Independent Archives — Page 14 of 90 — San Francisco Bay Guardian Archive 1966

The Performant: A Declaration of Independence

Sue Vaughan

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June 25, 2013

Taking the road less traveled with the Independent Eye

In a cozy living room in Cole Valley, a small but attentive oddience gathers to watch a trio of short theatrical vignettes performed by maverick theater-makers the Independent Eye.

Entitled Gifts, the three pieces have been performed over the years in previous incarnations, but never together, and the subtle commonalities that bind them are elegant and startling in equal measure. Focused primarily on human relationships, the complexity of desire, and the precarious yet universal nature of a journey into the unknown, Gifts follows three couples on their respective paths as they encounter all the unexpected complications and mysterious rewards that life throws at them along the way.

For Conrad Bishop and Elizabeth Fuller, who have been both the creative partnership behind the Independent Eye and also life partners for over 50 years, revisiting these pieces with a deepened perspective honed by the implications of entering their final decades has been a process as revelatory to them as when they were created the first time.

“Everything resonates differently,” points out Fuller, with a gracious smile.
After celebrating their Quinquagenary touring their joint memoir of the life artistic, Co-creation, holding readings in the private homes of friends and acquaintances scattered around the country as well as the usual arts venues, the two began developing a show that could be toured in the same way, in order to utilize the unique intimacy that only a house concert-style performance can capture. A way to demystify and decommodify the theatrical experience, as well as a way to inexpensively return to their touring roots, during which they would perform upward of 200 performances a year, criss-crossing the country in a van, kids and puppets in tow.

What they ended up with was Gifts, a series of tenuously-linked duets, compressed enough in form and expansive enough in intention that Bishop refers to them as “dramatic haikus”.

Completely contained within the parameters of a throw rug, a small table and a pair of stools form the entirety of stage and set, while an array of props and puppets issue forth from a modest pair of suitcases, transforming the small space into an endless series of freeways, the tree of life, an amorphous dreamscape, a three-story walk-up, and the ephemeral realm of a pair of hungry gods. In fluid succession, a wrong turn on the freeway becomes a 40-year commitment to a path that feels as much like a mistake as a destination, the prospect of receiving a major award becomes a bittersweet comitragedy of errors, a couple facing the erosion of their golden years by the leaden weight of market forces experience a visitation from the gods — forces much more powerful than the merely mortal ones that have previously formed their trajectory.

And through it all, the almost subversive notion simmering, that a life lived creatively is a life worth whatever the material drawbacks, and that the transformative nature of the journey is by far the greatest reward.

Or, as Fuller succinctly puts it, “these pieces are a validation of different ways of getting ‘there’.”

See Gifts at the Garden Gate Creativity Center:

Fri/28, 8 p.m.
Garden Gate Creativity Center
2911 Claremont Ave, Berk.
www.gardengatecreate.com
www.independenteye.org

Heads Up: 7 must-see concerts this week

Tony Robles

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June 25, 2013

0

Pride Week is upon us y’all, and with those excited, proud, rainbow-waving masses, come awesome live acts, DJs, bands, you know the drill by now; there are official shows, tangential nights, and underground events (check out Mykki Blanco at Mezzanine, or Magic Mouth with THEESatisfaction at Hard French Hearts Los Homos). Many more Pride listings will be in the paper this week.

And of course, there’s also some unrelated live rock‘n’roll you should be checking out right now as well, including two doubled-headlined shows of high-quality locals; there’s the Warm Soda/Midnite Snaxxx night at Brick and Mortar, along with the White Barons/Wild Eyes SF shakedown at Bender’s. Plus, Deltron 3030 plays the free summer series at Stern Grove this weekend.

There’s plenty to do and see in San Francisco at the moment, so buckle up. An aside: I’d also recommend Austra at the Independent Wed/26, debuting its new album Olympia; the show is sold out but I know you creative types have ways around this.

Here are your must-see Bay Area concerts this week/end:

Warm Soda and Midnite Snaxxx
This should make for a fizzy summer combo: both local to Oakland and full of vigor, Warm Soda’s glistening ‘80s pop will be matched in this Brick and Mortar lineup to Midnite Snaxxx’s leather-jacket-babe rock‘n’roll bubblegum smash. The results should be explosive, like a shaking up a two-liter bottle of cola and showering those around you with its sticky sweetness. Plus, it’s your last chance to see Warm Soda this summer — the group’s about to head out on its first European tour.
With Primitive Hearts, the Wild Ones
Thu/26, 9pm, $8
Brick and Mortar
1710 Mission, SF
www.brickandmortarmusic.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUQQDb4fkmo

Mykki Blanco
The self-described “Acid Punk Rapper” behind debut mixtape Cosmic Angel: The Illuminati Prince/ss brings his global nightlife pulse to San Francisco this week, (once again — when he performed here last year, Marke B. called Blanco a “Dark and fierce queer rapper from the future”). The hyperreal, multifaceted rapper is a supporter of underground arts and a rather busy one; he’s written books, recorded albums, posed as a fashion muse, and served as a nightclub dignitary, once telling Interview mag: “I didn’t plan for it, but everyday in the morning, for extra energy, I drink a raw garlic smoothie with fruit. I have nothing to lose and everything to gain by working hard. To have this be the beginning of my career and receive this much positive support — I cannot waste a fucking minute, and I’d be a fool to waste a minute.”
Thu/27, 9pm, $15
Mezzanine
444 Jessie, SF
www.mezzaninesf.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w39Fxx10CEI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSgVZEGpo6U

Y La Bamba
“Indie-folk rocker group Y La Bamba has been steadily building a fan base over the past couple of years, earning high praise from NPR and loaning songs to television programs such as Bones. The Portland-based band’s hauntingly rich and ethereal sound is propelled by singer-songwriter Luzelena Mendoza, whose vocals float and weave tales above Latin-inspired rhythms and unique backing vocals. Its latest full-length album, last year’s Court The Stormwas produced by Los Lobos member Steve Berlin, and an excellent EP, Oh February was released this January.” — Sean McCourt
Fri/28, 9pm, $12–$15
Chapel
777 Valencia, SF
(415) 551-5157
www.thechapelsf.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sP9U4tm8xJc

The Juan MacLean (DJ Set)
“After years of producing quality electro-disco-club music for DFA Records (home to legendary sometimes-retired LCD Soundsystem), DJ and producer the Juan MacLean (stage name for John Maclean) has leapt head first into a stripped-down, nu-house sound. With vocalist and longtime collaborator Nancy Whang, MacLean released the cool, classy “You Are My Destiny” this March, completing a shift that may have taken root as far back as 2011 with his Peach Melba side project. Transitions are standard practice for the former hardcore guitarist turned electronic music artist, who has collaborated with LCD Soundsystem, !!!, and Holy Ghost! and remixed Yoko Ono and Stevie Nicks. In the midst of a relentless international tour schedule, MacLean signaled his return to dance music prominence earlier this month with a set on BBC Radio 1’s prestigious Essential Mix program.” — Kevin Lee
With Kim Ann Foxman, Blacksheep
Sat/29, 9pm, $10–<\d>$20
Monarch
101 Sixth St., SF
(415) 284-9774
www.monarchsf.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nwf31pKvGc4

The White Barons and Wild Eyes SF
Some background: local Southern fried rock group (“by way of Atlanta, Jakarta, and two Midwest podunk towns”) the White Barons includes members of Thee Merry Widows, Winter Teeth, and Whiskey Dick Darryls, and SF’s Wild Eyes recently opened for King Khan and BBQ Show at Slim’s. This Bender’s show is a party for a few things: it’s the birthday of Bender’s doorperson and Subliminal SF booker Mikey Madfes, it’s a split seven-inch release celebration for the White Barons and Wild Eyes, and lastly, there’s a band vs. band chili cook-off (if you buy a record, you’ll get a chili sample). So you know it’s going to be a messy mix of raucous rock’n’roll and tender cooked meats.
Sat/29, 10pm, $5
Bender’s Bar and Grill
806 S. Van Ness, SF
www.bendersbar.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UXOSZPocks

Deltron 3030
“If you’ve lived in SF for at least a year, then you probably know about Stern Grove’s awesomely free and diverse ongoing music festival. But if not, this summer-long (June 16-Aug.18) series offers the community a chance to get outside and enjoy nature while picnicking with live musical accompaniment. This Sunday’s lineup features dance hip-hip super group Deltron 3030. Rapping about evil corporate Goliaths and space battles, often alongside an orchestral band, Deltron 3030’s performance is anything but typical.” — Hillary Smith
Sun/30, 2pm, free
Stern Grove
19th Avenue and Sloat, SF
www.sterngrove.org
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijPE7fe4XTg

Magic Mouth
To get a taste of the soulful energy Magic Mouth exudes, check the YouTube video “MAGIC MOUTH LIVE: MISSISSIPPI STUDIOS,” (below); it’s like watching James Brown front a garage-punk band. The lively Portland, Ore. queer soul-punk quartet will play Hard French Hearts Los Homos (an event described by DJ Carnita as “an intergalactic Pride Party for all the gayliens who love to dance in outer space”), opening up for THEESatisfaction.
Sun/30, 4-11pm, $20
Roccapulco
3140 Mission, SF
hardfrenchpride2013.eventbrite.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otA5i0Y6wlE

Why I’m still with the Bay Guardian…for now

Sasha Cuttler

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June 20, 2013

166

During the tumultuous week since my longtime boss and mentor Tim Redmond suddenly left the Bay Guardian, I’ve been repeateadly reminded of the old journalism adage “Show don’t tell.” That’s what we tried to do in our widely circulated story this week about Tim and our new corporate overlords, and it’s the standard that I’ll apply to their public assurances that the Guardian will remain a progressive, independent voice.

