8 Days a Week

Nov. 19-26, 2003

A QUARTER CENTURY has passed since Jonestown, and for some folks – recent Bay Area transplants, casual viewers of MSNBC's Time and Again series, anyone with a passing interest in true crime – the case conjures up vague thoughts of mass suicide by tainted Fla-Vor-Aid, the act of a bizarre cult off in some isolated pocket of Guyana. But for many locals, the very real pain of the 1978 deaths of more than 900 disciples has never subsided; Rev. Jim Jones's Peoples Temple was headquartered in the Fillmore District, and most of his followers hailed from San Francisco. Former Peoples Temple members and their relatives open up in After Jonestown, a doc in progress by local filmmaker Paul VanDeCarr that explores, rather than exploits, the events leading up to and following the tragedy. Get a first glimpse at the film – due to be completed sometime next year – at 'Jonestown 25 Years Later: A Look Back,' which also features a panel discussion with Jim Jones Jr. (Reverend Jones's adopted son), Rev. Arnold Townsend (the former director of the Western Addition Project Area Committee), African American Health Initiative director Cynthia Selmar, VanDeCarr, and others. Wed/19, 6 p.m., San Francisco Main Library, Koret Auditorium, 100 Larkin, S.F. Free. (415) 355-1327, www.geocities.com/AfterJonestown. (Cheryl Eddy)

Nov. 19

Wednesday

Firm, bouncy, delicious Have you every watched a jazz band fade into the background at a restaurant while chatty couples, hurried wait staff, and clanky bottles dominate the acoustics? If so, you're not alone, and you might not expect just any ol' quartet to break through the commotion and grab your attention. And that's not what the Charles Unger Jazz Experience do. Unger weaves the dropped fork and the echoing laugh into his sax solos, and he does so masterfully, sculpting a broad tone out of his surroundings. Alongside the saxophonist, the pianist buzzes, the drummer swings, the bassist slaps, and the waiters dance. Well, not really, but it all melds together, and though you needn't order dinner to attend, the wine selection's vast, and you might as well indulge. The Charles Unger Jazz Experience perform at Les Joulins Jazz Bistro every Wednesday. 8 p.m., Les Joulins Jazz Bistro, 44 Ellis, S.F. Free. (415) 397-5397. (Daniel King)

Nov. 20

Thursday

Oompah-pah Nothing says cutting-edge experimental like a tuba. Really though, the unlikely trio Drums and Tuba (there's a guitar in there, too) lay down some truly intriguing, insinuating grooves. Tony Nozero, Neal McKeeby, and Brian Wolff saunter boldly down darkened, ambiguous back alleys strewn with scraps of jazz, prog rock, downtempo, punk, and funk. There's something simultaneously enigmatic and hilarious about their sound; building layer upon layer of texture via live electronic self-sampling, the band launch into a deep sonic space much more vast and elaborate than their instrumentation seems capable of. Then in mid swirl you look up and there's a guy onstage pumping away at a tuba. Makes for a surprising, comedic night of equal parts dancing and gawking. Having played more than 400 shows in the past two years and released six full-length albums (the last two on Ani DiFranco's label, Righteous Babe), Drums and Tuba are both road-weathered and studio-precise, and they're a musical experience you don't want to miss. Tonight, Go Van Gogh opens. 9:30 p.m., Starry Plough, 3101 Shattuck, Berk. $8. (510) 841-2082. (Also Fri/21, 10 p.m., Elbo Room, 647 Valencia, S.F. $10. 415-552-7788). (Jonathan Zwickel)

Reel life Every year film festivals feature San Francisco-shot films, be they noir classics or brand-spanking-new indies. There's never a shortage of cinema showing off the lovely City by the Bay. The time has now come to see all of it, all at once. The San Francisco History Association hosts 'Motion Picture History of San Francisco,' a lecture and presentation on everything from silents to talkies, Vertigo to The Rock, the Oscar-worthy to the rotten eggs – no film will be left untouched. Join guest speaker Craig Edward Smith as he unravels the secrets and stories of the more than 350 films that can lay claim to San Francisco being part of their cast. 8 p.m., Mission Dolores School, Auditorium, 3371 16th St., S.F. $5. (415) 750-9986, www.sanfranciscohistory.org. (Cindy Emch)

Nov. 21

Friday

Darkness falls It's hard to tell whether Justin Hawkins, singer for London's Darkness, is really an irrepressible, dyed-in-the-wool glam-rock-o-phile or a calculating con artist looking to make a buck off people's nostalgia for monster ballads and early-'80s corporate rock. Either way, there's no denying he's got the best glam rock falsetto since Freddie Mercury or Russell Mael from Sparks. Meanwhile, the band's synthesis of classic moves from hard rock masters such as Queen, Van Halen, and AC/DC, as well as scourges like Boston and Journey, is really addictive – kind of like the heroin Hawkins sings about in his unsettlingly cheery pro-drug anthem "Givin' Up," from Darkness's debut album, Permission to Land (Atlantic). Let's hope that song is about someone else, although if it's autobiographical, then we should all make plans to see them now, before he overdoses and dies. Billy Talent opens. 9 p.m., Slim's, 333 Folsom, S.F. $15. (415) 255-0333. (Will York)

