San Francisco Bay Guardian - Essential Bay Area News, Politics, Arts, and Culture

Ice Cream Bar's soda fountain revives the '30s jerk

admin — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 22:16:22 +0000

GUARDIAN PHOTO BY VIRGINIA MILLER

In this week's Appetite food and drink column in the paper, I relished the opportunity to return to a time of delicious handmade fountain drinks at Cole Valley's new Ice Cream Bar (albeit with some innovative contemporary flavor twists). In between sips of wild cherry phosphate, I got to talk to Russell Davis, the bartender who developed the fantastic soda fountain program, about the soda jerk revival -- and got him to share some of his sassafras secrets.

SFBG Why is Ice Cream Bar different from other soda fountain revival spots in the US?

Russell Davis There are a few spots in the country supporting the "revival" of the soda fountain and its lost drinks, but none take it to the extent and level that we do at Ice Cream Bar. From top to bottom, our menu is not just based on using quality ingredients and refined processes, but also on its inherent historical value. Our syrups are all fresh, cold agitated and our ice is all hand cut. Even our floats are built to the same specifications as they would have made them in 1894 Chicago. We are not playing around.

SFBG What connection do you see between classic and creative cocktails, the world you come from, and old fashioned soda fountain drinks?

RD Many bartenders who didn't flee the country during Prohibition to practice their craft became soda jerks. There was a beautiful way of mixing that was refined during this period. Also, the techniques that we apply to soda fountain drinks can, and I believe will, be used in the crafting of a refined cocktail. What I've noticed as the biggest difference between mixology and soda jerking is that whereas bartenders focus on using fresh fruits and other seasonal ingredients, soda jerks try to capture flavors (in a tincture or extract)....

SFBG Tell me about the sassafras root beer featured at ice Cream Bar. How is this different from other homemade root beers?

RD First, it's made using fresh sassafras and a house built sassafras extract, something that you do not find in mass-produced root beer because, by USDA standards, it is illegal due to its slightly carcinogenic properties. But, there is nothing to be afraid of: it's about as dangerous as cinnamon or nutmeg. Most people use wintergreen, spearmint, and licorice or anise to replicate that sassafras flavor that was in the original old school recipes of root beer, but nothing compares to the flavor of the true stuff. Next, I use black and jasmine tea as a base combined with a variety of other herbs, then cold brew it with ground marshmallow root to create a thick creamy texture and give it head. Lastly, I add a little bit of St John's Wort in so, hopefully, it will put you in a good mood as well.

SFBG Given more than 75 tincture options and house-made extracts, what crazy concoction would you order if you wanted something unusual?

RD [Laughs] You'll just have to wait and see when the next menu comes out!

Subscribe to Virgina's twice-monthly newsletter, The Perfect Spot, www.theperfectspotsf.com

Snap Sounds: Young Magic

emily — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 19:26:31 +0000

YOUNG MAGIC
MELT
(CARPARK)

Hearing a band being described as "tribal electronic" gives me a headache, but Young Magic actually pulls it off on its debut full-length, Melt. This New York-via-Australia trio works irregular drum machine beats, swirling synths, and haunting vocals into dark, psychedelic pop songs. The sluggish, heavily reverbed "Night In The Ocean" is sensual and explosive. With its fluttering synths and repeated "I found love with you" vocals, "Jam Karet" is catchy and almost chant-like. "The Dancer" opens with a few creepy music box notes, and features what sounds like a shrieking tropical bird.

There are a lot of playful juxtapositions of ambient nature sounds and electronic elements on Melt, creating a feeling of these tracks being played on a MPC in some distant, secluded cave. Supposedly, the album was recorded all over the world, in Germany, Iceland, and Australia. These songs sound vaguely exotic and, as the band's name suggests, snugly rooted in the occult.

The video for "Night in the Ocean" is equally sexy:

Kicky kitty

admin — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 19:05:38 +0000

Storming the field -- and tasting the rainbow at Haltun

le.chicken.farmer@gmail.com

CHEAP EATS There was a soccer game on TV. There was a cat on the pitch. It was running around, stopping, staring, licking, looking not-at-all confused and very much in every way like a cat. Except that millions of people were watching it, tens of thousands of them right there: laughing, clapping, and carrying on.

And who were all these sweaty men in striped shirts and high socks?

None of the players tried to help with the corralling of the cat. They appreciated the chance to catch their breath, I guess, while stadium officials and trained cat-corralling professionals did their bit. Or tried to. Let the record show: in its own sweet time, the cat trotted off the field the same way it had trotted on: of its own volition. And play resumed.

The stadium was not in our country. The television was. It was in my new favorite restaurant, Haltun, which is on 21st and Treat, just around the corner from the Mission Rec Center, where Hedgehog and me play our racquetball.

I love cats. I love soccer. I am a drooling idiot in the glow of any television set no matter what's on, no matter how far away. Thus, I found it hard to undividedly pay attention to my dining companions, but did manage to catch a conversation between Coach and Hedgehog in which it was posited (by Coach) that I was the least queer person in the world (because I move in mostly-straight circles) and counter-posited (by Hedgehog) that I was the most queer person in the world (because I move in straight circles, and queer ones, and have slept with every kind of person there is including both flavors of trans ones, including gay men and now straight ones, and straight women and now gay ones).

"Bisexual isn't less queer than homosexual," argued my homosexual girlfriend. "It's arguably queerer."

"Yeah, but declaring yourself bisexual plays into the binary. What about genderqueers?"

"Oh, I've slept with them too," I interjected, without looking away from the TV because someone (a human being, not a cat) was making a beautiful run. And: "Goaaaaalllll!!!!"

Here's my rant: You can't even watch TV with just an antenna anymore! TV antennas are exactly as obsolete as black-and-white. But did you know that every program used to broadcast separate signals for black-and-white and color TVs?

As I understand it.

They had to do a color "Get Smart" and a black-and-white "Get Smart," and sling them both out over the treetops, I guess, or twist them both through one cable at the same exact time — and that all ended just two, three years ago, so I could as easily have said "Cheers," or "Friends," or, I don't know, "Arrested Development." By the way.

Probably I have this wrong.

But there are seven colors in a rainbow flag. My skirt has more colors than that! And, though there are a gazillion shades of gray, there is also black, and there is white. No doubt, gender — even genitalia — is a spectrum. Yet: There would appear to be penises. And vaginas! And, as hormonally altered trans people (not-always-willing poster children for in-betweenitude) can attest without even opening our mouths, testosterone and estrogen are two different things.

If you can, without saying a word, both refute and support the exact same argument ... I'm not saying it's queerer or less queer. The word I would use is bacon. It's bacon.

Now, cochinita pibil is pork — just pork! — in a greasy red broth, with a flap of banana leaf hanging over it. What the hell am I supposed to do with that? Well, it came with tortillas, which the server took great care to point out were "hand made" — and I'm sure they were, but they didn't taste very special.

Hedgehog had something with turkey meat and a disk of pork meatloaf afloat, with an egg, in a nice broth. Simple, and exotic. At the same time!

Coach had a sampler plate of all things vegetarian. Come to think of it, her meal did have the most variety and color to it, so ...

There's that.

HALTUN

Daily 10 a.m.-10 p.m.

2948 21st St., SF.

(415) 643-6411

MC/V

Beer & Wine

Compressing the press

admin — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 15:03:32 +0000

What would a Bay Citizen merger with Center for Investigative Reporting mean for local journalism?

Journalism in the Bay Area has been in decline for many years, with corporate consolidations, shrinking newsrooms, declining print readership, and struggles with how to pay full-time reporters when content is offered free-of-charge on the Internet. And with its waning institutional strength, the Fourth Estate has lost some of its ability to watchdog the powerful, creating a dangerous situation in a country founded on the belief that a free press is an essential safeguard of liberty and fairness.

One countervailing trend during this time was the creation of robust nonprofit newsrooms, with the two largest ones in the Bay Area being the Berkeley-based Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR) and the Bay Citizen in San Francisco. But now those two entities have announced that they're in merger talks — and that the combined newsrooms would be led by Phil Bronstein, who presided over the decline of San Francisco's two major daily newspapers.

Whether this merger bodes well or ill for a journalistic resurgence remains unclear. Both entities have their strengths and flaws, and both of their boards are in the middle of a 30-day review period to determine whether the merger makes sense and what the combined operations would look like.

As the exclusive Bay Area content provider for The New York Times, Bay Citizen made a big splash when it was launched with $5 million in seed money from billionaire financier Warren Hellman in late 2009. As Hellman (who died in December) told me at the time, he was seeking to create an independent, local, public interest alternative to the San Francisco Chronicle, which was being gutted by its New York-based owners, Hearst Corp., and even threatened with closure if its unions hindered the downsizing.

Many were skeptical that a newsroom funded and overseen by Hellman and other uber-wealthy San Franciscans would deliver the kind of public interest journalism that the city needed, but under the leadership of veteran Editor Jonathan Weber, it produced many strong stories, starting on launch day with an investigation of how the richest home owners in the city avoid paying property taxes the city once relied on. And last year, Bay Citizen broke some important stories and created valuable databases on campaign contributions and danger spots for bicyclists, for which it recently won a Society of Professional Journalists award for computer-assisted reporting.

Acting CEO Brian Kelley told us the Bay Citizen has succeeded in creating a strong "three-legged stool" balancing solid journalism, a sustainable business model, and technological innovation. After raising about $17 million in three years, ranging from small donations to the $6 million Hellman contributed, "we're in a very healthy state from a financial standpoint."

But sources say the operation has had some tough internal divisions, some of it propagated by an out-of-touch board and an overpaid CEO, Lisa Frazier, who took a reported $457,000 salary to run an operation that she had served as Hellman's consultant in launching. They say Frazier clashed with Weber and the reporting staff, particularly after it voted to unionize last year, and then with Weber's successor, Steve Fainaru. Both Weber and Fainaru resigned in the last month, creating a leadership vacuum that was one of the factors that triggered the merger talks.

Meanwhile, CIR has experienced the most dynamic growth period in its 30-year history since 2008, when veteran editor Robert Rosenthal took over as executive director after leaving the Chronicle, where he served directly under Bronstein, who also later left the Chronicle and now serves as president of CIR's board.

CIR has traditionally had a small staff working on a shoestring budget to produce a handful of big investigative journalism projects per year, including award-winning broadcast segments for "Frontline" and "60 Minutes." But Rosenthal focused on securing millions of dollars in foundation funding and creating collaborations with media outlets around the state (such as KQED), launching California Watch to beef up coverage of statewide issues, as he describes in his 24-page essay "Reinventing Journalism: An unexpected journey from journalist to publisher" (www.californiawatch.org/project/reinventing-journalism).

"I was deeply frustrated by a lack of vision, ambition, and passion on the business side that was throttling creativity and undermining the crucial role that journalism, and especially investigative reporting, play in our democracy," Rosenthal wrote in the report that was requested by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, one of three foundations that provided more than $1.2 million each to launch California Watch (the others are Irvine and Hewlett foundations).

The Guardian has long raised questions about the trend of foundations increasingly stepping in to fill journalism's funding voids, arguing that it can compromise journalistic independence and allow wealthy interests to determine what issues get investigative scrutiny (see "Buying the news: How private foundations are quietly underwriting — and shaping — local news coverage of major issues," 10/8/97).

But in an era when most California newspapers are clinging to life, Rosenthal had used the funding to augment CIR's investigative reporting staff and get impactful, award-winning stories to run simultaneously in outlets around the state, challenging old journalistic norms about competition and exclusivity.

Rosenthal admits the model has its shortcomings, including the unreliability and often-narrow focus of foundation funding and how CIR's successes have done little to backfill the loss of local beat reporting (such as covering City Hall or keeping the cops and local power brokers in check), but he thinks the merger might help in those areas.

"It's exciting for us to be able to address what has been a vacuum in San Francisco for a long time," Rosenthal told us about reviving local coverage. And on the funding model, he said, "If we can do this right, it's about creating a local base of people who believe in accountability journalism to give small donations."

Bronstein told us that many of the shortcomings at his old newspapers were the result of business decisions Hearst made and general trends in the industry. But he acknowledged people's concerns about whether someone with such a long local history is the best person to turn things around: "I don't know that I'm the best person to take it over. That's something other people should determine, not me."

Both admit that the Chronicle under their tenure could have better covered the consolidation of wealth and power and other economic justice issues, long a Guardian focus and one that the Occupy movement helped highlight. "The Bay Area media could have been a lot more effective on those issues," Rosenthal said.

But Bronstein said he's committed to supporting more accountability journalism in the Bay Area, supporting the work of the Bay Citizen, and supplementing work done at papers like the Guardian: "The weeklies do a fine job of writing some in-depth stories and we need more of that, providing context."

Both said that even if the merger takes place, Bay Citizen would continue to provide local coverage under the brand and model it's developed, although the New York Times has not yet determined whether it would continue to run its content if it's not exclusive. The two newsrooms wouldn't initially be merged, although Bronstein has said that achieving savings of up to $1.9 million is one of his goals, something he'd try to accomplish without reducing journalistic content or quality.

The two entities have slightly different cultures and areas of focus, so the question now is whether they're compatible. Bay Citizen's Kelley said he thinks they are: "I personally feel they are very complimentary."

