Queer Archives — Page 20 of 53 — San Francisco Bay Guardian Archive 1966

On the Cheap Listings

Andrew Lam

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June 12, 2012

Submit items for the listings at listings@sfbg.com. For further information on how to submit items for the listings, see Picks.

THURSDAY 14

Screening of Ken Russel’s Gothic Pacific Film Archive, 2575 Bancroft, Berk. bampfa.berkeley.edu. 7:30pm, $9.50. Director Ken Russell passed away this year, but his 1986 feature film continues to transport audiences. Gothic takes audiences into the country estate where Lord Byron (Gabriel Byrne), Mary Shelley (Natasha Richardson), and her partner Percy Bysshe Shelly (Julian Sands), give birth to the idea for Frankenstein’s monster. Prior to the screening, listen to a brief set by the world’s only Ken Russell tribute band Brale.

Oakland Landmarks book signing Cathedral Gift Shop, 2121 Harrison, Oakl. www.cltcathedral.org. Noon-1:30pm, free. Oakland historian and columnist AnnaLee Allen and artist Heidi Wyckoff raised enough donations through Kickstarter to publish their new book Oakland Landmarks, a melding of Wyckoff’s watercolor images and Allen’s detailed descriptions of historical sites. The project is a tribute to the city in honor of its 160th birthday this year. Today, come meet the author and illustrator, eager to sign your copy this afternoon.

Celebrate Flag Day with America the Philosophical Mechanic’s Institute, 57 Post, SF. (415) 393-0114, www.milibrary.org. 6pm, $12, members free. Just in time for Flag Day, award-winning book critic Carlin Romano challenges the idea that our nation is anti-intellectual. Using the examples of talk shows, social media, blogs, and an online trend he calls “cyber philosophy,” he argues that the USA is still a nation of innovation and public debate. Listen as Romano speaks up for the intelligence of you and yours at tonight’s reading.

FRIDAY 15

Rex Ray pop-up show and Information release Gallery 16, 501 Third St., SF. www.gallery16.com. Also Sat/16, 6pm-9pm, free. To celebrate Rex Ray’s new book, Information, this pop-up gallery displays images of his artwork, photographs, and private moments of inspiration. The new book highlights a collection of happenings that the artist says inspired his life’s work. Ask him more about it in person.

Faetopia reclaims vacant Castro space for public joy Vacant Tower Records building, 2286 Market, SF. www.faetopia.com. Through Fri/22, event times vary, $10 suggested donation. Faetopia imagines a world where queer people are honored and respected for their gifts and perspectives. Artists and collaborators have created a space for the LGBTQQ community and their allies in the long, vacant storefront. During the day, Faetopia will host a visual arts gallery, workshops, meditations, teach-ins, and more. Theater, poetry, cinema, and sexy book readings in a land where the arts reign supreme.

SATURDAY 16

“The Stuff That Dreams are Made of: San Francisco and the Movies” Old Mint, Fifth St. and Mission, SF. www.sanfranciscomuseum.org. Through Sat/24, 11am-4pm, $10. Thanks largely to cinema, people everywhere know about our city by the bay, even if they’ve never visited it. To highlight the movies and filmmakers that make San Francisco one of the world’s film capitals, the San Francisco Museum and Historical Society present this exhibition.

Father’s Day weekend at Playland-Not-at-the-Beach 10979 San Pablo, El Cerrito. www.playland-not-at-the-beach.org. 10am-5pm, $15. Don’t let Dad spend his special day sitting on the couch watching other people play. Accompany him to Playland, where the two of you can raise a ruckus with pinball and carnival games galore — there’s even an ugly tie contest. Pops also gets $3 off admission this weekend — perfect for Playland’s theme of the week: celebrating everyday American heroes.

San Francisco Crystal Fair Fort Mason Center, SF. www.crystalfair.com. 10am-6pm; also Sun/17 10am-4pm, $6. The Pacific Crystal Guild hosts a magical mix of crystals, minerals, beads, jewelry, and the healing arts today and tomorrow. Crystal enthusiasts can gawk at some of the most hard-to-find gems around, and those new to the world of geology can learn about the history and potential healing powers of these natural treasures.

North Beach Festival North Beach neighborhood, SF. www.sresproductions.com. Also Sun/17, 10am-6pm, free. One of the country’s original outdoor festivals, this 58th annual event brings you to the city’s Little Italy for 125 arts and crafts booths, 20 gourmet food booths, three stages of live entertainment, Italian street painting, beverage gardens, and the blessing of the animals. Join in this longstanding San Francisco tradition.

Marin Art Festival, Marin Civic Center, 3501 Civic Center Dr., San Rafael. (415) 388-0151, www.marinartfestival.com. 10am-6pm, $10. Enjoy the famed Marin oyster feast while you view the works of more than 250 fine artists. This annual event takes place in the spectacular Marin Civic Center designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, so be sure to look up and down and all around at the architecture while you’re there.

SUNDAY 17

Open Cockpit for Father’s Day Oakland Aviation Museum, 8252 Earhart, Building No. 621, Oakl. www.oaklandaviationmuseum.org. Noon-4pm, $9. Sit in a Korean War MiG-15 next to Dad, and feel what it would have been like to fly for the “other side” in America’s first war of the jet age. Learn about the training involved for naval flight officers in the 1970s via a Navy A-6 simulator trailer, horse around on a carrier deck in the Navy A-3 Sky Warrior, tour the Solent Flying Boat from Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark.

MONDAY 18

Baasics.2: The Future Oberlin Dance Collective Theater, 3153 17th St., SF. www.baasics.com. 7:30pm-9:30pm, free. Do flying cars and android housekeepers to mind when you ponder the future? Will humanity populate other planets and interact with extraterrestrial beings? Or, do you fret about the imminent environmental catastrophe, the rise of a totalitarian mega-state, and the end of our species? This event brings together Bay Area artists, inventors, researchers, and musicians whose projects and musings provide a sense of what they think lies ahead.

TUESDAY 19

Activists read from The Harvey Milk interviews: In His Own Words HRC Store, 575 Castro, SF. (415) 387-2272. 6pm, free. This newly released collection of never-before published transcripts of unrehearsed interviews with Harvey Milk will be read live tonight by Bay Area activists and novelists. Learn about the local icon on a deeper level.

The perfect pre-Pride toast: Bayview vino at El Rio

Andrew Lam

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June 12, 2012

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It’s best (they say) to treat Pride as the proverbial marathon in place of sprint — despite the fact that there is about one thousand openings-parties-dog walks happening this year that you’ll no doubt be careening between. May we recommend a darling divey wine happy hour as your own personal kick-off for this year of queer festivities? El Rio‘s semi-weekly Mugsy Wine Bar on Fri/15 would fit the bill nicely — and will give you the chance to try local pours made by local queers, people of color, and families that will be perfect for your larder as you traipse ever-closer to Gay Christmas.

“El Rio is a lot more gay-friendly than cabernet-friendly,” Granate Sosnoff, Mugsy’s organizer, told me over the phone yesterday. Sosnoff, whose girlfriend works behind the bar at the Outer Mission dive, was sick of El Rio’s wine selection being somewhat of an afterthought (let’s be real, order the margarita.) But the space had potential — you’d be hard-pressed to find a better spot for a casual glass. Picture the scene: El Rio’s standard Friday afternoon batch of free oysters (deployed on the tranquil patio at 5:30pm, swoop them while they last), La Piada Randagia serving Italian piadina, or flatbread sandwiches, and of course, the well-curated wines.

This Friday, Mugsy will feature pours from Gratta Wines, Barbara Gratta’s mini-winery that the queer vintner started in her Bayview basement. Gratta’s 2010 Dry Creek cabernet — of which only a barrel was made — will be on offer, as will the entrepreneur herself, for queries and comments on the fruits of her fermentation.

Looking for something from farther afield? Mugsy will also be offering a pinot noir from Stomping Girl Wines, a multi-generational endeavor out of Russian River and Sonoma that first started pressing in a Berkeley basement. Not to mention wine from African American family-owned Brown Estate.

“High and low is the best, right?” said Sosnoff. “Especially in these troubling times.” D’accord. Cheers!

Mugsy Wine Bar pop-up happy hour

Fri/15 5-8pm, $5-$10 per glass of wine

El Rio

3158 Mission, SF

(415) 282-3325

mugsywinebar.tumblr.com

www.elriosf.com

Welcome to the Technodome

Jesse Hawthorne Ficks

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June 6, 2012

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marke@sfbg.com

SUPER EGO One of the googly-eyed insider pleasures of attending a massive thing like the Movement Detroit Electronic Music Festival over Memorial Day Weekend is catching a glimpse of who’s checking out who: elder legends Anthony “Shake” Shakir and Danny Tenaglia peeping ever-smiley Berliner Cassy’s driving afternoon set on Monday’s main stage; a slew of unexpected European fameballs shimmying awkwardly at hometown hero DJ Godfather’s rapidfire booty bass blasts; a dream DJ-booth Detroit traffic jam of Stacey Pullen, Mark Kinchen, Kenny Larkin, and Terrance Parker; Boston’s wacky Soul Clap getting down on every sideline I could see; and everybody peeping Public Enemy in Sunday’s main stage headliner slot to see who stole the soul.

PE revved up nicely into its classic, cavernous hip-hop cacophany, with Chuck D in fine voice and a randy Flava Flav as old school hype-y as ever. (He’s got a Twitter y’all, and we need to help open his friends’ restaurant at 15 Mile Road and Van Dyke.) No, Underground Resistance did not show up to take Terminator X’s place behind the turntables, but we all knew the words — including Ice-T, making a surprise media appearance at one of the best-vibed, eclectic, well-run Movements I’ve been to (five out of 12).

Kids wanted to dance, too — all 30,000+, drenched in 90-degree sweat for three days of the best DJs in the world. The big overarching narrative in the global techno community right now is how it should react to the bland pop successes of the likes of David Guetta and Tiesto on the one hand and the watered-down dubstep youthquake of Skrillex and co. And yes, there were a fair share of Deadmau5 tees and tattoos among the nubile — but nothing sounded anything like all that at the fest.

And no one seemed to care, really. Abstract pop thrills could be had from Major Lazer, SBTRKT, Roni Size, and melodic pop-tech popularos like Seth Troxler, Jamie Jones, and Slow Hands. But what to say about the hordes of smiling teens freaking out over Dopplereffekt’s darkly hypnotic true-electro pounding, or swaying along to No Regular Play’s breezy, sculptural grooviness, or whinnying madly when Lil Louis broke Diana Ross’s “Love Hangover” into the slow part of his “French Kiss” — and then Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love” when it got all fast again? Fucking Detroit. Love it.

So yes, smart and sophisticated techno is thriving — no doubt about that, really, after all it’s been through. Case in point: Sunday night’s huge KMS 25th anniversary party which celebrated founder Kevin Saunderson seminal label with an insane fanboy blowout, featuring Inner City and Carl Craig’s 69 project live, as well as techno inventors Saunderson, Juan Atkins, Derrick May, and Eddie “Flash” Fowlkes together onstage, on four decks setups. And that was just the most-hyped of the satellite parties, which blossomed like wild fennel along the cracked concrete streets of the D.

I caught up with an only slightly bleary-eyed Saunderson after his label’s shindig, and before he was set to go on as the penultimate main stage act. (Closing honors went this year to Jeff Mills a.k.a. the Wizard, whose spacey hijinks predictably killed). KMS is releasing an anniversary box set at the end of this month bursting with juicy classic cuts and new barnstormers. You can read my full interview with Saunderson on the Noise blog at SFBG.com later this week. But one thing he said struck me in particular, especially in metaphorical relationship to the Motor City.

I asked him how he could keep up such tremendous energy through a quarter-century, how he didn’t run himself ragged on the hard facts of the world even as he transported generations of dance floors into cosmic netherworlds.

“It’s a path,” he replied, uncurling his arm along the back of my chair and staring somewhere far in the back of my skull. “Techno is a calling, and you do it because you have to do it, and that’s it. It’s not just some sort of music you build a life around. It’s the direction you take in your whole life, the actual path. No matter where it leads you.”

I promised I’d finally stop writing about Detroit but the hits just keep on coming: mad genius and early techno innovator from across the river in Windsor Richie Hawtin whirlwinds through with the yummy Paco Osuna (Fri/8, 9pm, $22.50. Mezzanine, 444 Jessie, SF. www.mezzaninesf.com), former Detroiter (now Berliner) Magda lights up the Sunset Island party on Treasure Island Sun/10, and the As You Like It Live party with Kollektiv Turmstrasse, Kassem Mosse, Christina Chatfield, and Bobby Browser (Fri/8, 9pm-4am, $15 before 10pm, $25 after. Beatbox, 314 11th St., SF. www.facebook.com/AsYouLikeItSF) continues Movement’s adventurous exploration of techno textures.

SOUL SLAM SF 7

I recently stayed in a Prince-themed hotel where the mirror above the bed was inscribed, “I was dreamin’ when I wrote this, forgive me if it goes astray ….” It was a fantasy come true. Another? The seventh installment of this Prince vs. Michael Jackson sonic smackdown — a step beyond the normal tribute night with excellent rare selections by NYC’s DJ Spinna with Hakobo, King Most, and Proof.

Sat/9, 9pm, $20 advance. Mezanine, $$$ Jessie, SF. www.mezzaninesf.com

NON STOP BHANGRA: TOPH ONE RETURNS

It’s a mitzvah! After surviving a tragic hit-and-run that stunned the nightlife community, bike king and DJ extraordinaire Toph One resurfaces at this ace bhangra monthly, heading up the global-funky loft with Jeremy Sole of Santa Monica’s groovy Afrofunke’ party. Meanwhile, in the main room, LA bhangra superstars Sandeep Kumar and Doc Bladez keep it electro-punjabi whirled.

Sat/9, 9pm, $10 advance, $15 door. Public Works, 161 Erie, SF. wwwpublicsf.com

PINK AND PURPLE PATIO PARTY

Why should El Rio, EndUp, and Wild Side West get all the sunny queer veranda jollies? Cafe Cocomo prances into the afternoon outdoors game with this cute-looking affair — and yes, there is a fuschia and lavender costume theme, with prizes awarded to best retina-searing ensembles. DJ EMV throws a few Latin and retro-pop twists with eclectic guests. Plus: free BBQ!

Sat/9, 1pm-7pm, $10 — mention the Guardian and get $5 off! Cafe Cocomo, 650 Indiana, SF. www.tinyurl.com/PPPPLGBT

Rep Clock

Andrew Lam

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June 5, 2012

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Schedules are for Wed/6-Tue/12 except where noted. Director and year are given when available. Double features (and more) are marked with a •. All times pm unless otherwise specified.

ARTISTS’ TELEVISION ACCESS 992 Valencia, SF; www.atasite.org. $6. “Colectivo Cinema Errante presents: Brazilian Voices of Cinema:” Limite (Peixoto, 1931) with “Clarice’s Cups” (Piffer, 2011), Sun, 8.

CASTRO 429 Castro, SF; (415) 621-6120, www.castrotheatre.com. $7.50-11. Titanic 3D (Cameron, 1997/2012) Wed-Thu, 7 (also Wed, 2:30). Yellow Submarine (Dunning, 1968), Fri and Sun-Tue, 7, 9 (also Sun, 2:30, 4:45). Newly restored version. “Midnites for Maniacs: Killer Summer All-Day Five Film Fest:” •One Crazy Summer (Holland, 1986), Sat, 2:30; Wet Hot American Summer (Wain, 2001), Sat, 4:45; Friday the 13th (Cunningham, 1980), Sat, 7:15; Dead Alive (Jackson, 1992), Sat, 9:20; The Burning (Maylam, 1981), Sat, 11:30. $13 for one or all five films.

CHRISTOPHER B. SMITH RAFAEL FILM CENTER 1118 Fourth St, San Rafael; (415) 454-1222, www.cafilm.org. $6.75-10.25. Bernie (Linklater, 2012), call for dates and times. First Position (Kargman, 2011), call for dates and times. I Wish (Kore-eda, 2011), call for dates and times. Bel Ami (Donnellan and Ormerod, 2012), June 8-14, call for times. Peace, Love and Misunderstanding (Beresford, 2011), June 8-14, call for times. Shining Night: A Portrait of Composer Morten Lauridsen (Stillwater, 2012), Sun, 7. With film subject Morten Lauridsen and filmmaker Michael Stillwater in person.

“FILM NIGHT IN THE PARK” This week: Central Field, Broadway at Bank, Fairfax; www.filmnight.org. Donations accepted. Rio (Saldanha, 2011), Fri, 8.

PACIFIC FILM ARCHIVE 2575 Bancroft, Berk; (510) 642-5249, bampfa.berkeley.edu. $5.50-9.50. “Peter Greenaway: Cinema and Painting:” Rembrandt’s J’Accuse (Greenaway, 2008), Fri, 7; Nightwatching (Greenaway, 2007), Sat. 6. “From the Collection:” “Trailer Trash: A Mini-Movie Extravaganza,” Fri, 8:50. “Three Czech New Wave Classics:” Daisies (Chytilová, 1966), Sat, 8:30. “Afterimage: Three Nights with Nathaniel Dorsky:” “Films of Nathaniel Dorsky: Recent Films (2010-2012),” Sun, 7:30.

ROXIE 3117 and 3125 16th St, SF; (415) 863-1087, www.roxie.com. $6.50-10. “New Czech Film Films US Tour 2012:” Long Live the Family (Sedlácek, 2011), Wed, 6:30; Leaving (Havel, 2011), Thu, 6:30. The Color Wheel (Ross Perry, 2011), Wed-Thu, 7:15, 9.

SF FILM SOCIETY CINEMA 1746 Post, SF. $10-11. Hide Away (Eyre, 2011), Wed-Thu, 3, 5, 7, 9. The Story of Film: An Odyssey, Part Two: Expressionism, Impressionism, and Surrealism: Golden Age of World Cinema (1920s) and The Arrival of Sound (1930s) (Cousins, 2011), Sat, noon. British TV series; new episodes every Sat through June 21. The Wages of Fear (Clouzot, 1953), June 8-14, 2:30, 5:30, 8:30. New 35mm print.

TOP OF THE MARK InterContinental Mark Hopkins, One Nob Hill, SF; www.topofthemark.com. Free. “Summer Movie Nights:” Mary Poppins (Stevenson, 1964), Tue, 7:30. Wine tasting at 5:30.

2969 MISSION SF; www.answersf.org. $5-10 (no one turned away for lack of funds). Under the Bombs (Aractingi, 2007), Sat, 7.

YERBA BUENA CENTER FOR THE ARTS 701 Mission, SF; (415) 978-2787, www.ybca.org. $6-8. “New Filipino Cinema:” Niño (Arcenas, 2011), Thu, 7:30; Kano: An American and His Harem (Jimenez, 2010), Fri, 1; “Poetry and Mystery: Films By John Torres,” Fri, 4; At the Corner of Heaven and Earth (de Guzman, 2011), Fri, 7; Boundary (Bautista, 2011), Fri, 9; “Sex, Drugs, and the Avant-Garde: Filipino Shorts,” Sat, 1; Six Degrees of Separation from Lilia Cuntapay (Jadaone, 2011), Sat, 4; Rakenrol (Henares, 2011), Sat, 7; Remington and the Curse of the Zombadings (Castro, 2011), Sat, 9:30; Friday Friday (Various directors, 2011), Sun, 1; Mondomanila (de la Cruz, 2011), Sun, 3; Crossfire (Mardoquio, 2011), Sun, 5; Amok (Fajardo, 2011), Sun, 7; Forever Loved (Gozum, 2012), Sun, 2 (free screening in YBCA Large Conference Room). Novellus Theater, 700 Howard, SF; www.qwocmap.org. Free. “Queer Women of Color Film Festival,” Fri-Sun.

Stage Listings

Andrew Lam

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June 5, 2012

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

THEATER

OPENING

Aftermath Stagewerx, 446 Valencia, SF; www.brownpapertickets.com. $25. Previews Thu/7, 8pm. Opens Fri/8, 8pm. Runs Thu-Sat, 8pm. Through June 30. Theatre, Period presents Jessica Blank and Erik Jenson’s docu-drama, based on interviews with Iraqi civilians forced to flee after the US military’s arrival in 2003.

Lips Together, Teeth Apart New Conservatory Theatre Center, 25 Van Ness, SF; www.nctcsf.org. $25-45. Previews Wed/6-Fri/8, 8pm. Opens Sat/9, 8pm. Runs Wed-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2pm. Through July 1. New Conservatory Theatre Center performs Terrence McNally’s play about two straight couples spending July 4 amid Fire Island’s gay community.

