Nightlife Archives — Page 10 of 29 — San Francisco Bay Guardian Archive 1966

Secret Scotsman

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August 29, 2012

marke@sfbg.com

SUPER EGO So: woozy hip-hop has snuck back onto better dance floors via trap music, neon mutant Goosebumps-Beetlejuice children are ruling the queer clubs, techno keeps getting rave-wiggier, a true house revival is lighting up Oakland — and right now I’m wearing 6-inch shiny black pumps, a canary yellow pencil skirt, and a pair of sexy hornrims, because I am breaking down summer nightlife for you like the busy head of a global conglomerate, power points everywhere. Now where’s my soy double mocha latte no foam with a single ice cube?

(Belatedly, also, can I give a wee squee over the strange EDM-dubstep party cheerleader-gang phenomenon? Air kisses to the Wompettes, and Atomic Girls. You make that music fun for me.)

However, my ear and heart are still captivated by the excellent wave of esoteric bass music rolling out of various world capitals (and our own backyard). Deep, dark, heavy, and moody will always be my type — I’m basically the fruit on the bottom.

Great SF parties like Soundpieces, Footwerks, Icee Hot, Ritual, and Tormenta Tropical and shindigs from DJ Dials and the Low End Theory crew help keep my bass mechanics well-lubricated. And one of my absolute favorite DJs in the city, Nebakaneza, is doing amazingly moody and apocalyptic things with the post-dubstep vibe of the moment.

But my true ears on the street — my secret weapon, really — belong to the one and only DJ Deevice, who is a bass snoop par excellence, at least of the more occult and groovy UK variety. Deevice, a.k.a. Martin Collins was a resident at Glasgow’s seminal Sub Club during its wild rave years before heading for our fair-but-still-foggy shores in the ’90s. (He threw the storied UK Gold weekly party). There’s a whole thesis to be written about how British Isles immigrants warped and woofed the history of Bay Area dance music, and Deevice is one of the big players, although he’s never held down a regular residency here.

Instead, Deevice takes to the airwaves, both invisible and virtual, for his weekly Gridlock radio show on Radio Valencia, 87.9FM (Thursdays, noon-2pm, www.radiovalencia.fm) — the play list of which, posted at gridlockfm.blogspot.com, is an ace cheat sheet for us bass- and househeads. He’s also an A&R scout for the legendary R&S Records’ Apollo imprint. Those two positions put him prime for hearing all the best things first. “For some strange reason a lot of this music isn’t finding a home here like it is in Europe,” Deevice told me through his clipped Scottish brogue in Lower Haight recently. “And people send me great stuff all the time, so I’m happy to be passing it on.”

DJ DEEVICE SUMMER ’12 TOP 10

Makoto, “Another Generation” (Apollo)

Om Unit, “Ulysses” (Civil)

Ave Astra, “More L (Original Mix)” (Filigran)

John Tejada, “When All Around Is Madness” (Kompakt)

Sarrass, “A New Day (Original Mix)” (Third Ear)

Steve Huerta, “Take Me Closer” (Amadeus)

Mathew Jonson “Passage to the other side” (Itiswhatitis Recordings)

Ghosts On Tape “Nature’s Law” (Icee Hot)

Volor Flex “About You” (Apollo)

BWANA “Baby Let Me Finish (Black Orange Juice remix)” (Somethinksounds)

THE FIELD

Last time gorgeously hypnotic looper Alex Willner, aka the Field, came through SF, he had augmented his formidable live bank of tech with a drummer and bassist — the effect was outstanding, even though a certain gaggle of talky gays in the Rickshaw Stop crowd would not shut up during his set. (You know who you are.) Now he’s back with musicians in tow on Mighty’s mighty sound system. Hush, children, and sink into the killer grooves.

Fri/31, 10pm, $15–$20. Mighty, 119 Utah, SF. www.blasthaus.com

ORIGINAL PLUMBING THIRD ANNIVERSARY

The hot-hot-hot trans male quarterly always brings the party — if you missed its Pride weekend shindig, or want more of that uniquely seductive machismo in your life, hightail it to this. With Rocco Katastrophe, Billy Elizabeth, Nicky Click, Jenna Riot, Chelsea Starr, Rapidfire, and more.

Fri/31, 10pm, $3 before 11pm, $6 after. Elbo Room, 647 Valencia, SF. www.elbo.com

ODYSSEY

For well-nigh a year, Odyssey was the underground loft party of choice for those ready for an extralegal journey through the sparkling state of local house music. Robin Malone and crew aren’t letting some silly shutdown stand in their way — it’s bigtime, baby, as they take over Public Works all night with hometown hero DJs Sergio Fedasz, Doc Sleep, P-Play, and Stanley Frank. True SF family vibes!

Sat/1, 10pm-4am, $10. Public Works, 161 Erie, SF. www.tinyurl.com/odysseysf

DUB MISSION 16TH ANNIVERSARY

One of the longest-running and consistently excellent weekly parties turns sweet (and deep) sixteen, with one of my longtime favorites, Vinnie Esparza of the Groove Merchants record store, guesting — if anyone’s got the mindblowing underground Latin funk dubs, it is he. Plus: Seattle Mistah Chatman MCing and Dub Mission founder DJ Sep and Ludachris rolling on decks.

Sun/2, 9pm, $8–$10. Elbo Room, 647 Valencia, SF. www.dubmission.com

The tuning forks

Andrew Lam

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August 28, 2012

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culture@sfbg.com

EAT BEAT Since the dawn of Chuck E. Cheese, food and tunes have been intertwined in the human psyche — yielding not only musical fruits, Meat Puppets, and that wine by Train entitled, yes, "Drops of Jupiter" (sorry, Wine Country), but also all manner of melodious dining experiences as well. Of course, the Bay is brimming with tasty music-food mashups: Ethiopian and ivory-tickling at Sheba Piano Lounge, chicken mole and goth at DNA Lounge, sushi and jazz fusion at Yoshi’s, biscuits and blues at Biscuits and Blues, kielbasas and punk at Zeitgeist. Here are some of our current favorite local freeform music-food mixes.

SHRIMP ‘N’ GRACE

Even if all you’re currently worshipping is this Fillmore Street cornerstone’s lemongrass-ginger house-cured salmon with cornmeal pancake and molasses glaze, 1300‘s weekly gospel brunch is sure to inspire devotional highs. A live band belts rousing hymns, and attendees down bottomless pomosas (bubbly with splashes of pomegrante liquer) with plates of chef David Lawrence’s global take on soul food in swank dining room settings.
Sunday seatings 11am and 1pm, $6 entertainment fee. 1300 on Fillmore, SF.

(415) 771-7100, www.1300fillmore.com

YUMS, UKES

"Bacon Crack" chocolates, vegan soul food, and champagne funnel cakes go fabulously with a ukelele chanteuse — as any attendee of Forage SF’s upcoming Night Market will be able to attest. The organization dedicated to promoting ultra-local nourishment has been striking gold with this recurring nightlife-snack event, at which local small vendors rub elbows with the Bay’s musicos, DJs, and of course, party-hard foodies. Check out Uni and Her Ukelele, the 29th Street Swingtet, and Izzy*Wise this Friday at Public Works.

Fri, September 7, 5-9:30pm, $5. Public Works, 161 Erie, SF. www.publicsf.com

BEEP BEEP EATS

Why don’t gay bars have better food? Unfussy Mission hangout Truck isn’t in the Castro (which explains why it hosts some of the neatest non-pop dance nights in the city, ranging from ska to witch house), so maybe that helps. And although our clogged arteries adore its equally unfussy burger and fried pickles daily menu, we’re stoked about its sporadic Truck Stop Cafe pop-up. Featured? Duck-fat Chex mix, manchego gougères, and bourbon and coke floats. Also look out for Truck’s monthly (third Wednesdays) other pop-up, Swallow.

Wed/29, 6-10pm. Truck, 1900 Folsom, SF. www.facebook.com/TruckStopCafe

FAT LADY SINGS

You didn’t go to the opera tonight? Ugh. Thankfully, at least La Traviata restaurant in the Mission doesn’t care — the red sauce, white tablecloth dining room is open to Philistines and Leontyne Price fans alike. Walls are lined with signed photos of famous ariaists, which you will peruse only until congenial waitstaff piles your table high with baskets of piping-hot bread, antipasto, caprese salad, chicken piccata, and wine. You can also try Tosca for opera eats, but rumors of the cafe’s imminent replacement with a strip club may yield savory beats of a different nature.

2854 Mission, SF. (415) 282-0500

RIBS ARE GONNA COME

R.I.P., punk rock BBQs at Richmond neighborhood mainstay 540 Club. But viva DJ Al Lover, who has occupied the vacuum with tunes of a different nature: soul 45s that lend a sunny quality to the mistiest of Fundays. Couple this with a bloody beer and a BBQ spread assembled by scrappy bar regulars that can feature greens, ham, cornbread, and more and you have yourself a neat little Sunday at the monthly Sam Cooke-Out.

Third Sundays, 1-5pm, free. 540 Club, 540 Clement, SF. (415) 752-7276, www.540-club.com

HORN SAFARI

Compared to the shiny surfaces of Yoshi’s well-known sushi tables, the ambiance at Savanna Jazz Club has more down-and-dirty jazz-person cool. The barely-lit Mission room hosts trumpeter Eddie Martinez and crew every Thursday starting at 7:30pm ($5 cover) — arrive early to grab the semi-circle booth table, order a safari platter (rice, beans, avocados, salad, plantains, and a meat option) and a bathtub-sized Manhattan, and take in the parading guest musicos and friendly onstage banter.

2937 Mission, SF. (415) 285-3369, www.savannajazz.com

KOTO ROLLS

Amasia Hide Sushi near Duboce Park is one of those idyllic neighborhood Japanese joints that offers succulent little rolls of inventiveness, rainy day sake specials, origami kits at every table, and lovely views of tree-lined, boulevard-like Noe Street. On select evenings (call ahead) it also offers beautiful live koto music, played by Shoko. The koto is an imposing, many-stringed zither that takes up a substantial portion of the small space, its enchanting notes floating among the dish-laden tables.

149 Noe, SF. (415) 861-7000

LUCITE LUNCH

We actually can’t remember what music they play (your standard strip club Def Leppard-meets-Snoop Dogg, we imagine) — but we do remember the high-velocity cracking of plastic heel hitting the floor at Gold Club’s free lunch buffet. The luxe gentlemen’s club in the middle of downtown provides a robust fried chicken spread, with enough fixin’s — salad, potatoes, lasagna, dessert, whatever the kitchen is serving up on the blessed day you enter — that vegetarians can get their mid-day boobie fix as well. Just remember, finger lickers, free scarfing does not give you permission to forget to tip.

Monday-Friday, 11am-2pm, $5 admission. Gold Club, 650 Howard, SF. (415) 536-0300, www.goldclubsf.com

More ‘Work MORE!’ with Mica Sigourney/Vivvyanne Forevermore

Sue Vaughan

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August 24, 2012

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More ‘Work MORE!’ with Mica Sigourney/Vivvyanne Forevermore

If Friday means Some Thing — the popular late night drag performance showcase at the Stud — then tonight means something More: opening night of “Work MORE! #5,” the hybrid performance installation headed up by Some Thing’s charismatic and catalytic hostess, Vivvyanne Forevermore, alt-persona of artist-curator Mica Sigourney.

Tonight has even a little more More than that: it’s also four years to the month since Vivvyanne Forevermore first stepped onto the San Francisco stage. It’s an auspicious moment, in other words, for one of Sigourney’s more ambitious Work MORE! undertakings to date (with the possible exception of next year’s planed tour of Work MORE! #4, but more on that below). Number five brings together (at CounterPULSE this weekend) a group of drag queens, visual artists, dancers and performance artists in an overlapping series of collaborative performance installations that do away with the usual proscenium setting in favor of a loosely compartmentalized stage that’s more like a haunted gallery.

“Logistically, I’ve never done anything like this at all,” says Sigourney, speaking at a SOMA café last week. “It’s going to be too hot, it’s going to be too loud, and it’s not going to be easy.” But then, he immediately adds, “that’s not any different from a drag bar.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqhWyKkUgRI

The Work MORE! series has been chipping away at the wall between nightlife and theatrical performance through five iterations and counting, so maybe people will understand that without much prompting. “Hopefully people will realize how much agency they have.”

As Work MORE! continues to grow in scope, it’s also grown in popularity, enough that Sigourney is able to float a little money in the direction of the artists. Not a lot yet, he admits, “but you don’t have to worry about buying your wig — and you can keep it afterwards.” Beyond the ambitious tour next year, Sigourney hopes to make Work MORE! a sustaining enterprise.

“I’d like it to be, not an institution, but a program that happens yearly or twice yearly that can support itself and can support the artists,” he says, explaining that that means supporting unique collaborations unlikely to take place anywhere else. “I mean Dean [Disaster] and Philip [Huang] as a collaborative team? I would never have thought of that,” marvels Sigourney.

“Or like Jonathan Solo, who is a beautiful illustrator and artist, a favorite of mine, and the fact that he’s working with Diamanda Kallas, that’s a valuable creative collaboration. I want to be able to facilitate that kind of work,” says Sigourney. “That’s what I want to do.”

More of last week’s conversation with Mica Sigourney follows.

San Francisco Bay Guardian When did you start doing drag? You started in theater; those were separate things entirely?

Mica Sigourney Yeah, I did theater for a long time. I started doing theater when I was five, like outside of school, continued in college for two years and then stopped. I moved to San Francisco in 2004. I had a residency at Jon Simms Center. Then I stopped again doing any performance from 2004 to 2008. I was drawing at that point, doing screen-printing and fine art, soft sculpture.

Then I started doing parties and nightlife. I started doing this party, which was called Tiara Sensation and is now called Some Thing. We moved to the Stud two months after it started. And when we moved to the Stud, I knew they had a stage there, and if we had a stage I had to host, because I was the host of the party. I mean that was my job. So it happened organically. I really didn’t want to. Like the first two numbers I did were terrible. I had no idea how to make a thing. But part of it too.

By the time I met Fauxnique I was already doing drag, but meeting Fauxnique — she came from a technical background in dance — just seeing the way different people had navigated it and gone through it was really helpful. So I started doing it four years ago this month.

SFBG You never had any drag inclinations before?

MS No, that’s not true. When I was younger I used to dress up a lot. You could say I was a club kid. I collected women’s clothes and high heels but I never bothered to do drag with them. As a teenager going out in New York I idolized drag queens, but I just never thought that I’d be able to do it right. There was like one time in 2001, when I was in San Francisco, where I stepped out in drag, but never did it again. It wasn’t until I met the right people that I felt supported, that I felt like I could try it.

SFBG These people gave you the knowledge you needed?

MS Completely. One of the ideas behind Work MORE! is that drag is a folk art. There’s not really a technique, drag is more like the modality that you participate in, so your knowledge comes from either directly witnessing it from somebody else, and studying them, or by watching someone else and having them teach you like a parent or a mentor. So my mentors would be Glamamore, who’s my drag mother; Kevin, the DJ at my party who’s a drag queen and has had an influence on me; Hoku Mama Swamp; and Fauxnique are all probably my immediate inspirations and people who significantly helped me in different ways.

SFBG How did Work MORE! start?

MS It started the first year of Too Much!, the Keith Hennessy thing when it was at the Off Center. Julie [Phelps] just reached out and asked me if I wanted to do something. And my club had just moved to Friday nights from Monday nights, so I’d been curating a show for that for a while, and I wanted to try to curate something outside of my nightclub scene. I was just getting into the dance world more, the art world more, and so I wanted to try writing a real curatorial statement, and so I just did and they let me do it. And every time I’ve been super moved by the amount of effort and what people make for it.

I just kept doing it as a side project for myself so I could stay fresh. And we’re going to tour next spring so last year we made this really big piece—so it’s different every year, which also keeps me interested.

SFBG What’s the show you’re touring with?

MS It’s going to be the show we did last year. The premise for that was that we took 11 solo artists and allowed them to sub-organize and create pieces together. It was hugely collaborative. We made a master list of 20 numbers. Then I cut it down. So each person was set up as a director of each number, and then cast different performers for each number, so it was just this network of people working together on these different pieces. It was very like segmented but overlapping. I’m hoping to take a modified version of that show on tour, starting with colleges, in April of next year. My goal is to do West Coast, Midwest, and South, and see if it has legs and try to take it to the East Coast and abroad if we can.

I mean, I never booked a tour so I didn’t realize how expensive it is. Also how expensive it is to travel with drag queens, because they need two hours to get ready, so you can’t, like, roll into a venue. You need to get there three hours ahead. Somebody has to be doing tech. It’s not like a literary tour or a band where you roll up and unload. It’s not that.

SFBG It’s a complex show too, as you were just describing.

MS Yeah, though now that we have the framework I can look at the video and say this [part] was directed this way by someone who may or may not be in the cast but that’s how we’re going to do it. The way it was generated was more in line with the mission of Work MORE! than the output. The output is a beautiful drag show that has a lot of people in it, more than you usually see because drag queens are usually solo artists. And you get to see them changing, there’ s exposure of the artifice and all that.

SFBG Have you toured before?

MS I went to London with Fauxnique [in her show, Faux Real]. We did it at the Hot August Fringe Festival.

SFBG How was that?

MS It was really cool. I didn’t know people were going to get all the references, because it’s so American — well, not completely American, but being a teenager in America and listening to Morrissey is really specific. People loved it. I think they were really confused by a woman doing drag, though.

SFBG It’s more unusual there?

MS I guess so. Also, in London all the drag queens sing their songs, whether or not they should. It’s live singing. So Fauxnique lip-syncing was a little different.

It makes sense when you call drag a folk art, especially considering the way things are learned and traded, but you also bring up the way it can be really regionally specific.

MS Absolutely. In San Francisco you have the new strong tradition of gross out, like lots of blood, taking off your clothes, what Trannyshack was really good at [fostering], which is beautiful and genius but really specific to here. I think with RuPaul’s Drag Race and the advent of Facebook and all that, things are probably becoming less specific, which is kind of sad to me.

But actually in the first Work MORE!, the assignment wasn’t collaborative. It was after the second Work MORE! that it became focused specifically on collaboration. The first one was about just tradition. Let’s go back to the traditions of lip sync, glamor and femininity. That was the assignment. You had to use those three things in extreme ways. It was about finding roots. Where does drag come from for us now? What are the things being ignored or that can be enhanced more? But a dream for me is to do a Work MORE! where it’s a collaboration between artists not from the U.S. and some from here. Because the social aspect [of Work MORE!] is about the sharing of traditions, and the strengthening of queer community, crossing lineages or genealogies. So I think that would be really interesting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yZK0QRGpTw

Work MORE! #5

Thu/24-Sat/26, 8pm, $15-$20

CounterPULSE

1310 Mission, SF

www.counterpulse.org

Softly, with feeling

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August 24, 2012

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SUPER EGO Veronica Klaus, jazz chanteuse extraordinaire, is one of the most sincerely charming people I know — especially when she breezes up to Momi Toby’s cafe in Hayes Valley on her bike one recent morning, fresh from a brisk ride to Ocean Beach, flawless in a casual black wraparound top, ivory kid gloves, and a vintage black bag full of her chihuahua, Charisse. (Yes, queens, named after Cyd — and no, not sporting matching gloves.) “Sorry I’m a little late,” she smiled, barely out of breath, gesturing toward her sculptural figure. “Just trying to keep it all in place.”

