratheatre.org. $32-50. Tue and Sun, 7pm (also Sun, 2pm); Wed-Sat, 8pm. Through Sept 28. Aurora Theatre Company opens its 23rd season with Gina Gionfriddo’s drama about three generations of women “struggling with feminism’s foibles.”

Romeo and Juliet Forest Meadows Amphitheater, 890 Belle, Dominican University of California, San Rafael; www.marinshakespeare.org. $12-35. Runs in repertory Fri-Sun through Sept 28; visit website for specific performance dates and times. Marin Shakespeare continues its 25th season with the Bard’s timeless tragedy.

The Tempest Old Mill Park Amphitheatre, behind the Mill Valley Public Library, 375 Throckmorton, Mill Valley; www.curtaintheatre.org. Free. Sat/13-Sun/14, 4pm. Curtain Theatre returns with the Bard’s magical romance for its 14th outdoor performance.

Water By the Spoonful Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro, Mtn View; www.theatreworks.org. $19-74. Wed/10, 7:30pm; Fri/12-Sat/13, 8pm (also Sat/13, 2pm); Sun/14, 2 and 7pm. TheatreWorks performs Quiara Alegría Hudes’ Pulitzer Prize-winning drama about strangers who meet in an online chat room.

Wonder of the World Douglas Morrisson Theatre, 22311 N. Third St, Hayward; www.dmtonline.org. $10-32. Fri-Sat and Sept 18, 8pm (also Sat/13, 2pm); Sun, 2pm. Through Sept 21. Douglas Morrison Theatre opens its 35th season with David Lindsay-Abaire’s comedy about self-fulfillment.

Year of the Rooster La Val’s Subterranean, 1834 Euclid, Berk; http://impacttheatre.com. $10-25. Thu-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 7pm. Through Oct 12. Impact Theatre performs Eric Dufault’s comedy, told from the point of view of a rooster that enters cockfights.

PERFORMANCE/DANCE

Aura Fischbeck + Deborah Karp Dance Projects Home Season 2014 Joe Goode Annex, 401 Alabama, SF; www.brownpapertickets.com. Fri/12-Sat/13, 8pm; Sun/14, 2pm. $15. New dance works from Aura Fischbeck Dance (Time Studies) and Deborah Karp Dance Projects (Standing On One Leg).

“BATS Summer Improv Festival” Bayfront Theater, B350 Fort Mason, SF; www.improv.org. Through Sept 20. $20. This week: “San Francisco Streets,” Fri/12-Sat/13, 8pm.

“Blush Comedy Night” Blush! Wine Bar, 476 Castro, SF; www.blushwinebar.com. Wed/10, 8pm. Stefani Silverman hosts comedians Clara Bijl, Kevin Munroe, Ronn Vigh, Johan Miranda, and more.

Caroline Lugo and Carolé Acuña’s Ballet Flamenco Peña Pachamama, 1630 Powell, SF; www.carolinalugo.com. Sat/13, Sept 21, 28, Oct 4, 11, 18, 26, 6:30pm. $15-19. Flamenco performance by the mother-daughter dance company, featuring live musicians.

“Cinema Sirens: A Jazz and Film Cabaret” La Salle Pianos and Events, 1632 Market, SF; www.shannonmariewolfe.com. Thu/11, 7:30pm. $5-10. Celebrate Hollywood from the Jazz Age through the Art Deco era at this performance, featuring vocalist Shannon Wolfe and bassist Dean Riley with Grant Levin playing an antique piano.

Comedy Day Sharon Meadow, Golden Gate Park, SF; www.comedyday.com. Sun/14, noon-5pm. Free. This year’s incarnation of the free, all-day comedy festival is dedicated to the memory of supporter (and frequent surprise performer) Robin Williams.

“Dances of the Sacred and Profane” Cowell Theater, Fort Mason Center, Marina at Buchanan, SF; www.mfdpsf.org. Sat/13 and Sept 18-20, 8pm; Sun/14 and Sept 21, 3pm. $18.50-28.50. Mark Foehringer Dance ProjectSF presents an ambitious world premiere as the Cowell Theater re-opens following an extended closure for seismic retrofitting.

Doc’s Lab 124 Columbus, SF; www.docslabsf.com. This week: Opening Night with Eric McFadden and the Clowns in Orbit with Andrew St. James, Scott Capurro, Joe Klocek, and Bunny Pistol, Sat/13, 8pm, $30-35; Doc’s Comedy open mic, Mon/15, 8pm, free.

“Dream Queens Revue” Aunt Charlie’s Lounge, 133 Turk, SF; www.dreamqueensrevue.com. Wed/10, 9:30pm. Free. Drag with Collette LeGrande, Ruby Slippers, Sophilya Leggz, Bobby Ashton, and more.

Feinstein’s at the Nikko 222 Mason, SF; www.feinsteinssf.com. This week: “Broadway Bingo,” Wed/10, 7pm, $15. Seth Rudetsky, Sat/13-Sun/14, 7pm, $35-50.

“Hubba Hubba Revue’s 8th Anniversary Burlesque Spectacular” DNA Lounge, 375 11th St, SF; www.dnalounge.com. Fri/12, 9:30pm. $15-30. The burlesque and variety show marks eight years with special guests Queen of the Quake, Kitten DeVille, Stormy Gayle, and others.

“The Imperfect Is Our Paradise” ODC Theater, 3153 17th St, SF; www.odcdance.org. Thu/11-Sat/13, 8pm; Sun/14, 2pm. $15-35. Liss Fain Dance presents a world premiere, an exploration of the stream-of-consciousness technique that uses text from William Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury.

“Magic at the Rex” Hotel Rex, 562 Sutter, SF; www.magicattherex.com. Sat, 8pm. Ongoing. $25. Magic and mystery with Adam Sachs and mentalist Sebastian Boswell III.

“Mortified” DNA Lounge, 375 11th St, SF; www.getmortified.com. Fri/12, 7:30pm. $20. Also Sat/13, 7:30pm, $20, Uptown, 1928 Telegraph, Oakl. Brave adults read from their own teenage diaries, letters, poems, and other hilarious and outrageous documents of their younger, more naïve selves.

“Multiple Mary and Invisible Jane” US Hastings College of the Law, 333 Golden Gate, SF; www.flyawayproductions.com. Fri/12-Sat/13 and Sept 19-20, 8 and 9pm; Sept 17-18, noon and 8pm. Free. Choreographer Jo Kreiter’s Flyaway Productions presents a world premiere aerial dance work exploring the experiences of homeless women in the Tenderloin.

“Out of Line Improv” Stage Werx, 446 Valencia, SF; outoflineimprov.brownpapertickets.com. Sat, 10:30pm. Ongoing. $12. A new, completely improvised show every week.

“People in Plazas” Various locations, SF; www.peopleinplazas.org. Through Oct 3. Free. Lunchtime concerts in various downtown locations showcasing jazz, world, funk, and other styles of music.

“San Francisco Comedy College” Purple Onion at Kells, 530 Jackson, SF; www.purpleonionatkells.com. Ongoing. $5-15. “Weekly New Talent Shows,” Wed-Thu, 7pm. “Purple Onion All-Stars,” Wed-Thu, 8:15pm. “The Later Show,” Wed-Thu, 10pm. “The Cellar Dwellers,” Fri-Sat, 7:30pm.

San Francisco Improv Festival Eureka Theatre, 215 Jackson, SF; www.sfimprovfestival.com. Sept 10-20. $5-35. An array of comedy talent takes the stage at this all-improv festival.

“SF Stand-Up Comedy Competition” Second Act Marketplace and Events, 1727 Haight, SF; www.secondactsf.com. Thu/11, 8:30pm. $10. Sixteen comedians compete in this first show in the annual contest.

“Terminator Too: Judgment Play” and “Point Break LIVE!” DNA Lounge, 375 11th St, SF; www.dnalounge.com. Oct 3, Nov 7, and Dec 5, Terminator at 7:30pm; Break at 11pm. $20-50. The raucous, interactive staged recreations of two of 1991’s greatest action films return to the DNA Lounge.

“This is the Girl” Dance Mission Theater, 3316 24th St, SF; www.brownpapertickets.com. Fri/12-Sat/13, 8pm; Sun/14, 7pm. $15-25. Christy Funsch’s Funsch Dance Experience presents a new full-length work, with accompaniment by the Grrrl Brigade Taiko Drummers, guitarist Dory Ellis, and a chorus singing PJ Harvey songs.

“Yerba Buena Gardens Festival” Yerba Buena Gardens, 760 Howard, SF; www.ybgfestival.org. Through Oct 26. Free. This week: The Gonifs, Thu/11, 12:30-1:30pm; Shotgun Wedding Quintet and associates, Sat/13, 1-2:30pm; “Poetic Tuesday,” Tue/16, 12:30-1:30pm.

BAY AREA

“First Person Singular’s Open to Interpretation: Beck’s Song Reader‘ Pegasus Books Downtown, 2349 Shattuck, Berk; www.1stpersonsingular.com. Thu/11, 7:30pm. Free. The dramatic reading series takes on Beck’s book of unrecorded sheet music as part of Downtown Berkeley MusicFest.

“MarshJam Improv Comedy Show” Marsh Berkeley, 2120 Allston, Berk; www.themarsh.org. Fri, 8pm. Ongoing. $10. Improv comedy with local legends and drop-in guests.

“Monsieur Chopin” Berkeley Repertory Theatre, 2025 Addison, Berk; www.berkeleyrep.org. Tue/16 and Sept 18-20, 8pm (also Sept 18 and 20, 2pm); Sept 17 and 21, 2 and 7pm. $29-87. Hershey Felder returns for the farewell presentation of his acclaimed solo show. *

Events: September 10 – 16, 2014

Michael Redmond

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September 9, 2014

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Listings are compiled by Guardian staff. Submit items for the listings at listings@sfbg.com. For further information on how to submit items for the listings, see Selector.

WEDNESDAY 10

Lan Cao Mechanics’ Institute, 57 Post, SF; www.milibrary.org. 6pm, $15. The author shares her novel, The Lotus and the Storm, about a Vietnamese American family during and after the Vietnam War.

Gillian Conoley City Lights Bookstore, 261 Columbus, SF; www.citylights.com. 7pm, free. The author discusses Thousand Times Broken, her new translation of three Henri Michaux works, with a presentation of the original art displayed in the book.

James Ellroy Commonwealth Club, 595 Market, SF; www.commonwealthclub.org. 6pm, $7-20. The acclaimed crime novelist (LA Confidential, The Black Dahlia) discusses his long career and latest work, Perfidia.

Carl Russo Green Apple Books, 506 Clement, SF; www.greenapplebooks.com. 7pm, free. The author shares The Sicilian Mafia: A True Crime Travel Guide.

THURSDAY 11

Samuel Fromartz Book Passage, 1 Ferry Bldg, SF; www.bookpassage.com. 6pm, free. The journalist-turned-baker discusses his new book, In Search of the Perfect Loaf: A Home Baker’s Odyssey.

FRIDAY 12

Tanya Holland Books Inc, 1344 Park, Alameda; www.booksinc.net. 7pm, free. The chef, Food Network personality, and author launches her new cookbook, Brown Sugar Kitchen: New-Style, Down-Home Recipes from Sweet West Oakland.

SATURDAY 13

Bay Area Free Book Exchange’s Fifth Anniversary Free Book Blowout Bay Area Free Book Exchange, 10520 San Pablo, El Cerrito; www.bayareafreecookexchange.com. 9am-6pm, free. Through Sun/14. Celebrate five years of free books at this anniversary party, and take home some new reading material of your own from the Bay Area Free Book Exchange’s shelves. Or, go one more step and bring some old books (as well as CD and DVDs!) to donate and share with others.

Ghirardelli Chocolate Festival Ghirardelli Square, 900 North Point, SF; ghirardelli.com/chocolatefestival. Noon-5pm, $20-40. Through Sun/14. Help raise money for Project Open Hand and satisfy your sweet tooth at this 19th annual dessert and wine fiesta. In addition to offering samples of gourmet goodies from over 50 vendors, Ghirardelli hosts chef demos, a silent auction, a “Chocolate School” (learn about chocolate-making!), and the ever-popular hands-free sundae-eating contest.

Sea Music Festival San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park, Hyde Street Pier, SF; www.nps.gov/safr/planyourvisit/seamusicfestival2014.htm. 9am-5pm; evening chantey sing, 7:30-9:30pm. Outdoor performances free; admission to historic ships $5 (kids 15 and under with adult supervision, free). Learn about maritime history through music at this all-day fest of traditional and contemporary songs, instrumentals, and dances. The Sea Music Concert Series continues aboard the Balclutha Sept 20, Oct 25, and Nov 25 ($12-14 or a season ticket, $36).

“Tour de Fat” Lindley Meadow, Golden Gate Park, SF; www.newbelgium.com. 10am-5pm, free (beer, $5; donations for nonprofits accepted). “Bikes, beer, and bemusement” highlight this annual outdoor party, with a costumed bike parade, beer-brewing activities, yo-yo performers, a dance contest (winner gets a new cruiser!), and headliner Reggie Watts.

SUNDAY 14

John Jung Eastwind Books of Berkeley, 2066 University, Berk; www.asiabookcenter.com. 3pm, free. The author presents two works: Chinese Laundries: Tickets to Survival on Gold Mountain and Sweet and Sour: Life in Chinese Family Restaurants.

Sunday Streets: Western Addition Fillmore between Geary and Fulton; Fulton between Fillmore and Baker, SF; www.sundaystreetssf.com. 11am-4pm, free. What traffic? Explore the neighborhood (including breezy, hilly Alamo Square) on foot or bike.

Urban Air Market Hayes Valley, Hayes and Octavia, SF; www.urbanairmarket.com. 11am-6pm, free. Over 130 emerging and established designers share their wares at this outdoor community market. Also: food trucks and live music.

“Writers with Drinks” Make-Out Room, 3225 22nd St, SF; www.writerswithdrinks.com. 7:30pm, $5-20. With Evan Lepucki, Robin Sloan, Lenelle Moïse, Annelyse Gelman, Cecil Castellucci, and Christina Nichol.

TUESDAY 16

Courtney Moreno Booksmith, 1644 Haight, SF; www.booksmith.com. 7:30pm, free. As part of the “New Voices, New Stories” series, the author shares her first novel, In Case of Emergency. *

Jock joints

Michael Redmond

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September 9, 2014

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culture@sfbg.com

CULTURE Jim McAlpine wants the world to know that not all marijuana users are lazy, permanently couch-locked, junk-food addicted stoners. That’s why McAlpine is organizing the 420 Games, a series of athletic competitions in which weed enthusiasts will run, walk, and bike their way to larger societal acceptance.

The Games’ inaugural event, a five kilometer fun run in Golden Gate Park Sat/13 that McAlpine hopes will attract 500 participants, will be followed by a road cycling competition in Marin County, a “Marijuana Olympics Challenge” in Sacramento, and foot races across the state. “What better way to prove that you’re not a stoner just because you use marijuana, than [by] going out and being motivated and athletic?” McAlpine points out in an e-mail interview with the Guardian.

The visual of hundreds of healthy weed users jogging en masse through Golden Gate Park’s winding green thoroughfares seems like an apt PSA for responsible pot use. The 420 Games also just sound like a good time. At the inaugural event, attendees have the option to skip the athletics completely and come for the afterparty, which features an artisanal beer garden sponsored by Lagunitas and a set by Zepparella, an all-female Led Zeppelin cover band.

Those expecting the baseball bat-sized joints and puking, littering high schoolers present each year at the 4/20 celebrations on Hippie Hill in the park, be warned: There will be no sanctioned on-site cannabis use at the 420 Games, and attendees are encouraged to drag only on legal weed before and after the event. The Games are not a free-for-all smoke out, radical demonstration, or a call to legalize weed now; rather, McAlpine has packaged his sporting events in a way that will encourage even cannabis skeptics to examine their views about marijuana in 2014.

In his previous life, McAlpine was an entrepreneur who ran a discount ski pass company. But drought and years of dismal snowfall have driven McAlpine to find additional ways to spend his time. He was inspired by the potential of the cannabis industry, and seeks to use many of the proceeds from the 420 Games to fund a 501c3 nonprofit, the PRIME Foundation, which he’s establishing. Though PRIME has yet to begin educational programming and McAlpine has few details on when it will begin operating, he told the Guardian that he wants the organization to be a source of education for youth and adults about marijuana addiction, and about the very real benefits of weed and hemp. “I hope we can begin to raise some money to create campaigns to really educate the public on topics like this,” he says, referring to the 420 Games kickoff.

Of course, the 420 Games are not the only proof that weed-smoking athletes exist. One need only look at the countless Olympians and NFL, NBA, and NFL players who have been caught with pot to know that the sporting life is not one that is necessarily devoid of THC. The highest-profile case was that of swimmer Michael Phelps, the Olympic phenom who has won more medals than anyone in the history of the Games (22 total, 18 of them gold). In 2009, three months after dominating the lanes in Beijing, a leaked photo appeared to show Phelps smoking a bong. Since the photo’s depicted infraction took place during the off-season, Phelps escaped Olympic sanctions, but he did receive a competition suspension and lost a few endorsement deals.

In 1998, Canadian snowboarder Ross Rebagliati was nearly stripped of his Olympic gold medal after a post-competition positive drug test, but ducked punishment when it was proven that marijuana wasn’t officially on the banned list of the Olympics’ governing board. It was added three months later, which meant American judo star Nicholas Delpopolo was expelled from the 2012 London Olympics when his results came back positive for pot (he maintains he unwittingly ate weed-infused food, but no exception was extended for ignorance of intoxication).

Josh Gordon of the Cleveland Browns was the NFL’s leading receiver during the 2013 season when he failed a drug test for pot. The league recently announced he will be suspended for the entire 2014 season. Pittsburgh Steelers running backs Le’Veon Bell and LeGarrette Blount were pulled over with weed in their car last month, but have yet to be suspended from play. And of course, who could forget SF Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum’s 2009 off-season misdemeanor charge, when a pipe and weed were found in his car’s center console during a traffic stop? The list of athletes who have been discovered with weed is rather lengthy, all things considered.

The NHL has removed marijuana — and all drugs not deemed to be performance-enhancing — from its list of banned substances, choosing instead to offer optional addiction counseling to athletes who repeatedly test positive. But NFL spokespeople have repeatedly asserted that no change will be forthcoming in the league’s weed policy. This is especially distressing given that football players likely stand to benefit much more than most people, particularly athletes, from marijuana’s pain management effects. A lawsuit filed earlier this year by 750 ex-NFL players takes on the league for alleged distribution of opioid painkillers that have been shown to have detrimental long-term effects on players’ health.

Cannabis’ natural painkillers are a different story. In an interview with the Fusion network, former Chicago Bears defensive tackle Tank Johnson estimated that 70 to 80 percent of NFL players “gravitate toward the green,” and not just for recreational use. “Managing and tolerating your pain is how you make your money in this game,” Johnson said.

Berkeley doctor Frank Lucido knows full well why sports enthusiasts would turn to marijuana. “Some athletes might benefit from using cannabis after sports for the acute pain and inflammation from that recent activity or trauma,” Lucido writes in an e-mail interview with the Guardian. “Depending on the sport, a player may use cannabis before to ease chronic pain or muscle spasm, so they can function better.”

Lucido said he has prescribed various ex-NFL players medical marijuana, has worked with patients on seeking cannabis treatment since the passage of Prop. 215 in 1996, and holds the opinion that performance in some noncompetitive sports can benefit from cannabis use beforehand. He’s not alone. Others have commented anecdotally that weed can improve sporting ability, especially in pursuits involving high levels of finesse like golf and bowling.

McAlpine says thus far no pro athletes have announced their support of the 420 Games. In our interview, he alludes to plans to approach Phelps’ management, but he might have better luck shooting for Rebagliati. After his close shave with Olympic disgrace, the snowboarder is now the CEO of Ross’ Gold, a Canadian company that sells 14 strains of premium branded medical cannabis. Philadelphia Flyers veteran Riley Cote is another ex-pro in the world of marijuana — he recently started a foundation to teach people about the role hemp can play in a sustainable lifestyle.

But perhaps the 420 Games will manage to sway public opinion not with the appearance of gold medal winners, but rather everyday people who use weed in their everyday lives — something that weed expos, with their green bikini babes and emphasis on innovative new ways of getting blasted, have failed to do.

“I believe very strongly that there is a huge problem with public perception of marijuana users,” says McAlpine. “Even as it becomes legal. I knew it would be a big step to take on this new venture, but it is 100 percent for a cause I believe in, so that makes it all a lot easier to get up and put the hours in.”

