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Issue 288 |
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Your cultural event guide
Here's a snapshot of our favorite things to do in San Francisco this week. |
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San Francisco
Nov 6-12, 2007
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What are words worth? Two weeks into our newly redesigned fabulousness, Flavorpill has some answers to Tom Tom Club's eternal question. The Hold Steady's detail-rich tales of heartbroken kids certainly spare no expense, while participants in this year's Swearing Festival make the perfect expletive sound like a million bucks. And audiences at the Global Lens film festival are bound to be rolling in foreign currency. Whether you're a blabbermouth or tightlipped, keep tabs on your word count with the Flavorwire RSS feed — and spread it.
- Matt Sussman, Managing Editor
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SPECIAL FEATURE
Junot Díaz
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Junot Díaz was inundated with well-earned praise for his 1997 collection Drown. In the ten years since, he slowly, but surely, finished his first novel — a sprawling saga that chronicles one Dominican family's passions and pain, from the parents' lives under the brutal Trujillo regime to their son's struggles as a "ghetto nerd" in New Jersey.
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Sanford Biggers
Conceptual artist Biggers' reverence for the mundane is as Duchampian as it is Zen.
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Hoki
Hoki, a hopeful new entrant into the footwear category, could be the next Crocs.
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FILM
Global Lens 2007
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Tuesday Nov 6, 2007
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Roxie Theater (3117 16th St, 415.863.1087)
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$9
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Those seeking solace from American cinema's gratuitous violence and chiseled features will appreciate Global Lens. The annual touring film series showcases the best new feature-length and short films from Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East. Kicking off with the offbeat family comedy Of Love and Eggs by Indonesian filmmaker Garin Nugroho, this year's crop promises to induce a serious case of wanderlust. Presented by San Francisco-based nonprofit the Global Film Initiative, the series promotes cross-cultural understanding through cinema and, judging by this year's roster, it's doing a remarkable job.
- Kristin Viola
[Info Source]
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MUSIC: Rock/Pop
The Hold Steady w/ Art Brut and the Blood Arm
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Tuesday Nov 6, 2007 (8pm)
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Mezzanine (444 Jessie St, 415.625.8880)
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$25
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What sets the Brooklyn-based Hold Steady apart from other indie "bar bands" who like their guitars thick and ballads beer-drenched, is the delivery and wordplay of livewire/singer Craig Finn. Laying down lyrics with a slacker drawl that can turn into a verbal torrent, Finn rambles off stories of heartbreak and redemption. On its last album, Boys and Girls in America, the band brought the young and wayward characters of its songs alive with a bigger sound that had critics hearing Springsteen. However, Finn may have met his alter ego from across the pond in Art Brut singer Eddy Argos, whose self-deprecatory wit spares no one, including the British music press and his own band.
- Matt Sussman
[Info Source]
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ART
The Gun Show
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Wednesday Nov 7, 2007
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Root Division (3175 17th St, 415.863.7668)
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FREE
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As Russian playwright Anton Chekhov noted, a gun introduced in the first act of a play draws attention and builds expectations like no other device — it must be fired by the third act, or else it leaves viewers dissatisfied. Since the Mongol Empire spread and mixed Chinese and Middle Eastern gunpowder technology with European metalworking technology in the 13th century, the gun has become one of the most important symbols of the human experience. The artists in this Root Division group show approach the literal, metaphorical, political, and sexual implications of the firearm.
- Gerry Mak
[Info Source]
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MUSIC: Rock/Pop
Jack Rose w/ MV & EE and Mike Bones
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Wednesday Nov 7, 2007 (9:30pm)
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Hemlock Tavern (1131 Polk St, 415.923.0923)
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$8
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MV & EE (Matt Valentine and Erika Elder) orbit spacey folk pop and wailing dirges by dialing up a bearded, neo-hippie aesthetic. The Brattleboro, Vermont, duo is fresh off releasing Gettin' Gone on Thurston Moore's Ecstatic Peace! label, as well as recording a killer version of Neil Young's "Powderfinger" for So Much Fire to Roast Human Flesh, an anti-war compilation curated by Josephine Foster on behalf of Arthur magazine. Jack Rose, formerly of experimental-rock legends Pelt, is one of the best of the current crop of John Fahey-inspired raga-fingerpickers. His steel-string marathons aren't as pretty as work by kindred spirits like Sean Smith and James Blackshaw, but his fierce attack is utterly mesmerizing.
- Max Goldberg
[Info Source]
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FILM
Second San Francisco International Animation Festival
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Thursday Nov 8, 2007
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Embarcadero Center Cinema (1 Embarcadero Ctr, 415.267.4893)
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| price: |
$11 individual screenings
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D. Jud Jones and Risto Topaloski's feature animation, Film Noir, is a prototypical hard-boiled thriller, with not-so-good good guys, truly bad bad guys, and lots of sex. On the other end of the spectrum at this year's International Animation Festival is Tsuneo Goda's Komaneko: the Curious Cat, a stop-motion animation about a movie-obsessed cat. With shorts programs devoted to up-and-coming animators from around the world and animated videos from M. Ward, the Knife, Aesop Rock, Air, Beck, and many others, this year's festival won't disappoint any fan of moving images.