She’s a dry wit, too: “After a certain paper’s review of my new CD began with the phrase ‘Veronica Klaus, transgender jazz singer’ I almost wrote a letter addressed to the ‘homosexual editor!'” she told me over black coffee. The CD in question is the jaunty, glistening Something Cool, recorded with the impeccable Tammy Hall Trio. And the lady in question is never anything but a lady, refraining from sending that catty letter after all.

Just please don’t put her in a box — she’ll always pop right out of it, with that distinctly emotive voice of hers and an ear for classy classics. Those who’ve followed the steadfast arc of Veronica’s career on the SF jazz scene since the 1990s recognize her unique ability to combine the musically timeless with the in-the-moment unorthodox. Case in point: her upcoming evening-length tribute to equally unpeggable Peggy Lee, also with the Tammy Hall Trio, taking over the Rrazz Room Fri/24 and Sat/25 and later traveling to NYC and LA. (Her CD of Peggy Lee songbook selections will be released next year).

The gloriously poised Lee, who passed away a decade ago at 81, enjoyed a career that spanned six decades and multiple musical styles, but is still mostly known for her slow-burning burlesque-friendly takes on “Fever” and “Why Don’t You Do Right?” and her voice work on Disney’s Lady and the Tramp. Homosexuals also have a very special relationship with her cinematic rendition of Lieber and Stoller’s “Is That All There Is?,” mostly foisted upon them via epic and/or overambitious drag interpretations.

Despite a couple obvious affinities, why Peggy Lee? “I think part of it is to make amends, really,” Veronica told me. “Like many, I knew her mostly through the hits and the novelty songs, like ‘Professor Hauptmann’s Performing Dogs’ — I still don’t know what that one’s all about. But she had this huge career full of so many different styles and encompassing so many historical moments, from the Benny Goodman era of the early 1940s — Benny heard her obsessively singing along to Lil Green 78s on the gramophone she would lug around with her, and that launched her solo career — to the ’70s when she was doing a more soft rock sound, but she was doing actually good stuff. Along the way, she was always listening to what the kids were doing — Ray Davies, Paul McCartney wrote songs for her, and her Mirrors album [from 1975] is considered a classic by many.

“So the show is really more an almost archaeological undertaking, rediscovering all the musical ways Peggy transmitted her … persona, her flame. Although she had a unique voice, of course, it was really this persona that she projected that held everything she did together. What I’m doing isn’t an impersonation, I’m evoking her spirit. She had such a way about her. She was an enigma. And that’s why I think people were fascinated with her, and also why she’s this wonderful challenge to connect with on a performance level. She didn’t dance around, she didn’t hit people over the head right away. She drew people in with her focus.

“In fact, her motto was ‘softly, with feeling.’ One time she was performing at a nightclub in Palm Springs, and everyone was talking over her. But instead of getting brassy and trying to grab attention that way, she deliberately started singing even softer. Soon people’s curiosity overcame them and they began to quiet down. It was a sort of spell she cast, an enchantment, and something she modeled her performances after for the rest of her life.

“I think that’s just a wonderful thing — to acknowledge the seductive power of quiet focus, this certain softness, feeling.”

VERONICA KLAUS: SONGS FROM THE PEGGY LEE SONGBOOK

Fri/24 and Sat/25

Rrazz Room

222 Mason, SF.

www.veronicaklaus.net

www.therrazzroom.com

YOUR CLUB FUTURE, FALL-WISE

All the various cyber-psychedelic Tumblr mutations of hip-hop have finally just been filed away as “trap” (enraging a few who worship the original Houston-based crunk variant that came up in the ’90s.) Think 808 drum machines, huge bass swoops, swinging hi-hats, ectoplasmic soundscapes. Or better yet, listen at SF’s new Trap City party (Sat/25, 9pm-3am, $10. Icon, 1192 Folsom, SF. www.tinyurl.com/trapcitysf). Look for a lot more fall trap.

The always cheeky, musically fantastic Honey Soundsystem (www.honeysoundsystem.com) just completed its audacious experiment: no Facebook presence for one month. And hey, the weekly Sunday night party at Holy Cow was packed. Could this spell the end of clogged feeds and overloaded notifications? Who has the guts to go FB free ’til 2k13?

Things I’ve got tickets for: Treasure Island Music Festival (October 13 and 14, www.facebook.com/treasureislandfestival) features several of our own homegrowns, including Tycho, K.Flay, the Coup, and Dirty Ghosts. Amon Tobin‘s insane techno-futurist projection extravaganza ISAM returns with a new look (October 5 at Greek Theater, blasthaus.com). And New York’s actually legendary deep Latin house party, Body and Soul, makes a long-awaited return (October 6 at Mighty, mightysf.eventbrite.com). Oh! And electro-fetishists: check out the lineup at this year’s Folsom Street Fair (www.folsomstreetfair.org).

Our Weekly Picks: August 22-28

Andrew Lam

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August 21, 2012

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WEDNESDAY 22

Time Stands Still

The Tony-nominated (Best Play 2010) play Time Stands Still comes to Theatreworks Mountain View, after the hugely successful Broadway run starring Laura Linney. The play, written by Pulitzer Prize winner Donald Margulies, is the intriguing story of a couple traumatized by their work in Afghanistan — one as a photojournalist, one as a print journalist. Margulies explores how they attempt, through their professions, to bring insight into the US occupation. The central theme explored is the division between the professional and personal, and how nonexistent the line between the two can become, when a journalists’ foreign correspondent work is so emotionally taxing. While the play works on a larger political scope about the implications of US foreign policy, soldiers, and civilian deaths, the perspective is told through the couple, exploring what drives them to this dangerous profession. (Shauna C. Keddy)

8pm, $31–$51

Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts

500 Castro, Mountain View

(650)- 903- 6000

www.theatreworks.org

AM and Shawn Lee

London-based musician-producer Shawn Lee has established himself as one of the foremost retro-futurists currently in on the scene. Recalling the prolificacy of John Zorn, the aesthetic consistency of Stereolab, and the endearingly hokey escapism of a Martin Denny record, Lee has stumbled upon a winning balance between exotica and funk. Based in LA, indie-popster AM takes a similarly exotic approach, and having toured with Air and Caetano Veloso, he seems due for a Lee collaboration. So, things should get interesting when the two join forces on the Cafe Du Nord stage, cranking out space-age-bachelor-pad music with a singer-songwriter’s touch. (Taylor Kaplan)

With Nina Moschella

8pm, $12

Cafe Du Nord

2170 Market, SF

(415) 861-5016

www.cafedunord.com

THURSDAY 23

Kool A.D.

Victor Vazquez, a.k.a. Kool A.D., represents one third of Das Racist, the politico-rap genius group that brought us the viral hit “Combination KFC and Taco Bell” in 2008. Though Das Racist hails from Queens, Kool A.D. grew up in San Francisco, and lately he’s been getting back to hit roots on the best coast. 51, Kool A.D.’s brand new mixtape, was recorded in Oakland and features an impressive array of local talent, including budding rap duo Main Attraktionz and longtime artist and activist Boots Riley. The lyrics, which continue Das Racist’s tradition of quick wit and scathing sociopolitical criticism, are peppered with Bay-centric references. Victor, it’s good to have you back. (Haley Zaremba)

With Fat Tony, Main Attraktionz, Trackademics, Kech Phrase

9pm, $20

New Parish

579 18th St., Oakl.

(510) 444-7474

www.thenewparish.com

The Iguanas

Formed in New Orleans back in 1989, the Iguanas quickly started blending a host of musical and cultural influences, drawing inspiration from each of the members’ backgrounds, ranging from Latin and Mexican sounds to the deep rooted styles of Southern blues and country, all boiled together in a rockin’ gumbo befitting their adopted hometown. Their latest record, Sin To Sin, came out this past April, full of the same fiery spirit and attitude that kept them going even after having to leave the Big Easy for a time after Hurricane Katrina. (Sean McCourt)

With Beso Negro

8pm, $16

Great American Music Hall

859 O’Farrell, SF

(415) 885-0750

www.slimspresents.com

FRIDAY 24

Mica Sigourney’s Work MORE! #5

This latest iteration of the searching, always surprising drag performance event curated by VivvyAnne ForeverMORE! (drag alter ego of artist Mica Sigourney) promises to be one of the coziest, most unusual, maybe least comfortable, maybe more exciting yet. Again blurring the line between nightlife and theater realms, this weekend’s show divides the stage into quadrants, in each of which unfolds a distinct time-based performance as audiences press in and rotate through sort of haunted-house style. In addition to ForeverMORE!, the drag queens, dancers, visual artists, and designers participating include Diamanda Callas, John Foster Cartwright, Liz Tenuto, Mona G. Hawd, Tessa Wills, and Martha T. Lipton (the failed actress). (Robert Avila)

Fri/24-Sun/26, 8pm, $15–$20

CounterPULSE

1310 Mission Street, San Francisco

(415) 626-2060

www.counterpulse.org

Cannibal Corpse

Buffalo, New York’s death metal deity Cannibal Corpse is about to celebrate 25 years of brutality, and the band is gearing up for the anniversary with the Summer Slaughter tour, a national run that includes a laundry list of some of death metal’s biggest and blackest names. The tour coincides with the release of its 12th album Torture, a seamless continuation of the group’s signature pounding cacophony and ultra-violent lyrical content. Cannibal Corpse’s flair for all things horrific has lead to its music being banned in several countries throughout its career. So metal. (Zaremba)

With Between the Buried and Me, The Faceless, Periphery, Veil of Maya, Job for a Cowboy, Goatwhore, Exhumed, Cerebral Bore

2:30pm, $32.50

Fillmore

1805 Geary, SF

(415) 346-6000

www.thefillmore.com

The Very Best

The Very Best’s latest album MTMTMK represents the first time the band recorded as a duo, following the departure of original member, Parisian producer Etienne Tron. If anything, Malawian singer Esau Mwamwaya and London-based producer Johan Hugo have turned up the intensity, setting an uplifting tone throughout the album. Mwamwaya alternates between English and his native Chewan, and his ascending vocals provide a sharp contrast to Hugo’s quick and bass-heavy club beats. Hugo adds in enough Afrobeat and reggae to keep listeners engaged. Renowned African musicians K’Naan, Baaba Maal and Amadou a Mariam all make supportive cameos. (Kevin Lee)

With Seye, Palner, Miles the DJ

9pm, $15

Mezzanine

444 Jessie, SF

(415) 625-8880

www.mezzaninesf.com

SATURDAY 25

Foreverland

Michael Jackson might be moonwalking around the giant amusement park in the sky, but Foreverland won’t stop ’til we get enough. This time, SF’s premiere tribute act to the King of Pop is going all out, adding a string section to its 14-piece lineup, and for good reason; this August marks not only MJ’s 54th birthday, but the 25th anniversary of Bad (1987), as well. Ever wanted to hear “Smooth Criminal,” embellished by a team of six percussionists? Or, “The Way You Make Me Feel,” with the dynamics of a live band replacing the, arguably, dated ’80s production sound? (Sorry, Quincy Jones.) Then, jump on it! (Kaplan)

9pm, $22

Bimbo’s 365 Club

1025 Columbus, SF

(415) 474-0365

www.bimbos365club.com

Rock the Bells

With an impressive list of both up-and-coming acts and long prevailing hip-hop royalty, this weekend’s Rock the Bells fest is bound to be a titillating conglomerate of endless styles and sounds. Look to A$AP Rocky chanting effortless swag while transforming the typical rhythm and rhyme in to a codeine-infused fusion of his favorite regional influences. Or J Cole to worry earnestly aloud about 21st-century problems, set to 1990s jazz beats. But at the end of the night, leave it to masters like DMX and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, who have stood the test of the Internet boom and Tumblr rap-craze, to show how certain thematic and lyrical concerns have continued to stay in focus throughout the last decade in hip-hop. (Soojin Chang)

11am, $265 for two-day tickets

Shoreline Amphitheatre

1 Amphitheatre, Mountain View

www.rockthebells.net

Slaughter By The Water

Looking for a real “heavy metal” festival? How about one that takes place on 33,000 tons of floating steel? Hosted by Testament’s Chuck Billy, Slaughter By The Water 3 features Bay Area thrash legends Exodus, along with Autopsy, Impaled, Philm, Fog of War, Severed Fifth and more, all performing on the USS Hornet, a World War II era aircraft carrier that is now a museum in Alameda. In addition to the Hornet’s legendary combat service, it is also purportedly one of the most haunted ships in the world — will a day and night of blasting metal be enough to wake and raise the dead? Find out at one of the most unique shows to come along in some time. (Sean McCourt)

Pier Stage: noon-9pm, free

Main Stage: 5:30-12:30am, $35–$45

USS Hornet

707 W. Hornet Ave., Pier 3, Alameda

www.slaughterbythewater.com

SUNDAY 26

Theophilus London

The charismatic and eclectic Theophilus London gained notoriety by splicing together a few clever bootleg compilations. The Trinidad-born, New York-based emcee rhymes over Bill Withers and Kraftwerk while slipping in some original works on 2009’s “This Charming Mixtape.” In last year’s debut LP “Timez Are Weird These Days,” (Warner Bros.) London crooned over indie pop, new wave, and electro-tinged productions. Latest mixtape “Rose Island Vol. 1” sees London switch back to rhymes, while borrowing from Wang Chung, Marvin Gaye and Big Boi. Confused yet? Outside of music, London is setting trends and foraying into fashion design. London’s recently released $360 rose-embroidered velvet slippers could describe the tastemaker himself — smooth, stylish, and perhaps just a touch showy. (Lee)

With Iamsu and Antwon

8pm, $20 Mezzanine

444 Jessie, SF

(415) 625-8880

www.mezzaninesf.com

MONDAY 27

Maurya Kerr/tiny pistol

This coming Monday at Z Space will be both depressing and exhilarating. Maurya Kerr, a 12-year Alonzo King Lines Ballet dancer whose career in 2006 prematurely ended due to injury, will present the first full evening of her own choreography. At the same time, her concert will be the curtain call for San Francisco’s long running WestWave Dance Festival, which, during its 21 years, presented 523 choreographers, 393 world premieres and 2,092 performances. Kerr, who has been choreographing around the country, made her WestWave debut last year with “Billy Tate,” a finely crafted solo whose thrust strongly communicated Kerr’s artistic intent. For this concert she and her nine tiny pistol dancers are preparing three works: “Buck” (2011), “Sick with Joy” (2011), and the world premiere of “FreakShow”, an exploration of otherness. (Rita Felciano)

8pm, $18–$23

Z Space

450 Florida, SF

www.zspace.org

www.brownpapertickets.com

Bomb the Music Industry!

New York’s Bomb the Music Industry! likes to do things its own way. Since 2004, the band has been recording its spastic ska-punk in basements and bedrooms, releasing it for free, encouraging fans to make their own T-shirts and bring their own instruments to shows, and generally just doing its best to stir things up. Beyond the DIY charm, Bomb the Music Industry! produces some of the funniest, most poignant music you’ll never hear. The songs are a little too heavy on inside jokes and the recordings a little too raw for the band to ever reach mass appeal, making it one of independent music’s best-kept secrets. Sadly, being this underground is not exactly lucrative. The band has announced that this summer likely marks its final tour. You won’t want to miss it. (Zaremba)

With Classics of Love, Street Eaters, Point of View

8:30pm, $9

Bottom of the Hill

1233 17th St., SF

(415) 626-4455

www.bottomofthehill.com

Clipd Beaks

Post-punk? Indie rock? Industrial? Like TV on the Radio, or Liars, Oakland’s Clipd Beaks like to keep us guessing, and for that reason, they’re one of the most fascinating outfits the Bay Area has to offer. Taking thorny, decidedly un-hooky hooks, and drowning them in dense layers of reverb and noise, Clipd Beaks is much more production-focused than your average five-piece rock band. (Kaplan)

With Creepers, Feral Kizzy, Disappearing People, DJ Longhairs

9pm, $5

Elbo Room

647 Valencia, SF

(415) 552-7788

www.elbo.com

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Stage Listings

Andrew Lam

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August 21, 2012

0

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. For further information on how to submit items for the listings, see Picks.

THEATER

OPENING

Daughter of the Red Tzar Thick House Theatre, 1695 18th St, SF; www.thickhouse.org. $30. Opens Fri/24, 8pm. Runs Sat-Sun and Aug 31, 8pm. Through Sept 2. ScolaVox and First Look Sonoma present the world premiere of Lisa Scola-Prosek’s chamber opera about a meeting between Churchill, Stalin, and Stalin’s teenage daughter.

BAY AREA

The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity Aurora Theatre, 2081 Addison, Berk; (510) 843-4822, www.auroratheatre.org. $32-60. Previews Fri/24-Sat/23 and Aug 29, 8pm; Sun/26, 2pm; Tue/28, 7pm. Opens Aug 30, 8pm. Runs Tue and Sun, 7pm (also Sun, 2pm); Wed-Sat, 8pm. Through Sept 30. Aurora Theatre Company opens its 21st season with Kristoffer Diaz’s comedy about pro wrestlers.

The Fisherman’s Wife La Val’s Subterranean, 1834 Euclid, Berk; www.impacttheatre.com. $10-20. Previews Thu/23-Fri/24, 8pm. Opens Sat/25, 8pm. Runs Thu-Sat, 8pm. Through Sept 29. Impact Theatre performs Steve Yockey’s tentacle-porn-inspired sex farce.

Time Stands Still TheatreWorks at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro, SF; www.theatreworks.org. $23-73. Previews Wed/22-Fri/24, 8pm. Opens Sat/25, 8pm. Runs Tue-Wed, 7:30pm; Thu-Sat, 8pm (also Sat, 2pm); Sun, 2 and 7pm. Through Sept 16. TheatreWorks performs Donald Marguelis’ drama about a couple — one a photojournalist, one a war correspondent — struggling with their recent experiences covering a war.