There’s no question that it will take many muscles to change much of professional sports’ opinion on marijuana. But maybe we can start here. Call it a joint effort. *

420 GAMES 5K FUN RUN/WALK

Sat/13, 7am check-in; 8am race; 9am-noon afterparty, $60 (afterparty pass, $42)

Bandshell, Music Concourse, Golden Gate Park, SF

www.420games.org

Taking a cue from SF, California Legislature bans plastic bags and offers paid sick leave

Sasha Cuttler

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September 2, 2014

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Taking a cue from SF, California Legislature bans plastic bags and offers paid sick leave

California lawmakers took two big steps forward last week, passing a statewide plastic bag ban and a measure providing workers with three sick days a year, both issues borrowed from San Francisco. California is the second state to pass each bill, with Hawaii banning plastic bags in January of this year and Connecticut enacting a similar sick leave measure in 2012.

Gov. Jerry Brown pushed hard for the paid sick leave measure, which barely made it through both houses after losing steam following an amendment that excluded in-home health care workers. Passing the plastic bag ban was also uncertain near the end, but it passed the Assembly with a 44-29 vote and then made it through the Senate by a 22-15 count.

“It took six years of advocacy and the building of a grassroots movement to make this happen,” California Director of Clean Water Action Miriam Gordon said in a statement about the plastic bag ban. “But with 121 local ordinances already on the books across California, our Legislature finally followed the will of the people.”

Brown was similarly thrilled about the passing of the sick leave bill, calling the legislation a “historic action to help hardworking Californians…This bill guarantees that millions of workers – from Eureka to San Diego – won’t lose their jobs or pay just because they get sick.”

San Francisco voters passed a similar measure in 2006 called the Paid Sick Leave Ordinance. The law, which made it through with 61 percent of the vote in the November election, requires all employers to provide paid sick leave to employees (including part-timers) working in the city.

The state sick leave bill that passed on Saturday was a notable achievement for labor advocates, but some Democrats weren’t thrilled about the amendments that gave in-home health workers the short end of the stick. Sen. Holly Mitchell (D-Los Angeles) called it “BS” and told The Sacramento Bee, “I resent the fact that we are picking between two sets of workers.”

Lawmakers passed a few other notable measures last week, including a bill regulating groundwater and a gun-restraining measure that would give judges the power to temporarily remove firearms from those deemed dangerous or mentally unstable. The shooting incident in Isla Vista at UC Santa Barbara in May prompted the bill, while California’s extreme drought pushed the groundwater measure forward. Many believe the state is long overdue in making progress on gun control.

The firearm measure is key in preventing many of the mass shootings that have plagued the country in recent years. Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) noted, via the Los Angeles Times, that “none of those individuals had a criminal record or a criminal background. So we need tools such as this.”

Though it also took an extreme event to stimulate the groundwater regulation bill, the new legislation figures to make serious inroads in the effort to stop a drought that is affecting more than 80 percent of the state. If Brown signs off on the bill, making California the last western state with such regulation, the state would have the ability to enforce restrictions, and local governments would be required to develop groundwater regulations.

“A critical element of addressing the water challenges facing California involves ensuring a sustainable supply of groundwater,” said Assemblyman Roger Dickinson (D-Sacramento) in a statement. “Overdrafting our groundwater leads to subsidence and contamination — consequences we cannot afford.”

This Week’s Picks: September 3 – 9, 2014

Michael Redmond

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September 2, 2014

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WEDNESDAY 3

WestWave Dance Festival

In its 23rd year, the WestWave Dance Festival, now under the auspices of SAFEhouse for the Performing Arts, has come up with a simple but ingenious idea: Let the dance communities outside San Francisco step up to the plate on their own terms. While the opening and closing programs of this “Dance Around the Bay” festival throw the spotlight on young artists working in the city, the other three invited dancers from the North, East and South Bay to join in. A choreographer familiar with his or her home turf curated each of those programs. You can expect a mix of new voices — familiar ones, but also rarely heard ones such as those of Jose Limon and Donald McKayle, courtesy of the visitors from San Jose. (Rita Felciano)

Through Sun/7, 8pm, $10-20

Z Space

450 Florida, SF

(415) 626-0453

www.zspace.org

Bear In Heaven

It’s a band from Brooklyn, it’s named after a physically powerful woodland mammal, and it broke through in the late ’00s — around the same time as every other band that fits the former two descriptors. But Bear In Heaven is further out than nearly any of its indie-rock peers, incorporating influences from the gnarliest outskirts of psychedelia and prog rock. Upon listening to the band’s debut Red Bloom Of The Boom, you’ll more likely picture naked hippies running around in terror than well-dressed hipsters walking to the cronut stand. Though band members have taken a more pop approach following their magnum opus, 2010’s excellent Beast Rest Forth Mouth, this is still one of the best bands you can smoke a joint or an American Spirit to and still feel okay. (Daniel Bromfield)

8pm, $15

Independent

628 Divisadero, SF

(415) 771-1421

www.theindependentsf.com

THURSDAY 4

“ATA Lives!”

Gallery and screening venue Artists’ Television Access marks its 30th anniversary with “ATA Lives!”, a month of events honoring a long track record of unique, boundary-pushing, subversive programming. Tonight, the ball gets rolling with a program of works by current and past ATA staffers; tomorrow afternoon, buckle up for a 30-hour marathon curated by Other Cinema programmer and ATA co-founder Craig Baldwin, among others. The weekend closes out with a special edition of Mission Eye & Ear, a live-cinema series that facilitates collaborations between experimental filmmakers and composers. Check the website for a complete “ATA Lives!” schedule, including a Sept. 19 Baldwin double-feature. (Cheryl Eddy)

8pm, $7-10

Artists’ Television Access

992 Valencia, SF

www.atasite.org, www.othercinema.com

Eyes Wide: The Films of Stanley Kubrick

Thirteen films. That’s the total number of features Stanley Kubrick made — but though that number seems small for a career that spanned 1953 to 1999, the legendary perfectionist’s towering, astonishingly diverse filmography may be the ultimate example of “quality over quantity.” The Pacific Film Archive screens each film in chronological order, so it’s a great chance to check out lesser-screened early works (the series opens with a double-feature of 1953’s Fear and Desire and 1955’s Killer’s Kiss) as well as revisit favorites, if you can even choose one: 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)? Dr. Strangelove (1964)? A Clockwork Orange (1971)? The Shining (1980)? All of the above? (Cheryl Eddy)

Through Oct. 31, $6.50-$9.50

Pacific Film Archive

2575 Bancroft, Berk.

www.bampfa.berkeley.edu

FRIDAY 5

The Sam Chase

Folk isn’t a genre usually associated with making audiences want to start a riot, but The Sam Chase isn’t your average folk outfit — if the first line of the band’s bio, “The Sam Chase has a voice like a nun on the lam with a mouthful of cigarettes and curse words,” didn’t tip you off already. Singer Sam Chase and his cast of five to seven backup players (on vocals, guitars, strings, horns, percussion, you name it) have been starting dance parties all over the Bay Area for the past half-decade, alternating whiskey-drinkin’ party songs with rough-around-the-edges lullabies. Equal parts sweet and salty (and just as addictive as that sounds), with fellow local fave Rin Tin Tiger as an opener, this lineup was a solid choice for the Mission Creek Oakland Music & Arts Festival’s opening night. (Emma Silvers)

With Rin Tin Tiger, TV Mike & the Scarecrowes, The Heather Jovanelli Band

8pm, free

Uptown Nightclub

1928 Telegraph, Oakl.

www.mcofest.org

SATURDAY 6

The Bruce Lee Band

Mike Park has been one of the most important figures in the Bay Area music scene since founding the legendary ska band Skankin’ Pickle in 1989. Since then, he’s been in countless bands, organized the Ska Against Racism tour, and started one of America’s most respected DIY labels in Asian Man Records. The Bruce Lee Band is an all-star outlet for Park’s musical ambitions, featuring members of several of his former bands in addition to members of MU330 and Bomb the Music Industry! They’ve only been active sporadically, releasing their self-titled debut in 1997 and following up with an EP in 2005 and this year’s EP, Community Support. The band’s upcoming Bottom of the Hill show is a can’t-miss chance to see one of the Bay Area rock scene’s true legends in action. (Bromfield)

9pm, $12

Bottom Of The Hill

1233 17th St, San Francisco

(415) 626-4455

www.bottomofthehill.com

Sugar Pie DeSanto at Hard French

What’s better than the Hard French DJs’ usual daytime soul party on the patio at El Rio? A Hard French soul party featuring a bona fide ’60s soul legend — namely, Sugar Pie DeSanto. Known for duets with Etta James and making a huge impression on audiences when she toured with Johnny Otis and James Brown in the ’50s, the 78-year-old diva is known as “Little Miss Dynamite” for her small stature and oversized charisma. She’s also the subject of a documentary that’s currently in progress, Bittersweet, which chronicles her life as one of the most successful Filipina-Americans in entertainment. Now’s your chance to see her — and boogie to her — before her name is on everyone’s lips. (Silvers)

5:30pm, $10-12

El Rio

3158 Mission, SF

(415) 622-5301

www.hardfrench.com

Drunk Dad

Portland may be known throughout the country as a place where the dream of the ’90s is alive and adorable, but Drunk Dad aims to change that perspective. Describing its style as “fuck-you-all-wave,” Drunk Dad is angry, wasted, and loud, representing Portland’s tradition of what guitarist Jose Dee calls “heavy fucking gnarly music.” Think of this band as John Belushi thundering down the frathouse stairs, smashing the well-worn acoustic guitars of anyone who dares to hang around and look sensitive in his presence. There are precedents to the band’s sound (Nirvana, The Melvins, Flipper) — but don’t make such comparisons to band members’ faces. Drunk Dad is a band that eschews nearly every hipster trend but (whether they like it or not) might find a few fans among the Portlandia crowd as well. (Bromfield)

7pm, $8

Oakland Metro

630 Third St., Oakl.

(510) 763-1146

www.oaklandmetro.org

SUNDAY 7

Dita Von Teese

Bringing back the sense of classic style and glamour of the golden days of Hollywood and meshing it with the tantalizing teasing of the old-time burlesque circuit, Dita Von Teese has been at the forefront of reviving a once nearly lost art form for two decades now. With a seductive and sexy nod to the past, modern pin-up and burlesque queen Von Teese returns to the city this week with the final local tour dates of her Burlesque: Strip, Strip, Hooray! show, a live revue featuring not only her own titillating talents, but a host of other performers as well. (Sean McCourt)

Through Mon/8

7:30pm, $45

The Fillmore

1805 Geary, SF

(415) 346-3000

www.thefillmore.com

Autumn Moon Festival

The Moon Festival, a holiday celebrated for more than 1,000 years in some Asian countries, is a time for reflection about the mythology of the Moon Goddess, Chang O, who is thought to regulate fertility, water supply, and other necessities for a successful autumn harvest. This two-day festival, now in its 24th year, is organized annually by the SF Chinatown Merchants Association, and features Taiko drumming, lion dancing, martial arts, an open-air street bazaar, traditional and contemporary Chinese music, and more. New this year: A dog costume contest, at 2:30pm today. We’re there. (Silvers) Begins Sat/6

11am – 5pm both days, free

Chinatown, SF

www.moonfestival.org

MONDAY 8

The Rentals

Despite being best known as a Weezer side project (singer Matt Sharp was the early-era bassist for indie titans), The Rentals have a quietly devoted — and large — fan base of their own, who’ve been eating up sweet melodies and goofy Moog-heavy tendencies since the band re-formed in 2005. After a slew of well-received EPs, this year’s Lost in Alphaville marks the band’s first full-length since 1999, and it basically overflows with guest stars — among them, Black Keys’ drummer Patrick Carney and Lucius’ Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig. One should expect to see a slew of diehards at this show, for good reason. (Silvers)

With Ozma

8pm, $20

Slim’s 333 11th St., SF

www.slimspresents.com

The Guardian listings deadline is two weeks prior to our Wednesday publication date. To submit an item for consideration, please include the title of the event, a brief description of the event, date and time, venue name, street address (listing cross streets only isn’t sufficient), city, telephone number readers can call for more information, telephone number for media, and admission costs. Send information to Listings, the Guardian, 835 Market Street, Suite 550, SF, CA 94103; or e-mail (paste press release into e-mail body — no attachments, please) to listings@sfbg.com. Digital photos may be submitted in jpeg format; the image must be at least 240 dpi and four inches by six inches in size. We regret we cannot accept listings over the phone.

Rep Clock: September 3 – 9, 2014

Michael Redmond

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September 2, 2014

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Schedules are for Wed/3-Tue/9 except where noted. Director and year are given when available. Double features marked with a •. All times pm unless otherwise specified.

ARTISTS’ TELEVISION ACCESS 992 Valencia, SF; www.atasite.org. $7-10. “OpenScreening,” work by ATA members past and present, Thu, 8. “ATA’s 30-Hour 30th Anniversary Marathon Screening,” works from ATA’s history of screening independent, underground, and experimental film and video, Fri, 1 through Sat, 7. Flatlands (Webber, 1985), with ATA co-founder Marshall Weber in person, Fri, 8.

BALBOA 3630 Balboa, SF; cinemasf.com/balboa. $10. “Thursday Night Rock Docs:” The Zen of Bennett (Moon, 2012), Thu, 7:30.

BAY MODEL 2100 Bridgeway, Sausalito; www.tiburonfilmfestival.com. Free. The Tinaja Trail (Newell, 2014), Tue, 6.

“BERNAL HEIGHTS OUTDOOR CINEMA” Various venues, SF; www.bhoutdoorcine.org. Free. Screenings of works by local filmmakers at unconventional Bernal Heights venues (including outdoors in Precita Park), Thu-Sat.

CASTRO 429 Castro, SF; (415) 621-6120, www.castrotheatre.com. $8.50-11. •Life Itself (James, 2014), Wed, 7, and Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction (Huber, 2012), Wed, 9:15. •Starman (Carpenter, 1984), Fri, 7, and Under the Skin (Glazer, 2013), Fri, 9:10. Frozen (Buck and Lee, 2013), presented sing-along style, Sat-Sun, 1. •Sweet Charity (Fosse, 1969), Sat, 6:20, and All That Jazz (Fosse, 1979), Sat, 4, 9:15. “Remembering Robin Williams:” •Good Will Hunting (Van Sant, 1997), Sun, 7, and Dead Poets Society (Weir, 1989), Sun, 4:40, 9:20.

CLAY 2261 Fillmore, SF; www.landmarktheatres.com. $10. “Midnight Movies:” Pulp Fiction (Tarantino, 1994), Fri-Sat, midnight.

COURTHOUSE SQUARE 2200 Broadway, Redwood City; www.redwoodcity.org. Free. Mr. Peabody and Sherman (Minkoff, 2014), Thu, 8:45.

DELANCEY STREET SCREENING ROOM 600 Embarcadero, SF; www.onlifesterms.org. $10. On Life’s Terms: Mothers in Recovery (Ganz, 2014), Thu, 6:30. Screening followed by a panel discussion with film subjects.

EXPLORATORIUM Pier 15, SF; www.exploratorium.edu. Free with museum admission ($19-25). “Saturday Cinema:” The Mascot (Starewicz, 1934), Sat, 1, 2, 3.

GOETHE-INSTITUT SF 530 Bush, SF; www.goethe.de/ins/us/saf/enindex.htm. $5 suggested donation. “100 Years After WWI:” The Woman and the Stranger (Simon, 1985), Wed, 6:30.

JACK LONDON FERRY LAWN Clay and Water, Oakl; www.jacklondonsquare.com. Free. “Sing-along Cinema:” Chicago (Marshall, 2002), Thu, sundown.

MECHANICS’ INSTITUTE 57 Post, SF; milibrary.org/events. $10. “CinemaLit Film Series: Critics’ Choice, Classic and Quirky Americana:” Melvin and Howard (Demme, 1980), Fri, 6.

MISSION CULTURAL CENTER FOR LATINO ARTS 2868 Mission, SF; www.connectedbycoffee.com. $10 suggested donation. Connected by Coffee (Dennis and Dennis, 2014), Sat, 4, 7. With music, food, art, and coffee samplings between screenings. Proceeds benefit Cooperative Las Marias 93 in El Salvador.

NEW PARKWAY 474 24th St, Oakl; www.thenewparkway.com. Free. “First Friday Shorts,” works by the Bay Area Video Coalition, Fri, 6.

PACIFIC FILM ARCHIVE 2575 Bancroft, Berk; (510) 642-5249, bampfa.berkeley.edu. $5.50-9.50. “Alternative Visions:” “Animation: Laura Heit” (1997-2011), Wed, 7. “Eyes Wide: The Films of Stanley Kubrick:” •Fear and Desire (1953) and Killer’s Kiss (1955), Thu, 7; Paths of Glory (1957), Sat, 6:30; The Killing (1956), Sat, 8:20. Ai Weiwei: The Fake Case (Johnsen, 2013), Fri, 7. “James Dean, Restored Classics from Warner Bros.:” East of Eden (Kazan, 1955), Fri, 8:50.

RED POPPY ART HOUSE 2698 Folsom, SF; www.redpoppyarthouse.org. $10-20. La Salsa Cubana (Johnson and Streng, 2011), Thu, 4. With director Eric Joseph Johnson in person, and a salsa-dance lesson and party to follow.

REVOLUTION BOOKS 2425 Channing, Berk; www.revolutionbooks.org. $5-25 suggested donation. Freedom Summer (Nelson, 2014), Thu, 7. With Freedom Summer volunteer and film subject Linda Wetmore Halpern in person.

ROXIE 3117 and 3125 16th St, SF; (415) 863-1087, www.roxie.com. $6.50-11. Jamie Marks is Dead (Smith, 2014), Wed-Thu, 7, 9. Snowpiercer (Bong, 2013), Wed, 9:15. “Synesthesia Film Festival: Screening #6,” short films, Wed, 7. Canyon Cinema Foundation and SF Cinematheque present: Big Joy: The Adventures of James Broughton (Silha, Slade, and Logsdon, 2011), Thu, 7. With an introduction by performance artist Jason Jenn. Rich Hill (Tragos and Palermo, 2014), Thu, 9:30. No No: A Dockumentary (Radice, 2014), Sept 5-11, 7, 9:15. Trailer Park Boys: Don’t Legalize It (Clattenburg, 2014), Fri-Sat, 11:20.

SMITH RAFAEL FILM CENTER 1118 Fourth St, San Rafael; (415) 454-1222, www.cafilm.org. $6.50-$10.75. The Trip to Italy (Winterbottom, 2014), Wed-Thu, call for times. The Notebook (Szász, 2013), Sept 5-11, call for times. “Alec Guinness at 100:” The Bridge on the River Kwai (Lean, 1957), Sun, 3, 7. *

Theater Listings: September 3 – 9, 2014

Michael Redmond

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September 2, 2014

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Stage listings are compiled by Guardian staff. Performance times may change; call venues to confirm. Reviewers are Robert Avila, Rita Felciano, and Nicole Gluckstern. Submit items for the listings at listings@sfbg.com.

THEATER

OPENING

Cock New Conservatory Theatre Center, 25 Van Ness, SF; www.nctcsf.org. $25-45. Previews Fri/5-Sat/6 and Sept 10-12, 8pm; Sun/7, 2pm. Opens Sept 13, 8pm. Runs Wed-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2pm. Through Oct 12. New Conservatory Theatre Center performs Michael Bartlett’s comedy about a man who meets the woman of his dreams — while on a break from dating his boyfriend.

The Haze ACT Costume Shop, 1117 Market, SF; http://bit.ly/thehazeplayACT. $20. Opens Thu/4, 7pm. Runs Thu, 7pm; Fri-Sat, 8pm. Through Sept 27. Heather Marlowe performs her solo show, a sharp-witted, autobiographical play about recovering from rape — and the way rape cases are mishandled by the justice system.

King Fool Various locations TBA to reservation holders; www.weplayers.org. $30-50. Opens Fri/5, time TBA. Runs Fri-Sun, times TBA. Through Sept 28. We Players presents a new, intimate, site-specific work inspired by King Lear.

LongShotz: The Things That Separate Us Tides Theatre, 533 Sutter, Second Flr, SF; http://amios.wordpress.com. $25. Program B opens Wed/3, 8pm. Program A runs Sept 10 and 16, 8pm; Program B runs Sept 9 and 17 at 8pm. Amios presents two separate programs of three 30-minute plays, each written by a different author. Each play is inspired by the Radiohead lyric, “Just ’cause you feel it doesn’t mean it’s there.”

San Francisco Fringe Festival Exit Theatreplex, 156 Eddy, SF; www.sffringe.org. $10 or less at the door; $12.99 or less online (passes, $45-75). Opens Fri/5, 7pm. Runs Sept 5-20 (no shows Mon/8 or Sept 15). Unique, daring indie theater (murder mysteries! Tech tales! Dating dramas! Clowns!), with 35 shows and 150 performances over 14 days.