Guardian editorial: The DA and mayoral corruption

bruce — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 07:20:49 +0000

EDITORIAL The indictments of two executives of an airport shuttle company on charges of laundering campaign money are, in themselves, a rarity and something to celebrate: the district attorney of San Francisco is actually attempting to enforce the laws against political corruption. That's unusual in this city, and worthy of note.

But at this point, the entire sum total of prosecutions involving the scandal-ridden campaign of Mayor Ed Lee amounts to a pair of cases against people who made what appear to be illegal contributions. As of today, the message that's being sent is that nobody in the Lee campaign did anything wrong. And that seems a little bit curious.

Lee's late entry into the race — after he'd promised for months not to run — and his refusal to abide by the rules of public financing forced his supporters to raise a large amount of money very quickly. There were so-called independent expenditure committees collecting donations and running parallel campaigns that, by law, should have been entirely distinct from Lee and his official effort. We've always been dubious about the supposed lack of coordination.

Then there were the well-documented instances of irregularities serious enough that every other candidate in the race asked for state and federal monitors to watch the election. Several eyewitnesses told local reporters that they saw volunteers for one of the supposedly independent groups filling out absentee ballots for voters, using a special template that ensured the votes would go for Lee. Some said they saw ballots being collected at a makeshift voting booth. In a video provided by the campaign of State Sen. Leland Yee, it appears that volunteers were both filling out ballots and placing them in bags — both clear violations of law.

Gascon's announced investigations of all the allegations — but more than three months later, nothing has come of it. His office won't confirm or deny whether investigations are ongoing or whether any further indictments may be forthcoming. But at the Chinese New Year Parade, Chinatown powerbroker and Lee ally Rose Pak announced that she had heard Gascon was investigating her.

There's been plenty of time to collect evidence, and Gascon has a responsibility to let the public know, as quickly as possible, what's happened to the rest of the allegations. If everyone in the Lee campaign is really innocent, and none of the independent groups supporting the mayor did anything wrong, he should say that, and present the evidence.

It doesn't help Lee, the city, or the integrity of the voting process to have these cases drag out. Gascon needs to conclude them, expeditiously.

Rep Clock

admin — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 03:08:08 +0000

Schedules are for Wed/22-Tues/28 except where noted. Director and year are given when available. Double features are marked with a •. All times p.m. unless otherwise specified.

ARTISTS' TELEVISION ACCESS 992 Valencia, SF; www.atasite.org. $6-10. "Mad Dance," films by Nina Fonoroff, Ken Paul Rosenthal, and Lewis Klahr, Sat, 8. "Short Sharp Shock: 3rd I International Shorts," Sun, 1:30.

BAY THEATER Aquarium of the Bay, Embarcadero at Beach, SF; www.aquariumofthebay.org. $10-20. "An Evening of Sailing Films," Fri, 6.

CASTRO 429 Castro, SF; (415) 621-6120, www.castrotheatre.com. $7.50-10. "Two Sides of a Coin: Kirk Douglas:" •Paths of Glory (Kubrick, 1957), Wed, 3, 7; Ace in the Hole (Wilder, 1951), Wed, 4:45, 8:45. Melancholia (von Trier, 2011), Thurs, 2:30, 5:15, 8. Fantasia (Walt Disney Productions, 1940), Fri-Sun, 2, 5, 8.

CHRISTOPHER B. SMITH RAFAEL FILM CENTER 1118 Fourth St, San Rafael; (415) 454-1222, www.cafilm.org. $6.75-10.25. "Rafael Film Club" with guest Ruthe Stein, Thurs, 1. Chico and Rita (Trueba, 2010), call for dates and times. "2012 Oscar Nominated Short Films," narrative and documentary (separate admission), call for dates and times.

HERBST THEATRE 301 Van Ness, SF; www.sfopera.com. Free (advance registration requested at www.sfopera.com/girlmovie). The Girl of the Golden West — The Movie!, performed by the San Francisco Opera (2010), Sat-Sun, 1:30, 3:30.

JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER OF THE EAST BAY 1414 Walnut, Berk; (510) 848-0237. $6-8. Joanna (Falk, 2010), Thurs, 7:30.

MECHANICS' INSTITUTE 57 Post, SF; (415) 393-0100, rsvp@milibrary.org. $10. "CinemaLit Film Series: Hollywood Dames: Beauty and Brains:" The Barefoot Contessa (Mankiewicz, 1954), Fri, 6.

"NOISE POP FILM SERIES" Artists' Television Access, 992 Valencia, SF; 2012.noisepop.com/film. $8-10. Bob and the Monster (Bahruth, 2011), Wed, 7; Hit So Hard (Ebersole, 2011), Wed, 9; Blank City (Danhier, 2010), Thurs, 7; N.A.S.A.: The Spirit of Apollo (Garon and Spiegel, 2009), Thurs, 9. Also AMC Loews Metreon 16, Fourth St at Mission, SF. $11.50. Re: Generation Music Project (Bar-Lev, 2011), Thurs, 8. Also Roxie, 3117 16th St, SF. $10. Cure for Pain: The Mark Sandman Story (Bralver and Ferino, 2011), Fri, 7; Andrew Bird: Fever Year (Aranda, 2011), Fri, 9; Upside Down: The Creation Records Story (O'Connor, 2010), Sat, 7; Dragonslayer (Petterson, 2011), Sat, 9:15.

PACIFIC FILM ARCHIVE 2575 Bancroft, Berk; (510) 642-5249, bampfa.berkeley.edu. $5.50-9.50. "Documentary Voices:" ""Making It (Un)Real: Animated Documentary Shorts," Wed, 7. "Dizzy Heights: Silent Cinema and Life in the Air:" A Trip to Mars (Holger-Madsen, 1918), Thurs, 7; High Treason (Elvey, 1929), Fri, 7; The Mystery of the Eiffel Tower (Duvivier, 1927), Sat, 6; "Fantasies of Flight: Animation and Comedy Shorts," Sun, 2. "Howard Hawks: The Measure of Man:" Barbary Coast (1935), Fri, 8:45; His Girl Friday (1940), Tues, 7. "Austere Perfectionism: The Films of Robert Bresson:" L'argent (1983), Sat, 8:35.

ROXIE 3117 and 3125 16th St, SF; (415) 863-1087, www.roxie.com. $6.50-10. SF IndieFest, Wed-Thurs. Visit www.sfindie.com for complete schedule. Straight Outta Hunters Point 2 (Epps, 2012), Feb 24-March 1, 7, 8:45 (also Sat-Sun, 3:15, 5). "Up the Oscars!", Academy Awards viewing party, Sun, 3:45. This event, $15.

SF FILM SOCIETY CINEMA 1746 Post, SF; www.sffs.org. $10-11. Margaret (Lonergan, 2011), Wed-Thurs, 2, 5:30, 8:30. Roadie (Cuesta, 2011), Feb 24-March 1, 2:30, 5, 7, 9:15.

VORTEX ROOM 1082 Howard, SF; www.myspace.com/thevortexroom. $7 donation. "The Second Coming of the Vortex Room:" Privilege (Watkins, 1967), and The Devils (Russell, 1971), Thurs, 8.

YERBA BUENA CENTER FOR THE ARTS 701 Mission, SF; (415) 978-2787, www.ybca.org. $6-8. "Bros Before Hos: Sex in the Shadows," presented by Albert Steg, Thurs, 7:30.

Psychic Dream Astrology, Feb. 22-28

admin — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 03:01:25 +0000

Feb. 22-28

ARIES

March 21-April 19

Stop looking outside of yourself for answers, and look instead inside your own self to see the roots of your current problems. You didn't create your troubles on purpose, of course, but you've been a participant in them. Focus on changing yourself instead of others should for best results.

TAURUS

April 20-May 20

Don't try to control the direction or outcome of things, Taurus. This week invest in building things solidly instead of quickly. You need to keep moving at a pace that you can sustain, which is slow and steady, good buddy. More will be revealed to you with time, so focus only on what you know now.

GEMINI

May 21-June 21

Your relationships need you to be present and accountable to them, even when things get rough. Stay aware of how you play in the game of give and take so that you can be balanced and fair to all involved. Be sensitive to what you give and what you allow yourself to receive for best results.

CANCER

June 22-July 22

Even if you can doesn't mean that you should, Cancer. This week you must learn about the cost of doing more than you can handle, and you can learn the hard way or the easy way. Know your limits so that they don't have to limit you! Seek mindfulness and balance as you handle your business.

LEO

July 23-Aug. 22

When you overwhelm yourself with other people's energies you can quickly loose track of your own. Gather up your strength and call your boundaries, because you run the risk of shutting down for no good reason. You could use a minute to recharge alone, so take it before you need to.

VIRGO

Aug. 23-Sept. 22

Your past is a great guide when trying to navigate what is reasonable to expect from yourself in the present. Use your discretion and take your time when evaluating your options this week. Be certain that you can get behind what you're doing in the now to protect what's in front of you.

LIBRA

Sept. 23-Oct. 22

Don't let fearfulness turn you on the defensive, Libra. This week you need to nurture your insecurities into a place of security with tender loving care. Reach out for help when you need to lick your wounds clean. You are totally capable; just follow through with self-care, even when ya wanna give up.

SCORPIO

Oct. 23-Nov. 21

You need to set some limits and prioritize what needs to get handled, STAT. There is a Scorpio shaped hole in the wall in the shape of your own damn head, so instead of continuing to try to break through to the other side, why don't you change strategies? Participate differently for different results.

SAGITTARIUS

Nov. 22-Dec. 21

Things aren't totally as you want them to be and instead of lamenting that fact it's time to bet decisive about what to do next. Get pragmatic as you strive to execute changes that improve the big picture of your life, and not just your immediate problems. Pursue purposeful action.

CAPRICORN

Dec. 22-Jan. 19

It's hard to know what's bumming you out when you don't even know what's driving you anymore. You have gotten off track of what you need in pursuit of what you want. Realign with your goals and you will be that much closer to regaining balance and feeling swell again.

AQUARIUS

Jan. 20-Feb. 18

Nurture your feelings by giving them the attention and kindness they deserve, Aquarius. You need to open your heart up to whatever is going on in your world, even if it doesn't feel great. Be present with what's real for you so that you can get support where you need it and enjoy the rest.

PISCES

Feb. 19-March 20

Taking risks on the wings of your intuition is your birth right as a Pisces, so you might as well go for gold with it this week. Stay clear about your aspirations so you can tell a good opportunity from a bad one, but do dare to try something new! Actively participate in the changes of your life. *

Jessica Lanyadoo has been a Psychic Dreamer for 17 years. Check out her website at www.lovelanyadoo.com or contact her for an astrology or intuitive reading at (415) 336-8354 or dreamyastrology@gmail.com

Our Weekly Picks: February 22-27

admin — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 02:55:33 +0000

WEDNESDAY 22

Way Behind the Music

Famous rockers may have a way with riffs, but their grammar and syntax can often prove cringe-worthy. And yet, their inflated egos and turmoil-filled musings within literary efforts provide insight into worlds otherwise unknown. This, my friends, is the perfect set-up for an evening of music obsessed over-sharing. At the return of Litquake and Noise Pop's collaborative event, Way Behind the Music, a collection of esteemed local musicians and writers will read from the autobiographies of Ozzy Osbourne, Sammy Hagar, Jewel, Slash, Ted Nugent, Marianne Faithfull, Angela Bowie, Jim Hutton (boyfriend of Freddie Mercury), and Christopher Ciccone (brother of Madonna). The group on stage — which includes Penelope Houston, Carletta Sue Kay, Jennifer Maerz, and more — will extract tales of Olympic-level drug use, epic bands fights, and rock star trials and tribulations, giving the audience just a taste of that wild ride to infamy. (Emily Savage)

7 p.m., $15

Make-Out Room

3225 22nd St., SF

(415) 647-2888

www.makeoutroom.com

THURSDAY 23

Big Black Delta

Big Black Delta is the solo project of Los Angeles maestro Jonathan Bates, lead singer of lo-fi rock band Mellowdrone. Legend has it Bates launched BBD after buying a used laptop off frequent Nine Inch Nails collaborator Alessandro Cortini and using it to create electronic soundscapes. Good thing too, because BBDLP1 is a crafty compilation made up of equal parts power and panache. "Huggin & Kissin" sounds so aggressive, it's as if Depeche Mode's synths decided to take steroids and beat up little kids. On the flip side, "Dreary Moon" with Morgan Kibby (the Romanovs, M83) has all the ethereal, vocal playfulness of an Air track. Bates brings in dueling drummers Mahsa Zargaran and Amy Wood for the live show. (Kevin Lee)

With New Diplomat, Aaron Axelsen & Nako 9 p.m., $10–<\d>$12 Rickshaw Stop 155 Fell, SF (415) 861-2011 www.rickshawstop.com

FRIDAY 24

"More Light"

If you're up for a dose of reifying pessimism, check out "More Light" —a joint exhibition featuring new works by Francesco Deiana and Lafe Harley Eaves. In an effort to explore how society diverts humans from primordial joys, Deiana creates ballpoint pen drawings and images on photographic paper that juxtapose society's adulterating tendencies with natural beauty (e.g. a drawing of an impenetrable brick wall flushed with a photograph of the ocean). Eaves, who's said he views the world as "one dark joke after another," makes line and pattern narratives that delve into the occult, religion, and the psychedelic. He also focuses on illustrating human duality and the uncertainty of relationships. (Mia Sullivan)

