April 9, 2003

8 Days a Week

April 9-16, 2003

HOW PERILOUS COULD a Saturday afternoon on the back patio of El Rio be? Find out at 'Risky Business,' where your mission is to bask in the sunshine, drink cocktails, and enjoy hours of entertainment by hard-working musicians, poets, writers, and comedians – secure in the knowledge that your admission fee will benefit the annual Sex Workers Art Show and Tour. Produced by Olympia, Wash.'s Annie Oakley, the show itself takes place in her hometown, and last year's first-ever tour (including local shining stars Carol Queen, Carol Leigh, a.k.a. Scarlot Harlot, Michelle Tea, and Isis Rodriguez) traveled around the country, bringing sex workers' creative endeavors to the people. If you'd like to see the tour back in San Francisco in '04, come on down for music by folk-pop crooner Dear Nora, queer hip-hoppers the End of the World, and Shawna Virago of the Deadly Nightshade Family; knee-slappers by lady comedians Tara Jepsen and Beth Lisick; a slide show of work by Phyllis Christopher and Point Blank's Dusty Lombardo and Rebecca McBride; and readings by a slew of performers, including but not limited to Queen, Leigh, Shar Rednour, Jeremy Lin, Sara Gina Jones, Thea Hillman, Chris Kraus, Chelsea Starr, and Zak Szymanski. MC action is provided by Tea and Oakley. Sat/12, 3-8 p.m., El Rio, 3158 Mission, S.F. $7 (no one turned away for lack of funds). (415) 282-3325, www.sexworkersartshow.com/home.html. (Lynn Rapoport)

April 9

Wednesday

Celebrity blubber If there were Academy Awards for whale biology, superstar researcher John Calambokidis would definitely be waving at us from the red carpet. Tonight, he shares his knowledge of the endangered blue and humpback whales in a presentation titled "Diving Deep with the Great Whales," cosponsored by the American Cetacean Society and the Farallones Marine Sanctuary Association. The most memorable part of the event is bound to be the screening of a video made out of footage from "crittercams" suctioned onto the animals' backs, allowing viewers a unique perspective as the whales forage, bellow, and maybe even encounter potential mates. For their sake, hopefully the whales have privacy stipulations in their contracts. 7 p.m., Bay Model, 2100 Bridgeway, Sausalito. $5 suggested donation. (415) 561-6625, ext. 312. (Kerry Rodgers)

April 10

Thursday

Funk off Don't go see George Clinton because his songs have been sampled hundreds of times or even because he's a living legend. Go see him because he still has a great band and is a master entertainer who knows how to put on a fun show. Sure, it's been a while since he put out his last real classic recordings – 20 years in the case of Computer Games, 30 (give or take a couple of years) since Parliament's Mothership Connection and Funkadelic's Maggot Brain. But so what? His shows are always a good time, and his current band – despite the notable absence of Bootsy Collins and Bernie Worrell – includes old Parliament and Funkadelic vets such as guitarists Gary Shider, Blackbyrd McKnight, and Mike Hampton and bassists Billy "Bass" Nelson and Cardell "Boogie" Mosson. You can bet that there'll be a ton of people onstage with crazy costumes, that the band will play for a long time, and that you'll hear "Flashlight," "Up for the Down Stroke," and a bunch of other awesome songs. 8 p.m., Avalon Ballroom, 1268 Sutter, S.F. $37.50. (415) 673-5716. (Will York)

April 11

Friday

Step by step Dancer-choreographer Yaelisa and musical director Jason McGuire, of Yaelisa and Caminos Flamencos, are a team created in flamenco heaven. Between the two of them, they have been pushing this popular art form to new heights and in fresh directions. They experiment with the streams that feed into flamenco, explore new narrative terrain, and pay homage to a venerated tradition, all while highlighting flamenco as a contemporary dance form. In addition to their repertory work, the company's spring season includes the premiere of Amor, based on a poem about a Moroccan Jew who was killed for not renouncing her faith. Tonight and Sat/12, 8 p.m.; Sun/13, 3 p.m., Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 701 Mission, S.F. $15-$35. (415) 978-ARTS, www.yerbabuenaarts.org. (Rita Felciano)

To the max What kind of films make it into the Sick Puppy Festival? Let's just say Disney devotees and anyone who purchased the DVD of My Big Fat Greek Wedding might want to give the Red Vic a wide berth this weekend. Meanwhile, fans of killer toilets, outcasts who turn invisible (and evil), crank calls, grave robbers, fast food, and karaoke-singing loan sharks will find plenty to bring them joy. Two shorts programs and a pair of features comprise the fest, which boasts five world premieres in its lineup. Among the more intriguing selections: Armando D. Munoz's "Pervula" (as in, "before there was Dracula ...") and Mike Jeknavarian's "Olympia Diner" (starring "Misses Butterworth"). Vampires and pancakes: two great tastes that taste great together! Tonight and Sat/12, 7:15 and 9:15 p.m. (also Sat., 2 and 4 p.m.), Red Vic Movie House, 1727 Haight, S.F. $3-$6.50. (415) 668-3994, www.sickpuppyfestival.com. (Cheryl Eddy)

