8 Days a Week

Sept. 10-17, 2003

HERE WE ARE in San Francisco – the freak outpost on the edge of the continent, where any apple that's fallen far from the tree rolls into town looking for a place to call home. Playing off the chosen theme of community in their own (really out-there) way, three experimental music ensembles perform in an American Composers Forum-sponsored show dubbed Block. With costumes, props, and scenery that resemble a really strange day in Candy Land, Hans Grüsel's Kränkenkabinet use sundry electronics and homemade instruments to tell the Grimm odyssey of "The Maiden Without Hands." Next up: the sfSoundGroup, a supergroup of Bay Area improv artists and composers (directed by clarinetist-composer Matt Ingalls) who employ computers and traditional instrumentation to make some fresh noise for our 21st-century world. And finally, if you've been following the story of Zeek Sheck's Town's People, you know that it's up to the revolutionaries to free the Care Company's slaves from the unspeakable inflictions of the Beepers. Get ready for ZSTP's primary creative force, Rose Meyer, to unleash a legion of horns, diminutive but monstrous robots, and a volcano (yes, really). These are not your ordinary kids on the block. Sat/13, 8 p.m., Community Music Center, 544 Capp, S.F. Free-$5. (415) 647-6015. (Deborah Giattina)

Sept. 10

Wednesday

Ready to rumble As a matter of fact, those are masked wrestlers preparing to crack skulls in the atrium of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. SFMOMA is billing Amorales vs. Amorales (Challenge 2003) as a "masked wrestling performance," but it'll no doubt be an exercise in the surreal when artist Carlos Amorales oversees matches between grapplers trussed out in full lucha libre attire molded on Amorales's own likeness. Amorales aims to break down the barriers between "public identity and private self, entertainment and reality, and spectacle and sport" with his presentation. Sure, sure, he has artistic purpose. But one thing's for sure – audience members won't be able to help pondering the age-old question: who were those masked men? 8 p.m., San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Haas Atrium, 151 Third St., S.F. Free. (415) 357-4000. (Cheryl Eddy)

Sept. 11

Thursday

Bid-ness Rip that pre-framed Ikea "artwork" off the wall and head to 'ArtAuction03' for something truly original to hang in its place. This benefit for San Francisco's Coalition on Homelessness features contributions from 150 established and emerging artists from the Bay Area, Los Angeles, New York, and beyond (including Eric Drooker, Winston Smith, Christine Hanlon, and Casper Banjo), plus works created by homeless artists. A diverse array of media are represented, including paintings, photos, prints, glasswork, and – for fans of reptilian elegance – even a papier-mâché alligator sent all the way from Barcelona, Spain. 5:30-8:30 p.m., SomArts Gallery, 934 Brannan, S.F. $25. (415) 346-3740, ext. 304. (Eddy)

Get hooked Run like an antelope to Phish Phry – the second Thursday of every month – where maestro Cassidy Bowman's delicious taste in Phish tunes will have you bouncin' around the room and feelin' good about hood. This month's Phry features highlights from the band's summer tour, as well as New York shows of years past. "Phans" (and their phriends) gather to leave the torture of their day jobs behind; at each event, Vermont comes to California and some of the deepest jams ever played spill out into the night. You'll be overwhelmed by olfactory (and auditory) hues. 9 p.m.-2 a.m., Fulton Street Bar (upstairs), 1785 Fulton, S.F. Donations welcome. (415) 292-7564. (Melissa Broder)

Sept. 12

Friday

First sight Though organizers are still cooking up plans for the first annual Bay Area Hip-Hop Theater Festival (slated for spring '04), curious fans can get an early glimpse at the 'Bay Area Hip-Hop Theater Festival Preview.' A joint production of the NYC Hip-Hop Theater Festival, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, La Peña Cultural Center, and Youth Speaks (and presented as part of the San Francisco International Arts Festival), the three-day event gathers some of the brightest talents in spoken word and theater. Tonight's program, "Shorts: An Evening of Emerging Artists," features Bay Area performers Marc Bamuthi Joseph, Hanifah Walidah, and Melinda Corazon Foley, plus Londoner Jonzi D. Saturday, local favorite Will Power performs his new show, Flow (in conjunction with the AfroSolo Arts Festival), and Hip Hop Theatre Junction closes out the minifest with the Cain-and-Abel-inspired play Rhyme Deferred on Sunday. Through Sun/14. 8 p.m., Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 701 Mission, S.F. $15-$20. (415) 978-ARTS. (Eddy)

Chain gang San Francisco runs on two wheels this weekend, what with Sunday's 2003 T-Mobile International bringing the elite likes of Lance Armstrong to town to pedal some of the city's most formidable hills. This year the event features both women's and men's competitions; park yourself up top of Fillmore and Taylor Streets if you want to see pain personified. On a less competitive tip, grease your gears at the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition's Bicycle Bash and Benefit, a chance for cycling fanatics to mingle, meet professional racers, win memorabilia in a raffle, and enjoy the sounds of Giant Value, Box Set, Firecracker, and others. Free valet bike parking is available, and all proceeds benefit the SFBC. 6:30 p.m.-midnight, Great American Music Hall, 859 O'Farrell, S.F. $12-$20. (415) 431-BIKE, www.sfbike.org. (For race details, go to www.sanfrancycling.com.) (Eddy)