7 p.m. opening reception, free

Park Life

220 Clement, SF

(415) 386-7275

www.parklifestore.com

Image Comic Expo

With San Francisco's WonderCon moving to Anaheim while Moscone Center South undergoes renovation, Image Comic Expo in Oakland is the primary destination for Bay Area comic book nerdery this season. Instead of focusing on Marvel and DC — the comics industry's "Big Two" — the Expo bills itself as a "celebration of creator-owned comics." Exhibitors include a number of independent publishers besides Berkeley-based Image Comics. Guests include Image luminaries Rob Liefeld, Todd McFarlane, and Robert Kirkman (The Walking Dead), plus fan favorites Jonathan Hickman (FF, Pax Romana), Joe Casey (Gødland), Brian K. Vaughan (Y: The Last Man, ABC's Lost) and Blair Butler. (Sam Stander)

Fri/24, 3-8 p.m.; Sat/25, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sun/26, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., $20–$150

Oakland Convention Center 550 10th St., Oakl.

www.imagecomicexpo.com

Dave Holland Overtone Quartet

English bassist Dave Holland came to the United States at the request of the legendary Miles Davis and became part of music lore as part of the quartet that birthed jazz fusion and its opus, Bitches Brew (Columbia). Holland has since worked with a number of jazz masters including Herbie Hancock, Stan Getz, Thelonious Monk and Chick Corea. When Holland was coming into his own as a musician in the 1970s, the rest of the Overtone Quartet were just entering into the world. But saxophonist Chris Potter (a frequent Holland collaborator), drummer Eric Harland (a SFJazz Collective performer) and pianist Jason Moran (a MacArthur Fellowship "Genius") have established themselves as potent forces in their own right. (Lee)

8 p.m., $25–$65

Palace of Fine Arts

3301 Lyon, SF

(415) 567-6642

www.sfjazz.org

"Oracle and Enigma"

For a while, thanks to a series of festivals organized by producer Brechin Flournoy, San Francisco was the place in the country to see Butoh. The excitement and puzzlement surrounding the art has died down as it has simply become another form of international dance. So it should be good to again see one of its original practitioners, the Kyoto-born Katsura Kan who in 1997 moved to Thailand and has since become one of those peripatetic choreographer-dancers who takes inspiration from wherever he alights. As part of his winter residency at CounterPULSE, Kan and Shoshana Green will present "Oracle and Enigma" which they describe as "a journey towards the celestial horizon". Sounds like Butoh . (Rita Felciano)

Fri/24-Sat/25, 8 p.m., $18–<\d>$20

CounterPULSE

1310 Mission, SF

(800) 350-8850

www.counterpulse.org

SATURDAY 25

Monster Jam

A stampede of horsepower comes thundering into the Bay Area today with the Monster Jam series of monster truck races and events, featuring 16 ground-shaking custom creations such as the long-running fan favorite "Grave Digger," which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. Fans can get up close and personal with the burly behemoths during the afternoon "Party In The Pits" before the night's main events, where the 10,000 pound muscle machines will fly through the air at distances up to 130 feet, reach heights up to 35 feet in the air, and of course, gloriously smash a series a puny regular cars. (Sean McCourt)

3-6 p.m. pit party, 7 p.m. main event; $12.50–<\d>$32, $125 for total access pass

O.co Coliseum

7000 Coliseum Way, Oakl.

(800) 745-3000

www.monsterjam.com

"Cum and Glitter: A Live Sex Show"

Perhaps you're one of those people — that yes, do exist — left nonplussed by your standard strip club experience. Let's face it, fried chicken buffets and atrocious choreography amplified by glitter platform heels don't do it for us all. For you, then, queer pornographer Maxine Holloway's new monthly sex show. Holloway, a vintage-loving local coquette, has bolstered her sex industry chops heading Madison Young's women's only POV website and used her connections to line up a crack cast for Cum and Glitter's opening night: Kitty Stryker, Courtney Trouble, and Annika Amour among other superlative sex workers. Live cello music. Specialty cocktails named after the performers. Class. (Caitlin Donohue)

9 p.m., $30–$55 individuals, $50 couples

RSVP for location

www.cumandglitter.com

SUNDAY 26

"Up the Oscars!"

For a particular breed of movie fiend, the Academy Awards are more like a sporting event than a glamorous celebration of Hollywood. You know the type: catcalling the screen like they're giving a blind ref the business (2006 flashback: "Crash? Are you fucking kidding me? Brokeback Mountain forever!") This year's ceremony will no doubt evoke its own array of passionate responses to awkward presenters and awkward gowns, omissions from the Tribute to the Dead, faux-surprised winners who unfurl pre-scripted lists of people to thank ("My agent! My masseuse!"), etc. The Roxie's annual "Up the Oscars!" bash is aimed squarely at those who enjoy cheering and jeering the gold man in equal measure. D.I.Y. drinking games optional. (Cheryl Eddy)

3:45 p.m., $15

Roxie Theater

3117 16th St., SF

www.roxie.com

Stardust Sunday

Cover band? Try cover cult. The First Church of the Sacred Silversexual takes all the Christ allusions David Bowie made with The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars and The Man Who Fell to Earth, exorcising one little bit — Jesus. The resulting mass is a blasphemous celebration of the 65-year-young rock God's music. With as many members as Bowie has personas, all fully embracing their deity's love of costume, the Church's service has the campy theatricality of The Rocky Horror Picture Show and all the sparkle of a Ken Russell movie. (Ryan Prendiville)

With Space Cowboys DJs Mancub and 8Ball

8 p.m., $5

Public Works

161 Erie, SF

(415) 932-0955

www.publicsf.com

The Dodos

Listening to the Dodos kind of makes you feel like you're part of a drum march that's heading down a sunny country road via Brooklyn. Logan Kroeber, who's been known to play a drum kit sans bass and to tape a tambourine to his foot, creates catchy rhythms that compel you to dance frenetically (really, it's unavoidable), while lead vocalist Meric Long finger-picks an acoustic guitar and traverses the octaves with deep, introspective lyrics you can't help Googling. This San Francisco-based indie folk duo most recently released fourth album, No Color (Frenchkiss) last year, and is closing out Noise Pop this year with what will likely be a memorable performance. (Sullivan)

With Au, Cannons and Clouds, Here Here

7 p.m., $20

Great American Music Hall

859 O'Farrell, SF

(415) 885-0750

www.gamh.com

MONDAY 27

Leslie and the LY's

Long known for her 1980s-esque minimal dance-pop numbers encased in stretchy gold lame (referred to in "Gold Pants"), and even longer for her extensive bejeweled sweater collection (ahem, "Gem Sweater"), Leslie of Leslie and the LY's boasts a newish additional talent to add to the mix: wedding officiant. The Ames, IA-based confetti-puke performance artist began officiating weddings when Iowa voted yes on gay marriage in 2009. The weddings she oversees are said to twinkle with her typical megawatt star quality — there's even a documentary about one affair called Married in Spandex — and Mother Gem performs a personalized dance number for each lucky couple. While she may not be hosting any impromptu weddings during her appearance at Rickshaw this week, the world just feels more glamorous knowing that she could (for this, we listen to "Power Cuddle"). (Savage)

With Pennyhawk, Ramona & the Swimsuits

8 p.m., $13

Rickshaw Stop

(415) 861-2011

155 Fell, SF

www.rickshawstop.com

TUESDAY 28

Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks

Following 2010's high profile Pavement reunion tour — which gave fans of the '90s alternative rockers a chance to see the group live for the first or last time (as well as reportedly giving some of the members funds to pay off some financial debts) — leader Stephen Malkmus returned to the studio with his band the Jicks to record an album with Beck on board as producer. The result, Mirror Traffic, carries over the tour's energy, and is the closest thing to a Terror Twilight follow-up to date. And as showcased by the Jicks's all-too-short performance at the last Treasure Island Music Festival, Malkmus remains the slacker king of the nonchalant guitar solo. (Prendiville)

With Nurses

8 p.m., $20

Slim's

333 11th St., SF

(415) 255-0333

www.slimspresents.com

The Guardian listings deadline is two weeks prior to our Wednesday publication date. To submit an item for consideration, please include the title of the event, a brief description of the event, date and time, venue name, street address (listing cross streets only isn't sufficient), city, telephone number readers can call for more information, telephone number for media, and admission costs. Send information to Listings, the Guardian 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.

Music Listings

admin — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 02:50:57 +0000

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

WEDNESDAY 22

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

Autumn Electric, Johnny Unicorn Coffee Adventures, 1331 Columbus, SF; myspace.com/coffeeadventures. 11am-1pm, free.

Body Swap, Meridians, Metacomet Hemlock Tavern. 9pm, $6.

Cursive, Ume, Virgin Islands, Taxes Great American Music Hall. 8pm, $19-$21.

Fresh & Onlys, Disappears, Talkdemonic, Churches Bottom of the Hill. 8pm, $12.

Matt Kearney, Robert Francis Warfield. 8pm, $27.

Papercuts, Sonny and the Sunsets, Princeton, Tortured Genies Independent. 8pm, $15.

JC Rockit vs. Nathan Temby Johnny Foley's Dueling Pianos. 9:30pm.

Terry Savastano Johnny Foley's. 9pm, free.

Soft Swells Bender's, 806 South Van Ness, SF; www.bendersbar.com. 5pm, free.

Tomorrows Bad Seeds, Pacific Dub Brick and Mortar Music Hall. 9pm, $10-$13.

Victor & Penny Madrone Art Bar.7-9pm.

Mitch Woods Biscuits and Blues. 8 and 10pm, $15.

Young Prisms, Melted Toys, Tambo Rays Cafe Du Nord. 8pm, $12-$14.

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

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

Chris Amberger Trio & Jazz Jam Yoshi's Lounge. 6:30-11pm, free.

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

Dink Dink Dink, Gaucho, Michael Abraham Amnesia. 7pm, free.

Greg Gotelli Quartet Medjool, 2522 Mission, SF; www.medjoolsf.com. 6-9pm, free.

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

Keith Sweat Yoshi's. 8 and 10pm, $45.

Zapp Band & Shirley Murdock Rrazz Room. 8pm, $35.

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.

Club Shutter Elbo Room. 10pm, $5. With DJs Nako, Omar, and Justin.

Full-Step! Tunnel Top. 10pm, free. Hip-hop, reggae, soul, and funk with DJs Kung Fu Chris and Bizzi Wonda.

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.

Vespa Beat Bliss Bar, 4026 24th St., SF; www.blissbarsf.com. 9pm, free. MSK.fm spins raregrooves, electroswing, and boogie.

THURSDAY 23

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

Big Black Delta, New Diplomat, popscene DJs Rickshaw Stop. 9pm, $10-$12.

Budos Band, Allah-Las, Pickwick, Big Tree Independent. 8pm, $20.

Dirty Ghosts, Bare Wires, Chapter 24 Brick and Mortar Music Hall. 9pm, $10-$12.

Dirty Names, Emma Hill Amnesia. 9pm, $7-$10.

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

Mac McCaughan, Sun Foot Swedish American Hall. pm, $15-$17.

Moonlight Orchestra, Talky Tina Thee Parkside. 9pm, $7.

Motet: Funk is Dead Yoshi's. 11pm, $20.

Myonics, Ape Machine, Tiger Honey Pot Milk Bar. 9pm, $6.

Red Baraat Slim's. 8pm, $13-$16.

Soft Pack, Shannon & the Clams, Fidlar Cafe Du Nord. 8pm, $12-$14.

Nathan Temby vs. Rags Tuttle Johnny Foley's Dueling Pianos. 9:30pm.

Thao, John Vanderslice, Garrett Pierce Bottom of the Hill. 9pm, $20.

Justin Vivian Bond, Whoa Nellies Great American Music Hall. 9pm, $26.

Junior Watson Biscuits and Blues. 8 and 10pm, $18.

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

Blues organ party Royal Cuckoo, 3202 Mission, SF; www.royalcuckoo.com. 7:30pm, free.

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

Tom Lander & Friends Medjool, 2522 Mission, SF; www.medjoolsf.com. 6-9pm, free.

Savanna Jazz Jam with Nora Maki Savanna Jazz. 7:30pm, $5.

Sophisticated Ladies Yoshi's Lounge. 6:30-11pm, free.

Zapp Band & Shirley Murdock Rrazz Room. 8pm, $35.

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. 9:30pm, $5. With DJ/host Snor Oz spinning Afrobeat, Tropicália, electro, samba, and funk, plus DJ Babbidge and Afrolicious Drums.

BASE: EDX (On the Edge) Vessel, 85 Campton, SF; www.vesselsf.com. 10pm, $10. House/techno.

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.

KUSF In Exile Hemlock Tavern. 6-9pm. With DJ Carolyn.

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 24

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

Baxtalo Drum Amnesia. 9pm, $7-$10.

Boombox Temple SF, 540 Howard, SF; www.templesf.com. 8pm, $5-$20.

Bootcuts, Heel Draggers, Slow Motion Cowboys, Creak Great American Music Hall. 8pm, $15.

