October 16, 2002

8 Days a Week

Dec. 11-18, 2002

FIRST ORGANIZED IN 2000 to celebrate and boost the unheralded monsters of the East Bay arts community, bEASTfest has expanded its musical reach wide enough to embrace everything from the avant-garde improvisation of pioneering French bassist Joëlle Léandre (in duo with saxophonist Phillip Greenlief on a bill with Triple D, Butoh dancer Hiroko Tamano, a film by Merlin Coleman, and more, Fri/13 at 21 Grand) to the folk rock singing-songwriting of Vanessa Lowe (at a "Smell the Estrogen" show with the Naked Barbies, Ramona the Pest, Odessa Chen, and Kristi Martel, Sat/14 at Blakes). Although it kicked off with gallery openings last Thursday, the meat of bEASTfest is served up Thurs/12 through Sat/14, marbled with rock, hip-hop, country, improv, and electronics from the likes of Gravy Train!!!!, Bitesize, O-Type, Loretta Lynch, Bevin Blectum, Replicator, Vernon Hall, Kimiko Joy, Jack Killed Jill, Love Kills Love, the Rock 'n' Roll Adventure Kids, Lesser, Sagan, People's Bizarre, Glass Bead Game, and dozens of others. Also featured are spoken word, comedy, dance, puppeteering, performance art, and more than two dozen filmmakers and visual artists. Various times and venues; individual shows $6-$7; all-access pass $35. (510) 301-5741, www.beastfest.com. See Music listings for complete information. (Derk Richardson)

Dec. 11

Wednesday

An apple a day Denver, Colo.'s Apples in Stereo have been generating yummy, Beatles- and Beach Boys-inflected pop for so long that it's easy to take the foursome for granted. Good thing their seventh album, Velocity of Sound (SpinArt), is such an infectious sugar pop confection of guitar crunch, punchy drumming, and pleasantly whiny singing. It's as if the band have taken to mainlining a fuzzed-out Electric Light Orchestra, fiddling with effects and a Wall of Sound scope, and edging toward something more ambitious and far stranger than before. They play with Dressy Bessy and Oranger. 8 p.m., Slim's, 333 11th St., S.F. $14. (415) 522-0333. (Kimberly Chun)

Dec. 12

Thursday

Screen shots In a perfect world every hotel room would contain a copy of David Thompson's New Biographical Dictionary of Film instead of those Gideon whatchamacallits. Thompson's self-admittedly subjective take on stars and sacred cinematic cows runs the gamut from idolatry to irreverence (Ford and Kurosawa are mercilessly skewered; his entry on Alec Baldwin: "The name ought to go with a sturdy soccer forward from the 1950's.... Is it all a cunning game to drive me mad?") and have made the book, now in a fourth edition, required reading for cinephiles and casual filmgoers. A longtime Bay Area resident, Thompson will be taking over the Castro Theatre for a night devoted to music in the movies, lecturing and showing clips from works by Renoir, Hawks, and others. A Q&A and autograph session follows. No word on whether any sturdy soccer forwards will be in attendance. 8 p.m., Castro Theatre, 429 Castro, S.F. $15. (415) 621-6120, www.paris-expat.com/dt. (David Fear)

Dec. 13

Friday

Graveyard smash Blood, vomit, drunkenness, and sweat – there's sure to be a little of each in your stocking at the Dead Teenager Hollerday Showcase, featuring Everything Must Go, Dirty Power, and the Grannies. Dead Teenager Records, an up-and-coming rock label, can be described as punk, but that would be throwing it in the same category as those other pop-garage-punk yada-yada-yadas out there. No, the bands on Dead Teenager sound like your dad's heavy metal rock groups, the ones whose members chew off the heads of bats and set fire to things onstage. It's gonna be a blast! 9 p.m., Thee Parkside, 1600 17th St., S.F. $6. (415) 503-0393. (Cynthia Dea)

Dec. 14

Saturday

Crispy treats Ah, the American dream: immigrate to the United States, form a rock band, and start a music festival. At least that's the deal with Jesse and Ogie Gonzales, the brothers in the Skyflakes and the founders of piNoisepop, an Asian American music festival. Originally an outlet for the small, seemingly invisible Asian American indie rock community, piNoisepop now showcases all sorts of genres. But the Skyflakes have remained true to their first love: rock. Named after a Filipino cracker, the band have distanced themselves from their former thrasher-metal sound and adopted a punk-garage feel. Clarendon Hills, From Monument to Masses, eE, and Whysall Lane also perform. 9:30 p.m., Cafe du Nord, 2170 Market, S.F. $6. (415) 861-5016. (Dea)