BAY AREA

An Audience with Meow Meow Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Roda Theatre, 2015 Addison, Berk; www.berkeleyrep.org. $29-89. Previews Fri/5-Sat/6, Tue/9, and Sept 11, 8pm; Sun/7 and Sept 10, 7pm. Opens Sept 12, 8pm. Runs Tue and Thu-Sat, 8pm (also Sat, 2pm but no matinee Sept 20; also Sept 19 and Oct 16, 2pm); Wed and Sun, 7pm (also Sun, 2pm). Through Oct 19. British singer-comedian Meow Meow world-premieres her new show at Berkeley Rep, under the direction of Kneehigh’s Emma Rice.

Flower Drum Song Woodminster Amphitheater, Joaquin Miller Park, 3300 Joaquin Miller, Oakl; www.woodminster.com. $18-59. Previews Thu/4, 8pm. Opens Fri/5, 8pm. Runs Thu and Sun, 7pm; Fri-Sat, 8pm. Through Sept 14. Woodminster Summer Musicals performs the “new” version of the classic Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, with a fresh script by Tony-winning playwright David Henry Hwang.

The New Electric Ballroom Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby, Berk; www.shotgunplayers.org. $20-30. Previews Wed/3-Thu/4, 7pm; Fri/5, 8pm. Opens Sat/6, 8pm. Runs Wed-Thu, 7pm; Fri-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 5pm (Oct 5, show at 2pm). Through Oct 5. Shotgun Players perform Enda Walsh’s poetic nightmare about three sisters who are obsessed with their memories.

Year of the Rooster La Val’s Subterranean, 1834 Euclid, Berk; http://impacttheatre.com. $10-25. Previews Thu/4-Fri/5, 8pm. Opens Sat/6, 8pm. Runs Thu-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 7pm. Through Oct 12. Impact Theatre performs Eric Dufault’s comedy, told from the point of view of a rooster that enters cockfights.

ONGOING

Each and Every Thing Marsh San Francisco Main Stage, 1062 Valencia, SF; www.themarsh.org. $20-50. Thu-Fri, 8pm; Sat, 5pm; Sun, 2pm. Extended through Oct 4. The latest solo show from celebrated writer-performer Dan Hoyle (Tings Dey Happen, The Real Americans) winds a more random course than usual across the country and abroad but then that’s the idea — or at least Hoyle warns us, right after an opening encounter with a touchy young white supremacist, that the trip he’s taking us on is a subtle one. Displaying again his exceptional gifts as a writer and protean performer, Hoyle deftly embodies a set of real-life encounters as a means of exploring the primacy and predicament of face-to-face communication in the age of Facebook. With the help of director Charlie Varon (who co-developed the piece with Hoyle and Maureen Towey), this comes across in an entertaining and swift-flowing 75-minute act that includes a witty rap about “phone zombies” and a Dylan-esque screed at a digital detox center. But the purported subject of connection, or lack there of, in our gadget-bound and atomized society is neither very original nor very deeply explored — nor is it necessarily very provocative in a theater, before an audience already primed for the live encounter. Far more interesting and central here is Hoyle’s relationship with his old college buddy Pratim, an Indian American in post-9/11 America whose words are filled with laid-back wisdom and wry humor. Also intriguing is the passing glimpse of early family life in the Hoyle household with Dan’s celebrated artist father, and working-class socialist, Geoff Hoyle. These relationships, rather than the sketches of strangers (albeit very graceful ones), seem the worthier subjects to mine for truth and meaning. Indeed, there’s a line spoken by Pratim that could sum up the essence of Hoyle’s particular art: “It’s so much better,” he says, “when you find yourself in other people than when you just find yourself.” Hoyle’s real frontier could end up being much more personal terrain, much closer to home. (Avila)

Foodies! The Musical Shelton Theater, 533 Sutter, SF; www.foodiesthemusical.com. $32-34. Fri-Sat, 8pm. Open-ended. AWAT Productions presents Morris Bobrow’s musical comedy revue all about food.

Into the Woods San Francisco Playhouse, 450 Post, SF; www.sfplayhouse.org. $20-120. Wed/3-Thu/4, 7pm; Fri/5-Sat/6, 8pm (also Sat/6, 3pm). SF Playhouse performs Stephen Sondheim’s fractured fairy-tale musical.

Motown the Musical Orpheum Theatre, 1192 Market, SF; www.shnsf.com. $45-210. Tue-Sat, 8pm (also Wed and Sat, 2pm); Sun, 2pm. Through Sept 28. Over 40 hits (“My Girl,” “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”) pack this tale of Motown founder Berry Gordy’s career in the music biz.

Noises Off! Shelton Theater, 533 Sutter, SF; www.sheltontheater.org. $38. Thu-Sat, 8pm. Through Oct 25. Shelton Theater performs Michael Frayn’s outrageous backstage comedy.

The Taming of the Shrew This week: Presidio, Marin Post Parade Grounds, between Graham and Keyes, SF; www.sfshakes.org. Free. Sat-Sun and Mon/1, 2pm. At this location through Sept 14; continues through Sept 21 at various Bay Area venues. Free Shakespeare in the Park presents this take on the Bard’s barb-filled romance.

Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind Boxcar Theatre, 505 Natoma, SF; www.sfneofuturists.com. $11-16. Fri-Sat, 9pm. Ongoing. The Neo-Futurists perform Greg Allen’s spontaneous, ever-changing show that crams 30 plays into 60 minutes.

BAY AREA

Berlin to Broadway with Kurt Weill Masquers Playhouse, 105 Park, Point Richmond; www.masquers.org. $22. Fri, 8pm; Sat, 7pm; Sept 7 and 14, 2pm. Through Sept 20. Masquers Playhouse performs a revue celebrating the life and work of Kurt Weill.

Cops and Robbers Marsh Berkeley, 2120 Allston, Berk; www.themarsh.org. $20-100. Fri, 8pm; Sat, 8:30pm. Through Sept 13. Hip-hop artist and law enforcement officer Jinho “The Piper” Ferreira performs his 17-character solo show.

Fetch Clay, Make Man Marin Theatre Company, 397 Miller, Mill Valley; www.marintheatre.org. $35-58. Wed/3, 7:30pm; Thu/4-Sat/6, 8pm; Sun/7, 2 and 7pm. Marin Theatre Company performs the West Coast premiere of Will Power’s historical drama.

Funny Girl Hillbarn Theatre, 1285 East Hillsdale, Foster City; www.hillbarntheatre.org. $23-42. Thu-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2pm. Through Sept 21. Hillbarn Theatre performs the classic romantic musical comedy, with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Bob Merrill, and book by Isobel Lennart.

An Ideal Husband Forest Meadows Amphitheater, 890 Belle, Dominican University of California, San Rafael; www.marinshakespeare.org. $12-35. Runs in repertory Fri-Sun through Sept 27; visit website for specific performance dates and times. Marin Shakespeare Company performs Oscar Wilde’s witty tale.

The Last Days of Judas Iscariot Flight Deck, 1540 Broadway, Oakl; brownpapertickets.com/event/780550. $15-25. Thu-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 7pm. Through Sept 21. Stephen Adly Guirgis’ courtroom drama takes on the fate of the New Testament turncoat.

Life Could Be a Dream Center REPertory Company, Lesher Center for the Arts, 1601 Civic, Walnut Creek; www.centerrep.org. $37-66. Wed, 7:30pm; Thu-Sat, 8pm (also Sept 20 and 27, 2:30pm); Sun, 2:30pm. Through Oct 5. CenterREPertory Company performs Roger Bean’s doo-wop musical.

Moonlight and Magnolias Dragon Theatre, 2120 Broadway, Redwood City; www.dragonproductions.net. $10-30. Thu/4-Sat/6, 8pm; Sun/7, 2pm. Dragon Productions presents Ron Hutchinson’s behind-the-scenes drama about the filming of Gone With the Wind.

O Best Beloved This week: Rotary Park, 1490 Don, Santa Clara; www.obestbeloved.org. Sat/6, 2pm. Free (donations accepted). Also Sun/7, 2pm, East Avenue Park, 3221 East, Hayward. Through Sept 13 at various NorCal venues. Idiot String’s Joan Howard and Rebecca Longworth bring their SF Fringe Festival hit, an adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s Just-So Stories, to local public spaces aboard a mobile stage.

Penthesilea — Queen of the Amazons John Hinkel Park, 41 Somerset, Berk; www.aeofberkeley.org. Free. Sat/6-Sun/7, 4pm. Inferno Theatre and Actors Ensemble of Berkeley perform Giulio Cesare Perrone’s adaptation of Heinrich Von Kleist’s Amazonian action fantasy.

Rapture, Blister, Burn Aurora Theatre, 2081 Addison, Berk; www.auroratheatre.org. $32-50. Opens Thu/4, 8pm. Runs Tue and Sun, 7pm (also Sun, 2pm); Wed-Sat, 8pm. Through Sept 28. Aurora Theatre Company opens its 23rd season with Gina Gionfriddo’s drama about three generations of women “struggling with feminism’s foibles.”

Romeo and Juliet Forest Meadows Amphitheater, 890 Belle, Dominican University of California, San Rafael; www.marinshakespeare.org. $12-35. Runs in repertory Fri-Sun through Sept 28; visit website for specific performance dates and times. Marin Shakespeare continues its 25th season with the Bard’s timeless tragedy.

Semi-Famous: Hollywood Hell Tales from the Middle Marsh Berkeley Main Stage, 2120 Allston, Berk; www.themarsh.org. $20-100. Sat/6, 5pm; Sun/7, 7pm. Don Reed’s new solo show shares tales from his career in entertainment.

The Tempest Old Mill Park Amphitheatre, behind the Mill Valley Public Library, 375 Throckmorton, Mill Valley; www.curtaintheatre.org. Free. Sat-Sun, 4pm. Through Sept 14. Curtain Theatre returns with the Bard’s magical romance for its 14th outdoor performance.

Water By the Spoonful Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro, Mtn View; www.theatreworks.org. $19-74. Tue-Wed, 7:30pm; Fri-Sat, 8pm (also Sat, 2pm); Sun, 2 and 7pm. Through Sept 14. TheatreWorks performs Quiara Alegría Hudes’ Pulitzer Prize-winning drama about strangers who meet in an online chat room.

Wonder of the World Douglas Morrisson Theatre, 22311 N. Third St, Hayward; www.dmtonline.org. $10-32. Fri-Sat and Sept 18, 8pm (also Sept 13, 2pm); Sun, 2pm. Through Sept 21. Douglas Morrison Theatre opens its 35th season with David Lindsay-Abaire’s comedy about self-fulfillment.

PERFORMANCE/DANCE

“BATS Summer Improv Festival” Bayfront Theater, B350 Fort Mason, SF; www.improv.org. Through Sept 20. $20. This week: “Pulp Playhouse,” Fri/5-Sat/6, 8pm.

“Best Male Crooner Contest” Martuni’s, 4 Valencia, SF; (415) 241-0205. Sun/7, 7pm. $7. Thing you have what it takes? Bring sheet music to enter the competition, with judges Russ Lorenson and hosts Katya Smirnoff-Skyy and Joe Wicht.

Caroline Lugo and Carolé Acuña’s Ballet Flamenco Peña Pachamama, 1630 Powell, SF; www.carolinalugo.com. Sat/6, Sept 13, 21, 28, Oct 4, 11, 18, 26, 6:30pm. $15-19. Flamenco performance by the mother-daughter dance company, featuring live musicians.

“Confide in Me” Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts, 2868 Mission, SF; www.missionculturalcenter.org. Sat/6, 7:30pm. $5-10. Nicky’s LGBT Youth Theater presents this play about teenagers struggling to come to terms with their queer identities.

“Constants and Variables” Dance Mission Theater, 3316 24th St, SF; variables2014.eventbrite.com. Fri/5-Sat/6, 8pm; Sun/7, 7pm. $20. An eclectic evening of dance with Bay Area choreographers Slater Penney, Here Now Dance Collective, Mo Miner, Sarah Keeney, and more, plus special guests.

“Faux Queen Pageant 2014: Fashion Faux-ward!” SOMArts, 934 Brannan, SF; www.somarts.org. Sat/6, 10pm. $25-35. “The original pageant for drag queens trapped in women’s bodies” — kind of says it all.

Feinstein’s at the Nikko 222 Mason, SF; www.feinsteinssf.com. This week: Jason Brock, Wed/3, 7pm, $15; Pamela Rose, Sun/7, 7pm, $15.

“Kathy Mata Ballet Autumn Showcase” City College of SF’s Wellness Center, Third Flr, Ocean and Howth, SF; www.kathymataballet.org. Sat/6, 7:30pm. $15-30. Classical and contemporary ballet, plus work by guest artists Antoine Hunter, Frederick Gaudette, and others.

“Kingdom of Not” Emerald Tablet, 80 Fresno, SF; www.kingdomofnot.com. Sat/6, 8pm. $5-10. “Music, monologues, and Emergency Dispatches” with Andrew Goldfarb and Dan Carbone.

“Magic at the Rex” Hotel Rex, 562 Sutter, SF; www.magicattherex.com. Sat, 8pm. Ongoing. $25. Magic and mystery with Adam Sachs and mentalist Sebastian Boswell III.

“Misery Index Comedy” Rite Spot, 2099 Folsom, SF; www.miseryindexcomedy.com. Mon/8, 9pm. Free. Trevor Hill hosts stand-up with Kevin Munroe, Ronn Vigh, Irene Tu, Matt Gubser, Allison Mick, and Griffin Daley.

“Out of Line Improv” Stage Werx, 446 Valencia, SF; outoflineimprov.brownpapertickets.com. Sat, 10:30pm. Ongoing. $12. A new, completely improvised show every week.

“People in Plazas” Various locations, SF; www.peopleinplazas.org. Through Oct 3. Free. Lunchtime concerts in various downtown locations showcasing jazz, world, funk, and other styles of music.

“Room in a Pinhole” Joe Goode Annex, 401 Alabama, SF; www.room-in-a-pinhole.eventbrite.com. Fri/5-Sat/6, 8pm. $15-20. Multi-disciplinary dance performance by Marina Fukushima and Olivia Ting.

“Rotunda Dance Series: Garrett + Moulton Productions” SF City Hall, 1 Carlton B. Goodlett, SF; www.garrettmoulton.org. Fri/5, noon. Free. Performing excerpts from The Luminous Edge under the dome of City Hall.

“San Francisco Comedy College” Purple Onion at Kells, 530 Jackson, SF; www.purpleonionatkells.com. Ongoing. $5-15. “Weekly New Talent Shows,” Wed-Thu, 7pm. “Purple Onion All-Stars,” Wed-Thu, 8:15pm. “The Later Show,” Wed-Thu, 10pm. “The Cellar Dwellers,” Fri-Sat, 7:30pm.

“Searching for Diogenes” Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 701 Mission, SF; www.ybca.org. Wed/3, noon-6pm. Free. Act three in Whitney Lynn’s three-part performance weaving together the life, myth, and legacy of Greek philosopher Diogenes of Sinope.

“Terminator Too: Judgment Play” and “Point Break LIVE!” DNA Lounge, 375 11th St, SF; www.dnalounge.com. Fri/5, Oct 3, Nov 7, and Dec 5, Terminator at 7:30pm; Break at 11pm. $20-50. The raucous, interactive staged recreations of two of 1991’s greatest action films return to the DNA Lounge.

“West Wave Dance Festival: Dancing Around the Bay” Z Space, 450 Florida, SF; www.zspace.org. Wed/3-Sat/7, 8pm. $10-20. SAFEhouse for the Performing Arts presents its 23rd annual festival, with choreography by SF and Bay Area artists. Participants include Leyya Mona Tawil (Dance Elixir), Stacey Printz (Printz Dance Project), Alyce Finwall, Christy Funsch, and others.

“Yerba Buena Gardens Festival” Yerba Buena Gardens, 760 Howard, SF; www.ybgfestival.org. Through Oct 26. Free. This week: Valerie Troutt and MoonCandy, Thu/4, 12:30pm; RAWdance, Fri/5, 7pm and Sat/6, 1pm; DakhaBrakha and Kitka, Sun/7, 1pm.

BAY AREA

“MarshJam Improv Comedy Show” Marsh Berkeley, 2120 Allston, Berk; www.themarsh.org. Fri, 8pm. Ongoing. $10. Improv comedy with local legends and drop-in guests. *

Don’t call it retro

Steven T. Jones

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September 2, 2014

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esilvers@sfbg.com

LEFT OF THE DIAL Musician Bart Davenport, Oakland native, LA resident, has one caveat for discussing his move two years ago. He might’ve broken a few hearts, but he wants to make it clear that he did not head for the southlands for the same reasons many fed-up, underfed Bay Area musicians are making the same trek these days.

“My story doesn’t have anything to do with the changes that have been happening in the Bay Area the past few years. And it really wasn’t a career move. It has to do with changes I needed to make happen within myself,” says the singer-songwriter-guitarist. “Besides, I don’t even stay away long enough to miss it — I’m up there at least once a month.”

Lucky for us, one of those trips will take place next weekend, when he helps kick off the Mission Creek Oakland Music & Arts Festival with a daylong block party Sept. 6. Davenport headlines an eclectic lineup of acts that also includes the psych-rock-folky sounds of The Blank Tapes, B. Hamilton, Foxtails Brigade, and more at this opener to the fifth incarnation of Oakland’s 10-day, 14-venue music fest, which began as an offshoot to San Francisco’s in 2009. (If there are any lingering questions about the East Bay’s music scene holding its own at this point, this is the kind of lineup that answers ’em.)

Davenport has had a pretty hectic touring schedule since his most recent LP, Physical World, dropped on Burger Records in March of this year. There were the adventures in Madrid, the opening slots for Echo & the Bunnymen at LA’s Orpheum Theatre. Last week, playing guitar in Marc & the Casuals, he co-hosted a special one-off soul music-comedy-storytelling night at The Chapel. The day after he plays the MCO Festival, he’ll be driving “like a madman” back to LA to catch a Burt Bacharach show (as an audience member). He’s gotten used to life on the road.

As a kid, though, he mostly moved back and forth between Berkeley and Oakland, where he grew up near Lake Merritt — across the street from the humble, Disneyland-inspiring wonder that is Children’s Fairyland, with its old-school talk boxes that have been narrating fairytales at the turn of a key since 1950. (He’s still enchanted by it, but — as this reporter has also discovered during some routine research — adults wanting to visit the park are required to bring a kid along.)

Nostalgia might seem to be an easy catch-all theme for someone prone to memories of kids’ amusement parks, especially someone whose most recent record conjures the synthy New Wave anthems of ’80s with almost eerie authenticity one moment, then veers backward toward Buddy Holly the next — with each song seemingly narrated by a different character named Bart Davenport, and all of it so shiny that you can never quite tell when he’s being tongue-in-cheek. Davenport’s known for clear changes in genre and sound from record to record, but the shift from 2008’s Palaces (a Harry Nilsson-esque affair with Kelley Stoltz’s fingerprints all over it) to the distinctly palm tree- and pink pollution sunset-scented Physical World (which is full of soul and jazz chord progressions, and where Davenport seems to be channeling, by turn, Hall & Oates, The Cars, New Order, and Morrisey) is probably his biggest departure yet.

The singer takes issue with critics who would simply call him “retro,” however — though it’s not because he finds the term offensive.

“I actually think it’s insulting to purist retroists, people like Nick Waterhouse, maybe, who’ve gone to great lengths to recreate certain sounds really exactingly,” says Davenport, who credits longtime collaborator Sam Flax with sending him in a New Wavey direction after producing his power-poppy 2012 single Someone2Dance.

“And I don’t even think of myself as a very nostalgic person. I think of [my influences] more like shopping at the thrift store, and finding gems that you want to repurpose to say something new,” he adds. “It’s also that I guess many people try to avoid arrangements that sound like the way things were being done 20 or 30 years ago, and I tend to not really think about anything but what I like, what I think sounds good. It’s not about taking you to 1984 or taking you to right now, it’s about taking you into your own little world. The little world of that particular song, for just three minutes.”

Reticence to talk up LA in the Bay Area press aside, Davenport will allow that one of his major influences was his newly adopted city.

“It’s definitely an LA album,” he says, noting that about two-thirds of the record was written there, and it was recorded in Alhambra, near East LA. “I think the constant sunlight breeds a kind of optimism in people. Then there’s the scenery, the palm trees, the long crazy streets. The taco trucks. Where I live, the majority of people are Latino. It’s just a different mix.” Angeleno bassist Jessica Espeleto telling him she’d play in his band if he moved down south was one thing he had in mind, as well, before making the leap.