- Gerry Mak
[Info Source]
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MORE FLAVOR: Party
KALX 45th Anniversary Show w/ Chow Nasty, Sugar and Gold, Social Studies, and Greg Ashley
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Thursday Nov 8, 2007 (8pm)
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Rickshaw Stop (155 Fell St, 415.861.2011)
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$10
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Blues/funk/hard rock trio Chow Nasty are like a bowl of oatmeal in your pants — gross and jarring at first, but then, assuming everyone else in the room also has oatmeal in their pants, it gets kinda fun in that "hey, everyone is so retarded" sorta way. Sugar and Gold do the white-boy disco thing with giddy aplomb, while girl-fronted Social Studies rock out with Casio twiddles and fuzzed-out punk/blues guitar. Twang-psych singer/songwriter Greg Ashley adds a bit of purple haze to tonight's celebration of KALX's 45th year on the air, and Yoni Wolf of Oakland darlings Why? plays with records in-between sets.
- Gerry Mak
[Info Source]
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FILM: Documentary
Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten
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Friday Nov 9, 2007
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Lumiere Theatre (1572 California St, 415.267.4893)
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$9.75
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Despite being a proud soldier of the first wave of English punk, Joe Strummer's iconic everyman stance was always more Bruce Springsteen than Johnny Rotten. Indeed, before settling on his famous name, Strummer (né John Mellor) even went by Woody for a while, presumably in tribute to his predecessor in "this guitar kills fascists" posturing, Woody Guthrie. Julien Temple's documentary gathers much first-rate testimony on the singer's singular charisma, which, along with guitarist Mick Jones' expansive musicality, catapulted the Clash from the class of '77 notoriety to rock royalty. One perhaps wishes Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten didn't smack so much of an authorized biography, although its ripping performance footage is evidence enough of Strummer's deep impact.
- Max Goldberg
[Info Source]
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READING
Lydia Lunch and Arthur Nersesian
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Saturday Nov 10, 2007 (7:30pm)
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Moe's Books (2476 Telegraph Ave, 510.849.2087)
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FREE
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In his definitive study of post-punk, Rip It Up and Start Again, rock critic Simon Reynolds aptly describes punk goddess Lydia Lunch as the "anti-Patti Smith." An instigating force of New York's no wave scene, Lunch cut through the poetic pretensions of her predecessors by delivering a punishing vocal assault as the frontwoman of Teenage Jesus & the Jerks. She may remain best known for her collaborations (Sonic Youth, Nick Cave, Michael Gira, etc.), but it's hard to imagine the riot grrrl movement existing without Lunch's example. Soak it up when she reads from her lurid confessional Paradoxia: A Predator's Diary at Moe's Books in Berkeley. She'll be joined by fellow Lower East Sidester Arthur Nersesian, author of The Fuck-Up and a new novel, The Swing Voter of Staten Island.
- Max Goldberg
[Info Source]
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MORE FLAVOR: Festival
The Swearing Festival II
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Saturday Nov 10, 2007 (8pm)
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Edinburgh Castle Pub (950 Geary St, 415.885.4074)
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$12
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Back for its second annual celebration of raunchy words, the Swearing Festival has a little something for everyone, from scatological etymologists to casual cussers: local linguist Jonathan Hunt offers an academic analysis of the subject during the festival's afternoon panel discussion, while the spicier evening lineup includes one-on-one swearing competitions between both friends and strangers, a demonstration of foreign obscenities and rude gestures, all topped off with a profanity-laced dance party. With holiday stress and enforced family time just around the corner, it's high time to get your choicest expletives in shape — or out of your system.
- Connie Hwong
Note:
Panel discussion takes place at 3pm ($5 admission); evening program begins at 8pm.
[Info Source]
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FILM: Shorts
Pioneers of Bay Area Experimental Filmmaking
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Sunday Nov 11, 2007 (7:30pm)
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YBCA Screening Room (701 Mission St, 415.978.2787)
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$10
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Bruce Conner's appearance in Fog City Mavericks, Gary Leva's recent survey of San Francisco as a hotbed of cinematic ingenuity, represents but one facet of the Bay Area's rich contributions to underground filmmaking in America. These shorts from the '40s and '50s — including James Broughton's capricious Four in the Afternoon, Christopher Maclaine's poetic document of North Beach's soon-to-be-famous literary scene, Beat, and Sidney Peterson's ballet of superimposition, Clinic of Stumble — showcase the outgrowth of visionary talent that had already taken root in the region following WWII.
