October 16, 2002

8 Days a Week

Oct. 16-23, 2002

JAZZ MAY COMMAND only a 3 percent share of the CD marketplace, but you wouldn't think it such a commercial nonentity judging by the San Francisco Jazz Festival. That's because over the course of two decades Randall Kline has deftly modeled his presenting organization along symphony-opera-ballet lines, cultivating a solid audience of society swells and die-hard jazzers and programming virtually can't-miss shows into a deservedly attention-grabbing two-and-a-half-week-long cornucopia of classic, mainstream, progressive, and offbeat sounds. This year's fest runs Oct. 23 through Nov. 10 and tests not only the pocketbook but also the definition of jazz with Tuvan throat singers Huun-Huur-Tu joining sax master James Carter for the always enthralling Sacred Space concert (Nov. 1) and Merle Haggard headlining a tribute to Bob Wills (Nov. 8). If jazz has to become a special occasion music, at least this festival lays out a full banquet of history (Wayne Shorter, Ellis Marsalis and Bobby Hutcherson, and Shirley Horn), global diversity (Jon Jang, David Murray, Hermeto Pascoal, Ruben Blades, Djelimady Tounkara, Yusef Lateef, and Adam Rudolph), and edginess (Ornette Coleman, James "Blood" Ulmer, Tin Hat Trio, Greg Osby, Bobby McFerrin, and the Jack DeJohnette-John Surman and Paul Plimley-Lisle Ellis duos). Oct. 23-Nov. 10, various times and venues, S.F. $5-$75. (415) 788-7353. Go to www.sfjazz.org for the complete schedule. (Derk Richardson)

Oct. 16

Wednesday

Duck, duck, goose Notable Japanese composer and musician Natsuki Tamura hosts an interesting evening of musical chairs in the East Bay tonight. The trumpeter, who has received high praise for his amazing improvisational skills, will be choosing ensembles from a pool of 10 illustrious Bay Area players: saxophonist Phillip Greenlief, vocalist Morgan Guberman, electronic manipulator Tim Perkis, percussionists Gino Robair and Garth Powell, bassist Matthew Sperry, koto player Shoko Hikage, trumpeter Tom Djll, trombonist Toyoji Tomita, and shakuhachi player Philip Gelb. This all-star lineup promises an almost endless combination of exciting, magical sounds. 8 p.m., 21 Grand, 449B 23rd St., Oakl. $10. (510) 444-7263. (Angie Edwards)

Oct. 17

Thursday

The weasel goes pop Pervasive weirdness lurks beneath the perfect pop songs of New York-based Enon. Bursts of noise and antimelodic thrusts turn up everywhere in their songs, disfiguring the bouncy sensibility and countering the articulate lyrics. With the release of High Society (Touch and Go/Southern) this summer, the band moved further toward impeccable, hyperliterate, danceable rock. Antipop tendencies persist, though, in Enon's trademark off-kilter rhythms, which lurch slyly beneath their melodic gems. Each song seems to have a shifting center of balance that makes listeners dance, then leaves them on the wrong foot. The Helio Sequence and Breast complete the bill. 10 p.m., Bottom of the Hill, 1233 17th St., S.F. $8. (415) 621-4455. (Elizabeth Lobsenz)

Oct. 18

Friday

Frankenfood for thought Walking through an average supermarket today, you have good reason to doubt the safety of most of the products you see. Fed Up! Genetic Engineering, Industrial Agriculture, and Sustainable Alternatives, a new video by Angelo Sacerdote of San Francisco organization Wholesome Goodness, explores the ways in which agribusiness practices have compromised safety and shifted control of the food supply away from small farmers and the public. Using interviews with activists, writers, and scientists, as well as archival footage, Fed Up! shows why – and how – small producers and everyday consumers should take back control of their food. 8 p.m., Artists' Television Access, 992 Valencia, S.F. $5. (415) 824-3890, www.atasite.org. (Lobsenz)

Take it outside The Tenderloin is probably the last place you'd expect to suddenly encounter a koto performance, a live soap opera, aerial choreography, or teenage Cambodian dancers. That's why the eighth annual In the Street Festival, presented by the Luggage Store and the 509 Cultural Center, is such a wonderfully unique phenomenon. For three days Ellis Street between Leavenworth and Hyde becomes a hotbed of performance and creativity, kicking off with tonight's ceremonial planting of a Japanese maple in mural-festooned Cohen Alley, followed by performances by Dance Brigade, Miya Masaoka, and others. Saturday and Sunday are packed with nonstop activities, with appearances by Keith Hennessey and Circo Zero, the Chitresh Das Dance Company, ABADÁ Capoeira, and Crown City Rockers, to name a few, plus DJs, puppeteers, graffiti artists, break-dancers, snake-dancers, and too many more to list here. If you normally view the 'Loin as a pocket of the city to avoid, here's your chance to see its streets in a whole new light. Tonight, 5:30-10 p.m.; Sat/19-Sun/20, 11:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m., Ellis between Leavenworth and Hyde, S.F. Free. (415) 255-5971, www.luggagestoregallery.org. (Cheryl Eddy)