And yet: There’s no place like home? “The entire Bay Area has great venues,” says Davenport, as we discuss the new crop of venues that have sprung up in the East Bay over the last few years. “And yeah, especially with the musicians getting priced out of San Francisco, I think it’s great that there’s the whole East Bay for them to go to. Really, thank God for Oakland.”

Amen.

BART DAVENPORT

With The Blank Tapes, B. Hamilton, many others

Mission Creek Oakland Music & Arts Festival Block Party

Sat/6, noon-8pm, free (fest runs through Sept. 13)

25th Street at Telegraph, Oakl.

www.mcofest.org

Events: September 3 – 9, 2014

Michael Redmond

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September 2, 2014

0

Listings are compiled by Guardian staff. Submit items for the listings at listings@sfbg.com. For further information on how to submit items for the listings, see Selector.

WEDNESDAY 3

“99 Poems for the 99 Percent” Booksmith, 1644 Haight, SF; www.booksmith.com. 7:30pm, free. Contributors read from a new collection that represents “the real America.” Poets include Dean Rader, Gillian Conoley, Barbara Berman, Keith Ekiss, Julie Bruck, and Hiya Swanhuyser.

THURSDAY 4

Rose Caraway Good Vibrations, 1620 Polk, SF; (415) 345-0400. 6:30pm, free. “Everyone’s favorite lusty librarian” reads from The Sexy Librarian’s Big Book of Erotica, with help from Lily K. Cho, Malin James, and Jade A. Waters.

Vikram Chandra City Lights Bookstore, 261 Columbus, SF; www.citylights.com. 7pm, free. The author discusses Geek Sublime: The Beauty of Code. The Code of Beauty.

Hollye Jacobs Book Passage, 1 Ferry Bldg, SF; www.bookpassage.com. 6pm, free. The author, a nurse and social worker turned patient, discusses The Silver Lining: A Supportive and Insightful Guide to Breast Cancer.

“Night of the Livermore Dead: A Zombie Pub Crawl” Bothwell Arts Center’s Downtown Art Studios, 62 South L St, Livermore; http://tickets.livermoreperformingarts.org. 6-10:30pm, $20. First, get transformed into a shuffling member of the undead, then enjoy drink specials and deals as you lurch through downtown Livermore. The crawl ends at the Bankhead Theater with a “Thriller” flashmob, followed by a screening of Night of the Living Dead (1968).

FRIDAY 5

“Art Break Day” Justin Herman Plaza, 1 Market, SF; www.artbreakday.com. 9am-5pm, free. Check website for locations in Berkeley, Novato, Oakland, San Rafael, and other locations. Art supplies are provided at this free community art-making event.

SATURDAY 6

Autumn Moon Festival Chinatown, SF; www.moonfestival.org. Grand opening ceremony and parade, today, 11am. Festival, 11am-5pm, through Sun/7 (dog costume contest Sun/7, 2:30pm). Free. Cultural performances, an open-air street bazaar, lion dancing, and (new this year!) a dog costume contest highlight this 24th annual celebration of the Asian holiday.

Friends of Duboce Park Tag Sale Duboce between Steiner and Scott, SF; http://friendsofdubocepark.org. 9am-2pm. Community tag sale, with proceeds going toward making improvements to Duboce Park. Check out the website for donation information.

Mountain View Art and Wine Festival Castro between El Camino Real and Evelyn, Mtn View; www.miramarevents.com. 10am-6pm, free. Through Sun/7. With works by over 600 professional craftspeople and artists, plus live music, home and garden exhibits, a young-performers stage, a climbing wall, food and wine, and more.

“Projecting SOMA: Youth and Elders’ VOICES” Sixth St and Market, SF; www.ybca.org. 7pm, free. Also Sept 13, 20, and 27. YBCA in Community, South of Market Community Action Network, and Veterans Equity Center present large-scale, text-based video projections sharing messages and stories from the Filipino community.

SF Mountain Bike Festival McLaren Park, Jerry Garcia Amphitheater, 20 John F. Shelley, SF; sfurbanriders.org/wordpress/sf-mtb-festival. 9am-5pm, free. Register in advance to compete — or just show up to spectate or test your skills in any of the non-competitive categories. Events include a short-track challenge, a 10-mile urban adventure ride, a cargo bike hill climb, a bike skills challenge for youth and families, and more, plus a box jump demo and a bike raffle.

“Yoga for Change” Grace Cathedral, 1100 California, SF; www.yogaforchangesf.org. 9:30am-noon, $15 and up. Help raise funds for the Community Preschool at this yoga event with live music. All levels and abilities welcome.

SUNDAY 7

Haight Street Music and Merchants Street Festival Haight between Masonic and Stanyan, SF; hsmmsf@gmail.com. Noon-6pm, free. Yep, it’s another street fair on Haight — but this brand-new event has a highly local focus, since it’s sponsored by local merchants. Expect three stages of music, kids’ activities, a skate ramp, and more.

“Home [away from] Home” Eastshore Park, Lake Merritt, MacArthur at Grand, Oakl; www.ybca.org. 10am-8pm, free. Through Sept 11. Experimental art installation highlighting artists in the Ethiopian and Eritrean communities of the Bay Area.

“Seventeen Generations Why” Modern Times Bookstore Collective, 2919 24th St, SF; www.mtbs.com. 5pm, $20 and up. Rebecca Solnit brings together nine decades of San Franciscans (from a woman in her 80s to a seven-year-old) for this “variety show in celebration of Modern Times Bookstore’s last four decades and in support of its next four or so.”

MONDAY 8

Rowen Jacobsen Jewish Community Center of San Francisco, 3200 California, SF; www.jccsf.org/ 7pm, $15. The James Beard award winner discusses Apples of Uncommon Character. Author event held in conjunction with the JCCSF’s “Apple-Palooza” (5pm), a celebration of all things apple and harvest.

TUESDAY 9

Daisy Hernández Booksmith, 1644 Haight, SF; www.booksmith.com. 7:30pm, free. The author reads from her coming-of-age memoir, A Cup of Water Under My Bed. *

Alerts: September 3 – 9, 2014

Michael Redmond

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September 2, 2014

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WEDNESDAY 3

Panel: Agriculture and Journalism

SF Commonwealth Club, 595 Market, SF. tinyurl.com/agriculturebeat. 6pm, $20 nonmembers, $8 members, $7 students. Cutbacks in reporting staff have decreased the amount of agriculture related journalism, yet in today’s foodie world, there is a growing demand for new information about where consumer’s food is coming from. Join Tara Duggan of the SF Chronicle, Naomi Starkman of Civil Eats, Andy Wright of Modern Farmer, and Sasha Khokha of KQED to discuss journalism’s changed and changing relationship with agriculture. Bi-Rite Catering will provide food for the event.

THURSDAY 4

Public Forum: Police Tasers in Berkeley

1939 Addison, Berk. coalitionfortaserfreeberkeley.org. 7-10pm, free. Is the militarization of the police force unnecessary? The Berkeley police force is asking for Tasers, but the City Council is hesitant. Discuss the issue with panelists such as Aram James, activist and former Palo Alto Public Defender; Barbara Ann White, Berkeley NAACP vice president and community mental health professional; James Chanin, founding member of the Police Review Commission and civil rights lawyer; and Jeremy Miller, program director of the Idriss Stelley Foundation and co-organizer of the successful campaign to stop San Francisco from getting Tasers. The Coalition for a Taser Free Berkeley is sponsoring the forum.

SATURDAY 6

Police Violence Teach-In

Starry Plough Pub, 3101 Shattuck, Berk. 510-465-9414. 2-4:30pm, free. In light of the recent Ferguson and St. Louis events, join speakers Anita Wills, Chris Kinder, and Carol Denney to learn about police violence and political protest in America, and how Ferguson relates to the Bay Area. The event is put on by the Alameda Peace and Freedom Party.

Film & Fundraiser: Connected By Coffee

2868 Mission, SF. tinyurl.com/connectedbycoffee. 4pm, $10 suggested donation. Coffee is important to a large percentage of the SF population. However, many coffee farms are threatened by leaf rust fungus. All donations will go to Cooperative Las Marias 93 in El Salvador — a cooperative farm that lost 80 percent of its crop to the fungus, and has been unable to export coffee since. There will be a Q&A with local coffee roasters from the Ubuntu Coffee Cooperative, and coffee samples at intermission. The documentary — Connected By Coffee — looks into the multibillion dollar industry of coffee.

Predicting earthquakes, from 14-year-old prophets to train-stopping ShakeAlerts to lessons from disaster flicks

Erica Hanna

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August 28, 2014

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Predicting earthquakes, from 14-year-old prophets to train-stopping ShakeAlerts to lessons from disaster flicks

Earlier today, I called my mother, a natural disaster film junkie, and asked her, “Do you know of any movies where someone predicts natural disasters, but no one believes the guy, and so everything goes a little haywire?”

“10.5, Day After Tomorrow, 2012, Volcano, Deep Impact, and Knowing,” she replied without any hesitation. “But in Knowing the protagonist gets help from aliens to predict disasters, so I don’t know if that’s bordering on fiction.”

Despite the hundreds of natural disaster blockbusters warning the public to listen when someone predicts catastrophe, earthquake prediction technology can’t defeat the rules of physics and the unpredictable nature of shaking earth. When a 14-year-old from Florida claims he predicted the recent Napa earthquake, for instance, doubts are raised, heads were tilted, and facts must be checked at once.

“I started jumping up and down when I heard about the earthquake,” high school student Sugganth Kannan told us.

Kannan was sad about the destruction, sure, but he also thought the earthquake’s timing, location, and magnitude validated his prediction that an earthquake with a magnitude of at least 5.0 would occur 50 miles from the South Napa location within 180 days from last December when he made the prediction. So, he was close, but off by a few months.

To make his prediction, Kannan used the Spatial Connect Theory, which states that all earthquakes within a fault zone are related. Then, looking at past earthquakes, he made functions based on the angle of change, geographical difference, and the time between earthquakes to eventually come up with a pattern. His work has been published in the Journal of Geology & Geosciences.

Of course, earthquakes in California are both as no-kidding-predictable as they are scientifically unpredictable. According to the US Geological Survey, which cites studies examining the past 14,000 years, catastrophic earthquakes strike along the southern San Andreas fault about once every 150 years. And if you don’t believe the US Geological Survey, there’s always Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has stated, “There’s a real likelihood of a major, major earthquake in the next 10, 15, 20 years.” We’re seismically active, and we know it.

While 14-year-old Kannan and the lieutenant governor might want futures as earthquake prophets, Richard Allen, director of the Berkeley Seismological Laboratory, is just happy he can predict earthquakes within 10 seconds of their first furious rumble. He helped pioneer an early warning system called ShakeAlerts that’s currently got 150 subscribers and does just that.

Now there’s an idea for a natural disaster movie: Nicholas Cage predicts an earthquake a whopping 10 seconds before the disaster happens, causing BART trains to automatically come to dramatic, adrenaline-rushing halt, saving thousands of lives! It might not be fodder for disaster movies, but it is good news for actual and real world of real and actual earthquakes.

BART is one of Shake Alert’s users. When the Napa earthquake went off, an alarm went off at BART’s offices announcing an approaching earthquake. Spokesperson John McPartland explained at a press conference on Monday that the trains moving at 33 MPH or less would have stopped had they experienced a a 3.1 earthquake or higher. But in the Bay Area, the magnitude was much smaller, and the trains raced on, unknowing.

“If there’s an earthquake, and you’re on BART, the best thing you can ask for is for the train to stop,” said Allen. You can check out a video for CISN ShakeAlert here. In the video, you can hear buzzing, and then a somewhat intense robotic voice telling you, “Earthquake! Earthquake! Light shaking expected in 10 seconds. Earthquake!”

“The farther away from the earthquake, the sooner you’ll get the alert,” Allen told the Guardian. “In the best case scenario — as in, the worst case scenario earthquake — you’ll get up to a minute warning. For this one, BART got 10 seconds. There’s no way to improve that. It’s physics.”

He hopes to get more funding to bring ShakeAlert to more people, and to one day develop a mobile app so anyone can be alerted seconds before an earthquake occurs. Ten seconds might not sound like a lot of time, but for those knitting with dangerous needles, or cooking with sharp knives, or just generally doing things not conducive to huge earthquakes with large, pointy things, 10 seconds could mean a whole lot. Although California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a law to turn Shake Alert into a statewide program last fall, the project has only received $10 million of the $80 million it needs for new sensors and infrastructure.

Then there’s virtual reality. Michael Oskin, a professor of earth and planetary sciences who studies earthquakes and seismicity at UC Davis, has taken his students to the site of the Napa earthquake to take photographs of the destruction and use the photographs to build 3D models to help them understand the wrath of the quake and what could come next. At UC Davis’ W. M. Keck Center for Active Visualization in Earth Sciences (KeckCAVES), researchers get to experience earthquakes virtually and take heed.

Much of Oskin’s work with virtual reality assimilation revolves around looking at earthquakes before and after they’ve occurred, examining the fault lines throughout these phases, and studying how the faults have moved afterwards.

“If you want to understand the record of faulting, you look at earthquakes that have just happened to see how complicated they are and how they’ve changed. Then you get a better sense of how to interpret them,” Oskin said. From there, he can also create a virtual world to provide a visual of what could happen to houses built along fault lines.

“Hopefully in 20 years, the tools will be available for everyone to use – on laptops and 3D TV screens so you can visualize an earthquake on a screen in 3D,” Oskin said. “It’s not high end software. It’s just creative programming.”

If earthquake forecasting apps for all is the dream, we’re certainly getting closer. John Rundle, a UC Davis physics professor, co-launched OpenHazards.com, which produces earthquake forecasts and a mobile app.

“What we do is we count smaller earthquakes to forecast bigger earthquakes,” Rundle explained. “Once a magnitude 6 earthquake occurs, like the one in Napa, we start counting the number of small earthquakes that occur in the region after that. Once we get 1000 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5, it’s time for another 6 to occur. We convert that statement into a probability around the world, every night, and display it on the website.”

Rundle said his system has a 80-85 percent accuracy rate. “If you were to make a whole bunch of random forecasts today, and you were to do that tomorrow and the next day and then compare the forecasts we use, Open Hazard would be better 80-85 percent of the time,” he explained. “That’s roughly equivalent to a weather forecast three or four days into the future. That’s where our accuracy is.”

Back in 2012, an Italian judge convicted seven scientific experts of manslaughter and sentenced them to six years in prison for failing to give warning before the April 2009 earthquake that killed over 300 people. But that’s why earthquake forecasting is called forecasting, and not predicting. Fortune tellers may not be trusted, but you can’t kill the weatherman, especially over quakes.

A show a day: Your fall music calendar

Steven T. Jones

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August 28, 2014

0

What’s going on in Bay Area music these next three months? Glad you asked.

Like a daily multivitamin wards off the sniffles, getting the SFBG’s official recommended dose of live shows is crucial to maintaining optimal mental health, fun levels, and skin tone, especially as the days get shorter and the weather turns ever-so-slightly cooler.

Here’s your musical agenda from Labor Day through Thanksgiving, with highlights from our favorite fall festivals (see this week’s issue for lots more).

Aug. 28 Black Cobra Vipers with French Cassettes The Chapel, SF. www.thechapelsf.com

Aug. 29 Blind Willies Viracocha, SF. www.viracochasf.com

Aug. 30 Mistah F.A.B. Slim’s, SF. www.slimspresents.com

Aug. 31 LIVE 105’s Punk Rock Picnic with The Offspring, Bad Religion, Pennywise, and more. Are you a late-thirties/early-forties punk rock guy or gal who can’t agree on much of anything with your 13-year-old these days? Doesn’t get much better than this lineup. Bonus points for screaming along to all the swearing on The Offspring’s “Bad Habit.” Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View. www.theshorelineamphitheatre.com

Sept. 1 Hiero Day. Souls of Mischief, Del, and the rest of the guys have promised some pretty big guest stars at this week’s fest, but even without ’em — a free block party with beer from Linden Street Brewery and music from some of the Bay Area’s best underground rappers? Guests, schmests. Downtown Oakland, www.hieroday.com

Sept. 2 Ghost & Gale Brick and Mortar, SF. www.brickandmortarmusic.com

Sept. 3 Joey Cape Thee Parkside, SF. www.theeparkside.com

Sept. 4 Carletta Sue Kay Hemlock Tavern, SF. www.hemlocktavern.com

Sept. 4-13 Mission Creek Oakland Music & Arts Festival. With a range of heavy hitters — from B. Hamilton and Bill Baird to Whiskerman — this is a showcase of the fertile ground that is Oakland’s indie rock scene right now, most with door prices you’re not likely to see from these bands again. Venues throughout Oakland,www.mcofest.org.

Sept. 5 Sam Chase with Rin Tin Tiger Uptown, Oakl. www.uptownnightclub.com

Sept. 6 Bart Davenport, Foxtails Brigade, more Block Party, downtown Oakland, www.mcofest.org

Sept. 7 Coheed and Cambria, Fox Theater, Oakl. www.thefoxoakland.com

Sept. 8 The Rentals Slim’s, SF. www.slimspresents.com

Sept. 9 Wild Eyes Knockout, SF. www.theknockoutsf.com

Sept. 10 Kyrsten Bean New Parish, Oakl., www.thenewparish.com

Sept. 11 Sonny & The Sunsets Eagle Tavern, SF. www.sf-eagle.com

Sept. 11-14 Downtown Berkeley MusicFest. A range of bluesy, folky, dancey bands from all over the Bay — especially recommended: the First Person Singular presentation of Beck’s Song Reader Sept. 11 and The Parmesans at Jupiter Sept. 14. Venues all over Berkeley, www.downtownberkeleymusicfest.org

Sept. 12-14, 15th Annual Electronic Music Festival Brava Theater Center, SF. www.sfemf.org

Sept. 13 The Breeders Fillmore, SF. www.thefillmore.com

Sept. 13-14 Forever Never Land, “California’s only 21+ music festival,” Avila Beach Golf Resort, www.foreverneverland.us

Sept. 15 Vulfpeck Brick and Mortar, SF. www.brickandmortar.com

Sept. 16 Lil Dicky Independent, SF. www.theindependentsf.com

Sept. 17 Anais Mitchell The Chapel, SF. www.thechapelsf.com

Sept. 18 Silent Comedy and Strange Vine Bottom of the Hill, SF. www.bottomofthehill.com

Sept. 19 Blake Mills, The Chapel, SF. www.thechapelsf.com

Sept. 20 Old Crow Medicine Show The Masonic, SF. www.masonicauditorium.com

Sept. 20-21 Berkeley World Music Festival All over Berkeley, www.berkeleyworldmusic.org

Sept. 20-21 Russian River Jazz & Blues Festival, with Larry Graham & Graham Central Station, more. www.russianriverfestivals.com

Sept. 21 Oakland Music Festival with The Coup, Kev Choice, more Downtown Oakland, www.oaklandmusicfestival.com.

Sept. 22 La Roux Fox Theater, Oakl. www.thefoxoakland.com

Sept. 23 Cello Joe The Chapel Bar, SF. www.thechapelsf.com

Sept. 24 Skeletonwitch, Black Anvil DNA Lounge, SF. www.dnalounge.com

Sept. 25-28 Philip Glass’ Days and Nights Festival Henry Miller Memorial Library, Big Sur; Sunset Cultural Center, Carmel-by-the-Sea, www.daysandnightsfestival.com

Sept. 26 Bob Mould Fillmore, SF. www.thefillmore.com

Sept. 27 Wu-Tang Clan Warfield, SF. www.thewarfieldtheatre.com

Sept. 27 Redwood City Sala Festival Courthouse Square, Redwood City, www.redwoodcity.org

Sept. 28 Sam Smith Fox Theater, Oakl. www.thefoxoakland.com

Sept. 29 Motown on Mondays Legionnaire Saloon, Oakl. www.legionnairesaloon.com

Sept. 30 Pixies The Masonic, SF. www.masonicauditorium.com

Oct. 1 Rhymesayers presents Brother Ali, Bambu Bottom of the Hill, SF. www.bottomofthehill.com

Oct. 2 Lorde Greek Theatre, Berk. www.thegreektheatreberkeley.com

Oct. 3-5 Berkeley Hawaiian Music Festival Freight and Salvage, Berkl. www.thefreight.org.

Oct. 3-5 Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, Golden Gate Park, SF. www.hardlystrictlybluegrass.com

Oct 3-5 TBD Festival. Emerging Bay Area acts like 8th Grader mingle with the big kids (Blondie, Moby, Danny Brown, Kurt Vile) at this seventh annual celebration of “music, art, design, and food.” A low-key vibe and great chance to see some huge acts in a seemingly unlikely location. Riverfront, West Sacramento. www.tbdfest.com.