I’m glad that owner Todd Vogt and new Publisher Stephen Buel said it, and now I will wait and see whether they show it through their actions. I think that Guardian readers should do the same thing, reserve judgment for now, and delay any plans to abandon or boycott the Guardian.

First, there are a few things I want to tell you all. As the senior progressive political journalist still working for a newspaper in San Francisco, I hope that you’ll trust me to test our independence and speak honestly to you about whether the Guardian’s integrity remains intact (either here or through other media if that becomes necessary).

As tempting as it has been for all of us to just follow Tim out the door and refuse to give the new Guardian management any cover or credibility, it’s not clear to me how that would help San Francisco or the Guardian’s readers and community. The city needs the Guardian more than ever, given the arbitrary and exploitive exercises of corporate power now plaguing this great city, but nobody needs a Guardian that has been coopted by those same forces.

At this point, I’m willing to risk my job for the sake of truth and transparency, as I did with the long story I wrote with my courageous colleague Rebecca Bowe this week (and the support of another trusted ally, Guardian Interim Editor Marke B), and which I’m probably doing with this post as well.

So let me continue what we started by offering a bit of backstory and updating you on the latest developments before closing with some thoughts on the possible endgame to all of this. As we talked over the weekend following Tim’s sudden departure, a bit traumatized by how it all went down, Rebecca and I both seriously considered not returning to work on Monday.

Ultimately, we decided to come in to write a story on what happened, as Buel had invited the Guardian to do late Friday afternoon, his first official act as our new publisher. Initially wary that writing a full and truthful account of what happened might get us fired, we decided that was the only thing that we could do.

Consistent with longstanding Guardian editorial policy that sources may not preview news stories, we planned to refuse any requests by Buel or Vogt to read our story before it went to the press, and to their credit, they didn’t ask. When I interviewed each of them that day, I thanked them for letting us do the story and told them how important I thought it was to our community and the Guardian’s credibility.

Our noon press deadline passed without incident and we thought we were in the clear until around 3pm when we were called into CFO Pat Brown’s office and we saw him, Vogt, and Buel each holding copies of our article, clearly displeased with what they were reading. Executive VP David Ceccarelli, who oversees the company’s printing press, had seen the article and sent them copies, delaying the Guardian’s press run until Vogt gave the okay.

It was a tense but fairly measured conversation, and we made our case that the article was fair, straightforward, and accurate, even though it went beyond the scope of what they expected and may have sometimes cast them in an unflattering light. In fact, we told them this article was the only way that the Guardian would have any credibility with its readers.

Buel said that he didn’t see any incorrect facts in the article, but he took issue with the article’s emphasis and context, casting it as an example of how the Guardian isn’t “realistic” in its approach. Vogt’s main concern was that the article was what he repeatedly called a “fuck you,” a parting shot by three employees who planned to resign.

As someone who has written many “fuck you” polemics over the years, I assured him that this wasn’t one, and that I considered it a fair article that I was proud of. Still, he wanted our assurances that we planned to stick around, telling us he wouldn’t print the article if this was to be our final act as Guardian employees.

Writing the article was a cathartic experience for us, giving us some hope that the Guardian might still be worth fighting for. So we each told Vogt that we still want to know what the plan is for the Guardian — something we’ve been seeking for months — but that we’re willing to stick around for now to assess that plan and our roles in it.

Vogt told us that if we were lying to him that he would hunt us down to “burn down your houses” — a threat that he seemed to mostly mean as a joke, we hope — and then he told Ceccarelli by phone that he could roll the presses with our article. Within the hour, we then posted a longer version of the article on the Guardian website, which generated 218 comments and 684 Facebook shares within 48 hours.

Frankly, we’re still concerned about the comments from Buel and Vogt that the Guardian’s editorial tone and focus need to change, which they’re only been able to describe in vague terms so far. And we were all disturbed the next day when Buel told Marke that he will begin proofing Guardian stories after they are laid out and before they go to press (he hasn’t yet asked to preview blog posts like this one), ostensibly to catch typos and examples of our flawed tone.

While that is probably his perogative as our new publisher (to preview content without directing what we cover and how), it could also portend an unacceptable incursion into the newspaper’s independence and integrity by someone who has been critical of the Guardian and its progressive voice, and who often doesn’t seem to share our values and worldview.

But we meant what we said about giving the new Guardian a chance, and we’ve all found Buel to be an honest, straight-shooting person and experienced journalist who wants the Guardian to succeed. And we believe Vogt’s explanations that it doesn’t make financial sense to shutter the Guardian, and that he’s committed to its long-term viability.

Time will tell whether Buel’s input seems constructive and designed to elevate the Guardian as a forum for progressive-minded Bay Area residents (hopefully improving our business model along the way), or whether he intends to strip away what we all love about the Guardian and turn it into just another bland, centrist publication.

We’re trying to keep an open mind, hoping for the best but prepared for the worst. No matter what happens, we will continue to communicate with our community, the people who rely on the Guardian almost as much as we do, strategizing ways to help San Francisco realize its potential.

These have been tough days for us at the Guardian, a sad reflection of the struggles that many of us face as we grapple with economic insecurity, erosion of civil liberties, and exploitation by wealthy corporations and individuals.

But we’ve been sensing and chronicling a renewed progressive spirit in San Francisco, from the small victories of tenants groups to the organizing against Plan Bay Area to the growing recognition that economic development needs to be tempered with protection of this city’s cultural and economic diversity.

So for now, in the absence of Tim’s leadership, I’m taking my tenure at the Guardian one day at a time. “All I’m saying is keep reading and see if we live up to what I’m saying,” Buel said of the Guardian’s independent, progressive approach, which he promised would continue.

I’ll monitor that from the inside, you all can monitor it from the outside, and we’ll see what happens. Deal?

On Guard

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June 19, 2013

6

Read the unabridged online version of this story here.

steve@sfbg.com, rebecca@sfbg.com

Longtime Bay Guardian Editor Tim Redmond left the newspaper last week in a dispute with its new owners over personnel changes and his autonomy within San Francisco Print Media Company, which also includes the San Francisco Examiner and SF Weekly.

Redmond led the Guardian newsroom for most of his 31 years with the newspaper and engineered last year’s sale to Todd Vogt and a Canadian ownership team. As part of that sale — which Redmond cast to staff as saving the Guardian from bankruptcy and closure — Bruce B. Brugmann and Jean Dibble, the couple who founded the Guardian in 1966, retired from the paper, its Potrero Hill office building was sold, and the Guardian moved into the Examiner’s downtown office in June 2012.

Redmond was the Guardian editor and publisher, the name at the top of the masthead and the person solely in charge of Guardian operations, and he told staff he had been guaranteed full autonomy by the new ownership, which was important to the Guardian staff. As such, he resisted Vogt’s periodic efforts to control the newspaper, including early threats to fire City Editor Steven T. Jones for unspecifed reasons.

Nonetheless, Vogt did make some successful incursions on the Guardian’s independence, initially by encouraging layoffs, later by interfering with Guardian endorsements in the November 2012 election.

Then, on Oct. 26, 2012, without consulting Redmond, Vogt named Examiner Editor Stephen Buel to be vice president for editorial overseeing both newspapers, announcing that Buel would “oversee the editorial direction, content, tone, and voice of our newspapers and web sites.”

Shortly after the purchase of the longtime Guardian rival SF Weekly two months later, Vogt similarly appointed Weekly writer Erin Sherbert to oversee online communications at all three papers.

Neither Buel nor Sherbert directed or reviewed any Guardian editorial content prior to publication, although some stories from the Guardian and the Weekly began to appear in the Examiner’s newspaper and website, often edited by Examiner editors but giving credit to their original source.

The Guardian’s weekly revenues continued to remain flat or decline, at least partially because of the departure of two of the Guardian’s commission-based advertising representatives, positions which remain unfilled. The Guardian’s sales staff remains significantly smaller than that of the other two publications.

Vogt, Buel, and Chief Financial Officer Pat Brown began a conversation with Redmond about the need to cut expenditures, focusing on the newsroom, which until June 14 had seven full-time Guardian staffers and a part-time art director, who also works for the Examiner.

