September 25 2002

8 Days a Week

Sept. 25-Oct. 2, 2002

TORTURE, DISMEMBERMENT , serial rape, and mass murder – unfathomable brutalities to most in the United States – date back to the days of the Spanish Inquisition in Latin America and have since evolved not only into standard practice in its internal struggles for power but also into part and parcel of its cultural currency. Of course, more subtle aggressions also persist: cultural standards, for example, that define ideals of beauty, intellect, and civilization in specifically white, northern European terms present their own kind of psychological violence – with real-world consequences. These are precisely the kinds of themes Galería de la Raza attempts to shine a light on in 'Viology: Cultures of Violence/Violence of Cultures.' The exhibit – the gallery's most ambitious undertaking in years – features visual art, documentary photography, installations, digital murals, and more by two dozen Latino artists. Curators have also organized a parallel symposium that incorporates video and film screenings (including work by Lourdes Portillo, Kinan Valdez, and the Guerrilla News Network), spoken word, presentations, and forums that explore the political and psychological recesses of violence and its relationship to art, culture, and media. The result is an exhaustive inquiry into both the overt and indirect ways violence has bled into the very fabric of Latino cultures in the United States and abroad – and the social and political mechanisms by which it is recreated. Through Nov. 23. Opens Tues/1, noon-6 p.m. Reception Sat/28, 7-10 p.m.; gallery hours Tues.-Sat., noon-6 p.m., Galería de la Raza, 2857 24th St., S.F. Free. (415) 826-8009, www.galeriadelaraza.org. Call or go to the Web site for related schedule and event details. (Camille T. Taiara)

Sept. 25

Wednesday

Big Willie style You can never have too much Tennessee Williams, unless of course you're talking about The Glass Menagerie, A Streetcar Named Desire, or any of his other greatest hits that make endless rounds from high school English classes to late-night cable broadcasts. Fortunately, the Eastenders Repertory Company is here to remind us that there's more to one of America's greatest playwrights than Marlon Brando's big scene hollering "Stella!" With its fourth annual festival of one-act plays, Eight X Tenn, Eastenders offers up eight lesser-known Williams works in rotating repertory. On the bill are two ultrarare selections: 1966's "surrealist romp" The Gnädiges Fräulein and a New York City-set tale of an old man and a young hustler, The Travelling Companion, written in the early 1980s. Previews tonight and Thurs/26, 8 p.m. Opens Fri/27, 8 p.m. Runs Tues.-Sat., 8 p.m. (also Sun/29, Oct. 6, 13, and 20, 3 p.m.), Eureka Theatre Company, 215 Jackson, S.F. $12-$20. (510) 434-0734, www.eastenders.org. (Cheryl Eddy)

Sept. 26

Thursday

A moveable feast This weekend see the West Coast's largest congregation of mobile masterpieces at the ArtCar Fest. The convoy of whimsical wheels – bearing monikers like the Cathedral, the Bumper Car, and Cowasaki (a bovine-themed bike) – travels from downtown Berkeley to the San Jose Museum of Art today and between the Berkeley and San Francisco Amoeba Music stores Sat/28, in a moving display of 100 works by various car artists. The festivities take place at the San Jose Museum of Art all day Fri/27, with an art car display. And, when the sun goes down, expect to see a fanfare of flipped-out garb, designed by the car-tists themselves, at the ArtCar Fest Fashion Show, plus performances by Dr. Howland Owl, Sebastian Melmoth, Stan the World's Loudest Man, and the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. Two art car documentaries by Harrod Blank, Wild Wheels and "Driving the Dream," will be shown, and live tunes will be provided by the Phenomenauts and the Gluey Brothers. On Sun/29, catch the art cars at the How Berkeley Can You Be Festival. Through Sun/29. Today, art car caravan departs noon, Cafe Venezia, 1799 University, Berk; Fri/27, art car festival 10 am.-10 p.m, Fairmount Plaza, Market at Pase de San Antoinio, San Jose; Sat/2, art car caravan departs Amoeba Music, 2455 Telegraph, Berk.; arrive at Amoeba Music, 1855 Haight, S.F.; Sun/29, parade 11 a.m., University Ave.; festival, noon, Martin Luther King Park, MLK Jr. Way at Milvia, Berk. Free. 1-800-391-9673, www.artcarfest.com. (Angie Edwards)