Oct. 4 Cibo Matto The Chapel, SF. www.thechapelsf.com

Oct. 5 Bombay Bicycle Club Warfield, SF. www.thewarfieldtheatre.com

Oct. 6 The War on Drugs with Cass McCombs Fillmore, SF. www.thefillmore.com

Oct. 7 Thurston Moore Great American Music Hall, SF. www.slimspresents.com

Oct. 8 The King Khan & BBQ Show Great American Music Hall, SF. www.slimspresents.com

Oct. 9 Imelda May Fillmore, SF. www.thefillmore.com

Oct. 10 Too Short Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View. www.shorelineamphitheatre.com

Oct. 11 Pomplamoose Fillmore, SF. www.thefillmore.com

Oct. 12 Jack Beats Mezzanine, SF. www.mezzaninesf.com

Oct. 13 Mutual Benefit Independent, www.theindependentsf.com

Oct. 14-15 Culture Collide. This new-to-the-Bay-Area party has been rocking LA for the past few years, but it seems to have taken on an appropriately Mission-esque flavor for its first Mission takeover: Local kids like Grmln alongside national acts like Cloud Nothings and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah alongside a whole host of buzzy Korean, Australian, and UK bands? Yeah, we’re there. Up and down Valencia in the Mission, with multiple stages including the Elbo Room. www.culturecollide.com

Oct. 15 Of Montreal Great American Music Hall, SF. www.slimspresents.com

Oct. 16 Russian Red Independent, SF. www.theindependentsf.com

Oct. 17 Pup Brick and Mortar Music Hall, www.brickandmortarmusichall.com

Oct. 18-19 Treasure Island Music Festival, with Outkast, Massive Attack, more Treasure Island. www.treasureislandfestival.com

Oct. 20 Kimbra Independent, SF. www.theindependentsf.com

Oct. 21 Melvins Great American Music Hall, SF. www.slimspresents.com

Oct. 22 Kat Edmonson Great American Music Hall, SF. www.slimspresents.com

Oct. 23 The Blank Tapes Brick and Mortar Music Hall, www.brickandmortarmusichall.com

Oct. 24 Foxygen Fillmore, SF. www.thefillmore.com

Oct. 25 Titan Ups and Carletta Sue Kay DNA Lounge, SF. www.dnalounge.com

Oct. 26 Bridget Everett Independent, SF. www.theindependentsf.com

Oct. 27 Warpaint Regency Ballroom, SF. ww.theregencyballroom.com

Oct. 28 Broken Bells The Masonic, SF. www.masonicauditorium.com

Oct. 29 King Tuff Great American Music Hall, SF. www. slimspresents.com

Oct. 30 Tycho Fox Theater, Oakl. www.thefoxoakland.com

Oct. 31 LIVE 105’s Spookfest with Chromeo, Alesso, more Oracle Arena, Oakl., www.live105.cbslocal.com

Nov. 1 Stone Foxes with Strange Vine The Chapel, SF. www.thechapelsf.com

Nov. 2 Citizen Cope Catalyst, Santa Cruz. www.catalystclub.com

Nov. 3 The Black Keys Oracle Arena, Oakl., www.coliseum.com

Nov. 4 Frankie Rose with Cold Beat Bottom of the Hill, SF. www.bottomofthehill.com

Nov. 5 Finch, Maps & Atlases Slim’s, SF. www.slimspresents.com

Nov. 6 Bleachers Independent, SF. www.theindependent.sf.com

Nov. 7 Slowdive Warfield, SF. www.thewarfieldtheatre.com

Nov. 8 Shovels & Rope Fillmore, SF. www.thefillmore.com

Nov. 9 Mirah Independent, SF. www.theindependentsf.com

Nov. 10 Psychedelic Furs, Lemonheads Fillmore, SF. www.thefillmore.com

Nov. 11 Mac DeMarco Fillmore, SF. www.thefillmore.com

Nov. 12 Shakey Graves Independent, SF. www.theindependentsf.com

Nov. 13 Generationals The Chapel, SF. www.thechapelsf.com

Nov. 14 Deltron 3030 Catalyst, Santa Cruz. www.catalystclub.com

Nov. 15 J. Mascis Independent, SF. www.theindependentsf.com

Nov. 16 Hot Water Music Slim’s, SF. www.slimspresents.com

Nov. 17 Culture Club Fox Theater, Oakl. www.thefoxoakland.com

Nov. 18 The 1975 The Masonic, SF. www.masonicauditorium.com

Nov. 19 Har Mar Superstar Bottom of the Hill, SF. www.bottomofthehill.com

Nov. 20 Minus the Bear Slim’s, SF. www.slimspresents.com

Nov. 21 Seu Jorge Bimbo’s 365 Club, SF. www.bimbos365club.com

Nov. 22 Peanut Butter Wolf Brick and Mortar Music Hall, www.brickandmortarmusichall.com

Nov. 23 Lucero Slim’s, SF. www.slimspresents.com

A show a day: Your fall music calendar

Steven T. Jones

-

August 27, 2014

0

FALL ARTS What’s going on in Bay Area music these next three months? Glad you asked.

Here’s your musical agenda from Labor Day through Thanksgiving, with highlights from our favorite fall festivals.

Aug. 27 Terry Malts Brick and Mortar, SF. www.brickand-mortarmusic.com

Aug. 28 Black Cobra Vipers with French Cassettes The Chapel, SF. www.thechapelsf.com

Aug. 29 Blind Willies Viracocha, SF. www.viracochasf.com

Aug. 30 Mistah F.A.B. Slim’s, SF. www.slimspresents.com

Aug. 31 LIVE 105’s Punk Rock Picnic with The Offspring, Bad Religion, Pennywise, and more. Are you a late-thirties/early-forties punk rock guy or gal who can’t agree on much of anything with your 13-year-old these days? Doesn’t get much better than this lineup. Bonus points for screaming along to all the swearing on The Offspring’s “Bad Habit.” Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View. www.theshorelineamphitheatre.com

Sept. 1 Hiero Day. Souls of Mischief, Del, and the rest of the guys have promised some pretty big guest stars at this week’s fest, but even without ’em — a free block party with beer from Linden Street Brewery and music from some of the Bay Area’s best underground rappers? Guests, schmests. Downtown Oakland, www.hieroday.com

Sept. 2 Ghost & Gale Brick and Mortar, SF. www.brickandmortarmusic.com

Sept. 3 Joey Cape Thee Parkside, SF. www.theeparkside.com

Sept. 4 Carletta Sue Kay Hemlock Tavern, SF. www.hemlocktavern.com

Sept. 4-13 Mission Creek Oakland Music & Arts Festival. With a range of heavy hitters — from B. Hamilton and Bill Baird to Whiskerman — this is a showcase of the fertile ground that is Oakland’s indie rock scene right now, most with door prices you’re not likely to see from these bands again. Venues throughout Oakland, www.mcofest.org.

Sept. 5 Sam Chase with Rin Tin Tiger Uptown, Oakl. www.uptownnightclub.com

Sept. 6 Bart Davenport, Foxtails Brigade, more Block Party, downtown Oakland, www.mcofest.org

Sept. 7 Coheed and Cambria, Fox Theater, Oakl. www.thefoxoakland.com

Sept. 8 The Rentals Slim’s, SF. www.slimspresents.com

Sept. 9 Wild Eyes Knockout, SF. www.theknockoutsf.com

Sept. 10 Kyrsten Bean New Parish, Oakl., www.thenewparish.com

Sept. 11 Sonny & The Sunsets Eagle Tavern, SF. www.sf-eagle.com

Sept. 11-14 Downtown Berkeley MusicFest. A range of bluesy, folky, dancey bands from all over the Bay — especially recommended: the First Person Singular presentation of Beck’s Song Reader Sept. 11 and The Parmesans at Jupiter Sept. 14. Venues all over Berkeley, www.downtownberkeleymusicfest.org

Sept. 12-14, 15th Annual Electronic Music Festival Brava Theater Center, SF. www.sfemf.org

Sept. 13 The Breeders Fillmore, SF. www.thefillmore.com

Sept. 13-14 Forever Never Land, “California’s only 21+ music festival,” Avila Beach Golf Resort, www.foreverneverland.us

Sept. 15 Vulfpeck Brick and Mortar, SF. www.brickandmortar.com

Sept. 16 Lil Dicky Independent, SF. www.theindependentsf.com

Sept. 17 Anais Mitchell The Chapel, SF. www.thechapelsf.com

Sept. 18 Silent Comedy and Strange Vine Bottom of the Hill, SF. www.bottomofthehill.com

Sept. 19 Blake Mills, The Chapel, SF. www.thechapelsf.com

Sept. 20 Old Crow Medicine Show The Masonic, SF. www.masonicauditorium.com

Sept. 20-21 Berkeley World Music Festival All over Berkeley, www.berkeleyworldmusic.org

Sept. 20-21 Russian River Jazz & Blues Festival, with Larry Graham & Graham Central Station, more. www.russianriverfestivals.com

Sept. 21 Oakland Music Festival with The Coup, Kev Choice, more Downtown Oakland, www.oaklandmusicfestival.com.

Sept. 22 La Roux Fox Theater, Oakl. www.thefoxoakland.com

Sept. 23 Cello Joe The Chapel Bar, SF. www.thechapelsf.com

Sept. 24 Skeletonwitch, Black Anvil DNA Lounge, SF. www.dnalounge.com

Sept. 25-28 Philip Glass’ Days and Nights Festival Henry Miller Memorial Library, Big Sur; Sunset Cultural Center, Carmel-by-the-Sea, www.daysandnightsfestival.com

Sept. 26 Bob Mould Fillmore, SF. www.thefillmore.com

Sept. 27 Wu-Tang Clan Warfield, SF. www.thewarfieldtheatre.com

Sept. 27 Redwood City Sala Festival Courthouse Square, Redwood City, www.redwoodcity.org

Sept. 28 Sam Smith Fox Theater, Oakl. www.thefoxoakland.com

Sept. 29 Motown on Mondays Legionnaire Saloon, Oakl. www.legionnairesaloon.com

Sept. 30 Pixies The Masonic, SF. www.masonicauditorium.com

Oct. 1 Rhymesayers presents Brother Ali, Bambu Bottom of the Hill, SF. www.bottomofthehill.com

Oct. 2 Lorde Greek Theatre, Berk. www.thegreektheatreberkeley.com

Oct. 3-5 Berkeley Hawaiian Music Festival Freight and Salvage, Berkl. www.thefreight.org.

Oct. 3-5 Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, Golden Gate Park, SF. www.hardlystrictlybluegrass.com

Oct 3-5 TBD Festival, Riverfront, West Sacramento. Emerging Bay Area acts like 8th Grader mingle with the big kids (Blondie, Moby, Danny Brown, Kurt Vile) at this seventh annual celebration of “music, art, design, and food.” A low-key vibe and great chance to see some huge acts in a seemingly unlikely location. www.tbdfest.com.

Oct. 4 Cibo Matto The Chapel, SF. www.thechapelsf.com

Oct. 5 Bombay Bicycle Club Warfield, SF. www.thewarfieldtheatre.com

Oct. 6 The War on Drugs with Cass McCombs Fillmore, SF. www.thefillmore.com

Oct. 7 Thurston Moore Great American Music Hall, SF. www.slimspresents.com

Oct. 8 The King Khan & BBQ Show Great American Music Hall, SF. www.slimspresents.com

Oct. 9 Imelda May Fillmore, SF. www.thefillmore.com

Oct. 10 Too Short Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View. www.shorelineamphitheatre.com

Oct. 11 Pomplamoose Fillmore, SF. www.thefillmore.com

Oct. 12 Jack Beats Mezzanine, SF. www.mezzaninesf.com

Oct. 13 Mutual Benefit Independent, www.theindependentsf.com

Oct. 14-15 Culture Collide. This new-to-the-Bay-Area party has been rocking LA for the past few years, but it seems to have taken on an appropriately Mission-esque flavor for its first Mission takeover: Local kids like Grmln alongside national acts like Cloud Nothings and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah alongside a whole host of buzzy Korean, Australian, and UK bands? Yeah, we’re there. Up and down Valencia in the Mission, with multiple stages including the Elbo Room. www.culturecollide.com

Oct. 15 Of Montreal Great American Music Hall, SF. www.slimspresents.com

Oct. 16 Russian Red Independent, SF. www.theindependentsf.com

Oct. 17 Pup Brick and Mortar Music Hall, www.brickandmortarmusichall.com

Oct. 18-19 Treasure Island Music Festival

Oct. 20 Kimbra Independent, SF. www.theindependentsf.com

Oct. 21 Melvins Great American Music Hall, SF. www.slimspresents.com

Oct. 22 Kat Edmonson Great American Music Hall, SF. www.slimspresents.com

Oct. 23 The Blank Tapes Brick and Mortar Music Hall, www.brickandmortarmusichall.com

Oct. 24 Foxygen Fillmore, SF. www.thefillmore.com

Oct. 25 Titan Ups and Carletta Sue Kay DNA Lounge, SF. www.dnalounge.com

Oct. 26 Bridget Everett Independent, SF. www.theindependentsf.com

Oct. 27 Warpaint Regency Ballroom, SF. ww.theregencyballroom.com

Oct. 28 Broken Bells The Masonic, SF. www.masonicauditorium.com

Oct. 29 King Tuff Great American Music Hall, SF. www. slimspresents.com

Oct. 30 Tycho Fox Theater, Oakl. www.thefoxoakland.com

Oct. 31 LIVE 105’s Spookfest with Chromeo, Alesso, more Oracle Arena, Oakl., www.live105.cbslocal.com

Nov. 1 Stone Foxes with Strange Vine The Chapel, SF. www.thechapelsf.com

Nov. 2 Citizen Cope Catalyst, Santa Cruz. www.catalystclub.com

Nov. 3 The Black Keys Oracle Arena, Oakl., www.coliseum.com

Nov. 4 Frankie Rose with Cold Beat Bottom of the Hill, SF. www.bottomofthehill.com

Nov. 5 Finch, Maps & Atlases Slim’s, SF. www.slimspresents.com

Nov. 6 Bleachers Independent, SF. www.theindependent.sf.com

Nov. 7 Slowdive Warfield, SF. www.thewarfieldtheatre.com

Nov. 8 Shovels & Rope Fillmore, SF. www.thefillmore.com

Nov. 9 Mirah Independent, SF. www.theindependentsf.com

Nov. 10 Psychedelic Furs, Lemonheads Fillmore, SF. www.thefillmore.com

Nov. 11 Mac DeMarco Fillmore, SF. www.thefillmore.com

Nov. 12 Shakey Graves Independent, SF. www.theindependentsf.com

Nov. 13 Generationals The Chapel, SF. www.thechapelsf.com

Nov. 14 Deltron 3030 Catalyst, Santa Cruz. www.catalystclub.com

Nov. 15 J. Mascis Independent, SF. www.theindependentsf.com

Nov. 16 Hot Water Music Slim’s, SF. www.slimspresents.com

Nov. 17 Culture Club Fox Theater, Oakl. www.thefoxoakland.com

Nov. 18 The 1975 The Masonic, SF. www.masonicauditorium.com

Nov. 19 Har Mar Superstar Bottom of the Hill, SF. www.bottomofthehill.com

Nov. 20 Minus the Bear Slim’s, SF. www.slimspresents.com

Nov. 21 Seu Jorge Bimbo’s 365 Club, SF. www.bimbos365club.com

Nov. 22 Peanut Butter Wolf Brick and Mortar Music Hall, www.brickandmortarmusichall.com

Nov. 23 Lucero Slim’s, SF. www.slimspresents.com

Visual reaction

Michael Redmond

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August 26, 2014

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arts@sfbg.com

FALL ARTS From retrospectives and installations tied to big names, to smaller but no less arresting gallery exhibitions, this fall’s visual art offerings will have a lot to say about political bodies, politicized bodies, and the body politic. It’s heartening that the “blockbuster” shows listed here by and large focus on artists whose work doesn’t shy away from politics or political activism. After a summer in which there was a palpable uptick in public conversations about the US’s role in humanitarian injustices — both home and abroad — I hope the following exhibitions encourage people to keep talking.

“Keith Haring: The Political Line”

de Young Museum, Nov. 8, 2014–Feb. 16, 2015

The posthumous ubiquity of Keith Haring’s art (on coffee mugs, T-shirts, postcards) has overshadowed the fact that he made work that was as committedly political as it was populist. His stances on antinuclear proliferation, apartheid, and the survival of sexual communities in the face of the AIDS epidemic were as clear as his trademark figures. This first major West Coast Haring show in over two decades is more importantly the first to explicitly focus on the political dimension of his work. https://deyoung.famsf.org

“@Large: Ai Weiwei on Alcatraz Island”

Sept. 27, 2014-April 26, 2015

The Chinese dissident artist’s installation on Alcatraz via the FOR-SITE Foundation has been greeted with equal parts hype and skepticism. Working remotely from his studio with a team that includes collaborators from Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, Ai has created new sculpture, sound, and mixed media works for four locations on the former federal penitentiary grounds (three of which are usually off-limits to the public). How these pieces will put the artist’s own experiences of detainment and censorship in conversation with the site’s history of discipline and insurrection remains to be seen. Here’s to hoping for as much heat as there is light. www.for-site.org/project/ai-weiwei-alcatraz

“American Wonder: Folk Art from the Collection”

Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Oct. 1-Dec. 21

John Zurier/MATRIX 255

Sept. 12-Dec. 21

On paper, “early American folk art” as the subject for an exhibition might sound dry as toast. But a lot happened between the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 to the onset of the Civil War in 1861, the period during which the portraits, landscapes, commemorative mourning pictures, weather vanes, and decorative sculptures assembled here (and all from the BAM/PFA collection) were made. These artifacts of national self-fashioning reflect that history but also the quotidian aspects of daily life which often get left out of its telling. Also on view will be local Zurier’s first solo show at the museum, which features luminous, abstract paintings and watercolors inspired by his time in Iceland. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu

“Nicolas Lobo: D.O.W.”

