April 16, 2003

8 Days a Week

April 16-23, 2003

WHAT COMES AROUND , goes around – at last. One beautiful thing has come out of the recent resurgence of interest in Detroit's music history – a new appreciation of the Funk Brothers. Berry Gordy Jr.'s longtime, unsung, and utterly amazing studio band finally got their due as the subject of last year's documentary Standing in the Shadows of Motown. They laid down the groovy foundation for songs like "My Girl," "What's Going On," "I Was Made to Love Her," as well as every other hit on the label, and now the surviving brothers by different mothers – pianists Joe Hunter and Johnny Griffith, guitarists Joe Messina and Eddie Willis, percussionist Jack Ashford, drummer Uriel Jones, and James Jamerson's bass-playing successor Bob Babbitt – are off on their first national tour in their decades of play together, accompanied by the Crystals' Darlene Love, plus Joan Osborne and Maxi Priest. Tues/22, 8 p.m., Paramount Theatre, 2025 Broadway, Oakl. $39.50-$60. (415) 421-TIXS. (Kimberly Chun)

April 16

Wednesday

Pub drawl Check out this month's installment of Mad Dog in the Fog's regular showcase, Spacestation Acoustica: featuring Eric Shea (Mover), Dave Gleason, and Mike Theriau (both of Dave Gleason's Wasted Days), this is your chance to see your favorite local y'allternative stars take it down a notch. Armed with nothing but acoustic guitars and sweet country harmonies, these three perform solo sets. Don't rule out the possibility of an impromptu jam, though, once the Boddington's or whatever it is they drink at English pubs starts flowing. Those whose college coffee shop days soured them on acoustic showcases should reconsider: no cheesy Dylan rip-offs here, just eloquent, creatively written Americana. 9:30 p.m., Mad Dog in the Fog, 530 Haight, S.F. Free. (415) 626-7279. (Adam Martin)

April 17

Thursday

Notwist in my backyard Recovering post-punk bohos who feel like they've painted themselves into a stylistic corner can take heart in the case of Weilheim, Germany's Notwist. Now on their sixth album, Neon Golden (Domino), and light years away from their hardcore beginnings in 1989, the Notwist now sound almost completely unlike anyone else, with their woozy yet crystalline mesh of droning banjo, chubby bleats, sketchy scratches, gentle winds, and pattering bongos. Say Autechre had a heart, yet retained its brain – that smart, sweet machine might be the Notwist. When all of the comparisons are said and done, vocalist-guitarist Markus Acher, synth keyboardist Martin Grestchmann (a.k.a. Console), bassist-trumpet player Micha Acher, and drummer Mecki Messerschmid may have made one of the most exquisite and possibly most overlooked electronic pop albums of the year. Notwist play tonight with Themselves and Styrofoam, and tomorrow with I Am Spoonbender and Styrofoam. 9 p.m., Slim's, 333 11th St., S.F. $18. (415) 522-0333. (Kimberly Chun)

Code red The original left-wing, grassroots, power-to-the-people fringe group, and America's first organization to "think globally and act locally," the Communists were unpopular even before it was popular to be unpopular. But haven't they, as some people think, all gone extinct? Fat chance, comrade! After a decade (well, maybe more) of flying below the radar, the Party is once again in full swing, having been among the first to take up the banner against the war and U.S. foreign policy. And it's no surprise that the Young Communist League has been eminently active in the National Youth and Student Peace Coalition. Just admit you're curious, and come tonight to hear the chairman himself, Sam Webb, who speaks on "Iraq: Bush's Global Reach Meets the World Peace Majority." 7:30 p.m., Niebyl-Proctor Library, 6501 Telegraph Avenue, Oakl. $5 suggested donation. (510) 336-0617. (Amir Baghdachi)

High tide San Francisco trio the Ebb and Flow brings together the potentially disparate influences of a Muscovite, an Iranian, and a New Yorker. Yet the band's sound falls harmoniously between synth pop and '70s prog, with an emphasis on groove. While no one member clamors for the spotlight, the Ebb and Flow's audiences have been mesmerized by the sight of its two female members, Roshy Kheshti and Sara Cassetti, kicking ass on synth and drums. The release of the group's second CD, The Murmurs (Blue Oranger), is the cause célèbre for tonight's show. The recording nods to pop without being superficial and is simultaneously experimental and palatable. The Effection and We Are Scientists also play. 9 p.m., Bottom of the Hill, 1233 17th St., S.F. (415) 621-4455. $7. (Mirissa Neff)

April 18

Friday

Cowgirl blues It is, quite frankly, a little unnerving that people can have souls as old as Kathleen Edwards's. Tossing off world-weary reality checks like "No one likes a girl that won't sober up" and "You spend half your life trying to turn the other half around," the Canadian country-roots crooner sounds like she lived a thousand dead-end lives before releasing her debut, this winter's devastatingly beautiful Failer (Zoe/Rounder). That she's only 24 years old makes the hurt all the more heartbreaking: listening to Edwards rasp her way through Lucinda Williams-worthy weepers, it's impossible not to believe that she's gonna find herself – sooner, not later – in the esteemed company of Williams, Alison Krauss, and Neil Young. For Edwards's first headlining gig in San Francisco, the Noe Venable Trio and Ramsay Midwood open. 9 p.m., Bimbo's 365 Club, 1025 Columbus, S.F. $12. (415) 474-0365. (Jimmy Draper)