Current event For years violinist Kaila Flexer has observed the holiday season with her elaborate "Klezmer Mania!" productions showcasing the many faces of Jewish culture. With the world in ever deepening turmoil, the Oakland bandleader is focusing on building bridges this year, specifically with 'A Celebration of Jewish, Afghani, and American Music,' a concert that benefits the work of the Middle East Children's Alliance (more specifically, its effort to rebuild homes in the Jenin refugee camp). In addition to the usual suspects of a Flexer affair (accordionist Nikolai Prisakar, bassist Stuart Brotman, mandolinist-guitarist-fiddler Mike Marshall, "body musician" Keith Terry, and banjo player-dancer Evie Ladin), Afghan expatriate Aziz Herawi makes a rare Bay Area appearance performing on dutar (long-necked 14-string lute) and rubab (short-necked lute) in the traditional folk music style of his native Herat. Bring small toys in good shape to be donated to local homeless shelters. 8 p.m., Freight and Salvage Coffee House, 1111 Addison, Berk. $17.50. (510) 548-1761. (Derk Richardson)

Dec. 15

Sunday

Mann's world A year and a half ago, Sara Shelton Mann's richly textured multimedia work Monk at the Met: Feast of Souls had a short run in San Francisco. Working with some of the area's best dancers, designers, and musicians, Mann and her team created an imaginary, theatrically vibrant journey through consciousness, memory, and experience. Now she is planning to take a shortened version of the piece on the road. Given the complexities of the original, Mann and her dancers in Contraband have their work cut out for them. Tonight's performance is a chance to see how they have gone about it. 8 p.m., Dance Mission Theatre, 3316 24th St., S.F. $15-$50. (415) 273-4633. (Rita Felciano)

Dec. 16

Monday

Be aggressive Hell hath no fury like Hella, the Sacto duo of drummer Zach Hill and guitarist Spencer Seim, who pummeled their way into local rock listeners' hearts opening for Sleater-Kinney, Lightning Bolt, and others. Sounding for all the world like a virtuoso rec-room band practice run amok, Hella evoke Beefheart's off-kilter twangy blues and the Meat Puppets' early acid-laced thrash on their last 5 Rue Christine CD, Hold Your Horse Is, all the while hammering out a sound of their own. And you have to give a hand to a man like Hill, who'll start beating a cymbal with his bare fist when he loses a drumstick onstage. Ever popular San Diego combo Pinback headlines, plying their smooth, tuneful brand of indie rock. They come bearing an Absolutely Kosher reissue of their Some Voices EP. Two Guys also play. 8 p.m., Great American Music Hall, 859 O'Farrell, S.F. $15. (415) 885-0750. (Chun)

Dec. 17

Tuesday

Shout at the devil With the new volume restrictions at Kimo's and the demise of the Covered Wagon Saloon, things were looking grim for the local metal scene a couple of months ago. But you can't kill metal – even if you move the scene's big live music night to a sports bar in a part of town mostly frequented by Giants fans. Which is exactly what's happened. The gracious Curve Bar, the new home of the weekly Lucifer's Hammer night, has already been dechristened by several great local (Asunder, Ludicra, Nigel Pepper Cock) and nonlocal (Rye Coalition, Japan's Abigail) bands. Tonight it hosts another strong lineup, anchored by locally based majestic power-metal masters Slough Feg. Also on the bill are Ohio-based death metal demons NunSlaughter, who, fronted by vocalist Don of the Dead, have been at it since 1987 and bring with them a hefty back catalog of heaven-hating tasteless tunes. 9 p.m., Curve Bar, 747 Third St., S.F. $6. (415) 820-1400. (Will York)

Crazy eights Jazz guitarist Charlie Hunter is bringing his custom-built eight-string guitar and the other four members of his quintet to town for a six-night stand on the Oakland waterfront. Hunter, the Berkeley High graduate turned New Yorker who wowed local audiences for years, is an innovative, imaginative player whose musical vocabulary is always growing. He's released eight albums (six of them on Blue Note Records) with a ninth due to drop in February and has played about a million gigs along the way. He's warm and good-natured, and I think he likes coming back to his old hometown. The combination promises to work out well. Through Sun/22. 8 and 10 p.m. (Sun/15, 2 and 8 p.m.), Yoshi's, 510 West Embarcadero, Jack London Square, Oakl. $5-$22. (510) 238-9200. (J.H. Tompkins)

Dec. 18

Wednesday

Take note Having already hosted festive events commemorating Hanukkah and Christmas as part of its Wednesday holiday entertainment series, the Oakland City Center next presents a Kwanzaa celebration featuring the substantial talents of singer Faye Carol. Her skillful way with earthy blues and groovy jazz tunes is evident to anyone who's heard her perform – there's a reason her recent CD was titled The Dynamic Miss Faye Carol (Carol-Gamble-Lopes). Head over to downtown Oakland today to catch her set, which will no doubt feature some seasonally appropriate selections. Noon-1 p.m., Oakland City Center, above the 12th St. BART Station, Oakl. Free. www.oaklandcitycenter.com. (Cheryl Eddy)