Travel guide What separates singer-storyteller David Dondero from this city's overpopulated pack of navel-gazing guitar-slingers is his ability to internalize the struggles of those whose paths he crosses. A transient rock-folkie with a forlorn, road-worn vibrato recalling that of Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst, Dondero has been around the block enough to know it's the faces, not the places, that ultimately matter in travel. So on his latest album, Shooting at the Sun with a Water Gun, he looks into his well-traveled past and reimagines strangers' conversations as words of wisdom, using their histories as survival guides. The resulting travelogue is so refreshingly empathetic that it's impossible to hear him as just another one of the city's self-obsessed hum 'n' strummers. Nik Freitas and Virgil Shaw also perform at this Future Farmer showcase. 10 p.m. Cafe du Nord, 2170 Market, S.F. $7. (415) 861-5016. (Jimmy Draper)

Synthetically organic Explore alternate universes at Plastic: A Trip Through the Membrane, a multimedia "play" experience created by Dr. Aaron Wolf Baum (a.k.a. "Doctor Friendly"). Dr. Baum's art presents a fascinating, high-tech take on creation – and we are all aware that amazing theories often evolve into actualities. Prepare yourself by undergoing this multimedia journey into another reality. Expect numerous projected images and audio environments, live soundscapes by Alaric Burns, movement by Butoh dancer Ledoh, and costumes and sculpture by designer Loo Lin, among them "the External Immune System," an extensive 100-foot maze of medical tubing. Through Sat/19. 8 p.m., Lab, 2948 16th St., S.F. $7-$10. (415) 864-8855, www.thelab.org. (Edwards)

Oct. 19

Saturday

Puttin' on the glitz Pageants have had a rough time this year, what with the Miss America contest being marred by the "two Miss North Carolinas" controversy and the maybe-secretly-married-and-preggers Miss Universe having to give up her title. Fortunately, all signs point to a scandal-free 29th annual Mr. and Miss Gay San Francisco Pageant, presented by the Imperial Court of San Francisco and bearing the theme "Hollywood Style." Contestants do battle in a variety of categories (interview, sportswear, and evening attire), plus the talent portion, which looks to kick standard beauty pageant ass with at least one elaborate production number on the bill. Besides taking home the coveted crowns, the winners of this friendly competition add an extra, community-oriented layer to the glamour by hosting charity events during their reigns. 7 p.m., Most Holy Redeemer rec hall, 100 Diamond, S.F. $15-$20. (415) 864-0959. (Eddy)

Brassy New Orleans has birthed much American music, and the funky second-line sound is as durable, not to mention danceable, as any the Crescent City has served up. The Brass Monkey Brass Band – led by tubas, trombones, trumpets, and saxophones – play sweaty, high-energy party music that drags a New Orleans anchor to all points of the globe. They've got chops to burn, which they apply to a repertoire that ricochets from "Doo Wah Diddy" to "When the Saints Go Marching In," with nods to Stevie Wonder and Led Zeppelin in between. With the world on the brink of war, it's time to party like there's no tomorrow, because hey, who knows? 10 p.m., Elbo Room, 647 Valencia, S.F. $8. (415) 552-7788. (J.H. Tompkins)

Public service Political power runs through the airwaves, and no one knows that better than an underfunded activist group that's trying to get its message out to the masses. Sup. Gavin Newsom and his allies have been running a slick media campaign on behalf of Proposition N (Care Not Cash), which would drastically slice General Assistance checks, and they seem to have money to burn. The Committee Against Increased Homelessness, running on volunteer efforts and donated equipment, can't make the same claim, but it has created some TV spots that will shed light on the lies behind Prop. N. Tonight's No on Prop. N benefit to raise money for airtime includes DJs and performances by Mates of State, Whysall Lane (ex-members of Versus, Jawbreaker, and the Little Deaths), and Running Ragged (whose bassist, Gretchen Hildebran, worked on the ads). 9 p.m., Femina Potens, 4618 Third St., S.F. $10-$20, free to G.A. recipients, no one turned away for lack of funds. (415) 824-3119, www.nomorehomelessness.org. (Lynn Rapoport)