ONGOING

Believers Stage Werx, 446 Valencia, SF; www.wilywestproductions.com. $20-25. Thu/23-Sat/25, 8pm. As a couple of research scientists and a former couple to boot, Rocky Wise (Casey Fern) and Grace Wright (Maria Giere Marquis) are simply mad about love in Wily West’s world premiere of local playwright Patricia Milton’s exuberant but patchy comedy. Employed by a small, less than scrupulous pharmaceutical firm reeling from a product recall and attendant lawsuits, reclusive Rocky toils away after a formula for a drug that will inoculate the user against love — a secret agenda of his own inspired by the broken heart Grace left him with several years earlier. His boss (a comically brassy Jon Fast) thinks he’s working on a commissioned "love activator," and to that end woos back former employee Grace to keep the fires burning in the lab. The strained reunion does the trick, if not exactly in the way intended. Meanwhile, a wacky born-again receptionist (Kate Jones) —"only recently come to the Lord" (and her Texan drawl by the sound of it) — fields calls from desperate people in a world despoiled by corporate greed and seemingly already in the throes of the end times. There are some moments worthy of a titter or two, but director Sara Staley’s cast is less than precise or compelling with dialogue that is already hit-and-miss. Despite a promising scenario, Believers remains too uneven and muddled to generate much love beyond the stage. (Avila)

Dog Sees God Boxcar Playhouse, 505 Natoma, SF; www.boxcartheatre.org. $16. Wed/22-Sat/25, 8pm. There was always a lightly subversive if not latently radical bent to Charles M. Schulz’s Peanuts strip, with its implicit championing of nonconformity, its restless and half-confused longing, and its convincing blend of gentleness and cruelty. Playwright Bert V. Royal mines it all with inspired confidence and fighting spirit in his portrait of the Peanuts gang as a fractured set of contemporary fucked-up if formidable teens. First among them is a sullen but resilient CB (Andrew Humann), blockhead of the title, reeling from the death of his dog and his awakened love for broodingly gifted, deeply estranged pal Beethoven (Bobby Conte-Thornton). In Boxcar’s winning production, the boisterous, often hilarious and poignant story — which includes real-life issues of grief, abuse, abortion, homophobia, and suicide — comes animated by a talented and thoroughly persuasive young cast under beautifully calibrated direction by artistic director Nick A. Olivero. (Avila)

Les Misérables Orpheum Theatre, 1192 Market, SF; www.bestofbroadway-sf.com. $83-155. Wed/22-Sat/25, 8pm (also Wed/22 and Sat/25, 2pm); Sun/26, 2pm. SHN’s Best of Broadway series brings to town the new 25th anniversary production of Cameron Mackintosh’s musical giant, based on the novel by Victor Hugo. The revival at the Orpheum does without the famous rotating stage but nevertheless spares no expense or artistry in rendering the show’s barrage of colorful Romantic scenes (with Matt Kinley’s scenic design drawing painterly inspiration from Hugo’s own oils) or its larger-than-life characters — first and foremost Jean Valjean (a slim but passionate Peter Lockyer), nemesis Javert (Andrew Varela), and rescued orphan beauty Cosette (Lauren Wiley). Chris Jahnke contributes new orchestrations to the rollicking original score by Claude-Michel Schönberg (music) and Herbert Kretzmer (lyrics) in this flagrantly sentimental, somewhat problematic but still-stirring meld of music and melodrama in dutiful overlapping service of box office treasure and powerful humanist aspirations. (Avila)

My Fair Lady SF Playhouse, 533 Sutter, SF; www.sfplayhouse.org. $30-70. Tue-Thu, 7pm; Fri-Sat, 8pm (also Sat, 3pm). Through Sept 29. SF Playhouse and artistic director Bill English (who helms) offer a swift, agreeable production of the Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe musical, based on George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion. The iconic class-conscious storyline revolves around a cocky linguist named Higgins (Johnny Moreno) who bets colleague Colonel Pickering (Richard Frederick) he can transform an irritable flower girl, Eliza Doolittle (Monique Hafen), into a "lady" and pass her off in high society. A battle of wills and wits ensues — interlarded with the "tragedy" of Alfred Doolittle (a shrewd and gleaming Charles Dean) and his reluctant upward fall into respectability — and love (at least in the musical version) triumphs. The songs ("Wouldn’t It Be Loverly," "I Could Have Danced All Night," "Get Me to the Church on Time," and the rest) remain evergreen in the cast’s spirited performances, supported by two offstage pianos (brought to life by David Dobrusky and musical director Greg Mason) and nimble choreography from Kimberly Richards. Hafen’s Eliza is especially admirable, projecting in dialogue and song a winning combination of childlike innocence and feminine potency. Moreno’s Higgins is also good, unusually virile yet heady too, a convincingly flawed if charming egotist. And Frederick, who adds a passing hint of homoerotic energy to his portrayal of the devoted Pickering, is gently funny and wholly sympathetic. (Avila)

The Princess Bride: Live! Dark Room Theater, 2263 Mission, SF; foulplaysf.com/princessbride. $20. Thu/23-Sat/25, 8pm. Dark Room Productions presents a live tribute to the cult fairy-tale movie.

Rights of Passage New Conservatory Theatre Center, 25 Van Ness, SF; www.nctcsf.org. $25-45. Previews Wed/22-Fri/24, 8pm. Opens Sat/25, 8pm. Runs Wed-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2pm. Through Sept 16. New Conservatory Theatre Center presents the world premiere of Ed Decker and Robert Leone’s multimedia play, inspired by global human rights laws in relation to sexual orientation.

Vital Signs Marsh San Francisco, 1062 Valencia, SF; (415) 282-3055, www.themarsh.org. $15-50. Sat/25, 8:30pm. The Marsh San Francisco presents Alison Whittaker’s behind-the-scenes look at nursing in America.

The Waiting Period MainStage, Marsh San Francisco, 1062 Valencia, SF; (415) 282-3055, www.themarsh.org. $15-50. Fri, 8pm (starting Sept 6: also Thu, 8pm); Sat, 5pm. Extended through Sept 29. Brian Copeland (comedian, TV and radio personality, and creator-performer of the long-running solo play Not a Genuine Black Man) returns to the Marsh with a new solo, this one based on more recent and messier events` in Copeland’s life. The play concerns an episode of severe depression in which he considered suicide, going so far as to purchase a handgun — the title coming from the legally mandatory 10-day period between purchasing and picking up the weapon, which leaves time for reflections and circumstances that ultimately prevent Copeland from pulling the trigger. A grim subject, but Copeland (with co-developer and director David Ford) ensures there’s plenty of humor as well as frank sentiment along the way. The actor peoples the opening scene in the gun store with a comically if somewhat stereotypically rugged representative of the Second Amendment, for instance, as well as an equally familiar "doood" dude at the service counter. Afterward, we follow Copeland, a just barely coping dad, home to the house recently abandoned by his wife, and through the ordinary routines that become unbearable to the clinically depressed. Copeland also recreates interviews he’s made with other survivors of suicidal depression. Telling someone about such things is vital to preventing their worst outcomes, says Copeland, and telling his own story is meant to encourage others. It’s a worthy aim but only a fitfully engaging piece, since as drama it remains thin, standing at perhaps too respectful a distance from the convoluted torment and alienation at its center. (Avila)

War Horse Curran Theatre, 445 Geary, SF; www.shnsf.com. $31-300. Wed-Sat, 8pm (also Wed and Sat, 2pm); Sun, 2pm. Through Sept 9. The juggernaut from the National Theatre of Great Britain, via Broadway and the Tony Awards, has pulled into the Curran for its Bay Area bow. The life-sized puppets are indeed all they’re cracked up to be; and the story of a 16-year-old English farm boy (Andrew Veenstra) who searches for his beloved horse through the trenches of the Somme Valley during World War I, while peppered with much elementary humor too, is a good cry for those so inclined. The claim to being an antiwar play is only true to the extent that any war-is-hell backdrop and a plea for tolerance count a melodrama as "antiwar," but this is not Mother Courage and no serious attempt is made to investigate the subject. Closer to say it’s Lassie Come Home where Lassie is a horse — very ably brought to life by Handspring Puppet Company’s ingenious puppeteers and designers, and amid a transporting and generally riveting mise-en-scène (complete with pointedly stirring live and recorded music). But the simplistic storyline and its obvious, somewhat ham-fisted resolution (adapted by Nick Stafford from Michael Morpurgo’s novel) are too formulaic to be taken that seriously. And at two-and-a-half-hours, it’s a long time coming. A shorter war, the Falklands say, would have done just as well and gotten people out before the ride began to chafe. (Avila)

BAY AREA

Circle Mirror Transformation Marin Theatre Company, 397 Miller, Mill Valley; www.marintheatre.org. $20-57. Wed/22, 7:30pm; Thu/23-Sat/25, 8pm (also Sat/25, 2pm); Sun/26, 2 and 7pm. Annie Baker has enjoyed a wave of Bay Area premieres this year, beginning with Aurora’s sharp staging of Body Awareness, followed by SF Playhouse’s triumph with The Aliens. Now Marin Theatre Company and co-producers Encore Theatre Company offer Baker’s other "Vermont play," set in a community center drama therapy class run by baby-boomer groovy lady Marty (Julia Brothers). She’s joined in a series of drama exercises (and ill-masked personal convolutions) by her husband James (L. Peter Callender), fretting over his estrangement from his daughter by his first marriage; Schultz (Robert Parsons), a middle-aged recent divorcé smitten with the cute girl in the class; Theresa (Arwen Anderson), said cute girl, a nubile 30-something and recent New York transplant; and Lauren (Marissa Keltie), a reluctant, cloudy teen perpetually absent her mother’s check for the class. If Boxcar Theatre’s current production, Dog Sees God, builds flesh and bone from a comic strip, Baker’s amusing, bite-sized scenes (separated by blackouts) tend to lean in the other direction. Despite elaboration of a certain dramatic metaphor flagged in the title, the play’s thematic possibilities are restrained by an easy if highly palatable humor that flirts knowingly with caricature but to only middling affect. There’s a move in the final scene that nicely expands the reach of the action, but that limited if affecting turn is two hours in the making. That said, this fine production insures it’s no great burden getting there. The cast under director Kip Fagan is uniformly enjoyable. Brothers is terrific in giving Marty a bounding personality and just enough ambiguity to make her positive vibes suspect, and Callender finds wonderful opportunities for fleshing out the character of a charming but frustrated man who has not realized his potential. Parsons’ at first foolishly giddy then bitterly imploded Schultz is wholly convincing opposite Anderson’s zany but compelling Theresa. And Keltie’s sly and sullen teen is rightly the smartest tool in the shed. (Avila)

For the Greater Good, Or The Last Election This week: Montclair Ball Field, Montclair; www.sfmt.org. Free (donations accepted). Thu/23, 7pm. Willard Park, Berk; www.sfmt.org. Free (donations accepted). Sat/25-Sun/26, 2pm. Various venues through Sept. 8. "Don’t they understand that without us they don’t have anything?" asks Gideon Bloodgood (Ed Holmes), investment banker at the top of the San Francisco Mime Troupe’s vivisection of the "real" American Dream, For the Greater Good, Or the Last Election. But surely the hero of a Mime Troupe show cannot possibly be a billionaire? Well, sort of. Though Bloodgood enriches himself dishonestly with precarious investments and outright theft in this Occupy-era melodrama, he actually does occasionally spare a sentiment for Mom and apple pie, or anyway his daughter Alida (Lisa Hori-Garcia) and cookies baked by the unsuspecting victim of his ill-gotten gains, the Widow Fairweather (Keiko Shimosato Carreiro) — now living at the last Occupy encampment standing in the city. Alida, however, displays no compunction in throwing aside his affection and her prospective seat in Congress, running off to join the occupiers for reasons that truthfully appear about as politically motivated as her father’s parasitic avarice, leaving him to join forces instead with the most unlikely of allies — the impeccable, ingenuous Lucy Fairweather (Velina Brown), heiress to a stolen legacy, and staunch patriot. Based loosely on 19th century play The Poor of New York, The Last Election attempts to turn a presumptive ode to the free market into its swan song with good-humored, if predictable, results. (Gluckstern)

Happy Hour with Kim Jong Il Cabaret at the Marsh Berkeley, 2120 Allston, Berk; (415) 826-5750,l www.themarsh.org. Free. Fri/24, 6pm. Comedy work-in-progress by Kenny Yun, with live music by cabaret singer Candace Roberts.

Henry V Sequoia High School, 1201 Brewster, Redwood City; www.redwoodcity.org. Free. Sat/25, 7:30pm; Sun/26, 2pm. San Francisco Shakespeare Festival presents the Bard’s history play as part of its "Free Shakespeare in the Park" series.

Keith Moon/The Real Me TheaterStage at the March Berkeley, 2120 Allston, Berk; www.themarsh.org. $15-50. Sept 13, 20, and 27, 8pm. Mike Berry workshops his new musical, featuring ten classic Who songs performed with a live band.

The Kipling Hotel: True Misadventures of the Electric Pink ’80s Marsh Berkeley, 2120 Allston, Berk; (415) 282-3055, www.themarsh.org. $20-50. Sat, 8:30pm; Sun, 7pm. Extended through Oct 14. This new autobiographical solo show by Don Reed, writer-performer of the fine and long-running East 14th, is another slice of the artist’s journey from 1970s Oakland ghetto to comedy-circuit respectability — here via a partial debate-scholarship to UCLA. The titular Los Angeles residency hotel was where Reed lived and worked for a time in the 1980s while attending university. It’s also a rich mine of memory and material for this physically protean and charismatic comic actor, who sails through two acts of often hilarious, sometimes touching vignettes loosely structured around his time on the hotel’s young wait staff, which catered to the needs of elderly patrons who might need conversation as much as breakfast. On opening night, the episodic narrative seemed to pass through several endings before settling on one whose tidy moral was delivered with too heavy a hand, but if the piece runs a little long, it’s only the last 20 minutes that noticeably meanders. And even with some awkward bumps along the way, it’s never a dull thing watching Reed work. (Avila)

A Midsummer Night’s Dream Forest Meadows Amphitheater, 890 Belle, Dominican University of California, San Rafael; www.marinshakespeare.org. $20-35. Check website for schedule. Through Sept 30. Marin Shakespeare Company performs the Bard’s classic, transported to the shores of Hawaii.

Our Country’s Good Redwood Amphiteatre, Marin Art and Garden Center, 30 Sir Francis Drake, Ross; www.porchlight.net. $15-30. Thu-Sun, 7:30pm. Through Sept 8. Porchlight Theatre Company presents an outdoor performance of Timberlake Wertenbaker’s play about Royal Marines and prisoners in an 18th century New South Wales prison colony.

Precious Little Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby, Berk; www.shotgunplayers.org. $18-25. Wed-Thu, 7pm; Fri-Sat, 8pm (also Sept 1 and 8, 3pm); Sun, 5pm. Through Sept 16. Shotgun Players presents Madeleine George’s new play about an expectant mother who studies near-dead languages and befriends a "talking" gorilla.

PERFORMANCE/DANCE

"Along the Way" Dance Mission Theater, 3316 24th St, SF; www.caitlinelliotdance.com, www.detourdance.com. Fri/24-Sun/26, 8pm. $15-30. Caitlin Elliott Dance Collective and Detour Dance present this evening of world premieres, including performances Fancy and Imitations of Intimacy, and the dance film Pedestrian Crossing.

BATS Improv Bayfront Theater, B350 Fort Mason Center, Marina at Laguna, SF; www.improv.org. Thu-Sat, 8pm. Through Sept 8. $10-25. This week: "Original Broadway Cast and Moments of Transition" (Thu/23); "Double Feature" (Fri/24); "The Naked Stage" (Sat/25).

Circus Finelli 50 Mason Social House, 50 Mason, SF; www.circusfinelli.com. Thu/23, 7-10pm. $6. Clowns, cocktails, comedy, and klezmer rule in this performance of "Big Time and Little Something’s Big Adventure."

"Elect to Laugh" Studio Theater, Marsh San Francisco, 1062 Valencia, SF; (415) 282-3055, www.themarsh.org. Tue, 8pm. Through Nov 6. $15-50. Veteran political comedian Will Durst emphasizes he’s watching the news and keeping track of the presidential race "so you don’t have to." No kidding, it sounds like brutal work for anyone other than a professional comedian — for whom alone it must be Willy Wonka’s edible Eden of delicious material. Durst deserves thanks for ingesting this material and converting it into funny, but between the ingesting and out-jesting there’s the risk of turning too palatable what amounts to a deeply offensive excuse for a democratic process, as we once again hurtle and are herded toward another election-year November, with its attendant massive anticlimax and hangover already so close you can touch them. Durst knows his politics and comedy backwards and forwards, and the evolving show, which pops up at the Marsh every Tuesday in the run-up to election night, offers consistent laughs born on his breezy, infectious delivery. One just wishes there were some alternative political universe that also made itself known alongside the deft two-party sportscasting. (Avila)

"Jump Into Dance! ODC School Family Day Open House" ODC Dance Commons, 351 Shotwell, SF; www.odcdance.org. Sun/26, 8:45am-3:30pm. Free. Children, teens, and their families are invited to check out the ODC School Youth and Teen Program, with sample dance classes and faculty on hand to answer questions.

Rome Kanda Main Pagoda Stage, Japantown’s Peace Plaza, Geary and Buchanan, SF; www.j-pop.com. Sat/25, 2:30pm; Sun/26, 1pm. Free. The Japanese comedian stops by the J-Pop Summit Festival for a stage appearance and signing of his new digital manga series, Samurai Spirit: The Story of Rome Kanda.

Maurya Kerr/tinypistol Z Space, 450 Florida, SF; www.brownpapertickets.com. Mon/27, 8pm. $18-23. WestWave Dance presents this evening of works, including world premiere FreakShow.

"Measure for Measure" Café Royale, 800 Post, SF; sftheaterpub.wordpress.com. Mon/27, 8pm. Free ($5 suggested donation). SF Theater Pub performs the Shakespeare play.

"San Francisco Drag King Contest" DNA Lounge, 375 11th St, SF; www.sfdragkingcontest.com. Thu/23, 9pm. $20-35. The popular, raucous contest returns for its 17th annual incarnation.

"San Francisco Improv Festival" Eureka Theater, 215 Jackson, SF; www.sfimprovfestival.com. Wed/22-Sat/25. $5-35. With local improv talent including BATS Improv, Un-Scripted Theater Company, San Jose ComedySportz, and more.

"Sea Music Festival" San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park, Hyde Street Pier, SF; nps.gov/safr. Sat/25, 9:30am-5pm. $5 (15 and under, free). Singers, intrumentalists, and dance troupes perform in celebration of maritime heritage to coincide with the America’s Cup races.

"Soundwave 5: Revelation Zen" San Francisco Zen Center, 300 Page, SF; www.projectsoundwave.com. Sat/25, 6-9pm. $12-25. Performances by En, Sean McCann, and Marielle V. Jakobsons.

"Work More!" CounterPULSE, 1310 Mission, SF; www.counterpulse.org. Thu/24-Sat/26, 8pm. $15-20. Theater performance meets nightlife experience in this drag installation with Mica Sigourney/VivvyAnne ForeverMORE and Ox.

Tastes of Cindy: Drag artists re-enact Cindy Sherman portraits from SFMOMA show

Jesse Hawthorne Ficks

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August 15, 2012

11

Tastes of Cindy: Drag artists re-enact Cindy Sherman portraits from SFMOMA show

To celebrate the incredibly engaging Cindy Sherman retrospective at the SF MOMA (through October 8), we asked four of San Francisco’s premier drag performance artists to re-enact four of Sherman’s iconic portraits. It’s all about looking twice — or in Sherman’s case, four or five times — and we wanted to see how many layers of gaze her work could hold.

Read Matt Fisher’s review of the retrospective here and Rob Avila’s review of accompanying show, “Stage Presence” here. All re-enactment photos by Keeney + Law.

>> FAUXNIQUE: UNTITLED #351

The truly artistic Fauxnique, aka Monique Jenkinson, currently holds a fellowship through the de Young Museum: she’ll be Artist in Residence for the month of September in the de Young’s Kimball Education Gallery, working in an open studio setting, co-hosting “Dance Discourse Project #13: Working in Museums” with Dancers’ Group and CounterPULSE on Saturday, September 15 at 2pm), and making new work, including “Instrument,” a solo created in an experimental collaboration with choreographers Chris Black, Amy Seiwert, and Miguel Gutierrez premiering at CounterPULSE in November.