Redmond expressed a willingness to make cuts while also emphasizing the need to hire more ad reps to boost revenue, Redmond and Buel both told us. “He made it very clear that we need more salespeople,” said Buel, who also told us that he supported Redmond’s stance with Vogt and Brown that he should be allowed to choose where the cuts would be made.

“Todd and I were in the middle of difficult and ongoing negotiations for how to cut costs. My position is that it is entirely appropriate for the owner to ask us to cut costs, and then I would come back with a plan,” Redmond told us.

Instead, on June 12, shortly before Redmond left the office to moderate a well-attended forum that he had organized on Plan Bay Area and San Francisco’s long-term growth policies (see related story), Vogt called Redmond and Buel into Brown’s office and demanded he lay off three specific people in the newsroom (ironically, not including Jones, whose work Vogt has come to publicly praise in recent months) as soon as the current issue is complete. That would have cut in half the number of writers and editors working under Redmond, making it difficult to put out a paper.

“To have me lay off three people by name is not acceptable,” Redmond told us, holding firm that he would cut expenses but that he wouldn’t let Vogt micromanage the Guardian in that fashion. Redmond informed Buel of his decision on June 13 and sought to meet with Vogt, who wasn’t in the office that day.

“Tim told me in no uncertain terms that he couldn’t do it,” Buel told us. “He was civil and cordial and adult about it, but he was very clear he was going to leave the Guardian” rather than be forced to implement that decision. Buel then conveyed to Vogt that Redmond had offered to resign rather than making the cuts.

The next night, Redmond and Vogt exchanged a series of emails in which Redmond repeatedly offered to leave and help create a smooth leadership transition and Vogt repeatedly insisted that Redmond make the cuts and/or clarify whether he was resigning.

It culminated shortly before midnight with Vogt telling Redmond that his resignation had been accepted — to which Redmond responded the next morning that he hadn’t offered his resignation — and that he was barred from returning to the office or speaking for the Guardian.

VOGT’S EXPLANATION

Guardian staffers arrived to the office earlier than usual for a 9:30am meeting Vogt had called shortly before midnight, but Vogt was absent. The meeting commenced around 10:15am, with Vogt phoning in from Canada for his first meeting exclusively with Guardian staff.

He described his email exchange with Redmond the night before. “I accepted his resignation as editor of the Guardian, effective immediately,” Vogt said. “I didn’t ask for his resignation, I didn’t want him to resign. But it was Tim’s decision.”

“For 12 months, we let — I let — Tim run the Guardian pretty much hands off,” he said, allowing that on a few seldom occasions, “I actually made demands, some of which Tim listened to, some of which Tim disregarded.” Vogt went on to say that he, Redmond, Buel, and Brown had been meeting to discuss “very serious and significant changes” at the paper, which would have included staffing cuts.

Vogt went on to say, “Last month, it became painfully apparent that we had to make some radical changes to the Guardian…What we’ve been doing … isn’t resonating with advertisers, and I honestly don’t believe it’s resonating with readers.”

He went on: “Whatever you heard yesterday with respect to layoffs, or freelancers no longer writing for the paper, all of those decisions…are off the table.”

Going forward, he said, “I’m going to look to Marke [Bieschke, appointed interim editor], and Dulc [Vice President of Advertising Dulcinea Gonzalez], and Steve [Buel] to quickly come up with a plan of what we need to do … to get the Guardian back on solid financial and, and sort of ideological footing, in the community…I’m not saying… that there won’t be layoffs. There may well indeed be.”

Jones asked about how Redmond’s departure would be presented to the community, and what he meant by the change in editorial tone. “No disrespect to Bruce [Brugmann], but I think the editorial changes that need to happen at the paper need to reflect sort of, progressive — the new progressive — movement, the new progressive values,” Vogt responded.

Vogt insists that Redmond helped develop the plan to lay off two of the three people they discussed. Buel also said that particular staffers had been discussed in meetings among the four of them, although Buel said only supported two of the three cuts that Vogt insisted upon.

“He fully supported two of the three cuts until Thursday,” Vogt said of Redmond. “Suddenly something happened on Thursday. I don’t know whether it was a conscience thing, or a change of heart or mind.”

Redmond denies that he supported any specific layoffs, telling us that he insisted on being the one to make decisions on who worked for the Guardian and that he wanted to broadly review the Guardian’s expenses, including what the company was charging it for rent and printing the paper.

SHRINKING THE GUARDIAN

Guardian Culture Editor Caitlin Donohue severed ties to the newspaper shortly after the meeting. “I was just shocked that I was being told by intercom to disbelieve my editor and mentor of four years,” Donohue said when asked for her response to the meeting.

In that meeting, Donohue accepted a voluntary layoff. With regard to Redmond’s ouster, Donohue said, “Getting rid of Tim, and the others they told him were next, is part and parcel of the company’s slice and dice attitude to their acquisitions. You can’t run that paper after cutting nearly 50 percent of its editorial staff — or a good one, at least.”

On Monday, Gonzalez also resigned from the Guardian, effective July 1, further reducing its advertising staff. She had no comment for this story, but Vogt called her departure “a huge blow.”

Redmond said that he was cut out of the loop on decisions that Vogt and other managers made to restructure the advertising sales team to have reps selling into all three products.

“They never asked me how the ad department should be set up,” Redmond said.

And while Redmond and Buel both say he strongly advocated for more employees to be dedicated to selling the Guardian, Redmond found himself playing the same role he had played as executive editor under the previous ownership: reacting to the paper’s financial fortunes by cutting costs.

The Guardian had seven full-time staff writers when Jones was hired in 2003, which Redmond whittled down to just one by the time the paper was sold, despite the Guardian winning a multi-million-dollar lawsuit against the SF Weekly and the chain that owned it, Village Voice Media, for unfair competition and anti-competitive pricing.

“I recognized in May that Guardian sales were down and I was not opposed to the idea that we had to cut costs,” Redmond told us, later adding, “I came back with two plans. One, sell me the Guardian, or two, tell me how much I need to cut.”

Vogt didn’t accept either idea, insisting Redmond lay off the staffers that he had identified. Whether that final standoff is seen as a straight business decision, a personality conflict, or a question of the autonomy of Redmond and the Guardian, it’s certainly true that it was the last in a series of conflicts between the two men.

INTERNAL FRICTION

Friction between Vogt and the Guardian’s newsroom had been building for some time, centered around a couple of issues: payment of tens of thousands of dollars in debts to freelance writers that Vogt assumed when taking over the Guardian, and Redmond’s authority as editor/publisher of the Guardian.

While the terms of the Guardian’s sale to Vogt’s group haven’t been made public, sources say there were a couple areas of disagreement that delayed Vogt’s acceptance of his responsibility to pay the freelance debt, although that was settled earlier this year.

Guardian staffers who work directly with the freelancers consistently complained about the unpaid debt and the bulk of the past freelance debt remains unpaid.

“We didn’t have a ton of free money to pay the debt owed under Bruce’s leadership,” Vogt told us.

Vogt also began complaining to Redmond about specific writers in the paper that he didn’t like. “I had made demands about certain freelancers, ‘I don’t want so and so writing for the paper,’ and they were still in the paper.”

Redmond resisted the owner’s suggestions to fire certain writers, including L.E. Leone. “I think it was the coolest thing in the world that we had a transgender sports columnist who was one of the best writers in San Francisco. Todd strongly disagreed,” Redmond told us. Leone resigned from the Guardian on June 15.

During the fall election Vogt clashed with Redmond over the supervisorial endorsement in District 5. After the Guardian revoked its Julian Davis endorsement, it contemplated endorsing Christina Olague, but Vogt refused to allow it.

“He told me his newspapers would not be endorsing Christina Olague,” Redmond said, a point that Vogt confirmed.

Redmond said that Vogt then “threatened to fire me” for running a pro-Olague op-ed from longtime queer activist Cleve Jones.

Vogt and Buel insist they have allowed the Guardian to remain an independent, progressive voice and that will continue. Buel said, “All I’m saying is keep reading and see if we live up to what I’m saying.”

TIM’S SAN FRANCISCO

The day news of Redmond’s firing hit the Guardian newsroom, the ousted editor created a website titled “Tim’s San Francisco” on blogspot.com and posted a statement about what had happened.

“Hi, my friends, all the people I love and care about in this city. I’m sad to announce that after 30 years, I have left the Bay Guardian,” he wrote. “I am proud of all the work that we did over those years, but sadly, it has come to an end.”

After briefly explaining the details of his departure, he added, “The good news is that Blogger is free, and I will fancy up this blog in the next couple days, and I will continue to present perspectives and news about progressive San Francisco.”

In the days that followed, online comments on Facebook, sfbg.com, and Redmond’s new blog demonstrated an outpouring of support from community members.

