8 Days a Week

Aug. 27-Sept. 3, 2003

HALLOWEEN IS STILL two months away, but the Thunderbird Theatre Company – the intrepid souls who staged Los 7 Magnificos, the tale of a Quakers-versus-masked-wrestlers grudge match – knows the pursuit of thrills and chills is truly a quest tied to no season. Their latest, A Thunderbird Night of Terror, offers up six one-acts that spoof the horror genre in typical no-holds-barred fashion: a trio of Headbanger's Ball types conjure a particularly bitchy demon; a woman realizes her stalker isn't nearly as devoted as he claims to be; an unlikely pair of pop stars goes on a murderous rampage; and a playwright is literally butchered by his creation. Buried amid all the comedy, fake blood, and, ahem, splatstick is one selection the company promises is more Exorcist than Evil Dead 2 (i.e., bring someone who won't mind if you white-knuckle their upper arm in fright). Thunderbird's shows tend to sell out, so buying tickets in advance is recommended. Through Sept. 20. Opens Thurs/28, 8 p.m.; runs Thurs.-Mon., 8 p.m., Phoenix Theatre, 414 Mason, Suite 601, S.F. $17. (415) 289-6766, www.ticketweb.com. (Cheryl Eddy)

Aug. 27

Wednesday

People power The Black August movement is about rattling cages and breaking chains. This year marks the bicentennial of the Haitian Revolution (the first time African slaves took up arms to liberate themselves), the 32-year anniversary of George Jackson's death, and the 21st year Black Panther journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal has spent on Pennsylvania's death row. A prolific writer and rabble-rouser, Abu-Jamal is the subject of Tania Cuevas-Martinez's film Voice of the Voiceless. Join Cuevas-Martinez, local filmmaker Kevin Epps (Straight outta Hunters Point), and Conscious Youth Media director Debra Koffler for 'Conscious Voices in Film,' an evening featuring Voiceless as well as Cuevas-Martinez's 2002 film, Haters, which examines racial profiling in a post-Sept. 11 world, and shorts by Conscious Youth Media. Stick around for a discussion with the directors, focusing on issues related to the prison-industrial complex, Black August, and collective acts of resistance. 7 p.m., Brava Theater Center, 2781 24th St., S.F. $10. (415) 641-7657, info@hiphopfilmfest.com. (Rachel Swan)

Share alike Examining other people's medicine cabinets, refrigerators, and dresser drawers is good sneaky fun, but a person's bookshelves can also be richly revealing. Best intentions, guilty pleasures, past interests, and current obsessions are all neatly lined up in rows for the discerning snoop to parse. The option to borrow is key, though, a fact that the people behind Mybrary: A Pro-Literacy Project have grasped. Taking place at nonprofit art space Build and curated by executive director Elliot Lessing, the monthlong event is part art installation, part functional library – offering Mybrary cardholders (to join, stop by the gallery) access to books and paper/text-based media and artwork on loan from local artists and other members of the community. Check the Web site for open hours and special events throughout the month. Through Sept. 12. Build, 483 Guerrero, S.F. Free. (415) 863-3041, www.buildsf.org/mybrary. (Lynn Rapoport)

Aug. 28

Thursday

Encrypted If you're the type who likes the samples in your music to be up-front and unmitigated, make sure you don't go anywhere near Unagi. Tonight he celebrates the release of his first proper album (out on 442 Records), a 17-track instrumental jaunt stuffed with nonstop head-nodding beats and samples so obscure and funky, they out-shadow DJ Shadow. Hailing from Massachusetts and a family full of musicians, Unagi has perfected the game of plucking various sonic morsels and deftly hand stitching them together. The hip-hop-tinged, jazzy mishmash he generates has earned him many a kind word, and judging by the number of collaborations, guest appearances, and new releases he has planned, we should be hearing from him for a good long time. Jessie Terry and Nyles Lannon of Film School share record-spinning duties. 8:30 p.m., Make-Out Room, 3225 22nd St., S.F. $6. (415) 647-2888. (Anup Pradhan)