Reunion SF Playhouse, Stage Two, 533 Sutter, SF; (415) 677-9596, www.sfplayhouse.org. $20. Previews Wed/6-Thu/7, 7pm; Fri/8, 8pm. Opens Sat/9, 8pm. Runs Wed-Thu, 7pm; Fri-Sat, 8pm. Through June 30. SF Playhouse presents a world premiere drama by local playwright Kenn Rabin.

“Risk Is This…The Cutting Ball New Experimental Plays Festival” Exit on Taylor, 277 Taylor, SF; (415) 525-1205, www.cuttingball.com. Free ($20 donation for reserved seating; $50 donation for five-play reserved seating pass). Opens Fri/8, 8pm. Runs Fri-Sat, 8pm. Through July 14. Cutting Ball’s annual fest of experimental plays features two new works and five new translations in staged readings.

Vital Signs Marsh San Francisco, 1062 Valencia, SF; (415) 282-3055, www.themarsh.org. $15-50. Previews Fri/8 and June 15, 8pm; Sat/9, 8:30pm. Opens June 16, 8:30pm. Runs Sat, 8:30pm; June 22, 8pm. Through July 21. The Marsh San Francisco presents Alison Whittaker’s behind-the-scenes look at nursing in America.

BAY AREA

Wheelhouse TheatreWorks at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro, Mtn View; (650) 463-1960, www.theatreworks.org. $19-69. Previews Wed/6-Fri/8, 8pm. Opens Sat/9, 8pm. Runs Tue-Wed, 7:30pm; Thu-Sat, 8pm (also Sat, 2); Sun, 2 and 7pm. Through July 1. TheatreWorks’ 60th world premiere is a musical created by and starring pop-rock trio GrooveLily.

ONGOING

A Behanding in Spokane SF Playhouse, 533 Sutter, SF; www.sfplayhouse.org. $20-70. Tue-Thu, 7pm; Fri-Sat, 8pm (also Sat, 3pm). Through June 30. If Garth Ennis had been asked to write a comic book about a one-handed sociopath with a dark obsession, he might well have written something similar to Martin McDonagh’s A Behanding in Spokane. And admittedly, approached from that angle, a lot of the script’s dramatic flaws are more easily forgiven. There’s not a whole lot of subtle context or languid metaphor to be found in McDonagh’s criminal caper about the little-known “hand-dealing” trade, but as in Ennis’ best known work, Preacher, the pretty girl (Melissa Quine) is the smartest one in the room; the sociopath (Rod Gnapp) is interested in enacting as vicious a revenge on all humanity while spewing as many blatantly offensive invectives as possible; the boyfriend (Daveed Diggs) has some arrested development issues to work out; and the receptionist (Alex Hurt) takes the caricature of man-child to a whole new level. In fact, while all four actors deliver rock-solid performances of their mostly unsympathetic characters, it’s Hurt’s that impresses most. His spooky intensity and goofily tone-deaf determination plays like a combination of Adam Sandler and Arno Frisch, and if there’s a real sociopath in the room, the evidence suggests it’s probably him. Ultimately though the piece relies too heavily on hollow one-liners to remain interesting — a 20-minute farce stretched to 90 minutes — and quite unlike an Ennis comic, it does not leave one wanting more. (Gluckstern)

The Full Monty Eureka Theatre, 215 Jackson, SF; www.roltheatre.com. $25-36. Thu-Sat, 8pm (also Sat, 2pm); Sun, 2pm. Through June 30. In desperate times, how far would you go to turn a buck? The central premise of the 1997 movie and its namesake musical comedy The Full Monty, the answer to this question is right in the title, which limits the suspense, but amps up the expectations. Set not in Sheffield, England as in the movie, but the similarly economically challenged climate of Buffalo, New York circa the late nineties, the comical romp follows a group of unemployed steel workers who decide, rather optimistically, that spending one night as exotic dancers will solve their immediate financial woes. Banish all notions of a Hot Chocolate sing-along; the soundtrack of the stage musical has little in common with its cinematic predecessor, but there are a couple of toe-tappers, particularly the songs writ for the ladies: a belter’s anthem for their spry but elderly accompanist Jeanette (Cami Thompson), a snarky commentary on male beauty, “The Goods,” for the ensemble. On opening night, Ray of Light’s production ran about 15 minutes long after a late start, and the tempo seemed sluggish in parts, but once it hits its stride, The Full Monty should provide a welcome antidote to the ongoing, we’re-still-in-a-recession blues, red leather g-strings and all. (Gluckstern) Fwd: Life Gone Viral Marsh San Francisco, 1062 Valencia, SF; (415) 282-3055, www.themarsh.org. $20-50. Thu/7, 8pm; Sat/9, 8:30pm; Sun/10, 7pm. The internet becomes comic fodder for creator-performers Charlie Varon and Jeri Lynn Cohen, and creator-director David Ford.

100 Saints You Should Know Thick House, 1695 18th St, SF; www.therhino.org. $10-30. Wed-Thu, 7:30pm; Fri-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 3pm. Through June 17. Theatre Rhinoceros performs Kate Fodor’s comedy-drama about family love, homosexuality, and adolescence.

Othello Phoenix Theatre, 414 Mason, SF; www.brownpapertickets.com. $15-18. Thu/7-Sat/9, 8pm. Ninjaz of Drama performs Shakespeare’s classic in a contemporary setting.

Slipping New Conservatory Theatre Center, 25 Van Ness, SF; www.nctcsf.org. $25-45. Wed-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2pm. Through July 1. New Conservatory Theatre Center performs Daniel Talbott’s drama about a gay teen who finds new hope after a traumatic breakup.

Tenderloin Exit on Taylor, 277 Taylor, SF; (415) 525-1205, www.cuttingball.com. $10-50. Extended run: June 14 and 21, 7:30pm; June 15-16 and 22-23, 8pm (also June 16 and 23, 2pm); June 18 and 24, 5pm. Annie Elias and Cutting Ball Theater artists present a world premiere “documentary theater” piece looking at the people and places in the Cutting Ball Theater’s own ‘hood.

The Waiting Period MainStage, Marsh San Francisco, 1062 Valencia, SF; (415) 282-3055, www.themarsh.org. $15-50. Fri, 8pm; Sat, 5pm. Extended through July 7. 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)

BAY AREA

Black n Blue Boys/Broken Men Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Thrust Stage, 2025 Addison, Berk; www.berkeleyrep.org. $14.50-73. Tue, Thu-Sat, 8pm (also Sat, 2pm); Wed and Sun, 7pm (also Sun, 7pm). Through June 24. Berkeley Rep presents a world premiere from writer-performer Dael Orlandersmith (a Pulitzer finalist for 2002’s Yellowman).

Crevice La Val’s Subterranean, 1834 Euclid, Berk; www.impacttheatre.com. $10-20. Thu/7-Sat/9, 8pm. Just in case you were feeling panicked about the persistently recessed state of the economy and what might be your own less than ideal place in it, the Impact Theatre and Playground co-presentation of Lauren Yee’s Crevice might help to put your woes into perspective. That’s because slacker sibs Liz (Marissa Keltie) and Rob (Timothy Redmond) are only slightly exaggerated representatives of Generation Next whose penchant for making lackluster life choices has sentenced them to an indefinite prison term of couch-surfing and Teen Mom marathons in their childhood home. Naturally, they desire change, but it’s not until their mother (Laura Jane Bailey) starts having a hot fling with a younger man that things do. In an egregious breach of the TMI line, it appears that Mom’s orgasms open a “crevice” into an alternate reality that Rob and Liz subsequently fall into. Thus removed from the entropy of their former reality they begin testing the parameters of their new one, quickly coming to the realization that sometimes the alternatives to what you already have are even worse. Getting home again is a convoluted, not fully mapped-out process, but in the interim, their navigation of their erstwhile wonderland offers most of the play’s best lines as well as the uncomfortably effective transformation of Reggie D. White from Liz’s nerdish best buddy to multi-lingual Mafia killer and casual sadist. (Gluckstern)

God of Carnage Marin Theatre Company, 397 Miller, Mill Valley; www.marintheatre.org. $34-55. Tue and Thu-Sat, 8pm (also June 16, 2pm); Wed, 7:30pm; Sun, 2 and 7pm. Through June 17. Marin Theatre Company performs Yasmina Reza’s Tony-winning comedy about two sets of parents who meet after their children get into a schoolyard fight.

The Great Divide Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby, Berk; www.shotgunplayers.org. $20-30. Wed-Thu, 7pm; Fri-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 5pm. Through June 24. Shotgun Players performs Adamn Chanzit’s drama about the hot topic of fracking, inspired by Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People.

Not Getting Any Younger Marsh Berkeley, 2120 Allston, Berk; (415) 282-3055, www.themarsh.org. $15-50. Fri, 8pm; Sat, 5pm. Extended through June 30. Marga Gomez is back at the Marsh, a couple of too-brief decades after inaugurating the theater’s new stage with her first solo show — an apt setting, in other words, for the writer-performer’s latest monologue, a reflection on the inevitable process of aging for a Latina lesbian comedian and artist who still hangs at Starbucks and can’t be trusted with the details of her own Wikipedia entry. If the thought of someone as perennially irreverent, insouciant, and appealingly immature as Gomez makes you depressed, the show is, strangely enough, the best antidote. Note: review from the show’s 2011 run at the Marsh San Francisco. (Avila)

The Odyssey Angel Island; (415) 547-0189, www.weplayers.org. $40-76 (some tickets include ferry passage). Sat-Sun, 10:30am-4pm (does not include travel time to island). Through July 1. We Players present Ava Roy’s adaptation of Homer’s epic poem: an all-day adventure set throughout the nature and buildings of Angel Island State Park.

The Tempest Bruns Amphitheater, 100 California Shakespeare Theater Way, Orinda; (510) 809-3290, www.calshakes.org. $35-71. Tue-Thu, 7:30pm; Fri-Sat, 8pm (also June 23, 2pm); Sun, 4pm. Through June 25. California Shakespeare Theater opens its season with this dance-filled interpretation of the Bard’s classic tale.

The World’s Funniest Bubble Show Marsh Berkeley, TheaterStage, 2120 Allston, Berk; (415) 826-5750, www.themarsh.org. $8-50. Fri, 6pm; Sun/10, June 16, 24, and 30, 11am. Through June 30. Louis “The Amazing Bubble Man” Pearl returns with this kid-friendly, bubble-tastic comedy.

PERFORMANCE/DANCE

American Foundation for Equal Rights benefit Bayfront Theater, Fort Mason Center, Marina at Laguna, SF; www.brownpapertickets.com. Mon/11, 8pm. $25-50. BATS Improv and Tom Bruett of marriageequalityplays.com present short plays by local playwrights, plus an improvised short play, on the theme of marriage equality.

“Beef Cake Comedy Show” Deco Lounge, 510 Larkin, SF; www.decosf.com. Sun/10, 8pm. $10. Comedy music group Saw Dem Eyes headlines this night of “straight guys telling jokes with their shirts off.”

“The BY Series” ODC Theater, 3153 17th St, SF; www.odcdance.org. Thu-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2pm. Through June 17. $25. Robert Moses’ Kin Dance Company presents work by guest choreographers Molissa Fenley, Ramon Ramos Alayo, and Sidra Bell, plus the world premiere of Moses’ Scrubbing the Dog.

“Elect to Laugh” Studio Theater, Marsh San Francisco, 1062 Valencia, SF; (415) 282-3055, www.themarsh.org. Tue, 8pm. Ongoing through Nov 6. $15-50. Will Durst and friends perform in this weekly political humor show that focuses on the upcoming presidential election.

“Elementary, My Dear Watson, It Was Crack” Purple Onion, 140 Columbus, SF; (415) 956-1653. Thu/7, 9pm. $20. Comedian Will Franken performs his latest one-man sketch comedy show.

“A Funny Night for Comedy” Actors Theatre of San Francisco, 855 Bush, SF; www.natashamuse.com. Sun/10, 7pm. $10. Natasha Muse and Ryan Cronin host a comedy talk show, followed by “A Funny Night for Improv” at 9pm.

“Feel the Power of the Dork Side” Exit Theatre, 156 Eddy, SF; www.brownpapertickets.com. Fri/8-Sat/9, 8pm. $15. Engineering professor by day, stand-up comedian by night: Dr. Pete Ludovice performs his solo show.

“Get In Front” Herbst Theater, 401 Van Ness, SF; www.getinfront.org. Wed/6, 7pm. $35-250. A benefit for Cancer Prevention Institute of California, this event features performances by principal dancers from San Francisco Ballet, Alonzo King LINES Ballet, ODC/Dance, and more.

“House of Matter” Dance Mission Theater, 3316 24th St, SF; www.brownpapertickets.com. Fri/8-Sat/9, 8pm; Sun/10, 7pm. $15-25. Nicole Klaymoon’s Embodiment Project presents its latest installment of urban dance theater.

“Idina Menzel: Barefoot at the Symphony” Davies Symphony Hall, 201 Van Ness, SF; (415) 864-6000. Thu/7, 8pm. $69.50-125. The Tony winner performs a show of Broadway and modern pop songs.

“Kunst-Stoff Arts/Fest 2012” Kunst-Stoff Arts, One Grove, SF; kunststoffartsfest2012.eventbrite.com. Thu/7-Sat/9 (Program One) and June 14-16 (Program Three), 8:30pm; Tue/12, 8pm (Program Two). $15. Program one: Dance Elixir and Kunst-Stoff Dance Company; program two: Silvia Girardi performing multimedia theater work All I Wanted to Say; program three: Bruno Augusto and Meisha Bosma.

“Performance Night at the Strand” Strand Theater, 1127 Market, SF; maryarmentroutdancetheater.com. Fri/8, 8:15pm. Free (donations accepted). Mary Armentrout Dance Theater, Oakland’s Milkbar, and Paz de la Calzada present an evening of site-specific performances and installations inspired by de la Calzada’s mural on the shuttered Strand Theater.

“R16 North American B-Boy Championships” Palace of Fine Arts Theater, 3301 Lyon, SF; www.r16usa.com. Sat/9, 2-6pm. $10-25. Come check out dancers popping, locking, and otherwise vying to represent North America at the Supreme World Championship finals in South Korea.

San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival de Young Museum, 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden, Golden Gate Park, SF; www.worldartswest.org. Sat/9, 2pm. $15. Artist dialogue with “American Tribal Style Belly Dance” creator Carolena Nericcio, followed by a performance by FatChanceBellyDance. Also Sun/10, 2pm, Asian Art Museum, 200 Larkin, SF; www.worldartswest.org. Sun/10, 2pm. Free with museum admission ($7-12). Shamanic dance performace by Korean dance master Il Hyun Kim.

“Sex and the City: Live!” Rebel, 1760 Market, SF; www.brownpapertickets.com. Tue, 7 and 9pm. Through June 26. $25. Heklina, D’Arcy Drollinger, Lady Bear, Trixxie Carr play the fab four in this drag-tastic homage to the HBO series.

“Talkies” Artists’ Television Access, 992 Valencia, SF; www.atasite.org. Fri/8, 8pm. $6. Stand-up comedy and short comedic films hosted by Anna Seregina and George Chen.

“Voca People” Marines’ Memorial Theatre, 609 Sutter, Second Flr, SF; www.marinesmemorialtheatre.com. Tue-Fri, 8pm; Sat, 6:30 and 9:30pm; Sun, 3 and 6pm. Through June 17. $49-75. A capella from outer space.

“X” Garage, 715 Bryant, SF; www.brownpapertickets.com. Wed/6-Thu/7, 8pm. $10-20. Australian performer Sunny Drake presents his new show in conjunction with the National Queer Arts Festival.

BAY AREA

“Jazz Hams” Odell Johnson Performing Arts Center, Laney College, 900 Fallon, Oakl; www.brownpapertickets.com. Sat/9, 8pm; Sun/10, 1pm. $10. The plus-sized performers of Big Moves present a new, full-scale production featuring an array of dance styles.

Music Listings

Andrew Lam

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June 5, 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 6

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

Brendan Benson, Young Hines, Howling Brothers Independent. 8pm, $18.

Brian Bergeron Johnny Foley’s. 9pm, free.

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

Church of Misery, Hail! Hornet, Gates of Slumber Elbo Room. 8pm, $18.

CocoRosie, Tez and the Rajasthan Roots, Sissy Nobby Regency Ballroom. 8pm, $25.

Keith Crossan Invitational Pro Jam Biscuits and Blues. 8 and 10pm, $15. With Terry Hanck.

Rocco Deluca Brick and Mortar Music Hall. 9pm, $8-$10.

Early Novembers, Wonder Years, Swellers, Young Statues Slim’s. 7:30pm, $20.

Guitar Wizards of the Future, Beatcasso Hemlock Tavern. 9pm, $5.

Mansions on the Moon, Deer Tracks, Nouela Bottom of the Hill. 9pm, $12.

One Way Station Boom Boom Room. 8pm, $5.

Teen Daze, One AM Radio, Giraffage, Slow Magic Rickshaw Stop. 8pm, $10-$12.

Nick Waterhouse Verdi Club, 2424 Mariposa, SF; www.verdiclub.net. 8pm, $12. With DJs Carnita, Primo, Matt B, Lucky.

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, Michael Abraham Amnesia. 7pm, free.

Thomas Mapfumo & Blacks Unlimited Yoshi’s SF. 8pm, $22.

Candace Roberts 50 Mason Social House, SF; www.50masonsocialhouse.com. 7pm.

Ricardo Scales Top of the Mark, 999 California, SF; www.topofthemark.com. 6:30pm, $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: Yolanda Be Cool Vessel, 85 Campton, SF; www.vesselsf.com. 10pm, $10.

THURSDAY 7

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

Advance Base, Nicholas Krgovich, David Joanna Cafe Du Nord. 8pm, $10-$12.

Mickey Avalon, Millionaires, Dirt Slim’s. 7:30pm, $20.

Rick Derringer Yoshi’s SF. 8pm, $26.

General 50 Mason Social House, SF; www.50masonsocialhouse.com. 7pm.

Grendel’s Claw, Curse Words, Grandma’s Boyfriend, Sweet Bones Knockout. 9:30pm, $6.

Human Condition, Betsy and Beau, Quiet Man Bottom of the Hill. 9pm, $10.

Laurie Morvan Band Biscuits and Blues. 8 and 10pm, $15.

JD McPherson Great American Music Hall. 8pm, $21.

Idina Menzel Davies Symphony Hall, 201 Van Ness, SF; (415) 864-6000. 8pm, $69.50-$125.

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

Party Owl, T.I.T.S, Burrows Hemlock. 9pm, $6.

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

Wailers, Gondwana Mezzanine. 9pm, $30.

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

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

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.

FOLK/WORLD/COUNTRY

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

DANCE CLUBS

Afrolicious Elbo Room. 9pm, $5. With DJ-host Pleasuremaker spins Afrobeat, Tropicália, electro, samba, and funk.

Base: Sasha Vessel, 85 Campton, SF; www.vesselsf.com. 10pm, $20.

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

Midi Matilda, Young Digerati, popscene DJs Rickshaw Stop. 9:30pm, $10-$12.

OneMama & M.O.M. Dance Party and Fundraiser 111 Minna, SF; www.onemama.org. 5:30-11pm.

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.

FRIDAY 8

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

Bob, Joel Nelson, Greg Zema Johnny Foley’s Dueling Pianos. 9pm.

Body & Soul Johnny Foley’s. 9pm, free.

Concussion, Jack Killed Jill, Ill Content, Bankrupt District Sub-Mission. 8:30pm, $5.

Christopher Cross Yoshi’s SF. 8pm, $40; 10pm, $35.

Face to Face, Downtown Struts Slim’s. 7:30pm, $20.

Falsetto Teeth, Zu Zed, Bob Ladue Brainwash Cafe, 1122 Folsom, SF; www.brainwash.com. 8pm, free.

Forward, No Statik, Merdoso, Effluxus Knockout. 8pm.

Hollyhocks Makeout Room. 7:30pm.

Maus Haus, Exray’s, Mwahaha, Devonwho Rickshaw Stop. 8pm, $10.

New Orleans Suspects, Zigaboo Modeliste and the New Aahkesstra Brick and Mortar Music Hall. 9pm, $15-$20.

Cathy Richardson Biscuits and Blues. 8 and 10pm, $20.

Bob Schneider, Laura Warshauer Independent. 9pm, $20.

Starskate, Hazel’s Wart, Girls In, Wes Leslie and His Deadly Medley Thee Parkside. 9pm, $6.

Tender, DickWolf, Inferno of Joy, Yes Go’s Hemlock. 9:30pm, $6.

This Will Destroy You, A Place To Bury Strangers, Dusted Bottom of the Hill. 10pm, $14.

Tornado Rider, Battlehooch, Kill Moi, Sporting Life Great American Music Hall. 8pm, $13.

Whiskerman, Guy Fox, Tumbleweed Wanderers, Steve Taylor Cafe Du Nord. 8pm, $10-$12.

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

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.

