8 Days a Week

Oct. 22-29, 2003

ON A HOLY mission to elevate funk music into the pantheon of vital American art forms, the San Francisco Funk Festival is the only one of its kind in the city. As in the previous two years, fest organizers and serious a-funk-cionados John Miles and Robbie Kowal of Sunset Promotions concocted three weekends of shows bringing together legends of the genre alongside some of the younger purveyors of the new groove. The last two performances feature several California originals who've gained national acclaim for their innovative approaches to classic styles. Friday, the Soul of John Black blow a laid-back acoustic breeze across warm rock 'n' soul balladry; years of work with groundbreaking artists from Miles Davis to Fishbone have trained this L.A. duo in the art of ear-bending hooks, sultry vocals, and liquid bass lines. On Saturday, catch keys master Robert Walter – crowned the "king of modern boogaloo" during his time with the Greyboy Allstars – with his current band, the 20th Congress, made up of some of the baddest in-the-pocket players on today's scene. With Bay Area eclecticians Will Bernard and Motherbug starting the party, this finale will surely leave you all funked up. Soul of John Black and DJs Haul and Mason play Fri/24, 10 p.m., Elbo Room, 647 Valencia, S.F. $10. (415) 552-7788. Robert Walter's 20th Congress and Will Bernard and Motherbug perform Sat/25, 8 p.m., Bimbo's 365 Club, 1025 Columbus, S.F. $20. (415) 474-0365, www.sffunk.com. (Jonathan Zwickel)

Oct. 22

Wednesday

R-a-w-k It's gonna be a rumble in the Mission District when local music critics take on local musicians in the supreme test of wills: a Rock and Roll Spelling Bee. Killing My Lobster's Brian Perkins plays sleazy game show host, refereeing a Spellbound-style battle for the ultimate bragging rights. The smart money's on the ink slingers – especially with competitors like Bay Guardian senior editor Lynn Rapoport and contributing writer Gabriel Roth, both notorious cohorts of Merriam-Webster's – but truth be told, it's anybody's match. Between rounds, music comes courtesy of Citizens Here and Abroad, Excuses for Skipping, Snowday, and Revenge!; proceeds benefit the very worthy National Novel Writing Month and Music in Schools Today. 8 p.m.-midnight, El Rio, 3185 Mission, S.F. $6-$20. (415) 282-3325. (Cheryl Eddy)

Oct. 23

Thursday

The real Buy his complete discography. Worship his presence. Go ahead, eBay his posters. Just as long as you hear his music during this rare solo outing that promises to balance subtlety with aggression and excess with finesse. Pianist McCoy Tyner shakes things up thoughtfully when he's alone onstage. This appearance (his fourth SFJazz gig in six years) should highlight his gentler, hypnotic side, with moments when that stubbornly quick right hand and mercilessly pounding left overheat. Tyner's latest album, Land of Giants (Telarc), sounds comfortably paced, modernly conceived, and explosively charged – a bitchin' good time. 7:30 p.m., Herbst Theatre, 401 Van Ness, S.F. $24-$44. (415) 392-4400. (Daniel King)

Woman of steel She doesn't wear a cape, fly, or leap tall buildings in a single bound, but to fans of comic books, Americana, '50s culture, superheroes, and feminism, Noel Neill – the first Lois Lane – is still pretty, well, super. Neill, who became a pop icon through her roles in both the Superman film serial and TV show, is in town with author Larry Thomas Ward to promote her new biography, Truth, Justice and the American Way: The Life and Times of Noel Neill, the Original Lois Lane. Neill is still charming and spry at 82, and her story encompasses not only her years costarring with the late, great George Reeves, but also her experiences as a real-life reporter and her work in more than 88 films. 7:30 p.m., Books Inc., 2275 Market, S.F. Free. (415) 864-6777. (Cindy Emch)