Bronze, Dangerous Boys El Rio. 9:30pm, free.

Concrete Blonde, Jim Bianco Bimbo's. 9pm, $30.

Matthew Dear Public Works. 8pm, $18.

Death Angel, Hammers of Misfortune, Anvil Chorus Midnight Chaser Slim's. 9pm, $21-$23.

G. Love & Special Sauce, Scott H. Biram Fillmore. 9pm, $25.

Growlers San Francisco State University, 1650 Holloway, SF, C-134; facebook.com/thedepotsf. 7:30pm, free.

Hairy Apes BMX Connecticut Yankee, 100 Connecticut, SF; www.theyankee.com. 10pm, $15.

Paula Harris Biscuits and Blues. 8 and 10pm, $20.

Jolie Holland, Will Sprott of the Mumlers, Dreams, Emily Jane White Cafe Du Nord. 8pm, $16.50-$18.50.

Malone Brothers, Buxter Hoot'n, Cryin' Shame Brick and Mortar Music Hall. 9pm, $15-$20.

Jason Marion, Randy, Nathan Temby Johnny Foley's Dueling Pianos. 9pm.

Bob Mould, Fake Your Own Death, Distortion+ Bottom of the Hill. 8pm, $20.

Jonas Reinhart, Magic Touch, Three Leafs Hemlock Tavern. 9:30pm, $8.

Vonda Shepard Rrazz Room. 8pm, $45.

Unknown Mortal Orchestra Clift Hotel, 495 Geary, SF. 9pm, free with RSVP to morganshotelgroup.com/rsvp/clift-sessions.html.

Veronica Falls, Bleached, Brilliant Colors, Lilac Rickshaw Stop. 8pm, $12-$14.

X-Static Johnny Foley's. 9pm, free.

Z-man & Fist Fam, Grand Invincible, Rec-League, Foul Mouth Jerk Elbo Room. 9pm, $10.

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.

Dave Holland Overtone Quartet Palace of Fine Arts Theatre, 3301 Lyon, SF; www.sfjazz.com. 8Pm, $25-$65.

Hubert Laws Yoshi's. 8pm, $30; 10pm, $26.

Carol Luckenbach Savanna Jazz. 7:30pm, $8.

Ways & Means Committee Yoshi's Lounge. 6:30-11pm, free.

FOLK/WORLD/COUNTRY

Zej & Calen, Lea Grant Dolores Park Cafe, 501 Dolores, SF; www.doloresparkcafe.com . 7:30pm, free.

DANCE CLUBS

Blow Up: Plastic Plates DNA Lounge.10pm, $20. With live performances by Plastic Plates, Eric Sharp, Tropicool, and DJ Jeffrey Paradise.

DJ Spinna & DJ Shortkut Mighty.10pm.

Juno What? Boom Boom Room. 8pm, $15. Soul, disco, electro, and funk with DJ K-Os.

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

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

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

SATURDAY 25

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

ALO, Nicki Bluhm & the Gramblers Fillmore. 9pm, $22.50.

Archers of Loaf, Big Sleep, Hospitality, Built Like Alaska Great American Music Hall. 7:30pm, $26.

Bats in the Belfree, Hate Crime Thee Parkside. 3pm, free.

Big Freedia Public Works. 9pm, $16.

Brass Menazeri Amnesia. 9pm, $7-$10.

Christie Front Drive, Jonah Matranga, Young Mammals, Great Apes Cafe Du Nord. 8pm, $15.

DJ Audio1 SOM.11pm, $10.

Green & Wood, Hazzard's Cure, Wild Hunt Hemlock Tavern. 9:30pm, $7.

Imperial Teen Amoeba Music, 1855 Haight, SF; www.amoeba.com. 2pm, free.

Overwhelming Colorfast, Oranger, Slouching Stars, Peppercorn Bottom of the Hill. 9pm, $12.

Randy, Nathan Temby, Jason Marion Johnny Foley's Dueling Pianos. 9pm.

Vonda Shepard Rrazz Room. 8pm, $45.

Sic Alps, Asabov Sobelo, No Boss, Patrick Mullins Brick and Mortar Music Hall. 9pm, $10-$12.

Earl Thomas & the Blues Ambassadors Biscuits and Blues. 8 and 10pm, $22.

Ticket to Ride Johnny Foley's. 9pm, free.

Laura Veirs & the Hall of Flames, Foxtails Brigade, Carlos Forster, Tyler Lyle Swedish American Hall. 8pm, $16.

Laura Veirs & the Tumble Bees Swedish American Music Hall. 3pm, $18.

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

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

"Back to the Roots of Jazz" Savanna Jazz. 7;30pm, $15. With special guests and African dancers.

John Cavellini with Tom Shaw Trio Martuni's, 4 Valencia, SF; (415) 241-0205. 7pm, $7.

Bill Kwan Yoshi's Lounge. 6:30-11pm, free.

FOLK/WORLD/COUNTRY

Saturday Night Salsa Ramp, 855 Francois, SF; www.facebook.com/therampsf. 5:30pm, $10.

DANCE CLUBS

Blowoff: Hosted and DJ'd by Bob Mould Slim's. 10pm, $15.

Bootie SF: Katy Perry Night DNA Lounge. 9pm, $10-$15. With resident DJs Adrian and Mysterious D, Smash-Up Derby, Dada, Cookie Dough, and more.

Debaser Elbo Room. 10pm, $5. Four-year anniversary party with DJs Jamie Jams, Emdee, and Stab Master Arson spinning classic 90s alternative and hip-hop.

Frankie Knuckles Mighty. 10pm.

Go Bang! Deco Lounge, 510 Larkin, SF; www.decosf.com. 9pm, $5, free before 10pm. Atomic dancfloor disco action with Michael Serafini, Allen Craig, Steve Fabus, and Sergio Fedasz.

Juno What? Boom Boom Room. 8pm, $15. Soul, disco, electro, and funk with DJ K-Os.

Night Moves Monarch, 101 Sixth, SF; www.monarchsf.com. 9pm, $5-$10. With residents J Boogie and DJ Theory, and guests Jimmy Edgar and B. Bravo.

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.

Rocket Rickshaw Stop. 10pm, $7. Deep space dancing with the Rocket Collective resident DJs Trevor Sigler, David Sternesky, and more.

SUNDAY 26

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

Antechamber, Deep Dimension, Buttons Brick and Mortar Music Hall. 9pm, $5-$8.

Dodos, AU, Cannons & Clouds, Here Here Great American Music Hall. 9pm, $20.

Drone Church, Jozef van Wissem, Chuck Johnson, Diego Gonzalez Episcopal Church of St. John the Evangelist, 1661 15th SF, SF; www.saintjohnsf.org. 8pm.

Carletta Sue Kay, Helene Renaut, Karina Denike Hemlock Tavern. 6pm, $5.

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

Dima and Grant Levin Bliss Bar, 4026 24 St., SF; www.blissbar.com. 4:30-7:30pm, $10.

"Harriet Tubman and Jazz" Bayview Opera House Ruth Williams Memorial Theater, 4705 Third, SF; www.urbanmusicpresents.com. 3pm, $20. With Marcus Shelby Quartet featuring Faye Carol.

Justin & Matthias Yoshi's Lounge. 6:30-11pm, free.

John Pizzarelli Fairmont, Venetian Room, 950 Mason, SF; www.bayareacabaret.org. 2:30 and 5pm, $45.

Savanna Jazz Jam Savanna Jazz. 7pm, $5.

Leah Tyrese Yoshi's. 7pm, $20.

FOLK/WORLD/COUNTRY

Sunday Night Salsa Ramp, 855 Francois, SF; www.facebook.com/therampsf. 5:30pm, $10.

KC Turner St Luke's Episcopal Church, 1790 Van Ness, SF; (415) 673-7327. 5pm, free.

Twang Sundays Thee Parkside. 4pm, free. With Muddy Roses, Wounded Men.

DANCE CLUBS

Batcave Club 93, 93 9th St, SF 10pm, $5. Death rock, goth, and post-punk with Steeplerot, XChrisT, Necromos and c_death.

Dub Mission Elbo Room. 9pm, $6. Dub, dubstep, roots, and dancehall with DJ Sep, Maneesh the Twister, and Vinnie Esparza.

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

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

MONDAY 27

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

Elephant Listening Project Elbo Room. 9pm, free.

Fatlip, Cee Knowledge Brick and Mortar Music Hall. 9pm, $15-$20.

Jealous Sound, Books On Tape, Please Do Not Fight Bottom of the Hill. 9pm, $12.

Leslie & the Ly's, Pennyhawk, Ramona & the Swimsuits Rickshaw Stop. 8pm, $13.

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

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

Claudia Quintet feat. Theo Bleckmann Yoshi's. 8pm, $20.

Hermann Lara and His Jazz Nexus Yoshi's Lounge. 6:30-11pm, free.

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.

Sausage Party Rosamunde Sausage Grill, 2832 Mission, SF; (415) 970-9015. 6:30-9:30pm, free. DJ Dandy Dixon spins vintage rock, R&B, global beats, funk, and disco at this happy hour sausage-shack gig.

TUESDAY 28

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

Alvon Biscuits and Blues. 8 and 10pm, $15.

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

Neurovoltaic Orchestra Boom Boom Room. 8pm, $5. Soul, disco, electro, and funk with DJ K-Os.

Two Cow Garage Hemlock Tavern. 9pm, $6.

Jenny Owen Youngs, Little Hurricane, Terese Taylor Bottom of the Hill. 9pm, $12.

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

Nellie McKay: I Want to Live! Rrazz Room. 8Pm, $30.

Rastrelli Quartet Yoshi's. 8pm, $18.

Raquel Yoshi's Lounge. 6:30-11pm, free.

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.

Film Listings

admin — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 02:48:22 +0000

Film listings are edited by Cheryl Eddy. Reviewers are Kimberly Chun, Max Goldberg, Dennis Harvey, Lynn Rapoport, and Matt Sussman. For rep house showtimes, see Rep Clock. Due to the Presidents' Day holiday, theater information was incomplete at presstime.

INDIEFEST

The 14th San Francisco Independent Film Festival runs through Thurs/23 at the Roxie Theater, 3117 16th St, SF. For tickets (most films $11) and schedule info, visit www.sfindie.com.

OPENING

Act of Valor Action movie starring real-life, active-duty Navy SEALs. (1:45)

*Bullhead Michael R. Roskam's Belgian import scored an unexpected Best Foreign Language Film Oscar nomination this year. Unexpected, because it's daring, disturbing, and a lot of other things that Foreign Language Film nominees usually are not (heartwarming, yes — gasp-inducing, no). The five-second description of this film, which is about a cattle farmer who injects both his livestock and his own body with illegal hormones, doesn't do it justice. Who knew there was such a thing, for instance, as a "hormone mafia underworld"? While some of Bullhead's nuances, which occasionally pivot on culture-clash moments specific to its Belgium setting, will inevitably be lost on American viewers, the most important parts of the movie come through loud and clear, and you won't soon forget them. (2:04) (Eddy)

*Dizzy Heights: Silent Cinema and Life in the Air The film medium's first, sound free decades coincided with a sense of hurtling modernization throughout first-world society like nothing before or since — centuries of history had scarcely prepared for the sudden reality of such concepts as "world war" or "skyscraper." Aviation in particular was such a fascinating wonder its potential seemed limitless, though commercial air travel was as yet many years and dollars from the average citizen's reach. Curated by Patrick Ellis, this Pacific Film Archive series brings together some of the era's most fanciful depictions of progress and peril in the skies. It includes 1918's goofy, ambitious Danish A Trip to Mars, whose intrepid (if in-fighting) Earthlings land to promptly horrify the Red Planet of Peace's entire vegetarian populace by shooting fowl and throwing a grenade. The influence of Isadora Duncan weighs heavily on the ensuing lessons learned, as wreath-bearing, toga clad peaceniks ("Come with me and look at the dance of chastity") exhort our heroes to return home and preach pacifism — a very timely message, then. The 1929 British "disaster flick" High Treason more realistically depicts a very Jazz Age near future pushed away from the Charleston towards more catastrophic military conflict by unscrupulous war profiteers. Julien Duvivier, a director at the beginning of a long, sometimes pedestrian career in the French cinematic mainstream, was young and feckless when he made 1927's Mystery of the Eiffel Tower, a long, antic conspiracy thriller that directly inspired the Tintin comics. This long weekend of rarities also includes a program of shorts encompassing animation from Disney and McKay, trick photography and Mack Sennett slapstick. Pacific Film Archive. (Harvey)

Gone A woman (Amanda Seyfried) who escaped a serial killer fears he has retaliated by kidnapping her sister. (1:34)

*In Darkness See "The War at Home." (2:25)