FOLK/WORLD/COUNTRY

Jay Schraub Coffee Adventures, 1331 Columbus, SF; (415) 441-0301. 11am-1pm, free.

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

Usual Suspects Acoustic Showcase 50 Mason Social House, SF; www.50masonsocialhouse.com. 8pm.

DANCE CLUBS

Forro Brazuca Elbo Room. 10pm, $10. Hottest dancehall music from Brazil.

Future Perfect Public Works. With Jel, GuMMy Bear, Friendzone, Jaycasio, and more.

Glitter DNA Lounge. 9pm, $10-$20. Techno, tech-house, and electronic dance.

Indie Slash Amnesia. 10pm. With DJ Danny White.

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

MartyParty 103 Harriet. 1am, $15.

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.

SATURDAY 9

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

Bow Wow Regency Ballroom. 8pm, $32.

Christopher Cross Yoshi’s SF. 8pm, $40; 10pm, $35.

Corrosion of Conformity, Torche, Black Cobra, Gaza Slim’s. 8pm, $21.

Cut Loose Band Johnny Foley’s. 9pm, free.

Donavon Frankenreiter, Goodnight Texas Independent. 9pm, $21.

Funk Revival Orchestra: A Tribute to Roy Ayers Cafe Du Nord. 9:30pm, $10.

Green Lady Killers, Flexx Bronco Bender’s, 800 S. Van Ness, SF; www.bendersbar.com. 9pm, $5.

Hightower, Pins of Light, Ironwitch, War Child Thee Parkside. 3pm, free.

“Indie-Pino” Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Sculpture Garden, Third and Mission, SF; ybca.org/indie-pino. 1-6pm, free. With Savages, Pedro Gil, Golda and the Guns, Jack Lords Orchestra, Good Night Robot.

Maps & Atlases, Big Sleep, Hands Bottom of the Hill. 10pm, $15.

New Orleans Suspects, Zigaboo Modeliste and the New Aahkesstra Brick and Mortar Music Hall. 9pm, $15-$20.

Julia Nunes Swedish American Hall. 8pm, $15.

Rod Piazza & the Mighty Flyers Biscuits and Blues. 8 and 10pm, $22.

Pierced Arrows, Don’t, Abatis Thee Parkside. 9pm, $12.

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

Shannon & the Clams, Burnt Ones, Cool Ghouls, In Watermelon Sugar El Rio. 3-8pm, $8.

Spidermeow, Rabbles, Mt. Whateverest Hemlock. 9:30pm, $7.

Tiny Television Riptide, 3639 Taraval, SF; www.riptidesf.com. 9:30pm, free.

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

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

FOLK/WORLD/COUNTRY

Bay Area Swing All-Stars 50 Mason Social House, SF; www.50masonsocialhouse.com. 7pm.

San Francisco Free Folk Festival Presidio Middle School, 450 30th Ave, SF; noon-10pm, free.

“Twang Bang” Great American Music Hall. 8:30pm, $13-$15. With Dirty Hand Family Band, Famous, Shants, Rogers, Hot Pink.

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

DANCE CLUBS

Club Gossip Cat Club. 9pm, free before 9:30pm, $5-$8 after. With VJs Shon, Low Life, Damon, and more.

Cockblock Rickshaw Stop.10pm, $5-$10.

Non Stop Bhangra: LA to the Bay Public Works. 9pm, $15.

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.

Pink and Purple Patio Party Cafe Cocomo, 650 Indiana, SF; www.cafecocomo.org. 1-7pm, $10. Queer outdoor dance party with DJs and free barbecue.

Soul Slam 7: Michael Jackson vs. Prince Mezzanine. 9pm, $25.

Tormenta Tropical Elbo Room. 10pm, $5-$10. With Shawn Reynaldo & Oro11, DJ Dodger Stadium.

2 Men Will Move You Amnesia. 9pm.

SUNDAY 10

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

Nicki Bluhm and the Gramblers, Blank Tapes Rickshaw Stop. 7:30pm, $10.

Elegant Trash, Warbler, Johnny Lowrie Band Hemlock. 9pm, $6.

Green River Ordinance, Jesse Thomas Bottom of the Hill. 9pm, $12.

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

Ray Wylie Hubbard, Elliot Randall Cafe Du Nord. 8:30pm, $17-$20.

Patrick Watson, Cat Marino Great American Music Hall. 8pm, $16-$19.

Unknown Hinson Independent. 8pm, $20.

Emily Jane White Brick and Mortar Music Hall. 9pm, $5-$8.

Still Flyin, Tambo Rays, Trails and Ways Rickshaw Stop. 7pm, $10.

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

Josh Klipp Bliss Bar, 4026 24th St, SF; www.blissbar.com. 4:30pm, $10.

Fabiana Passoni & Her All-Star Band Yoshi’s SF. 7Pm, $16.

FOLK/WORLD/COUNTRY

Balkan Beat Box Israel In the Gardens Festival, 750 Howard, SF; Facebook: Israel in the Gardens 2012. 3pm, free

Lagos Roots Afro Beat Ensemble Boom Boom Room. 8pm, $5.

San Francisco Free Folk Festival Presidio Middle School, 450 30th Ave, SF; noon-10pm, free.

DANCE CLUBS

Activate! After After Hours Monroe, 473 Broadway, SF; www.monroesf.com. 6am-2pm, $10. With Emanate, James Henderson, Joseph Lee, and Zenith.

Dub Mission Elbo Room. 9pm, $6. Dub, roots, and classic dancehall with DJ Sep, J. Boogie, Mochi Pet.

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 band

MONDAY 11

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

Catch Hell, Feral Cat, Death By Steamship Rock Loft, 471 Broadway, SF; (415) 846-5124. 9pm, $5.

Damir Johnny Foley’s. 9pm, free.

Priester’s Cue Yoshi’s SF. 8pm, $18.

Sidekicks, Spraynard, Delay, Wild Moth Bottom of the Hill. 8:45pm, $8.

Sticklers, Pony Time, Creepers Hemlock. 6pm, $5.

Y Axes, Tarantula Tango, Scatter Gather, Loud Talker Elbo Room. 9Pm, $6.

Wax Idols, White Lung Knockout. 9pm.

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

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

Timmy Igoe Band Rrazz Room. 7:30pm, $25.

FOLK/WORLD/COUNTRY

Toshio Hirano Amnesia. 9pm.

Pick: Open Bluegrass Jam Amnesia. 6pm.

DANCE CLUBS

Death Guild DNA Lounge. 9:30pm, $3-5. Gothic, industrial, and synthpop with Joe Radio, Decay, and 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 12

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

Alvon Biscuits and Blues. 8 and 10pm, $22.

Bombshell Betty and Her Burlesqueteers, Fromagique Elbo Room. 9pm, $10.

King Loses Crown, High Society, Parade Bottom of the Hill. 9pm, $8.

Here We Go Magic, Harriet Independent. 8pm, $15.

Leopold & His Fiction, Rusty Maples Hemlock. 9pm, $7.

Merrill Bazaar Cafe, 5927 California, SF; www.bazaarcafe.net. 7pm, free.

Rhapsody of Fire, Voyager Slim’s. 8pm, $27.

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

Thrice, Animals As Leaders, O’Brother Regency Ballroom. 7:30pm, $25.

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

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

“Jazz Voices of Poetry” Yoshi’s SF. 8pm. With Clairdee, Nicolas Beare, Shanna Carlson.

Ben Vereen Rrazz Room. 8pm, $45-$50.

FOLK/WORLD/COUNTRY

Dustbowl Revival, Devine’s Jug Band St. Cyprian’s, 2097 Turk, SF; www.noevalleymusicseries.com. 7:30pm, $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.

Stage Listings

Jesse Hawthorne Ficks

-

May 29, 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

The Full Monty Eureka Theatre, 215 Jackson, SF; www.roltheatre.com. $25-36. Opens Thu/31, 8pm. Runs Thu-Sat, 8pm (also Sat, 2pm); Sun, 2pm. Through June 30. Ray of Light Theatre performs the hit musical.

100 Saints You Should Know Thick House, 1695 18th St, SF; www.therhino.org. $10-30. Previews Thu/31, 7:30pm and Fri/1, 8pm. Opens Sat/2, 8pm. Runs Wed-Thu, 7:30pm; Fri-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 3pm. Through June 17. Theatre Rhinoceros performs Kate Fodor’s comedy-drama about family love, homosexuality, and adolescence.

BAY AREA

Black n Blue Boys/Broken Men Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Thrust Stage, 2025 Addison, Berk; www.berkeleyrep.org. $14.50-73. Opens Wed/30, 8pm. Runs Tue, Thu-Sat, 8pm (also Sat, 2pm); Wed and Sun, 7pm (also Sun, 7pm). Through June 24. Berkeley Rep presents a world premiere from writer-performer Dael Orlandersmith (a Pulitzer finalist for 2002’s Yellowman).

The Tempest Bruns Amphitheater, 100 California Shakespeare Theater Way, Orinda; (510) 809-3290, www.calshakes.org. $35-71. Previews Wed/30-Fri/1, 8pm. Opens Sat/2, 8pm. Runs Tue-Thu, 7:30pm; Fri-Sat, 8pm (also June 23, 2pm); Sun, 4pm. Through June 25. California Shakespeare Theater opens its season with this dance-filled interpretation of the Bard’s classic tale.

ONGOING

Endgame and Play American Conservatory Theater, 415 Geary, SF; (415) 749-2228, www.act-sf.org. $10-95. Wed/30-Sat/2, 8pm (also Wed/30, Sat/2-Sun/3, 2pm). The stage is bare save for three cocoon-like urns in a row, each containing an emergent head, literally trapped side by side as in an existentialist’s nightmare. In staccato bursts of speech punctuated by the rapid jumping of a follow-spot, the three heads (Anthony Fusco, Annie Purcell, and René Augesen) narrate their respective sides of an adulterous triangle, not once, but twice, incorporating subtle variations on delivery and cadence during the second go-round. The static staging and deconstructed syntax of Samuel Beckett’s seldom-produced short Play is a good introduction to Beckett’s sensibilities, and sets the mood for the main event, the better-known Endgame. This ferocious exploration of habit, habitat, cruelty and fealty has a lot of food for thought to chew on no matter who produces it, but ACT’s version does lack a certain meaty heft. There’s just something a little too smooth in Bill Irwin’s manner as the chairbound, petty tyrant Hamm, and all too often his poisonous ire comes off as merely petulant. Nick Gabriel, as his beleaguered servant Clov, fares somewhat better (or in fact worse), inhabiting his painful mobility with an appropriately long-suffering manner and frustrated despair, and Hamm’s two legless “cursed progenitors” Nell (Barbara Oliver) and Nagg (Giles Havergal) inject some much appreciated warmth into the generally bleak atmosphere. (Gluckstern)

Fwd: Life Gone Viral Marsh San Francisco, 1062 Valencia, SF; (415) 282-3055, www.themarsh.org. $20-50. Thu, 8pm; Sat, 8:30pm; Sun, 7pm. Through June 10. The internet becomes comic fodder for creator-performers Charlie Varon and Jeri Lynn Cohen, and creator-director David Ford.

My Tia Loca’s Life of Crime Bindlestiff Studio, 185 Sixth St, SF; www.brownpapertickets.com. $20. Thu/31-Sat/2, 8pm. “No Human is Illegal,” the immigrant rights activists like to remind, a message adeptly conveyed by Roy Conboy’s My Tia Loca’s Life of Crime, presented by Guerrilla Rep at Bindlestiff Studio. A pointed yet comical commentary on the “crimes” of one Tia Loca (Cat Callejas) which include sneaking back over the border between Mexico and the US after being illegally deported from her actual native country by “La Migra” and impersonating a plainclothes cop in order to find her long-lost daughter, the central message of the play is one of solidarity — familia first. The family bond is most strikingly evident between Callejas’ feisty, independent eccentric and Melvign Badiola as her goofy nephew Memo, who shares her tendency for extralegal action as well as a love for mole. The comedic chemistry between the two is tough and tender, and full of casually hilarious, bickering repartee. The staging is mostly a delight with great jams provided by Brandon Bigelow and Jonah Pavon, strong acting support from Lainey Garrity, Matt Gunnison, and Kirsten Broadbear, and a snappy pace. Regrettably the play’s ending, a dreamlike nod to magical realism and low-riders, feels somewhat tacked on and not fully plotted out, unlike the down-to-earth retelling of events that illustrate Tia’s “criminal” past. But “life aint no pinche bowl of cherries,” and even imperfect, Tia is important. (Gluckstern)

Othello Phoenix Theatre, 414 Mason, SF; www.brownpapertickets.com. $15-18. Thu-Sat, 8pm. Through June 9. Ninjaz of Drama performs Shakespeare’s classic in a contemporary setting.

Slipping New Conservatory Theatre Center, 25 Van Ness, SF; www.nctcsf.org. $25-45. Wed-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2pm. Through July 1. New Conservatory Theatre Center performs Daniel Talbott’s drama about a gay teen who finds new hope after a traumatic breakup.

The Waiting Period MainStage, Marsh San Francisco, 1062 Valencia, SF; (415) 282-3055, www.themarsh.org. $15-50. Fri, 8pm; Sat, 5pm. Extended through July 7. 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)

BAY AREA

Crevice La Val’s Subterranean, 1834 Euclid, Berk; www.impacttheatre.com. $10-20. Thu-Sat, 8pm. Through June 9. Just in case you were feeling panicked about the persistently recessed state of the economy and what might be your own less than ideal place in it, the Impact Theatre and Playground co-presentation of Lauren Yee’s Crevice might help to put your woes into perspective. That’s because slacker sibs Liz (Marissa Keltie) and Rob (Timothy Redmond) are only slightly exaggerated representatives of Generation Next whose penchant for making lackluster life choices has sentenced them to an indefinite prison term of couch-surfing and Teen Mom marathons in their childhood home. Naturally, they desire change, but it’s not until their mother (Laura Jane Bailey) starts having a hot fling with a younger man that things do. In an egregious breach of the TMI line, it appears that Mom’s orgasms open a “crevice” into an alternate reality that Rob and Liz subsequently fall into. Thus removed from the entropy of their former reality they begin testing the parameters of their new one, quickly coming to the realization that sometimes the alternatives to what you already have are even worse. Getting home again is a convoluted, not fully mapped-out process, but in the interim, their navigation of their erstwhile wonderland offers most of the play’s best lines as well as the uncomfortably effective transformation of Reggie D. White from Liz’s nerdish best buddy to multi-lingual Mafia killer and casual sadist. (Gluckstern)

God of Carnage Marin Theatre Company, 397 Miller, Mill Valley; www.marintheatre.org. $34-55. Tue and Thu-Sat, 8pm (also Sat/2 and June 16, 2pm; Tue/7, 1pm); Wed, 7:30pm; Sun, 2 and 7pm. Through June 17. Marin Theatre Company performs Yasmina Reza’s Tony-winning comedy about two sets of parents who meet after their children get into a schoolyard fight.

The Great Divide Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby, Berk; www.shotgunplayers.org. $20-30. Wed-Thu, 7pm; Fri-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 5pm. Through June 24. Shotgun Players performs Adamn Chanzit’s drama about the hot topic of fracking, inspired by Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People.

The Kipling Hotel: True Misadventures of the Electric Pink ’80s New venue: Marsh Berkeley, 2120 Allston, Berk; (415) 282-3055, www.themarsh.org. $20-50. Sat, 8:30pm; Sun, 7pm. Extended through June 10. 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)

Not Getting Any Younger Marsh Berkeley, 2120 Allston, Berk; (415) 282-3055, www.themarsh.org. $15-50. Fri, 8pm; Sat, 5pm. Extended through June 30. Marga Gomez is back at the Marsh, a couple of too-brief decades after inaugurating the theater’s new stage with her first solo show — an apt setting, in other words, for the writer-performer’s latest monologue, a reflection on the inevitable process of aging for a Latina lesbian comedian and artist who still hangs at Starbucks and can’t be trusted with the details of her own Wikipedia entry. If the thought of someone as perennially irreverent, insouciant, and appealingly immature as Gomez makes you depressed, the show is, strangely enough, the best antidote. Note: review from the show’s 2011 run at the Marsh San Francisco. (Avila)

The Odyssey Angel Island; (415) 547-0189, www.weplayers.org. $40-76 (some tickets include ferry passage). Sat-Sun and Fri/1, 10:30am-4pm (does not include travel time to island). Through July 1. We Players present Ava Roy’s adaptation of Homer’s epic poem: an all-day adventure set throughout the nature and buildings of Angel Island State Park.

The World’s Funniest Bubble Show Marsh Berkeley, TheaterStage, 2120 Allston, Berk; (415) 826-5750, www.themarsh.org. $8-50. Fri, 6pm; Sun/3, June 10, 16, 24, and 30, 11am. Through June 30. Louis “The Amazing Bubble Man” Pearl returns with this kid-friendly, bubble-tastic comedy.

PERFORMANCE/DANCE

“The Bilarious Show” LGBT Center Rainbow Room, 1800 Market, SF; www.qcomedy.com. Sat/2, 7:30pm, $12. The National Queer Arts Festival presents this all-bi line-up of comedy, music, and performance.

“Elect to Laugh” Studio Theater, Marsh San Francisco, 1062 Valencia, SF; (415) 282-3055, www.themarsh.org. Tue, 8pm. Ongoing through Nov 6. $15-50. Will Durst and friends perform in this weekly political humor show that focuses on the upcoming presidential election.

“Larry Hankin’s Street Stories” Marsh San Francisco, Studio Theater, 1062 Valencia, SF; (415) 282-3055, www.themarsh.org. Fri/1-Sat/2, 8pm. $20-35. The San Francisco comedy legend performs his solo show.

“The News” Somarts Cultural Center, 934 Brannan, SF; www.somarts.org. Tue/5, 7:30pm. $5. New and experimental queer performance works from Nic Alea, Hallie Dalsimer, and more.

“Parkour Deux” CounterPULSE, 1310 Mission, SF; www.counterpulse.org. Fri/1-Sun/3, 8pm (also Sun/3, 2pm). $15-22. Scott Wells and Dancers perform new work.

“The Romane Event Comedy Show” Make-Out Room, 3225 22nd St, SF; romaneeventcomedyshow.eventbrite.com. Wed/30, 7:30pm. $10. Stand-up with Ms. Pat and the Bay Area Comedy All-Stars.

San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival Fort Mason Center, Cowell Theater, Marina at Laguna, SF; www.worldartswest.org. Sat/2, 4pm; Sun/3, 4pm. $12-20. Weekend one of the 34th annual festival, “The World United Through Dance,” features a world premiere by Bay Area troupe Gamelan Sekar Jaya, in collaboration with Sudanese gamelan Pusaka Sunda.

“Sex and the City: Live!” Rebel, 1760 Market, SF; www.brownpapertickets.com. Tue, 7 and 9pm. Through June 26. $25. Heklina, D’Arcy Drollinger, Lady Bear, Trixxie Carr play the fab four in this drag-tastic homage to the HBO series.

“Shadow of a Doubt” Dance Mission Theater, 3316 24th St, SF; www.dancecontinuumsf.org. Fri/1-Sun/3, 8pm. $20. Dance Continuum SF performs a dance-theater concert with four premieres and one repertory work.

“Voca People” Marines’ Memorial Theatre, 609 Sutter, Second Flr, SF; www.marinesmemorialtheatre.com. Tue-Fri, 8pm; Sat, 6:30 and 9:30pm; Sun, 3 and 6pm. Through June 17. $49-75. A capella from outer space.

“The Water is Clear and Still” Z Space, 450 Florida, SF; www.brownpapertickets.com. Thu/31-Sat/2, 8pm; Sun/3, 2pm. $25. Liss Fain Dance performs a world premiere performance installation inspired by short stories by Jamaica Kincaid.

“X” Garage, 715 Bryant, SF; www.brownpapertickets.com. June 5-7, 8pm. $10-20. Australian performer Sunny Drake presents his new show in conjunction with the National Queer Arts Festival.

BAY AREA

“Dances for Oakland” Laney College Theater, 900 Fallon, Oakl; www.savagejazz.org. Thu/31-Sat/2, 8pm; Sun/3, 3pm. $5-20. Savage Jazz Dance Company performs in celebration of its 20th anniversary.

“RoCo Dance Onstage” Marin Veterans’ Memorial Auditorium, Marin Center, 10 Avenue of the Flags, San Rafael; (415) 499-6800. Fri/1, 8pm; Sat/2, 7pm. $19.50-29. RoCo Dance and Fitness presents two nights of performance featuring over 700 dancers of all ages. *

Hej, creativity! 4 bonkers Stockholm art projects

Andrew Lam

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May 24, 2012

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What creative forms would you expect at the near-ends of the earth? My recent trip to Stockholm, Sweden was weird in the way that travel usually is, more just-like-home moments than alien fears realized of winding up cold and frozen because I forget to transcribe the 17th letter in the name of the street I was staying on.