Wild kingdom As with most romantic-comedy love affairs, my first encounter with Animal Collective was a jaded brush-off that by the 90th minute turned into goopy "where have you been all my life?" fawning. Original duo Avey Tare and Panda Bear's early records were sweet and freaky in a refreshing but familiar way – like Three Mile Pilot's pop bombast gone all Jad Fair. They added two dudes known as Deaken and Geologist, toured with Black Dice, and released an exquisite live album on St. Ives that reengineered the whole nouveau noise revolution with a hippie-powwow psychedelia that's more Walt Whitman than Burning Man. Here Comes the Indian (Paw Tracks) and the lesser-known Campfire Songs (Catsup Plate) are two of my favorite records this year. Back to touring as a duo, Animal Collective turn acoustic guitars, a floor tom, and percussive vocal patter into a transcendental jamboree. Múm headlines. 9 p.m., Bimbo's 365 Club, 1025 Columbus, S.F. $14. (415) 474-0365. (George Chen)

Wraparound It's amazing: Porch have been around for almost 10 years now but are just starting to pick up steam. Tense, moody, and grindingly tuneful, the threesome bring their cerebral, Unwound-ish rock to the Li Po basement tonight. Phoenix's Hillbilly Devilspeak open with their blend of menacing, intense noise and stoner rock, of interest to anybody not heading to the (men of) Porn show at the Curve, and new Oakland wonders Black Ghost start the night off with some wonderfully concise, harsh, rhythmically based goodness. 9:30 p.m., Li Po Lounge, 916 Grant, S.F. $5. (415) 986-4382. (Hillbilly Devilspeak also play Tues/2, 9 p.m., Kimo's, 1351 Polk, S.F. $2. 415-885-4535.) (Conan Neutron)

Aug. 29

Friday

Dance du jour Almost more than cash, choreographers need that rarest of commodities: studio time. Fortunately, the innovative support programs at ODC Theater give much-needed lab hours to choreographers who otherwise might have to move furniture out of their apartments to get some practice space. ODC's Pilot program is aimed at those just learning how to structure a public presentation; Migrations is for those with some experience; and House Special is for experienced choreographers who have a specific project in mind. House Special participants get four hours a day for 10 days to create a piece – no fiddling with earlier works; this one has to be from scratch. Premiering works this time around are Erika Shuch, Yannis Adoniou, and Benjamin Levy. Through Sat/30. 8 p.m., ODC Theater, 3153 17th St., S.F. $12 sliding scale. (415) 863-9834. (Rita Felciano)

Aug. 30

Saturday

The paws that refreshes Proving that Sweden's still far from garage rock central, native son and techno turncoat Dwayne Sodahberk emerged from his ragbag electronic workshop last year with Don't Want to Know You (Tigerbeat6), a strangely suave assemblage of bone-bare techno, bristling beats, shuddering creaks and groans, and the occasional scrap of itchy cricket sounds. This year brings The Partying Without Inhibition or Dignity, and he's here to party with his labelmates at this final show of the PAWS Across America Tour. As for those fellow Sixers, it's a sign of the eclectic times that Tigerbeat6 has managed to unify the noise terror-ific Total Shutdown with the three-turntable-fingering, battle-ready DJ Rupture, the speedcore scion Kid606, and the enchanting, deluxe pop tarts of Dynasty in one fell swoop. 9:30 p.m., Bottom of the Hill, 1233 17th St., S.F. $10. (415) 474-0365. (Kimberly Chun)

Tuff gong Kicking it on the patio at the Endup with a Red Stripe in your hand, popping your collar to roots, reggae, and dancehall, you might believe you're actually in Jamaica. There's the tinkling sound of the waterfall sliding around the heady island beats, lush greenery everywhere, and the occasional mosquito, imported for effect. (Don't mind the eight-lane superhighway just beyond the fence.) Rasta riddims return to the Endup after a few years' hiatus with Reggae Gold. For those who favor a more proactive approach to their nightlife than mere chillin', get up offa that thing and dance till you feel bettah to the top-shelf sounds of Daddy Rolo, Polo, Toks, Jah Warrior Shelter, Jamo, and Mr. E. The party doubles as a birthday bash for Toks and Rolo, so who knows – maybe there'll be a big red, yellow, and green cake for those with an overpowering case of the munchies. The staff of the Endup humbly request you bring your I.D., leave your smoke in the car, and check your attitude at the door: it's about love, after all. 10 p.m.-4 a.m., Endup, 401 Sixth St., S.F. Call for price. (415) 896-1095. (Duncan Scott Davidson)