*Khodorkovsky Russia today is a so-called "managed democracy." Flawed a system as democracy is, though, it's something you either live in or don't — put a qualifier on the term, and it becomes something else. This particular something else is a nation where a popular, populist leader like Vladimir Putin can maintain an economically successful (at least for many) status quo and his own power by squelching any political opposition via decidedly un-democratic means. One of the most conspicuous such cases in recent years has been the imprisonment of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, former owner of oil company Yukos and the most fabulously wealthy "oligarch" to emerge from Russia's post-Soviet move toward capitalist privatization. Though initially considered as corrupt as any in that privileged class, he realized after a fashion that transparency actually encouraged investment, becoming a noted respecter of oft-abused minority shareholder rights and a sort of poster child for ethical business practice. This transition coincided with increased friction between him and Putin, who had given Khodorkovsky and others like him relatively free rein so long as they "stayed out of politics." On the day before the latter was arrested in 2003 — returning against all advice from an overseas trip where he'd been expected to become another wealthy "political emigrant" — he continued to align himself with the reformist anti-Putin opposition by telling a TV host "As long as our country isn't fully a civil society, no one is safe from the people with handcuffs." Conviction on questionable charges, Stalinesque detention in remote Siberia, and still-ongoing excuses for sentence elongation have ensued. The subject of Cyril Tuschi's documentary (finally interviewed directly at the end) is certainly not innocent of arrogance, incaution, and possibly more prosecutable crimes; but he has also clearly chosen the hardest path against an intractable, grudge-keeping foe on moral principal. How many billionaires would even consider losing their freedom, comfort, and wealth for such an abstract? Khodorkovsky the movie has its character flaws, too — but you can forgive a filmmaker some of those when he's working on a subject, and from a perspective, that has gotten more than a couple fellow journalists "mysteriously" poisoned to death. (1:51) (Harvey)

*Roadie Michael Cuesta's first film as both director and writer (again co-authoring with brother Gerald) since 2001's startling debut feature L.I.E. is also his best work since then. After nearly a quarter-century spent schlepping equipment for Blue Oyster Cult — the arty metal band ("Don't Fear the Reaper," i.e. "more cowbell!") that was already sliding from the spotlight when he signed on — Jimmy Testergross (Ron Eldard) is fired, the reasons unknown to us. With nowhere else to go, he lands on the doorstep of his childhood home in Queens, where he hasn't been seen in at least 20 years. Mom (Lois Smith) is going senile, though somehow her disapproval comes through with perfect clarity (and hasn't changed in all that time). Seeking a liquid solace at a bar, our hero instead runs into Randy (Bobby Cannavale), who bullied him mercilessly way back when — and is now married to "Jimmy Testicle's" still-hot former girlfriend Nikki (Jill Hennessey), who has rock-star aspirations of her own. Taking place over less than 24 hours' span, Roadie is a very small character study, but a well-observed one. "Developmentally stunted by rock 'n' roll," as one character puts it (when it emerges 40-something Jimmy has never learned to make coffee for himself), its protagonist is the kind of likable boy-man loser usually found in Fountains of Wayne songs, an aging lifelong air guitarist pining over good old days that probably weren't even that good. His nostalgia is as touchingly hapless as his dubious future. (1:35) SF Film Society Cinema. (Harvey)

*Straight Outta Hunters Point 2 See "Back to the Point." (1:20) Roxie.

Tyler Perry's Good Deeds Director Tyler Perry puts aside the Madea drag to star as a man torn between Gabrielle Union and Thandie Newton. (1:51)

Wanderlust Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston star in this David Wain-directed, Judd Apatow-produced comedy about a New York City couple who move to a commune. (1:38)

ONGOING

*The Artist With the charisma-oozing agility of Douglas Fairbanks swashbuckling his way past opponents and the supreme confidence of Rudolph Valentino leaning, mid-swoon, into a maiden, French director-writer Michel Hazanavicius hits a sweet spot, or beauty mark of sorts, with his radiant new film The Artist. In a feat worthy of Fairbanks or Errol Flynn, Hazanavicius juggles a marvelously layered love story between a man and a woman, tensions between the silents and the talkies, and a movie buff's appreciation of the power of film — embodied in particular by early Hollywood's union of European artistry and American commerce. Dashing silent film star George Valentin (Jean Dujardin, who channels Fairbanks, Flynn, and William Powell — and won this year's Cannes best actor prize) is at the height of his career, adorable Jack Russell by his side, until the talkies threaten to relegate him to yesterday's news. The talent nurtured in the thick of the studio system yearns for real power, telling the newspapers, "I'm not a puppet anymore — I'm an artist," and finances and directs his own melodrama, while his youthful protégé Peppy Miller (Bérénice Béjo) becomes a yakky flapper age's new It Girl. Both a crowd-pleasing entertainment and a loving précis on early film history, The Artist never checks its brains at the door, remaining self-aware of its own conceit and its forebears, yet unashamed to touch the audience, without an ounce of cynicism. (1:40) (Chun)

*Chico and Rita This Spain-U.K. production is at heart a very old-fashioned musical romance lent novelty by its packaging as a feature cartoon. Chico (voiced by Eman Xor Oña) is a struggling pianist-composer in pre-Castro Havana who's instantly smitten by the sight and sound of Rita (Limara Meneses, with Idania Valdés providing vocals), a chanteuse similarly ripe for a big break. Their stormy relationship eventually sprawls, along with their careers, to Manhattan, Hollywood, Paris, Las Vegas, and Havana again, spanning decades as well as a few large bodies of water. This perpetually hot, cold, hot, cold love story isn't very complicated or interesting — it's pretty much "Boy meets girl, generic complications ensue" — nor is the film's simple graphics style (reminiscent of 1970s Ralph Bakshi, minus the sleaze) all that arresting, despite the established visual expertise of Fernando Trueba's two co directors Javier Mariscal and Tono Errando. When a dream sequence briefly pays specific homage to the modernist animation of the '50s-early '60s, Chico and Rita delights the eye as it should throughout. Still, it's pleasant enough to the eye, and considerably more than that to the ear — there's new music in a retro mode from Bebo Valdes, and plenty of the genuine period article from Monk, Mingus, Dizzy Gillespie, Chano Pozo and more. If you've ever jones'd for a jazzbo's adult Hanna Barbera feature (complete with full-frontal cartoon nudity — female only, of course), your dream has come true. (1:34) Smith Rafael. (Harvey)

*The Descendants Like all of Alexander Payne's films save 1996 debut Citizen Ruth, The Descendants is an adaptation, this time from Kaui Hart Hemmings' excellent 2007 novel. Matt King (George Clooney) is a Honolulu lawyer burdened by various things, mostly a) being a haole (i.e. white) person nonetheless descended from Hawaiian royalty, rich in real estate most natives figure his kind stole from them; and b) being father to two children by a wife who's been in a coma since a boating accident three weeks ago. Already having a hard time transitioning from workaholic to hands-on dad, Matt soon finds out this new role is permanent, like it or not — spouse Elizabeth (Patricia Hastie, just briefly seen animate) will not wake up. The Descendants covers the few days in which Matt has to share this news with Elizabeth's loved ones, mostly notably Shailene Woodley and Amara Miller as disparately rebellious teen and 10-year-old daughters. Plus there's the unpleasant discovery that the glam, sporty, demanding wife he'd increasingly seemed "not enough" for had indeed been looking elsewhere. When has George Clooney suggested insecurity enough to play a man afraid he's too small in character for a larger-than-life spouse? But dressed here in oversized shorts and Hawaiian shirts, the usually suave performer looks shrunken and paunchy; his hooded eyes convey the stung joke's-on-me viewpoint of someone who figures acknowledging depression would be an undeserved indulgence. Payne's film can't translate all the book's rueful hilarity, fit in much marital backstory, or quite get across the evolving weirdness of Miller's Scottie — though the young actors are all fine — but the film's reined-in observations of odd yet relatable adult and family lives are all the more satisfying for lack of grandiose ambition. (1:55) (Harvey)

The Help It's tough to stitch 'n' bitch 'n' moan in the face of such heart-felt female bonding, even after you brush away the tears away and wonder why the so-called help's stories needed to be cobbled with those of the creamy-skinned daughters of privilege that employed them. The Help purports to be the tale of the 1960s African American maids hired by a bourgie segment of Southern womanhood — resourceful hard-workers like Aibileen (Viola Davis) and Minny (Octavia Spencer) raise their employers' daughters, filling them with pride and strength if they do their job well, while missing out on their own kids' childhood. Then those daughters turn around and hurt their caretakers, often treating them little better than the slaves their families once owned. Hinging on a self-hatred that devalues the nurturing, housekeeping skills that were considered women's birthright, this unending ugly, heartbreaking story of the everyday injustices spells separate-and-unequal bathrooms for the family and their help when it comes to certain sniping queen bees like Hilly (Bryce Dallas Howard). But the times they are a-changing, and the help get an assist from ugly duckling of a writer Skeeter (Emma Stone, playing against type, sort of, with fizzy hair), who risks social ostracism to get the housekeepers' experiences down on paper, amid the Junior League gossip girls and the seismic shifts coming in the civil rights-era South. Based on the best-seller by Kathryn Stockett, The Help hitches the fortunes of two forces together — the African American women who are trying to survive and find respect, and the white women who have to define themselves as more than dependent breeders — under the banner of a feel-good weepie, though not without its guilty shadings, from the way the pale-faced ladies already have a jump, in so many ways, on their African American sisters to the Keane-eyed meekness of Davis' Aibileen to The Help's most memorable performances, which are also tellingly throwback (Howard's stinging hornet of a Southern belle and Jessica Chastain's white-trash bimbo-with-a-heart-of-gold). (2:17) (Chun)

Hugo Hugo turns on an obviously genius conceit: Martin Scorsese, working with 3D, CGI, and a host of other gimmicky effects, creates a children's fable that ultimately concerns one of early film's pioneering special-effects fantasists. That enthusiasm for moviemaking magic, transferred across more than a century of film history, was catching, judging from Scorsese's fizzy, exhilarating, almost-nauseating vault through an oh-so-faux Parisian train station and his carefully layered vortex of picture planes as Hugo Cabret (Asa Butterfield), an intrepid engineering genius of an urchin, scrambles across catwalk above a buzzing station and a hotheaded station inspector (Sacha Baron Cohen). Despite the special effects fireworks going off all around him, Hugo has it rough: after the passing of his beloved father (Jude Law), he has been stuck with an nasty drunk of a caretaker uncle (Ray Winstone), who leaves his duties of clock upkeep at a Paris train station to his charge. Hugo must steal croissants to survive and mechanical toy parts to work on the elaborate, enigmatic automaton he was repairing with his father, until he's caught by the fierce toy seller (Ben Kingsley) with a mysterious lousy mood and a cute, bright ward, Isabelle (Chloe Grace Moretz). Although the surprisingly dark-ish Hugo gives Scorsese a chance to dabble a new technological toolbox — and the chance to wax pedantically, if passionately, about the importance of film archival studies — the effort never quite despite transcends its self-conscious dazzle, lagging pacing, diffuse narrative, and simplistic screenplay by John Logan, based on Brian Selznick's book. Even the actorly heavy lifting provided by assets like Kingsley and Moretz and the backloaded love for the fantastic proponents at the dawn of filmmaking fail to help matters. Scorsese attempts to steal a little of the latters' zeal, but one can only imagine what those wizards would do with motion-capture animation or a blockbuster-sized server farm. (2:07) (Chun)

The Iron Lady Curiously like Clint Eastwood's 2011 J. Edgar, this biopic from director Phyllida Lloyd and scenarist Abi Morgan takes on a political life of length, breadth and controversy — yet it mostly skims over the politics in favor of a generally admiring take on a famous narrow-minded megalomaniac's "gumption" as an underdog who drove herself to the top. Looking back on her career from a senile old age spent in the illusory company of dead spouse Denis (Jim Broadbent), Meryl Streep's ex-British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher steamrolls past hurdles of class and gender while ironically re-enforcing the fustiest Tory values. She's essentially a spluttering Lord in skirts, absolutist in her belief that money and power rule because they ought to, and any protesting rabble don't represent the "real England." That's a mindset that might well have been explored more fruitfully via less flatly literal-minded portraiture, though Lloyd does make a few late, lame efforts at sub-Ken Russell hallucinatory style. Likely to satisfy no one — anywhere on the ideological scale — seriously interested in the motivations and consequences of a major political life, this skin-deep Lady will mostly appeal to those who just want to see another bravura impersonation added to La Streep's gallery. Yes, it's a technically impressive performance, but unlikely to be remembered as one of her more depthed ones, let alone among her better vehicles. (1:45) (Harvey)

Margaret Lisa Cohen (Anna Paquin) is an Upper West Side teen living with her successful actress mother (J. Smith-Cameron, wife to writer-director Kenneth Lonergan) — dad (Lonergan) lives in Santa Monica with his new spouse — and going through normal teenage stuff. Her propensity for drama, however, is kicked into high gear when she witnesses (and inadvertently causes) the traffic death of a stranger. Initially fibbing a bit to protect both herself and the bus driver (Mark Ruffalo) involved, she later has second thoughts, increasingly pursuing a path toward "justice" that variably affects others including the dead woman's friend (Jeannie Berlin), mom's new suitor (Jean Reno), teachers at Lisa's private school Matt Damon and Matthew Broderick), etc. Lonergan is a fine playwright and uneven sometime scenarist who made a terrific screen directorial debut with 2000's You Can Count On Me (which also featured Ruffalo, Broderick and Smith-Cameron). He appears to have intended Margaret as a pulse-taking of privileged Manhattanites' comingled rage, panic, confusion, and guilt after 9-11. But if that's the case, then this convoluted story provides a garbled metaphor at best. It might best be taken as a messy, intermittently potent study of how someone might become the kind of person who'll spend the rest of their lives barging into other people's affairs, creating a mess, assuming the moral high ground in a stubborn attempt to "fix" it, then making everything worse while denying any personal responsibility. Certainly that's the person Lisa appears to be turning into, though it's unclear whether Lonergan intends her to be seen that way. Indeed, despite some sharply written confrontations and good performances, it's unclear what Lonergan intended here at all — and since he's been famously fiddling with Margaret's (still-problematic) editing since late 2005, one might guess he never really figured that out himself. (2:30) SF Film Society Cinema. (Harvey)