Brugmann also offered this statement to the Guardian: “Tim…was largely responsible for making the Guardian the major progressive voice in San Francisco.”

Redmond said he’s been engaging in lots of discussions with the Guardian’s community.

“I do have to give Todd credit for buying the Guardian and keeping it alive this year,” Redmond said, adding that he was disappointed that Vogt chose to “basically destroy the newsroom” rather than taking him up on his offer to buy back the newspaper or explore other ideas for making the Guardian sustainable.

As Redmond told us, “I’m looking at my options for ensuring progressive, independent journalism is alive in San Francisco.”

Music Listings

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June 19, 2013

0

Music listings are compiled by Emily Savage. Since club life is unpredictable, it’s a good idea to call ahead or check the venue’s website to confirm bookings and hours. Prices are listed when provided to us. Visit www.sfbg.com/venue-guide for venue information. Submit items for the listings at listings@sfbg.com. For further information on how to submit items for the listings, see Picks.

WEDNESDAY 19

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

Joseph Arthur Chapel, 777 Valencia, SF; www.thechapelsf.com. 9pm, $20-$25.

Camera Obscura, Photo Ops Regency Ballroom. 8pm, $25.

Dig, Tambo Rays, Low Magic, Sunfighter Café Du Nord. 8:30pm, $10.

Mark Eitzel, Carletta Sue Kay, Will Sprott Brick and Mortar Music Hall. 9pm, $12.

David Ford Hotel Utah. 8pm, $10.

Geto Boys, Phranchyze Yoshi’s SF. 10:30pm, $36.

Gunshy Johnny Foley’s. 10pm, free.

Craig Horton Biscuits and Blues. 8 and 10pm, $15.

Lust for Life, Pharmakon, DJs Omar and Justin Elbo Room. 9pm, $10.

Sam Chase, Gallery, Dogcatcher Bottom of the Hill. 9pm, $8.

Water Liars, Standard Poodle, Houses of Light Hemlock Tavern. 8:30pm, $7.

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

Fatoumata Diawara Yoshi’s SF. 8pm, $24.

Dink Dink Dink, Gaucho, Eric Garland’s Jazz Session Amnesia. 7pm, free.

Terry Disley Burritt Room, 417 Stockton, SF; www.burrittavern.com. 6-9pm, free.

Big Bones Royal Cuckoo, 3203 Mission, SF; www.royalcuckoo.com. 7:30-10:30pm, free.

Cecile McClorin Salvant SFJazz Center, 201 Franklin, SF; www.sfjazz.org. 8pm, $18-$25. SF Jazz Festival.

Michael Parsons Trio Revolution Café, 3248 22nd St., SF; www.revolutioncafesf.com. 8:30pm, free.

Reuben Rye Rite Spot. 8:30pm, free.

FOLK/WORLD/COUNTRY

Hans Araki and Kathryn Claire Plough and Stars. 9pm.

Aki Kumar Blues Band Tupelo, 1337 Grant, SF; www.tupelosf.com. 9pm.

Timba Dance Party Bissap Baobab, 3372 19th St, SF; www.bissapbaobab.com. 10pm, $5.

DANCE CLUBS

Booty Call Q-Bar, 456 Castro, SF; www.bootycallwednesdays.com. 9pm. Juanita MORE! and Joshua J host this dance party.

Cash IV Gold Double Dutch, 3192 16th St, SF; www.thedoubledutch.com. 9pm, free.

Coo-Yah! Slate Bar, 2925 16th St, SF; www.slate-sf.com. 10pm, free. With Vinyl Ambassador, DJ Silverback, DJs Green B and Daneekah.

Hardcore Humpday Happy Hour RKRL, 52 Sixth St, SF; (415) 658-5506. 6pm, $3.

Martini Lounge John Colins, 138 Minna, SF; www.johncolins.com. 7pm. With DJ Mark Divita.

THURSDAY 20

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

Jay Ant Brick and Mortar Music Hall. 10:30pm, $15.

Come, Tara Jane O’Neil Independent. 8pm, $15.

Couches, Boys, Burrows Hemlock Tavern. 8:30pm, $7.

D Pryde, Mike-Dash-E, J. Lately Brick and Mortar Music Hall. 6pm, free.

Hey Champ, popscene DJs Rickshaw Stop. 9:30pm, $12-$14.

Hooded Fang, Record Company DNA Lounge. 8pm, $12.

Chris James and Patrick Rynn Band Biscuits and Blues. 8 and 10pm, $15.

Anya Kvitka and the Getdown, Jonny Craig Great American Music Hall. 8pm, $13.

Dave Moreno and Friends Johnny Foley’s. 10pm, free.

Scary Little Friends, TV Mike and the Scarecrows, Indianna Hale Amnesia. 9pm, $7.

Cody Simpson, Ryan Beatty, Before You Exit Warfield. 7pm, $45.

Strange Vine, Before the Brave, Avi Vinocur Metal Experience Bottom of the Hill. 9pm, $10.

Ugly Winner, C’est Dommage, Future, Space and Time, Hanalei Café Du Nord. 8:30pm, $8.

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

Will Blades Trio SFJazz Center, 201 Franklin, SF; www.sfjazz.org. 8pm, $18-$25. SF Jazz Festival.

Lucy Horton Revolution Café, 3248 22nd St., SF; www.revolutioncafesf.com. 8:30pm, free.

Gregory Porter SFJazz Center, 201 Franklin, SF; www.sfjazz.org. 8pm, $25-$45. SF Jazz Festival.

Chris Siebert Royal Cuckoo, 3203 Mission, SF; www.royalcuckoo.com. 7:30-10:30pm, free.

Dr. L. Subramaniam Global Fusion Yoshi’s SF. 8pm, $36; 10pm, $28.

FOLK/WORLD/COUNTRY

Hot Einstein Tupelo, 1337 Grant, SF; www.tupelosf.com. 9pm.

Pa’lante! Bissap Baobab, 3372 19th St, SF; www.bissapbaobab.com. 10pm, $5.

Kyle Thayer, Anne Kirrane, Gerry Hanley Plough and Stars. 9pm.

DANCE CLUBS

Afrolicious Elbo Room. 9:30pm, $8. With DJ-hosts Pleasuremaker and Senor Oz.

All 80s Thursday Cat Club. 9pm, $6 (free before 9:30pm). The best of ’80s mainstream and underground.

Ritual Temple. 10pm-3am, $5. Two rooms of dubstep, glitch, and trap music.

Tropicana Madrone Art Bar. 9pm, free. Salsa, cumbia, reggaeton, and more with DJs Don Bustamante, Apocolypto Sr. Saen, Santero, and Mr. E.

FRIDAY 21

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

Body and Soul Johnny Foley’s. 10pm, free.

Chris Cain Biscuits and Blues. 8 and 10pm, $20.

Cigarette Bums, Virgin Hymns, Bad Vibes Thee Parkside. 9pm, $6.

Ex-Cult, Glitz Hemlock Tavern. 9:30pm, $10.

Hands, Be Calm Honcho, Ally Hasche and the Bad Boys Brick and Mortar Music Hall. 9pm, $10.

Jon Langford, Jean Cook, Jim Elkington-Skull Orchard Acoustic Chapel, 777 Valencia, SF; www.thechapelsf.com. 9pm, $20.

New Trust, Creative Adult, Culture Abuse Bottom of the Hill. 9:30pm, $10.

Petty Theft, Beer Drinks and Hell Raisers Slim’s. 8:30pm, $15-$20.

Josh Rouse, Field Report Great American Music Hall. 9pm, $26.

Staves, Musikanto Independent. 9pm, $12.

Steve Miller Band America’s Cup Pavilion, 27-29 San Francisco Pier 33, SF; americascup.com/concert-series. 7:30pm, $52.

Stripmall Architecture, Books on Fate, Return to Mono DNA Lounge. 8pm, $12.

ZAVALAZ, EV Kain Café Du Nord. 9pm, $15-$20.

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

Pino Daniele SFJazz Center, 201 Franklin, SF; www.sfjazz.org. 8 and 10pm, $25-$65. SF Jazz Festival.

Roberta Donnay and the Prohibition Mob Trio Live Worms Art Gallery, 1345 Grant, SF; www.sflivewormsgallery.com. 8pm, $10-$20.

Emily Ann Band Revolution Café, 3248 22nd St., SF; www.revolutioncafesf.com. 9pm, free.

Hammond Organ Soul Jazz, Blues Party Royal Cuckoo, 3203 Mission, SF; www.royalcuckoo.com. 7:30-10:30pm, free.

La Chatonne Electrique Rickshaw Stop. 9pm, $15. Electro-swing with Bart and Baker, Delachaux, Kitten on the Keys, and more.

Loose Ends feat. Jane Eugene Yoshi’s SF. 8pm, $34; 10pm, $27.

Dmitri Matheny’s Sagebrush Rebellion Old First Concerts, 1751 Sacramento, SF; www.oldfirstconcerts.org. 8pm, $14-$17.