April 19

Saturday

Baa! company Try as you might, you will never win an argument with a baby goat. They are shrewd, they are frisky, and, if you waggle your finger to make a point, they will try to eat it. Discover their powers of persuasion at Family Farm Day at the Berkeley Farmers' Market, where baby goats (from Redwood Hill Farm), urban chickens, and other farming phenomena will be on hand to spread the joys of organic agriculture. Sponsored in part by the Ecology Center (whose biodiesel vehicles, fueled with recycled frying oil, leave the Berkeley breeze as fresh and invigorating as a doughnut), the event also includes every kind of vegetable pleasure, an observational beehive, human-powered hayrides, and a presentation by glorious Full Belly Farm, whose golden, pebble-smooth potatoes could be the currency of some blessed country. 10 a.m-3 p.m., Berkeley Farmers' Market, Center and Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Berk. Free. (510) 548-2220, ext. 227; www.ecologycenter.org. (Baghdachi)

April 20

Sunday

Green scene Have you ever seen photos of Yasgur's farm after all of the Woodstock hippies split? What a mess. We the Planet, a festival of "music, consciousness and activism," practices what it preaches by powering its event entirely with green energy sources (such as solar, wind, and biofuel), and printing tickets and posters on tree-free papers. The festivities will be littered only by recyclable or compostable materials – not to mention packed with talks by celebrity activists such as Woody Harrelson and Flea. Hosted by Julia Butterfly Hill, the proceeds will benefit her Circle of Life organization, but the real reason to attend is the killer musical lineup, which features Cake, Bonnie Raitt, Alanis Morissette, De La Soul, Concrete Blonde, and the Coup. 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Speedway Meadow, JFK Dr. at 24th Ave., Golden Gate Park, S.F. $15-$20. 1-866-384-3060, www.wetheplanet.org. (Kerry Rodgers)

Good habits Fewer adults may be choosing careers in convents these days, but there hasn't been a decline in the order of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence – drag nuns who are known as much for their whiteface makeup as for their philanthropy. Taking advantage of the fact that their 24th anniversary (and, coincidentally, Easter) lands on Sun/20, the Sisters are proselytizing support of medical marijuana with 'Indulgence 4:20: Let There Be Splendor in the Grass!' The first hour of fun features egg hunts for kids and music by the San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band, followed by a live stage show and the gifting of $15,000 worth of grants to deserving nonprofits. Be sure to stick around for the "Hunky Jesus Contest," a perennial crowd pleaser that proves, according to Sister Bella de Ball, "Jesus comes in many shapes, sizes, and forms." Indeed. Noon-4 p.m., Dolores Park, 19th St. at Dolores, S.F. Free. www.thesisters.org. (Rodgers)

April 21

Monday

All he wrote Baring all – the bad breakups and domestic fantasies – Cursive's Tim Kasher and company venture into bleaker, more visceral territory with their new Saddle Creek concept album, The Ugly Organ, working some soulful cello and organ into the band's pointed Fugazi-like rock and playing with some non-emo-esque preoccupations on "Herald! Frankenstein" and "Bloody Murderer." Along for the tour are Lawrence, Kansas, quartet Appleseed Cast, who keep their audience on their toes by dousing their emo with ambient experiments and space rock meanderings. Tonight, Cursive and Appleseed Cast play with Putrecine; Tues/22, they perform with the Plus Ones. 9 p.m., Bottom of the Hill, 1233 17th St., S.F. $14. (415) 474-0365. (Also Tues/22, 8 p.m., Great American Music Hall, 859 O'Farrell, S.F. $14. 415-885-0750.) (Chun)

April 22

Tuesday

Bowled over It would be impossible to match Jane Bowles's credentials for cool. In the 1930s, as a teenager living at the Hotel Meurice in New York, she wrote her first novel – in French. Skating over her family's pleas, she moved out in favor of Greenwich Village and the lesbian life, continuing to enjoy the latter even after marrying the famous composer Paul Bowles (on his way to becoming the famous writer Paul Bowles). Amid the frantic partying and the Federal Bureau of Investigation's surveillance, the pair set off to live in Morocco, where Jane enjoyed the dazzling sun, her dazzling writing, and her dazzling housekeeper Sherifa. Catch her play In the Summer House, a surreal and sensual drama of familial bonds, as Paducah Mining Co. stages a reading of this masterpiece from an unacknowledged master. 8 p.m., Exit Café, 156 Eddy, S.F. $5-$10 suggested donation. (415) 561-1418. (Baghdachi)

April 23

Wednesday

Will power Like many aspects of his life, William Shakespeare's actual birth date is shrouded in a certain amount of mystery – but in the interest of celebration, most folks agree April 23, 1564, comes pretty close. Today, remembereth the fellow who's (most likely) responsible for some of the world's most beloved plays, while feeding your craving for iambic pentameter in anticipation of the Bay Area's upcoming outdoor theater season (during which all manner of Shakespearean productions are guaranteed to run rampant). In honor of the Bard's 439th, the Mechanics' Institute hosts Peter Platt, an English professor at Barnard College, who discusses "Shakespeare's Theatre: A Cultural Landscape." 6 p.m., Mechanics' Institute, 57 Post, S.F. $5. (415) 393-0100. (Cheryl Eddy)