>> BOY CHILD: UNTITLED #355

A relative newcomer to the scene, Boy Child stretches drag performance into phantasmagorical new directions, mashing neon hip-hop swagger into goth-electro darkness. Lately, she’s been representing SF in New York and the Pacific Northwest and gaining attention for her photography.

>> LIL MISS HOT MESS: UNTITLED #360

One of the only queens who could have most of SF’s colorful nightlifers dancing the hora to “Hava Nagila” at her Bar Mitzvah x2 party — or falling on their bums at her annual rollerskating birthday jam — Lil Miss Hot Mess will be stepping down as Miss Tiara Sensation during next month’s pageant (Saturday, September 29, 9pm, $10-$20. Rickshaw Stop, SF. www.rickshawstop.com) and enrolling in grad school, to begin her new life as a career girl.

>> LADY BEAR: UNTITLED #354

Always elegantly but firmly large and in charge, Lady Bear hosts monthly parties Hot Rod at the Powerhouse and Dark Room at the Hot Spot here in SF and Cub Scout at the Eagle in LA. As Dragoon the actress, she’s currently starring in the uproarious “Designing Women Live!” (Tuesdays through August 28, 8pm, $20. Rebel, 1760 Market, SF.) and the upcoming “Roseanne: The Play” in September. She also recently starred in a short film, Love and Anger, with Cousin Wonderlette.

Photography: Keeney + Law

Art direction: Brooke Robertson

Assistant: Caitlin Donohue

Concept: Marke B.

Suspended in the groove

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August 14, 2012

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arts@sfbg.com

MUSIC Out of nowhere an isolated house groove surfaced from the ether of the Internet and touched an unexpected chord. It was called “Love Me Like This,” a throbbing re-edit of the early 1980s track of the same title from R&B group Real to Reel. Its author was an unknown British musician going by the name of Floating Points, a gerund whose aerial element reminded me at the time of another producer closer to home, Flying Lotus.

Apart from names, both applied jazz tendencies to their electronic compositions. And both were involved respectively in a loose constellation of musicians and producers, whose inspired theorizing on low end frequencies had just begun to crack apart the stale course taken by much of dance music, exploding it into countless directions.

This was the case in, at least, that nebulous sphere of grassroots creativity that many still lovingly call the underground — in which the alleged distinction between dance and head music (or, in industry parlance, between electronic dance music and intellectual dance music) just doesn’t make any sense. Is it head music dancing? Dance music getting head? How about this: dance music about dance music. That’s heady enough. And if you think I’m dancing around the issue, then I would be so lucky to have got my point across.

Putting my word games aside, Floating Points’s music hits a sweet spot. Something about “Love Me” suspends you in midair. Syncopated percussion lurches ahead, offset by a wandering snare. The song unravels joyously, arriving and departing from a series of peaks where the programmed drums and swirling vocal refrain come to be utterly overwhelmed by lush arpeggios, sweltering keys. Most of what we tend to place under the category of dance music operates precisely this formula in which claustrophobic discomfort builds and holds itself back until it’s finally spent in an expulsive release. Again and again. Floating Points, who is also called Sam Shepherd, often executes this to brilliant effect.

But something else can happen too, where the difference between claustrophobia and release is suspended. It’s as if, against all odds, you feel both restraint and letting go at the same time. And there you are, floating in the delay between them — in an extraordinarily ecstatic shuffle where the climactic drop that has become so essential to the huge financial success of EDM festival acts just doesn’t even count anymore. You’ve been taken instead somewhere else, outside of the drop’s comfort zone.

“Love Me Like This” appeared from nowhere more than three years ago, before anyone really knew the name Skrillex, before dub-step would begin to sell its signature wobble to the popular consumption of American cars and Brittney Spears’ songs. Then, Californian producers were in the midst of reinventing instrumental hip-hop, while others toyed with the boogie funk of Prince, as the sounds of UK club culture filtered into this experimental space.

I remember waiting impatiently for two specific aspects of these worlds to collide — waiting for someone to take what Dam-Funk was doing in Los Angeles with bounce driven soul and fissure it with the two-step drum patterns that made all the sub-genres splintering from and around dub-step sound so interesting. Floating Points answered my silent wish.

I exaggerate my prescience here, though, because Shepherd far exceeded whatever I could muster in anticipation. His first proper release was a seven-inch record that debuted Eglo Records, which he co-founded with Alexander Nut in London. The single’s two tracks stem from the disorienting free jazz belonging to another incessant breaker of rules, Sun Ra. “Radiality” warps Ra’s “Lanquidity” into a plosive shattering of synthetic rhythms and melodies. The way the groove lobs in time is a bit like the floating I mentioned earlier — there we are, languishing warmly in rhythm.

A couple EPs, a number of singles, remixes, and collaborations followed. On Vacuum, Shepherd shows that he can just as well make a no frills house groove. Subtle narrative arcs made up of punchy bass lines and sticky keys invite you to surrender willingly to the beat. Shadows is a bit more experimental. The extended compositions are fractured: bass lines disappear into quiet piano solos, chords dissolve into pulses spiraling in concentric circles around themselves. From these shallow swirls of sound arise huge swells of energy, only to dissipate once again.

Some of Shepherd’s most magnetic music, though, features fellow Eglo signee Fatima on vocals. She not only sings wonderfully with the Floating Points Ensemble, but has also done significant work of her own with Shepherd on production. What sticks with me most is last year’s Follow You EP, a subtle and lovely take on the intoxicating inner visions that music can conjure.

It turns out Floating Points is a classically trained musician, who only moonlights on analog drum machines and synthesizers. A great deal of his waking hours are otherwise devoted to pursuing a Ph.D in neuroscience. I assume that’s why it’s taken Shepherd this long to touch down in San Francisco for a live performance. And thanks to the curatorial teamwork between DJ Dials and Noise Pop’s Dawson Ludwig, he’ll join the eclectic bill for the upcoming Scene Unseen event.

Set among other headliners — including both the extravagant rapper, Riff Raff (who will be played by none other than James Franco in an upcoming film directed by Harmony Korine), and the showy Chicago duo, Flosstradamus — I’m not sure what to expect. Add to that set list two experimental beatsmiths from LA, Dibiase and Groundislava, as well as locals Ghost on Tape and the DJ crew KM / FM, among others, then you’ve pretty much run the risk of nullifying any categorical expectation. It’s really quite a gamble. Then again, that’s the liminal space in which Floating Points has thrived, and in which tomorrow’s music has always thrown its dice.

FLOATING POINTS

With Riff Raff, Flosstradamus, and others

Fri/17, 10pm, free with RSVP

1015 Folsom, SF

www.1015.com

Nicky Da B at Public Works

Maria Poblet

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August 14, 2012

0

This Thursday, two of San Francisco nightlife’s heavy hitters, Stay Gold and Future Perfect, are joining forces with Public Works to bring you the show of the summer.

Nicky Da B is at the forefront of the next generation of New Orleans bounce rappers. He is currently earning huge accolades for his most recent work with Grammy nominated producer Diplo on “Express Yourself,” his ground breaking video for “Hot Potato Style,” and his sold out headlining performance at the Sydney Opera House this past June. Nicky Da B’s live performances are highlighted by choreographed songs, live dancers, and his DJ, Rusty Lazer.

DJs Rapid Fire, Pink Lighting, Vin Sol & Marco de la Vega will be DJing throughout the night. This event is surely something not to be missed. Get your presale tickets here.

Thursday, August 16 @ Public Works, 161 Erie, SF | $8-$10 | This is a 21+ event

Bounce castle: Nicky Da B makes his SF debut

Andrew Lam

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August 14, 2012

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I met New Orleans bounce artist Nicky Da B in a Mardi Gras beer bust at a Nola leather bar. His manager Rusty Lazer (check out my interview with from the same trip) introduced us, shortly before the two ventured to the DJ booth upstairs where people started shedding clothes fast on the dancefloor.

And not (just!) for your run of the mill nightlife encounters that can be found at Eagles across the country — they were doing fast, sweaty DJ and the hella diverse crowd was losing it, including the leathermen who were down to give the scene a try, or at least continue their standard bar-time activities while a bunch of twenty-somethings flung themselves around them. Asses were popping so fast you didn’t know their owners’ hip sockets were going to be okay, it was that kind of party. Come to think of it, New Orleans tends to be that kind of party.

Seven months later, Nicky is riding high on the ace “Express Yourself” bounce track he put together with Diplo. He’s toured the country and beyond. He played the Sydney Opera House, for chrissakes. He’s also part of a queer hip-hop renaissance best epitomized by Frank Ocean’s coming-out, fellow Nola bounce queen Big Freedia, a whole mess of New York artists who are gaining ground, and locally by the glitter-gunned duo Double Duchess and female emcee Micah Tron.

But bounce artists are special, Nicky says. “We’re like the hypemen of hip-hop, kinda sorta,” he told me last week during a sweet little phone interview.

He’s making his SF debut Thu/16 at Public Works, finally. The Future Perfect and Stay Gold crews have the honor of welcoming the cardigan-ed wonder to town, where he told me he plans to ride a cable car. “We have street cars in New Orleans but I haven’t been on anyone else’s yet,” he said. He’s great. And really soft-spoken for a guy who has no trouble directing crowds in real grimy (in a good way) dancing at his live shows, where he rapid-fires bend-over instructions on top of driving bounce beats.

Nicky’s new track, video created by the Court 13, the same crew behind The Beasts of the Southern Wild and Big Freedia’s “Y’All Get Back Now” imagery

Nicky’s earliest memory of bounce was from back when a small thing in New Orleans, listening to sissy bounce progenitor Katy Red and Vockah Redu. And dancing. He says he was dancing, even then, all the time. “That’s a rule,” he said. “You have to know how to dance in New Orleans or you get whacked. If you walk up to anybody and they’re originally from New Orleans and they grew up in New Orleans they know how to dance.” He started performing when he graduated from high school.

Now he’s making it happen, currently working on the “Express Yourself”/”Hot Potato Style” (his new single, see great video above) follow-up, a mixtape tenatively called Legend in the Making that he says will incorporate other genres — more hip-hop, more house, more techno.

And if you didn’t start machine-gunning your hips to bounce at age eight like Nicky, he wants you to know there’s no call to get shy. “If you’re having fun doing it, then you’re doing it right,” he told me. “There’s more advanced moves that some people can’t just get, but they’ll get over time. There’s no right or wrong way.”

Heard?

Nicky Da B

Thu/16 9pm, $8-10 advance tickets

Public Works

161 Erie, SF

www.publicsf.com

Our Weekly Picks: August 8-14

Andrew Lam

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August 7, 2012

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WEDNESDAY 8

Beats for Lunch

Tired of eating lunch at your cubicle, under harsh fluorescent lighting? Monarch feels your pain, and wants to do something about it. Launched last month as RECESS, Beats for Lunch is the second installment of the club’s rather experimental stab at an afternoon, workday dance party. Featuring several Motown DJs from MOM SF, the party crew that’s had our fair city shaking it on a weekly basis since 2009, this is exactly the kind of all-inclusive dance-a-thon we could use more of. With free cover (and free sandwiches!) to boot, checking out this month’s Beats for Lunch should be a no-brainer. It doesn’t matter what you wear, just as long as you are there. (Taylor Kaplan)

Noon-2pm, free

Monarch

101 Sixth St., SF

(415) 284-9774

www.monarchsf.com

Fox & Woman

A group of poets in the Mission District of San Francisco formed the band Fox & Woman over a year ago, with a goal to “stretch and tear at the shortcomings in pop music.” In turn, they offer a refreshing mix of the rambunctious and the beautiful. Along with riveting lyrical and vocal power, the band treats listeners to violin, mandolin, cello, and ukelele, creating lush orchestration. Check out “Break Into My Heart” off its six-song EP (streaming on the band’s website) and peep the rest of the album while you’re at it; nod your head to passionate anthems, stomp your feet to every tight rhythm. Let the slower ballads created by this five-piece woo you, and then be prepared to jump right back into the dance groove. (Shauna C. Keddy)

With the Thoughts, Split Screens

9pm, $10

Brick and Mortar Music Hall

1710 Mission, SF

(415) 800-8782

www.brickandmortarmusic.com

Redd Kross

When brothers Jeff and Steve McDonald first formed the band that would become Redd Kross in the late 1970s, they were just 11 and 15 years old — and famously played their first gig opening for Black Flag. Returning with their first new album in 15 years, the excellent Researching The Blues, which dropped this week, the group continues to twist infectious melodies and pop sensibilities into short, stunning bursts of rock’n’roll. Some acts would struggle to regain that explosive chemistry after such a long break, but Redd Kross picked up right where it left off. (Sean McCourt)

With the Mantles, Warm Soda

8pm, $20

Great American Music Hall

859 O’Farrell, SF

(415) 885-0750

www.slimspresents.com

THURSDAY 9

The Big Eat

Why Leo Beckerman and Evan Bloom would reveal the secrets to their divine pastrami is beyond me. The Wise Sons Delicatessen founders and local meat men-of-the-moment are among the mavens congregating at The Big Eat to discuss the nexus between cuisine and creativity. Each expert has a story to tell — distiller Arne Hillesland, a.k.a The Ginerator, created a kosher-for-Passover gin in 40 days. Artist Deborah Lozier fixed Norwegian wood to vintage silverware in a series of pieces that blend nature and civilization. SFMOMA pastry chef Leah Rosenberg uses ongoing exhibitions as inspirations for her stylized cakes, while Bryon Waibel harvests honey in the Mission, laying legitimate claim to being the world’s first urban beekeeper.

(Kevin Lee)

6:30-8:30pm; $10 general, free for museum members Contemporary Jewish Museum 736 Mission, SF (415) 655-7800 www.thecjm.org

Young Moon

Sure, Phil Spector and My Bloody Valentine are great, but we’ve officially reached a saturation point with this whole wall-of-sound thing. Too many imitators using viscous layers of reverb to conceal lazy songwriting, ill-conceived lyrics, and half-baked hooks. However, Young Moon stands out as an exception. Recalling Deerhunter’s balance between the robust and the ethereal, this project of local multitracker Trent Montgomery pays tribute to the goopy production of Pet Sounds, while churning out the bona-fide hooks to back it up. A release party for his debut album, Navigated Like the Swans, Montgomery’s set this Thursday might well be the beginning of something. (Kaplan)

With Danny Paul Grody, Vestals 9pm, $6 Hemlock 1131 Polk, SF (415) 923-0923 www.hemlocktavern.com

YG

Though his name stands for Young Gangsta, this Compton-based rapper abandoned his gang-affiliated lifestyle when he got signed to Def Jams at just 19 years old. Now 22, YG has produced some of the best guilty-pleasure tracks in recent hip-hop history, including 2010’s “Toot it and Boot it” and this year’s charmingly titled “Bitches Ain’t Shit,” both of which cracked Billboard’s Hot 100. 2012 has also seen YG’s acting debut alongside Snoop Dogg in the hip-hop teen flick We the Party. Though the rapper is yet to release his debut album, he’s been keeping himself busy with side projects and collaborations. YG’s hyper-sexual and hook-laden mix tapes have kept a hold on the industry’s attention. (Haley Zaremba)

8:30pm, $18

New Parish

579 18th, Oakl.

(510) 444-7474

www.thenewparish.com

FRIDAY 10

Christeene

After six video singles — starting with attention-grabber “Fix My Dick” (all directed and produced by PJ Raval) — insatiable, downright nasty, slyly loveable CHRISTEENE is unleashing a full album. The release party for the Austin-based sensation and self-described “drag terrorist” (alter ego of actor Paul Soileau) headlines the first installment of Church, a new nightlife event by co-presenters Peaches Christ, Bearracuda, and DJ Carnita. Sure, the back-alley beauty looks like a thorough mess with stringy black hair framing a wild-eyed pan whose rubbed out lipstick makes a skanky halo around her gold-flecked smile, but her rhymes (delivered over salacious hip-hip, R&B, and techno beats) and balls-out floor show got more business than Mitt. (Robert Avila)

With Peaches Christ, Bearracuda, DJ Carnita

9pm, $20

Public Works

161 Erie, SF

(415) 932-0955

www.publicsf.com

www.peacheschrist.com

SATURDAY 11

James and the Giant Peach

Though 1993’s The Nightmare Before Christmas gets more cult love (and 2009’s Neil Gaiman-inspired Coraline snagged an Oscar nom; we won’t speak of 2001’s Monkeybone), James and the Giant Peach, director Henry Selick’s 1996 take on the beloved Roald Dahl tale, is well worth revisiting. Especially this week, when the Tim Burton-produced film — rendered in an exquisite mix of stop-motion animation and live action — screens at the SF Film Society Cinema alongside a presentation by artists who contributed to the San Francisco-made project. Puppets and props from the film will be in attendance (Miss Spider FTW!), and superfans take note: these artists are also working with Selick on his next film, another spooky Gaiman adaptation. (Cheryl Eddy)

11am, $8

SF Film Society Cinema

1746 Post, SF

sffs.org/cinema

Tornado Wallace

Melbourne-based producer Lewie Day lives a double life. By day, he produces house music for electronic labels like Murmur and 8bit. By night, he’s one of the biggest DJs in Australia’s electronic scene. As a teenager, he threw himself into the DJ scene as a favor to a friend who needed a spot filled. Today, Tornado Wallace is extremely prolific, churning out original disco-tinged tracks and remixes at lightning speed. His quantity plus quality approach has garnered the attention of many of the house scene’s major players, and Resident Advisor recently featured him on their highly esteemed podcast — and named him as an artist to watch out for. This summer marks Tornado Wallace’s first-ever US tour. (Zaremba)

With Bells & Whistles, Habitat SF

9:30pm, $12

Public Works

161 Erie, SF

(415) 932-0955

www.publicsf.com

SUNDAY 12

Al Jarreau, George Duke Trio

One of the most versatile, expressive vocalists of the last 50 years, Al Jarreau jumps restlessly between soul, jazz, pop, and samba traditions, refusing to let any genre tags define him. George Duke is an undisputed keyboard champion, whose ’70s jazz-fusion recordings have permeated modern hip-hop and neo-soul to an astonishing degree. These two legends will share the beautiful Stern Grove stage, collaborating on a range of jazz tunes, in an afternoon of (free!) music, not to be missed. Bring a beach towel and a six-pack, and cross your fingers for some Keytar action from Mr. Duke, himself. (Kaplan)

With Mara Hruby 2pm, free

Stern Grove

19th Ave. and Sloat, SF

(415) 252-6252

www.sterngrove.org

MONDAY 13

“Incredibly Strange Television!”