FOLK/WORLD/COUNTRY

Adria Amenti Atlas Café. 8pm, free.

Bluegrass Bonanza Plough and Stars. 9pm.

Lee Vilensky Trio Rite Spot. 9pm, free.

DANCE CLUBS

DJ What’s His Fuck Riptide Tavern. 9pm, free.

5ive DNA Lounge. 9pm, $5-$15. With Ross FM, Frank Nitty, Switchblade, and more.

Joe Lookout, 3600 16th St.,SF; www.lookoutsf.com. 9pm. Eight rotating DJs, shirt-off drink specials.

Old School JAMZ El Rio. 9pm. Fruit Stand DJs spinning old school funk, hip-hop, and R&B.

Paris Dakar Bissap Baobab, 3372 19th St, SF; www.bissapbaobab.com. 10pm, $5.

Thirsty Third Fridays Atmosphere, 447 Broadway, SF; www.a3atmosphere.com. 10pm, $10.

SATURDAY 22

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

Battlehooch, Major Powers and the Lo-Fi Symphony, Hungry Skinny Slim’s. 9pm, $14.

Big Blu Soul Revue Park Chalet, 1000 Great Hwy, SF; www.bigblusoulrevue.com. 2pm, free.

BLVD, Pink Mammoth Independent. 9pm, $20.

Daisy World, Space Trash, Naw’m Sayin Knockout. 3:30-8pm, $5.

Delgado Brothers Biscuits and Blues. 8 and 10pm, $20.

Doctor Krapula Brick and Mortar Music Hall. 9pm, $25.

Fake Blood, Alex Metric Mezzanine. 9pm, $12.50.

Fusion Johnny Foley’s. 10pm, free.

Hell Fire, Midnight Chaser, My Victim Thee Parkside. 9pm, $6.

Honey Wilders Riptide. 9pm, free.

Noisia, M Machine Regency Ballroom. 9pm, $30.

Rabbles. Strawberry Smog, Unruly Ones Hemlock Tavern. 9pm, $8.

Record Winter, Imperfections, Casey Jones Thee Parkside. 3pm, free.

“Valencia Film Party” Elbo Room. 9pm, $15. With Need, filmmaker-DJs Snow Tiger, NSFW.

Yadokai, Condominium, White Wards, Provos El Rio. 10pm, $8.

Rachel Yamagata, Sanders Bohlke Great American Music Hall. 9pm, $19-$21.

Yassou Benedict, O Presidente, Campbell Apartment Bottom of the Hill. 9:30pm, $10.

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

Audium 1616 Bush, SF; www.audium.org. 8:30pm, $20. Theater of sound-sculptured space.

“Gospel Brunch: Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir” SFJazz Center, 201 Franklin, SF; www.sfjazz.org. 11am, $30-$65. SF Jazz Festival.

Low Behold Revolution Café, 3248 22nd St., SF; www.revolutioncafesf.com. 9pm, free.

Chris Mann Yoshi’s SF. 8pm, $33..

Michael McIntosh Rite Spot. 8:30pm, free.

Anton Schwartz Church of the Advent of Chris the King, 261 Fell, SF; www.sfjazz.org. 5pm, $10. SF Jazz Festival.

John Scofield Uberjam Band SFJazz Center, 201 Franklin, SF; www.sfjazz.org. 8pm, $30-$70. SF Jazz Festival.

Lavay Smith Royal Cuckoo, 3203 Mission, SF; www.royalcuckoo.com. 7:30-10:30pm, free.

FOLK/WORLD/COUNTRY

Mark Hummel Tupelo, 1337 Grant, SF; www.tupelosf.com. 9pm.

La Chilanga Banda, Pata de Perro, Zigzagz Balancoire, 2565 Mission, SF; www.balancoiresf.com. 9pm, $10.

Muddy Roses Plough and Stars. 9pm.

North Beach Brass Band Tupelo, 1337 Grant, SF; www.tupelosf.com. 1pm.

DANCE CLUBS

Bootie SF: Monster Show DNA Lounge. 9pm, $10-$15. With Monster Show mashup drag extravaganza, and more.

Club 1994 Rickshaw Stop. 10pm, $10-$20.

Paris Dakar Bissap Baobab, 3372 19th St, SF; www.bissapbaobab.com. 10pm, $5.

Temptation Cat Club. 9:30pm. $5–<\d>$8. Indie, electro, new wave video dance party.

SUNDAY 23

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

A Wilhelm Scream, Flatliners, Such Gold Thee Parkside. 8pm, $15.

Michael Barrett Johnny Foley’s. 10pm, free.

“Blue Bear School of Music Band Showcases” Café Du Nord. 7:30pm, $12-$20.

Dot Hacker Chapel, 777 Valencia, SF; www.thechapelsf.com. 8pm, $12-$15.

Hans Eberbach Castagnola’s, 286 Jefferson, SF; www.castagnolas.com. 2pm, free.

Patty Griffin, Max Gomez Fillmore. 8pm, $35.

“Metal Meltdown” DNA Lounge. 4:30pm, $12. With Anisoptera, No More Solace, Holy Blowout, Demacia.

Modern Kicks, February Zero, Requiem for the Dead Bottom of the Hill. 9pm, $8.

Monster Rally, Steezy Ray Vibes, Shortcircles, duckyousucker Brick and Mortar Music Hall. 9pm, $10.

Odd Owl 50 Mason Social House, SF; www.50masonsocialhouse.com. 8pm.

Tomihira, Mosaics, Animal Super Species Hemlock Tavern. 8:30pm, $6.

Two Tone Steiny and the Cadillacs Biscuits and Blues. 7 and 9pm, $15.

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

Ralph Carney Church of the Advent of Christ the King, 261 Fell, SF; www.sfjazz.org. 5pm, $10. SF Jazz Festival.

Gerald Clayton Trio SFJazz Center, 201 Franklin, SF; www.sfjazz.org. 8pm, $18-$25. SF Jazz Festival.

Howell Divine Revolution Café, 3248 22nd St., SF; www.revolutioncafesf.com. 8:30pm, free.

Ramsey Lewis and Dee Dee Bridgewater with Quadron Sigmund Stern Grove, 19th Avenue and Sloat, SF; www.sterngrove.com. 2pm, free.

“Micro-Concert: Matt Clark” SFJazz Center, 201 Franklin, SF; www.sfjazz.org. 4, 5, 6pm, $5. SF Jazz Festival.

FOLK/WORLD/COUNTRY

Brazil and Beyond Bissap Baobab, 3372 19th St, SF; www.bissapbaobab.com. 6:30pm, free.

Famous Thee Parkside. 4pm, free.

Pat O’Donnell, Sean O’Donnell Plough and Stars. 9pm.

DANCE CLUBS

Beats for Brunch Thee Parkside. 11am, free.

Dub Mission Elbo Room. 9pm, $8. With Prince Fatty Soundsystem, DJ Sep.

Jock Lookout, 3600 16th St, SF; www.lookoutsf.com. 3pm, $2.

MONDAY 24

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

“Blue Bear School of Music Band Showcases” Café Du Nord. 7:30pm, $12-$20.

Damir Johnny Foley’s. 10pm, free.

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

Classical Revolution Revolution Café, 3248 22nd St., SF; www.revolutioncafesf.com. 8pm, free.

FOLK/WORLD/COUNTRY

Nobody From Alabama Tupelo, 1337 Grant, SF; www.tupelosf.com. 9pm.

Kyle Williams Osteria, 3277 Sacramento, SF; www.osteriasf.com. 7pm, free.

DANCE CLUBS

Crazy Mondays Beauty Bar, 2299 Mission, SF; www.thebeautybar.com. 10pm, free. Hip-hop and other stuff.

Death Guild DNA Lounge. 9:30pm, $3-$5. With Decay, Joe Radio, Melting Girl.

M.O.M. Madrone Art Bar. 6pm, free. DJs Timoteo Gigante, Gordo Cabeza, and Chris Phlek playing all Motown every Monday.

Soul Cafe John Colins Lounge, 138 Minna, SF; www.johncolins.com. 9pm. R&B, Hip-Hop, Neosoul, reggae, dancehall, and more with DJ Jerry Ross.

Vibes’N’Stuff El Amigo Bar, 3355 Mission, SF; (415) 852-0092. 10pm, free. Conscious jazz and hip-hop with DJs Luce Lucy, Vinnie Esparza, and more.

TUESDAY 25

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

Big Business, Pins of Light, Grayceon Bottom of the Hill. 9pm, $12.

Blood of Kvasir, Mecury’s Antenna Hemlock Tavern. 8:30pm, $6.

“Blue Bear School of Music Band Showcases” Café Du Nord. 7:30pm, $12-$20.

Tyler Bryant and the Shakedown, Girls and Boys Brick and Mortar Music Hall. 9pm, $15.