Sept. 27

Friday

Sugar and spice If you pine for the days when vivacious vixens purred their way through dance numbers dripping with glitter and gluttony, you're in luck. Burlesque hasn't fallen by the wayside since its heyday (the 1930s through '60s); it's just been bounced out of the mainstream a little. This weekend Tease-O-Rama 2002 brings lascivious ladies such as Dee Milo (the "Venus of Dance"), Kitten de Ville, and Torchy Taboo to the stage for feathered, coiffed, and powdered bumps and grinds. Tease-O-Rama was started in New Orleans a few years ago when dancer and burlesque lover Alison Fensterstock decided to bring performers and fans together and "build a group consciousness among the practitioners of a unique art." She met fellow enthusiast Baby Doe, of San Francisco's Devil-Ettes, and Tease-O-Rama busted onto the scene soon after. The slinky list of performers also includes Dixie Evans, whose Exotic World Museum is a surreal oasis perched in the middle of Helendale (note to road trippers: Dixie's personal tour is definitely worth the drive). Through Sat/28, 8:30 p.m., Bimbo's 365 Club, 1025 Columbus, S.F. $25-$30. (415) 401-1152, www.teaseorama.com. (Also, Sun/29, 9:30 p.m., Broadway Studios, 435 Broadway, S.F. $20-$25.) (Dina Gachman)

All the rage It's difficult to think of onetime office clerk Declan MacManus as an elder statesman, at least for those who first knew him through classic pop punk albums like My Aim Is True and This Year's Model (both on Rykodisc). But those albums were made 25 years ago, and Elvis Costello has been mellowing out ever since, interpreting maligned genres like country and chamber music, with great songwriting, typified by solidly memorable hooks and choruses, serving as a common denominator. His upcoming show will mostly serve as a platform for a brittle yet elegiac voice that continues to haunt reformed troublemakers and jaded rock critics. Overly earnest indie-rockers Phantom Planet open. 8 p.m., Warfield, 982 Market, S.F. $32.50-$41.50. (415) 775-7722. (Also Sat/28, 8 p.m., Paramount Theater, 2025 Broadway, Oakl. $45-$55. 510-465-6400). (Mosi Reeves)

Clothes call If you like wearing original pieces made by local designers, you must attend Oaktopia. Produced by 13 East Bay designers – Tara Wittman, en route apparel, Amee Tsai, Tierra Del Forte, DAMASK, Rachel and Danny, Jennifer Mackey/Chia Jen Studio, kiki stash, Ginny Kleker, Wills Roberson Clothing Co., Ramon Gamboa, Stephanie Charren, and Amanda Willoughby – collectively known as Oaktown Stitchdown, the event explores the urban and the organic and chaos and structure through humor, music, theatrics, and fashion. The designers' styles range from quirky to sensual, so it's likely everyone who attends will be pleased, or at least inspired. 8 p.m., Alice Arts Center, 1428 Alice, Oakl. $5-$7. (510) 841-3930. (Lori Spears)

Sept. 28

Saturday

Border music San Diego-based filmmaker Hans Fjellestad uses confluence as a motif for his examination of border culture in Tijuana, Frontier Life. The film is composed of stories about underground drag racing, wastewater treatment, and Nortec music (a fusion of American and European techno and Mexican Norteño musical traditions). In drawing from these three disparate spheres, Fjellestad seeks to approximate the complex culture of Tijuana, a city whose reputation largely fails to account for the diverse influences and unique isolation shaping life at the border. San Diego-based performer Titicacaman provides musical accompaniment. 9 p.m., 21 Grand Gallery, 449B 23rd St., Oakl. $8. (510) 44-GRAND, www.21grand.org. (Elizabeth Lobsenz)