Sure, your nightly channel-surf turns up some intense weirdness: Extreme Couponing, Cajun Pawn Stars, Bikini Barbershop. But make no mistake — TVs were beaming uber-bizarreness into living rooms long before reality programming took over. The one and only Johnny Legend invades the Roxie for three nights of brain-blowing transmissions, presented under the banner “Incredibly Strange Television!” First up is tonight’s two-part ode to comedy (featuring premiere eps, forgotten pilots, and more, with glimpses of greats like Jackie Gleason, George Burns, Don Knotts, and a young Betty White). Tomorrow, it’s the world premiere of “Johnny Legend’s TV in Acidland,” a live-TV extravaganza spanning decades; Wednesday’s “Shock and Noir!” promises “strange and demented” prime-time snippets from the 1950s and 60s. (Eddy)

Aug. 13-15, 6:15, 8, and 9:45pm, $11

Roxie Cinema

3117 16th St., SF

www.roxie.com

TUESDAY 14

Red Hot Chili Peppers

“Let me tell you about the Chili Peppers,” intoned comedian Chris Rock in April. “If Brian Wilson and George Clinton had a kid, he’d be as ugly as fuck, but he would sound like the Chili Peppers.” Rock helped induct the Chilis into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, three decades after four high school friends began jamming together in Los Angeles. Through the drugs and death of founding member Hillel Slovak, through eight Grammy Awards and 85 million records sold, the Chili Peppers have endured with their funk-punk sound. Even now, with lead singer Anthony Kiedis and bassist Flea pushing 50, the Chili Peppers remain one of the most dynamic live shows in rock. Darling Swedish electronic group Little Dragon open. (Lee)

With Little Dragon

8pm, $39.50–$59.50

Oracle Arena

7000 Coliseum Way, Oakl.

(510) 569-2121

www.coliseum.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, 71 Stevenson St., Second Floor, SF, CA 94105; fax to (415) 487-2506; or e-mail (paste press release into e-mail body — no text 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.

Is the War on Fun over, or do we still need to fight for our right to party?

Sasha Cuttler

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August 3, 2012

6

Is the War on Fun over, or do we still need to fight for our right to party?

On Monday, the Entertainment Commission brings together a slew of City folk and party people at its fourth annual Nightlife Industry Summit. The three-hour affair includes speeches from Police Chief Greg Suhr, Sup. Scott Weiner, and perhaps Mayor Ed Lee, as well as a panel of speakers, and break-out sessions where club owners, security officers, and outdoor event planners can respectively brainstorm, said commission director Jocelyn Kane.

Past summits have resulted in legislation and policy changes, Kane said, pointing to loitering laws and Sup. David Chiu’s parking lot security legislation last year. This year, Kane thinks there aren’t any pressing problems to address or big controversies that have roiled the commission in past years.

“There’s very little violence and our security staff is much more professionalized than they’ve ever been,” she said. “For me, it’s a year when we can raise the bar in terms of programming inside venues and diversifying the patron experience.”

Club owners and event producers will have some free time to swap tips when the structured portion of the day ends. Kane thinks all neighborhoods should attempt to mimic the Mission, where the wide variety of venues allows a partyer to buy a “big fat martini at Blondies, roll down and eat a burritto, and catch some music at the Elbo Room” as opposed to those who spend the evening on Broadway, where “everyone’s offering the same thing.”

Though Kane couldn’t identify any negative issues on the Summit’s agenda, Opel event producer Syd Gris has plenty of grievances he plans to address on Monday. Gris, who will be speaking on the panel for the first time, said what the Guardian coined as the “War on Fun” in 2006 wages on in 2012.

Gris plans to bring up June’s Opulent Temple Massive on Treasure Island, which was designed to be for visitor aged 18 and over, but the San Francisco Police Department captain that oversaw the event insisted it only allow in those of drinking age, “despite ample precedence of events in the city being 18 and over.”

“For them to deny us the ability to do something that happens all the time in the city just because one captain didn’t like it was unfair and had a huge economic impact,” Gris said. “It’s a great example of what’s wrong with how certain things work in the city. Arbitrary decisions that are inconsistent, unfair, and have a deleterious impact on an event producer can be made by small groups of people.”

His was not a stand alone experience, but part of a broader, Gris said. The mellow Fillmore Jazz Festival had to have beer gardens for the first time this year, Power to the Peaceful was cancelled last September, as was LovEvolution this year after the SFPD places onerous restrictions on it.

“I am certainly glad that the conversation is happening with people that need to be hearing about it,” Gris said of the Summit. “Will a real change come out of it? I’m not optimistic but I certainly hope so.”

The event — held in the Main Library’s Koret Auditorium — is free and open to the public, so come fight for your right to party 1-4pm.

Party Radar: House of Aviance, John Talabot, Scuba, Rewind, Mykki Blanco, more

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August 1, 2012

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Tons of great dance music and fab haps on tap this weekend — so much, in fact that I’m giving weeeekend another couple of “e”s, OKeee? Your sountrack choices this week? Perfect summer edits party jams, wiggy contemporary ecstacy techno, clap-your-hands disco-funk loveliness, or hyper-poetic rejection bass. Wut? Do let’s begin — and for more crazy great thingies, including Squarepusher, Erol Alkan, Buraka Som Sistema, and The Pharcyde — hit up our This Week’s Picks section.

>>JOHN TALABOT

The Spaniard delivered pretty much the dance album of the year so far with Fin — further exploring the psychedelic-Balearic release epitomized in his previous work. He’ll be appearing, intimately, in t he public Works Odd Job Loft, bringing some sunshine to the Icee Hot party.Also, this is so far the cognescenti club hit of the summer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuJg4WcIO7Q

Thu/2, 9pm-3am, $5 before 11, $10. public Works, 161 erie, SF. www.publicsf.com

>>LEGENDARY

This ought to be insane — NYC’s House of Aviance descends on San Francisco for some vogue ball realness (more like a showacse, really, as a commenter below points out). Mother Juan Aviance, Nita Aviance, Kevin Aviance, Gehno Aviance, plus DJs Juanita More, Jason Kendig, and capoeiraista Antonio Contreras. It’ll be a bonkers extravaganza for all, queens and admirers both. Get ready to drop! (And Lady Bunny says she’s coming? Ummmm)

Fri/3, 9pm-3am, $15-$25. Beatbox, 314 11th St., SF. www.beatboxsf.com

>>MYKKI BLANCO

Dark and fierce queer rapper from the future rides a fresh wave of hype to the spooky-neat 120 Minutes party, with Physical Therapy and a performance by the eye-popping Boy Child.

Fri/3, 10pm, $10. Elbo Room, 647 Valencia, SF. www.elbo.com

>>REWIND

The Holy Cow continues to shed its reputation as a somewhat, er, screechy meat market, welcoming in this new Friday underground-vibes techno monthly, kicking off with local faves Nikita, Adnan Sharif, Lt. D, Joseph Lee, and special guest from Vancouver Kota Shibata.

Fri/3, 10pm, $10. Holy Cow, 1535 Folsom, SF.

>>SCUBA

The super-hot (like, for me, panties-throwing hot — but also hot in the audial way) British Hotflush label honcho is perfectly schizophrenic, giving us atmospheric dubby-deep bass genius and cerebellum-tickling techno in the harder vein. We like it when both sides come out to play — and why wouldn’t they at this As You like It party, with an amazing sound system and support from the also fascinating Olivier Deutschmann, Epcot (he’s back!), and Mossmoss.

Fri/3, 9pm-4am, $10 before 11pm, $20 after. Public Works, 161 Erie, SF. www.publicsf.com

>>G.A.W.K.

And now for something completely different — it’s OG club kid (and supposed progenitor of queer hip-hop) Jon Sugar’s birthday, and he’s having the party at his raucous regular Gay Artists and Writers Kollective showcase, with bands 5 Pines and Happy Idiots, fantasy solo performances, and an ever-lively crowd of the open-minded.

Sun/5, 7pm, free. Tikka Masala, 1668 Haight, SF. Email gawksf@yahoo.com for more details. Or just go!

Guardian feminism panel calls for change, gang activity

Andrew Lam

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July 23, 2012

31

In the interest of behaving badly, let us first say that we won’t apologize for the “roving feminist gangs” comment, nor the laughter that ensued at our July 11 “Bay Area Feminism Today” panel. In the light of the sexual attacks that have terrorized Mission District residents this year, Celeste Chan’s joke (actually a reference to comments made by Fox News in reference to the New Jersey Seven) has to be read as a self defense tactic — and source of comfort and strength to the women living in the neighborhood. Not a threat to men. Unless they’re commiting sexual assault, of course — but then, women commiting sexual assault will probably have the gang’s wrath to face as well.

Seven women from all walks of Bay Area activism — arts, nightlife, immigrant advocacy, domestic violence organizations, and more — came together at City College’s Mission branch to discuss what our SF progressive community needs to work on, recent feminist victories, whether they even believe in the term “feminism,” and everything in between. Our “Faces of feminism” cover story announcing the event attracted a decent-sized crowd of around 120 (mainly young women, with zero male elected officials in attendance.) We laughed, we nearly cried, we came away with a lot to think about. Here’s some of the general topics that were discussed. And here’s to this being a spark for continued talks, however a Fourth Wave Bay feminism may take shape.

>>FOR THE FULL BIOS OF OUR PANELISTS, CHECK OUT THE EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT

Reproductive justice

Reproductive justice has long been a feminist goal, but with the recent spate of attacks on birth control and abortion access it’s come up again. Are we here in the Bay Area isolated from the War On Women?Some panelists thought we can affect the country’s situation positively.

“Part of what we do here in the Bay Area is we send strong women to Washington,” the Drug Policy Alliance‘s Laura Thomas said. “We are responsible for a significant amount of women in Congress.” But California’s reproductive justice situation is more complicated than it may seem. St. James Infirmary‘s Stephany Ashley noted that reproductive health here is under attack with “criminalization of HIV-positive people,” and that California “just cut all funding for HIV prevention for women.”

>>CHECK OUT REBECCA BOWE’S RECORDED LIVESTREAM OF THE EVENT HERE

Chan, founder of Queer Rebels Productions, added that California is cutting domestic violence services through slashing CalWORKS funding. Mujeres Unidas‘ Juana Flores noted that the Bay’s Latino communities can find it difficult to support aspects of reproductive health because of religion and tradition. But she said that people need to work together and realize that “it’s a real war. It’s a real war on us.” She warned that “politicians are not going to fix things just because they want to improve our lives. We need to fight back.”

Transgender activist and member of SF’s Youth Commission Mia Tu Mutch said that part of the war on women has been a wave of anti-trans legislation across the country, as well as a wave of hate crimes, especially against trans women of color. Some legislation in Tennessee is making it more difficult for trans people to go the bathroom, she said. “Reproductive justice is important, but we also need just the simple right to pee.”

But what about the word itself?

Does feminism have power as its own concept now, or has its work been rightly subsumed into the queer movement, the civil rights movement, and other forms of activism? “A lot of us can agree that there isn’t something you can point to and say, this is the feminist movement in San Francisco,” Ashley said. “But there are many important feminist projects happening.”
Alix Rosenthal, who created a controversial women’s slate in her bid for re-election on the SF Democratic County Central Committee recalled how “30 to 40 years ago, we all had to join together because there weren’t enough of us. Now people have splintered off.” Chan brought up the bicycle scene in 1983’s feminist sci-fi film Born in Flames, and quoted Audre Lourde: “for so long, we’ve been on the edge of each other’s battles.”

Tu Mutch said that she “would rather identify as fighting for LGBT rights, progressive rights” than as feminist. But, she continued that it is “under the system of patriarchy that we’re all getting screwed over.” She said that women are treated as second-class citizens, and trans and gender non-conforming people are treated as third class citizens in our society. Edaj, longtime Bay Area DJ and director of the Women’s Stage at Pride for a decade, agreed that the word feminism “sparks a lot of emotion in people” and can create obstacles in growing support. Said Flores: “it’s a big word. People call me a feminist when I claim my rights. When I see another women who is suffering or being abused it’s unbearable to me,” Flores said. “When someone calls me a feminist, I feel proud.”

The inward gaze: how does the San Francisco progressive community do on feminist issues?

In a word: okay. But there’s work to be done even here, in “progressive” San Francisco. Thomas led the charge, talking about the state’s current legal ability to shackle women prisoners during childbirth. Tu Mutch expressed a need to stop “pitting groups against each other,” and to get rid of a City Hall attitude that says “my budget is more important than yours.” Tu Mutch said “there’s still rampant transphobia and gender essentialism,” that affects not just women, but the “countless people born with intersex conditions and who identify outside the binary.”

Ashley pointed out that “even some of our favorite male progressive politicians, you don’t see them cultivating leadership among women, queer people, trans people.” She talked about how that’s a traditional feminist organizing principle, “mentorship and meaningful participation, not just tokenizing participation.”

As a (not) side note, there wasn’t a single male politician in the audience that day. As Ashley put it, “patriarchy is really the problem.” Ashley and panel moderator, SFBG culture editor Caitlin Donohue shared the fact that they’ve felt diminished by remarks made by and in the company of the city’s so-called “progressive politicians.”

Recent feminist victories

But enough depressing stuff. How about recent feminist victories, asked an audience member.

This question was met with a disconcerting silence. Until Chan jumped in: “I’m really inspired by the place queer arts are at right now.” She told of the “lineage of resistance” of art that deals with questions like “how do people survive the unimaginable? How do people survive the truly horrific?” Disturbing incidents like that of transgender prisoner Cece McDonald beg the question, “is the perfect victim a dead victim? If you fight back, you’ll be criminalized? Now more than ever we need a movement. We really need to come together,” concluded Chan.

Rosenthal saw hope in surprising places. “Sarah Palin and Michelle Bachman,” she said. “These women are so incompetent. But they made it. They really made it.” She talked about how usually women have had to be five times better than the men they competed with, but “Sarah Palin and Michelle Bachman are not five times better than anyone. But they made it.”
Laura Thomas was inspired by Julia Bluhm, the 14-year old ballet dancer from Maine whose online petition led Seventeen to promise to stop using Photoshop to alter women’s body types. Ashley acknowledged Tu Mutch’s advocacy work, and said she was recently inspired by a “take back the plaza” event Tu Mutch had organized. Edaj was inspired by being named a Pride Grand Marshall, and the feeling that the Pride organization was acknowledging the importance of the space created at the Women’s Stage. She was also inspired by Morningstar Vancil, a Filipino vet who is a two-spirit drag king, and Vancil’s commitment to disabled veterans issues.

Action items

In response to a question that asked what the 2012 action plan for Bay Area feminists should involve, Ashley said “principles of intersectionality, anti-colonialism, anti-capitalism” had to be valued more than they have been in past feminist movements. They’re there in Third Wave feminism, Ashely said, only they are “wrapped up in theory and academia.” Those guiding principles should have “more on the ground” applicability. What needs to happen right now, speaking of on the ground? Back to 2012’s spate of sexual violence in the Mission, there’s a distinct necessity for “a perfect community response that doesn’t involve the police, so that we all of a sudden feel really comfortable taking a walk at 3 in the morning through our favorite neighborhood.”

Flores said that any new form of feminism would need to be about “mutual respect” and “against any form of injustice,” to which Thomas agreed, saying it needs to be “less theory, more practice.” It also, Thomas said “has to deal with gender in a different way. A new feminism needs to go beyond gender, or deal with gender differently” in the sense of respecting gender non-conforming identities. A tricky prospect, she admitted. “How you develop a gendered movement that doesn’t use gender as a defining construct, I don’t know.” More specifically, she underlined the importance of “progressive revenue measures,” and “an end to cuts to childcare and domestic violence programs.” “Our economy’s not coming back through more cuts. We need revenue, more taxes,” she said, to cheers from the crowd. Well this was a Guardian forum, after all.

Edaj reiterated that “that word scares off a lot of people who might otherwise want to join.” Tu Mutch underlined that it would need to “take up the idea that men and women are opposites. That only serves to degrade women.” A new feminism, she said, would be about “turning away from that and realizing there’s lots of different genders.”

Tu Mutch said she would like to see success for her organization to fight for trans healthcare rights, FEATHER. “People have to spend ridiculous amounts of money to transition,” she said. “We need universal healthcare for all, including trans people.”

Chan pondered the question. In the end, she concluded, “roving feminist gangs,” inspiring at least one angry letter from a slighted middleaged white man in the crowd. Which wasn’t the only reason why we deemed the panel a success, but an important one.

By the horns

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July 17, 2012

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marke@sfbg.com

SUPER EGO So much glitterbong unihorny tres magnifiqué this week — let’s get into it:

CHUCK HAMPTON

Fabulous old-school Detroit houser (also known as Gay Marvine) hits up the Housepitality weekly, dropping some glamour on the kids with fellows P-Play and Synthetigers.

Wed/18, 9pm, $5–$10. Icon, 1192 Folsom, SF. www.housepitalitysf.com

SIMON BAKER

Love the impeccably chosen tech-house sounds of this handsome longtime UK favorite. 2011 LP Traces showed he could really pull out the sexy. With Tyrel Williams at the Sound weekly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zorhicY438c

Thu/19, 10pm-3am, $5–$10. Harlot, 46 Minna, SF. www.facebook.com/soundselections

BLAKTONIKS

Gearheads and stardancers, rejoice. Really lovely monthly showcase of live electronic music, Realtime at 222 Hyde, hosts this classic local neo-electrosoul duo who’ll take you on a supranatural audial journey to within. With C. Faith.

Fri/20, 9pm, $5–$10. 222 Hyde, SF. www.222hyde.com

BRENDAN MOELLER

The As You Like It crew host this South African dub-techno hero, who reaches for timelessness but doesn’t forget to take the dance floor with him. With Sassmouth vs. Mossmoss, Jason Kendig, and more. (Don’t miss obligatory insane afterparty at 6am at 222 Hyde.)

Fri 20, 9pm-4am, $10–$20. Beatbox, 314 11th St., SF. www.ayli-sf.com

LOVEBIRDS

Gorgeously melodic cosmic disco(ish) cutie Basti Doering from Hamburg, aka Lovebirds, widens the vibe of Marques Wyatt’s fantastic Deep monthly, currently hosting an “innovators” series that pairs classic vibes with cutting-edge styles for a super-diverse crowd.

Fri/20, 10pm-4am, $10–$20. Mighty, 119 Utah, SF. www.mighty119.com

BALKAN EXTRAVAGANZA

Local trumpet prodigy Will Magid’s World Wide Dance Parties parties are a global blast, and this Romani romp featuring legendary musician Rumen “Sali” Shopov and the Balkan Brass Band will be pure foot-stomping, body-whirling bliss.

Sat/21, 9pm, $15. Cafe Du Nord, 2174 Market, SF. www.tktwb.tw/balkantime

BLOW UP REUNITED

Three months can feel like forever when you’re young and beautiful and partying hard — so yeah, it feels like forever since the wonderfully sophisticated-electro party Blow Up tickled our tailfeathers. Raise your glass, gorgeous, it’s back! With DJ Wool of The Glass, Jeffrey Paradise, Ava Berlin, more.

Sat/21, 10pm-late, $10. Rickshaw Stop, 155 fell, SF. www.blowupsf.com

NITIN

Dreamy Torontonian No.19 label founder will come packed with a slew of sophisticated new tech tracks to light your brain on fire at the huge Forward party. With Adnan Sharif, Galen, Star Kommand, more.