John Garcia Band Biscuits and Blues. 8 and 10pm, $15.

Geoff Rickly, Vinnie Cauana, Picture Atlantic, Owl Paws Thee Parkside. 8pm, $10.

Glitter Wizard, Terminal Fuzz Terror, Planes of Satori Elbo Room. 9pm, $7.

Harry and the Potters Brick and Mortar Music Hall. 5pm, $10.

Nordeson/Shelton Duo, NAMES, DJ Special Lord B and Phengren Oswald Amnesia. 9:30pm, $5.

So Many Wizards, Local Hero, Kera and Lesbians Rickshaw Stop. 8pm, $10-$12.

Stan Erhart Band Johnny Foley’s. 10pm, free.

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

Karl Alfonso Evangelista Revolution Café, 3248 22nd St., SF; www.revolutioncafesf.com. 8:30pm, free.

Terry Disley Burritt Room, 417 Stockton, SF; www.burrittavern.com. 6-9pm, free.

FOLK/WORLD/COUNTRY

Toshio Hirano Rite Spot. 8:30pm, free.

Song Session with Cormac Gannon Plough and Stars. 9pm.

Underground Nomads Bissap Baobab, 3372 19th St, SF; www.bissapbaobab.com. 10pm, $5.

DANCE CLUBS

DJ4AM Laszlo, 2526 Mission, SF; www.laszlobar.com. Boom bap hip-hop, beats, and dub.

Hug Life Tuesdaze Laszlo, 2526 Mission, SF; www.laszlobar.com/. 9pm. With DJ4AM.

Stylus John Colins Lounge, 138 Minna, SF; www.johncolins.com. 9pm. Hip-hop, dancehall, and Bay slaps with DJ Left Lane.

Takin’ Back Tuesdays Double Dutch, 3192 16th St,SF; www.thedoubledutch.com. 10pm. Hip-hop from the 1990s.

Stage Listings

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June 19, 2013

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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 Ape Woman: A Rock Opera Exit Studio, 156 Eddy, SF; www.theapewoman.com. $15-30. Opens Thu/20, 8pm. Runs Thu-Sat and June 26, 8pm; Sun/23, 4pm. Through June 29. Dark Pork Theatre presents May van Oskan’s rock opera, inspired by a Victorian-era circus performer.

Betrayal Phoenix Theatre, 414 Mason, Sixth Flr, SF; www.offbroadwaywest.org. $40. Previews Thu/20, 8pm. Opens Fri/21, 8pm. Runs Thu-Sat, 8pm. Through July 20. Off Broadway West Theatre Company performs Harold Pinter’s out-of-sequence drama about an unfaithful married couple.

ONGOING

Abigail’s Party San Francisco Playhouse, 450 Post, SF; www.sfplayhouse.org. $30-100. Tue-Thu, 7pm; Fri-Sat, 8pm (also Sat, 3pm). Through July 6. Although it’s tempting to compare Mike Leigh’s Abigail’s Party to Edward Albee’s rancorous Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Abigail‘s escalating nastiness skews emphatically British, giving it as much in common with televised exports such as Fawlty Towers and the Ricky Gervais version of The Office. As with these, the humor in Abigail’s Party is of the bleakest and cruelest kind, and there are moments when the five Americans onstage don’t quite convey the wit that lurks beneath the ire, but when they do the results are hysterical and uncomfortable in equal measure. Though the party we witness is not Abigail’s (she’s having a teenage house party next door, the music of which keeps throbbing through the walls of Bill English’s attractively-appointed set) the adults-only cocktail party is just as awkward as any high school mixer. Hosted by the fiercely self-absorbed Beverly (Susi Damilano) and her obnoxiously classist husband Laurence (Remi Sandri), the guest list includes the mousy Angela (Allison Jean White), her monosyllabic husband Tony (Patrick Kelley Jones), and Abigail’s ill-at-ease mum, Susan (Julia Brothers), who’s agreed to keep out of the house during her daughter’s wild soiree. The acting — as well as Brendan Aanes’ sound design, Jacqueline Scott’s props, and Tatjana Genser’s costuming — is pitch perfect, but unless you haven’t already been to enough bad parties, you might find it difficult to sit through this one. If you do, don’t be surprised if you find yourself secretly envying Laurence by the end of the play — at least he finds a way out. (Gluckstern)

Birds of a Feather New Conservatory Theatre Center, 25 Van Ness, SF; www.nctcsf.org. $25-45. Fri-Sat, 8pm (also Sat, 2pm); Sun, 2pm. Through June 29. New Conservatory Theatre Center performs the San Francisco premiere of Marc Acito’s tale inspired by two gay penguins at the Central Park Zoo.

Can You Dig It? Back Down East 14th — the 60s and Beyond Marsh San Francisco, 1062 Valencia, SF; www.themarsh.org. $15-50. Sat, 8:30pm; Sun, 7pm. Through Aug 25. Solo performer Don Reed returns with a prequel to his autobiographical coming-of-age hits, East 14th and The Kipling Hotel.

Darling, A New Musical Children’s Creativity Museum, 221 Fourth St, SF; www.act-sf.org. $20. Wed-Sat, 7:30pm (also Sat, 2pm); Sun, 2pm. Through June 29. American Conservatory Theater’s Young Conservatory performs Ryan Scott Oliver and Brett Ryback’s jazz-age musical.

The Divine Sister New Conservatory Theatre Center, 25 Van Ness, SF; www.nctcsf.org. $25-45. Fri-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2pm. Through June 29. Charles Busch’s latest comedy pays tribute to Hollywood films involving nuns.

Drunk Enough to Say I Love You? Costume Shop, 1117 Market, SF; www.therhino.org. $15-30. Extended run: Wed/19-Sat/22, 8pm; Sun/23, 3pm. Theatre Rhinoceros performs Caryl Churchill’s play that asks, “Do countries really behave like gay men?” Included in the program are two one-act plays: Churchill’s Seven Jewish Children: A Play for Gaza and Deborah S. Margolin’s Seven Palestinian Children.

Foodies! The Musical Shelton Theater, 533 Sutter, SF; www.foodiesthemusical.com. $30-34. Fri-Sat, 8pm. Open-ended. AWAT Productions presents Morris Bobrow’s musical comedy revue all about food.

410[GONE] Thick House, 1695 18th St, SF; www.crowdedfire.org. $10-35. Wed-Sat, 8pm. Through June 29. Crowded Fire Theater presents the world premiere of Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig’s fanciful, Chinese folklore-inspired look at the underworld.

Frisco Fred’s Magic and More Alcove Theater, 414 Mason, Ste 502, SF; www.thealcovetheater.com. $35-50. Thu-Sat, 7pm. Through June 29. Performer Fred Anderson presents his latest family-friendly show, complete with magic, juggling, and “crazy stunts.”

Hedwig and the Angry Inch Boxcar Theatre, 505 Natoma, SF; www.boxcartheatre.org. $27-43. Thu-Sat, 8pm. Open-ended. John Cameron Mitchell’s cult musical comes to life with director Nick A. Olivero’s ever-rotating cast.

Into the Woods Eureka Theatre, 215 Jackson, SF; www.rayoflighttheatre.com. $25-36. Thu-Sat, 8pm (check website for matinee schedule). Through June 29. Ray of Light Theatre performs Stephen Sondheim’s fairy-tale mash-up.

Krispy Kritters in the Scarlett Night Exit on Taylor, 277 Taylor, SF; www.cuttingball.com. $10-50. Extended run: Thu/20, 7:30pm; Fri/21-Sat/22, 8pm (also Sat/22, 2pm); Sun/23, 5pm. For patrons of last year’s production of Annie Elias’ documentary theater piece Tenderloin, walking into Cutting Ball’s take on Andrew Saito’s Krispy Kritters in the Scarlett Night brings about a slight sensation of déjà vu. It’s not so much that the cast actually resembles that of Tenderloin (save the familiar face of Cutting Ball associate artist David Sinaiko), but there’s a similar atmosphere of decay and powerlessness that roils beneath a surface of surrealistic flash. Framed by Michael Locher’s versatile, split-level set, clad in Meg Neville’s savvy costumes, the trampled-upon characters hurl poetic invective around the stage, delight in fish heads and petrified gerbils, plot to torture, seduce, and murder, and form clumsy, temporary alliances in order to accomplish the above. David Sinaiko’s crass, legless patriarch Pap Pap and Marjorie Crump-Shears’ deceptively fragile-looking brothel proprietor Gran Ma Ma preside over the inexorable decline of their insular households while their immediate kin, the cheerfully morbid Drumhead (Wiley Naman Strasser) and the irresistible temptress, Scarlett (Felicia Benefield), desperately seek to break free of their overbearing elders and the stifling routines that chain them to their circumstances. Much like the fish heads beloved by the characters as food, the play isn’t easy to digest, and there are gaps left in the narrative that even heavy abstraction can’t explain away, but Saito’s topsy-turvy world is nonetheless one worth visiting, and inaugurates his three-year playwriting residency at Cutting Ball with a weird and wonderful flourish. (Gluckstern)