Highway to hell With the South in their blood and Skynyrd on their brains, Georgia's Drive-By Truckers barrel through enough haunted, death-laden odes to rednecks and real-life blazes of glory to make even the bravest truck stop rockers think twice about getting behind the wheel. Their Lynyrd Skynyrd-inspired opus Southern Rock Opera (Lost Highway) impressively explores the "duality of the Southern thing," but it's onstage where Alabama-born Patterson Hood's pointed, poignant narratives truly come to life as his band's three-guitar, hit 'n' run rock barrage references Ted Nugent, Neil Young, and of course, Skynyrd. Whether or not that sounds like the South you (think you) know, the Drive-By Truckers have nonetheless earned a rep as one of today's best bands from below the Mason-Dixon. Drive-By Truckers play with the North Mississippi Allstars. 9 p.m., Fillmore, 1805 Geary, S.F. $20. (415) 346-6000. (Jimmy Draper)

Art rocks When it comes to posters for rock shows, most of us are most familiar with the scribbled, xeroxed variety commonly found clinging to every telephone pole in the city. However, "gigpostering" has actually become its own art form, with legendary designer Frank Kozik leading the charge. This weekend, some of the world's leading poster artists, including Kozik, Jeff Kleinsmith, Jagmo, Factor27, and more than 40 others, congregate at the Flatstock Poster Convention, where the handmade works – gorgeously garish, artfully obscene, painstakingly detailed, and in some cases, more creative and original than the bands they're advertising – will be on display for purchase or perusal. Whether you're an art collector or just a music fanatic, this exhibit is a must-see. Through Sun/29. Noon-6 p.m., CELLspace, 2050 Bryant, S.F. Free. www.flatstock.com. (Eddy)

Sept. 29

Sunday

Metal madness In the late '80s the thrash metal world had two main centers of activity: one was San Francisco – home to Exodus, Testament, and Metallica – and the other was Germany, thanks largely to the efforts of Kreator and Destruction, the two bands on tonight's bill. They may not have had Metallica's epic sleight of hand or Slayer's pure heaviness, but they both knew how to crank out those whiplash-inducing double-time thrash riffs and stir up an over-the-top metal frenzy in general. And after hitting some trouble spots during the mid '90s, both are pretty much back on track – with most of the original members on board – offering slightly modernized versions of their classic-era sounds. Also on the bill are Cephalic Carnage, December, Psypheria, and Sangre Amado. 7:30 p.m., Pound-SF, 96 Cargo Way, S.F. $18. (415) 826-9202. (Will York)

Wired Grab the kids, dust off those dancing shoes, and head out to Treasure Island for the first annual Elektric Soul Festival. Tykes and Enduppers alike are sure to have a fantastic time at this daylong affair, which, on two outdoor stages and one indoor dance arena, features a stellar lineup of house, hip-hop, ambient, techno, and downtempo acts including Mixmaster Morris, Daddy G, Fila Brazilia, Different Drummer, 100% Dynamite, as well as local luminaries Miguel Migs with singer Lisa Shaw, Blaktroniks, J-Boogie, Tom Thump, and Jonah Sharp with Radioactive. Local artists and filmmakers will display their work in the Fog Watch building throughout the day, while the Precita Eyes Mural Project will have a work in progress for the kiddies to go nuts with. So come on, folks – get them asses out there. Noon-midnight, Treasure Island. $35-$45 (includes shuttle to and from San Francisco's Pier 32; limited Treasure Island parking permits available for $25); kids free. (415) 252-1000, www.elektricsoul.com. (Sylvia W. Chan)