My Week With Marilyn Statuette-clutching odds are high for Michelle Williams, as her impersonation of a famous dead celebrity is "well-rounded" in the sense that we get to see her drunk, disorderly, depressed, and so forth. Her Marilyn Monroe is a conscientious performance. But when the movie isn't rolling in the expected pathos, it's having other characters point out how instinctive and "magical" Monroe is onscreen — and Williams doesn't have that in her. Who could? Williams is remarkable playing figures so ordinary you might look right through them on the street, in Wendy and Lucy (2008), Blue Valentine (2010), etc. But as Monroe, all she can do is play the little-lost girl behind the sizzle. Without the sizzle. Which is, admittedly, exactly what My Week — based on a dubious true story — asks of her. It is true that in 1956 the Hollywood icon traveled to England to co-star with director Sir Laurence Olivier (Kenneth Branagh) in a fluff romance, The Prince and the Showgirl; and that she drove him crazy with her tardiness, mood swings, and crises. It's debatable whether she really got so chummy with young production gofer Colin Clark, our wistful guide down memory lane. He's played with simpering wide-eyed adoration by Eddie Redmayne, and his suitably same-aged secondary romantic interest (Emma Watson) is even duller. This conceit could have made for a sly semi-factual comedy of egos, neurosis, and miscommunication. But in a rare big-screen foray, U.K. TV staples director Simon Curtis and scenarist Adrian Hodges play it all with formulaic earnestness — Marilyn is the wounded angel who turns a starstruck boy into a brokenhearted but wiser man as the inevitable atrocious score orders our eyes to mist over. (1:36) (Harvey)

The Vow A rear-ender on a snowy Chicago night tests the nuptial declarations of a recently and blissfully married couple, recording studio owner Leo (Channing Tatum) and accomplished sculptor Paige (Rachel McAdams). When the latter wakes up from a medically induced coma, she has no memory of her husband, their friends, their life together, or anything else from the important developmental stage in which she dropped out of law school, became estranged from her regressively WASP-y family, stopped frosting her hair and wearing sweater sets, and broke off her engagement to preppy power-douchebag Jeremy (Scott Speedman). Watching Paige malign her own wardrobe and "weird" hair and rediscover the healing powers of a high-end shopping spree is disturbing; she reenters her old life nearly seamlessly, and the warm spark of her attraction to Leo, which we witness in a series of gooey flashbacks, feels utterly extinguished. And, despite the slurry monotone of Tatum's line delivery, one can empathize with a sense of loss that's not mortal but feels like a kind of death — as when Paige gazes at Leo with an expression blending perplexity, anxiety, irritation, and noninvestment. But The Vow wants to pluck on our heartstrings and inspire a glowing, love-story-for-the-ages sort of mood, and the film struggles to make good on the latter promise. Its vague evocations of romantic destiny mostly spark a sense of inevitability, and Leo's endeavors to walk his wife through retakes of scenes from their courtship are a little more creepy and a little less Notebook-y than you might imagine. (1:44) (Rapoport)

W.E. Madonna's first directorial feature, 2008's Filth and Wisdom, was so atrocious, and the early word on this second effort so vitriolic, that there's a temptation to give W.E. too much credit simply for not being a disgrace. Co-written by Madge and Alek Keshishian, it's about two women in gilded cages. One is Wallis Simpson (the impressive Andrea Riseborough), a married American socialite who scandalized the world by divorcing her husband and running about with Edward, Prince of Wales (James D'Arcy), who had to abdicate the English throne in order to marry her in 1936. The other is fictive Wally Winthrop (Abbie Cornish), a childless Manhattan socialite in the late 1990s who's neglected by her probably-unfaithful husband (Richard Coyle). Over-eagerly intertwined despite their trite-at-best overlaps (the main one being Wally's obsession with Wallis), these two strands hold attention for a while. But eventually they grow turgid. We're presumably meant to be carried away by their True Love, but the film doesn't succeed in making Wallis and Edward seem more than two petulant, shallow snobs who were fortunate to find each other, but didn't necessarily make one another better or more interesting people. (It also alternately denies and glosses over the couple's fascist-friendly politics, which became an embarrassment as England fought Germany in World War II.) Meanwhile, Wally is a mopey blank too easily belittled by her spouse, and too handily rescued by a Prince Charming, or rather "Russian intellectual slumming as a security guard" (Oscar Isaac) working at Sotheby's during an auction of the late royal couple's estate. As is so often the case with Madonna, she seems to be saying something here, but precisely what is murky and probably not worth sussing out. Likewise, the attention to showy surface aesthetics — in particular Arianne Phillips' justifiably Oscar-nominated costumes — is fastidious, revealing, and to an extent satisfying in itself. Somewhat ambitious and in several ways quite well crafted, the handsomely appointed W.E. isn't bad (surely it wouldn't have attracted such hostility if directed by anyone else), but the flaws that finally suffocate it reach right down to its conceptual gist. There is, however, one lovely moment toward the end: Riseborough's Wallis, a well-preserved septuagenarian, dancing an incongruous yet supremely self-assured twist on request for her bedridden husband. (1:59) (Harvey)

On the Cheap

admin — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 02:46:07 +0000

On the Cheap listings are compiled by Soojin Chang. Submit items for the listings at listings@sfbg.com. For further information on how to submit items for the listings, see Picks.

WEDNESDAY 22

"An Edward Gorey Birthday Party" Cartoon Art Museum, 655 Mission, SF; (415) 227-8666, www.cartoonart.org. 6 p.m.-8 p.m., free. Edward Gorey: a cool guy who not only made pop-up matchbox-sized books by hand, but also redefined the macabre nonsense that makes up children's literature. Come celebrate the world-renowned author's birthday with an evening of readings, interpretations, and cake.

BAY AREA

"Path to Prison Reform: Freeing Jails from Racism Berkeley-East Baby Gray Panthers" North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst, Berk; (510) 548-9696, berkeleygraypathers.mysite.com. 1:30 p.m., free. Plenty of things go down in jails that are neither documented nor resolved. Join ACLU members and former prisoners in a discussion of how racism may be the culprit behind prison brutality.

THURSDAY 23

"A Mnemosyne Slumber Party" Mechanic's Institute, 57 Post, SF; (415) 393-0101, www.mililibrary.org. 6 p.m., $12. Mnemosyne is a free online journal that features art, fiction, and nonfiction work dedicated to the science of memory and the mind. Come to the premiere of their newest "Sleep and Dreams" issue, stay for a night of live readings and artist appearances.

FRIDAY 24

"Diversity and Evolution of Hummingbirds" City College of San Francisco Ocean Campus, 50 Phelan, SF; (415) 239-3475, ccsf.edu/upcomingevents. Noon-1 p.m., free. Hitchcock ruined birds for some of us, but for those who still find these flying feathered creatures non-terrifying, this is a chance to join ornithology instructor Joe Morlan as he discusses the many birds he saw in his adventures in California, Arizona, Belize, Costa Rica, Trinidad, and Ecuador.

BAY AREA

Oakland Food Not Bombs benefit show Revolution Cafe, 1612 Seventh St., Oakl; (510) 625-0149, www.revcafeoak.com. 7 p.m., $4-$13. Food Not Bombs is all about non-violence, consensus decision-making, and tasty vegetarian meals, distributed for free to the community. What's not to love? Support the group's efforts this weekend in a benefit show featuring local bands Nate Porter and Wagon Boat.

SATURDAY 25

"Noise Pop Culture Club" Public Works, 161 Erie, SF; (415) 932-0955, www.publicsf.com. 11:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m., $10. Noise Pop would not be possible without the visionary artists in the music, film, art, design, technology, and food communities. This event features a discussion by Johnny Jewel of Glass Candy, artwork by Grimes, an Ableton Live workshop with Thavius Beck, a talk on animation by Aaron Rose and Syd Garon – plus a bounce lesson taught by New Orleans bounce belle, Big Freedia.

Punk Swap Meet Speakeasy Ales and Lagers, 1195 Evans, SF; (415) 642-3371, www.goodbeer.com. 1

p.m.-6 p.m., free. If you thought flea markets were just for old knitting ladies, you have never been more wrong. Punk Swap Meet has tables selling records, zines, tapes, DIY crafts, clothing, and is open to all ages. There will be food by Eagle Dog, with vegetarian and vegan options available, and brew on tap for $3.

San Francisco Crystal Fair Fort Mason Center Building A, 99 Marina, SF; (415) 383-7837, www.crystalfair.com. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. (also Sun/26, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.), $6 for two-day admission. Is your chakra out of sync? Not to worry. Pacific Crystal Guild is coming with over 40 exhibitors carrying crystals from Nepal, Bali, Afghanistan, and China.

SF Flea Herbst Pavilion at Fort Mason Center, One Buchanan, SF; (415) 990-0600, www.sf-flea.com. Sat., 11 am.1-6 p.m. (also Sun/26, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.), $5. SF Flea is a modern public market that brings together local design, style, food, art, and entertainment.

BAY AREA

Miss and Mister Oakland Punk Rock Pageant East Bay Rats Club House, 3025 San Pablo, Oakl; (510) 830-6466, www.eastbayrats.com. 8:30 p.m., $5 (free for contestants). Who says you have to be a six-year-old from Georgia or proclaim world peace in a bikini to be in a pageant? Have your long-awaited tiara moment by showcasing how swiftly you can open a beer bottle with your teeth at Oakland's very own punk rock pageant.

Stories of Old San Francisco Chinatown reading Eastwind Books of Berkeley, 2066 University, Berk; (510) 548-2350, www.asiabookcenter.com. 3 p.m., free. A long walk through Chinatown conjures ghosts – one can't help cogitating on these streets' secrets and history. Join Lyle Jan, a San Francisco native, for a journey through his youth spent growing up in Chinatown.

SUNDAY 26

San Francisco Bookstore and Chocolate Crawl Meet at Green Apple Books, 506 Clement, SF. (415) 387-2272, www.greenapplebooks.com. Noon-6 p.m., free. Go on a walking tour of some of San Francisco's finest bookstores, buy some books, and eat a lot of chocolate.

The Fairy Dogfather signing Books Inc., 3515 California, SF; (415) 221-3666, booksinc.net/SFLaurel. 3 p.m., free. In Alexandra Day's new book, a dyslexic boy asks for a fairy dogfather instead of a fairy godfather. And we're so glad he did, because the combination of a fedora-wearing dog-friend and a confused child makes for one adorable picture book.

MONDAY 27

Guitar Zero: The New Musician and the Science of Learning reading Booksmith, 1644 Haight, SF; (415) 863-8688, www.booksmith.com. 7:30 p.m., free. Is it really true that an old dog can never learn a new trick? In his book Guitar Zero, NYU professor Gary Marcus chronicles his own experience learning to play the guitar at age 38, and finds that there isn't necessarily a cut-off age for mastering a new skill.

TUESDAY 28

"Pritzker Family Lecture" with Claude Lanzmann and Regina Longo Jewish Community Center of San Francisco, 3200 California, SF. (415) 292-1200, www.jccsf.org. 7 p.m., free with reservation. Lanzmann not only lived through the German occupation of France and fought with the French Resistance, but helped document the whole thing as the editor of Les Temps Modernes, Jean Paul Sartre's political-literary journal. Come pick his brain as he discusses his new memoir, The Patagonian Hare, and his film, Shoah.

Stage Listings

admin — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 02:44:19 +0000

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 Pirates of Penzance Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College, Berk; (510) 845-8542, www.juliamorgan.org. $17-35. Opens Sat/25, 2 and 7pm. Runs Fri-Sat, 7pm (also Sat, 2pm); Sun, noon and 5pm. Through April 1. Berkeley Playhouse performs the Gilbert and Sullivan classic, with the setting shifted to a futuristic city.

Titus Andronicus La Val's Subterranean, 1834 Euclid, Berk; www.impacttheatre.com. $10-20. Previews Thurs/23-Fri/24, 8pm. Opens Sat/25, 8pm. Runs Thurs-Sat, 8pm. Through March 31. Impact Theatre takes on the Bard's bloodiest tragedy.