Pansy New Conservatory Theater Center, 25 Van Ness, SF; www.nctcsf.org. $25-45. Fri-Sat, 8pm. Through June 29. Feeling isolated and angry in a queer culture seemingly shy of commitment and thin on the meaning of community, a lonely young man stumbles over a box of old VHS tapes in the basement and makes a powerful connection to his doppelganger, a San Francisco club maven named Peter Pansy, who died of AIDS in 1993. From this synchronicity (based on a true story), actor-playwright Evan Johnson and director-collaborator Ben Randle take the measure of a generational divide and an attendant cultural amnesia, as the narrative spins two parallel arcs 20 years apart but now in open conversation with each other. That conversation is most powerful in moments that prove largely dialogue-free, as in the excellent interplay between Peter and his shadow, which reinforces a sense that the dialogue in general could benefit by being more succinct or elliptical. At the same, Johnson (actor-playwright behind 2010’s outstanding solo play about Jeffrey Dahmer, Don’t Feel) has a commanding presence as he cuts nimbly back and forth between 2013’s Michael and 1993’s Peter, tracing ever subtler lines of pride and alienation, utopian dissent and quotidian oppressions, until the import of the recent but heretofore hazy past offers itself as a quiet but profound afflatus. (Avila)

Sex and the City: LIVE! Rebel, 1760 Market, SF; trannyshack.com/sexandthecity. $25. Wed, 7 and 9pm. Open-ended. It seems a no-brainer. Not just the HBO series itself — that’s definitely missing some gray matter — but putting it onstage as a drag show. Mais naturellement! Why was Sex and the City not conceived of as a drag show in the first place? Making the sordid not exactly palatable but somehow, I don’t know, friendlier (and the canned a little cannier), Velvet Rage Productions mounts two verbatim episodes from the widely adored cable show, with Trannyshack’s Heklina in a smashing portrayal of SJP’s Carrie; D’Arcy Drollinger stealing much of the show as ever-randy Samantha (already more or less a gay man trapped in a woman’s body); Lady Bear as an endearingly out-to-lunch Miranda; and ever assured, quick-witted Trixxie Carr as pent-up Charlotte. There’s also a solid and enjoyable supporting cast courtesy of Cookie Dough, Jordan Wheeler, and Leigh Crow (as Mr. Big). That’s some heavyweight talent trodding the straining boards of bar Rebel’s tiny stage. The show’s still two-dimensional, even in 3D, but noticeably bigger than your 50″ plasma flat panel. Update: new episodes began May 15. (Avila)

Steve Seabrook: Better Than You Marsh San Francisco, 1062 Valencia, SF; www.themarsh.org. $15-50. Thu, 8pm; Sat, 8:30pm. Extended through June 29. Self-awareness, self-actualization, self-aggrandizement — for these things we turn to the professionals: the self-empowerment coaches, the self-help authors and motivational speakers. What’s the good of having a “self” unless someone shows you how to use it? Writer-performer Kurt Bodden’s Steve Seabrook wants to sell you on a better you, but his “Better Than You” weekend seminar (and tie-in book series, assorted CDs, and other paraphernalia) belies a certain divided loyalty in its own self-flattering title. The bitter fruit of the personal growth industry may sound overly ripe for the picking, but Bodden’s deftly executed “seminar” and its behind-the-scenes reveals, directed by Mark Kenward, explore the terrain with panache, cool wit, and shrewd characterization. As both writer and performer, Bodden keeps his Steve Seabrook just this side of overly sensational or maudlin, a believable figure, finally, whose all-too-ordinary life ends up something of a modest model of its own. (Avila)

Sylvia Fort Mason Theater, Fort Mason Center, Bldg C, Rm 300, Marina at Laguna, SF; sylvia.brownpapertickets.com. $20-45. Thu-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 7pm. Through June 30. Independent Cabaret Productions and Shakespeare at Stinton present AR Gurney’s midlife-crisis comedy.

Tinsel Tarts in a Hot Coma: The Next Cockettes Musical Hypnodrome, 575 10th St, SF; www.thrillpeddlers.com. $30-35. Thu-Sat, 8pm. Extended through June 29. Thrillpeddlers and director Russell Blackwood continue their Theatre of the Ridiculous series with this 1971 musical from San Francisco’s famed glitter-bearded acid queens, the Cockettes, revamped with a slew of new musical material by original member Scrumbly Koldewyn, and a freshly re-minted book co-written by Koldewyn and “Sweet Pam” Tent — both of whom join the large rotating cast of Thrillpeddler favorites alongside a third original Cockette, Rumi Missabu (playing diner waitress Brenda Breakfast like a deliciously unhinged scramble of Lucille Ball and Bette Davis). This is Thrillpeddlers’ third Cockettes revival, a winning streak that started with Pearls Over Shanghai. While not quite as frisky or imaginative as the production of Pearls, it easily charms with its fine songs, nifty routines, exquisite costumes, steady flashes of wit, less consistent flashes of flesh, and de rigueur irreverence. The plot may not be very easy to follow, but then, except perhaps for the bubbly accounting of the notorious New York flop of the same show 42 years ago by Tent (as poisoned-pen gossip columnist Vedda Viper), it hardly matters. (Avila)

The World’s Funniest Bubble Show Marsh San Francisco, 1062 Valencia, SF; www.themarsh.org. $8-50. Sun, 11am. Through July 21. Louis “The Amazing Bubble Man” Pearl returns after a month-long hiatus with his popular, kid-friendly bubble show.

BAY AREA

American Night: The Ballad of Juan José Bruns Amphitheater, 100 California Shakespeare Theater Way, Orinda; www.calshakes.org. $43-48. Wed/19-Thu/20, 7:30pm; Fri/21-Sat/22, 8pm (also Sat/22, 3pm); Sun/23, 4pm. Juan José (Sean San José) is a Mexican immigrant and family man trying to navigate the nightmare of history — his own and that of his respective countries — on the night before his citizenship exam. Much slapstick, winking allusion, and self-referential in-joking follow, amid a parade of loopy figures that include, in no particular order, Ben Franklin (Margo Hall), Lewis and Clark (Dan Hiatt and Sharon Lockwood), Joan Baez (Dena Martinez) and Bob Dylan (Brian Rivera), Jackie Robinson (Tyee Tilghman), Neil Diamond (Richard Ruiz), Harry Bridges (Hiatt), and lesser known but admirable figures of cross-border solidarity like Chicano teenager turned Manzanar-internee Ralph Lazo (Martinez) and early-20th-century African American nurse Viola Pettus (Hall). As a comedy on the history of the Mexican American immigrant experience, it may be superficially timely, but the real “American night” is vaster, wider, and more terrorizing — and deserves a fresher, more radical treatment — than the kitschy and familiar riffs, ungainly structure, and too-easy moral offered by playwright Richard Montoya (of storied Latino performance trio Culture Clash, who along with Jo Bonney contributed to the play’s development) in California Shakespeare Theater and director Jonathan Moscone’s desultory Bay Area premiere. The expert cast is the best part of the evening, but one nevertheless wants to escape this well-trodden comedic-dramatic terrain for some more real place. (Avila)

Bubbles for Grown-Ups Marsh Berkeley, 2120 Allston, Berk; www.themarsh.org. $15-50. Wed/19, 8pm. Louis “The Amazing Bubble Man” Pearl presents a show aimed at adults.

By & By Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby, Berk; www.shotgunplayers.org. $20-30. Wed-Thu, 7pm; Fri-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 5pm. Through June 23. Shotgun Players presents a new sci-fi thriller by Lauren Gunderson.

Dear Elizabeth Berkeley Rep’s Roda Theatre, 2015 Addison, Berk; www.berkeleyrep.org. $24-77. Wed and Sun, 7pm (also Sun and July 3, 2pm); Thu-Sat, 8pm (also Sat and Thu/6, 2pm; no show July 4). Through July 7. Berkeley Rep performs Sarah Ruhl’s play written in the form of letters between Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Lowell.

George Gershwin Alone Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Thrust Stage, 2025 Addison, Berk; www.berkeleyrep.org. $29-77. Wed/19 and Sun/23, 7pm (also Sun/23, 2pm); Thu/20-Sat/22, 8pm (also Sat/22, 2pm). Hershey Felder stars in his celebration of the music and life of composer George Gershwin.