Honestly, I went for the close-to-the-North-Pole party (did you know you can swim just about anywhere in Stockholm? Sunrise after-afterparty dips abound), but surprise! I ran into artistic inspiration. That’s really having your herring burger and eating it too. Here’s four people and projects that really did it for me, Swedishly speaking.

Sweden has epic, resplendent design history that Ikea has made so common with its bastardized, disposable bedframes (I have a personal vendetta against a certain bedframe, pardon my vehemence.) Every time I walked into someone’s Stockholm apartment I felt like I’d happened onto what taste was like before the Martha Stewart magazine happened – colorful, but with the acknowledgment that life is better amid function and simple form. Things make sense here. Men and women get 16 months of paid leave from work when they have a baby.

In contrast, the artists that most impressed me were all pretty bonkers. Call me contrary?

THE SCANDAL

I’ve been down this road before, but there was no way I would miss checking in with the now-infamous Makode Linde, baker of Racist Cakegate 2012, worldwide Internet meme, and Stockholm club kid forever, when I was in his hometown. (He also directs rad videos, like this one for ex-Lykke Li chorist and current hit single maker Zhala.)

I first ran into real-life Linde one blurry Sunday afternoon in Berlin at Berghain’s Panorama bar (the best place in the world for techno church hipster zombies.) In a sea of glassy eyes and black T-shirts, Linde had on a yellow plaid suit and a smile, which in my flair-adore book makes him artist enough to begin with. “Makode just gives it to you,” as a friend of mine put it regarding his penchant for exuberant party dress.

Linde invited me to his retrospective at Galleri Kleerup‘s new showroom just around the corner from the opera in old town Stockholm and I acquiesed, only to wind up there with all my luggage in tow en route to the flight that would take me away from Sweden. The only thing there to greet me was a sign saying “TILLBAKA 16:30.” I waited until 17:00 and no one was tillbaka and I had a flight to catch. So thank god for massive plate windows and Swedish acceptance of creepers smashing their nose to them, because otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to see the show.

The Linde retrospective puts his howling cake performance in perspective. His famous cake-head (himself, actually poking his face through a hole in the cake-table) blackface makes since when, after viewing his body of work, you realize that he’s created an world that’s entirely blackface. Giraffes, Betty Boop, bunny rabbits, Jesus on the cross, a Chinese good luck cat, a taxidermied crow. On a stack of shipping pallets in the middle of the room sat a small, ready-to-offend army of these talismans, all from his “Afromantics” series.

What are they warding off? Complacency, perhaps. In a country where the GDP continues to grow despite economic mushiness in other EU countries, it’s still totally cool among even young alternative types to refer to any illegal after-party venue in Stockholm as a “black club.” Stockholm’s not the whitest city I’ve ever been in (shout-out to my nonetheless beloved Portland!), but it’s pretty close — and casual racism still comes in a pretty raw form.

Linde’s had some pretty heavy – and not at all misguided – accusations thrown at him. But standing in that pretty little cobblestone plaza in Stockholm, next to the Danish embassy in whose plate glass windows were displayed an immalculate and modest light pink ballerina gown from years past, I grokked him and his Rorschach test splotches of black faces with big red lips and wide white eyes.

I could understand how he was surprised when people said he couldn’t claim the African experience, because in some superficial ways he has to rep for it in this town.

THE INDIE ACTION-ADVENTURE-PRISON-BIKER-HAIR BAND QUEER FILM

There was only one room devoted to screening a single movie trailer, over and over again, at Konstfack, Sweden’s “second-best” (in the words of a friend) arts and design school. A few chairs sat complacently in front of a screen constantly counting down the seconds til the next screening of Dyke Hard.

Could this film have been shot in San Francisco? Yes, and if director Bitte Andersen succeeds in getting her entry into the Frameline Film Festival it most certainly it will find a audience here. A wacky tale of dyke band gone wild, taking on the forces of evil in a world where Lycra makes some, if not all injustices better? It’s an SF no-brainer. Andersen, along with production team Alexi Carpentieri and Martin Borell, started the project as a series of trailers – a sci-fi movie, a prison movie, a biker flick, and a horror.

“I guess watching a very large amount of genre film for many years and being a queer woman inspired me to make some genre film that wouldn’t be alienating for myself and other queers and/or women,” Andersen told me. Eventually, she and her team decided to combine all the trailers into a single film, Dyke Hard.

Shooting is taking about a year (I narrowly missed being cast in a seminal scene in which the mayor – played by a prominent Stockholm queer club promoter – announces a venue conflict between a battle of the bands and a martial arts tournament. Sports fans and music fans attack each other, only to be reprimanded eloquently by a bighearted member of the protagonist band.) The Kickstarter for the project swings into gear next week, so holler at them if you want to ensure that we are indeed, dyked hard.

DARK GLAMAZON

This is what public art looks like in Sweden: an emaciated giant propped up against (or propping up) the foyer of a luxury shopping mall. She’s got on platform lace-up Timberlands, a studded leather jacket, and of course: no pants.

Her name is “Pretty Vacant,” and her name is Cajsa Von Zeipel, the artist that is. In person, Von Zeipel somehow succeeds in being more glamorous than her drugged-out fashion waifs. She moonlights in boyfriend Tobias Bernstrup‘s Italo disco act, standing behind a keyboard and a wind machine in a patent leather bustier, silky kimono, ass-length blonde hair, and vertiginous high heels that she pretty much never doesn’t wear.

The artist is from a tiny town of 3,000 in Sweden, where she told me for fun she tried out icecream as a beauty product (facials) and generally felt like the weirdest one in school. But if that was the case, then we’re talking a serious ugly duckling-swan situation.

Von Zeipel and Bernstrup’s shared studio feels like an ode to feminine beauty. He’s been known to perform in triple-breasted lingerie armor and is partial to equally dangerous heel heights.

And early awkwardness might also give a clue into Von Zeipel’s art. There are no creatures more high fashion than her sculptures, but at the same time there is a bite to them. Their faces are twisted, their height disorienting. Pretty beautiful, yes — but also pretty freaky.

FEMINIST BLING

Of late, much has been made of craftivism, a reaction to the diminution of women’s work and general aesthetic scorn for things that grandmas get up to around big round tables with their friends. The belittling depiction of craft has been addressed in a feminist takeback that’s seen the rise of knit graffiti, the resurfacing of Gee’s Bend quilts in fine art museums, and more.

In Stockholm, queer feminist radio and TV host-DJ Kakan Hermansson is taking these lessons straight to the nail salon. Her graduate school exhibition at Konstfack is half video installation, half baroque still life – two-foot tall ceramic statues of fingers, capped with nail art erupting with My Little Ponys, Destiny’s Child collage, gems, sparkles, “GIRLS” spelled out in gold script.

If you view the installation as I did through the fog of a mid-afternoon hangover and a bag of popcorn, Hermansson’s accompanying video is more than engaging — it’s important. Her mama bear voice soothes as hands (hers) confidently remove polish from, re-paint, and glitterize the paws of volunteers who spill personal trauma throughout their treatment. Sexual violence, drug dealing mishap, partnerships gone awry. This is a safe space, a place where women can go to recharge and strengthen bonds with each other. The ceramic statues call attention to the lushness that is art contained on the tips of our fingers, while the videos emphasize that not everything that goes on in beauty salons is superficial.

Alerts

Jesse Hawthorne Ficks

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May 22, 2012

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Wednesday 23

Justice for Alan Blueford, Alameda County District Attorney’s office, 1225 Fallon, Oak; Facebook: Demand Justice for Alan Blueford. 3pm; free. Alan Blueford, 18, was shot and killed by an Oakland Police officer on May 6. OPD has changed its story several times, first reporting that the young man fired at an officer, then reporting that the officer who shot Blueford also shot himself in the foot, and a gun found on the scene had not been fired. His family has called for a speak-out and rally to demand that the OPD release the killer’s name, fire him, and charge him with murder.

Latin American LQBTQ and Feminist Movements, Women’s Building, Audre Lourde room, 3543 18th Street, SF www.womensbuilding.org. 8:30am-6pm; free, registration encouraged. The Latin American Studies Association international conference is in town, and this part of it is free and open to the public. The event will feature speakers on “Feminist and LGBTQ Movements and the State, transnational Genders/Feminisms/Sexualities, and Encuentros y Desencuentros among LGBTQ and Feminist Movements.” The organizers recommend registering in advance, this is gonna be big.

Thursday 24

Reclaiming Jewish activism Congregation Sha’ar Zahav, 290 Dolores, SF: Facebook: Reclaiming Jewish Activism: Rediscovering Voices of our Ancestors. 7pm; free. See the Guardian’s story this week, “State of Debate,” for insight into everything this event could and might have been. As for what it probably will be: a panel discussion with three Jewish activists and authors reflecting on their ancestors and other influential figures of the past. Julie Gilgoff will discuss the subject of her book, her grandfather, who died of a heart attack while being interrogated during the Red Scare. Elaine Elinson will talk about labor, immigrant, and civil rights organizing of the past, the subject of her books. Rae Abileah will discuss her great uncle Joseph Abileah, Israeli war resister in the ’40s and subject of the book Israeli Pacifist.

Saturday 26

Gay shame vegan antisocial, Modern Times bookstore, 2919 24th Street, SF: www.gayshamesf.org. 5:30pm; free. Come and to meet the good people of Gay Shame for organizing, talking, friends and fun! But what is Gay Shame? “Gay shame is a Virus in the System. We are committed to a queer extravaganza that brings direct action to astounding levels of theatricality. We will not be satisfied with a commercialized gay identity that denies the intrinsic link between queer struggle and challenging power. We seek nothing less than a new queer activism that foregrounds race, class, gender and sexuality, to counter the self-serving ‘values’ of gay consumerism and the increasingly hypocritical left. We are dedicated to fighting the rabid assimilationist monster with a devastating mobilization of queer brilliance. Gay shame is a celebration of resistance: all are welcome.”

Homestead skillshare festival, Hayes Valley Farm, 450 Laguna, SF: www.sfbace.org. 10am-6pm; free. Want to learn about bike-powered machines? Rainwater catchment? Chicken wrangling for all ages? Show up to this free festival and be greeted by people who know things and are eager to teach you, no strings attached. Just because they love sharing. It’s a fundraiser for the Bay Area Community Exchange Time Bank (see “Bank your time,” 5/2/12), and sharing is what it’s all about. There will be four live bands, 40 skill-sharing sessions, and translation into Spanish and Cantonese.

Sunday 27

Masturbate-a-thon, Center for Sex and Culture, 1349 Mission, SF: www.sexandculture.org. 10am-midnight; free. Have you been masturbating? Have you been making money for the awesome nonprofit the Center for Sex and Culture every time a minute passes or every time you orgasm? On Sunday, don’t let your self-pleasuring go to waste! Join others at the CSC for a day that’s like a walk-a-thon, if walk-a-thons were full of sexy people getting themselves off and the otter pops were replaced by dildos. Or re-purposed otter pops. Either way, get some pledge money and “come for a cause” at this 12-year tradition.

Tuesday 29

Justice on trial, Public library main branch, Koret Auditorium, 100 Larkin, SF: www.sfpublicdefender.org. 9am-3pm; free with mandatory registration. Sen. Mark Leno has proposed legislation that would change simple drug possession from a felony to a misdemeanor. This conference will feature a panel on that legislation, as well as professors, former gang members, and other people with something to say about how the government should treat people involved in drug crimes. This conference will explore scientific advances in the understanding of psychology and mental illness, and Public Defender Jeff Adachi will be there.

A farm bill for the 99 percent, Mission Pie, 2901 Mission, SF: Facebook: a farm bill for the 99 percent! 6-8pm, free. Congress is rewriting the 2008 Farm Bill, notorious for many things, among them corn subsidies. The bill will be finished in September, so there’s no time like the present to imagine how the bill could be changed to promote real food justice- not to mention how San Francisco can work toward this locally. Sups Eric Mar and David Campos will join Food and Water Watch activists Susan Kuehn and Adam Scow and journalist Christopher Cook for this discussion.

Our Weekly Picks: May 23-29, 2012

Jesse Hawthorne Ficks

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May 22, 2012

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WEDNESDAY 23

Ash Reiter

Looking for a sound to kick off that summer breeze? Ash Reiter’s band is ideal listening on a sunny day at the beach, or even while braving the San Francisco fog. Lead singer and songwriter Ash Reiter is a crooner with a voice that critics compare to Cat Power, and a sound that is influenced by Grizzly Bear, the Kinks, and the Strokes. She lives in the Berkeley hills with her band’s drummer (boyfriend Will Halsey). Their latest EP Heatwave is a perfect warm up for this springtime performance, to keep us tied over until their upcoming summer full-length release, Hola. Idea the Artist and Jeremy Rourke support, with their inventive opera and stop-motion art takes on performance, respectively. (Shauna C. Keddy)

With Idea the Artist and Jeremy Rourke

9pm, $10

Cafe Du Nord

2170 Market, SF

(415) 861-5016

www.cafedunord.com

Mark Lanegan

With his gravelly and growling, yet still tenderly emotive voice, Mark Lanegan has lent his hauntingly striking talents to a variety of projects over the past 25-plus years. First as the lead singer of grunge favorites Screaming Trees, then as a solo artist, and now continuing with a string of superb collaborations with artists such as Mad Season, Queens of The Stone Age, the Twilight Singers, the Gutter Twins, and Isobell Campbell. Lanegan remains one of the best rock vocalists out there today. His latest effort, this year’s Blues Funeral is another superb release, featuring standout tracks “The Gravedigger’s Song” and “Harborview Hospital.” (Sean McCourt)

9pm, $25

Great American Music Hall

859 O’Farrell, SF

(415) 885-0750

www.slimspresents.com

THURSDAY 24

I Break Horses

Listen to “Winter Beats” and the title song from 2011’s Hearts, and you’ll probably have Stockholm, Sweden’s I Break Horses figured as a purely dreamy, slightly cold shoegazing act. Just listen to those mesmerizing synth arpeggios and slow, distantly winsome vocals. But as soon as the snares start cracking on “Wired” and build into a beat that a person could actually bounce around a bit too, some of the ice starts melting away, as the sun comes out a little bit. Or maybe your body is heating up, revealing an exciting range to the duo of Maria Lindén and Fredrik Balck, who opened for M83 on the most recent tour. (Ryan Prendiville)

With Silver Swans, DJs Omar and Aaron

9:30 p.m., $14 Advance

Rickshaw Stop

155 Fell, SF

(415) 861-2011

www.rickshawstop.com

Midnight

As anyone who has ever used the internet can tell you, anonymity breeds misanthropy. Midnight is a Cleveland quartet whose members don executioner’s hoods onstage, and their blank faces combine perfectly with band’s brand of filthy, antagonistic thrash. The primary musical influences are obviously Venom and Motorhead, in all their sleazy glory, and Midnight churns out fuzzy carnage on songs like “You Can’t Stop Steel,” “Lust, Filth, and Sleaze,” and “Endless Sluts.” For a return to the satanic chaos that launched black metal in the ’80s, just wait until Midnight. (Ben Richardson)

With Toxic Holocaust, Zombie Holocaust, Crypt Keeper 9pm, $12 Thee Parkside 1600 17th St., SF (415)-252-1530 www.theeparkside.com

FRIDAY 25

The Twelves

Perhaps it was destiny that Rio de Janiero duo João Miguel and Luciano Oliveira would produce music together, since they happen to share the same birth date of July 12. The Twelves have been dubbed the Brazilian Daft Punk because of an affinity for dance-electro-house music. While Daft Punk may lean toward producing original work, the Twelves are best known for their string of party remixes on tracks rooted in different genres, including MIA, Asobi Seksu, and Two Door Cinema Club. And they have a welcome unabashedness when it comes to remixing and mashing up on the fly during live sets. (Kevin Lee)

With Volta Bureau, Girls N Boomboxes

9pm, $18.50

Mezzanine

444 Jessie, SF

(415) 625-8880

www.mezzaninesf.com

SATURDAY 26

“Harlem’s Poetic Rebellion: A Salon for the People”

“The world is before you and you need not leave it as it was when you entered.” Kali Boyce and Celeste Chan, founders of the lively Queer Rebels performance organization take James Baldwin’s immortal words to heart, using the legacies of the past to reinvigorate the present. Taking inspiration from the genius flurry of artistic and social developments that was the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s and ’30s, they present a night of music, poetry, and stage entertainment by nine queer African American performers. Dancer and punk stalwart Brontez Purnell, filmmaker and LunaSea founder Crystal Mason, Youth Speaks champion Joshua Merchant, “Drag King of the Blues” TuffnStuff, and “big, bold and beautiful treasure” The Lady Ms. Vagina Jenkins, among others, will contribute to keeping the light of black culture flaming. (Marke B.)

7pm, $12–<\d>$15

La Peña Cultural Center

3105 Shattuck Av, Berk.

www.lapena.org

It Came From Beneath The Sea

While there are a host of special events taking place across the Bay Area this weekend marking the 75th anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge being built, only one celebrates its destruction! As part of a series of film screenings of movies that feature the iconic landmark, The Presidio Trust and Walt Disney Family Museum are presenting a free outdoor showing of the 1955 sci-fi classic It Came From Beneath The Sea, which features a giant mutant octopus — brought to life by the legendary Ray Harryhausen — that terrorizes San Francisco and pulls the bridge apart in glorious fashion. (McCourt)

6-10pm, free

Presidio, Main Post Green, SF

www.presidio.gov

SUNDAY 27

San Francisco Carnaval Parade

Carnavalescos, let’s go! Limber up that bodystocking and get ready to shake your all-over tailfeathers, that glorious festival of SF-style Latin-Carribean-Brazilian exuberance is at (maraca-shaking) hand. Join thousands of brightly clad revelers as they fill the Mission streets with joyful noise and colorful sites — provided by some of the Bay’s favorite performance groups, like the Loco Bloco drum troupe, Ballet Folklorico Nicaragua Viva, Xiuhcoatl Danza Azteca, Grupo Samba Rio, Our Boys Steel Orchestra, and dozens more. And chow down on the cultural treats of the super-festive, possibly Cachaça-soaked Carnaval street festival, going on all weekend. SF Carnaval dates back to 1979 and featured some of the first samba schools in California, so your shimmy-and-shake and bang-on-the-drum is historical, too. (Marke B.)

9:30am-noon, free. Street festival, 10am-6pm (festival also Sat/26)

Parade begins at 24th Street and Bryant. Street festival located at 23rd Street and Harrison, SF

www.sfcarnaval.org

Danzig with Doyle

Over the course of the past 35 years, Glenn Danzig has spawned a cult following with his dark and brooding voice, and the sinisterly seductive imagery of his lyrics. From the early days as front man for horror punk icons the Misfits, to metal-infused Samhain, and finally to the eponymous Danzig, where he achieved a degree of mainstream success, he has taken haunting and macabre themes, blasted them with an obsessive sheen, and come up with some of the most evil sounding, yet memorable songs this side of hell. Tonight’s show promises to feature special guest Misfits guitarist Doyle, to run through a set of classic tunes with his old bandmate. (McCourt)

8pm, $38

Warfield

982 Market, SF

www.thewarfieldtheatre.com

MONDAY 28

“Wanted Man: Johnny Cash at San Quentin”

We all know there was only one Johnny Cash, but leave it to Anton Patzner (of the Bay Area string metal duo Judgement Day), Laura Weinbach (Foxtails Brigade), Joe Lewis, and Josh Pollock to tackle a reinterpretation of Johnny Cash’s legendary prison performance for one night only, on Memorial Day. Patzner, Lewis, and Weinbach are going by the name the East Bay Three for this show, and one can only guess how Patzner will bring in his infamous violin skills to this inventive concept. The band challenges the audience to act like a “house full of roaring inmates” as Cash was graciously greeted with during his performance, and they ask us, “Been out of your cell lately?” (Keddy)

8pm, $15

Ashby Stage

1901 Ashby, Berk.

(510) 841-6500

www.shotgunplayers.org

TUESDAY 29

Active Child

Pat Grossi lobbied his mom to tryout for the Philadelphia’s Boys Choir when he was a kid, which likely influenced the soaring sound he now projects as Los Angeles-based Active Child. AC combines his ethereal vocals and harmonious harp chords with reverbs and electronic drum samples to produce music with an almost hymnal quality to it. Think if the pastoral sensibilities of Bon Iver merged with the synth-pop of M83 or Washed Out and you’ll have the general idea. 2011’s You Are All I See engrosses and haunts listeners with its intimate visceral sermons on identity. (Lee)

With Lord Huron

8:30pm, $15

Independent

628 Divisadero, SF

(415) 771-1421

www.theindependentsf.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 Building, 135 Mississippi St., SF, CA 94107; 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.