Upright citizens brigade Remember how you felt the first time you heard the Cars' "Just What I Needed"? Neither do I, but I bet it was a lot like discovering the Monolith. Bill Rousseau, Dahlia Ramirez, and Rogge write songs populated with loners and not-so-tough dreamers who look for unminable diamonds, take some punches, never forget to have fun, wish things were different, and remain guardedly optimistic. They can't help it. After spending months locked away with a two-inch 24-track tape deck, they've returned with their debut, Here Comes the Monolith, unofficially out now and to be released on Fortune Records in February. The album is a whole meal of thick, expansive pop that ends with "Trilogy," a track combining acoustic guitar, horns, drums, and a last exhale into three-step Moog. Joining them at the show are the Sleaves (fronted by former Persephone's Bee Paul Bertolino), who add a garage shimmy and shake. Brad Brooks also performs. 9 p.m., Cafe du Nord, 2170 Market, S.F. $7. (415) 861-5016. (Katje Richstatter)

Oct. 24

Friday

Good Will ambassador The U.K.'s Will Holland, better known as Quantic, teams up with the Fresco and Sureshot crews to bring some deep, jazzy action to the dance floor. After two solo albums, Holland really blew up this year with the Quantic Soul Orchestra's Stampede LP on Tru Thoughts Records. Though Holland has been known to play with an 11-member live band, tonight he mans the decks solo. Hakobo (Fresco), Andrew Jervis (Ubiquity), and J-Boogie (Om) lend a hand. 10 p.m., Club Six, 60 Sixth St., S.F. $10. (415) 863-1221. (Peter Nicholson)

Rustin' never sleeps Portishead voice Beth Gibbons and Talk Talk bassist Paul Webb, alias Rustin' Man, find themselves out of time, out of mind, Out of Season – the latter the title of their collaborative album on Sanctuary. Organ-propelled, string-swept, and driven by mood swings rather than by trip-hop beats à la Portishead or psych pop in the style of Talk Talk, Out of Season finds Gibbons going toe-to-toe with disparate crooners, including Billie Holiday and Sandy Denny ("Romance" and "Mysteries," respectively). The duo's live re-creation of the disc, with backup by Portishead's Adrian Utley and Talk Talk's Lee Harris and Simon Edwards, is said to be just as gorgeous – a dour dream come true for those who love sad songs. Alexi Murdoch opens. 8 p.m., Warfield, 982 Market, S.F. $25. (415) 775-7722. (Kimberly Chun)

Ponch on acid If you're like some people and take a dose of klezmer with your death metal, Estradasphere have the medicine you crave. Cartwheeling with clown shoes through the footsteps of surrealists like Mr. Bungle and Critters Buggin, this Santa Cruz foursome are as unpredictable as they are virtuoso. With a Brian Wilson-esque sense of the baroque, Estradasphere incorporate dub, jazz, '70s television themes, techno, circus music, and the kitchen sink into a musical joyride that swerves between silly, disturbing, and thrilling. Tonight's show celebrates the release of the band's third album, Quadropus (Mimicry), and kicks off a monthlong U.S. tour. The Tiptons, featuring Jessica Lurie, also play. 9 p.m., Last Day Saloon, 406 Clement, S.F. $10. (415) 387-6343. (Zwickel)

Oct. 25

Saturday

Clued in The time has come to scour the city for pet ferrets, Madonna look-alikes, sex toys, and the ever elusive game of hamburger baseball at 'Punk Monkeys on Parade,' a locals-oriented San Francisco scavenger hunt. With more than 200 items and people to search for, this afternoon extravaganza calls out for your inner child to go a little wacko. The event is completely free and open to all, and prizes are awarded for best team name, least tasteful team costume, and more. One cell phone is required per team, and a digital camera is also recommended (though not necessary). Grab your most adventurous friends, sign up as a team at the Web site below, and rock out old-school-scavenger style. 2 p.m., 540 Club, 540 Clement, S.F. Free. (415) 420-9111, www.540-club.com/punkmonkeys. (Emch)

