Cynthia Dall
Thurs/22, Cafe du Nord

EX-SMOG fogy and Drag City pinup girl Cynthia Dall throws in for HIV-AIDS prevention at this benefit for the San Francisco AIDS Foundation's Needle Exchange program. And Dall's music – last heard on 2002's Sound Restores Young Men – seems like a perfect fit for the proceedings: her songs have a stealth melancholy quality that creeps up on you, poking at the gut with minor-key repetition and the occasional piercing guitar interlude. With her wistful and drifting style, Dall may be a less memorable vocalist than her fellow folk-goth singer-songwriter Chan Marshall, but thanks to her more experimental musical meanderings, she can still become a habit you're loath to break. Death Rock Booty Call instigator Shane additionally comes to the organization's aid with his band Boy Explodes. Erik Carter and E-Zee Tiger spin-off shenanigan Denver Broncos also perform. 9 p.m., 2170 Market St., S.F. $10. (415) 861-5016. (Kimberly Chun)


May 21, 2003