Gallery Wendi Norris, Sept. 4-Nov. 1

Transforming chemical elements into contemplative sculptural pieces is the MO of interdisciplinary artist Lobo for his first San Francisco solo show. Previously working with sound in varying capacities, he has now turned to food science, isolating the chemical substrates of consumer goods such as doughnut frosting and cough syrup, and incorporating them into napalm and Play-Doh structures that resemble day-glo colored Song dynasty scholar stones. Toxicity never looked so enticing. www.gallerywendinorris.com

Kota Ezawa

Haines Gallery, Nov. 6-Dec. 20

Throughout his career, Kota Ezawa has rendered iconic images as disparate as Patty Hearst and the SLA robbing the Hibernia Bank and Nan Goldin photographs in a clean, simple style reminiscent of cartoons. The result is at once highly personal and aesthetically flattening, locating Cartier-Bresson’s “decisive moment” outside of the event photographed and in the photograph’s broader circulation across time. This collection of new work should provide another chapter in his ever-evolving history of the medium. www.hainesgallery.com

“Songs and Sorrows: Días de los Muertos 20th Anniversary”

Oakland Museum of California, Oct. 8, 2014-Jan. 4, 2015

While the popularity of the Mission’s annual Días de los Muertos celebration grows in tandem with the dislocation of the community that originated it, Oakland Museum of California’s 20th anniversary celebration grounds the holiday in some much-needed historical perspective, while showcasing Latino and Latina artists who continue to innovate on the traditions and aesthetics the celebration has inspired. www.museumca.org

“Something Completely Different”

City Limits, Aug. 30-Sept. 13

You have to act fast on this one. If you want to see something completely new, head to this group show at one of Oakland’s strongest exhibition spaces. For this salon-style collection, each of the 60 participating artists was asked to go outside his or her comfort zone to create a piece that was truly new. The opening reception Sept. 5 doubles as a gallery fundraiser, so now is you chance to pick up something by one of the Bay Area’s best and brightest. http://citylimitsgallery.com *

Curtain up

Michael Redmond

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August 26, 2014

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arts@sfbg.com

FALL ARTS

The Old Woman Robert Wilson, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Willem Dafoe — None of these guys are ever to be missed, but all three together are worthy of queuing up overnight to see. There’ll be camping out onstage too, as Wilson directs Baryshnikov and Dafoe (playing several characters between them) in an outrageous piece of high-art drag, based on the short story by the formidable Russian absurdist Daniil Kharms. Nov. 21–23, Zellerbach Hall, Berk; www.calperformances.org

Cock As relationship plays go this is a prickly one. But British playwright Michael Bartlett scored big with this 2009 drama, in which a gay man falls for a woman and into a sexual identity crisis that takes the form of a merciless cockfighting pit. Sept. 5–Oct. 12, New Conservatory Theatre Center, SF; www.nctcsf.org

New Electric Ballroom Enda Walsh is not a household name, and Enda is not a typo. Nevertheless this is Ireland’s, maybe the world’s, most brilliant contemporary playwright — at least it sure seemed that way when Druid Theatre rolled into town in 2009 with Walsh’s tragic-comic Escher-drawing of a play, The Walworth Farce. Some of us have been waiting for more from that weird, dark, deeply funny mind ever since. Sept. 3–Oct. 5, Shotgun Players at Ashby Stage, Berk; www.shotgunplayers.org

The Totalitarians This grim and grimacing take on the current state of political discourse in the cornhusker state of Nebraska comes to Z Space as a newly commissioned comedy from the steely and hysterical pen of playwright-in-residence Peter Sinn Nachtrieb, who also penned Boom, T.I.C. (Trenchcoat in Common), and Hunter Gatherers. Nov. 19–Dec. 14, Z Space, SF; www.zspace.org

An Audience with Meow Meow Hypnotically charming, quixotic, and unflappably zany British cabaret sensation Meow Meow (aka Melissa Madden Gray) takes a rare Bay Area bow-bow in this new show adapted and directed by Kneehigh’s Emma Rice. Sept. 5–Oct. 19, Berkeley Rep, Berk; www.berkeleyrep.org

San Francisco Fringe Festival Indie theater at its shaggiest and most low-to-the-ground, the lottery-based, anything-and-everything Fringe offers 150 performances over 16 days at 50 minutes and 10 bucks per, which, if you do the math, equals fast, cheap, and out of control. Sept. 5–20, EXIT Theatreplex, SF; www.sffringe.org

Die! Mommie, Die! Charles Busch made a play, then a movie, then a play about shameless obsession, not least his own. J. Conrad Frank (creator of alter ego Katya Smirnoff-Skyy) steps into the unforgiving shoes of a title character originated by Busch, namely fallen 1960s pop singer Angela Arden — a cunning mash-up of Hollywood’s grand, ax-wielding tradition of good-women-gone-bad. Oct. 3–Nov. 2, New Conservatory Theatre Center, SF; www.nctcsf.org

San Francisco Improv Festival Ten years old and still acting like it, the SF Improv Festival celebrates its milestone with an array of local talent headed up by special guests Tim Meadows (Saturday Night Live), Scott Adsit (30 Rock), and Ron West (Whose Line Is It Anyway?). Sept. 10–20, Eureka Theatre, SF; www.sfimprovfestival.com

Britten: Curlew River Subtitled A Parable for Church Performance (Op. 71), Benjamin Britten’s 1964 church parable is based on a 15th-century Japanese Noh play with a libretto by South African and British author William Plomer. A major turning point for Britten’s later style, Curlew River plumbs themes of suffering and redemption in the story of a bereft mother told by four characters in the Noh tradition. British tenor Ian Bostridge stars in this new, enveloping, and highly praised multimedia staging co-presented by London’s Barbican Centre and Cal Performances. Nov. 14–15, Zellerbach Hall, Berk; www.calperformances.org

Superheroes A journalist investigating the history of the crack-cocaine epidemic follows a maze of shady associations to reach a startling conclusion in this new play written and directed by Campo Santo’s Sean San José and inspired by the late Gary Webb’s maverick work on the links between the CIA and Central American drug traffickers. Nov. 14–Dec. 14, Cutting Ball Theater, SF; www.cuttingball.com *

Rep Clock: August 27 – September 2, 2014

Michael Redmond

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August 26, 2014

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Schedules are for Wed/27-Tue/2 except where noted. Director and year are given when available. Double and triple features marked with a •. All times pm unless otherwise specified.

BALBOA 3630 Balboa, SF; cinemasf.com/balboa. $10. “Thursday Night Rock Docs:” Neil Young Trunk Show (Demme, 2009), Thu, 7:30.

BAY MODEL 2100 Bridgeway, Sausalito; www.tiburonfilmfestival.com. Free. Decoding Deepak (Chopra, 2012), Tue, 6.

CASTRO 429 Castro, SF; (415) 621-6120, www.castrotheatre.com. $8.50-11. “Paul Mazursky (1930-2014):” •Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1968), Wed, 7, and Tempest (1982), Wed, 9. “Carax/Linklater:” •The Lovers on the Bridge (Carax, 1991), Thu, 7, and Before Midnight (Linklater, 2013), Thu, 9:20. “Midnites for Maniacs: Maniacal Musicals:” •Popeye (Altman, 1980), Fri, 7:20, and The Wiz (Lumet, 1978), Fri, 9:45. •Lawrence of Arabia (Lean, 1962), Sat-Mon, 2, 7.

CLAY 2261 Fillmore, SF; www.landmarktheatres.com. $10. “Midnight Movies:” The Rocky Horror Picture Show (Sharman, 1975), Sat, midnight. With the Bawdy Caste performing live.

CONTEMPORARY JEWISH MUSEUM 736 Mission, SF; www.thecjm.org. Free. The Joy Luck Club (Wang, 1993), Tue, noon.

COURTHOUSE SQUARE 2200 Broadway, Redwood City; www.redwoodcity.org. Free. The Monuments Men (Clooney, 2014), Thu, 8:45.

DAVID BROWER CENTER Goldman Theater, 2150 Allston, Berk; www.browercenter.org. $5. “Reel to Real:” Trashed (Brady, 2012), with “Plastic Bag” (Bahrani, 2009), Wed, 8.

EXPLORATORIUM Pier 15, SF; www.exploratorium.edu. Free with museum admission ($19-25). “Saturday Cinema: Exploratorium!,” Sat, 1, 2, 3.

GOETHE-INSTITUT SF 530 Bush, SF; www.goethe.de/ins/us/saf/enindex.htm. $5 suggested donation. “100 Years After WWI:” All Quiet on the Western Front (Milestone, 1930), Wed, 6:30.

PACIFIC FILM ARCHIVE 2575 Bancroft, Berk; (510) 642-5249, bampfa.berkeley.edu. $5.50-9.50. “Over the Top and Into the Wire: WWI on Film:” All Quiet on the Western Front (Milestone, 1930), Wed, 7. “Free Outdoor Screening in the BAM/PFA Sculpture Garden:” Shack Out on 101 (Dein, 1955), Wed, 8:30. “Derek Jarman, Visionary:” Blue (1993), Thu, 7. “Kenji Mizoguchi: A Cinema of Totality:” Street of Shame (1956), Fri, 7. “Rude Awakening: American Comedy, 1990–2010:” Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (Charles, 2006), Fri, 8:45. “The Brilliance of Satyajit Ray:” Branches of the Tree (1990), Sat, 6:30; The Stranger (1991), Sun, 5. “Rude Awakening: American Comedy, 1990–2010:” The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (Anderson, 2004), Sat, 8:50. “A Theater Near You:” The Wicker Man (Hardy, 1973), Sun, 7:30.

PIEDMONT 4186 Piedmont, Oakl; www.landmarktheatres.com. $15. The Room (Wiseau, 2003), Fri-Sat, midnight. With Tommy Wiseau in person.

ROXIE 3117 and 3125 16th St, SF; (415) 863-1087, www.roxie.com. $6.50-11. “Docunight:” The Law in These Parts (Alexandrowicz, 2011), Wed, 7. Me and You (Bertolucci, 2012), Wed, 9:30; Thu, 7, 9. Rich Hill (Tragos and Palermo, 2014), Wed-Thu, 7, 9. Brasslands (Meerkat Media Collective, 2013), Fri, 7. Jamie Marks is Dead (Smith, 2014), Aug 29-Sept 4, 7, 9 (also Sat-Sun, 3, 5). Tentacle 8 (Chi, 2014), Sat, 2:30. With writer-director John Chi and star Teri Reeves in person. Beautiful Moment (Cash, 2014), Sat, 9:30.

SF PUBLIC LIBRARY Koret Auditorium, 100 Larkin, SF; www.sfpl.org. Free. Mondo Banana (White, 2013), Wed, 6.

SMITH RAFAEL FILM CENTER 1118 Fourth St, San Rafael; (415) 454-1222, www.cafilm.org. $6.50-$10.75. Frank (Abrahamson, 2014), Wed-Thu, call for times. The Trip to Italy (Winterbottom, 2014), Aug 29-Sept 4, call for times. “Alec Guinness at 100:” Lawrence of Arabia (Lean, 1962), Sun, 2, 7. *

Theater Listings: August 27 – September 2, 2014

Michael Redmond

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August 26, 2014

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Stage listings are compiled by Guardian staff. Performance times may change; call venues to confirm. Reviewers are Robert Avila, Rita Felciano, and Nicole Gluckstern. Submit items for the listings at listings@sfbg.com.

THEATER

OPENING

Funny Girl Hillbarn Theatre, 1285 East Hillsdale, Foster City; www.hillbarntheatre.org. $23-42. Opens Thu/28, 8pm. Runs Thu-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2pm. Through Sept 21. Hillbarn Theatre performs the classic romantic musical comedy, with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Bob Merrill, and book by Isobel Lennart.

The Last Days of Judas Iscariot Flight Deck, 1540 Broadway, Oakl; brownpapertickets.com/event/780550. $15-25. Opens Thu/28, 8pm. Runs Thu-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 7pm. Through Sept 21. Stephen Adly Guirgis’ courtroom drama takes on the fate of the New Testament turncoat.

Life Could Be a Dream Center REPertory Company, Lesher Center for the Arts, 1601 Civic, Walnut Creek; www.centerrep.org. $37-66. Previews Fri/29-Sat/30, 8pm; Sun/31, 2pm. Opens Tue/2, 7:30pm. Runs Wed, 7:30pm; Thu-Sat, 8pm (also Sept 20 and 27, 2:30pm); Sun, 2:30pm. Through Oct 5. CenterREPertory Company performs Roger Bean’s doo-wop musical.

Rapture, Blister, Burn Aurora Theatre, 2081 Addison, Berk; www.auroratheatre.org. $32-50. Previews Fri/29-Sat/30, 8pm; Sun/31, 2pm; Tue/2, 7pm. Opens Sept 4, 8pm. Runs Tue and Sun, 7pm (also Sun, 2pm); Wed-Sat, 8pm. Through Sept 28. Aurora Theatre Company opens its 23rd season with Gina Gionfriddo’s drama about three generations of women “struggling with feminism’s foibles.”

Wonder of the World Douglas Morrisson Theatre, 22311 N. Third St, Hayward; www.dmtonline.org. $10-32. Previews Thu/28, 8pm. Runs Fri-Sat and Sept 18, 8pm (also Sept 13, 2pm); Sun, 2pm. Through Sept 21. Douglas Morrison Theatre opens its 35th season with David Lindsay-Abaire’s comedy about self-fulfillment.

ONGOING

Buyer & Cellar Curran Theatre, 445 Geary, SF; www.shnsf.com. $80-100. Wed/27-Sun/31, 7:30pm (also Sat/30-Sun/31, 2pm). One ordinary gay man, one unusual mall, and one iconic (slightly terrifying) customer are the three simple ingredients that made a delectable offering of Jonathan Tolins’ Off-Broadway hit comedy. Now on the road, Buyer & Cellar comes to town with its one-man cast and original star, Michael Urie (of comedy series Ugly Betty), as Alex More, a young actor who lands a day job as the sole attendant in Barbra Streisand’s custom-made private basement shopping mall. What sounds like a made-to-order gay fantasy only intrigues Alex, who is less prone to Barbra idolatry than his live-in boyfriend, who discourses on the nitty-gritty of Streisand trivia with sociological rigor. Meanwhile, the diva herself (channeled with half-kittenish, half-matronly eccentricity by Urie) seems to have found a new object for her collection. Director Stephen Brackett’s staging is as elegantly spare and sharp as an old-fashioned straight razor, which suits the cutting humor of this ultimately warm-blooded dissection of celebrity and self. But more than anything it serves Urie who, wily shopkeeper that he is, needs no fancy sets or costumes to sell us the premise and every seemingly tossed off line with dazzling comic precision and unflagging charm. (Avila)

Each and Every Thing Marsh San Francisco Main Stage, 1062 Valencia, SF; www.themarsh.org. $20-50. Thu-Fri, 8pm; Sat, 8:30pm (starting Sept 6, Sat shows at 5); Sun, 2pm. Extended through Oct 4. The latest solo show from celebrated writer-performer Dan Hoyle (Tings Dey Happen, The Real Americans) winds a more random course than usual across the country and abroad but then that’s the idea — or at least Hoyle warns us, right after an opening encounter with a touchy young white supremacist, that the trip he’s taking us on is a subtle one. Displaying again his exceptional gifts as a writer and protean performer, Hoyle deftly embodies a set of real-life encounters as a means of exploring the primacy and predicament of face-to-face communication in the age of Facebook. With the help of director Charlie Varon (who co-developed the piece with Hoyle and Maureen Towey), this comes across in an entertaining and swift-flowing 75-minute act that includes a witty rap about “phone zombies” and a Dylan-esque screed at a digital detox center. But the purported subject of connection, or lack there of, in our gadget-bound and atomized society is neither very original nor very deeply explored — nor is it necessarily very provocative in a theater, before an audience already primed for the live encounter. Far more interesting and central here is Hoyle’s relationship with his old college buddy Pratim, an Indian American in post-9/11 America whose words are filled with laid-back wisdom and wry humor. Also intriguing is the passing glimpse of early family life in the Hoyle household with Dan’s celebrated artist father, and working-class socialist, Geoff Hoyle. These relationships, rather than the sketches of strangers (albeit very graceful ones), seem the worthier subjects to mine for truth and meaning. Indeed, there’s a line spoken by Pratim that could sum up the essence of Hoyle’s particular art: “It’s so much better,” he says, “when you find yourself in other people than when you just find yourself.” Hoyle’s real frontier could end up being much more personal terrain, much closer to home. (Avila)

Foodies! The Musical Shelton Theater, 533 Sutter, SF; www.foodiesthemusical.com. $32-34. Fri-Sat, 8pm. Open-ended. AWAT Productions presents Morris Bobrow’s musical comedy revue all about food.

From Red to Black ACT Costume Shop, 1119 Market, SF; www.sfplayhouse.org. $7.50-20. Wed/27-Thu/28, 7pm; Fri/29-Sat/30, 8pm. San Francisco Playhouse performs Rhett Rossi’s detective drama as part of its Sandbox Series.

Into the Woods San Francisco Playhouse, 450 Post, SF; www.sfplayhouse.org. $20-120. Tue-Thu, 7pm; Fri-Sat, 8pm (also Sat, 3pm); Sun, 2pm. Through Sept 6. SF Playhouse performs Stephen Sondheim’s fractured fairy-tale musical.

Millicent Scowlworthy Thick House Theatre, 1695 18th St, SF; www.99stockproductions.org. $20. Thu/28-Sat/30, 8pm. 99 Stock Productions presents Rob Handel’s spooky tale that cautions against burying tragic events in the past.

Motown the Musical Orpheum Theatre, 1192 Market, SF; www.shnsf.com. $45-210. Tue-Sat, 8pm (also Wed and Sat, 2pm); Sun, 2pm. Through Sept 28. Over 40 hits (“My Girl,” “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”) pack this tale of Motown founder Barry Gordy’s career in the music biz.

Noises Off! Shelton Theater, 533 Sutter, SF; www.sheltontheater.org. $38. Thu-Sat, 8pm. Through Oct 25. Shelton Theater performs Michael Frayn’s outrageous backstage comedy.

O Best Beloved This week: Glen Canyon Park, 70 Elk, SF; www.obestbeloved.org. Sun/31, 2pm. Free (donations accepted). Through Sept 13 at various NorCal venues. Idiot String’s Joan Howard and Rebecca Longworth bring their SF Fringe Festival hit, an adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s Just-So Stories, to local public spaces aboard a mobile stage.

Pleiades Phoenix Theatre, 414 Mason, Sixth Flr, SF; http://pleiadessf.wordpress.com. $20-25. Thu/28-Sat/30, 8pm. Marissa Skudlarek’s world premiere reimagines the Greek myth of the seven Pleiades sisters as a story about Baby Boomers in their youth.

The Ripple Effect Troupe Studio Space, 855 Treat, SF; www.sfmt.org. Free (suggested donation for this show, $20. RSVPs required as seating as limited). Also Sat/30, 2pm, free (donations accepted), Peacock Meadow, Golden Gate Park, SF; and Sun/31-Mon/1, 2pm, free (donations accepted), Dolores Park, 19th St and Dolores, SF. The veteran San Francisco Mime Troupe stays current by skewering San Francisco’s ever-dividing economy; think rising rents, tech-bus protests, and (natch) Glassholes.

The Taming of the Shrew This week: Presidio, Marin Post Parade Grounds, between Graham and Keyes, SF; www.sfshakes.org. Free. Sat-Sun and Mon/1, 2pm. Continues through Sept 21 at various Bay Area venues. Free Shakespeare in the Park presents this take on the Bard’s barb-filled romance.

Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind Boxcar Theatre, 505 Natoma, SF; www.sfneofuturists.com. $11-16. Fri-Sat, 9pm. Ongoing. The Neo-Futurists perform Greg Allen’s spontaneous, ever-changing show that crams 30 plays into 60 minutes.

BAY AREA

Berlin to Broadway with Kurt Weill Masquers Playhouse, 105 Park, Point Richmond; www.masquers.org. $22. Fri, 8pm; Sat, 7pm; Sun/31, Sept 7, and 14, 2pm. Through Sept 20. Masquers Playhouse performs a revue celebrating the life and work of Kurt Weill.

Cops and Robbers Marsh Berkeley, 2120 Allston, Berk; www.themarsh.org. $20-100. Fri, 8pm; Sat, 8:30pm. Through Sept 13. Hip-hop artist and law enforcement officer Jinho “The Piper” Ferreira performs his 17-character solo show.

Fetch Clay, Make Man Marin Theatre Company, 397 Miller, Mill Valley; www.marintheatre.org. $35-58. Tue-Sat, 8pm; Wed, 7:30pm; Sun, 2 and 7pm. Through Sept 7. Marin Theatre Company performs the West Coast premiere of Will Power’s historical drama.

An Ideal Husband Forest Meadows Amphitheater, 890 Belle, Dominican University of California, San Rafael; www.marinshakespeare.org. $12-35. Runs in repertory Fri-Sun through Sept 27; visit website for specific performance dates and times. Marin Shakespeare Company performs Oscar Wilde’s witty tale.

Moonlight and Magnolias Dragon Theatre, 2120 Broadway, Redwood City; www.dragonproductions.net. $10-30. Thu-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2pm. Through Sept 7. Dragon Productions presents Ron Hutchinson’s behind-the-scenes drama about the filming of Gone With the Wind.

Penthesilea — Queen of the Amazons John Hinkel Park, 41 Somerset, Berk; www.aeofberkeley.org. Free. Sat-Sun and Mon/1, 4pm. Through Sept 7. Inferno Theatre and Actors Ensemble of Berkeley perform Giulio Cesare Perrone’s adaptation of Heinrich Von Kleist’s Amazonian action fantasy.

Romeo and Juliet Forest Meadows Amphitheater, 890 Belle, Dominican University of California, San Rafael; www.marinshakespeare.org. $12-35. Runs in repertory Fri-Sun through Sept 28; visit website for specific performance dates and times. Marin Shakespeare continues its 25th season with the Bard’s timeless tragedy.

Semi-Famous: Hollywood Hell Tales from the Middle Marsh Berkeley Main Stage, 2120 Allston, Berk; www.themarsh.org. $20-100. Sat, 5pm; Sun, 7pm. Through Sept 7. Don Reed’s new solo show shares tales from his career in entertainment.

The Tempest Old Mill Park Amphitheatre, behind the Mill Valley Public Library, 375 Throckmorton, Mill Valley; www.curtaintheatre.org. Free. Sat-Sun and Mon/1, 4pm. Through Sept 14. Curtain Theatre returns with the Bard’s magical romance for its 14th outdoor performance.

Water By the Spoonful Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro, Mtn View; www.theatreworks.org. $19-74. Tue-Wed, 7:30pm; Fri-Sat, 8pm (also Sat, 2pm); Sun, 2 and 7pm. Through Sept 14. TheatreWorks performs Quiara Alegría Hudes’ Pulitzer Prize-winning drama about strangers who meet in an online chat room.

PERFORMANCE/DANCE

“BATS Summer Improv Festival” Bayfront Theater, B350 Fort Mason, SF; www.improv.org. Through Sept 20. $20. This week: “Theatre on the Edge,” an improvised Brechtian musical, Fri/29-Sat/30, 8pm.