In verse Alcatraz may get the lion's share of tourists and inspire Clint Eastwood and Jerry Bruckheimer movies, but the largest island in the bay, Angel Island, also claims a storied, if less glamorous history. Before it became a favorite spot for hikers and campers, Angel Island was home to Miwok Indians and later served a variety of purposes for the United States military and government. One of Angel Island's darker chapters is explored in 'Held So Close ... Remembering the Poets of Angel Island,' a Facing East Dance and Music performance that pays tribute to early-20th-century Chinese immigrants who were held for extended periods at the "Ellis Island of the West." While they were detained, many passed the time by inscribing poems on the barrack walls. Director and choreographer Sue Li Jue and composer Jeff Chan lead this evening of dance, live music, spoken word, and visual art, which is presented in partnership with the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation. Tonight, Sat/13, and Sept. 20, 8 p.m.; Sun/14 and Sept. 21, 7 p.m., San Francisco State University, McKenna Theater, 1600 Holloway, S.F. $18-$22. (415) 338-2467. (Eddy)

Sept. 13

Saturday

Natural wonders One couldn't pray for a finer spot than the Ramp – the warm, carpeted underbelly of an Adventist church – as setting for the intimate subtlety of Japan's Maher Shalal Hash Baz. Songwriter Tori Kudo's approach to composition spawns a soupy mélange, wherein earnest three-chord pop abuts atmospheric samples, a wind section, and the surprisingly pleasant sound of water gurgling in a bucket. Playful and humble in one gentle swoop, Kudo's spacious sing-alongs and instrumentals are ripe with an organic charm not far from the improvised melodies of precocious toddlers. The Curtains and Half-Handed Cloud also play. 7 p.m., Ramp, 2236 Parker, Berk. $6. (510) 621-2378. (Anup Pradhan)

Sept. 14

Sunday

Walk on! With a name that conjures images of displaced vintage technology or possibly an extremist underground movement, the Walkmen have crafted a sound that equally echoes either possible origin. Continuously managing to break free from this year's oversaturated market of throwbacks, rock revivals, and spoof hairdos, the Walkmen prove that true romance rock, cloaked in suits and sharp haircuts, has never felt so sweet. Not since the Smoking Popes' unlikely union of punk and lounge have showgoers been confronted and hypnotized by the collision of chaotic rhythms and beautifully crooned vocals. Backbeat wrestles decadent pop, leaving an organ-drenched wiry smooth sound: rockin' enough to drive your parents mad, catchy enough to carry a Gen-X Saturn commercial. KaitO and dios open. 9:30 p.m., Bottom of the Hill, 1233 17th St., S.F. $14. (415) 621-4455. (Walkmen and KaitO also play Mon/15, 8 p.m., Slim's, 333 11th St., S.F. $15. 415-255-0333). (John Lombardo)

Sept. 15

Monday

High low Chicago fivesome Low Skies are only three years old, yet they glower and moan as darkly as the crankiest and creakiest old-school C&W vet or the most blinkered and bitter indie rocker. Judged by their debut, The Bed (Flameshovel), the boys are down for everything – a fallen body bedecks the CD cover, and the music stumbles forth, falling somewhat in the footsteps of hard-luck Johnny Cash here, lo-fi broken-down Low or a jumbled Sparklehorse there. These guys are evidently enrolled in the Wilco music school of soft knocks, off-kilter whirs, and bruised and broken sounds. 9:30 p.m. Kimo's, 1351 Polk, S.F. $5. (415) 885-4535. (Kimberly Chun)

Sept. 16

Tuesday

Lowdown lonesome Back in February, Congress officially declared 2003 the "Year of the Blues," and wouldn't you know it: the economy sucks, the world's in turmoil, and long faces are everywhere. What better place to tip your cap to malaise – and, more specifically, the rich, moving music it inspires – than at 'Celebrate the Year of the Blues,' an evening of performance and discussion that also includes a sneak peak at the Martin Scorsese-produced PBS series The Blues? Bay Area luminaries taking part in tonight's event include Zakiya Hooker (John Lee's daughter, herself a vocalist), San Francisco Blues Festival founder Tom Mazzolini (this year's fest is Sept. 27-28), historian Paul Oliver, Arhoolie Records founder Chris Strachwitz, musicians Charlie Musselwhite and Roy Rogers, and others, with "House of Blues Radio Hour" host Ben Manilla handling moderator duties. The Blues, a seven-parter with installments directed by Scorsese, Wim Wenders, Mike Figgis, Clint Eastwood, and others, airs Sept. 28-Oct. 4 on KQED. Now ain't all that something to smile about? 7:30 p.m., Herbst Theatre, 401 Van Ness, S.F. $18. (415) 392-4400, www.kqed.org/blues. (Eddy)

Sept. 17

Wednesday

Golden years For seven years, photographer Ed Kashi and writer Julie Winokur traveled cross-country together, amassing personal stories and photographs for their book and documentary film, Aging in America: The Years Ahead. Some of their subjects have included elderly immigrants, members of an RV singles club, and a model in her 60s. While they often focus on specific individuals who challenge the stereotypical perceptions of old age, Kashi and Winokur also hope to bring awareness to universal elder care issues, which most of us will one day experience ourselves. San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery at City Hall presents 75 sensitive yet compelling images by Kashi alongside text by Winokur. For the next three months FiftyCrows Gallery, the San Francisco Public Library, and the Berkeley Art Museum offer concurrent exhibits and a screening of the pair's hour-long documentary. Through Nov. 30 (reception Thurs/18, 5:30-7:30 p.m.), Mon.-Fri., 8 a.m.-8 p.m.; Sat., noon-4 p.m., San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery, City Hall, lower level, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, S.F. Free. (415) 554-6080, www.sfacgallery.org. (Sarah Han)