Sipping lattes with the transmale program specialist

Andrew Lam

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May 22, 2012

1

Sipping lattes with the transmale program specialist

“People at sex clubs are looking to hook up. It’s usually my safe sex practices that get me turned down more and not the fact that I’m transgender”

I thought it would be cute to conduct today’s interview in a bathhouse sauna. Instead I found myself sipping a soy milk latte in one of the Mission’s many hip coffee shops — not as intimate of an option, but probably better for my note taking. For once, I was on time, and I patiently awaited San Francisco sex educator Niko Kowell.

I love Kowell’s official job title, transmale program specialist. It sounds so glamorous, and in truth, it is. Kowell is the creator of San Francisco’s Transmenformen night, held every second and fourth Thursday at Eros, one of San Francisco’s most innovative gay bathhouses. At TM4M, as the event is nicknamed, Kowell facilitates group dialogues for queer and transmen who want to have sex with other males. He teaches bathhouse cruising tactics (coy glances over one’s shoulder among them), screens transgender and queer-related films, and puts on an almost-naked yoga class.

>>INNOVATIVE SEX ED MAKE YOU FEEL ALL WARM INSIDE? CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S KELLY LOVEMONSTER INTERVIEW WITH CUDDLE THERAPY SPECIALIST TRAVIS SIGLEY

During our morning together, Kowell and I talked about bathhouse culture and fucking transmen. He also debunked the rumor that all transmen who sleep with men are bottoms.

San Francisco Bay Guardian: Tell us about your experiences with gender and sexuality, particularly within gay male cruising and bathhouse culture.

Niko Kowell: It’s been interesting learning about gay male cruising. I come from a really communicative, consensual background when it comes to sex. And I have had to learn how to pick up men in a bathhouse in a completely different way. It’s a lot more to do with eye contact. Being too verbal can be seen as a turn off. I’ve also had to think of creative ways to disclose the fact that I’m transgendered. Recently I’ve taken to towel flashing hot guys I’m attracted to.

I had a lot of assumptions of what male cruising spaces would be like. People at sex clubs are looking to hook up. It’s usually my safe sex practices that get me turned down more and not the fact that I’m transgender. It’s been good for me to learn that my trans-ness isn’t always the reason why people aren’t interested. There are are a number of reasons why someone wouldn’t be interested. I’ve also had to learn how to be my own best advocate. It’s important to know what your boundaries are and be willing to stand by them.

SFBG: Take us through the series of events that led to your position as a transmale program specialist.

NK: Five years ago when I was in college I came to San Francisco and did an internship at Eros. I was studying psychology, and I was working on a paper entitled the “First Timers’ Guide to Playing With a Transguy.” I went back to Ohio, graduated, and promptly returned to SF.

Upon my return, I was working part-time at Eros when Luke Woodward, the previous program supervisor at Transthrive, hired me as a private contractor to do Transthrive events. Last October our program got funding, and now I get to focus predominantly on transmale programing. TM4M is a collaboration between Eros, Trannywood Pictures, and Transthrive, a program at the Asian Pacific Islander Wellness Center.

Showing them tats, flashing those biceps: Niko Kowell in the Transthrive offices.

SFBG: Eros is already known to be a queer masculine and transinclusive space. Why have a night specifically geared to transmen?

NK: It is important that TM4M happens at Eros because it gets transmen into a male space. It begins to build community between cismen and transmen, and it teaches everyone how to have casual sex with different types of bodies safely. TM4M is a space where transmen can talk about what it was like to transition and still be into the same gender. I want to reduce shame around the issue of transitioning and participating in one’s sexuality.

SFBG: What other events and projects are you currently working on?

NK: I’m working with Trannywood Pictures on a documentary project about transmen and their relationships to their penis, whether that be the cock they strap on or the cock they grew while on testosterone. The project was inspired by the 1999 documentary Private Dicks a special about cisguys and their relationships to their penis.

SFBG: How do you identify with your gender today?

NK: I identify strongly as transgender. I use male pronouns, and I strongly feel genderqueer. I’m really proud of my female history. It’s important to me. I guess I identify as queer in general in regards to my sexuality and gender.

SFBG: Are you currently dating anyone?

NK: I’m in a nonmonogamous relationship with a ciswoman. I almost predominantly play with men, and she almost predominantly plays with woman. It works for us.

SFBG: Tell us something interesting and sexy.

NK: I’m versatile. It’s hard for me to find cismen who want me to top them. I just want to dispel the rumor that all transmen who sleep with men are bottoms. That’s why I wrote the top five reasons to fuck a transguy:

1. Transguys are hot

2. Trans cock is any shape or size you want, and it never goes soft

3. Three holes are better than two

4. Small hands make small fist(s)

5. Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back

I’m in part being cheeky with my list, and I acknowledge that every transguy is unique in the way they want to experience sex and their sexuality. I want people to keep in mind some transmen may not agree with these reasons.

SFBG: What does creating a sex-positive space mean for you?

NK: A sex-positive space should be free of judgement. There is no certain way to be a man or be sexual. You should be sexual in a way that makes sense for you. When I’m facilitating dialogue about sex it’s important that everyone in the room remain open and supportive.

As a facilitator I’m open and honest about my experiences. I sleep with men and women. I’ve done porn. The people who keep coming back to my events are committed to cultivating a sex-positive space. It’s about diversity and really connecting with the diversity of queerness. People should have the space they need to share their personal experiences, and we need to really be in support of each other as a broader GLBTQI community as well.

“Men on the Mat”: A queer guy yoga class

Thu/24, 7pm, $5-10 suggested donation

Eros

2051 Market, SF

www.erossf.com

Round the outside

Jesse Hawthorne Ficks

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May 17, 2012

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SUPER EGO Zounds and gulldurnit. Figures I’d fall ill right at the start of street festival season, when the weather was gorgeous, the freaks were How Weirding, and two new clubs were throwing open their fresh-painted portals. Why can’t my body just obey my mind and be invincible! It’s nothing but an overgrown orang-oo-tang. Oh well, I guess when you have only one sinus left — thanks, 1997 — every day of health is a smelly blessing.

Those two clubs: OK, one was really a hard re-opening. 222 Hyde (www.222hyde.com) has been going packed and strong for a few months since its remodel. The skinny-as-a-rail, bi-level spot has a bit more capacity and a lounge and smoking area — but the real talk is the absolutely transfixing light display on the ceiling above the basement dance floor. It feels like disco Tron! The good Tron!

And a blizzard of ecstatic Tweets agonized me about missing the actually opening of RKRL (52 Sixth St., SF. www.facebook.com/RKRLSF), a satellite of Club Six that plans to bring small-venue live rock — and a little dancing, too — to downtown’s wilds, courtesy of the crazy Low SF crew. I’ll be there soon. Achoo!

WUNMI

Sunny live Nigerian (via London and NYC) riddem vibes from one of the world’s most gorgeous and talented women at the always-pumpin’ Afrolicious weekly global funk party? You can’t miss this high-octane Wunmi bliss — I can’t wait to see what she’s wearing.

Thu/17, 9:30pm, $8 before 11pm, $10 after. Elbo Room, 647 Valencia, SF. www.elbo.com

ANDRE LODEMANN

Among my all-time favorite techno producers and DJs, who rides that impeccable sweet spot between intelligently danceable and emotionally hypnotic. The delicious twist here is that the classic German, instrumental in East Berlin’s 1990s dance scene, will be playing at Marques Wyatt’s lovely monthly deep, deep house party Deep. The collision of spiritual currents with waves of brain-tickling tech should be, well, splashy. In the sweat-inducing sense.

Fri/18, 10pm-4am, $15 advance, $20 door. Mighty, 119 Utah, SF. www.mighty119.com

THE CHASE

A hot-sounding new monthly party named, presumably, after the brilliant Model 500 record from 1989, already promising a warm blanket of chill Balearic house-y sounds. Up first: the West Coast cosmic boogie boy known as Suzanne Kraft, lo-fi sensual wooziness from SFV Acid, Ash Williams, Avalon Emerson, Caitlin Denny, more.

Fri/18, 9pm-3am, $5. Public Works, 161 Erie, SF. www.publicsf.com

DEETRON — (JUST HEARD DEETRON HAD TO CANCEL DUE TO ILLNESS ;(, BUT THE AMAZING CAMEA WILL NOW PLAY AN EXTENDED SET)

The second in a massive series of techno parties from the quality As You Like It crew (this time teaming up with Public Works) sees Swiss wiz Deetron bang the party with his signature melodic twists on the Detroit sound. Bern, baby, Bern! With Camea, Rich Korach, and Mossmoss.

Sat/19, 9pm-4am, $10 before 10pm, $15 after. Public Works, 161 Erie, SF. www.ayli-sf.com

HARVEY MILK BIRTHDAY PARTY

“Out of the bars and into the streets!” But first onto the dance floor with a who’s who of the queer scene to raise some funds for and awareness of the Harvey Milk Democratic Club. Honey Soundsystem, Hard French, Stay Gold, Some Thing, Dial Up, Anna Conda, Bear Z. Bub, and a huge gay buffet! Mon/21 7-10pm buffet and reception, $40–$80 then dance party $5 10pm-2am, Beat Box, 314 11th St., SF. www.tinyurl.com/milkbday

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzQ3NFXwpV8

Street sense

Jesse Hawthorne Ficks

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May 15, 2012

0

caitlin@sfbg.com

VISUAL ART When I moved back to San Francisco as an adult, writer Erick Lyle taught me about my city. He didn’t tell me about the earthquakes, the mayoral assassinations, or the hills, but rather how to recognize the social forces that would push and pull life in San Francisco over the years to come. And right now, that’s an important thing to know about.

Lyle came up in the SF zine scene in the 1980s and ’90s, the milieu that was gutted and dispersed by the time the first tech boom exhaled its final shuddering gust of pixels and order-by-Internet groceries — and, full disclosure, his words can often be found right here in Guardian feature articles. His book On the Lower Frequencies: A Secret History of the City (Soft Skull Press, 224 pp, $14.95), which he wrote based on those years working at the Coalition on Homelessness and on his zine Scam in the muck and magic of Sixth Street, was to be an essential text for any creative, “scruffy ’cause I’m broke not because of expensive hair product” types scrapping around in a city that was trying to price them out of living there.

“Streetopia,” the boundless art show and event series curated by Lyle and local artists Chris Johansen and Kal Spelletich, based in and around the Luggage Store Gallery (Fri/18-June 23) takes note of the struggle for a San Francisco where underground art doesn’t mean street artist David Choe’s murals in the Facebook offices and rents are far beyond the reach of anyone without stock options. But the month-and-a-half-long extravaganza is going to be far from a bummer.

This is what Lyle is quick to impress on me when we meet up to chat at Mission Pie. “This show is not a protest,” he says. “I believe strongly in what you’re for, not what you’re against. This show is for showing what we’re for.”

Judging from “Streetopia”‘s lineup, that’s a tactic that is resonating with SF artists. To list everyone who is getting in on the show would take up the rest of this article, but I’ll name drop a few. Ex-Guardianista and ace investigative reporter A.C. Thompson is teaching a class on amateur public investigation (“Muckraking for Anyone” June 5, 7:30pm, free.) A film festival is planned showcasing movies by queer auteurs Travis Matthews, Veronica Majano, Lares Feliciano, and others (“Queer Filmmaking in SF in the Era of Gentrification” June 2, 8pm, free. Luggage Store Gallery). May 18’s opening celebrations will feature streetside dance by Brontez Purnell and Amara Tabor Smith, and other live works by Lovewarz, Strawberry Smog, and Shaun O’Dell.

As for space-making: Sy Wagon will be turning the Tenderloin National Forest into a free cafe, a space for all to come make, eat, or donate food. “It’s not the soup kitchen model,” says Lyle. “It’s a place where people can actually share recipes, cook food together.” Vacant storefronts will be commandeered to show art along Market Street (much like the Art in Storefronts program that is orchestrated by SF Arts Commission.) The Luggage Store itself will be filled with a temporary theater, library, and of course, artwork made by the likes of three-dimensional wunderkind Monica Canilao.

For a stretch of Market Street that has become a battleground in the conflict over whether the rapidly-expanding tech bubble actually benefits SF residents, “Streetopia” could be an excellent representation of an alternative — a community-based look at how we can better SF.

We can at least share a rueful laugh while comparing the TL National Forest’s free cafe with its oh-so-techie counterpart, the ninth-floor cafeteria that Twitter is building for its workers at its new office site on Market between Ninth and 10th Streets. If that company’s employees are really going to be reinvigorating the local businesses, Lyle asks, why construct private eating quarters?

“We’re giving tax breaks to companies that allow people to meet in a virtual space,” Lyle tells me in a rare deviation from the positive language he uses to describe his high-aiming community arts project. “But this show will really show that vibrancy that is right here.” Deeper than the ninth floor, natch.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article omitted the names of co-curators Chris Johansen and Kal Spelletich. The Guardian regrets the error

“STREETOPIA”

Fri/18-June 23

Various times and locations

Opening celebration: Fri/18, 7-11pm, free

Luggage Store Gallery

1007 Market, SF.

www.streetopiasf.com

www.luggagestoregallery.org

2012 Summer Fairs and Festivals

Jesse Hawthorne Ficks

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May 15, 2012

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Through May 20

San Francisco International Arts Festival Various venues. (415) 399-9554,www.sfiaf.org. Check website for prices and times. Celebrate the arts, both local and international, at this multimedia extravaganza.

May 19

Asian Heritage Street Celebration Larkin and McAllister, SF. www.asianfairsf.com. 11am-6pm, free. Featuring a Muay Thai kickboxing ring, DJs, and the latest in Asian pop culture, as well as great festival food.

Uncorked! San Francisco Wine Festival Ghirardelli Square, 900 North Point, SF. (415) 775-5500,www.ghirardellisq.com. 1-6pm, $50 for tastings; proceeds benefit Save the Bay. A bit of Napa in the city, with tastings, cooking demonstrations, and a wine 101 class for the philistines among us.

May 19-20

Maker Faire San Mateo Event Center, San Mateo, www.makerfaire.com. $8–$40. Make Magazine’s annual showcase of all things DIY is a tribute to human craftiness. This is where the making minds meet.

Castroville Artichoke Festival Castroville. (831) 633-2465 www.artichoke-festival.com. 10am-5pm, $10. Pay homage to the only vegetable with a heart. This fest does just that, with music, parades, and camping.

May 20

Bay to Breakers Begins at the Embarcadero, ends at Ocean Beach, SF, www.zazzlebaytobreakers.com 7am-noon, free to watch, $57 to participate. This wacky San Francisco tradition is officially the largest footrace in the world, with a costume contest that awards $1,000 for first place. Just remember, Port-A-Potties are your friends.

May 21

Freestone Fermentation Festival Salmon Creek School, 1935 Bohemian Hwy, Sonoma. (707) 479-3557, www.freestonefermentationfestival.com. Noon-5pm, $12. Answer all the questions you were afraid to ask about kombucha, kefir, sauerkraut, yogurt, and beer. This funky fest is awash in hands-on demonstrations, tastings, and exhibits.

May 26-27

San Francisco Carnaval Harrison and 23rd St., SF. www.sfcarnaval.org. 10am-6pm, free. Parade on May 27, 9:30am, starting from 24th St. and Bryant. The theme of this year’s showcase of Latin and Caribbean culture is “Spanning Borders: Bridging Cultures.” Fans of sequins, rejoice.

June 2-3

Union Street Eco-Urban Festival Union Street between Gough and Steiner, SF. (800) 310-6563, www.unionstreetfestival.com. 10am-6pm, free. See arts and crafts created with recycled and sustainable materials and eco-friendly exhibits, along with two stages of live entertainment and bistro-style cafes.

June 9-17

San Mateo County Fair San Mateo County Fairgrounds, 2495 S. Delaware, San Mateo, www.sanmateocountyfair.com. 11am-10pm, $6–$30. Competitive exhibits from farmers, foodies, and even technological developers, deep-fried snacks, games — but most important, there will be pig races.

June 8-10

Queer Women of Color Film Festival Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 701 Mission, SF. (415) 752-0868,www.qwocmap.org. Times vary, free. Three days of screenings from up-and-coming filmmakers with unique stories to tell.

June 10

Haight Ashbury Street Fair Haight between Stanyan and Ashbury, SF, www.haightashburystreetfair.org. 11am-5:30pm, free. Celebrating the cultural history and diversity of one of San Francisco’s most internationally celebrated neighborhoods, the annual street fair features arts and crafts, food booths, three musical stages, and a children’s zone.

June 10-12

Harmony Festival, Sonoma County Fairgrounds, 1350 Bennett Valley, Santa Rosa, www.harmonyfestival.com. One of the Bay Area’s best camping music festivals and a celebration of progressive lifestyle, with its usual strong and eclectic lineup of talent.

June 16-17

North Beach Festival, Washington Square Park, SF. (415) 989-2220, www.northbeachchamber.com. free. This year will feature more than 150 art, crafts, and gourmet food booths, three stages, Italian street painting, beverage gardens and the blessing of the animals.

Marin Art Festival, Marin Civic Center, 3501 Civic Center Drive, San Rafael. (415) 388-0151, www.marinartfestival.com. 10am-6pm, $10, kids under 14 free. Over 250 fine artists in the spectacular Marin Civic Center, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Enjoy the Great Marin Oyster Feast while you’re there.

June 22-24

Sierra Nevada World Music Festival, Mendocino County Fairgrounds Booneville. (916) 777-5550, www.snwmf.com. $160. A reggae music Mecca, with Jimmy Cliff, Luciano, and Israel Vibration (among others) spreading a message of peace, love, and understanding.

June 23-24

Gay Pride Weekend Civic Center Plaza, SF; Parade starts at Market and Beale. (415) 864-FREE, www.sfpride.org. Parade starts at 10:30am, free. Everyone in San Francisco waits all year for this fierce celebration of diversity, love, and being fabulous.

Summer SAILstice, Encinal Yacht Club, 1251 Pacific Marina, Alameda. 415-412-6961, www.summersailstice.com. 8am-8pm, free. A global holiday celebrating sailing on the weekend closest to the summer solstice, these are the longest sailing days of the year. Celebrate it in the Bay Area with boat building, sailboat rides, sailing seminars and music.

June 24-August 26

Stern Grove Festival, Stern Grove, 19th Ave. and Sloat, SF. (415) 252-6252,www.sterngrove.org, free. This will be the 75th season of this admission-free music, dance, and theater performance series.

July 4

4th of July on the Waterfront, Pier 39, Beach and Embarcadero, SF.www.pier39.com 12pm-9pm, free. Fireworks and festivities, live music — in other words fun for the whole, red-white-and-blue family.

July 5-8

High Sierra Music Festival, Plumas-Sierra Fairgrounds, Lee and Mill Creek, Quincy. www.highsierramusic.com. Gates open 8am on the 5th, $185 for a four-day pass. Set in the pristine mountain town of Quincy, this year’s fest features Ben Harper, Built To Spill, Papodosio, and more.

July 7

Oakland A’s Beer Festival and BBQ Championship, (510) 563-2336, oakland.athletics.mlb.com. 7pm, game tickets $12–$200. A baseball-themed celebration of all that makes a good tailgate party: grilled meat and fermented hops.

July 7-8

Fillmore Street Jazz Festival, Fillmore between Jackson and Eddy, SF. (800) 310-6563, www.fillmorejazzfestival.com.10am-6pm, free. The largest free jazz festival on the Left Coast, this celebration tends to draw enormous crowds to listen to innovative Latin and fusion performers on multiple stages.

July 19-29

Midsummer Mozart Festival, Herbst Theater, 401 Van Ness, SF (also other venues in the Bay Area). (415) 627-9141,www.midsummermozart.org. $50. A Bay Area institution since 1974, this remains the only music festival in North America dedicated exclusively to Mozart.

July 21-22

Renegade Craft Fair, Fort Mason Center, Buchanan and Marina, SF. (415) 561-4323, www.renegadecraft.com. Free. Twee handmade dandies of all kinds will be for sale at this DIY and indie-crafting hullabaloo. Like Etsy in the flesh!

July 21-22

Connoisseur’s Marketplace, Santa Cruz and El Camino Real, Menlo Park. Free. This huge outdoor event expects to see 65,000 people, who will come for the art, live food demos, an antique car show, and booths of every kind.

July 23-August 28

The San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, Various locations, SF. (415) 558-0888, www.sfshakes.org. Free. Shakespeare takes over San Francisco’s public parks in this annual highbrow event. Grab your gang and pack a picnic for fine, cultured fun.

July 27-29

Gilroy Garlic Festival, Christmas Hill Park, Miller and Uvas, Gilroy. (408) 842-1625,www.gilroygarlicfestival.com. $17 per day, children under six free. Known as the “Ultimate Summer Food Fair,” this tasty celebration of the potent bulb lasts all weekend.