Caroline Lugo and Carolé Acuña’s Ballet Flamenco Peña Pachamama, 1630 Powell, SF; www.carolinalugo.com. Sat/30, Sept 6, 13, 21, 28, Oct 4, 11, 18, 26, 6:30pm. $15-19. Flamenco performance by the mother-daughter dance company, featuring live musicians.

“Dash: Improv in a Flash” Un-Scripted Theater Company, 533 Sutter, Second Flr, SF; www.un-scripted.com. Sat/30, 10pm. $15. A late-night, free-form improv show with Un-Scripted Theater Company.

Feinstein’s at the Nikko 222 Mason, SF; www.feinsteinssf.com. This week: “City Singers:” “Clairdee: The Melody Makers,” Wed/27, 7pm, $15.

“Magic at the Rex” Hotel Rex, 562 Sutter, SF; www.magicattherex.com. Sat, 8pm. Ongoing. $25. Magic and mystery with Adam Sachs and mentalist Sebastian Boswell III.

“Mommy Queerest” Bindlestiff Studio, 185 Sixth St, SF; katevasco.com/mommyqueerest. Fri/29-Sat/30, 8pm. $25-40. Guerrilla Rep and Bindlestiff Studio present Kat Evasco in her solo show (co-written with John Caldon) about a closeted lesbian mother and her out lesbian daughter.

“Out of Line Improv” Stage Werx, 446 Valencia, SF; outoflineimprov.brownpapertickets.com. Sat, 10:30pm. Ongoing. $12. A new, completely improvised show every week.

“People in Plazas” Various locations, SF; www.peopleinplazas.org. Through Oct 3. Free. Lunchtime concerts in various downtown locations showcasing jazz, world, funk, and other styles of music.

“San Francisco Comedy College” Purple Onion at Kells, 530 Jackson, SF; www.purpleonionatkells.com. Ongoing. $5-15. “Weekly New Talent Shows,” Wed-Thu, 7pm. “Purple Onion All-Stars,” Wed-Thu, 8:15pm. “The Later Show,” Wed-Thu, 10pm. “The Cellar Dwellers,” Fri-Sat, 7:30pm.

“Terminator Too: Judgment Play” and “Point Break LIVE!” DNA Lounge, 375 11th St, SF; www.dnalounge.com. Sept 5, Oct 3, Nov 7, and Dec 5, Terminator at 7:30pm; Break at 11pm. $20-50. The raucous, interactive staged recreations of two of 1991’s greatest action films return to the DNA Lounge.

“Yerba Buena Gardens Festival” Yerba Buena Gardens, 760 Howard, SF; www.ybgfestival.org. Through Oct 26. Free. This week: Quetzal, Sun/31, 1-2:30pm.

BAY AREA

“MarshJam Improv Comedy Show” Marsh Berkeley, 2120 Allston, Berk; www.themarsh.org. Fri, 8pm. Ongoing. $10. Improv comedy with local legends and drop-in guests. *

Infinite loop

Steven T. Jones

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August 26, 2014

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esilvers@sfbg.com

FALL ARTS If you are a fan of hip-hop, you likely already know that 1993 was a very special year.

Call it coincidence, call it fate, call it a combination of social, economic, and political factors projected through the kaleidoscopic lens of American pop culture and write your thesis about it (you wouldn’t be the first). But something in the air in 1993 coalesced into a weather system of seminal albums from the best of the best: Tupac, Queen Latifah, Snoop Dogg, A Tribe Called Quest, Wu-Tang, De La Soul.

In Oakland, E-40 made his solo debut. Too $hort’s new album hit the top of the R&B/hip-hop charts. The Coup was selling records by rapping about the Communist Manifesto. And then there was Souls of Mischief.

Fresh out of Skyline High School, the sound of the four-piece’s debut was something else altogether: Over obscure jazz and funk samples, Souls of Mischief traded flows about weed, street violence, girls, teenage boredom — so no, not entirely unique in subject matter. But there was a sweet subtlety to the delivery, a charismatic, self-aware almost-wink to their bravado. These were Bay Area kids talking about how it felt to be Bay Area kids at that time, with a mission statement that charted a modest path for the future: This is how we chill/ from 93 ’til…

As of this writing, it’s been 20 years and 11 months since 93 ‘Til Infinity helped put the Bay on the hip-hop map. A lot’s changed, to put it lightly. The Internet happened, and the Internet’s effect on the music industry. The consolidation of thousands of smaller, regionally-influenced media channels into a few giant, similar-sounding ones.

And then there are things that haven’t changed. Twenty years and 11 months since that record first propelled them into the national spotlight, the four high school buddies who make up Souls of Mischief — that’s A-Plus, Opio, Phesto, and Tajai — are slouched on couches in their clubhouse in East Oakland on a warm Wednesday evening, ribbing each other about joint-rolling technique.

The Hiero compound, as the converted two-story warehouse is known, serves as the physical center of Hieroglyphics, the close-knit hip-hop collective/umbrella record label that’s home to rappers Del the Funkee Homosapien, Casual, and Pep Love, DJ Toure and producer Domino, in addition to Souls of Mischief. The exterior walls are covered with a mural done by teenagers in the neighborhood (it’d be tagged up by now, but everyone knows it’s Hiero so they leave it alone). Inside, the ground floor contains recording studios — Pep Love is working in one right now — and a big room that can be set up for video shoots. Upstairs, more recording space, a room with wall-to-wall shelves of vinyl, a mini-kitchen, an office.

A-Plus’s teenage son is here at the moment, recording something of his own. Stickers bearing the three-eyed Hiero logo adorn nearly every surface. An incoming mail pile is marked with a Post-it. Items on a nearby bookshelf: a stuffed alligator toy, Swisher blunt wraps. In one corner, a whiteboard reads “HIEROGLYPHICS CREW NEXT PROJECTS,” with members’ names down the left-hand side and updates about their records; as an afterthought: “THE PURPOSE OF THIS BOARD IS COORDINATED MARKETING STRATEGY.” In another corner, a chart titled “Capitalism Is a Pyramid Scheme.”

In the two-plus decades since that momentous year, the members of Souls of Mischief have had kids. Hieroglyphics went from young upstart crew to real business venture to respected veterans of the hip-hop world who can still easily sell out amphitheaters (as they learned on their 20th anniversary tour last year). There are special edition box-sets of their 20th anniversary reissue waiting for autographs downstairs before being shipped. On Monday, Sept. 1 (Labor Day), Souls of Mischief will be the centerpiece of the third annual Hiero Day, a free, all-ages music festival/block party in downtown Oakland that gets bigger every year — and it’s not just about the music. But more on that later.

What the guys have been consumed by for a year makes its debut a few days earlier. On Aug. 26, Souls of Mischief will drop their sixth studio album, There Is Only Now, the group’s first full-length since 2009.

A richly orchestrated concept album set in 1994, based loosely on real events from the year following their breakout album (when they were dealing with newfound fame, as Oakland dealt with an increase in gun violence), the record serves as both a bookend to 93 ‘Til Infinity and as completely fresh territory. For one, it’s Souls of Mischief’s first collaboration with the LA-based producer of the moment, Adrian Younge (Jay Z, Delfonics, Ghostface Killah), who’s using the album to launch his new vinyl-centric label, Linear Labs.

“The name There Is Only Now comes in part from Buddhism, the idea of focusing on the moment and being present. But it’s also a period piece with a twist — it touches on issues that are still going on now: Street violence, love, drugs, the music business. It’s a universal story,” says Tajai, after ambling in the last of the four, asking who has rolling papers. (He’s just come from a panel at UC Berkeley’s architecture school, where he was judging undergraduates’ projects, he says, by way of explanation about his preppy sweater. He’s enrolled in the Master’s program there.)

Fittingly, the record is a study in contrasts and surprises. Its guest stars are folks you might have heard of — Snoop Dogg, Busta Rhymes — but in roles we’re not really used to. The story, which follows the crew on an adventure through Oakland after Tajai is kidnapped, is punctuated by interludes from A Tribe Called Quest‘s DJ Ali Shaheed Muhammad as an animated radio DJ, narrating and addressing Oakland from a fictional radio station, K-NOW.

Even more appropriately: The record, which clocks in at a packed 40 minutes long, sounds slick as anything — and was created without the use of a single sample or computer. At 35, Younge is known for using only live instrumentation (most of it performed himself), and the resulting beats and backing tracks draw heavily from classic ’60s and ’70s soul; his affinity for the Blaxploitation era of cinema and experience scoring films lends an extra layer of cinematic feeling to the record’s narrative.

Maybe most importantly, Souls of Mischief sound like they’re having a damn good time.

“The fact that it was all analog took it back to the beginning for us,” adds Phesto, noting that in the high school days of Souls of Mischief, they wrote songs using three-way calling. “We’ve been messing with live instrumentation from the beginning. But with the storyline, [Younge] writing it like a score, and us being lyricists for that score — I think he brought out something in us that no other producer has.”

There’s a base level of social consciousness that Hiero fans will know to expect. During one radio interlude that prefaces the song “Ghetto Superhero,” callers into K-NOW voice concerns about violence in Oakland in a way that, unfortunately, is still highly relevant. (Ali Shaheed Muhammad, with an audible smile: “It’s almost like we need some kind of superhero…”).

But it’s never been the goal to hit listeners over the head with social commentary, says A-plus. If they were going to tackle something like gentrification in Oakland, they’d do it for real, “and it’d be an 18-hour song.”

Besides, adds Tajai, “We’re older rappers. When we preach, it comes off preachy.”

Which is not to say that they’re reluctant to get political. Ask, for example, what they make of current trends in mainstream, commercial rap (and what seems like the chasm between that and the independent hip-hop that’s always bubbling just underground), and you will hear some opinions about materialism. Particularly, hypothetically, if A-Plus and Phesto had to leave an hour ago, and the light outside is waning from the pink East Oakland sky, and Tajai and Opio have smoked a good amount over the last 90 minutes.

“Music is always a reflection of society, and rap is like a 40-year-old man. That motherfucker has kids and a 401k. That’s how it’s acting,” says Tajai. “It doesn’t have the idealism it used to. It’s about ‘get paper.’ And you’re hearing kids saying that.”

“I think you can talk about money and still be a real person and have some style and finesse — I always liked Run-D.M.C. with the big chain and whatever, that’s part of hip-hop,” offers Opio. “I don’t think standing in front of the car is horrible in and of itself. But when every single thing is that…”

“The problem is not the subject matter, it’s that access to shit that isn’t that isn’t equal. It’s always the lowest common denominator, scraping the bottom of the barrel,” says Tajai. “I’ll hear something these days that’s like — is this a parody? I can’t even tell if it’s a joke. And then it takes off!”

Opio: “That’s just advertising dollars. People are investing in that because it makes money.”

Tajai: “I’m not mad at that. I’m mad that the dollars that do come in don’t go toward building new power structures. Look, the materialism is across the board. ‘In God we trust’ is on the dollar. We’re a materialist, capitalist society that’s driven by consuming. We are the mall. We’re not even the manufacturer or the farm, America is just the mall, and we’re being fed these images that make us wanna go to the mall all the time. My thing is I just want there to be some kind of reinvestment. Like cool, make a million dollars, but then have 40 percent of it go to literacy programs. Because then at the very least, people will understand that you’re a human who thinks, and not just this caricature of a rapper you’re selling to everybody.”

And now is maybe when we talk about Hiero Day.

The thing about Hieroglyphics, most fans will tell you, is that Hieroglyphics has never quite gotten their due. Souls of Mischief were notoriously underpromoted by Jive following their debut; as violence in Oakland increased in the ’90s, the city put an actual moratorium on hip-hop shows for a while. Ask hip-hop historian Davey D about it. There was literally no place in Oakland for rappers to get on a stage.

When Hieroglyphics threw the first Hiero Day in 2012 — prompted by a Facebook fan who wrote online that, in honor of ’93 Til Infinity, he wanted to introduce as many people as possible to Hieroglyphics on 9/3, Sept. 3 — something shifted. A roster of the Bay Area’s hip-hop stars came out and played a free show in the streets that weekend, and roughly 10,000 people showed up. In 2013, it grew bigger, gaining sponsors, with Mayor Jean Quan naming it an official city holiday and referring to Hieroglyphics as a “bright spot” for Oakland.

This was a big change in tone from a city that hadn’t formally done much to support hip-hop for 20 years.

But Souls of Mischief aren’t looking for a medal. They’re looking at fundraising models like Farm Aid. They want to be able to give away houses after Hiero Day. They talk all the time, they say, about buying a farm and building a commercial kitchen where Oakland kids can learn about agriculture and cooking, learn farm-to-table techniques.

“As far as hip-hop moving forward, my thing is that hip-hop used to give us what we needed intellectually. And if we can’t feed people with it that way anymore, let’s feed them physically,” says Tajai. “You throw a weekend festival with 200,000 people, it should be an imperative to then go ‘Where is this money going?’ or ‘We’re gonna create this farm or this school.’

“That’s the whole point of Hiero Day,” he continues. “Use music to bring people together, bring people to local businesses, and then pool our resources and invest in the community so there’s lasting effects beyond just a party.”

“That’s one of the most powerful tools for young people,” says Opio. “It’s ‘OK, we’re partying, this is fun,’ and then you realize you can come together and do more than just party. You’ve seen the effects of that in the ’60s. That leads to revolutions.”

There are 15-year-olds becoming adults knowing only this version of Souls of Mischief. There’s a whole subset of fans who were born in ’93, in particular, who take Souls of Mischief lyrics straight to the chest. What will “old school” mean to their kids? Think for a second on the difference between infinity and there is only now.

“We’re talking about how to turn hip-hop into a generator of what it used to generate for us,” says Tajai. “I mean, we’re here today because of rap music. Not dead, not strung out, because of rap music. As much as because of our parents, our homies, whatever. So we gotta give something back.”

“Oh, right, and buy the record,” he adds. A half-hearted laugh. “We are the worst fucking promoters.”

Souls of Mischief play Hiero Day (alongside Zion I and some 28 other artists) Monday, Sept. 1 at the Linden Street Brewery Stage, 95 Linden, Oakl. More info: www.hieroday.com

Hot tickets

Michael Redmond

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August 26, 2014

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cheryl@sfbg.com

FALL ARTS Autumn is primo movie season, not just in awards-hungry Hollywood. Here in the Bay Area we’ve got unique rep programming and festivals galore to keep our eyeballs fully engaged — and just enough room for some prestige movie-star pictures for dessert.

REP VENUES

Standing its ground on turbulent, tech-chic Valencia Street, gallery and screening venue Artists’ Television Access marks its 30th anniversary with “ATA Lives!” Sept. 4 brings a showcase of works by staffers past and present — and then a 30-hour marathon screening and benefit curated by local artist Gilbert Guerrero. Other anniversary events include programs dedicated to the Kuchar brothers and a fresh installment in “live cinema” series Mission Eye & Ear. www.atasite.org

ATA co-founder Craig Baldwin launches the latest Other Cinema season Sept. 13 with an “ATA Superstars” showcase of works by Bryan Boyce, James Hong, and others. Another highlight is Sept. 20’s “Anomalies from the Archive,” with East Coast artists Walter Forsberg and John Klacsmann performing what Baldwin describes as their “exploded view of a Technicolor lab error,” as well as sharing “kino-curiosities” from the Prelinger Archives, SF Media Archive, and other sources. Also cool: a basketball-themed night (Oct. 25) and an experimental sci-fi program (Nov. 8) that takes on the failed Soviet lunar landing, among other topics. www.othercinema.com

The Exploratorium continues its “Saturday Cinema” shorts (Sept. 6, it features 1933 stop-motion marvel The Mascot) as well as its “Off the Screen” series, including another chance to see Forsberg and Klacsmann’s Technicolor N.G. (Sept. 18) and an outdoor showing of Impossible Light — maybe your only chance to see a doc about the Bay Lights while the Bay Lights themselves glitter in the background (Sept. 25). www.exploratorium.edu

Now in its 11th year, Bernal Heights Outdoor Cinema continues its tradition of showing works by local artists. It kicks off Sept. 4 at El Rio with a shorts program, plus a performance by comedian Johnny Steele; it continues the next night with the ever-popular “Film Crawl on Cortland,” with screenings at venues like the Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center throughout the night. Sept. 6, “Under the Stars” brings short films to Precita Park. Oct. 7, the fest returns for a “Best of Bernal Night” at the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts. http://bhoutdoorcine.org

The San Francisco Cinematheque‘s fall calendar includes more Kuchar love, with Anthology Film Archives’ Andrew Lampert at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts to celebrate his new George Kuchar Reader (Oct. 18). And! At the Castro, two nights of “Mary Woronov, Warhol Superstar,” with Woronov in person alongside screenings of 1966’s Chelsea Girls and Hedy (Nov. 6-7). www.sfcinematheque.org

Also at the Castro, the San Francisco Silent Film Festival moves its popular “Silent Winter” to Sept. 20 and renames it (aha!) “Silent Autumn.” Per usual, the programming is excellent, with top-notch musical accompaniment planned for each screening. Compilations include “Another Fine Mess: Silent Laurel and Hardy Shorts” and the British Film Institute’s time-capsule peek at the start of World War I, “A Night at the Cinema in 1914.” Features are the Valentino classic The Son of the Sheik (1926); Buster Keaton comedy The General (1926); and German Expressionist chiller The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari (1920). www.silentfilm.org

The Castro Theatre’s own programming unveils tributes to both Robin Williams (series starts Sept. 7) and Lauren Bacall (Oct. 1). The Castro is also the most consistent venue for Jesse Hawthorne Ficks’ “Midnites for Maniacs” series; Sept. 19 honors “Diegetic Odysseys” with a double-feature of Inside Llewyn Davis (2013) and Coal Miner’s Daughter (1980). www.castrotheatre.com; www.midnitesformaniacs.com

Fall at the Pacific Film Archive includes complete retrospectives “Eyes Wide: The Films of Stanley Kubrick” (Sept. 4-Oct. 31) and “James Dean, Restored Classics from Warner Bros” (Sept. 5-20). There’s also the Berkeley-appropriate “Activate Yourself: The Free Speech Movement at 50” (Sept. 11-Oct. 30); movie-geek catnip “Jean-Luc Godard: Expect Everything from Cinema” (Sept. 12-Oct. 23) and “Life: The Films of Hou Hsaio-hsien” (Oct. 10-Dec. 14); and the launch of an impressively depthed overview of Georgian cinema (Sept. 26-April 19). www.bampfa.berkeley.edu

Didn’t make it to any of the big out-of-town film festivals this past year? Don’t worry — the Roxie‘s got your back with a calendar that includes the buzzed-about Memphis (opens Sept. 19); Nick Cave docudrama 20,000 Days on Earth (Sept. 26); Catherine Breillat’s Abuse of Weakness (Oct. 3); and Alex Ross Perry’s Listen Up Philip (Oct. 26). www.roxie.com

Over at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, film/video curator Joel Shepard promises an action-packed fall, with series like the extremely timely “Lest We Forget: Remembering Radical San Francisco” (Oct. 2-26); Halloween-time new horror films from Spain, including Albert Serra’s Casanova-meets-Dracula tale Story of My Death (2013); “New Black Cinema” (Nov. 6-9) and “New Waves in Mexican Cinema” (Dec. 4-21); and Double Play, a new documentary on Richard Linklater that’s screening as part of a Linklater-James Benning dual focus (Nov. 13-16). www.ybca.org

The San Francisco Film Society begins its fall mini-festival season Nov 6. with “French Cinema Now,” followed by “Hong Kong Cinema” (Nov. 14-16) and “New Italian Cinema” (Nov. 19-23). It also presents a screening of acclaimed indie Hellion, with director Kat Candler in person (Sept. 15), and hosts Ethiopian American filmmakers Zeresenay Mehari and Mehret Mandefro as its latest artists-in-residence (Oct. 1-14). www.sffs.org

And in micro-cinema news, the Vortex Room promises “Rock You Like a Vortex Room” as its next Thursday Night Film Cult theme (starts Oct. 8; think musical-themed oddities, like 1974’s Phantom of the Paradise), while the Berkeley Underground Film Society’s “Lost and Out of Print” September event majors in burlesque, highlighted by a 16mm screening of 1930’s The Blue Angel (Sept. 19-21). Facebook: The Vortex Room; lostandoutofprintfilms.blogspot.com

FEELING FESTIVE?