Maple leaf rag Toronto band Do Make Say Think share the Constellation label with fellow Canadian minimal instrumental bands Godspeed You Black Emperor! and A Silver Mt. Zion. Yet Do Make Say Think find unique musical territory within their genre, crafting warm, subtle tracks from jazzy drums, softly strummed guitars, and bits of layered-on noise. The result is strikingly organic music, sounding as ancient and endemic as if it survived from prehistory or grew like moss on trees. Fly Pan Am join the band, bringing a clattering take on instrumental post-rock that bears the rhythmic stamp of drawn-out psych tirades and the austerity of punk. The Drift also perform. 10 p.m., Bottom of the Hill, 1233 17th St., S.F. $10. (415) 621-4455. (Lobsenz)

Oct. 20

Sunday

Alley cats Head out for an early evening show featuring local rockers Grace Alley, whose easygoing sound is tinged with pop, blues, and country. Lead singer Leslie Gage has been at the mic all her life (her family owns a nightclub back East, and she got her start crooning on weekends at the ripe old age of 12. Gage has been called "the female Chris Isaak," and she also names Bonnie Raitt and Jeff Buckley as influences). The rest of the band – named for the Mission District street where they practice – are also seasoned musicians, so swing by and hoist a beer in support of their first Parkside gig. The Bellyachers and William Elliot Whitmore open. 5 p.m., Parkside, 1600 17th St., S.F. Free. (415) 503-0393. (Eddy)

Oct. 21

Monday

Spoonful of sugar In a just power-pop universe, where music was judged purely on its gutsy melodies and clever way with a chorus rather than the cut of the artist's jibe and fashion savoir faire, Spoon would be attracting the same amount of ink as the Strokes. Both bands like their pop sharp, short, and infectious as all get out. But Spoon was born a generation too late to comfortably ride the current rock revival, and the Austin, Texas, band became a textbook case of late-'90s major-label neglect after singer-guitarist-songwriter Britt Daniel and company were dropped by Elektra and then came out swinging with their poison pen of a single, "The Agony of Laffitte," aimed at their former A&R man. So there's little wonder then that Daniel's anxiety-wracked ditties – in full, hard-knock glory on their latest album, Kill the Moonlight (Merge) – come with a nasty edge that pulls them out of the Pixies imitator camp and into a tough little league of their own. Live, these guys are relatively unflashy and gimmick free – all the better to let those hooks bite. 8 p.m., Slim's, 333 11th St., S.F. $12. (415) 522-0333. (Kimberly Chun)

Oct. 22

Tuesday

Good for the soul Prolific writer Anne Lamott has attracted a rabid fan base appreciative of her deeply personal works, especially Word by Word, an online column that appeared on Salon.com in the late 1990s, and the memoir Travelling Mercies, an essay collection Lamott described as containing "pieces on forgiveness, grief and anger, and how transformative those emotions can be; and it's about healing, being a mess, having jiggly thighs, and being imperfect." Spirituality – but never preachiness – and humor also inform the author's several novels, such as Hard Laughter and Crooked Little Heart, and additional works of nonfiction, including her reflections on being a single mother, Operating Instructions. Lamott's latest work, Blue Shoes, is about a recent divorcée struggling to raise two small children while caring for her elderly mother. Lamott appears tonight as part of City Arts and Lectures' "Social Studies 2002" series. 8 p.m., Herbst Theatre, 401 Van Ness, S.F. $18. (415) 392-1400. (Eddy)

Oct. 23

Wednesday

Strange fruit About three years ago it seemed like Melt-Banana were ready to take over the world, or at least as much of the world as an abrasive Japanese hardcore-noise band could ever hope to take over. They were touring constantly and had a new album (Charlie, on their own A-Zap label) that, although not on the level of their amazing live sets, was still pretty good. It also didn't hurt to have influential, demographics-crossing fans such as Jim O'Rourke, John Zorn, and the guys in Mr. Bungle. But for whatever reason that momentum has fizzled over the last couple of years, as they've been uncharacteristically quiet. They're back, though, with a new drummer (the phenomenal Dave Witte of Phantomsmasher and Burnt by the Sun) and hopefully some new songs, too. Joining them on the bill are the always-entertaining 400 Blows, an L.A. trio who sound like nu-metal might if it were good and actually rocked. Snowsuit opens. 9 p.m., Slim's, 333 11th St., S.F. $10. (415) 255-0333. (Will York)

Down for the cause The San Francisco Late Night Coalition sponsors a benefit designed to raise awareness about election issues important to those who love the nightlife: Sup. Chris Daly's District Six reelection bid and the pro-Proposition F campaign. Throwing their support behind the preservation of San Francisco's late-night culture is a variety of talent, including live bands Naugacide and Flexx Bronco, and DJs Jenö (Wicked), Spesh (Qool), Dutch (Thump Radio), and KJ (Eyephunk). 8 p.m., DNA Lounge, 375 11th St., S.F. $5. (415) 225-8471, www.sflnc.org. (Eddy)