- Matt Sussman
[Info Source]
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ART
Too Late for Tears: A Radio Noir Thriller
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Sunday Nov 11, 2007 (8pm)
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Artists' Television Access (992 Valencia St, 415.824.3890)
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$6
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Close the YouTube clip your friend just forwarded you, power down your iPod, and settle in for a good mystery courtesy of... your radio. Better yet, come watch the voice actors, onstage Foley sound artists, and broadcast announcers of the Transistor Radio Theatre perform their reading of Roy Huggin's obscure 1949 serial Too Late for Tears (later made into the 1949 film-noir classic of the same name). When a sack of blackmail money accidentally winds up in Alan and Jane Palmer's car, the couple is forced to make some unpleasant choices — thanks in large part to the even more objectionable characters on their tail. Find out what happens when bad girls get worse, whether you attend in person or tune in from home.
- Matt Sussman
Note:
This performance broadcasts live on Neighborhood Public Radio/FM 88.9, and streams on NPR's website, neighborhoodpublicradio.org.
[Info Source]
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MORE FLAVOR: Party
Donuts One-Year Anniversary feat. DJs Ian Svenonius, Calvin Johnson, and Hey Willpower
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Monday Nov 12, 2007 (8pm)
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Knockout SF (3223 Mission St, 415.550.6994)
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$8
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Whereas most dance parties are akin to your classic glazed coffee sponge, a Donuts party is like a jelly-and-chocolate-filled éclair with rainbow sprinkles and coconut shavings on top. Drag queens modeling lingerie, the hottest live bands, stellar guest DJs, Bollywood movie nights, and, of course, hot vegan versions of its namesake to nibble on — the Donuts crew does it all, and its one-year anniversary bash is no exception. When K Records' Calvin Johnson and Ian Svenonius (of Make-Up and Nation of Ulysses fame) aren't tearing it up from the DJ booth, local hot-pants brigade Hey Willpower will be working the crowd into submission with their synchronized dance moves.
- Matt Sussman
[Info Source]
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MUSIC: Rock/Pop
Of Montreal w/ Grand Buffet and MGMT
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Monday Nov 12, 2007 (8pm)
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Great American Music Hall (859 O'Farrell St, 415.885.0750)
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$18
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Of Montreal are the most resilient of Athens, GA's psychedelic Elephant 6 collective. Since the glorious flameouts of the Olivia Tremor Control and Neutral Milk Hotel, Of Montreal — along with fellow Athenians Elf Power — have continued to hold the freak flag proudly aloft. As it's evolved, the band has created a personal mythology, crafting sophisticated musical gems that capture the simplicity and wide-eyed wonder of childhood on albums like The Sunlandic Twins and Satanic Panic in the Attic. Leaning heavily on anachronistic vocal harmonizing to illustrate their worldview, Of Montreal's live performance is an exercise in gleeful celebration.
- Buzz Brooks
[Info Source]
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MORE FLAVOR: Festival
Tranny Fest: Transgender Multi-Arts Festival
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Tuesday Nov 6, 2007
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Various locations
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Various prices
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San Francisco has long been an enclave for the genderqueer and fabulous, from Coit Tower benefactress Lillie Hitchcock Coit to disco diva Sylvester. So it's only fitting that our city should also be the home to Tranny Fest, the country's leading transgender arts and film festival. The fest may have kicked off last weekend, but that doesn't mean you can't still catch the mixed-media works of trans artists Bobby Cheung and Anne Louise Mortenson at Bluespace Community Gallery, or engage with outrageous works in the always-popular short- and erotic-film programs this weekend at the SF LGBT Community Center.
- Matt Sussman
[Info Source]
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FILM
New Italian Cinema
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Sunday Nov 11, 2007
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San Francisco Film Society (39 Mesa St, Suite 110, 415.561.5000)
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$11
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More than most national cinemas, Italian film is dominated by its ghosts — Federico Fellini, Pier Paolo Pasolini (whose work is currently being featured in a Pacific Film Archive retrospective), Michelangelo Antonioni, and the list goes on. The occasional sensation aside (Life is Beautiful, The Best of Youth), we don't receive much word of contemporary Italian cinema on these shores except for a busy week programmed by the San Francisco Film Institute in conjunction with the Italian Cultural Institute of San Francisco and New Italian Cinema Events of Florence, Italy. This year's New Italian Cinema series features a three-film tribute to director Francesca Comencini, an early look at Francesca Archibugi's coming-of-age film, Flying Lessons, and many other works by emerging Italian filmmakers.
- Max Goldberg
[Info Source]
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About Us |
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Cultural Partner
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Editors
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Flavorpill San Francisco
All events featured on Flavorpill SF are pure editorial — we never accept paid promotions or advertisements. If you know about an upcoming event that you think should be covered in Flavorpill SF, email us a press release at sf_events at least two weeks prior to the event and we'll consider it.
To learn more about our staff and policies, see the credits and about us pages. If you'd like to respond to our editors about a listing published here, or have a general inquiry, please email sf_feedback.
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Flavorpill also publishes eight other email magazines, covering ART, BOOKS, NEWS, MUSIC, and cultural events in four other cities — NEW YORK, LOS ANGELES, LONDON, and CHICAGO. Coming soon: STYLE/DESIGN and FILM. Subscribe now.
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