July 28-29

27th Annual Berkeley Kite Festival & West Coast Kite Championship, Cesar E. Chavez Park at the Berkeley Marina, Berk. (510) 235-5483, www.highlinekites.com. 10am-5pm, free. Fancy, elaborate kite-flying for grown-ups takes center stage at this celebration of aerial grace. Free kite-making and a candy drop for the kiddies, too.

July 29

Up Your Alley Fair, Dore between Howard and Folsom, SF. (415) 777-3247,www.folsomstreetfair.org., 11am-6pm, free with suggested donation of $7. A leather and fetish fair with vendors, dancing, and thousands of people decked out in their kinkiest regalia, this is the local’s version of the fall’s Folsom Street Fair mega-event.

July 30-August 5

SF Chefs Food and Wine Festival, Union Square, SF. (415) 781-5348, www.sfchefsfoodwine.com. Various times and prices. Taste buds have ADD too. Let them spiral deliciously out of control during this culinary fair representing over 200 restaurants, bars, distilleries, and breweries.

August 4-5

Aloha Festival, San Mateo Event Center, 1346 Saratoga, San Mateo. (415) 281-0221, www.pica-org.org. 10am-5pm, free. You may not be going to Hawaii this summer, but this two-day festival of crafts, island cuisine, Polynesian dance workshops, and music performances might just do the trick.

Art and Soul Oakland, Frank Ogawa Plaza, 14th and Broadway, Oakl. www.artandsouloakland.com. $10 adv.; $15 at door. Sample delectable treats, joyfully scream through a carnival ride, get a purple unicorn painted on your forehead — all while rocking out to live jazz, R&B, acoustic, and gospel performances.

Nihonmachi Street Fair, Post between Laguna and Fillmore, SF. www.nihonmachistreetfair.org. 10am-6pm, free. Community outreach infuses every aspect of this Japantown tradition — meaning those perfect garlic fries, handmade earrings, and live performances you enjoy will also be benefitting a number of great nonprofit organizations.

August 5

Jerry Day 2012, Jerry Garcia Amphitheater, 40 John F. Shelley, SF. (415) 272-2012, www.jerryday.org. 11am, free; donate to reserve seats. Founded in 2002 when a dilapidated playground in the Excelsior was being transformed to what is now Jerry Garcia Amphitheater, Jerry Day continues as an art and music event brimming with local San Franciscan roots.

August 10-12

Outside Lands Music Festival Golden Gate Park, SF. www.sfoutsidelands.com. $225 regular 3-day ticket. Musical demi-gods like Stevie Wonder and Neil Young are headlining this year, and the rest of the jaw-dropping lineup makes us wish it were 2035 already so we can clone ourselves and be at opposite sides of the park at once.

August 11

Festa Coloniale Italiana, Stockton between Union and Filbert, SF. (415) 440-0800, www.sfiacfesta.com. 11am-6pm, free. When the moon hits your eye, like a big pizza pie, that’s amore. When you dance down North Beach, visiting every food truck you encounter, you’re in love.

August 18

Russian River Beer Revival and BBQ Cookoff, Stumptown Brewery, 15045 River, Guerneville. (707) 869-0705, www.stumptown.com. Noon-6pm, $55. You can’t really go wrong attending a festival with a name like this one. Entry fee includes live music, beer, cider, BBQ tastings, and your resurrection.

San Francisco Street Food Festival, Folsom from 20th to 26th St.; 25th St. from Treat to Shotwell, SF. (415) 824-2729, www.sfstreetfoodfest.com. 11am-7pm, free. You may think there is nothing quite as good your own mother’s cooking, but the vendors at La Cocina’s food fair are up for the challenge.

August 25

The Farm Series: Late Summer Harvest, Oak Hill Farm, 15101 California 12, Glen Ellen. (415) 568-2710, www.18reasons.org. 9am-5pm, $50. Head to Sonoma with Bi-Rite’s head farmer and produce buyer to check out Family Farm and Oak Hill Farm. Lunch is included in the ticket price and carpool drivers will be reimbursed for gas.

August 25-26

Bodega Seafood Art and Wine Festival, 16855 Bodega, Bodega. (707) 824-8717, www.winecountryfestivals.com. $12 advance, $15 at gate. The seaweed is usually greener on somebody else’s lake — but not this weekend. Have your crab cake and eat it too during this crustaceous celebration of food, wine, beer, and art.

September 8-9

Ghirardelli Chocolate Festival, Ghiradelli Square, 900 North Point, SF. (800) 877-9338, www.ghiradelli.com. Noon-5pm, $20. It’s finally time to put your at-home ice cream noshing skills to the test. For two-days only, chocolate lovers unite to celebrate all that is good in life — and by that we mean eating contests, chef demonstrations, and local dessert samplings.

September 9

EcoFair Marin 2012, Marin County Fairgrounds and Lagoon Park, Civic Center, San Rafael. (415) 499-6800, www.ecofairmarin.org. 10am-6pm, $5. This sustainability event brings together speaker presentations, exhibitions by energy reducing and conserving business leaders, and tasty raw and vegan food vendors, as a community effort to help bring about a healthier planet.

September 14-16

Ceramics Annual of America: Exhibition and Art Fair, Festival Hall, Fort Mason, Buchanan at Marina, SF. (877) 459-9222, www.ceramicsannual.org. $10. Contemporary ceramics from Korea, China, Mexico, Australia, and Italy, as well as top American artists’ works, will be showcased in this one-of-a-kind art show. Tours and discussions regarding the clay medium will be provided as a way to foster knowledge regarding the clay medium.

September 16

Comedy Day, Sharon Meadow, Golden Gate Park, SF. (415) 820-1570, www.comedyday.com. Noon-5pm, free. There are two secret cures for depression: sunlight and laughter. Comedy Day brings the two antidotes together for a cheery day of priceless (literally, it’s free) entertainment.

September 21-23

Eat Real Festival, Jack London Square, Oakl. (510) 250-7811, www.eatrealfest.com. Free. Processed foods really do have a bunch of weird named ingredients that trigger horrific thoughts in one’s imagination. At Eat Real, suspicion is taken out of the eating experience, as everything is handmade, fresh, and local — so you can just eat.

September 22

Superhero Street Fair, Islais Creek Promenade, Caesar Chavez at Indiana, SF. www.superherosf.com. 2pm-midnight, $10-20 suggested donation. Fantasy and reality merge through live music performances, a climbing wall, sideshows, interactive games, and a cobblestone walkway of art. The festival hopes to set the World Record for the largest number of superheroes in one location — or at least put Nick Fury to shame.

September 23

Folsom Street Fair, Folsom between Seventh and 12th Streets, SF. (415) 777-3247, www.folsomstreetfair.com. 11am-6pm, free. Time to get out that spiked collar and latex gloves once again. Don’t forget your nipple clamps or the vibrating magic wand, either! Might as well bring out the leather whip and chains too — not that you’ve been anticipating this huge fetish extravaganza all year or anything.

September 29-30

Polk Street Blues Festival, Polk between Jackson and California, SF. (800) 310-6563, www.polkstreetbluesfestival.com. 10am-6pm, free. The blues festival will feature two stages, a marketplace of crafts and food booths, and enough saxophones and harmonicas to get you rollin’ and tumblin’.

September 30

Petaluma’s Fall Antique Faire, Fourth Street and Kentucky from B Street to Washington, Petaluma. (707) 762-9348, www.petalumadowntown.com. 8am-4pm, free. Watch as downtown Petaluma transforms in to an antique marketplace of estate jewelry, furniture, art, and collectables from over 180 dealers.

October 4-14

Mill Valley Film Festival, California Film Institute, 1001 Lootens, San Rafael. (415) 383-5256, www.mvff.com. $13.50 per screening. The 11-day festival presents international features, documentaries, shorts, and children’s films, as well as workshops and seminars dedicated to the art of film-making.

October 5-7

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, Golden Gate Park, John F. Kennedy at Marx Meadow, SF. www.strictlybluegrass.com. Free. Warren Hellman has left us in February, but the bluegrass music festival he gifted to San Francisco goes on in memory of its esteemed founder.

October 6

Steampunk Oktoberfest Ball, Masonic Lodge of San Mateo, 100 North Ellsworth, San Mateo. (650) 348-9725, www.peers.org/steampunk.html. 8pm, $15 adv.; $20 at door. Steampunk is a combination of modern technology and Victorian fashion tastes. Think steam-powered airships and breathable corsets. Nineteenth century waltzes, mazurkas, and polkas set the soundtrack to this year’s revelry of costumes, dancing, and anachronistic inventions.

October 7

Castro Street Fair, Castro at Market, SF. (415) 841-1824, www.castrostreetfair.org. 11am-6pm, donations collected at entry. Founded by Harvey Milk in 1974, this community street festival joins hundreds of craft vendors, various stages of live entertainment, and an impressive array of outfits and wigs as a celebration of the Castro’s ever-growing diversity.

October 13-14

Treasure Island Music Festival, Treasure Island, SF. www.treasureislandfestival.com. $69.50 for single day tickets; $125 for regular 2-day tickets. For those who are normally discouraged by large music festivals because of the usual mobs of people, this is the event for you. The festival always sports a great bill of performers, all of which you can enjoy while having a relaxing a picnic on the grass, watching the sunset fall over the Golden Gate Bridge. The lineup will be revealed later this summer.

October 15

Noe Valley Harvest Festival, 24th St. between Church and Sanchez, SF. (415) 519-0093, www.noevalleyharvestfestival.com. 10am-5pm, free. Fall into autumn’s welcoming leaves — there will be circus performers, dog costume contests, jack-o-lantern decorating booths, and a pumpkin patch to make you forget all about your fleeting summer crush.

October 26-28

International Vintage Poster Fair, Fort Mason Center, SF. (800) 856-8069, www.posterfair.com. $15. This is the only show in the world that offers over 15,000 original vintage posters. Throw out your duplicate copy, and run here now.

What the preservation vote says about the 2012 supervisors

Zelda Bronstein

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May 10, 2012

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What the preservation vote says about the 2012 supervisors

UPDATE: Important update at the end of this story

What does it mean that a historic preservation law favored by developers and promoted by Sup. Scott Wiener passed the Board of Supervisors 8-3? Maybe nothing. Historic preservation is a strange poliltical issue, favored by some of the wealthy white homeowner types who love pretty buildings (and aren’t so good on other issues), and this thing was sold as a way to help low-income people and affordable housing. But the reality is that the Wiener measure will make it harder to declare historic districts, and thus will take away a tool that the left can use to stop uncontrolled commercial development. And remember: The affordable housing community wasn’t pushing this bill, and, for the most part, hasn’t had problems with historic preservation. The most progressive political club in the city, the Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club, came out strongly against the measure and urged Sup. Christina Olague, a co-sponsor, to oppose it:

We are extremely troubled that you appear to be buying into the flawed, bogus and self-serving arguments by SPUR and other supporters of this legislation that historic preservation is classist and leads to gentrification, interferes with the production of affordable housing and is a tool of San Francisco’s elite. Nothing could be further from the truth.

There was a way to address the issues of low-income people in historic districts without making it harder to block inappropropriate development, but Wiener’s bill went much further. And while I respect Scott Wiener and find him accessible and straightforward, and I agree with him on some issues, he isn’t someone whose basic agenda promotes the interests of tenants or low-income people. His supporters are much more among the landlord class and the downtown folks. The San Francisco Chronicle, which is a conservative paper on economic and development issues, loved the legislation.

So what happened when this got to the Board? Only three people — the ones the Chron calls “the stalwart left flank of the Board” — voted no.

John Avalos, David Campos and Eric Mar. They are now the solid left flank, the ones who can be counted on to do the right thing on almost every issue. Once upon a time, there were six solid left votes. Now there are three.

What does this mean for the other key issues coming up, including CPMC, 8 Washington, and the city budget? Maybe nothing. As I say, this issue is complicated. Olague told me, for example, that she’s really worried about working-class people who can’t afford to comply with the increased regulations that come with historic districts. Her vote doesn’t mean she’s dropped out of the progressive camp, or that she (or Sups. Jane Kim and David Chiu) can’t be counted on in the future. I really want to believe that this was just an aberration, a vote where I’ll look back in the fall and say: Okay, we disagreed on that one, but nobody’s perfect.

Still, it’s kind of depressing: The dependable progressive vote is down to three.

UPDATE/CORRECTION: I didn’t know when I posted this that Olague had spoken to the Milk Club leadership after the club’s statement went out and the club has since issued a correction:

Due to a misunderstanding, Supervisor Christine Olague’s position on the Historic Preservation Commission’s critical role in the life of San Franicsco was misrepresented in our weekly newsletter. Supervisor Olague is looking into ways to help continue Historic District status for the Queer community, the Filipino community in the South of Market area, and the Japantown area. She is specifically looking for wording that would help these plans remain viable and welcomes any questions on her position and on her plan. Our apologies to the Supervisor for this unfortunate mistake.

Movement

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May 10, 2012

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SUPER EGO “I really don’t know what I’ve gotten myself into,” Skypes Jeremy Bispo, founder of the As You Like It techno party crew, into my twinkling Princess Phone app with a laugh.

“Well you better know, sweet thing, and quick!” I think, hopefully not too out loud. Bispo’s about to embark on an odyssey of mythic blowout proportions, launching a series of seven huge parties (with attendant afterparties at smaller venues) in the next two months that will include a live showcase touchdown at Smart Bar in Chicago and a return to the crew’s Midwestern roots at the Movement electronic music festival in Detroit, to coproduce the third installment of Shit Show, one of the fest’s more scandalous satellite shindigs. (Check out www.ayli-sf.com for more info about it all.)

Featured at those parties will be some of the most revered names in contemporary techno production, including Kassem Mosse, Deetron, Kollectiv Turmstrasse, Dave Aju, Camea, Mark E, and Sandwell District, plus AYLI’s wonderfully dedicated regulars Christina Chatfield, Rich Korach, Mossmoss, Tyrel Williams, and Brian Bejarano, a.k.a. Briski. The series kicks off Fri/11 at AYLI’s monthly throwdown at Beatbox, this one themed “Coast to Coast,” with deeply respected house DJ Jus-Ed from Connecticut and Detroit’s Marcellus Pittman of the actually legendary 3 Chairs collective.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sO5fwHXQ8iM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UiU2ECedZE

But if anyone can pull this gargantuan bender off it’s Bispo who, along with AYLI head compañero Jeremy Linden, has not only hosted a rarely paralleled roster of the global techno circuit’s leaders, but built a quality brand from the underground up (AYLI parties at various city locations in the past two years have been among the best on offer) with almost Machiavellian cunning — minus the maliciousness, of course, and with extra warm fuzzies on the Technicolor dance floor.

“Global leaders?” “Quality brand?” Why am I talking like Lindsey Naegle from The Simpsons? And how have techno crowds changed in San Francisco that hundreds of people will happily throw down $20–$30 to see bleeding-edge, non-pop DJs and live acts, many from Europe, that surely only the most ardent followers of sites like Resident Advisor or Little White Earbuds would recognize as genius (in my rapacious online forum estimation, there’s about 56 of us)? And hardly one glow stick in sight?

“The movement I see is still nomadic in the classic sense,” Bispo explains, referencing techno’s border-hopping transmission, its rave-caravan past, and its universal appeal. “But now in San Francisco, the people who are moving here who are interested in this music are very educated, very sophisticated. They know what’s out there. Many of them want to spend their money on something that has been curated for them with care, especially since there are so many people making this type of music now. And people like to be challenged, not just in the sound but in the feel. Our underground events have many times been more successful than our licensed ones.

“It’s still about having a place to go party all night to some great music,” he continues. “But now it’s not just fellow DJs who are listening to the sets and making the connections. You might be surprised how many people passionately follow this music, especially in our tech-centric city.”

Awesomely, As You Like It makes no bones about its brainy side — the Shakespearean moniker comes via the title of a cherished, hard-driving 2000 cassette mix by esoteric Detroit DJ Claude Young. And hopefully underground techno is still a life calling and not some “edgy” packaged product, to be tossed on at the weekend like a nootropical pashmina. But if we’re all now techno connoisseurs, we could do no better than Bispo’s remarkable crew to lead us toward the new.

AS YOU LIKE IT COAST TO COAST

With Jus-Ed, Marcellus Pittman, Lance Desardi, Tyrel Williams, and Brian Bejarano. Fri/11, 9pm-late, $10 before 11pm, $20 after. Beatbox, 314 11th St., SF. www.ayli-sf.com

EMISSIONS

Woah, this fourth annual three-day campout tribute to “West Coast Bass Culture” out to be insane, with wob-wob and sophisticated rumble headliners Vaski, Starkey (love him!), Zion-I, Minnesota, and a fantastic sub-zillion more. Presented by Camp Question Mark and the awesome Irie Cartel, who’ve really upped the local dubstep game.

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

Fri/11-Sun/13, $85–$160. Angels Camp, CA. www.emissionsfestival.com

HOT TODDY

UK disco-funk glam revivalist outfit Crazy P have ruled the past few years with a stellar live show and a lowdown sexy way with the turntables. Hot Toddy, one half of Crazy P’s production team, is coming to steam up the glasses of Monarch, inaugurating new monthly Night Moves, curated by bigtime Bay players like J-Boogie and DJ Theory who want to douse veteran house and funk fans in a wave of newer sounds that just might be sweep them off their feet.

Fri/11, 9pm, $10 advance. Monarch, 101 Sixth St., SF. www.monarchsf.com

MARTINEZ BROTHERS

I raved about super-cute Bronx house prodigies Chris and Steve Jr. a couple years back when they were too young to get into most of the venues they rocked. Now they’ve grown into a touring juggernaut, true global representatives of the classic house sound — live percussion usually included — updated for today’s soundsystems, wielding sonic light-sabers (those smiles!) against our contemporary cascade of cynicism.

Fri/11, 10pm-4am, $10 advance. Mighty, 119 Utah, SF. www.mighty119.com

ORIGINAL PLUMBING RELEASE PARTY

Pretty much the hottest magazine ever (www.originalplumbing.com), the down ‘n dirty quarterly for trans men and fans was kickstarted by Amos Mac and Rocco Katastrophe here in SF, but has since grown into a movement based in NYC. Amos and Rocco are back in town to celebrate the release of their ninth issue with a sexy shebang: DJs Rapid Fire and GX Meow, the Freeplay Dance Crew, naughty photobooth, and of course a shit-ton of hot guys. Queer on, OP!

Fri/11, 10pm, $7. Elbo Room, 647 Valencia, SF. www.elbo.com

PUSH THE FEELING

Open your ears, love. This is the third in a effervescent series that showcases some of the nifty local acts smudging the line between indie electronic and experimental music, including absolutely brilliant tropical-tinged Oakland duo Chucha Santamaria y Usted and, also from Oakland, entrancingly dubby tech-hop act Shortcircles.

Fri/11, 9pm, free with Facebook RSVP at www.tinyurl.com/pushthefeeling3. Underground SF, 424 Haight, SF.

SUREFIRE SOUND TOUR

Surefire is one of the Bay’s secret dance music weapons, growing from a scrappy-yet-canny bass label to an international artist rep agency, whose eye-popping roster reads like a serious underground bass fanatic’s who’s who. But let’s ditch the market-speak and go under, as Surefire’s ace tour lands at SOM, with jooky UK headliner (and local fave) Addison Groove of “Footcrab” notoriety doing a live 808 show, and Doc Daneeka, who makes some unabashedly gorgeous house and dank-groove music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-Lbg5jRa88

Sat/12, 9:30-late, $10 advance. SOM, 2925 16th St., SF. www.som-bar.com

THE GATHERING

Last year, essential Bay Area rave the Gathering turned 20. (What other party can claim that its participants stomped out a potentially disastrous grass fire in the hills, while dancing?) That party was the kind of reunion blowout that not only took “rave to the grave” silly-seriously, but cuaght the ears of younger generations as well. Now it’s tuning an extra-legal 21, and will still go hard, with beloved DJ Dan, Hipp-E, Dutch, Andy Caldwell, and the Sunset and Forward crews, and tons of visual artists, surprises, and bonkers fun.

Sat/12, all night baby. Hit up www.thegathering-sf.com for location and price.

SUNSHINE JONES

As one half of Dubtribe Sound System, Sunshine Jones was responsible for a bonafide deep house masterpiece, “Do it Now” from 2001. His solo output has been pretty grand as well (2007’s “If You Wouldn’t Mind” leaps immediately to mind and stays there.) But he’s always had an affinity for dub textures, as the “Sound System” moniker suggests. Catch him at rocksteady, long-runnning weekly Dub Mission, where he last played in 1999(!) for a good dose of the sublime.