Sat/21, 9pm-4am, $10–$20. Public Works, 161 Erie, SF. www.forwardsf.com

VOICES FROM THE LAKE

So incredibly excited to peep intense duo Donato Dozzy and Neel, aka Voices from the Lake, who are everything on the discerning techno connoisseur circuit right now, with a buzzy ambient edge that slices dimensions. This collab between NYC’s excellent Bunker club and our own Gray Area Foundation for the Arts will slay in a heady way.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooxO0VaZt9M

Sat/21, 9pm, $10–$25. Monarch, 101 Sixth St., SF. www.monarchsf.com

Exchange is good

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July 13, 2012

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MUSIC The heyday of the mixtape was the 1990s, when a mix required a gentle touch with the pause button, careful calculations to make sure the songs fit on the cassette, and a delicate winding of the tape spool with the pinky finger, advancing the clear tape to the magnetic. They took hours to complete. They were fragile, often made in a torrent of teenage lust and given with sweaty palms.

With the San Francisco Mixtape Society, you get a semblance of that experience.

Every few months, the group holds free mixtape exchanges at the Mission District’s Make-Out Room. What happens is this: people come to the event with a mix (cassette, CD, or USB stick), and everyone gets a number. When your number is picked, you give your mix to the person who called your number. Then, you pick a number, and you get a mix in return. Each event has its own theme, to give attendees a spark of inspiration.

Most mixtape exchanges occur by word of mouth, or by invitation-only. Co-founders Annie Lin and John Verrochi, Brooklyn transplants, met by attending similar events in Brooklyn, which were low-key, “just hang outs in bars. We wanted to create an event that could accommodate more people, and make it easier to participate,” Lin said in an interview last week. The two of them started the exchange partly because there weren’t any events like it in San Francisco at the time.

“When I moved here I felt like there wasn’t really a channel for people that like music to meet other people that like music. When you go to a show, you really can’t talk to people. Part of it grew out of wanting to meet cool people as a newcomer to the city with no established clique. The nice thing is that a lot of people have actually come together,” said Lin.

“There’s two connections that you’re forced to have,” explained Ashley Saks, a member and organizer of the society. “One is with the person you’re giving your [mixtape] to, and one is the person you’re getting the mixtape from.”

“There is a dating aspect,” said co-founder Verrochi, “though we don’t promote that. You usually make them for someone you care about, so it kind of has this courting thing to it. People have definitely hooked up.”

The society gives a free beer to those who make a mix on cassette, and awards prizes in categories such as Best Art.

“We were thinking we would get to see cool graphic art, like really cool album covers,” Verrochi said. (He works by day as an art director.) “But it’s turned into these art objects. Tiny sculptures.”

Cases have been hand knit, papier-mâché’d, and encased in world globes. One person made a 3-D dollhouse. Another made a lemonade stand out of Popsicle sticks. The winner of the last event — the theme was “Under the Covers” — made a coffin. Inside was a collection of mixes that together formed a skeleton. The track listing came in a funeral booklet.

“You never know what you’re going to get,” said Lin. “You know you’re going to get something. You might get something huge and crazy, like a Noah’s Ark.”

Besides winsome cover art, coveted mixes are well-sequenced and tell a story. “Editing is the secret,” said Lin. “In this era it’s so easy to say, ‘Let’s get on Spotify and do a search for titles that have the theme in the name.’ With a really good mixtape, someone really thought about the tone or the flavor of the theme, and how the songs come together over all. It’s more than just an algorithmic search for songs, which is easy to do.”

One memorable mixtape was made for a Treasure Island Music Festival event. The theme was “Hidden Treasure,” and the tape was called “Pirate’s Booty.” “Every single song on that mixtape was about ass,” Verrochi said.

Interest in the SF Mixtape Society has grown beyond its own events. Music festivals like SXSW have asked the group to run exchanges, and mixtape enthusiasts in Toronto and San Diego have asked how to start similar groups. It’s a reflection of people’s desire to do more than share music on the internet.

“We live in a curation culture,” said Lin. “People make playlists and share them on Spotify. Like, ‘Here’s all the songs that I’m listening to right now on this playlist in random order.’ A mixtape is sharing, yes, but it’s also selecting exactly what it is you’re going to share.”

“I think why people like our event is you actually have to show up in person, you have to create an object and hand it to them. And there’s this really tangible quality to it,” Verrochi said.

The SF Mixtape Society’s next event, themed “American Summer,” occurs Sun/15 at the Make-Out Room; a smaller exchange will take place as part of the California Academy of Sciences’ “Mixology, Mixtapes and Remixes at NightLife” event July 19. *

Summer Sounds: Exclusive bass-heavy tropical Surya Dub mix (and more)

Jesse Hawthorne Ficks

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July 11, 2012

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Summer Sounds: Exclusive bass-heavy tropical Surya Dub mix (and more)

Ahoy, sunshine! In this week’s Super Ego nightlife column, I get all hot an bothered about the upcoming re-appearance of the Surya Dub global dread bass DJ crew at the Non Stop Bhangra monthly party on Sat/14. This installment of this ever-awesome and refreshingly diverse shindig is billed as “Indian-Caribbean tropical summer madness.” Well, what the heck does that sound like? (Answers below.)

The super-productive producer and DJ Kush Arora is letting us drop this exclusive Surya Dub Summer Rewind mix — he had a hand in a few of the tunes himself — to let us hear where his crew is at lately, globalwise. It is a serious jam I highly recommend listening to somewhere you can bounce around. And below the Kush mix track list is a special “Asian dub bass mix” that Maneesh the Twister did for UK website NadaBrahama.co.uk that gets a little more ethereal. And below that? The sounds of Non Stop Bhangra itself, from DJ Jimmy Love. Great stuff, which will sound even better live. Also: catch Kush and Maneesh on the airwaves with their new radio show “The Surya Dub Takeover” Mon 7.23 10pm on KPFA 94.1FM.

TRACKLIST
1. Kush Arora and Mega Banton – Shake Sitten (China White Remix)
2. Violet – Black River
3. Solo Banton – Make you Groove
4. Bongo Chilli -Can’t Touch My Style
5. Dre Skull – Loudspeaker Riddim
6. Popcaan – The System
7. Natalie Storm – Rock The Runway
8. Ghislain Porier – Alert Riddim
9. Ghislain Porier Feat. Natalie Storm – Gal U Good
10. WILDLIFE feat. J Wow – DNO
11. Urban Knightz Feat. Blackout JA- Step On Dem
12. Dinherio Negro (Bumps Bailehall Mix)
13. Rishi Bass – Latin Futura

14. Mak and Pasteman – Jungle Juice ( Pale Remix)
15. LV feat. Okmalumkoolkat – Boomslang
16. Partysquad feat. Baskerville – Gunshot
17. Spoeke Mathambo and Cerebral Vortex – Drunk Like That
17. Mr. Vegas – Bruck it Down ( Kush Arora Remix)
18. Buraka Som Sistema – Rita O Pe (Rob Howle Remix)
19. Astronomar and Wick – WYWD
20. Busy Signal – Doggy Style ( So Shifty Remix)
21. Natalie Storm – Lick it Good
22. Cardopusher – Goldo
23. Maga Bo – Piloto de Fuga feat. Funkero and BNegaeo
24. Zuzuka Poderosa and Kush Arora – Pisicodelia
25. Nego Mozambique – SurfistadoPavaofinal

Now, Monsoon

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July 10, 2012

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>>LISTEN TO AN EXCLUSIVE KUSH ARORA MIX (AND MORE) HERE

SUPER EGO Hurray, it is not 115 degrees here! I just got a skype from my heatwaved homegirl Googie Santorum in Canton, Ohio, and she said all her wigs had melted into Dynel helmets and that she lost two pairs of kitten heels in the asphalt puddle outside Heggy’s Nut Shop on West Tuskawaras Street. I thought we cured global warming 10 years ago when we sat through that Al Gore movie and quit using Aqua Net? Well, apparently not.

I felt a little guilty reveling in our temperate clime while the rest of America fried — but that all changed when I started instead feeling a little guilty for passing out on the Fourth with two lit sparklers in my hair and a crotchful of spilled PBR. Goddess bless America. And all her bald spots and blackout complications.

In club terms, however, summer’s really steaming up our tails. I especially felt the mercury rising when it was announced that our hometown heroes of “dread bass,” the Surya Dub DJ crew, would be returning to the scene, taking over the second dance floor of the bangin’ Non Stop Bhangra monthly party on Sat/14 (9pm-3am, $10–$15. Public Works, 161 Erie, SF. www.publicsf.com). Bassheads, get ready for a low pressure system no amount of my overheated metaphors can properly describe.

The mega-affair is being billed as “Indian-Caribbean summer tropical bass madness,” and you get mad amounts of hot tropicalia: a main room headlining slot from Portland’s DJ Anjuli and The Incredible Kid, founders of the longest-running bhangra party on the West Coast; guest spots for our main moombahton man, DJ Theory, and Matt Haze of wicked broken bass collective Slayers Club; bhangra dance lessons from the amazing Dholrhythms dance troupe; live drumming ….

And on top of it, Surya Dub’s ever-evolving, deep-global sound, finally back in the spotlight. SF’s musico-cultural cross-currents certainly haven’t flagged in the three years since the South Asian-flavored crew ruled the local bass scene with an irresistible mix of dub floor-droppers, future-bass bangers, ruff riddims, global breaks, and hip-hop bhangra. But when the crew members went on to various projects (including bringing Surya Dub to India and producing some great records), the scene lacked their singular fire.

“We never really went away,” Maneesh the Twister told me on a conference call with fellow Dubbers Kush Arora and Jimmy Love. “But it seemed like the music was changing in the clubs here. We wanted to evolve, to update the dread bass sound, in response to all the dubstep, electronic bass music, UK funky, and bashment that’s come to the fore.”

“We started feeling a wider variety of both New World and traditional sounds,” Kush told me. “African beats like kuduro — Buraka Som Sistema is great — to more post-dubstep tropical sounds. All of these rhythms that are talking to each other around the world. And of course we work in what’s been going on in bhangra as it develops.”

Jimmy, who also runs the Non Stop Bhangra party itself, was the catalyst for the “reunion.”

“We’re don’t just play traditional-sounding Bollywood or bhangra at the NSB parties,” he said. “I love dub reggae and Afrolicious-like funk, and our die-hard Indian crowd has loved when we play more tropical tracks. We always want to stretch the definition, and walking upstairs to Surya’s room will be a seamless experience of global sounds.

“It’s all about bringing communities together on the dance floor. And then heating everything up.”

COSMETICS

Soigné dark synthpop Canadian duo Cosmetics travel musically from Moroder to Siouxsie, charmingly, icily, and will be joined by Portland’s Soft Metals and our own Breakdown Valentine — two more chamber synth duos whose tunes seem intimately crafted just for you — for a catchy Friday the 13th affair. Justin of the Soft Moon, Rachel of the Conversion, and Omar DJ.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPz2bME4Phg

Fri/13, 9pm, $11–$15. Monarch, 101 Sixth St., SF. www.monarchsf.com

CUBCAKE

The whole gay bear thing kinda lost my interest once many of the hot fat country lumberjacks got replaced by entitled circuity gymrats constantly checking their Scruff apps on the dance floor. YOU’RE NOT A BEAR — YOU’RE JUST MIDDLE-AGED, I cried. (Middle age is a new thing for us post-AIDS era gay men; we’re working it out.) But that was, what, 2010? Time to reappraise. I’ve been hitting up this too-cute pan-musical dance party at Lonestar the past two months, brimming with sexy-goofy young hairies on the hoof and a few zesty chubs, too. Bear Trek: the Next Generation looks pretty damn good.

Fri/13, 9pm, free. Lone Star, 1354 Harrison, SF. www.lonestarsf.com

LEMONADE

The once-local (now Brooklynite) trio sanded off some of its esoteric angles in favor of wistful, Fairlight synth era-referencing pop on new album Diver, but it still retains those breezy percussive touches that made it one of the leaders of the nu-tropicalism underground dance movement a few years ago. With killer DJ and DMC champion Kid Fresh from Hong Kong at the always balmy nu-cumbia Tormenta Tropical monthly.

Sat/14, 10pm, $10. Elbo Room, 647 Valencia, SF. www.elbo.com

Faces of feminism

Andrew Lam

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July 3, 2012

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Is San Francisco still on the cutting edge of women’s issues? I recently spent a sunny Saturday morning buried in the radical archives of Bolerium Books (www.bolerium.com) — which is by the way, an amazing resource for anyone researching labor, African American, First Peoples, and queer history, among other things. Me, I was looking into our city’s rich history of feminist activism, inspiration for our upcoming Guardian “Bay Area Feminism Today” panel discussion. The event will unite amazing females from across the city who have but one thing in common: they’re pushing the envelope when it comes to the definition of what a “women’s issue” is, in a time when very few people claim feminism as their primary crusade. We’ll be talking more about their exciting projects –- but also touching on more universal issues. What is San Francisco’s role in fighting the nationwide attack on reproductive rights? How is our progressive community doing in terms of supporting women and maintaining a feminist perspective on issues?

Women’s work: it’s alive and kicking, and it deserves its moment in the spotlight. Meet our panelists here, in preparation for the real deal.

THE GUARDIAN PRESENTS: “BAY AREA FEMINISM TODAY”

Wed/11 6-8pm, free

City College of San Francisco Mission campus

1125 Valencia, SF

www.sfbg.com/bayareafeminismtoday

STEPHANY ASHLEY

St. James Infirmary programs director, ex-president of Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club

For me, sex worker rights are a feminist issue because they are about body autonomy. As much as reproductive choice is a feminist issue, so too is the right to determine the ways in which we use our bodies, change our bodies, and take care of our bodies. When people are criminalized for their HIV status, denied access to hormones and safe gender transitions, or are afraid to carry condoms because it might lead to police harassment or arrest — these are all feminist issues. At St. James Infirmary (www.stjamesinfirmary.org), we provide healthcare and social services from a peer-based model, so community is really the central aspect of the project. I was excited to chair the Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club (www.milkclub.org) last year, because I wanted to keep raising sex workers rights issues as part of the LGBT agenda. At St. James, nearly 70 percent of our community members are LGBTQ, so it’s really critical that sex workers rights are treated as a queer issue, a feminist issue, and a labor issue.

CELESTE CHAN

Artist and founder of Queer Rebels

My partner KB Boyce and I started our production company Queer Rebels (www.queerrebels.com) to honor the feminist and queer of color artists and elders who paved the way. Our main project is “Queer Rebels of the Harlem Renaissance,” a performance extravaganza which took place June 28-30. Such an exciting time! The Harlem Renaissance legacy remains with us to this day. It was an explosion of art, intellect, and sexual liberation led by queer Black artists. I’m also a board member at Community United Against Violence (www.cuav.org). CUAV was formed in the wake of Harvey Milk’s assassination and the White Night riots, and does incredible work to address violence within and against the LGBTQ community. Another way I’m involved with women’s issues is through Femme Conference (www.femme2012.com). In a culture where femininity is both de-valued and the expected norm, Femme Con creates a vital feminist space — this year it takes place in Baltimore, Maryland.

EDAJ

DJ and promoter of queer nightlife

I work in nightlife to provide space for communities that often don’t have spaces to come together. For 15 years, I have been providing music for women as the resident DJ at Mango (every fourth Sunday at El Rio, www.elriosf.com). I also work to support my fellow LGBT veterans by promoting their visibility through my nightlife projects. Ex-Filipino Marine and two-spirit drag king Morningstar Vancil’s story has inspired me to work on creating a space that raises awareness about LGBT veterans, especially women living with disabilities. I also think it’s important to do outreach in the Black LGBT community to help strengthen support for organizations such as the Bayard Rustin LGBT Coalition (www.bayardrustincoalition.com), a group that is not only fighting for Black LGBT equality, but is focused on social change for all oppressed people. After 10 years of executive producing the Women’s Stage at SF Pride, I was honored as a grand marshal this year at an event hosted by the BRC and Soul of Pride. It was beautiful to see so many Black LGBT people dedicated to moving global equality forward. Although there is a need to reach out to everyone in the Black LGBT community, naturally my goal is to first focus on connecting more women, a group that has always been less visible.

JUANA FLORES

Co-director of Mujeres Unidas y Activas

My organization Mujeres Unidas y Activas (www.mujeresunidas.net) is based on a double mission: personal transformation and community power for social justice. MUA is a place where women arrive through different challenges in their lives. We try to provide emotional support and references so that they don’t feel like they’re alone, so that they have strength to begin the process of healing and making changes. Those can include issues of domestic violence, problems with teenage children, labor or housing issues — when they arrive at MUA they begin the process of developing their self esteem and becoming stronger. They also begin to participate in trainings and making changes in their community and to the system through civic and political participation. At MUA, women find a home. They feel comfortable because they’re always welcome. We’re developing strong leadership, leadership that is at the table when it comes to making decisions about our campaigns, like our letter of labor rights and the help we give to victims of domestic violence through our crisis line. Every day our members are developing their ability to be involved in the organization and community, and making changes in their personal and familial lives.

ALIX ROSENTHAL

Attorney and elected member of the SF Democratic County Central Committee

As an elected member of the SF DCCC (www.sfdemocrats.org), the governing body of the SF Democratic Party, I am working to involve the party in recruiting more women to run for political office locally. In the June 2012 election, I assembled a slate of the female candidates for DCCC — we called ourselves “Elect Women 2012.” It was a controversial effort, because it included both progressives and moderates. In the wake of a highly contentious and factional term on the DCCC, we hoped to prove that moderates and progressives can work together to re-energize Democrats in this important presidential election cycle. Running for office in San Francisco is a high stakes game; it is costly and requires an extensive political network. And so the DCCC is where many future candidates get their start — it is where they build the connections necessary to run for higher office, and where they hone their fundraising abilities. By recruiting and supporting women candidates for the DCCC, I am hoping to build a “farm team” of female candidates within the party. This year, I am proud that the seven women incumbents on the DCCC retained our seats in the June election, and that we achieved parity by electing four new women to the party’s governing board. I look forward to seeing what these women can accomplish together.

LAURA THOMAS

Deputy state director of Drug Policy Alliance

Ending the failed war on drugs is a women’s issue because women are far too often bearing the brunt of that failure, losing their freedom, children, economic independence, safety, health, and sometimes their lives as victims of the war on drugs. Women in prison in California can be shackled during childbirth, lose custody of their children because they use legal medical marijuana. They’re vulnerable to HIV and hepatitis C because they or their partners don’t have access to sterile syringes for injecting drugs. My major project for the Drug Policy Alliance (www.drugpolicy.org) is mobilizing San Francisco to show the rest of the world how effective progressive drug policy can be. I want to see San Francisco open the first supervised injection facility in the United States, to end new HIV and hepatitis C infections among people who use drugs. I want us to truly have effective, culturally appropriate substance use treatment for everyone who requests it. I want San Francisco to end the cycle of undercover drug buys-incarceration-recidivism. I want us to address the appalling racial disparities in who gets arrested, convicted, and incarcerated for drug offenses here. I want us to aggressively defend our ground-breaking, well-regulated medical cannabis dispensary system against all federal intervention. San Francisco is leading the way in the United States in addressing the harms of drug use and drug prohibition but we have a lot more we can do.

MIA TU MUTCH

Transgender activist and SF Youth Commission officer

I’ve worked for a plethora of LGBTQ organizations and have been on several national speaking tours. I currently serve as media and public relations officer of the San Francisco Youth Commission, and use my position to promote LGBTQ safety and overall health. I’ve partnered with several city departments in order to create a cultural competency video that will train all service providers on best practices for working with LGBTQ youth. As a vocal advocate against hate crimes and sexual assaults, I’m working with local groups to create a community patrol in the Mission to prevent violence against women and transgender people. I’m also the founder of Fundraising Everywhere for All Transitions: a Health Empowerment Revolution! (FEATHER), a collective aimed at making gender-affirming transitions more affordable for low income transgender people. I work to create avenues of equality for those who benefit the least from patriarchy by creating a culture of safety and support for people of all genders.