ONGOING

*Blue/Orange Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, 450 Post, SF; (415) 474-8800, www.lhtsf.org. $43-53. Thurs-Sat, 8pm (also Sat, 2pm). Through March 18. Lorraine Hansberry Theater offers an uneven but worthwhile production of British playwright Joe Penhall's sardonic comedy of ideas and institutional racism, an intriguingly frustrating three-hander about a young doctor (a bright Dan Clegg) at a psychiatric teaching hospital who begins a battle royal with his suave and pompous supervising physician (a comically nimble Julian Lopez-Morillas) over the release of a questionably-sane black patient. Originally brought in by police for creating a disturbance, Christopher (the excellent Carl Lumbly) still exhibits signs of psychosis and his ability to care for himself seems doubtful to the young doctor treating him. The older physician appeals to the patient's general competence, hospital procedures, the shortage of beds, and the exigencies of career advancement in countering the younger doctor's insistence on keeping the patient beyond the mandatory 28-day period required by law. For his part, Christopher, nervous and rather manic, is at first desperately eager to be released back to his poor London neighborhood. Competing interviews with the two doctors complicate his perspective and ours repeatedly, however, as a heated debate about medicine, institutionalization, cultural antecedents to mental "illness," career arcs, and a "cure for black psychosis," leave everyone's sanity in doubt. Although our attention can be distracted by a too-pervading sound design and less than perfect British accents, Edris Cooper-Anifowoshe directs a strong and engaging cast in a politically resonant not to say increasingly maddening play. (Avila)

52 Man Pick Up Brava Theater, 2781 24th St, SF; (415) 647-2822, www.brava.org. $10-25. Thurs-Sat and Mon/27, 8pm. Through March 3. Desiree Butch performs her solo show about a deck of cards' worth of sexual encounters.

Geezer Marsh San Francisco, MainStage, 1062 Valencia, SF; (415) 282-3055, www.themarsh.org. $25-100. Thurs and Sat, 8pm; Sun, 5pm. Through March 18. Geoff Hoyle's hit solo show returns.

Glengarry Glen Ross Actors Theatre of San Francisco, 855 Bush, SF; (415) 345-1287, www.brownpapertickets.com. $26-40. Fri-Sat, 8pm. Through March 24. David Mamet's cutthroat comedy, courtesy of the Actors Theatre of San Francisco.

Higher Theater at Children's Creativity Museum, 221 Howard, SF; (415) 749-2228, www.act-sf.org. $10-65. Extended run: Wed/22, 2pm; Thurs/23-Sat/25, 8pm (also Sat/25, 2pm). American Conservatory Theater premieres artistic director Carey Perloff's ambitious but choppy play about renowned architect Michael Friedman (an affably egotistical Andrew Polk) and brilliant but still up-and-coming Elena Constantine (a restlessly clever yet vulnerable René Augesen), lovers who find themselves competing for the same commission to design a memorial at the site of a bus bombing on the Sea of Galilee. The spunky widow (Concetta Tomei) of a wealthy American Jewish businessman is funding the memorial, and supervising the competition with the help of a handsome young Israeli, Jacob (Alexander Crowther), grieving for his father. The jet-set lovers only gradually realize they're competitors (Michael very late in the game, which seems a bit too clueless). Meanwhile, Michael attends to the strained relationship with his grown-up but too-long-neglected gay son (Ben Kahre), a convert to "born-again Judaism" in contrast to his father's attenuated affiliations; and shiksa Elena finds inspiration for a radical design in the grief-stricken (but soon smitten) Jacob, kneading the burnt sand at the shore of a lake "filled with Jewish tears." In a play dealing with land and memory, reconciliation, chauvinism, and short-sightedness, the absence of any mention of Palestinian "tears" in the same water (or Palestinians at all) seems a conspicuous absence. The dialogue, meanwhile, while often witty, can be labored in its mingling of airy architectural notions with earthier matters. Mark Rucker's direction gives scope to an admirably tailored performance from Augesen (the small stage offers a rewarding chance to watch the ACT veteran work up close) but not enough attention goes to the supposed sexual tension between Elena and Michael, which, despite sporadically randy dialogue and some awkward blocking on a mattress, is effectively nil. (Avila)

*Little Brother Gough Street Playhouse, 1620 Gough, SF; www.custommade.org. $25-32. Thurs/23-Sat/25, 8pm. Custom Made Theatre Co. performs Josh Costello's adaptation of Cory Doctorow's San Francisco-set thriller.

Not Getting Any Younger Marsh San Francisco, Studio Theater, 1062 Valencia, SF; (415) 826-5750, www.themarsh.org. $15-50. Extended run: Fri/24, 8pm; Sat/25, 5 and 8:30pm. 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. (Avila)

Private Parts SF Playhouse, Stage 2, 533 Sutter, SF; www.sfplayhouse.org. $20. Thurs, 7pm; Fri/24-Sat/25, 8pm. Graham Gremore performs his autobiographical solo comedy.

The Real Americans Marsh Studio Theater, 1062 Valencia, SF; (415) 282-3055, www.themarsh.org. $25-50. Fri, 8pm; Sat, 5pm; Sun, 2pm. Through March 18. Dan Hoyle revives his hit solo show about small-town America.

Scorched American Conservatory Theater, 415 Geary, SF; (415) 749-2228, www.act-sf.org. $10-85. Opens Wed/22, 7pm. Runs Tues-Sat, 8pm (Tues/28, show at 7pm); Wed, Sat-Sun, 2pm (no matinee Wed/22). Through March 11. Oscar nominee David Strathairn stars in ACT's performance of Wajdi Mouawad's haunting drama.

Three's Company Live! Finn's Funhouse, 814 Grove, SF; www.brownpapertickets.com. $20. Fri-Sat, 7 and 9pm. Through March 3. Cat Fights and Shoulder Pads Productions (best production company name ever?) brings the classic sitcom to the stage.

Tontlawald Exit on Taylor, 277 Taylor, SF; (415) 525-1205, www.cuttingball.com. $10-50. Thurs, 7:30pm; Fri-Sat, 8pm (also Sat, 2pm); Sun, 5pm. Through March 11. Cutting Ball Theater presents this world premiere ensemble piece, using text by resident playwright Eugenie Chan, a capella harmonies, and movement to re-tell an ancient Estonian tale.

*True West Boxcar Studios, 125A Hyde, SF; (415) 967-2227, www.boxcartheatre.org. $25. Thurs-Sat, 8pm. Through April 7. The first installment of Boxcar Theatre's four-play Sam Shepard repertory project, True West ushers in the ambitious run with a bang. This tale of two brothers who gradually assume the role of the other is one of Shepard's most enduring plays, rich with humorous interludes, veering sharply into dangerous terrain at the drop of a toaster. In time-honored, True West tradition, the lead roles of Austin, the unassuming younger brother, and Lee, his violent older sibling, are being alternated between Nick A. Olivero and Brian Trybom, and in a new twist, the role of the mother is being played by two different actresses as well (Adrienne Krug and Katya Rivera). The evening I saw it, Olivero was playing Austin, a writer banging away at his first screenplay, and Trybom was Lee, a troubled, alcoholic drifter who usurps his brother's Hollywood shot, and trashes their mother's home while trying to honor his as yet unwritten "contract". The chemistry between the two actors was a perfect blend of menace and fraternity, and the extreme wreckage they make of both the set (designed by both actors), and their ever-tenuous relationship, was truly inspired. (Gluckstern)

*Vice Palace: The Last Cockettes Musical Thrillpeddlers' Hypnodrome, 575 10th St, SF; (415) 377-4202, www.thrillpeddlers.com. $30-35. Fri-Sat, 8pm. Through March 3. Hot on the high heels of a 22-month run of Pearls Over Shanghai, the Thrillpeddlers are continuing their Theatre of the Ridiculous revival with a tits-up, balls-out production of the Cockettes' last musical, Vice Palace. Loosely based on the terrifyingly grim "Masque of the Red Death" by Edgar Allan Poe, part of the thrill of Palace is the way that it weds the campy drag-glamour of Pearls Over Shanghai with the Thrillpeddlers' signature Grand Guignol aesthetic. From an opening number set on a plague-stricken street ("There's Blood on Your Face") to a charming little cabaret about Caligula, staged with live assassinations, an undercurrent of darkness runs like blood beneath the shameless slapstick of the thinly-plotted revue. As plague-obsessed hostess Divina (Leigh Crow) and her right-hand "gal" Bella (Eric Tyson Wertz) try to distract a group of stir-crazy socialites from the dangers outside the villa walls, the entertainments range from silly to salacious: a suggestively-sung song about camel's humps, the wistful ballad "Just a Lonely Little Turd," a truly unexpected Rite of Spring-style dance number entitled "Flesh Ballet." Sumptuously costumed by Kara Emry, cleverly lit by Nicholas Torre, accompanied by songwriter/lyricist (and original Cockette) Scrumbly Koldewyn, and anchored by a core of Thrillpeddler regulars, Palace is one nice vice. (Gluckstern)

*Vigilance Phoenix Theatre, 414 Mason, SF; (415) 335-6087, secondwind.8m.com. $20-25. Thurs/23-Sat/25, 8pm. Ian Walker (The Tender King) directs a sharp revival of his own lucid, involving 2000 domestic drama about three households brought to the brink by the arrival of a menacing working-class loner. Seamlessly staged in a single pair of rooms (designed by Fred Sharkey) representing all three suburban middle-class homes — as well as downstage on the street where dream-home lottery winner Duncan (an imposing Steven Westdahl) throws his beer cans and leers at the wives and children — Vigilance begins with three friends meeting under the pretext of a poker game. Host Virgil (played with gruff charm by a commanding Mike Newman) is a 30-something husband, father, and guy's guy whose Montana-grown libertarian machismo compensates for the agro of a stormy marriage and rocky finances. He talks the suggestible, nebbishy Bert (a slyly humorous Ben Ortega) and the equally nerdy but independent-minded Dick (a nicely layered Stephen Muterspaugh) into forming a "committee" to deal with the troublesome Duncan. Walker's well-honed dialogue brings out the false notes in the supposed pre-Duncan harmony right away, and the play strikes best at the buried politics of marriage and friendship. (Avila)

The Waiting Period MainStage, Marsh San Francisco, 1062 Valencia, SF; (415) 282-3055, www.themarsh.org. $15-50. Fri, 8pm; Sat, 5pm. Through March 24. Brian Copeland returns with a new solo show about his struggles with depression.

BAY AREA

Arms and the Man Lesher Center for the Arts, Margaret Lesher Theater, 1601 Civic, Walnut Creek; (925) 943-7469, www.centerrep.org. $38-43. Wed/22, 7:30pm; Thurs/23-Sat/25, 8pm. Center REPertory Company presents George Bernard Shaw's classic romantic comedy.

*Body Awareness Aurora Theatre, 2081 Addison, Berk; (510) 843-4822, www.auroratheatre.org. $30-48. Tues, 7pm; Wed-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2 and 7pm. Through March 11. In Annie Baker's new comedy, receiving a top-notch Bay Area premiere at Aurora Theatre, peppy psychology prof Phyllis (Amy Resnick) hosts "Body Awareness Week" at her small Vermont college, while back home partner Joyce (Jeri Lynn Cohen) talks to her 21-year-old son Jared (Patrick Russell) about the porn pay-per-view bill he's racked up. Phyllis contends that Joyce's introverted, somewhat explosive virgin son (who in addition to bouts of violent anger soothes himself compulsively with an electric security toothbrush) has Asperger's Syndrome — a diagnosis that Jared, a budding not too say obsessive lexicographer, hotly contests. That same week, the couple hosts a guest artist, Frank (Howard Swain), a breezy man's man whose career stands squarely on a series of photographs of nude women and girls. The young man seeks sexual advice from the older one, much to Phyllis's disgust and Joyce's relief, while also tempting Joyce with the notion of posing for a nude portrait and "reclaiming her body image," in a well-used phrase. An already delicate balance thus goes right off kilter as, between the poles of Phyllis and Frank, Joyce and Jared chase competing notions and definitions of themselves and the world. In the volatile tension between perspectives, power trips, and extreme personalities, playwright Baker initially pushes a comic form toward an unsettling edge, only to retreat in the end for safer ground and a family-friendly resolution. While that feels like a lost opportunity, Body Awareness is still a stimulating and solidly entertaining evening, brought to life by a warm and dexterous ensemble under fine, lively direction by Joy Carlin. (Avila)

Counter Attack! Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby, Berk; (510) 444-4755, ext. 114, www.stagebridge.org. $18-25. Wed-Thurs, 7:30pm; Fri-Sat, 8pm (also Sat, 2pm); Sun, 2pm. Through March 4. Stagebridge presents the world premiere of Joan Holden's waitress-centric play.

A Doctor in Spire of Himself Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Roda Theatre, 2015 Addison, Berk; (510) 647-2949, www.berkeleyrep.org. $14.50-73. Tues and Thurs-Sat, 8pm (also Thurs and Sat, 2pm; no matinees Sat/25, March 1, 8, and 15; no show March 23); Wed and Sun, 7pm (also Sun, 2pm). Through March 25. Berkeley Rep performs a contemporary update of the Molière comedy.

*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 March 25. 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)

Mesmeric Revelation Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant, Berk; (510) 558-1381, www.centralworks.org. Thurs-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 5pm. Through March 18. Central Works opens its season of world premieres with Aaron Henne's Edgar Allen Poe-inspired drama.

A Steady Rain Marin Theatre Company, 397 Miller, SF; (415) 388-5208, www.marintheatre.org. $34-55. Wed/22, 7:30pm; Thurs/23-Sat/25, 8pm (also Sat/25, 2pm); Sun/26, 2 and 7pm. Marin Theatre Company performs Keith Huff's neo-noir drama.