Sun/13, 9pm, $7. Elbo Room, 647 Valencia, SF. www.dubmission.com

A brief transgender punk heroes primer

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May 9, 2012

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The web is all abuzz — rightly — about the bravery of Against Me! singer Tom Gabel “coming out” to Rolling Stone as transgender and beginning to live her life as Laura Jane Grace (while remaining legally married to her wife and raising their child. Take that, North Carolina!). ‘Tis a wonderful thing indeed, and most of the commentary on the high school hearthrob band’s website has been positive.

As much as it pains me to call any band that came after Fugazi “punk,” Against Me! wasn’t half bad to soundtrack your 2000s teenage mall rebellion, carrying on the legacy of punks through the ages. And Grace’s transformation carries on another legacy as well — that of famous transgender rockers.

I’ve lately been rereading one of my favorite books, Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk — if ever there was a book to make your life seem utterly boring shite, that’s it. It’s full of hyperenergetic boys donning frocks, from punk founders the Dead Boys and the New York Dolls to the glam heroes that punk was meant to take down, like David Bowie and Gary Glitter. And of course many fierce women of the early scene were shaving their heads and kitting out in “mens’ clothes.” (There was actually a time when Robert Mapplethorpe’s cover shot for Patti Smith’s Horses was a scandal, really.)

But all that was mere transgression, welcome as it may have been to the oppressed queers of the day — and now for that matter. Being transgender is something different, having the courage to reconcile your physicality with the mental and emotional image you carry of yourself inside. And then to rock the fuck out? Cool. Here are some of my transgender punk heroes:

>>Jayne County

She became famous in the late ’70s, kicking against the pricks in London as Wayne County (with band the Electric Chairs) — but was an NYC underground mainstay before then, taking part in the 1969 Stonewall Riots, hanging with the Warhol crew, and starting one of the first punk-like bands Queen Elizabeth in 1972. (“God Save the Queen” indeed.). She soon rechristened herself Jayne County, performing unabashedly before punk audiences as a transgender woman. As an actress, she starred in seminal underground queer films like Derek Jarman’s Jubilee and Rosa von Praunheim’s City of Lost Souls. She’s still raging.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiih9H29pDM

>>Genesis P-Orridge

The outrageous and outrageously talented founder of ’70s experimental industrial-noise-punk-electronic outifts Psychic TV and Throbbing Gristle, Genesis approaches gender in an experimental vein as well. Already well into his own gender recalibration, he and his wife Lady Jayne Breyer P-Orridge began an odyssey of physical transformation in the 2000s to become a single pandrogynous entity to be called “Breyer P-Orridge.” Sadly, Lady Jayne died in 2007 of stomach cancer, but Genesis continues to challenge gender expectations, as the recent release of lauded doc The Ballad of Genesis and Lady Jaye attests to.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPpet98Hick

>>Lynn Breedlove

The indispensable local trans man was instrumental in the punk revival of the ’90s with his insane dyke outfit Tribe 8, and now helps keep queers safe on the streets of SF with his Homobiles on-call transportion service. He’s also an accomplished author and performer in his own right. Queers fight (and write) back!!

UPDATE: In the comments below, readers below have pointed out two very important transgender punks: Sarah Kirsch, formerly Mike Kirsch, guitarist and vocalist seminal East Bay outfit Pinhead Gunpowder, Fuel, and a ton more including Fuel and Sawhorse (and who is currently recovering from cancer). I couldn’t find a good vid of Sarah in her current incarnation, but here’s a recent one of Pinhead Gunpowder at 924 Gilman.

PLUS the incredible Ginger Coyote of the White Trash Debutantes, who was pretty essential to the Mabuhay Gardens punk scene here.

And of course, there is a thriving, vibrant, now-decades-old underground of scrappy queer and transgender punk rock bands — and wonderful local trans musicians like Christine Beatty and Justin Bond and even lounge singer Veronica Klaus who keep the proud and outspoken transgender musical flame alight. In the immortal words of Jayne County, “If you don’t want a piece of the action, take a walk!”

Stage Listings May 9-15, 2012

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May 8, 2012

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

THEATER

OPENING

“DIVAfest” Exit Theatreplex, 156 Eddy, SF; (415) 673-3847, www.theexit.org. $15-25. May 9-27. Three solo shows, plus singer-songwriters, readings, and art displays, highlight this festival honoring female artists.

Endgame and Play American Conservatory Theater, 415 Geary, SF; (415) 749-2228, www.act-sf.org. $10-95. Previews Wed/9-Sat/12 and Tue/15, 8pm (also Sat/12, 2pm). Opens May 16, 8pm. Runs Tue-Sat, 8pm (also Wed, Sat-Sun, 2pm; no matinees Wed/9, Sun/13, May 16, or May 23; May 22 performance at 7pm). Through June 3. ACT presents two absurd dark comedies by Samuel Beckett.

A Raisin in the Sun Buriel Clay Theater, African American Art and Culture Complex, 762 Fulton, SF; 1-800-838-2006, www.african-americanshakes.org. $10-35. Opens Sat/12, 8pm. Runs Fri-Sat, 8pm (no show May 25); Sun, 3pm. Through May 27. African-American Shakespeare Company performs Lorraine Hansberry’s classic drama.

BAY AREA

The Odyssey Angel Island; (415) 547-0189, www.weplayers.org. $40-76 (some tickets include ferry passage). Opens Sat/12, 10:30am-4pm (does not include travel time to island). Runs Sat-Sun and Fri/18, May 25, and June 1, 10:30am-4pm. Through July 1. We Players present Ava Roy’s adaptation of Homer’s epic poem: an all-day adventure set throughout the nature and buildings of Angel Island State Park.

ONGOING

Act One, Scene Two Phoenix Arts Association Theatre, 414 Mason, Ste 601, SF; www.un-scripted.com. $10-20. Thu/10-Sat/12, 8pm. Un-Scripted Theater Company performs the beginning of a new, unfinished play by a local author — and creates an ending on the spot once the script runs out.

“Bay One Acts Festival” Boxcar Theatre, 505 Natoma, SF; www.bayoneacts.org. $25-45. Wed/9-Sat/12, 8pm (also Sat/12, 3pm). Ten bold and adventurous short plays by local playwrights, performed two full programs running in repertory.

Down to This Exit Stage Left, 156 Eddy, SF; www.sleepwalkerstheatre.com. $12-20. Thu-Sat, 8pm. Through May 26. Thirty-something Charlie (Derek Fischer) plays this little game with himself where he tosses a rotten egg at the kitchen trash as if he were making a free-throw in sudden-death overtime. This little moment, innocent and ordinary on the surface, puzzles one-night stand Donna (Tonya Narvaez) after she happens on the scene. That she would be baffled, even momentarily disturbed by so common a flight of sports-dude imagination is our first taste of the strained mechanics of Adam Chanzit’s slight pulp revenge tale: sure enough, this game of chance turns out to be a (pretty ridiculous) psychopathology ruling Charlie’s world. When a moment later his equally imbalanced and estranged wife (Kendra Lee Oberhauser), fresh from prison and packing heat, bursts in on the two lovebirds, Charlie’s fate-game will become the tortured trope in a table-turning showdown between all three — plus Charlie’s hapless roommate (Jomar Tagatac) and his crew-cut–sporting sidekick (Shane Rhoades). Chanzit offers some mild surprises and amusing banter along the way in Sleepwalkers’ world premiere — helmed by artistic director Tore Ingersoll-Thorp — but the plot and characters are stretched thin, and the tension often grows slack despite the able and likable cast. By the time the story climaxes in a coin-toss of an ending (designed to work out one of two ways, depending), it’s too big a muddle to generate more than a momentary quiver of anticipation over anybody’s fate. (Avila)

Fwd: Life Gone Viral Marsh San Francisco, 1062 Valencia, SF; (415) 282-3055, www.themarsh.org. $20-50. Thu, 8pm; Sat, 8:30pm; Sun, 7pm. Through June 10. The internet becomes comic fodder for creator-performers Charlie Varon and Jeri Lynn Cohen, and creator-director David Ford.

*Hot Greeks Hypnodrome Theatre, 575 10th St, SF; www.brownpapertickets.com. $30-35. Thu-Sat, 8pm. Extended through May 19. Cheap thrills don’t come much cheaper or more thrilling than at a Thrillpeddlers musical extravaganza, and their newly remounted run of Hot Greeks affords all the glitter-dusted eye-candy and labyrinthian plot points we’ve come to expect from their gleefully exhibitionist ranks. Structured as loosely as possible on Aristophanes’ Lysistrata, Greeks appropriately enough follows the trials and tribulations of a college sorority tired of “losing” their boyfriends to the big football match every year (Athens U vs. Sparta Tech). Pledging to withhold sex from the men unless they call off the game results in frustration for all, only partially alleviated by the discovery that sexual needs can be satisfied by “playing the other team,” as it were. But like other Cockettes’ revivals presented by the Thrillpeddlers, the momentum of the show is carried forward not by the rather thinly-sketched narrative, but by the group song-and-dance numbers, extravagant costuming (and lack thereof), ribald wordplay, and overt gender-fuckery. In addition to many TP regulars, including a hot trio of Greek columns topped with “capital” headdresses who serve as the obligatory chorus (Steven Satyricon, Ste Fishell, Bobby Singer), exciting new additions to the Hypnodrome stage include a bewigged Rik Lopes as stalwart sister Lysistrata, angelically-voiced Maggie Tenenbaum as the not-so-angelic Sodoma, and multi-faceted cabaret talent Tom Orr as heartthrob hunk Pendulum Pulaski. (Gluckstern)

It’s All the Rage Studio Theater, Marsh San Francisco, 1062 Valencia, SF; (415) 282-3055, www.themarsh.org. $15-50. Thu, 8pm; Sat, 8:30pm, Sun, 7pm. Extended through May 27. Longtime comedian and radio host Marilyn Pittman’s solo play wrestles with the legacy of her parents’ violent deaths in a 1997 murder-suicide initiated by her father. It’s disturbing material that Pittman, a stout middle-aged woman with a gregarious and bounding personality, approaches indirectly via a good deal of humor — including recounting the first time she did her growing-up-lesbian bit before her mother in a DC comedy club. But the pain and confusion trailing her for 13 years is never far behind, whether in accounts of her own battle with anger (and the broken relationships it has left in its wake) or in ominous memories of her too complacent mother or her charming but domineering father, whose controlling behavior extended to casually announcing murderous dreams while policing the boundaries of his marriage against family interference. A fine mimic, Pittman deploys a Southern lilt in playing each parent, on a stage decorated with a hint of their Southwestern furnishings and a framed set of parental photographs. In not exactly knowing where to lay blame for, or find meaning in, such a horrifying act, the play itself mimics in subtler form the emotional tumult left behind. There’s a too brief but eerie scene in which her veteran father makes reference to a murder among fellow soldiers en route to war, but while PTSD is mentioned (including as an unwanted patrimony), the 60-minute narrative crafted by Pittman and director David Ford wisely eschews any pat explanation. If transitions are occasionally awkward and the pace a bit loose, the play leaves one with an uncomfortable sense of the darker aspects of love, mingled with vague concentric histories of trauma and dislocation in a weird, sad tale of destruction and staying power. Note: review from the show’s 2009 run at the Marsh San Francisco. (Avila)

Killing My Lobster Chops Down the Family Tree TJT, 470 Florida, SF; www.killingmylobster.com. $10-22. Thu/10-Fri/11, 8pm; Sat/12, 7 and 10pm; Sun/13, 7pm. The sketch comedy troupe performs a new show inspired by contemporary families.

“San Francisco International Arts Festival” Various venues, SF; www.sfiaf.org. Free-$70. Through May 20. Performance festival featuring theater and dance from Cuba, Iran, Russia, the U.S., China, Japan, Estonia, and more.

Tenderloin Exit on Taylor, 277 Taylor, SF; (415) 525-1205, www.cuttingball.com. $10-50. Thu, 7:30pm; Fri-Sat, 8pm (also Sat, 2pm); Sun, 5pm. Through May 27. Annie Elias and Cutting Ball Theater artists present a world premiere “documentary theater” piece looking at the people and places in the Cutting Ball Theater’s own ‘hood.

To Be Young, Gifted and Black: Honoring Lorraine Hansberry In Her Own Words Gough Street Playhouse, Trinity Episcopal Church, 1620 Gough, SF; www.custommade.org. $22-28. Thu-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 7pm. Through May 27. Custom Made Theater and Multi Ethnic Theater collaborate on this tribute to the groundbreaking playwright.

The Waiting Period MainStage, Marsh San Francisco, 1062 Valencia, SF; (415) 282-3055, www.themarsh.org. $15-50. Fri, 8pm; Sat, 5pm. Extended through July 7. 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)

The Wrong Dick Dark Room Theater, 2263 Mission, SF; www.darkroomsf.com. $20. Thu-Sat, 8pm. Through May 26. Ham Pants Productions presents a noir-inspired comedy set in San Francisco.

Zorba Eureka Theater, 215 Jackson, SF; (415) 255-8207, www.42ndstmoon.org. $20-50. Wed, 7pm; Thu-Fri, 8pm; Sat, 6pm; Sun, 3pm. Through May 20. 42nd Street Moon performs Kander and Ebb’s musical salute to Greece.

BAY AREA

Anatol Aurora Theatre, 2081 Addison, Berk; www.auroratheatre.org. $30-55. Wed/9-Sat/12, 8pm; Sun/13, 2 and 7pm. Aurora Theatre Company performs a world premiere translation of Arthur Schnitzler’s drama about the love life of an Viennese philanderer.

Crevice La Val’s Subterranean, 1834 Euclid, Berk; www.impacttheatre.com. $10-20. Thu-Sat, 8pm. Through June 9. Impact Theatre and PlayGround present Lauren Yee’s world premiere play about 20-something siblings whose couch-potato lives are uprooted when a chasm opens up in their living room.

A Hot Day in Ephesus Live Oak Theatre, 1301 Shattuck, Berk; info@aeofberkeley.org. $12-15. Fri-Sat, 8pm; Sun/13, 2pm. Through May 19. Actors Ensemble performs the world premiere of a musical based on Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors.

In Paris Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Roda Theatre, 2015 Addison, Berk; (510) 647-2949, www.berkeleyrep.org. $22.50-125. Wed/9, 7pm; Thu/10-Sat/12, 8pm (also Sat/12, 2pm); Sun/13, 2pm. Mikhail Baryshnikov stars in Dmitry Krymov’s romantic new play.

*The Kipling Hotel: True Misadventures of the Electric Pink ’80s New venue: Marsh Berkeley, 2120 Allston, Berk; (415) 282-3055, www.themarsh.org. $20-50. Sat, 8:30pm; Sun, 7pm. Extended through June 10. 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)

Lucky Duck Julia Morgan Theatre, 2640 College, Berk; www.berkeleyplayhouse.org. $17-35. Thu/10-Sat/12, 7pm (also Sat/12, 2pm); Sun/13, noon and 5pm. Berkeley Playhouse performs a musical inspired by the “Ugly Duckling” tale.

Not Getting Any Younger Marsh Berkeley, 2120 Allston, Berk; (415) 282-3055, www.themarsh.org. $15-50. Fri, 8pm; Sat, 5pm. Through May 19. Marga Gomez is back at the Marsh, a couple of too-brief decades after inaugurating the theater’s new stage with her first solo show — an apt setting, in other words, for the writer-performer’s latest monologue, a reflection on the inevitable process of aging for a Latina lesbian comedian and artist who still hangs at Starbucks and can’t be trusted with the details of her own Wikipedia entry. If the thought of someone as perennially irreverent, insouciant, and appealingly immature as Gomez makes you depressed, the show is, strangely enough, the best antidote. Note: review from the show’s 2011 run at the Marsh San Francisco. (Avila)

Oleanna Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant, Berk; www.theatrefirst.com. $15-30. Thu/10-Sat/12, 8pm; Sun/13, 5pm. TheatreFIRST performs David Mamet’s tense two-charater drama.

Red Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Thrust Stage, 2025 Addison, Berk; (510) 647-2949, www.berkeleyrep.org. $14.50-83. Wed/9, 7pm; Thu/10-Fri/11, 8pm; Sat/12, 2pm. Mark Rothko (David Chandler) isn’t the only one painting with a broad brush in this labored and ultimately superficial two-hander by John Logan, enjoying a competent but underwhelming production by outgoing Berkeley Rep associate artistic director Les Waters. Set inside the late-1950s New York studio of the legendary abstract expressionist at the height of his fame, the play introduces a blunt and brash young painter named Ken (John Brummer) as Rothko’s new hired hand, less a character than a crude dramatic device, there first as a sounding board for the pompous philosophizing that apparently comprises a good chunk of the artist’s process and finally as a kind of mirror held up to the old iconoclast in challenging proximity to a new generation that must ultimately transcend Rothko’s canvases in turn. The dialogue holds up signs announcing intellectual and aesthetic depths but these remain surface effects, reflecting only platitudes, while the posturing tends to reduce Rothko to caricature. Much of the self-consciously reluctant filial interaction here smacks of biographical sound bites or heavy-handed underscoring of theme, and tends toward the outright hokey when touching on the credulity-bending subject of Ken’s murdered parents — with the attendant shades this adds to Rothko’s and the play’s chosen color palette. (Avila)

The World’s Funniest Bubble Show Marsh Berkeley, TheaterStage, 2120 Allston, Berk; (415) 826-5750, www.themarsh.org. $8-50. Extended run: May 5-27 (Sat-Sun, 11am); June 3-July 15 (Sun, 11am). Louis “The Amazing Bubble Man” Pearl returns with this kid-friendly, bubble-tastic comedy.

PERFORMANCE/DANCE

BATS Improv Bayfront Theater, Fort Mason Center, Marina at Laguna, SF; www.improv.org. Fri, 8pm, through May 25: “Director’s Cut!,” $20. Sat, 8pm, through May 26: “Improvised Murder Mystery,” $20.

“Bijoux: Seven-Year Beeyotch!” Martuni’s, Four Valencia, SF; (415) 241-0205. Sun/13, 7pm. $7. Trauma Flintstone hosts an eclectic queer variety show with a Mother’s Day theme.

“Comedy Returns to El Rio” El Rio, 3158 Mission, SF; www.elriosf.com. Mon/14, 8pm. $7-20. With comedians Shazia Mirza, Marga Gomez, Jeff Applebaum, Brendan Lynch, and Lisa Geduldig.

“Elect to Laugh” Studio Theater, Marsh San Francisco, 1062 Valencia, SF; (415) 282-3055, www.themarsh.org. Tue, 8pm. Ongoing through Nov 6. $15-50. Will Durst and friends perform in this weekly political humor show that focuses on the upcoming presidential election.

“Feast of Words: A Literary Potluck” SOMArts Cultural Center, 934 Brannan, SF; feastofwords.somarts.org. Tue/15, 7pm. $5-12. With author Cassie J. Sneider and culinary guest Kuukua Dzigbordi Yomekpe.

“A Funny Night for Comedy” Actors Theatre of San Francisco, 855 Bush, SF; (415) 345-1287, www.natashamuse.com. Sun/13, 7pm. $10. Mother’s Day is the theme of this comedy showcase.

“Let Me Entertain You” Venetian Room, Fairmont San Francisco, 950 Mason, SF; www.bayareacabaret.org. Sat/12, 8pm. $45. Tony winner Laura Benanti performs her solo cabaret.

“Listen to Your Mother San Francisco” Cowell Theater, Fort Mason Center, Marina at Laguna, SF; (415) 345-7575, www.listentoyourmothershow.com. Thu/10, 7pm. $25. 826 Valencia benefits from this reading event fearuting 12 local writers sharing stories of motherhood.

“Second Sundays” CounterPULSE, 1310 Mission, SF; www.counterpulse.org. Sun/13, 2-4pm. Free. Works-in-progress showings from Deborah Karp Dance Projects, detour dance, and Sarah Keeney/floating rib dance project.

On the couch with James Darling

Andrew Lam

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May 7, 2012

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He won the Heartthrob of the Year honor at this year’s Feminist Porn Awards. He teaches workshops on porn star sex. He has a full schedule of solo masturbation and menage a trois porn shoots coming up. There’s no denying that 2012 is the year for transmale porn star James Darling. To celebrate his it-ness, I invited the very attractive, slightly shy, and oh-so-charismatic Darling over to my house to sit on my couch, eat some bacon chocolate chip cookies, and talk sex.

San Francisco Bay Guardian: Jiz Lee tweeted a quote from your acceptance speech at the Feminist Porn Awards: “Transmen being seen as erotic beings is a relatively new phenomenon, I’m proud to be a part, it’s only the beginning” Why now? What’s making it possible for transmen to be seen as such erotic beings in pop culture and the mainstream sex industry?

James Darling: Trailblazers like Buck Angel, Courtney Trouble, and Trannywood Pictures are taking risk to truly represent queer sexuality. They are really inclusive with their models. You can find transmen, transwomen, and various genderqueer individuals in their films.