California Independent Film Festival Lifetime achievement award winner Julie Newmar appears in person at this fest, which also includes a 30th anniversary tribute to Sixteen Candles. Sept. 11-14; www.caiff.org

Legacy Film Festival on Aging Shorts, features, and documentaries from around the world that take on “the challenges and triumphs of aging.” Sept. 12-14; www.legacyfilmfestivalonaging.org

World’s Independent Film Festival Formerly billed as the Third World Indie Film Festival, this Silicon Valley-based event presents films by emerging international filmmakers. Sept. 19-21, www.theworldindiefilmfest.com

San Francisco Irish Film Festival Contemporary Irish cinema, including shorts and Irish-language films (with English subtitles). Sept. 18-20; http://sfirishfilm.com

Cine+Mas SF’s San Francisco Latino Film Festival Features, docs, and shorts from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Peru, Uruguay, and points beyond. Sept. 19-27; www.sflatinofilmfestival.com

Oakland Underground Film Festival This East Bay celebration of indie cinema kicks off with SXSW sci-fi hit The Infinite Man and the Michael Jai White-starring Falcon Rising. Sept. 25-28; www.oakuff.org

Iranian Film Festival This fest’s motto is “discovering the next generation of Iranian filmmakers.” Sept. 27-28; www.iranianfilmfestival.org

Arab Film Festival Emphasizes independent films that provide “insightful and innovative perspectives” on Arab people, culture, history, and politics. This year, look for an emphasis on comedy, animation, and films for kids. Oct./Nov. TBD; www.arabfilmfestival.org

Mill Valley Film Festival History doesn’t lie: Five of the last six Best Picture winners had their Bay Area debuts at this veteran fest, which is also known for its star-studded special events. Oct. 2-12; www.mvff.org

“Berlin and Beyond Autumn Showcase” The actual B&B fest isn’t until January 2015, but fans of German-language cinema can nibble on this mini-fest, which showcases a 35mm screening of the late Michael Glawogger’s 1998 Megacities. Oct. 11; www.berlinbeyond.com

ReelAbilities Bay Area Disabilities Film Festival Presented by Creative Growth, this fest promotes the awareness and appreciation of the lives, stories, and art of people with disabilities. Oct. 15-19; www.creativegrowth.org

United Nations Association Film Festival The all-documentary festival highlights themes of human rights, the environment, refugee issues, war and peace, and more. This year’s theme is “Bridging the Gap.” Oct. 16-26; www.unaff.org

American Indian Film Festival Now in its 39th year, this fest showcases works (including narratives, docs, music videos, and animation) by and about North American Indian and Canada First Nation people. Nov. 1-9; www.aifisf.com

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Shorts, documentaries, and performance films celebrating dance, with a special tribute to documentarian Frederick Wiseman. Nov. 6-9; www.sfdancefilmfest.org

San Francisco Transgender Film Festival This extremely popular fest (program info coming in early October) celebrates films that challenge stereotypes and “promote the visibility of transgender and gender variant people.” Nov. 7-9; www.sftff.org

3rd I San Francisco International South Asian Film Festival: Bollywood and Beyond This year’s fest focuses on music and dance, with a centerpiece lecture-performance on “Bollywood maestros” R.D. Burman and A.R. Rahman. Nov. 6-9 and 15; www.thirdi.org

FIRST-RUN INTRIGUE

Apologies to Katniss Everdeen (The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 1 is out Nov. 21; as always, all release dates are subject to change) and Reese Witherspoon (Wild, Dec. 5), but fall’s big-budget brigade is awfully male-dominated. That said, one of the season’s most-anticipated films — David Fincher’s take on the runaway best-seller Gone Girl (Oct. 3) — has quite the doozy of a female character (Rosamund Pike) to offset its double-sided lead (Ben Affleck). Fourteen more must-see (dude-filled) films below.

The Drop (Sept. 12) Tom Hardy and the late James Gandolfini star in this Dennis Lehane crime drama, which also has a puppy-themed subplot. Everybody wins!

A Walk Among the Tombstones (Sept. 19) and The Equalizer (Sept. 26) Thank you, Liam Neeson and Denzel Washington, for keeping the “lone-wolf badass” genre alive.

The Guest (Oct. 3) Downton Abbey escapee Dan Stevens stars in this creeper from indie horror auteurs Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett.

The Judge (Oct. 10) How’s this for casting: Robert Downey Jr. plays a hotshot lawyer; Robert Duvall is his estranged, retired-judge father who maybe killed someone.

Kill the Messenger (Oct. 10) Jeremy Renner plays Pulitzer-winning San Jose journalist Gary Webb in this thriller about the CIA’s suspected involvement in the crack epidemic.

Whiplash (Oct. 17) In this Sundance hit, a talented jazz drummer (Miles Teller) meets the music teacher from hell (the inimitable J.K. Simmons).

Fury (Oct. 17) Brad Pitt (and the haircut that launched a thousand hipster imitations) stars in David Ayer’s action drama, set during the last month of World War II.

Birdman (Oct. 17) Michael Keaton plays “a washed-up actor who once played an iconic superhero” (hmm…) in Alejandro González Iñárritu’s ensemble dramedy. Also aboard: Emma Stone, Naomi Watts, Edward Norton, and Zach Galifianakis.

Revenge of the Green Dragons (Oct. 24) Martin Scorsese presents this latest from Andrew Lau (with Andrew Loo), whose 2002 Infernal Affairs became the Oscar-winning The Departed (2006). Gangsters + revenge plot + 1980s NYC Chinatown = oh hell yes.

Interstellar (Nov. 7) Matthew McConaughey — already an expert on time being a flat circle, thanks to True Detective — has his first post-Oscar turn in Christopher Nolan’s drama about wormhole-traversing space explorers.

Foxcatcher (Nov. 21) Bennett Miller directs Steve Carell, Channing Tatum, and Mark Ruffalo in this true crime tale of two Olympic wrestlers and one murderous millionaire. Exodus: Gods and Kings and Inherent Vice (both Dec. 12) Better take work off this particular Friday, because Ridley Scott (with Christian “Moses” Bale and Joel “Ramses” Edgerton) is getting Biblical, and Paul Thomas Anderson (with an all-star ensemble cast, led by Josh Brolin) is adapting Pynchon. *

Gearing up for war

Michael Redmond

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August 26, 2014

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joe@sfbg.com

A tear gas canister explodes as citizens flee from the gun-toting warriors, safely guarded behind their armored vehicles. Dressed in patterned camo and body armor, they form a skirmish line as they fire projectiles into the crowd. Flash bang explosions echo down the city’s streets.

Such clashes between police and protesters have been common in Ferguson, Mo., in the past few weeks since the death of Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager killed by a police officer. But it’s also a scene familiar to anyone from Occupy Oakland, where Iraq veteran Scott Olsen suffered permanent brain damage after police shot a less-than-lethal weapon into his head, or similar standoffs in other cities.

As the country watched Ferguson police mobilize against its citizens while donning military fatigues and body armor and driving in armored vehicles, many began drawing comparisons to soldiers in Iraq or Afghanistan — indeed, viral photos featuring side-by-side comparisons made it difficult to distinguish peace officers from wartime soldiers.

So how did law enforcement officers in police departments across the country come to resemble the military? And what impact is that escalation of armaments having on otherwise peaceful demonstrations? Some experts say the militarization of police actually encourages violence.

Since the ’90s, the federal Department of Defense has served as a gun-running Santa Claus for the country’s local police departments. Military surplus left over from wars in the Middle East are now hand-me-downs for local police across the country, including here in the Bay Area.

A grenade launcher, armored command vehicles, camera-mounted SWAT robots, mounted helicopter weapons, and military grade body armor — these are just some of the weapons and equipment obtained by San Francisco law enforcement agencies since the ’90s. They come from two main sources: the Department of Defense Excess Property Program, also known as the 1033 loan program, and a multitude of federal grants used to purchase military equipment and vehicles.

A recent report from the American Civil Liberties Union, “The War Comes Home: The Excessive Militarization of American Policing,” slammed the practice of arming local police with military gear. ACLU spokesperson Will Matthews told us the problem is stark in the Bay Area.

“There was no more profound example of this than [the response to] Occupy,” he told the Guardian. He said that military gear “serves usually only to escalate tensions, where the real goal of police is to de-escalate tension.”

The ACLU, National Lawyers Guild, and others are calling for less provocative weaponry in response to peaceful demonstrations, as well as more data to track the activities of SWAT teams that regularly use weaponry from the military.

The call for change comes as a growing body of research shows the cycle of police violence often begins not with a raised baton, but with the military-style armor and vehicles that police confront their communities with.

PREPARING FOR BATTLE

What motivation does the federal government have to arm local police? Ex-Los Angeles Police Department Deputy Chief Stephen Downing told the Guardian, “I put this at the feet of the drug war.”

The initial round of funding in the ’90s was spurred by the federal government’s so-called War on Drugs, he said, and the argument that police needed weaponry to match well-armed gangs trafficking in narcotics. That justification was referenced in the ACLU’s report.

After 9/11, the desire to protect against unknown terrorist threats also spurred the militarization of police, providing a rationale for the change, whether or not it was ever justified. But a problem arises when local police start to use the tactics and gear the military uses, Downing told us.

When the LAPD officials first formed military-like SWAT teams, he said, “they always kept uppermost in their mind the police mission versus the military mission. The military has an enemy. A police officer, who is a peace officer, has no enemies.”

“The military aims to kill,” he said, “and the police officer aims to preserve life.”

And when police departments have lots of cool new toys, there is a tendency to want to use them.

When we contacted the SFPD for this story, spokesperson Albie Esparza told us, “Chief [Greg Suhr] will be the only one to speak in regards to this. He is not available for the next week or two. You may try afterwards.”

“CRAIGSLIST OF MILITARY EQUIPMENT”

Local law enforcement agencies looking to gear up have two ways to do it: One is free and the other is low-cost. The first of those methods has been heavily covered by national news outlets following the Ferguson protests: the Department of Defense’s 1033 loan program.

The program permanently loans gear from the federal government, with strings attached. For instance, local police can’t resell any weapons they’re given.

To get the gear, first an agency must apply for it through the national Defense Logistics Agency in Fort Belvoir, Va. In California, the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services is the go-between when local police file grant applications to the DLA.

The bar to apply is low. A New Hampshire law enforcement agency applied for an armored vehicle by citing that community’s Pumpkin Festival as a possible terrorism target, according to the ACLU’s report. But the report shows such gear is more likely to be used against protestors or drug dealers than festival-targeting terrorists.

“It’s like the Craigslist of military equipment, only the people getting this stuff are law enforcement agencies,” Kelly Huston, a spokesperson of OEMS, told the Guardian. “They don’t have to pay for this equipment, they just have to come get it.”

Troublingly, where and why the gear goes to local law enforcement is not tracked in a database at the state level. The Guardian made a public records requests of the SFPD and the OEMS, which have yet to be fulfilled. Huston told us the OEMS is slammed with records requests for this information.

“The majority of the documents we have are paper in boxes,” Huston told us, describing the agency’s problem with a rapid response. “This is not an automated system.”

The Guardian obtained federal grant data through 2011 from the OEMS, but with a caveat: Some of the grants only describe San Francisco County, and not the specific agency that requested equipment.

Some data of police gear requested under the 1033 loan program up to 2011 is available thanks to records requests from California Watch. The New York Times obtained more recent 1033 loan requests for the entire country, but it does not delineate specific agencies, only states.

Available data shows equipment requested by local law enforcement, which gravitates from the benign to the frightening.

TOYS FOR COPS

An Armament Subsystem is one of the first weapons listed in the 1033 data, ordered by the SFPD in 1996. This can describe mounted machine guns for helicopters (though the SFPD informed us it has since disbanded its aero-unit). From 1995 to 1997, the SFPD ordered over 100 sets of fragmentation body armor valued at $45,000, all obtained for free. In 1996, the SFPD also ordered one grenade launcher, valued at $2,007.

Why would the SFPD need a grenade launcher in an urban setting? Chief Suhr wouldn’t answer that question, but Downing told us it was troubling.

“It’s a pretty serious piece of military hardware,” he said. “I’ll tell you a tiny, quick story. One of the first big deployments of SWAT (in Los Angeles) was the Black Panthers in the ’60s. They were holed up in a building, well armed and we knew they had a lot of weapons in there,” he said. “They barricaded the place with sandbags. Several people were wounded in the shooting, as I recall. The officers with military experience said the only way we’ll breach those sandbags and doors is with a grenade launcher.”

In those days, they didn’t have a grenade launcher at the ready, and had to go through a maze of official channels to get one.

“They had to go through the Governor’s Office to the Pentagon, and then to Camp Pendleton to get the grenade launcher,” Downing told us. “[The acting LAPD chief] said at the time, ‘Let’s go ahead and ask for it.’ It was a tough decision, because it was using military equipment against our citizens.”

But the chief never had to use the grenade launcher, Downing said. “They resolved the situation before needing it, and we said ‘thank god.'”

The grenade launcher was the most extreme of the equipment procured by local law enforcement, but there were also helicopter parts, gun sights, and multitudes of armored vehicles, like those seen in Ferguson.

By contrast, the grants programs are harder to track specifically to the SFPD, but instead encompass funds given to the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, the Sheriff’s Department, and even some schools. That’s because the grants cover not only allow the purchase of military surplus vehicles and riot gear, but also chemical protective suits and disaster-related supplies.

But much of the requested gear and training has more to do with active police work than emergency response.

San Francisco County agencies used federal loans to purchase $113,000 “command vehicles” (which are often armored). In 2010, the SFPD purchased a $5,000 SWAT robot (which often comes equipped with cameras and a remote control), as well as $15,000 in Battle Dress Uniforms, and $48,000 for a Mobile Communications Command Vehicle.

In 2008, the SFPD ordered a Bearcat Military Counterattack Vehicle for $306,000.

The Lenco website, which manufactures Bearcats, says it “may also be equipped with our optional Mechanical Rotating Turret with Cupola (Tub) and Weapon Ready Mounting System, suitable for the M60, 240B and Mark 19 weapons system.”

Its essentially an armored Humvee that can be mounted with rotating gun turrets.

Department of Homeland Security grants were used to purchase Type 2 Mobile Field Training, which Department of Homeland Security documentation describes as involving eight grenadiers, two counter-snipers, two prisoner transportation vans, and 14 patrol vehicles.

All told, the Bay Area’s many agencies were awarded more than $386 million in federal grants between 2008 and 2011, with San Francisco netting $48 million of those rewards. Through the 1033 loan program, San Francisco obtained over $1.4 million in federal surplus gear from 1995 to 2011.

But much of that was received under the radar, and with little oversight.

“Anytime they’re going to file for this equipment, we think the police should hold a public hearing,” Matthews, the ACLU spokesperson, told us.

In San Francisco, there is a public hearing for the procurement of military weapons, at the Police Commission. But a Guardian analysis of agenda documents from the commission shows these hearings are often held after the equipment has already been ordered.

Squeezed between a “status report” and “routine administrative business,” a March 2010 agenda from the commission shows a request to “retroactively accept and expend a grant in the amount of $1,000,000.00 from the U.S. Department of Justice.”

This is not a new trend. In 2007, the Police Commission retroactively approved three separate grants totaling over $2 million in funding from the federal government through the OEMS, which was then called the Emergency Management Agency.

Police Commission President Anthony Mazzucco did not respond to the Guardian’s emails requesting an interview before our press time, but one thing is clear: The SFPD requests federal grants for military surplus, then sometimes asks the Police Commission to approve the funding after the fact.

Many are already critiquing this call to arms, saying violent gear begets violent behavior.

PROVOCATIVE GEAR

A UC Berkeley sociologist, with his small but driven team and an army of automatic computer programs, are now combing more than 8,000 news articles on the Occupy movement in search of a pattern: What causes police violence against protesters, and protester violence against police?

Nicholas Adams and his team, Deciding Force, already have a number of findings.

“The police have an incredible ability to set the tone for reactions,” Adams told us. “Showing up in riot gear drastically increases the chances of violence from protesters. The use of skirmish lines also increases chances of violence.”

Adams’s research uses what he calls a “buffet of information” provided by the Occupy movement, allowing him to study over 200 cities’ police responses to protesters. Often, as in Ferguson, protesters were met by police donned in equipment and gear resembling wartime soldiers.

Rachel Lederman is a warrior in her own right. An attorney in San Francisco litigating against police for over 20 years, and now the president of the National Lawyers Guild Bay Area chapter, she’s long waged legal war against police violence.

Lederman is quick to note that the SFPD in recent years has been much less aggressive than the Oakland Police Department, which injured her client, Scott Olsen, in an Occupy protest three years ago.

“If you compare OPD with the San Francisco Police on the other side of the bay,” she told us, “the SFPD do have some impact munitions they bring at demonstrations, but they’ve never used them.”

Much of this is due to the SFPD’s vast experience in ensuring free speech, an SFPD spokesperson told us. San Francisco is a town that knows protests, so the SFPD understands how to peacefully negotiate with different parties beforehand to ensure a minimum of hassle, hence the more peaceful reaction to Occupy San Francisco.

Conversely, in Oakland, the Occupy movement was met by a hellfire of tear gas and flash bang grenades. Protesters vomited into the sidewalk from the fumes as others bled from rubber bullet wounds.

But some protesters the Guardian talked to noted that the night SFPD officers marched on Occupy San Francisco, members of the city’s Board of Supervisors and other prominent allies stood between Occupiers and police, calling for peace. We may never know what tactics the SFPD would have used to oust the protesters without that intervention.

As Lederman pointed out, the SFPD has used reactive tactics in other protests since.

“We’ve had some problems with SFPD recently, so I’m reluctant to totally praise them,” she said, recalling a recent incident where SFPD and City College police pepper-sprayed one student protester, and allegedly broke the wrists and concussed another. Photos of this student, Otto Pippenger, show a black eye and many bruises.

In San Francisco, a city where protesting is as common as the pigeons, that is especially distressing.

“It’s an essential part of democracy for people to be able to demonstrate in the street,” Lederman said. “If police have access to tanks, and tear gas and dogs, it threatens the essential fabric of democracy.”

Researcher explores police and protester violence in the Occupy movement

Erica Hanna

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August 20, 2014

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Researcher explores police and protester violence in the Occupy movement

As the nation’s eyes watch police officers in Ferguson firing rubber bullets and tear gas into crowds of protesters, one UC Berkeley sociologist is exploring how and why such violent conflicts erupt in the first place.

Nicholas Adams and his team call themselves Deciding Force. Its goal? To prevent violence between police and protesters at peaceful demonstrations through deep data analysis of the Occupy movement.

“There’s a misconception that police have a single style or repertoire to approaching protests,” Adams told the Guardian. “They have a range, and they should know better how to use these tools.”

Adams hopes to facilitate free speech by demonstrating best practices in nationwide police tactics, to allow peaceful protesters to trumpet their message without the threat of violence. The study, he said, is made possible by the variety of geographic locations the Occupy movement took place in. The different municipalities and varying levels of police use of force provided a buffet of data for Adams and his fellow researchers to compile and parse.

A video about the project.

They started with news reports of various Occupy movements nationwide, which were then compared to other local and national news articles for accuracy and to help identify bias. Even that process revealed interesting data, he said.

“Media bias is most often a bias of omission,” he told us. “You go to protest events and what happens most often is a news outlet won’t report on it. Fox News outlets across the country reported on the Occupy movement at drastically low rates. If an ABC affiliate reported on an Occupy (encampment) 100 times, Fox News affiliates reported it three times.”

The researchers then handpick relevant data from those news articles and broadcasts. The next step is even trickier (and wonderfully geeky).

Adams and the researchers trained computer programs to pick similar data from the over 8,000 news reports, automating the process. Articles from Boston, Chicago, New York, San Francisco, and more than 200 cities with Occupy movements are parsed for patterns. Did the police wear riot gear? What formations did they use? Were horses present? Assault vehicles? Was the crowd mostly Latino, black, white, Asian, or a mix? Were the Occupiers sitting or standing? These are the few of the hundreds of variables crunched by Adams’ team.

After the variable compiling, the computer’s usefulness ends and the human element picks up again, as Adams and his sociologists then sift through the patterns to see what elevates conflict between police and protesters. In the end, he hopes to be able to show police departments what specific actions can de-escalate violent situations.

The team has been at it for two years, and already the data is yielding some results. Police skirmish lines, for instance, are a heavy indicator that violence will occur.

“You’re facing off against protesters,” he said. “It’s called a skirmish line for a reason. You’re setting up skirmishes.”

But Adams’ research isn’t just about aiding police forces, it’s about holding them legally accountable for escating violence, he said.

“You can start to, from a legal standpoint, establish liability with research like ours,” he told us. “If we reach out to police departments later on attorneys can hold them accountable for their actions.”

And with that information in hand, maybe future incidents like the clashes in Ferguson may be prevented. At the very least, there may be a stronger legal mechanism with which to hold police accountable for clashes with citizens.

You can read more about Deciding Force’s research here, and support them through their IndieGoGo campaign.