8 Days a Week

July 3-10, 2002

DANCE-THEATER artist Ann Carlson is something of a clotheshorse. Best known for her meticulously researched and carefully crafted solo work, she has been known to perform in a business suit made from Astroturf, Las Vegas sequins, and a container of earth. For a piece titled Auction – about how everything is for sale in this country – not only did she don a white pantsuit, but she also went to auction school to learn the rapid-fire delivery of an auctioneer. For Night Light, a site-specific work similar to one she created a couple of years ago in Central Park, she makes good use of her costuming skills. With the help of local performers, Carlson stages a series of tableaux vivants based on archival photographs – bringing those moments in history back to life and re-creating something of what the area around Yerba Buena Center used to look like, from the gold rush to more recent times. Mon/8-Fri/12, walking tours of performance installations leave at 6:30, 6:50, and 7:10 p.m. (meet in the Grand Lobby), Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 701 Mission, S.F. Free. (415) 978-ARTS. (Rita Felciano)

July 3

Wednesday

All aboard Amtrak may be struggling, but for some, the cushy confines of passenger cars don't figure in when they ride the rails. Learn more about life on the road from Eddy Joe Cotton, author of the newly released Hobo: A Young Man's Thoughts on Trains and Tramping in America. Cotton (real name: Zebu Recchia) hit the tracks at 19 and spent several years soaking up hobo culture and moving through areas of the country that usually remain hidden to more conventional travelers. Tonight, Psychofunkodiscodelic and Golden Gate Recordings host "Train Wreck," a salute to Cotton that'll start with a book signing and also include Cotton's own jug band, the Yard Dogs; the Extra Action Marching Band; fire dancer Apsara; and other live acts aimed at lending the event an old-timey medicine-show flair. Plus, DJs Laird, Lorin, Laron, Fabulizz, John Pickett, and Felix the Housecat will be on hand to mix it up. Later this week catch Cotton and his Yard Dogs doing their thing at book signings throughout the Bay Area. Party and performance tonight, 8 p.m., Xenodrome, 1320 Potrero, S.F. $15. (415) 271-1170. Book signings Sun/7, 7 p.m., Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista, Corte Madera; Mon/8, Stacey's Books, 581 Market, S.F.; Tues/9, Booksmith, 1644 Haight, S.F.; Thurs/11, Black Oak Books, 1491 Shattuck, Berk. Free. www.eddyjoecotton.com. (Cheryl Eddy)

Computer world "Transcinema 02," the fifth incarnation of the annual new-media arts festival, will take place in October. With local and international artists such as Matmos, Stelarc, and Granular Synthesis on the bill, the festival directors will have to buy lots of champagne (or whatever new-media artists drink). Hence tonight's Transcinema 02 Benefit Gala at the Lab. Following an opening reception with artists' installations, Transcinema contributors, including Victoria Vesna and Doctor Friendly, and festival director Gregory Cowley give presentations and performances. The night concludes with a DJ set accompanied by live visuals from Bay Area artists. 6 p.m.-midnight, the Lab, 2948 16th St., S.F. $10-$20 donation. (415) 864-8855. (Elizabeth Lobsenz)

July 4

Thursday

Dance dance revolution Sure, you could spend Independence Day grilling tofu dogs and bitching about globalization around the barbecue – but certainly at least five people in the Bay Area have that task covered. Instead, take in an afternoon of Brazilian funk, bossa nova, and batucada DJ sets, live Afro-Brazilian percussion by A Mao Dos Anjos, and samba dancers at the second annual 'Tropicalia: Street Angels of Brazil Benefit.' This event helps fund the Angels' projects to provide employment, housing, education, health care, and environmental safety for the devastating number of Brazilian children living in poverty. With icy caipirinhas, free barbecue, and Brazilian CDs and crafts thrown in, it'll undoubtedly beat the old soy-in-the-backyard routine. 3-8 p.m., El Rio, 3158 Mission, S.F. $10-$100 sliding scale. (415) 282-3325, futurejuju@yahoo.com. (Lobsenz)

Black gold For more than 40 years the San Francisco Mime Troupe has been tweaking the establishment with provocative plays inspired by current events. For nearly as long, the collective has opened a new show annually and performed it free of charge in local parks. Last year's hilarious 1600 Transylvania Avenue, a musical that likened Republicans to vampires, was hailed as one of the group's best ever. This year the stage looks to be set for another winner: Mr. Smith Goes to Obskuristan, a political satire penned by Josh Kornbluth (Haiku Tunnel) and inspired by – what else – the aftermath of Sept. 11. Don't expect mind-numbing patriotism in this show, conveniently opening on the Fourth of July. The play goes right to the greedy heart of the war on terrorism and imagines what would happen if the United States decided to help a tiny country secure a democratic government – only to double-cross 'em when oil is suddenly discovered. Sound familiar? The show plays all over northern California at various locations through Labor Day; check the Mime Troupe Web site for a schedule. Opens today. Runs in this location Sat/6-Sun/7, 2 p.m., Dolores Park, Dolores at 19th St., S.F. Free (donations accepted). (415) 285-1717, www.sfmt.org. (Eddy)