Also, celebrities like Chaz Bono are bringing attention to transmen in the mainstream. There is a cultural movement of transmale visibility. Social media forums like Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr also make it easier for trans guys to communicate with each other. Factors such as these are helping to create a culture where transmen can be seen as erotic beings.

SFBG: I watched your interview on Queer Porn TV in which you talked about how making porn was another way to document your transition. In fact, you said you were “capturing the way you fuck through your transition.” Can you talk more about that process?

JD: When I started making porn I was really early in my transition. I thought it was really important to have affirming images of people with bodies like mine, bodies before surgery. I wanted to show people that you can still be sexy and have hot sex prior to transitioning. And in fact, the last film I did before I had top surgery Brunch Bunch, a T-Wood Production, won honorable mention at the Feminist Porn Awards.

The scene I did with Wolf Hudson for QueerPorn.TV was when I was only 2 months out of surgery. My scars were way more visible then, and when I look at myself in Buck Angel’s Sexing the Transman documentary I feel like my face looks way more different to how it looks now.

SFBG: How do you feel about your newfound fame and popularity?

JD: I think a lot of my popularity is due to the lack of visibility and semi-recent popularity of transmen in general, and the ability for social media to reach thousands of people quickly. I feel very grateful for the people around the world who have reached out to me to let me know that my images have positively affected their sex lives. It’s the reason I do what I do.

SFBG: So you recently did a workshop at Eros entitled “How to Fuck like a Porn Star.” How does one fuck like a porn star?

JD: There are two main differences between people who do porn and people who don’t. Porn stars have to be really good at communication, and they need to be really confident. I feel like if you can include open communication and confidence into your sex life you can have some really hot sex. To really highlight this concept I screened a scene from one of my films and held a Q&A afterwards. The workshop was well attended and really well received.

I’ll also be doing other workshops and talks at Eros in SF and Feelmore510 this June, and I’m totally open to doing more.

SFBG: How do you identify your gender today?

JD: Well it differs from cis masculinity. I would say today I feel like a dandy, femme, and always very queer. And my gender isn’t queer simply because I’m trans.

SFBG: Talk a little bit about your own sexuality, and how it has or hasn’t changed throughout your transition.

JD: I find that my own sexual preferences have changed over time. I was first exclusively attracted to woman. I would fool around with guys in high school, but I saw that as a passing phase. I then dated other transguys for awhile. I next began to explore my fag identity. I found after being on hormones for awhile that I was really attracted to guys and really interested in getting fucked by them.

The way I related to porn also changed. I used to be really into reading erotica, and now I’m way more visual. I used to really be into girl-on-girl porn, and now I watch tons of men jerking off. I would say my ratios for being attracted to men and women have shifted. The scale being currently tipped more on the side of men.

SFBG: What does being sex-positive mean to you?

JD: I guess it means being able to openly embrace sex and sexuality in my everyday life. Encouraging people to have the best sex lives they can possibly have and approaching sex from a non-judgemental place.

Should the Navy name a ship after Harvey Milk?

Zelda Bronstein

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May 2, 2012

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Should the Navy name a ship after Harvey Milk?

A Democratic Congressional rep. from San Diego thinks so.Rep. Bob Filner has asked the Secretary of the Navy, who has final say over such things, to name a warship the “U.S.S. Harvey Milk.” Milk served in the Navy during the Korean War. And Sup. Scott Wiener has introduced a resolution in support of the concept.

His press release:

Supervisor Wiener, who represents Milk’s old district on the Board of Supervisors, expressed excitement at the prospect of the christening: “Harvey Milk was a visionary in our community and redefined what it means to be LGBT in public life. Given Supervisor Milk’s extraordinary public service and military service to our country, I can think of no more fitting tribute than to name a naval vessel after him.” Retired Navy Commander Zoe Dunning, a leader in the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, agreed: “Harvey Milk was proud of his Navy service. Similar to the USS Cesar Chavez, there should be a USS Harvey Milk to honor Milk’s leadership in the LGBT civil rights movement.” Anne Kronenberg, who served as one of Supervisor Milk’s legislative aides and who now serves as San Francisco’s Director of Emergency Management, noted that Milk would be smiling to hear about the effort to christen a ship in his name: “Harvey understood the importance of symbolism in the advancement of civil rights. He also lived in an era when being out in the military was simply impossible. He’d be quite pleased that we are now in an era when not only can LGBT people be out in the military, but they can even have warships named after them. Times truly have changed.”

My friend and colleague Sandy Lange, who is the Guardian’s controller, agrees. Sandy was an officer in the Navy, and loved it, and got kicked out after the Naval Investigative Service followed her to a lesbian bar, long before even Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. “This would be a great statement, to finally kick homophobia off the waves,” she told me.

Tommi Avicolli Mecca, who is also my friend, isn’t so sure. In a piece on Open Salon, he argues that Milk would be opposed to today’s military adventurism and that a warship isn’t a fitting memorial:

It’s one thing that gays can serve openly in the military. It’s another to attach the name of a queer progressive who opposed war to a military ship. It’s just not appropriate. It’s like naming a Christian church after him (Milk was a Jew and an atheist). Or a bomber plane after Gandhi.

What’s next? Recruitment ads in the gay newspapers featuring the Village People and/or hunky half-naked men? A pink heart medal for killing with a gay flair? A lavender box with a rainbow flag for our gay and lesbian corpses?

Marke B., our managing editor, just wants to be sure that he’s involved in the interior design of the new ship, and that its sailors “open their legs for fleet week.”

Seriously — Avicolli Mecca thinks a better honor would be to make Milk’s birthday, May 22, a national holiday. Of course, Chavez (also a man of peace) has both a ship and a holiday.

I never met Harvey Milk — I arrived in San Francisco in 1981 — but I have to wonder what he’d think about a ship of war carrying his name.

Scratchers

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May 2, 2012

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› superego@sfbg.com

SUPER EGO The everywhere nightlife talk last month, as reported by the UK Guardian, was that Berlin politicians had pledged one million shiny euros to preserve clubs from the growing threat of gentrification and rising real estate prices in that once cheap-as-curbside-currywurst berg.

If only in SF. What would you do with all that clubby money? Create a B&T party-bus dropoff zone between First and Fifth Streets and Mission and Brannan for shrieking singles (“Fluorescent Tube Dress Island”)? Fix all the bad pants at tech networking mixers? Cork wedge police? Eyebrow wax ban? DJ-with-a–$-in-their-name annihilation? New face for Heklina? (Kidding, love you and your Sarah Jessica barker, girl.) Really, the possibilities.

JESSE SAUNDERS

Dear Housepitality, you are killing me with classic loveliness every week — this one for instance, bringing in Chicago’s “originator of house” Jesse Saunders, whose 1986 “Love Can’t Turn Around” with Farley Jackmaster Funk and Darryl Pandy (RIP) changed mine and about 300 million others’ lives.

Wed/2, 9pm, free before 11pm with RSVP at www.housepitalitysf.com/rsvp, or $5 before 11pm, $10 after. Icon, 1192 Folsom, SF.

STYLE FROM WITHIN, VOL. 1

If you’re going to turn it out for summer on the runway of life, you could do no better than to hit up this free musical fashion show extravaganza at the Clift from boutiquista-nightlife heroine Bianca Starr. Slay-worthy looks from Sui Generis, Wonderland, Density Dept, and Top Shelf. Groovy tunes from J-Boogie and DJ Ry Toast(!), plus a performance by blowing-up Bay star B. Bravo.

Thu/3, 9pm cocktails, 10:30 fashion show, free. Clift Hotel, 495 Geary, SF. www.biancastarr.com

A ONE NIGHT STAND WITH CARRIEONDISCO AND DOC SLEEP

Two of my favorite queer female house and techno DJs teaming up for an extravaganza at 222? This I like, and would like to see more of. Both throw down some expansive knowledge of current electronic textures and historical subcultural connotations — but nevermind all that, this will be total funzo.

Fri/4, 10pm, $3. 222 Hyde, SF. www.222hyde.com , Facebook Invite here

TRIPLE THREAT

Love, love, love me some classic Bay turntablism action from the mindblowing threesome. But wait, Shortkut, Vinroc, and Apollo are hip-hop triple-teaming on the decks all night for free — with an open bar from 9pm-10pm? On a Friday night? Whoever’s sponsoring this insanity, I will kiss you.

Fri/4, 9pm-late, free. Mighty, 119 Utah, SF. www.mighty119.com

LEVON VINCENT

The NYCer has been rightly lauded for helping to lead dance music into sophisticated new directions. His obsessively detailed creations meld moody post-minimal techno with classic deep house flow, flooding the floor with pure, cool tones that sometimes dunk you under into rhythmic experimentalism.

He’ll be joined at the Icee Hot monthly by Rem Koolhaus from Brooklyn’s awesome Turbotax party.

Sat/5, 10pm-3am, $10. Public Works, 161 Erie, SF. www,publicsf.com

CINCO DE MOZ-O

Because who loves Morrissey more than Mexicans? Why, drunk Americans at the fantastically hip Britpop and Swinging London-themed Club Leisure monthly, that’s who. Piñatas! Smiths karaoke! Someone named Union Jackoff!

Sat/5, 10pm-3am, $8. Cat Club, 1190 Folsom, SF. www.sfcatclub.com

BLESSED

More good news from Oakland’s great house scene: your Cinco de Mayo celebration (mess?) will get some soulful uplift as this great monthly from the Divinyl Echo collective celebrates three years. Beloved special guest DJ Julius Papp headlines, and Soul Camp treasure Teejay Walton supports. Let’s get down.

Sat/5, 9pm, free before 11pm, $5 after. Somar Bar, 1727 Telegraph, Oakl. www.tinyurl.com/blessedcinco

Address of the beast

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April 25, 2012

2

SUPER EGO Is San Francisco experiencing a douche drain? Suddenly a heck of a lot of, er, “upscale” clubs are mediating their bottle service images with creative, musically forward parties. I can’t think they’ve run out of Appletini orderers, or that the real nightlife money is in importing obscure Crosstown Rebels label DJs — although maybe all the bachelorettes really have fled to Castro gay bars and the stiff-collar dudes are glued to their Girls Around Me app? I’m loving finally feeling comfortable (and digging the quality sound systems) at some of these shiny joints. I’m also tickled by the occasional accidental crash collision of crowds, as when a bleach-blond klatch of stilettoed, squealing singles found their meat market had been occupied by lumbering gay techno bears, but stayed to dance anyway.

The trend kicked off three years ago when 1015 Folsom rebranded its “underground” basement as 103 Harriet, then Holy Cow roped in Honey Soundsystem Sundays and Vessel launched techno-riffic Base Thursdays. Now a number of clubs, including Monroe in North Beach on weekend mornings and Otis on Sunday nights, have joined in. The kooky part is how some of these clubs have been surreptitiously changing their names to their addresses in promotions when they get a little “alternative.” Besides 103 Harriet, Harlot is “46 Minna,” Icon Ultra Lounge is “1192 Folsom,” Ruby Skye’s former VIP room is “4Fourteen” (Mason). This is so hilariously shady and bland at the same time! Yet it tickles. Just please don’t call it pop-up nightlife — call it a stealth takeover, darling.

JUANITA’S FUNKY CHICKEN

What better thigh to gnaw on than a drag queen’s? Hostess with the hot plate Juanita More pitches in for the Dining Out for Life AIDS fundraiser (www.diningoutforlife.com) with her traditional menu of chicken covered in honey goo, blue cheese salad, corn muffin, and red velvet cupcake. Plus old school soul from the Hard French DJs and a crowd of gorging gorgeousness. Eat it, ladies!

Thu/26, 6-9pm, $22. Mars Bar, 798 Brannan, SF. For reservation info, see www.juanitamore.com.

GREG WILSON

I admire a ton of DJs, but Greg is one that I actually love. His tailor-made funk and soul re-edits, many from the darker reaches of the vaults, hit me just right. And when this UK veteran (almost 40 years of experience! The first DJ to scratch on British TV!) mixes them all together and throws in some unexpected singalongs and sound effects, it’s party heaven.

Fri/27, 9pm, $20. Monarch, 101 Sixth St., SF. www.monarchsf.com

PUBLIC ACCESS

Party promoter wunderkind Marco de la Vega is filling several fun voids in our nightlife with his audio edge-play productions. And he’s upping our intellectual ante, too: “Club culture is inherently performative. Public Access is an experiment in the nature of that performance. A feedback loop of spectacle and spectator,” he says of his latest extravaganza of Technicolor darkness, featuring lo-fi nihilists Hype Williams, dream-rave duo Teengirl Fantasy, lurid discothequers Gatekeeper, and Zebra Katz, whose filthy “Ima Read” track is spring’s official club anthem thus far.

Fri/27, 9pm-3am, $15-20. Public Works, 161 Erie, SF. www.publicsf.com

CLAUDE YOUNG

He lives in Tokyo now, but second generation Detroit techno man of many talents Claude Young honors his roots on the decks — mostly by slaying crowds with his signature jazzy-tech flair and insane manual dexterity (let’s just say the man can mix with his chin). A perfect complement to the jawdropper that was fellow Detroiter Jeff Mills’ set at Public Works last week, and a rare opportunity to hear Young on these shores. For $5!

Sun/29, 9pm, $5. Holy Cow, 1535 Folsom, SF. www.tinyurl.com/claudeyoung

GUEST OPINION: The Mirkarimi case — is this justice?

Zelda Bronstein

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April 23, 2012

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GUEST OPINION: The Mirkarimi case — is this justice?

I appreciate that everyone is doing his or her best to dialogue on the very complicated, nuanced and difficult issue of domestic violence in a context where the press and politicians are doing their best to use the issue for their own agenda and making it a very polarizing issue in the media.

I know that many of us confront this issue at work, and most encounter it in our own personal lives, so it is a very emotionally charged issue. My heart goes out to Eliana Lopez, their son Theo, and yes, Ross. As a practicing Buddhist, I find that people are often unwilling to forgive others, like Ross, because they are unwilling to forgive themselves for their own challenging impulses.

We live in an emotionally and physically violent world, and demonizing Ross only externalizes the story, externalizes our own pain, denies our own impulses. Anyone who thinks that he or she is perfect or above this seriously needs a mirror. Bringing mindfulness to that is all that we can do and hope that we can have compassion for ourselves. Truly, our inability to have compassion for him only exposes our inability to have compassion for ourselves.

Myrna Melgar, a survivor of domestic violence, wrote a very thoughtful piece for the SF Bay Guardian on restorative justice as an alternative to the criminal justice response to domestic violence, and if you get a chance, take a moment to read it.
http://www.sfbg.com/bruce/2012/03/27/guardian-op-ed-domestic-violence-latina-feminist-perspective

For me, the main question she poses is: “How did it come to be that a system that was intended to empower women has evolved into a system that disempowers them so completely?” In short, when Ross grabbed her arm, it became a media/political frenzy that destroyed Eliana’s life. Myrna posits that the increased criminalization on low-level, first offenses of domestic violence on this one immigrant woman, Eliana Lopez, meant that a long list of mostly men spent the next few months making decisions on her behalf without her input as she was treated as incompetent to make decisions.

Eliana never had a chance ever to find justice, to regain her power, and Ross never really had the opportunity to take 100 percent responsibility for his actions, which is the goal of restorative justice. For Ross to take 100 percent responsibility means not defending, not explaining, not evading. Simply taking responsibility. I haven’t seen Ross do this — but to be fair, he never had a chance.

I am a survivor of domestic violence as a child, and it has been painful to me to observe people using a family’s pain for their own political agendas and missing this opportunity to do things differently, There could have been a path where the powers that be could have acted with integrity towards this family, our city, and to all the survivors of domestic violence. Instead, the whole situation was manipulated from beginning to end.

Honestly, no “side” has been perfect. Those that are loyal to Ross seem unwilling to hear anything beyond how people are out to “get” him, and those that are against him, well, most of the resources against Ross are from a “side” that has all the social capital, resources, media, and political power at their disposal which leaves me frustrated with those who are supposedly holding him accountable.

It’s a disservice to survivors of domestic violence to be used a political pawns, and it’s a disservice to survivors of domestic violence for the media and governmental powers to be misused like this.

As it relates to Ross being sheriff, it’s clear that the system for accountability has also broken down and no one trusts what is happening in the courts. And as one observer has written, “Are we considering the public punishment that has already been heaped on both Ross and Eliana? Was Mirkarimi’s act so vile that we don’t allow him a chance to attend domestic violence treatment and redeem himself before ruining his life? I’m not defending domestic violence in any way, shape or form, but I do believe this situation has been badly politicized.”

It’s unfortunate. It leaves me with little hope that justice will be served. I have long been a proponent of restorative justice, and now more than ever in my life, I see the power of taking full responsibility for my actions, for our actions. I’m so sorry the road to healing and restoration was not taken in this case.

Shanti.

Gabriel Haaland is a survivor of domestic violence, and a queer, transfeminist man who sits on the San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee.

Party Radar, 4/20 special: Doc Martin and J-Boogie, Joey Negro, South Rakkas Crew, Fix Your Hair

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April 20, 2012

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Party Radar, 4/20 special: Doc Martin and J-Boogie, Joey Negro, South Rakkas Crew, Fix Your Hair

What’s more emotionally hair-raising than tonight’s “appearance” by DJ Pauly D at the Sound Factory? The pic accompanying this post of the scrubbed and painted Eagle Tavern that surfaced on the Internet this week — I saw it via drag queen politico Anna Conda. The Eagle closed last year — it was an actually legendary hangout for leather biker queers, and straight scruffy friends, into amazing rock music courtesy of DJ Don Bard at Sunday beer busts and a passel of live bands on Thursdays. It closed amid controversy, confusion, and stalled protest efforts, but now It does indeed look, in the words of one commenter, like, “My memories have been raped by a poorly designed condo kitchen.” (I hate rape jokes, unless they’re hilarious.)

But as another astute commenter commented, “While the physical space that was the Eagle is no longer, the people that made the atmosphere, the experience, the adventure, and the tradition are still with us. Let’s focus on the people and look for new space.” Amen. The monthly Eagle in Exile beer bust at El Rio is doing great, and although we’ve yet to achieve something weekly, I kind of think a little break for my liver on Sunday afternoons (and a chance to explore some other venues) has been a good thing. But I do miss hanging with my manly-man, non-gym queen homies, getting turned on to musical gems like this — and this pic brought on a lot of memories, as well as Crate and Barrel nightmares.

Enough of that, let’s 4/20 party! Of course you are going to the Guardian’s Stoned Soul Picnic party this afternoon-evening at El Rio, followed by a Red Hots Burlesque marijuana tribute night right? Here are some other goodies for later (and read about even more parties in this week’s Super Ego column and even more in our Herbwise column):

>> DOC MARTIN + J-BOOGIE
Cali’s most beloved rave legend DJ Doc Martin, whose sets can encompass classic house woo-woo, intricate techno, and deep funk (he’s been on fire in the past couple years especially) will join SF’s multitalented jazzy-funk producer J-Boogie’s live band Dubtronic Science at Yoshi’s Fillmore to “combine electronic dance music with live instrumentation, progressing the tradition of jazz improvisation in the Fillmore.” This sounds really cool. Below is one of J-Boogie’s smooth recent joints that’s been popping up everywhere lately. What might Doc Martin do with it?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSfWEOh6uxw

Fri/20, 10pm-1am, $15-$25. Yoshi’s Fillmore, 1330 Filmore, SF. Facebook invite here

>> FIX YOUR HAIR
Giant neon queer fun with scene favorites DJs Jenna Riot and Andre, performers Manicure Versace and Terry T, the Vogue and Tone Crew, and more wet and wild friends. Tease it out, grrrlz.

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

Fri/20, 9pm, $5. Elbo Room, 647 Valencia, SF. Facebook invite here

>> JOEY NEGRO
The UK dance hero, also known as Dave Lee, ruled much of the late 80s to early 00s: he was one of the first to infuse overt disco samples into house, and his productions and remixes like the below really did save my life on numerous occasions. Classic, classic, classic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rR4BJdaM-ZU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5R1XHs7239U

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdWTQ-6D4Q4

Fri/20, 9pm-3:30am, $10-15. Public Works, 161 Erie, SF. www.publicsf.com

>> SOUTH RAKKAS CREW
SOM Bar is gonna be keeee-razy on 4/20 with a ton of booming’ future-dancehall and global bass music from this Mad Decent crew, plus incredibly diverse supporting players Kush Arora (perfect for today!), DJ Sep, Daneekah, Bootyklap, and the always slayin’ it Slayer’s Club players. Light up and get low.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUrqxf2Hq_I

Fri/20, 9pm-3am, $5 before 10:30, $10 after. SOM, 2925 16th St., SF. Facebook invite here