Oct. 26

Sunday

Hot pursuit Festival season has arrived, and if you're into husky jazz bassists who write grooving compositions, look no further than Dave Holland. The reliably swinging performer has an edgy, volcanic sound that erupts on his quintet's new album, Extended Play: Live at Birdland. The ECM disc comes loaded with knotty plucks and inspired group recklessness. During live sets scorching saxophonist Chris Potter takes advantage of the rhythm section's infectious energy, honking with more passion than during studio dates, which translates nicely into belly-grumbling satisfaction for the audience. Holland settles into sharply moving mid-register chugs on the drop of a dime, and you'll know it when he heats up. 3 and 7 p.m., Palace of Fine Arts Theatre, Marina at Lyon, S.F. 3 p.m. show $5-$15; 7 p.m. show $28-$42. (415) 776-1999. (King)

Oct. 27

Monday

Reel terror Halloween is nearly upon us, and if the thought of going shoulder-to-shoulder with hundreds of thousands of costumed revelers in the Castro isn't scary enough, venerable indie film series Independent Exposure is poised to creep into your nightmares with its 'Halloweird Edition.' Per usual, the program highlights short films and videos – both live action and animated – from around the world, but this selection wriggles under your skin with tales of torture, sinister dolls, pesky crows, and more. Added bonus: the San Francisco show also has live music and a "parade of ghosts." Pleasant dreams! 8 p.m., 111 Minna Gallery, 111 Minna, S.F. $5. (415) 864-0660, www.microcinema.com. (Also Tues/28, 8 p.m., Oakland Metro, 201 Broadway, Oakl. 510-763-1146, www.oaklandopera.org.) (Eddy)

Oct. 28

Tuesday

Sugar on top As a vocalist, she's sensual. As a stylist, she's imaginative. Kim Nalley also just copurchased Jazz at Pearl's, lifting that nightclub to its feet after its brush with over-and-out status a few months back. Onstage she offers swinging rhythms, sharp lyrics, cheery vibrato, and a mustard tone that's pungent, giddy, and fun. Power lunches with concert-producer and hubby Steve Sheraton and a steady diet of festival-hopping (SFJazz, Stanford Jazz, Switzerland) keep her busy, but her booming charisma, bottomless song supply, and swaggering moves have only strengthened. Side effects are guaranteed. Nalley performs at Pearl's every Tuesday. 9 p.m., Jazz at Pearl's, 256 Columbus, S.F. $5. (415) 291-8255. (King)

High sea Shades of scarlet mullets, achy-shakey Anthony Newley-esque vocals, and heady, glittery new wave. Brighton, England, fivesome British Sea Power take a page from the book of glam rock and high-'80s epic Brit pop, drawing from the more oblique, sullen moments of David Bowie and Ian McCulloch on their Rough Trade debut, The Decline of British Sea Power, while aiming for a larger-than-life, boldly faux backdrop onstage. Work that taxidermy – work it good. Citizens Here and Abroad also play. 9 p.m., Bottom of the Hill, 1233 17th St., S.F. $8. (415) 474-0365. (Chun)

Oct. 29

Wednesday

Guts and glory Granted, current movies like Kill Bill: Volume One and the Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake do a pretty delicious job of incorporating butchery and flailing body parts into the action. But even the most graphic film can't duplicate the experience of seeing such extraspecial effects in person. Unfortunately, Paris's Grand Guignol – which from the late 1800s through the early 1960s produced more than 1,000 plays, many featuring realistic beheadings, disembowlings, strangulations, etc. – is no longer operating. But thanks to groups like San Francisco's Thrillpeddlers, known for its popular Shocktoberfest!! shows (and which has just launched the ridiculously informative www.grandguignol.com), the morbid magic lives on. Make your reservations now for 'Magic and Mayhem: Stage Effects of the Grand Guignol,' a sure-to-sell-out event featuring a slide lecture by historian Agnès Pierron, an ensanguined demo by the 'Peddlers, and a display of vintage posters and programs highlighting the original "Theatre of Horrors." 7 p.m., San Francisco Performing Arts Library and Museum, 401 Van Ness, fourth fl., S.F. $5-$10. (415) 255-4800, www.sfpalm.org, www.grandguignol.com. (Eddy)