July 5

Friday

Piece by piece Celebrating four years of presenting composers in performance on the first Friday of every month, the Meridian Music series narrows the field to five soloists for its fourth annual Midsummer Music Festival. The intimate, downtown gallery setting allows for uncompromised appreciation of new music that derives from a variety of classical, jazz, folk, and pop sources. While playing their individual sets, saxophonist Colin Stetson, bassist Eric Perney, cellist Kristina Forester, violinist Sarah Jo Zaharako, and trumpeter Ara Anderson will no doubt reveal certain mutual aesthetic concerns, for their paths have crossed in such bands as Transmission, People's Bizarre, Mosthumbz, and Boostamonte, as well as projects conceived by Fred Frith, Jeff Pitcher, and Tom Waits. 8 p.m., Meridian Gallery, 545 Sutter, S.F. $5-$10. (415) 398-7229. (Derk Richardson)

July 6

Saturday

Gabba gabba hey! Summer is here, and while you can't count on sunny days or balmy nights in these parts, the season does herald one sure thing: Midnight Mass! For five years fearless host Peaches Christ and her loyal sidekick Martiny have busted out the cult favorites for movie fans who're looking for something a little more titillating than the latest Will Smith crowd-pleaser. Nay, at this Mass, the cinematic selection is merely one facet of the evening – and while, say, Tod Browning's Freaks (screening July 27) is pretty unforgettable by itself, the preshow "Drag Queen Roller Derby" is certain to leave an equally indelible impression. Tonight the series kicks off with perennial Midnight Mass fave Showgirls, accompanied by a Peaches-fied version of the film's volcanic revue, Goddess. Other highlights: Mink Stole in person for Polyester (Sat/13); a "scariest clown" contest pre-Poltergeist (July 20); a One-Eyed Willie (double entendre intended) hunt for Goonies (Aug. 3); and the ever popular mother-daughter mud wrestling challenge with Mommie Dearest (Aug. 10). Midnight, Bridge Theatre, 3010 Geary, S.F. $8. (415) 751-3213, www.peacheschrist.com. (Eddy)

July 7

Sunday

First-hand knowledge Rising up from beneath a mountain of newspapers piled onstage, seven Palestinian actors emerge to tell the stories behind the headlines in 'Alive from Palestine: Stories under Occupation.' Presented by Ramallah's Al Kasaba Theatre, a nongovernmental organization, the critically acclaimed – and controversial, thanks to its politically charged subject matter – play features powerful, personal tales of life during wartime from ordinary Palestinian people: a West Bank father assures his London-dwelling son that everything is fine despite reports of death and destruction; two young lovers exchange rubber bullets as tokens of their love; and a boy infatuated with Jean-Claude Van Damme action flicks realizes his own life is more real than anything in the movies. Performed in Arabic with video-projected English subtitles, Alive from Palestine offers a depiction of human struggle straight from the mouths of the disenfranchised and voiceless. 7 p.m., Palace of Fine Arts, 3301 Lyon, S.F. $35. (415) 392-4400. (Shadi Rahimi)

July 8

Monday

Mash notes When he hasn't been busy producing records for Bill Frisell, World Saxophone Quartet, Eddie Palmieri, Peter Apfelbaum, Fontella Bass, or his wife Robin Holcomb, Seattle-based keyboardist-composer Wayne Horvitz has been restoring the good name of jazz-rock-funk fusion. His musical vehicle, Zony Mash, has recorded four high-octane psychedelicized CDs. The quartet – with guitarist Timothy Young, bassist Keith Lowe, and drummer Andy Roth – has also unplugged for two Songlines recordings under Horvitz's name, Forever (originally titled American Bandstand) and the new Sweeter than the Day. In the acoustic version of Zony Mash, Horvitz (a veteran of New York's fertile downtown scene and an absorbing postmodern acoustic pianist) gets a chance to show off the elegantly shaped and finely detailed aspects of his often contemplative and lyrical compositions, reflecting his deep familiarity with jazz, classical, and American folk idioms. 8 and 10 p.m., Yoshi's, 510 Embarcadero West, Jack London Square, Oakl. $14. (510) 238-9200. (Richardson)

July 9

Tuesday

Street sounds It's been six years since Jethro Jeremiah earned his living singing and playing guitar for shoppers on Haight Street. Now the San Francisco-bred Jethro Jeremiah Band spreads love through soulful harmonies, warm melodies, and danceable folk-reggae beats. For those expecting a night full of Bob Marley cover songs, be warned: the band boasts a repertoire of more than 40 original songs. With passionate lead vocals, funky keys, jazzy sax riffs, and skankin' bass lines, the Jethro Jeremiah Band will keep true rastas rockin' the dance floor all night long. 8:30 p.m., Sweetwater, 153 Throckmorton, Mill Valley. $7. (415) 388-2820. (Rahimi)

July 10

Wednesday

United nations Finnish keyboard and drum trio Aavikko are touring the United States for the first time with Oakland's Mono Pause. Both bands play frantic off-kilter music that's a hybrid of international pop, surf, spaghetti western, and psychedelic dance freak-outs. Aavikko's music is like a soundtrack for driving across serene, snow-covered Finland with a hot coal in your pants. Mono Pause have gotten attention for their Dadaist antics, such as lip-synching entire sets (including interactions between songs), dressing up as whales, and playing songs backward. But their music is no joke. They're excellent musicians with the knowledge and skill to play everything from Southeast Asian pop songs to free-form improvisational pieces, and play them well. A show with either of these bands alone would be a treat, but one with both on the same bill is phenomenal. Natural Dreamers also play. 9 p.m., Bottom of the Hill, 1233 17th St., S.F. $7. (415) 621-4455. (Angie Edwards)