The World's Funniest Bubble Show Marsh Berkeley, TheaterStage, 2120 Allston, Berk; (415) 826-5750, www.themarsh.org. $8-50. Extended run: Sun/26, March 11, and 18, 11am. Louis "The Amazing Bubble Man" Pearl returns with this kid-friendly, bubble-tastic comedy.

PERFORMANCE/DANCE

"Accentuate the PAWSitive!" DNA Lounge, 365 11th St, SF; www.dnalounge.com. Tues/28, 7pm. $20. Cabaret star Carly Ozard and friends perform to raise money for Pets Are Wonderful Support.

"The Auction" Kanbar Hall, Jewish Community Center of San Francisco, 3200 California, SF; (415) 292-1233, www.jccsf.org. Sat/25, 8pm. $10-40. Miranda July performs a piece based on her book It Chooses You.

Batsheva Dance Company Novellus Theater, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 700 Howard, SF; (415) 398-6449, www.sfperformances.org. Thurs/23-Sat/25, 8pm. $35-60. The Tel Aviv-based company performs Max.

"Black Choreographers Festival: Here and Now 2012" Dance Mission Theater, 3316 24th St, SF; www.bcfhereandnow.com. Fri/24-Sat/25, 8pm; Sun/26, 7pm. $10-25. Celebrate African and African American dance and culture at this multi-part festival, with works by Marc Bamuthi Joseph, Kendra Kimbrough Barnes, and more.

"Club Chuckles" Hemlock Tavern, 1131 Polk, SF; www.hemlocktavern.com. Thurs/23, 9pm. $8. Comedians Rob Cantrell, W. Kamau Bell, John Hoogasian, and Caitlin Gill perform.

"Elect to Laugh" Studio Theater, Marsh San Francisco, 1062 Valencia, SF; (415) 282-3055, www.themarsh.org. Tues, 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.

"The Eric Show" Milk Bar, 1840 Haight, SF; www.milksf.com. Tues, 8pm (ongoing). $5. Local comedians perform with host Eric Barry.

"No Exit" and "Dead/Alive" Garage, 975 Howard, SF; www.brownpapertickets.com. Fri/24-Sat/25, 8 p.m., $15. Christine Bonansea and Minna Harri Experience Set perform new works.

"Oracle and Enigma" CounterPULSE, 1310 Mission, SF; 1-800-838-3006, www.counterpulse.org. Fri/24-Sat/25, 8pm. $20. Master Katsura Kan directs this Butoh dance theater work.

Alerts

admin — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 02:37:03 +0000

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 22

Police graft

This event, part of the Shaping SF Public Talk series, will focus on the 1937 Atherton Report that blew the lid off San Francisco police corruption in that era. Speakers Hank Chapot and Chris Agee will address their research, on the report and on SF policing and crime in the 1950s, respectively.

7:30pm, free

CounterPULSE

1310 Mission, SF

www.counterpulse.org/?tribe_events=shaping-sf-public-talk-police-graft-in-san-francisco/

THURSDAY, FEB. 23

Eviction community forum

A panel discussion and chance to access resources for those affected by and interested in the epidemic of foreclosures and evictions in our neighborhoods. Hear from community organizers, foreclosure lawyers, and affected homeowners and tenants. This is organized by Occupy Bernal and will feature Spanish translation and childcare.

7pm, free

Bernal Heights Community Center

515 Cortland, SF

415-821-7617

Garden for the environment

Enjoy live music, food from Haight Street Market, a raffle, and a celebration of urban permaculture at the fundraiser. The Haight Ashbury Neighborhood Center celebrates the achievements of Garden for the Environment, a group that maintains a one-acre garden in the Sunset demonstrating the educational, environmental and food-security possibilities of permaculture.

6pm, $5

111 Minna, SF

www.hanc-sf.org/urban-farming-fundraiser-and-party.html

FRIDAY, FEB. 24

History of porn

Join author Sam Benjamin and golden age porn star Richard Pacheco for a lively presentation chronicling how porn emerged in its present form by looking back over past decades. The presentation will use non-explicit clips but promises to be funny and informative. Benjamin is the author of American Gangbang: A Love Story.

8pm, $10-30 suggested donation

Center for Sex and Culture

1349 Mission, SF

www.sexandculture.org/

SATURDAY, FEB. 25

Foreclose on Wells Fargo CEO

A demonstration, complete with street theater and education, as activists attempt to foreclose on and evict Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf. According to Occupy Bernal, this fun community event will feature "street theater to foreclose, auction home, and evict the CEO, music, Pride at Work dance mob, and special surprise bidders."

1pm, free

1090 Chestnut, SF

www.occupybernal.org/wordpress

Deep Green Resistance

Have you ever felt that to continue to live on the planet, people must actively dismantle industrial systems which are destroying the earth, perhaps by any means necessary? If so, you should hear author Aric McBay speak about his book Deep Green Resistance: Strategy to Save the Planet. In the book, also by Derrick Jensen and Lierre Keith, the authors discuss the philosophies, tactics and implications of this brand of radical environmental activism.

7:30pm, free

Unite HERE Local 2

209 Golden Gate, SF

www.occupysf.org/calendar-2/

Back to the Point

admin — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 02:32:53 +0000

Kevin Epps updates his 2001 hit with Straight Outta Hunters Point 2

cheryl@sfbg.com

FILM "It's highly probable that no one but Kevin Epps could have made a film like Straight Outta Hunters Point," begins Erik K. Arnold's 2001 Guardian article. Epps, then a 33-year-old first-time filmmaker, had just released his bold documentary; it investigated a neighborhood that most San Francisco residents never actually visited, but knew about thanks to news coverage of its prodigious gang violence.

"That world wouldn't open up to an outsider," Epps, who grew up there before studying film at San Francisco State University and the now-defunct Film Arts Foundation, told Arnold.

Cut to 2012, and Epps is no longer an emerging talent — he's a full-time independent filmmaker with multiple credits (including The Black Rock, a documentary about Alcatraz's African American inmates, and hip-hop film Rap Dreams), collaborations (with Current TV and others), and an artist fellowship at the de Young Museum under his belt. For his newest project, he returns to the scene of his first work. He no longer resides in Bayview-Hunters Point, but he still lives close by, and he's never lost touch with the community that inspired the first film and encouraged him to make its follow-up.

"Straight Outta Hunters Point opened up a lot of opportunities up for me, in terms of traveling abroad and being exposed to experiences that I would never have had [otherwise]," Epps explains. "But I was always mindful of, you know, this is my passport: telling the [community's] stories, that's my passport to the world. So though my life has changed a little bit, I've never been too far away from what's going on in the community. I decided to keep shooting certain things that I thought had significance, and more importantly interviewing people in the community who could give insight into its current state."

Despite its title, and its similar use of handheld camera, SOHP 2 is not a straightforward sequel to part one.

"I wanted to talk to people who really live in the community [to find out] what's going on every day — Straight Outta Hunters Point eight, nine, ten years later. Have things changed for the better or gotten worse?" Epps says of his new film. "It's not really a sequel — it's a continuation of that conversation, and looking at where things are now, compared to how they were then. Obviously there's some redevelopment that's been happening. That's apparent in the film, when the Hunters View housing development slowly gets torn down."

Epps built his film around themes that arose from his interviews with Hunters Point residents, including the disconnect between generations — older folks with activist backgrounds, and youths who face "a lot of distractions" as they approach adulthood — and pressures, both internal and external, that have shaped the neighborhood.

"These are the predominant topics that come up, if you go to the barber shop or if you're hanging out at the gym, and you get into an informal conversation. Redevelopment. Violence, which has a history that's still being dealt with. [Discussing] these reoccurring themes is a way to see if there's been any progress. Being a filmmaker, I was trying to put them into a creative context, more like an edu-tainment sort of piece," he says. "My first documentary was really for the community, when I was living there, to have a conversation with ourselves. [SOHP 2] is less of a personal story. It's [investigating], did we break some of the cycles? And how do things look in the present day?"

Going back to that earlier point about Epps' unique access to the neighborhood: while he admits that not every person he approached was eager to be filmed ("When you go into these communities that have other activities going on, where people have other ways of survival because there are no jobs, you're gonna always get opposition to cameras"), he does understand that in many ways, he has the exclusive on this particular story.

"Do people know me, and does that carry weight, because of the first film? Yes. It does help me get access to some things that a lot of people have had their cameras taken from them trying to do," he says. "There were some German filmmakers out here for three years trying to shoot a film. They had funding and everything. They could talk and kick it on the block, but once they took out the cameras — they shut 'em down."

STRAIGHT OUTTA HUNTERS POINT 2

Kevin Epps in person at Fri/24-Sat/25 evening shows

Feb. 24-March 1, 7 and 8:45 p.m. (also Sat/25-Sun/25, 3:15 and 5 p.m.), $6.50–<\d>$10

Roxie Theater

3117 16th St., SF

(415) 863-1087

www.roxie.com

Ice Cream Bar

admin — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 02:24:26 +0000

Step into the Wayback Machine: this new Cole Valley spot serves a panoply of delicious soda fountain treats

GUARDIAN PHOTO BY VIRGINIA MILLER

virginia@sfbg.com

APPETITE I was born of another time. As much as I wouldn't trade the rights and access of today, I hunger for the romance, artistry, and intellectual pace of eras gone by. As a child, I grew up on classic films and whitebread shows like Father Knows Best, where youth hung out at soda fountains listening to the jukebox. Naturally, I was delighted upon hearing a retro-inspired soda fountain was opening near my home.

Cole Valley's new Ice Cream Bar and Soda Fountain is no 1950s milkshake time capsule. Blonde wood ceiling, restored 30s bar (which owner Juliet Pries found in Michigan), illuminated art deco signs, all evoke a glowing past. Soda fountains filled a communal void in the wake of Prohibition and thus were popular in the '20s and '30s. But they date back to the 1800s when, similar to pharmacies where signature bitters like Peychaud's were created, effervescent mineral waters were considered to have healing properties.

Soda fountain revivals and techniques are popping up around the US: however, I have yet to see this level of detail and historicity anywhere. Bartender Darcy O'Neil's book Fix the Pumps (Art of Drink, 2010) is responsible in part for the inspiration behind Ice Cream Bar. Bartender Russell Davis of Rickhouse, www.rickhousesf.com, developed the soda fountain program, sourcing data not only from O'Neil's book, but from 1894's Saxe's New Guide or, Hints to Soda Water Dispensers by D.W. Saxe. (Read my revealing Q&A with Davis here.)

Classically inspired recipes line the menu: frappes, floats, crushes, phosphates (soda with phosphoric acid), malts, lactarts (natural lactic acid, commonly found in buttermilk, yogurt and Lambic beers). Davis created more than 75 house syrups, tinctures, and extracts, using forced cavitation, a culinary extraction technique that maintains the flavor intensity of the original source. In keeping with history, bar staff are referred to as soda jerks, deftly operating vintage soda fountains.

After trying most of the menu over multiple visits, I can't help but gravitate to the wild cherry phosphate ($7) time and again. Rather than saccharin cherry flavor, it tastes of fresh, wild cherries, in a house syrup and cherry bark tincture, fizzy with acid phosphate and soda water. Another highlight is Ode to Mr. O'Neil ($8), a tribute to Darcy. Like an elevated Brooklyn egg cream, it's a lactart made with lush Scharffen Berger chocolate syrup and double-charged soda imparting a piquant effervescence.

Oh, that many a day could start with the robust New Orleans Hangover ($8). It's better than a coffee milkshake with chicory coffee syrup, housemade sweet cream ice cream, golden eagle tincture (sarsaparilla), and soda. Root beer floats are herbal and creamy, using Russell's sassafras root beer (an 1890s recipe).

I wished to taste more pink peppercorn in the pineapple-based My Girlfriend's Girlfriend ($7) and more tobacco in the chai-dominant Passion Project ($7.50), both lactarts. Yet all-in-all, each visit yields very few disappointments. Splurge on the decadent pistachio milkshake for two ($16), or go earthy-sweet with Touch of Grey ($10), a candy cap mushroom phosphate.

Though it's about to launch a casual menu of soups, grilled cheese sandwiches, egg and chicken salads, and the like, plus baked goods, house brittles, toffee, and hard candies, there's currently more than the soda fountain to draw you out. The ice cream is of unexpectedly high quality, overseen by Ray Lai, who worked at Bi-Rite (www.biritecreamery.com) and Fenton's (www.fentonscreamery.com).

Cherry also shines in a tart sour cherry ice cream. Sicilian pistachio is rich and nutty. I've likewise been pleased with the ice cream sandwiches, particularly roasted pineapple ice cream layered in ginger cookies.

The jerks are a delightful team assembled from various bars, offering earnest, knowledgeable service. Tell them a flavor you'd like from the house tinctures and syrups (grapefruit to dill weed), and they'll make you a custom drink.

Sipping a custom mint egg cream at the soda fountain while listening to big band tunes is a respite I relish whether midday escape or evening dessert. Crowds of Cole Valley strollers and families abruptly bring me back to today, but, then, it's fair to say there is something appealing for everyone, child to adult, at this already widely embraced neighborhood hangout. *

ICE CREAM BAR AND SODA FOUNTAIN

815 Cole, SF.

(415) 742-4932

www.theicecreambarsf.com

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