April 12

Saturday

Home front The tension brought on by current events is aptly reflected in 'Conflict: Near and Far,' the theme and title of the seventh annual Youth Theater Festival, performed by participants in the San Francisco Mime Troupe's Youth Theater Project. Forty local high schoolers – culled from a diverse array of groups, including the Japanese Community Youth Council, the Harvey Milk Institute, and the Teenage Pregnancy and Parenting Project – put their heads together with Mime Troupe mentors to create the show, which includes three one-act musical works. Though none of the plays directly addresses the war with Iraq, it's clear the students were influenced by current events, as the story lines range from a pair of cousins who join warring gangs to a more abstract tale set after the bombing of an American city. Many of the kids had little theatrical experience before embarking on this eight-week program, but the shows are presented with professionally created sets, costumes, lighting, and a three-piece band – all the better to showcase the material, which is sure to offer the kind of fresh, unjaded outlook only creative-minded teens can provide. Tonight, 7 p.m.; Sun/13, 2 p.m., City College of San Francisco, Diego Rivera Theater, 50 Phelan, S.F. Free. (415) 285-1717. (Eddy)

April 13

Sunday

Gebbia gebbia hey Fans of quality improv music take note: Sicilian saxophone wonder Gianni Gebbia touches down tonight at Berkeley's Jazz House (formerly Tuva Space). Gebbia follows in the tradition of prickly British avant-gardists Evan Parker and John Butcher – which means lots of circular breathing, multiphonics, and other ways of wrangling sound out of the horn that Adolph Sax never could have dreamed of. But there's also a Mediterranean feel to a lot of Gebbia's playing that makes it go down a little more smoothly. He has a few releases on local labels, including an unaccompanied solo CD on Rastascan, H Portraits, that just about knocked me out of my chair when I first heard it a few years ago. For this show, Gebbia is joined by local improv-scene regulars, including percussionist-Rastascan owner Gino Robair. Be punctual, though, because he starts the show with a brief solo set, and that's where he really shines. 8:15 p.m., Acme Observatory, Jazz House, 3192 Adeline, Berk. Free (donations accepted). (510) 649-8744. (York)

Shaping up With their gummy bear spines and wacky-taffy limbs, practitioners of contortionism – a national Mongolian pasttime – are fascinating to watch. Agile human pretzels show their stuff this weekend at 'Rebuilding a Temple, Reclaiming a Culture,' along with other traditional Mongolian performers such as throat singers and horse-head fiddle players. Also on display is antique and contemporary Mongolian art and an artistic version of a ger (a circular tent used by nomads). The event benefits the Cultural Restoration Tourism Project, which is working to rebuild a Buddhist temple dating from the 1700s that was destroyed during Communist rule. 3-7 p.m. (performances at 4:30 p.m.), Cultural Integration Fellowship, 2650 Fulton, S.F. $10 suggested donation. (415) 563-7221, www.crtp.net. (Rodgers)

April 14

Monday

Coffin rock You may not have a dead body at the moment, but you're certain to in the future. That's why Mary Roach's new book, Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, has something of interest for everyone. Hear the ex-Salon columnist discuss her visit to Tennessee's own human decay institute, the armies of severed heads that supply fledgling plastic surgeons, and where you could get an excellent human corpse preserved in Arabian honey. According to Roach, while the prevalent opinion says you can't do anything once you're dead, quite the opposite is true: among others achievements, cadavers first tested the guillotine (successful!) and, not unlike Tang, they've accompanied astronauts in space. Come tonight, and the next time someone says you look a little pale, you'll take it as a compliment. 7 p.m., A Clean Well-Lighted Place for Books, 601 Van Ness, S.F. Free. (415) 441-6670. (Amir Baghdachi)

April 15

Tuesday

Purls of wisdom The name the Shizknits says it all. But just in case it doesn't, this cabal of knitting virtuosi is easily San Francisco's most stylish and clever knitting company. From hats with pom-poms to hats without pom-poms, from knitted sleeves to ingenious and revolutionary beer cozies (never drink lukewarm beer again!), the Shizknits line can be seen in art galleries and on the most fashionable heads in the city. In particular, art critics have been nodding their heads in praise of its line of Abstract Expressionknits, which pays homage to great works of modern art, with the added bonus of keeping you snug. Come for a "knit-in" with Shizknits mastermind Betsy McCall, who'll teach you all the stitches you need to begin creating works of art, or hats, or both. 7:30 p.m., Modern Times Bookstore, 888 Valencia, S.F. $10 (needles and yarn are available for purchase). (415) 282-9246. (Baghdachi)

April 16

Wednesday

Tongues untied Japanese poet Ryoko Sekiguchi has no quarrels with her French translator. That's because she is her French translator: the almost unfairly multilingual Sekiguchi, born in Tokyo and living the quintessential poet's life in Paris, not only renders the work of classic Japanese poets into French, she also re-creates her own poems as French verse. This is, of course, before they get translated for her Korean and Arabic audiences, who thrill to hear the Persian (yet another language in which she's fluent) influences in her poems. Come hear this extraordinary poet and one-woman Tower of Babel read from her collections Calque and Cassiopée Peca in her first appearance in the United States. English translations of her work (Ha! we've got her there!) are given by poet Stacy Doris. 7:30 p.m., Poetry Center, San Francisco State University, Humanities Building, Room 512, 1600 Holloway, S.F. Free. (415) 338-2227. (Baghdachi)