Kinda cyborgy

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July 3, 2012

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marke@sfbg.com

SUPER EGO Hi, my name is Paris Hilton. I’m a DJ. I have a new song out called “Afrojack” with Rihanna. Want to experience it? Close your eyes. Lay on something soft, like grass, or a lamb, or Perez Hilton’s dumpster bag of excised stomach. Journey with me back in time to 2007. Can’t you feel the tiny fingers embroidering the pockets of your half-bleached jeans, the douche-mousse dripping down your Gucci wraparounds, the gaudy wheeze of MySpace deflating slowly underfoot, the background throb of masked insurgents? Can’t you hear the gentle buzz of Britney’s flaxen hair fall, her greenish umbrella tap-tap-tapping at your car window? Quickly, now, hold my chihuahua Tinkerbell, I’m fading, fading rapidly into the animated gifs, Ed Hardy tramp stamps, hot-pink Hummers, and reality programming challenges of your constantly refreshing mind…. Oh, how ew!

Delete, delete, delete.

Paris’s debut on the decks last month, melting down mostly and dragging up all the celebucrap of history’s tackiest decade (OK, OK the foppish 1670s were pretty bad), was yet another meme-ready sign of well-played Mayan prediction. 2012 Apocalypse! It’s here! And it’s wearing sparkly tuxedo lapels and flubbing the EQ levels!

But Earth’s supposed obliteration countdown can also inspire, and lead to some more, er, sophisticated sonic expressions, especially concerning the intersection of humanity and technology.

“With the Mayan calendar ending this year and all the crackpot end-of-times theories, I thought, ‘this is a perfect time for an inward reflection of who we are and where we’re going. And also an opportunity to renew or hit the reset button on our own humanity.'” That’s Alan So, dreamy executive and artistic director of the glorious Soundwave Festival (Thu/5-September 30, www.projectsoundwave.com/5), explaining to me over email the genesis of its 2012 theme: “Humanities.”

The bi-annual, three-month-long Soundwave takes over the city with a heady onslaught of sonic explorations, many of the electronic, installation-based variety, but also incorporating nifty biophysical elements and experiential live performances. This installment promises some truly cosmic haps.

The fest kicks off at the Cal Academy’s great Nightlife weekly on Thu/5 (6pm-10pm, $12. California Academy of Sciences, 55 Music Concourse Dr., SF. www.calacademy.org/nightlife), with techno-audial treats like Jay Kreimer’s ‘Born Wireless’ empathic facial responder, Stephen Hurrel’s live sounds of the moving Earth, and The Cellar Ensemble’s sound-light oracle instrument, plus guitarist Danny Paul Grody “playing the skies of the Aurora Borealis in a mini-planetarium” and artist Shannon O’Malley giving out tastes of her satiric-disastrous Apocalypse Cakes.

Footage from last year’s Soundwave:

More Soundwave 5 summer tantalizers: “Tension” at the Battery Townsend military bunker in Marin, which pairs riveting strings compositions with extreme resonance; “The Human Bionic” series at the Lab featuring Joe Cantrell’s Sounding Body, an audience interactive performance that uses brainwaves to conduct sound; and Canadian folk artist Diana Burgoyne’s interactive performances using intense-looking analogue-circuitry masks. The physical body is transcended, too: Andrea Williams and Lee Pembleton’s “SleepWalks” encourages participants to snooze (bring your sleeping bag) while the artists play music for their dreams, and “Revelation Zen,” a collaboration with the Zen Center attempts to breach dimensions both inner and outer.

“The advancements in technology have been astounding in the past 20, more so in the last five,” So told me. “Just think what can do now that we couldn’t do even do two years ago. We create technology to make lives ‘better.’ Machines know when we are awake, which means they also know when we are sleeping. Technology has been integrated in our worlds and our bodies so heavily it is becoming inescapable. I wanted to explore that in the sense of sound, and in the spirit of working towards humanity’s renewal of purpose after what we’ve don to the Earth.

“Also, probably, its my own unconscious self yearning for a simpler life in the midst of all this technology. Is that a possibility?”

RECLOOSE

The oft-heard, not-so-much-seen Michigander now lives in New Zealand, but still transmits the techno-eclectic vibes he learned under Carl Craig’s tutelage, with an open-air accessibility and broad funk wink.

Wed/3, 9pm, $5 before 11pm, $10 after. icon, 1192 Folsom, SF. www.facebook.com/housepitalitysf

RED BARAAT

Amazingly energetic and fun NYC bhangra-meets-brass nine-piece combo, led by dhol drummer Sunny Jain, seriously gets crowds hyped. Punjabi funk: taking over America the crazy right way.

Fri/6, doors 8pm, show 9pm, $18. Slim’s, 333 11th St., SF. www. slimspresents.com

SALEM DJ SET

Whither them witches? Witch house has been completely (and, by my scry, bewitchingly) taken up by a young “Why so serious?” coven of underground musicmakers who make no bones about bubbling the weird underside of the Internet up into a brew of funhouse splatter. But lost, I fear, is the gangsta rap-referencing button-pushing of OG poster children Salem. This DJ set may bring back the danger.

Fri/6, 10pm, $10. Elbo Room, 647 Valencia, SF. www.elbo.com

WARM LEATHERETTE

The roving minimal wave and dark synth party celebrates three years of “vagabond existence” with guests The KVB (moody electronic shoegaze from the UK) and Deathday (aggressive industrial, filtered through hissing tapes, from LA).

Fri/6, 9:30pm, $5 before 10:30, $7 after. SUB/Mission, 2183 Mission St., SF. www.facebook.com/warmleatherettesf

Music Listings

Andrew Lam

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July 3, 2012

0

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 4

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

"Big Time Freedom Fest" El Rio. 3:30pm, $8. With Religious Girls, Tartufi, Fin Riggins, Battlehooch, Night Call, Heart & the Hiding.

"Blue Flame" DNA Lounge. 9pm, $10. With Rglnd, Willie Joe, Armani Depaul, G. Maly, Nova Boy, Priceless Da Roc, and more.

Bobb Saggeth, Prizhog Elbo Room. 9pm, $8.

Gypsy Moonlight, Wicked Mercies, Winter Teeth Hemlock Tavern. 6pm, $5.

Pine Box Boys, Colonel Jimmy & the Blackfish Cafe Du Nord. 6pm, $11-$13.

JC Rocket vs. Greg Zema Johnny Foley’s Dueling Pianos. 9:30pm.

Steve Taylor Ramirez Johnny Foley’s. 9pm, free.

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

Cat’s Corner with Nathan Dias Savanna Jazz. 9pm, $10.

Cosmo AlleyCats Le Colonial, 20 Cosmo Place, SF; www.lecolonialsf.com. 7-10pm.

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

Ricardo Scales Top of the Mark, 999 California, SF; www.topofthemark.com. 6:30pm, $5.

FOLK/WORLD/COUNTRY

Bluegrass Country Jam Plough and Stars. 9pm.

Kevin Casey Coffee Adventures, 1331 Columbus, SF; kevincaseyandfriends.bandcamp.com. 11am.

Cha-Ching Boom Boom Room. 8pm, $5.

DANCE CLUBS

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

Coo-Yah! Som., 2925 16th St, SF; (415) 558-8521. 10pm, free. DJs Daneekah and Green B spin reggae and dancehall with weekly guests.

Mary Go Round Lookout, 3600 16th St, SF; www.lookoutsf.com. 10pm, $5. Drag with Suppositori Spelling, Mercedez Munro, and Ginger Snap.

Megatallica Fiddler’s Green, 1333 Columbus, SF; www.megatallica.com. 7pm, free. Heavy metal hangout.

Obey the Kitty: DJ Metric, Justin Milla Vessel, 85 Campton Place, SF; www.vesselsf.com. 10pm; free with guestlist before 11pm, $10 otherwise.

THURSDAY 5

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

Cory Branan, Audra Mae, Travis Hayes, Doncat Thee Parkside. 9pm, $10.

Grady Champion Biscuits and Blues. 8 and 10pm, $20.

Cocktails, Preteen, Tambo Ray Hemlock Tavern. 9pm, $6.

Giraffage, James & Evander Milk Bar, 1840 Haight, SF; www.milksf.com. 9pm, $6.

John Lawton Trio Johnny Foley’s. 9pm, free.

Misisipi Mike and the Midnight Gamblers, TV Mike and the Scarecrows Amnesia. 9pm, $7-$10.

Chante Moore Yoshi’s SF. 8pm, $30; 10pm, $20.

Valerie Orth Hotel Utah. 8pm, $7.

Picture Me Broken, Out for Blood, Behold the Device, Giving The Devil His Due, Look a Flying Pig DNA Lounge. 6pm, $10.

Smokey Robinson with the San Francisco Symphony Davies Symphony Hall, 201 Van Ness, SF; www.sfsymphony.org. 7:30pm, $15-$115.

Sherik’s Bandalabra, Will Blades Trio Boom Boom Room. 8pm, $12.

Stagger & Fall, Dirty Filthy Mugs, Sore Thumbs Bottom of the Hill. 9pm, $10.

Terraplane Sun, Ry Cuming, Family Wagon Cafe Du Nord. 7pm, $10.

Greg Zema vs. Rags Tuttle Johnny Foley’s Dueling Pianos. 9:30pm.

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

Oleta Adams Rrazz Room. 8pm, $49.50.

Stompy Jones Top of the Mark, 999 California, SF; www.topofthemark.com. 7:30pm, $10.

Ned Boynton Trio Bottle Cap, 1707 Powell, SF; www.bottlecapsf.com. 7-10pm.

Soundwave Nightlife California Academy of Sciences, 55 Music Concourse, Golden Gate Park, SF; www.projectsoundwave.com. 6-10pm, $10-$12. With Lumerians, Matt Baldwin, Danny Paul Grody, and more.

FOLK/WORLD/COUNTRY

Better Haves Atlas Cafe, 3049 20th St, SF; www.atlascafe.net. 8-10pm, free.

"Salkind International Piano Duo Festival." San Francisco Conservatory of Music, 50 Oak, SF; www.sfmf.org. 8pm.

Shannon Ceili Band Plough and Stars. 9pm.

Twang! Honky Tonk Fiddler’s Green, 1330 Columbus, SF; www.twanghonkytonk.com. 5pm. Live country music, dancing, and giveaways.

DANCE CLUBS

Afrolicious Elbo Room. 9:30pm, $5-$7. DJ-host Pleasuremaker, DJ Palner spin Afrobeat, Tropicália, electro, samba, and funk.

Base: Robert Dietz, Rooz Vessel, 85 Campton Place, SF; www.vesselsf.com. 10pm; free with guestlist before 11pm, $10 otherwise.

Get Low Som., 2925 16th St, SF; (415) 558-8521. 10pm, free. Jerry Nice and Ant-1 spin Hip-Hop, ’80s and Soul with weekly guests.

Popscene club night: Miami Horror (DJ set) Rickshaw Stop. 10pm, $13.

Supersonic Lookout, 3600 16th St., SF; www.lookoutsf.com. 9pm. Global beats paired with food from around the world by Tasty. Resident DJs Jaybee, B-Haul, amd Diagnosis.

Thursdays at the Cat Club Cat Club. 9pm, $6 (free before 9:30pm). Two dance floors bumpin’ with the best of 80s mainstream and underground with DJ’s Damon, Steve Washington, Dangerous Dan, and guests.

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

Vintage Tour 330 Ritch, SF; www.firstdirt.com. 9pm, $10. With Timothy Rhyme , LuckyIAm, DJ Mark Di Vita, Nay the Producer, emcee battles, more.

FRIDAY 6

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

Aquamen, Go-Going-Gone Girls, Whoosie Whatsits Hemlock Tavern. 9:30pm, $7.

Back Pages Johnny Foley’s. 9pm, free.

Birdhouse Great American Music Hall. 9pm, $8-$12.

Blind Pilot Fillmore. 9pm.

Brass Tax Amnesia. 9pm, $5.

Grady Champion Biscuits and Blues. 8 and 10pm, $20.

Fast Times Maggie McGarry’s, 1353 Grant, SF; www.maggiemcgarrys.com. 9pm, free.

Kallisto, Cropus Hideous, Adronisaurus, Upholstery Jackson Jackson Thee Parkside. 9pm, $10.

New Diplomat, Trophy Fire, Rags & Ribbons Bottom of the Hill. 10pm, $10.

Pine and Battery, Caught in Motion, Guy Fox Rickshaw Stop. 9pm, $10.

Randy, Rome Balestrieri, Greg Zema Johnny Foley’s Dueling Pianos. 9pm.

Red Baraat Slim’s. 9pm, $16-$18.

Spider Heart Rockit Room. 10:30pm, $5.

Kelley Stoltz, Shana Falana, She’s, B and B Not Cafe Du Nord. 9:30pm, $12-$15.

Super Rock Trio feat. McFadden, Jay Lane, Ed Ivey, DJ Toph One Brick and Mortar Music Hall. 9pm, $10-$12.

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

Oleta Adams Rrazz Room. 8pm, $49.50.

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

Black Market Jazz Orchestra Top of the Mark, 999 California, SF; www.topofthemark.com. 9pm, $10.

Terry Disely Bottle Cap, 1707 Powell, SF; www.bottlecapsf.com. 5:30-8:30pm, free.

Rachelle Ferrell Yoshi’s SF. 8pm, $30; 10pm, $25.

FOLK/WORLD/COUNTRY

Benjamin Brown Plough and Stars. 9pm.

"Salkind International Piano Duo Festival." San Francisco Conservatory of Music, 50 Oak, SF; www.sfmf.org. 8pm.

Taste Fridays 650 Indiana, SF; www.tastefridays.com. 8pm, $18. Salsa and bachata dance lessons, live music.

DANCE CLUBS

Braza! Som., 2925 16th St, SF; (415) 558-8521. 10pm, $5-$10. DJs Sabo, Kento, Elan spin Brazilian, Batucada, Samba, with special guest DJ Nuts.

Danny Daze & Lee Curtiss Public Works. 10pm, $10-$12. With Rich Korach.

Deep Crates Underground SF, 424 Haight, SF; www.undergroundsf.com. 9pm, $4. With DJs Conor, JD, Harley spinning rare disco, Italo, and house.

Duniya Dancehall Bissap, 3372 19th St, SF; (415) 826 9287. 10pm, $10. With live performances by Duniya Drum and Dance Co. and music by Wontanara Revolution. DJ Juan Data spins bhangra, bollywood, dancehall, African, 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 to Dakar Little Baobab, 3388 19th St, SF; (415) 643-3558. 10pm, $5. Afro and world music with rotating DJs including Stepwise, Steve, Claude, Santero, and Elembe.

Pledge: Fraternal Lookout. 9pm, $3-$13. Benefiting LGBT and nonprofit organizations. Bottomless kegger cups and paddling booth with DJ Christopher B and DJ Brian Maier.

Salem (DJ set) Elbo Room. 10pm, $8. 120 Minutes with resident DJs S4NtA MU3rTE, Nako, and Planet Death.

Strangelove: Military Fashion Show Cat Club. 9:30pm; $3 before 10pm, $7 after. Industrial with Tomas Diablo, Joe Radio, goth with Xander and Fact.50.

Swank Vessel, 85 Campton Place, SF; www.vesselsf.com. 10pm; $10-$20. With Pheeko Dubfunk, G Stav, David Paul, Lorentzo.

Warm Leatherette: Three-Year Anniversary Sub-Mission. 9:30pm; $5 before 10:30pm, $7 after. With KVB and Deathday.

SATURDAY 7

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

Bay Area Heat Johnny Foley’s. 9pm, free.

Business End, M Section Thee Parkside. 3pm, free.

Con Brio, DJ Jonathan Kircher Amnesia. 9pm, $8-$10.

Dead Westerns, My Revolver, Rare Animals Bottom of the Hill. 9pm, $12.

"Degotoga Festival" Treasure Island Event Venue, 401 California, SF; Facebook: Degotoga Festival. 1pm, $20. With Miles Schon & West Coast Engine Room Allstars, Shana Morrison & Caledonia, Razteria, Haunted By Heroes, Cruella, and more.

Gigamesh, Punks Jump Up Mezzanine. 10pm, $12.

Jacka & Husalah, Traxamillion Slim’s. 9pm, $18-$23.

Lionel Young Band Biscuits and Blues. 8 and 10pm, $20.

Lucabrazzi, Meathook & the Vital Organs, Yes Go’s Hemlock Tavern. 9:30pm, $7.

Maxines, Mallard Makeout Room. 7:30pm, $10.

Mike Dillon Band Boom Boom Room. 8pm, $10.

Pan Handlers, Gilded Rooks, Coburns Amnesia. 5:30pm, $8-$10.

Tall Shasham Jason Kwan, KS Thant, Elvira Vessel, 85 Campton Place, SF; www.vesselsf.com. 10pm; $10-$20.

Greg Zema , Rome Balestrieri, Randy Johnny Foley’s Dueling Pianos. 9pm.

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

Oleta Adams Rrazz Room. 7 and 9:30pm, $49.50.

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

Rachelle Ferrell Yoshi’s SF. 8pm, $35; 10pm, $30.

Fillmore Jazz Festival Fillmore Street between Jackson and Eddy, SF; www.fillmorejazzfestival.com. 10am-6pm, free. With Foxtails Brigade, Kim Nalley, Jai Uttal and the Queen of Hearts Orchestra, King Brothers, and more.

"Fillmore Jazz Festival Celebration" with Tara Priya, Steppin’ Boom Boom Room. 1pm, free.

FOLK/WORLD/COUNTRY

Americana Jukebox Plough and Stars. 9:30pm, $6-$10. With Dull Richards.

Blicks Mix with Kramer Public Works Loft. 9pm; free before 11pm, $5 after.

Grupo Fantasma, Y La Bamba Great American Music Hall. 9pm, $16.

La Gente, Colm O’Riain Cafe Du Nord. 9pm, $15-$18.

Orequesta Borinquen Ramp, 855 Terry Francois, SF; www.theramprestaurant.com. 5-8pm.

"Salkind International Piano Duo Festival." San Francisco Conservatory of Music, 50 Oak, SF; www.sfmf.org. 8pm.

Craig Ventresco & Meredith Axelrod Atlas Cafe, 3049 20th St, SF; www.atlascafe.net. 4-6pm, free.

DANCE CLUBS

Bearracuda Rickshaw Stop. 9pm, $6-$8. With DJ Matt Consola, and Matt Alber (live).

Bootie SF: King of Pants DNA Lounge. 9pm, $10-$20.

Cockfight Underground SF, 424 Haight, SF; (415) 864-7386. 9pm, $7. Rowdy dance night for gay boys .

Foundation Som., 2925 16th St, SF; (415) 558-8521. 10pm, $5-$10. DJs Shortkut, Apollo, Mr. E, Fran Boogie spin Hip-Hop, Dancehall, Funk, Salsa.