The Medea Hypothesis Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant, Berk; www.centralworks.org. $15-28. Thu/20-Sat/22, 8pm; Sun/23, 3pm. Medea is perhaps one of the most problematic tragic protagonists in theater history, as even the most flexibly sympathetic viewpoint is severely challenged when faced with a filicidal mother. But at Central Works, rather than just updating an old tale of bloody vengeance, The Medea Hypothesis further takes a page from the pop science book of the same name written by Peter Ward, in which he speculates on the latent suicidal and self-destructive tendencies of the planetary superorganism. As the brittle, middle-aged Em, Jan Zvaifler dominates the stage, holding herself and her glamorous career in fashion together as her husband leaves her for a woman with a “perfect neck” and her daughter Sweetie (Dakota Dry), who appears only as a video projection, becomes contested property in an angry custody battle. Relentlessly egged on by her Mephistophelian flunky Ian (Cory Censoprano), and enraged by the interference of her ex-husband’s prospective father-in-law (Joe Estlack), Em does lash out at the happy couple in the Euripides-approved manner (though with flunky-provided “Plutonium 210” instead of plain old poison) but when it comes to the expected act of ultimate violence playwright Marian Berges provides a surprising twist to the familiar Grecian formula, giving Em a shot at a redemption never allowed the Euripidean matriarch. It’s still undeniably a tragedy, but concurrently, also a triumph. Kind of like the continued presence of multicellular life on earth. (Gluckstern)

This Is How It Goes Aurora Theatre, 2081 Addison, Berk; www.auroratheatre.org. $32-60. Opens Thu/20, 8pm. Runs Tue and Sun, 7pm (also Sun, 2pm); Wed-Sat, 8pm. Through July 21. Aurora Theatre Company performs the Bay Area premiere of Neil LaBute’s edgy comedy about an interracial couple.

Wild With Happy TheatreWorks at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro, Mtn View; www.theatreworks.org. $23-73. Tue-Wed, 7:30pm; Thu-Sat, 8pm (also Sat, 2pm); Sun, 2 and 7pm. Through June 30. TheatreWorks presents the West Coast premiere of Colman Domingo’s new comedy, starring the playwright himself.

PERFORMANCE/DANCE

BATS Improv Bayfront Theater, B350 Fort Mason Center, SF; www.improv.org. “Director’s Cut!” Fri, 8pm, $20. Through June 28. “Improvised Noir Musical,” Sat, 8pm, $20. Through June 29.

Caroline Lugo and Carolé Acuña’s Ballet Flamenco Peña Pachamama, 1630 Powell, SF; www.carolinalugo.com. Sat/22, June 30, July 13, 21, and 27, 6:15pm. $15-19. Flamenco performance by the mother-daughter dance company, featuring live musicians.

“Flamenco Del Oro” Emerald Tablet, 80 Fresno, SF; www.emtab.org. Fri/21, 8pm. $10 suggested donation. Flamenco music and dance.

“Fresh Meat Festival” Z Space, 450 Florida, SF; www.freshmeatproductions.org. Thu/20-Sat/22, 8pm. $15-25. Performances by ten trailblazing transgender and queer performance groups.

“Harvey’s Funny Tuesdays” Harvey’s, 500 Castro, SF; www.harveyssf.com. Tue/25, 9pm. Free. Comedy with headliner Shaun Landry.

“Mission Position Live” Cinecave, 1034 Valencia, SF; www.missionpositionlive.com. Thu, 8pm. Ongoing. $10. Stand-up comedy with rotating performers.

“Randy Roberts: Live!” Alcove Theater, 414 Mason, Ste 502, SF; www.thealcovetheater.com. Fri-Sat through June 29 and July 9, 16, and 23, 9pm. $30. The famed female impersonator takes on Cher, Better Midler, and other stars.

Red Hots Burlesque El Rio, 3158 Mission, SF; www.redhotsburlesque.com. Wed, 7:30-9pm. Ongoing. $5-10. Come for the burlesque show, stay for OMG! Karaoke starting at 8pm (no cover for karaoke).

“San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival: Weekend Three” Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Lam Research Theater, 700 Howard, SF; www.sfethnicdancefestival.org. Sat/22-Sun/23, 2pm (also Sat/22, 8pm). $18-58. With Chinese Performing Arts of America, OREET, La Tania Baile Flamenco, Vishwa Shanti Dance Academy, and more.

“San Francisco Gay Pride Comedy Show 2013” 1772 Market, SF; facebook.com/hellagaycomedyshow. Sun/23, 8pm. $10. With Ariel Smith, Carrie Avritt, Rich Hutchison, and more.

“San Francisco Magic Parlor” Chancellor Hotel Union Square, 433 Powell, SF; www.sfmagicparlor.com. Thu-Sat, 8pm. Ongoing. $40. Magic vignettes with conjurer and storyteller Walt Anthony.

Amara Tabor-Smith Various locations (starts at 32 Page), SF; www.dancersgroup.org. Fri/21-Sun/23, 3:30-8:30pm. Free. Dancers’ Group’s ONSITE Series presents the performer’s site-specific work, He Moved Swiftly But Gently Down the Not Too Crowded Street: Ed Mock and Other True Tales in a City That Once Was…

“This Is Dedicated …” CounterPULSE, 1301 Mission, SF; www.counterpulse.org. Fri/21-Sat/22, 8pm; Sun/23, 7pm. $10-100. Here Now Dance Collective presents a benefit in the form of a dance theater game “with rules, a referee, a winner, and lots of losers.”

“Topsy-Turvy: A Queer Circus Extravaganza” Brava Theater Center, 2781 24th St, SF; www.brownpapertickets.com. Sat/22, 2pm (family matinee) and 8pm (18 and over show), $8-20. Part of the National Queer Arts Festival, this performance features circus artists from across the country.

“Union Square Live” Union Square, between Post, Geary, Powell, and Stockton, SF; www.unionsquarelive.org. Through Oct 9. Free. Music, dance, circus arts, film, and more; dates and times vary, so check website for the latest.

“Yerba Buena Gardens Festival” Yerba Buena Gardens, Mission between 3rd and 4th Sts, SF; www.ybgfestival.org. Through Oct 15. Free. This week: Darren Johnson and the Trans-Global People’s Chorus (Sat/22, 1pm); AXIS Dance Company (Sun/23, 1pm).

BAY AREA

“Marga Gomez: Pride Baby” Marsh Berkeley, 2120 Allston, Berk; www.themarsh.org. Fri/21, 8pm. $15. The comedian performs her “very gay stand-up.”

“The Pocket Watch” Ashkenaz, 1317 San Pablo, Berk; www.vagabondopera.com. Sat/22, 8pm. $12-15. Gypsy cabaret ensemble Vagabond Opera performs, with a set list that includes songs in seven languages. *

On Guard: The story behind the Bay Guardian’s new ownership and the departure of Editor-Publisher Tim Redmond

Sasha Cuttler

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June 18, 2013

311

[An abridged version of this article appears in this week’s Guardian]

Longtime Bay Guardian Editor Tim Redmond left the newspaper last week in a dispute with its new owners over personnel changes and his autonomy within San Francisco Print Media Company, which also includes the San Francisco Examiner and SF Weekly.

Redmond led the Guardian newsroom for most of his 31 years with the newspaper and engineered last year’s sale to Todd Vogt and a Canadian ownership team. As part of that sale — which Redmond cast to staff as saving the Guardian from bankruptcy and closure — Bruce B. Brugmann and Jean Dibble, the couple who founded the Guardian in 1966, retired from the paper, its Potrero Hill office building was sold, and the Guardian moved into the Examiner’s downtown office in June 2012.

Redmond was the Guardian editor and publisher, the name at the top of our masthead and the person solely in charge of Guardian operations, and he told staff he had been guaranteed full autonomy by the new ownership, which was important to the Guardian staff. As such, he resisted Vogt’s periodic efforts to control the newspaper, including early threats to fire City Editor Steven T. Jones for unspecifed reasons, which Vogt had mentioned to Redmond, directly to Jones, and to Guardian writer Rebecca Bowe prior to her return to the Guardian at the beginning of this year.

Nonetheless, Vogt did make some successful incursions on the Guardian’s independence, initially by encouraging layoffs, later by interfering with Guardian endorsements in the November 2012 election.

On Oct. 26, 2012, without consulting Redmond, Vogt named Examiner Editor Stephen Buel to be vice president for editorial overseeing both newspapers, announcing that Buel would “oversee the editorial direction, content, tone and voice of our newspapers and web sites.”

Shortly after the purchase of the longtime Guardian rival SF Weekly two months later, Vogt similarly appointed Weekly writer Erin Sherbert to oversee online communications at all three papers.

Neither Buel nor Sherbert directed or reviewed any Guardian editorial content prior to publication, although some stories from the Guardian and the Weekly began to appear in the Examiner’s newspaper and website, often edited by Examiner editors but giving credit to their original source.

The Guardian’s weekly revenues continued to remain flat or decline, at least partially because of the departure of two of the Guardian’s commission-based advertising representatives, positions which remain unfilled. The San Francisco Print Media Company then instituted a new system in which ad reps would try to sell into all three papers, which particularly hurt the Guardian’s bottom line during the run-up to the SF Weekly’s large Best of San Francisco, published May 29. The Guardian’s sales staff remains significantly smaller than that of the other two publications.