Sept. 30

Monday

From beyond Reed player Dan Plonsey's preference for composition over free improvisation makes him no less avant-garde than his peers in the Bay Area creative music scene. You won't hear many sounds further out – beyond jazz into realms of non-Western intonation – than those conjured by Plonsey as "Music from El Cerrito" and realized by the orchestra he calls Daniel Popsicle. Twenty-one women and men, including Suki O'Kane (toy percussion), Ben Goldberg (clarinet), John Schott (steel guitar), John Shiurba (electric guitar; a Bay Guardian staffer), Lynn Wold (organ), Tom Yoder (trombone), and Plonsey (oboe and sax) will jam the stage and fill the air with whimsically serious music for the seriously whimsical at this Jazz in Flight presentation. 8 and 10 p.m., Yoshi's, 510 Embarcadero West, Jack London Square, Oakl. $8-$10. (510) 238-9200. (Derk Richardson)

In motion True, Yuri Possokhov may be San Francisco Ballet's senior male and just possibly still the company's most ardently expressive dancer. But he is a lot more than that. He left a budding career at the Bolshoi Ballet because he didn't feel like "being a prince all the time." He wanted, and with SFB has had the chance, to do many types of roles, explore a range of media, and stretch not just his brawn but also his brain. As a dancer he has entered the later stages of his career – there was a definite farewell quality about his Albrecht in last spring's Giselle – but as a choreographer he has just started. His Magrittomania was a brainy, entertaining, and wondrously imaginative piece. His latest work, Damned, based on the myth of Medea, was a stunner. The signposts have been set: Possokhov has a whole other career in front of him. Tonight's "Words on Dance" event includes an interview, film clips, and audience questions. 7:30 p.m., Cowell Theater, Fort Mason Center, Marina at Laguna, S.F. $15-$20. (415) 345-7575. (Rita Felciano)

Oct. 1

Tuesday

Choice of nightmares Mellowness, generally speaking, is not to be trusted. Murderous neighbors are often the calmest. Charles Manson played folk music. And whatever happened to Nick Drake, his end wasn't as pastoral as his melodies. So while San Francisco band eE (pronounced "e") play shambling, melodic cello-accented pop with decidedly Drake-ish overtones, their clattering drums-guitar crescendos and lyrics like "listen for the waves, careful for the undertow" should be heard not as punchy counterpoint so much as signs of the dark underbelly of pretty pop. Their newest full length album, For 100 We Try Harder (Asian Man) was released last month. Tonight eE play with +/- and Emily Sparks. 9 p.m., Bottom of the Hill, 1233 17th St., S.F. $7. (415) 621-4455. (Elizabeth Lobsenz)

Oct. 2

Like it is Head to Oakland on a Wednesday this October for performer Hanifah Walidah's intriguingly titled solo play, Straight Black Folks Guide to Gay Black Folks. Walidah, a Bronx-born, Bay Area-based artist with backgrounds in hip-hop and theater, plays a range of characters in her new show, which takes to task stereotypes of queer African Americans, as well as the displacement gays and lesbians often face within the black community. Walidah draws partly on her own experiences for material, and given her good-natured sense of humor – the idea for the show came to her as if "it was two slices of bread waitin' at the butcher shop for some meat" – the show looks to be both enjoyable and illuminating. Tonight's opening acts are poets Exodus and Karen Ladson. Through Oct 30. Wed., 7:30 p.m., Black Box Theater, 1928 Telegraph, Oakl. $12. (510) 594-4335, www.trustlife.net. (Eddy)

The Bay 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, date and time, venue name, street address (listing cross streets only is not sufficient), city, telephone number readers can call for more information, telephone number for media, admission costs, and a brief description of the event. Send information to Listings, the Bay Guardian Building, 135 Mississippi St., S.F. 94107; fax to (415) 487-2506, or e-mail (no attachments, please) to listings@sfbg.com. We cannot guarantee the return of photos, but enclosing an SASE helps. We regret we cannot accept listings over the phone.