Haceteria Deco Lounge, 510 Larkin, SF; www.decosf.com. 9pm; free before 10:30pm, $5 after. With C. Faith (live) and Nujack (DJ).

Paris to Dakar Little Baobab, 3388 19th St, SF; (415) 643-3558. 10pm, $5. Afro and world music with rotating DJs including Stepwise, Steve, Claude, Santero, and Elembe.

Saturday Night Soul Party Elbo Room. 10pm, $5-$10. With DJs Lucky, Paul Paul, and Phengren Oswald.

SUNDAY 8

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

Tommy Castro & the Painkillers Biscuits and Blues. 7 and 9pm, $20.

Cool Ghouls, L.A. Witch, Sister Ruby Band Hemlock Tavern. 9:30pm, $6.

John Lawton Trio Johnny Foley’s. 9pm, free.

Makru, Shake Your Peace, Diana Gameros, Justin Ancheta Amnesia. 9pm, $8-$10.

Paper Dolls, Betsy and Beau, Jared Griffin Amnesia. 5:30pm, $8-$10.

Volbeat, HELLYEAH, Iced Earth, Killinger Regency Ballroom. 6:30pm, $34.

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

Rachelle Ferrell Yoshi’s SF. 7pm, $30; 9pm, $25.

Fillmore Jazz Festival Fillmore Street between Jackson and Eddy, SF; www.fillmorejazzfestival.com. 10am-6pm, free. With Kim Nalley, Jai Uttal and the Queen of Hearts Orchestra, Sista Monica, and more.

"Salacious Underground: A Neo-Burlesque Experience" Brick and Mortar Music Hall. 8pm, $7-$15. With Paranoids, New Eccentrics, Ellastico, Dorian Faust, May Yang.

San Francisco Symphony with Michael Tilson Thomas and SFS Chorus Sigmund Stern Grove, 19th Avenue and Sloat Boulevard, SF; www.sterngrove.org. 2pm, free.

FOLK/WORLD/COUNTRY

Marla Fibish & Friends Plough and Stars. 9pm.

Twang Sunday Thee Parkside. 4pm, free. With Lone Star Retrobates.

DANCE CLUBS

Dub Mission Elbo Room. 9pm, $7. Dub, roots, and classic dancehall with DJ Sep, Roommate, Antiserum.

Jock Lookout, 3600 16th St, SF; www.lookoutsf.com. 3pm, $2. Raise money for LGBT sports teams while enjoying DJs and drink specials.

La Pachanga Blue Macaw, 2565 Mission, SF; www.thebluemacawsf.com. 6pm, $10. Salsa dance party with live Afro-Cuban salsa bands.

MONDAY 9

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

Damir Johnny Foley’s. 9pm, free.

Mario Di Sandro Osteria, 3277 Sacramento, SF; www.osteriasf.com. 7pm, free.

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

Bossa Nova Tunnel Top, 601 Bush, SF; (415) 722-6620. 8-11:30pm, free. Live acoustic Bossa Nova.

FOLK/WORLD/COUNTRY

Roem Baur Osteria, 3277 Sacramento, SF; www.osteriasf.com. 7pm, free.

DANCE CLUBS

Death Guild DNA Lounge. 9:30pm, $3-$5. Gothic, industrial, and synthpop with DJs Decay, Joe Radio, Melting Girl.

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

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

Vibes’N’Stuff El Amigo Bar, 3355 Mission, SF; (415) 852-0092. 10pm, free. Conscious jazz and hip-hop from 1960s-early ’90s with DJs Luce Lucy, Vinnie Esparza, and more.

TUESDAY 10

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

Electric Shepherd, VARDDJURET, Spyrals, Love Dimension, DJ Neil Martinson Brick and Mortar Music Hall. 9pm, $5-$8.

Family Folk Explosion Amnesia. 9:15pm, free.

Guy Fox Boom Boom Room. 8pm, $5.

Artwork Jamal Biscuits and Blues. 8 and 10pm, 15.

Barry O’Connell, Vinnie Cronin & friends Plough and Stars. 9pm.

Papa Bear and the Easy Love, Tom Hamilton Elbo Room. 9pm, $10.

Schande, Pataha Hiss, Li Xi Hemlock Tavern. 9pm, $6.

Stan Erhart Band Johnny Foley’s. 9pm, free.

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

Gaucho Bottle Cap, 1707 Powell, SF; www.bottlecapsf.com. 7-10pm.

Mike Stoltzman Quintet feat. Richard Stoltzman Yoshi’s SF. 8pm, $18.

DANCE CLUBS

Eclectic Company Skylark, 9pm, free. DJs Tones and Jaybee spin old school hip hop, bass, dub, glitch, and electro.

Post-Dubstep Tuesdays Som., 2925 16th St, SF; (415) 558-8521.10pm, free. DJs Dnae Beats, Epcot, Footwerks spin UK Funky, Bass Music.

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

Save the date: SFBG “Bay Area Feminism Today” Forum on July 11

Andrew Lam

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July 2, 2012

7

Save the date: SFBG “Bay Area Feminism Today” Forum on July 11

Last year, the Guardian held a series of Mayoral Issue Forums focusing on things from public power to climate change. They helped to drive discussion in the progressive community — and they were real fun. This year, we’re keeping the ball rolling by focusing on an issue that doesn’t get nearly enough attention: the state of feminism in the Bay, and in the Bay’s progressive movement in particular. Only this time around, we’re not saving all the fun for the political community. We’ve invited an all-female line-up hailing from many different sectors of the city: nightlife, the arts, City Hall, and activists involved in trans, immigrant, domestic violence, and health issues. What makes a women’s issue? Where is good work being done on them and where do we need to work harder?

It’s gonna be good. And we want you to be there, won’t you join us? Bring your questions.

THE GUARDIAN PRESENTS: “BAY AREA FEMINISM TODAY”

July 11, 6pm-8pm, free

Room 109, City College of San Francisco Mission District branch

1125 Valencia, SF

**THIS IS A BILINGUAL EVENT. SPANISH LANGUAGE TRANSLATION WILL BE AVAILABLE (!)**

>>>>>>>>RSVP on Facebook<<<<<<<<

Introducing our panelists…

Stephany Ashley is the Programs Director of the St. James Infirmary, a peer-based healthcare clinic serving current and former sex workers and their families. She is the recent past President of the Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club, and is currently serving her 4th term on their Executive Board. Her recent work has included organizing with the National Reproductive Justice Network, campaigning for Rafael Mandelman for Supervisor and John Avalos for Mayor, and consulting the World Health Organization on addressing violence against sex workers in the context of HIV. She is a former member of the Exotic Dancers Union (SEIU 1021).

Celeste Chan is Co-Director of Queer Rebel Productions (www.queerrebels.com), and a Board Member of Community United Against Violence (www.cuav.org). She’s been connected with feminist and queer organizations such as SFWAR, Incite! Women of Color Against Violence, WOMAN inc, Riley Center, and CUAV. As an artist, she creates work born from queer Diaspora through wit, words, and film (www.celestechan.com).

Edaj is a versatile artist whose career as a choreographer, producer, emcee and DJ, began in 1991 while serving in the USAF in Okinawa Japan. From 2002 – 2010, she was Executive Producer of the Women’s Stage at San Francisco Pride, where she ensured there was a space for women at the celebration and showcased a diverse, multi-talented global representation of the women’s community on the stage. Through her company, Mizdj Creations, her work with supporting and empowering women through artistic expression stretches across the nation and internationally as she constantly lends her expertise toward establishing opportunities for women to excel in the arts.

Juana Flores is the Co-Director of Mujeres Unidas y Activas. An immigrant from Mexico, Juana joined Mujeres Unidas y Activas as a member in 1991, and as staff in 1994. During her tenure on MUA’s staff, Juana has taken a leadership role in key local, statewide, and national immigrant rights campaigns, such as the campaigns to defeat statewide propositions 187, 227, and 209 and local proposition 21 and efforts to protect statewide prenatal health care programs. She has built strong partnerships with organizations representing other immigrant communities around welfare reform and defending immigrant parents’ rights in the San Francisco school district. She’s advocated for immigrant women’s protections in the Violence Against Women Act and against immigration enforcement policies that target immigrant survivors of violence.

Alix Rosenthal was elected to the San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee, the governing body of the San Francisco Democratic Party, in July 2010. She serves as its treasurer. In the June 2012 election, she won re-election and also assembled a controversial slate of female candidates for DCCC. A longtime Burning Man participant, Alix sits on the Board of Directors of the Black Rock Arts Foundation, which promotes civic engagement by placing interactive public art projects around the world. In October 2011, she was elected Co-Chair of the Board of Directors of the California Music and Culture Association (CMAC), California’s only nightlife trade association, which advocates for the music and entertainment industry at the state and local levels. Alix has been a lifelong advocate for women, having founded the San Francisco Women’s Political Summit, and having served as President of the National Women’s Political Caucus (SF chapter).

Laura Thomas is the San Francisco deputy state director for the Drug Policy Alliance, the nation’s leading organization promoting alternatives to current drug policy that are grounded in science, compassion, health and human rights. She has been causing trouble in San Francisco for nearly 25 years, starting as an AIDS activist with ACT UP. She was part of the Dyke March Organizing Committee and volunteers with the local syringe exchange. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Asian and Pacific Islander Wellness Center and the Executive Board of the Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club. She lives in San Francisco with her partner, their three cats, and her many pairs of red shoes.

Mia Tu Mutch is a youth advocate and has been working at the LGBTQ Community Center as a youth specialist, helping to coordinate the Center’s meal night for homeless queer youth. Mia is a student at City College of San Francisco, is a member of the Youth City Services committee, and is the Youth Commission’s Media and Public Affairs Officer. She is passionate about making the Youth Commission a household name in San Francisco and particularly interested in providing resources and support to LGBTQ youth.

And your moderator…

Caitlin Donohue is the culture editor of the San Francisco Bay Guardian. She reports a lot on marijuana, sex, street art, and other horribly unfun, irrelevant things. She will have pink hair.

Save the date: SFBG “Bay Area Feminism Today” Forum on July 11

Andrew Lam

-

June 29, 2012

0

Last year, the Guardian held a series of Mayoral Issue Forums focusing on things from public power to climate change. They helped to drive discussion in the progressive community — and they were real fun. This year, we’re keeping the ball rolling by focusing on an issue that doesn’t get nearly enough attention: the state of feminism in the Bay, and in the Bay’s progressive movement in particular. Only this time around, we’re not saving all the fun for the political community. We’ve invited an all-female line-up hailing from many different sectors of the city: nightlife, the arts, City Hall, and activists involved in trans, immigrant, domestic violence, and health issues. What makes a women’s issue? Where is good work being done on them and where do we need to work harder?

It’s gonna be good. And we want you to be there, won’t you join us? Bring your questions.

THE GUARDIAN PRESENTS: “BAY AREA FEMINISM TODAY”

July 11, 6pm-8pm, free

Room 109, City College of San Francisco Mission District branch

1125 Valencia, SF

**THIS IS A BILINGUAL EVENT. SPANISH LANGUAGE TRANSLATION WILL BE AVAILABLE (!)**

>>>>>>>>RSVP on Facebook<<<<<<<<

Introducing our panelists…

Stephany Ashley is the Programs Director of the St. James Infirmary, a peer-based healthcare clinic serving current and former sex workers and their families. She is the recent past President of the Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club, and is currently serving her 4th term on their Executive Board. Her recent work has included organizing with the National Reproductive Justice Network, campaigning for Rafael Mandelman for Supervisor and John Avalos for Mayor, and consulting the World Health Organization on addressing violence against sex workers in the context of HIV. She is a former member of the Exotic Dancers Union (SEIU 1021).

Celeste Chan is Co-Director of Queer Rebel Productions (www.queerrebels.com), and a Board Member of Community United Against Violence (www.cuav.org). She’s been connected with feminist and queer organizations such as SFWAR, Incite! Women of Color Against Violence, WOMAN inc, Riley Center, and CUAV. As an artist, she creates work born from queer Diaspora through wit, words, and film (www.celestechan.com).

Edaj is a versatile artist whose career as a choreographer, producer, emcee and DJ, began in 1991 while serving in the USAF in Okinawa Japan. From 2002 – 2010, she was Executive Producer of the Women’s Stage at San Francisco Pride, where she ensured there was a space for women at the celebration and showcased a diverse, multi-talented global representation of the women’s community on the stage. Through her company, Mizdj Creations, her work with supporting and empowering women through artistic expression stretches across the nation and internationally as she constantly lends her expertise toward establishing opportunities for women to excel in the arts.

Juana Flores is the Co-Director of Mujeres Unidas y Activas. An immigrant from Mexico, Juana joined Mujeres Unidas y Activas as a member in 1991, and as staff in 1994. During her tenure on MUA’s staff, Juana has taken a leadership role in key local, statewide, and national immigrant rights campaigns, such as the campaigns to defeat statewide propositions 187, 227, and 209 and local proposition 21 and efforts to protect statewide prenatal health care programs. She has built strong partnerships with organizations representing other immigrant communities around welfare reform and defending immigrant parents’ rights in the San Francisco school district. She’s advocated for immigrant women’s protections in the Violence Against Women Act and against immigration enforcement policies that target immigrant survivors of violence.

Alix Rosenthal was elected to the San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee, the governing body of the San Francisco Democratic Party, in July 2010. She serves as its treasurer. In the June 2012 election, she won re-election and also assembled a controversial slate of female candidates for DCCC. A longtime Burning Man participant, Alix sits on the Board of Directors of the Black Rock Arts Foundation, which promotes civic engagement by placing interactive public art projects around the world. In October 2011, she was elected Co-Chair of the Board of Directors of the California Music and Culture Association (CMAC), California’s only nightlife trade association, which advocates for the music and entertainment industry at the state and local levels. Alix has been a lifelong advocate for women, having founded the San Francisco Women’s Political Summit, and having served as President of the National Women’s Political Caucus (SF chapter).

Laura Thomas is the San Francisco deputy state director for the Drug Policy Alliance, the nation’s leading organization promoting alternatives to current drug policy that are grounded in science, compassion, health and human rights. She has been causing trouble in San Francisco for nearly 25 years, starting as an AIDS activist with ACT UP. She was part of the Dyke March Organizing Committee and volunteers with the local syringe exchange. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Asian and Pacific Islander Wellness Center and the Executive Board of the Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club. She lives in San Francisco with her partner, their three cats, and her many pairs of red shoes.

Mia Tu Mutch is a youth advocate and has been working at the LGBTQ Community Center as a youth specialist, helping to coordinate the Center’s meal night for homeless queer youth. Mia is a student at City College of San Francisco, is a member of the Youth City Services committe, and is the Youth Commission’s Media and Public Affairs Officer. She is passionate about making the Youth Commission a household name in San Francisco and particularly interested in providing resources and support to LGBTQ youth.

And your moderator…

Caitlin Donohue is the culture editor of the San Francisco Bay Guardian. She reports a lot on marijuana, sex, street art, and other horribly unfun, irrelevant things. She will have pink hair.

Party Radar: Chez Damier, Robert Hood, Ivan Smagghe, Body and Soul, more

Jesse Hawthorne Ficks

-

June 27, 2012

3

Party Radar: Chez Damier, Robert Hood, Ivan Smagghe, Body and Soul, more

Uhhhh…. yes, I’m finally recovering from Pride, which was quite a thing. Here’s the quick tea: our SFBG Pulling Pork for Pride party was chill in a good, busy, porky way. Nightlife at the Cal Academy was a breezy, star-filled affair — with baby ostriches, even! The lovely Mr. at Monarch on Friday was packed with stylish yet soulful dancers (along with Quentin Harris at Saturday’s Mighty Real shindig, one of the most diverse parties of the weekend, too).

Juanita More’s double-venue marathon on Pride Sunday was a high-water mark: its throbbing, post-runway crowd dressed in custom black separates and dripping vintage gold chains. Hard French was also a rockin’ delight, its post-Tumblr crowd dressed in custom neon separates and dripping in silver netting. And Honey Soundsystem was just far too hot-hot-hot (both temperaturewise and bodywise), its crowd pretty much naked except for glimpses of Southwest-patterned motifs, whether shaven into baroque haircuts or flashed from acid-washed scraps. The music at every party was pretty amazing, and I even stumbled upon a secret shisha bar in the TL, woot.

People both crabby-old and young-hip were snippily comparing the actual Pride Sunday celebration at Civic Center to Love Parade, with its cavalcade of straight, inebriated youth, whose fuschia-fishnet-girl, unshirted-jocky-stoner hot-boy, slutty-mess energy I can only envy. But, one, it’s been like that since long before Love Parade migrated to our shores six years ago — more like Halloween in the early 2000s, I’d say. And, two — hi, if you’re going to throw a huge free(ish) party full of cuddly gays, rainbows, and drag queen unicorns, of course young straight girls will show up, with wannabe-boyfriends in tow. It’s not queer rocket science (gaeronautics)!

Welcome to assimilation, queens: us drunk straight girls gon’ be there, k?

But outside of the wild teens, it did all seem a bit mannered, so well behaved — like no one really got craaazy with Pride. I hope we haven’t put that side of us behind us. Scream something!

Where do we go from here? Well, besides this week’s picks in the paper for Kafana Balkan, Sandwell District with Mark E., Pepper’s 19-year reunion, and, dream of my youth, a DJ set from the Smiths’ Andy Rourke (not to mention the return of the Underground Market to Public Works), here’s a few more parties gettin’ mah goatee this week that I couldn’t fit into print.

>>WEDNESDAY: CHEZ DAMIER

I hung out a few times with this quintessential deep, sophisticated house producer in Detroit in the 1990s, and it’s such a pleasure to see him return to the DJ scene. Whether on his own or along with oft-partner Ron Trent, he made some of the timeless classics of the early techno-house era, bringing out a true spirit in the machines. He’s hitting the ever-glowing Housepitality weekly (which next week hosts the amazing Recloose. Booking coups!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RWT_Rcdcyo

Wed/27, 9 pm, $5 before 11 p.m., $10 after. Icon, 1192 Folsom, SF. Facebook invite here.

>>SATURDAY: ROBERT HOOD

On to the headier side of classic Detroit tech now, as longtime ace producer Hood blends hypnotic experiments with machine-soul vibes, stripping things down wickedly, expertly to the cosmic sub-basement level.

Sat/30, 10pm-3am, $10-$15. Public Works, 161 Erie, SF. www.publicsf.com

>>SUNDAY: IVAN SMAGGHE

Kill the DJ! At least that’s what his Paris party’s named, but global fans have long smothered him with love, writhing to his dark-disco, genre-melting style that ranges from pounding No Wave chestnuts to cutting edge icy minimal wave re-edits. Hang with him high for an extended set, among the strobing lights at the Honey Soundsystem weekly, which continues to kill it for hot queers and their hot friends.

Sun/1, 9pm, $5. Holy Cow, 1535 Folsom, SF. More details here.

>>BODY AND SOUL

Living! Francois K., Joe Clausell, and Danny Krivit, together again and playing SF. One of my favorite clubs of all time (seriously, I flew to NYC all the time especially for its amazing blend of, well, body and soul) isn’t coming to Mighty until 10/6 — but now’s the time to get tickets before it sells out. $20 presales available here: www.mightybodyandsoul.eventbrite.com and we will groove all night.