Dappity do Funk gets claimed by almost every musician out there (or at least their publicist), but if there's one show that has the funk in spades, it's Daptone Funk and Soul Revue. Gritty drums, grimy brass, chicken-scratch guitars, and sweaty singers – all the necessary ingredients are here and fresh, not pulled from some cobwebby corner of a record store. With Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings and the Sugarmen 3, featuring '70s funk master Lee Fields on vocals, one gets all the funk and none of the dust. 9 p.m., Elbo Room, 647 Valencia, S.F. $10. (415) 552-7788. (Peter Nicholson)

Aug. 31

Sunday

Legacy of dub After creeping around San Francisco at night for more than a few years, it's pretty easy to get jaded and take some treasures for granted. Case in point: Dub Mission, which celebrates its seventh anniversary with the first Bay Area appearance for U.K. dub heavyweights Groove Corporation. With their remixes for the likes of Sly and Robbie and Dillinger, plus their two editions of Dubplates from the Elephant House (Different Drummer), G-Corp puts a fitting polish on a local gem. Overproof Soundsystem, Jah Grizzly, Ras T-Weed, and DJ Sep also perform. 9 p.m., Elbo Room, 647 Valencia, S.F. $15. (415) 552-7788. (Nicholson)

Sept. 1

Monday

Get the boot Labor Day might as well be officially sanctioned Antilabor Day, because most folks get the day off work and spend multiple, sequential hours loafing, lounging, and doing as little labor as possible. This year tear yourself away from the Jerry Lewis telethon and amble down to El Rio for Cowgirlpalooza, an afternoon hoedown featuring free barbecue and plenty of both kinds of music (country and western), with Marshall Chapman, the Bootcuts, Parton Me (yep, a Dolly tribute band), the Bellyachers, Donna Boatman, Big Lou's Polka Casserole, and Train Wreck. Cosponsor Modern Times Books makes this perhaps the first barn dance with a literary bent, with the multitalented Chapman (Good-bye, Little Rock and Roller is her first novel) and Kathy Kamen Goldmark (author of the music-fueled tale And My Shoes Keep Walking Back to You) on hand for signings. Plus, once again, free barbecue! Saddle up, y'all! 3 p.m. (barbecue 3:30-5:30 p.m.), El Rio, 3158 Mission, S.F. $10. (415) 282-3323. (Eddy)

Sept. 2

Tuesday

Audible aid Legendary musician Alejandro Escovedo has been seriously ill with hepatitis C, and as is the case with so many artists, he has no health insurance. For years a resident of Austin, Texas, Escovedo started his career as a member of the Nuns, one of San Francisco's first punk bands. He helped the Kinman brothers in Rank and File and then moved on to True Believers, which he formed with his brother Javier. Escovedo has collected many friends and fans over the years, and a bunch will turn out for this benefit show, including the fantastic Dave Alvin, Chris Smither, Peter Case, Chuck Prophet, Stephanie Finch, the Iguanas, the Court and Spark, Jesse DeNatale, and who knows who else. It'll be a great night of music for a great musician. Be there. Donations to aid Escovedo can also be made at www.alejandrofund.com. 8 p.m., Slim's, 255 11th St., S.F. $20. (415) 255-0333. (J.H. Tompkins)

Sept. 3

Wednesday

Bright lights, big sounds On their self-titled Ace Fu EP, New York City quartet Soundtrak reel out ebullient Brit-style epic pop, complete with bounding beats and high drama ("Available Memory"), almost Echo and the Bunnymen-y expansiveness ("Hardest Day"), and frenetic chamber rock, if there can be such a thing ("Curtains"). Even if Britpop histrionics aren't your cuppa, you have to admit that at least they don't sound terribly much like the Strokes. Soundtrakkers such as bassist Brandon Owens obviously like to look at the big, wide-screen picture rather than ape what the other bands in town are doing – the Terence Blanchard touring band member recently arranged the score for Spike Lee's 25th Hour. Sense Field, Hey Mercedes, and Damone also perform. 8 p.m., Bottom of the Hill, 1233 17th St., S.F. $10. (415) 474-0365. (Chun)