Nov. 22

Saturday

Piercing The place: San Francisco. The time: dot-com boom. The mood: apocalyptic. The Spear of Destiny: A Film for Everyone and No One, the latest from local artist James T. Hong (Behold the Asian), follows a mute, deadpan antihero (played by Hong) who moves into a barren apartment overlooking the Justice League after his release from an institution. He's verbally abused by the boss at his menial street-sweeping job and menaced by his Hitler-obsessed, monologue-prone, spear-wielding roommate. In contrast to this stultifying existence, the protagonist's world – captured on 16mm film – is beautifully rendered first in stark black and white, then brilliant color, with frequent inserts of surreal found footage. Marking the occasion, the usually Artists' Television Access-based Other Cinema hosts two benefit sneak-preview screenings of The Spear of Destiny at the brand-new Little Roxie (one door over from the original Roxie Cinema). 7:30 and 9:30 p.m., Little Roxie, 3125 16th St., S.F. $7-$10. www.othercinema.com. (Cheryl Eddy)

To life Oakland native Hyim seems worldly beyond his years. His debut album, Let Out a Little Peace (Family Productions), is laden with stylistic juxtapositions that in less-talented hands might self-negate into triteness but here add up to an insightful, introspective elegy on the tragic beauty of modern life. Romantic solo piano pieces like "Microphone Preacher" and "Angel Ronnie" rub up tenderly against ecstatic, full-ensemble celebrations like "Let Me Go," "Puff Puff Pass," and the epic, instantly classic title track. This blend of pathos and humor, soulful voice and mournful piano, and urban grief and folk optimism makes for a very inspiring listen. Add in poetic, socially conscious lyrics set against a frequently lush and exotic backdrop of Cuban son, calypso, blues, hip-hop, and rock, and it's hard to deny the almost spiritual spell Hyim (Hebrew for "life") weaves into his music. Tonight he's backed by the Fat Foakland Orchestra, which includes Afro-Caribbean percussion, horns, and bass. DJ Tobiwan opens. 9:30 p.m., Boom Boom Room, 1601 Fillmore, S.F. $10. (415) 673-8000. (Zwickel)

True grit Goldie the Poet's personal blueprint of East Oakland begins at Big Daddy's Car Wash and ends in a jailhouse: between these points, he paints a neonoir landscape of concrete, crack slingers, and lowrider Coup de Villes. Blending melodrama with cinéma vérité, Heavy in the Game is a contemporary study of the hustler's life in Oakland. The story of fast cash and fleeting glamour is enhanced by a gothic soundtrack that integrates Goldie's spoken word poetry with the grimy raps of Silk E, the Delinquents, and JT the Bigga Figga. At its core, Heavy in the Game is a work of edutainment: the first half is a documentary about the city's crack epidemic, made up of interviews with addicts and community spokespeople, including former Oakland mayor Elihu Harris. The film's San Francisco debut is tonight. 6 p.m., African American Art and Culture Complex, 726 Fulton, S.F. $5-$7. www.heavyinthegame.com. (Rachel Swan)

Well composed The titles of Annie Gosfield's last two CDs, Flying Sparks and Heavy Machinery (2001) and Burnt Ivory and Loose Wires (1998), give you a rough idea of what to expect from her music. These standout installments in the not always reliable Composer Series from John Zorn's label, Tzadik, combine sampled sounds with live-band action, bringing to mind images of old piano factories and abandoned warehouses. She specializes in microtonal compositions and is a professor in residence at Mills College this semester, but don't let antiacademic biases fool you into thinking there's no heart or passion in her music. Her group's performance a couple of months ago at Mills was awesome; they sounded like a mutant German industrial band. This one, which features the Rova Saxophone Quartet performing an extended piece she wrote for them several years ago, should be just as good. 8 p.m., Mills College, Concert Hall, 5000 MacArthur, Oakl. $12. (510) 430-2296. (York)

Nov. 23

Sunday

November reign Grab your glitter, brush out your wig, and find the most fabulous outfit because the Miss Trannyshack Pageant is back! This is the eighth year of the glamorous pageant, which like a good wine, only gets better with age. Contestants are judged for both swimwear and talent (watch out for water sports), and since the event is a celebration of drag kings and queens, the evening promises to showcase the city's most marvelous, fashion-forward folks, both onstage and off. Heklina, Juanita More, and Pippi Lovestocking handle hostess duties, while the panel of judges includes the Bay Guardian's own Manley Lennox and 2003 San Francisco Drag King Rusty Hips. Drinks, DJs, and some divine mayhem make this beauty show a true San Francisco treat. 10 p.m., City Nights, 715 Harrison, S.F. $20 ($15 in advance). (415) 526-0980, www.heklina.com. (Emch)

Nov. 24

Monday

Spread your legs Language cops take note: Die Monitor Batss are terrible spellers. Sometimes it's "Monitr Bats"; sometimes "Die" is followed by exclamation points. You can't blame the group for this pliant spelling – after all, consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds, and the German definite article helps define their skronk and stutter attack. Hailing from freak states like Alaska and Arkansas, the members of Die Monitor Batss found each other in the creative compost heap of Portland, Ore. Nate Preston mauls his saxophone, Brace Paine plunks the low end of his six-string, and drummer Chris Bigg plunks the skins with savvy. Walking a tightrope betwixt tardcore and abrasive brilliance, these boys may be better known for the noise they make in their other bands, Sleetmute Nightmute and the Gossip, but with an album on Dim Mak and this rare tour, don't you dare say "side project" under your breath. Tonight Die Monitor Batss play with headliners Numbers at a Flying Luttenbachers record-release show, which is also Curse of the Birthmark's last with keyboardist Eric Hunt. 9 p.m., Bottom of the Hill, 1233 17th St., S.F. $8. (415) 621-4455. (George Chen)

Nov. 25

Tuesday

Lady kilters Get a clue from Russ Meyer's ex Edy Williams in Beyond the Valley of the Dolls and strap these morose, groovy boys on. Well, maybe groovy is too strong a word for the somewhat subdued, sometimes kilted men of Arab Strap, singer Aidan Moffat and multi-instrumentalist Malcolm Middleton. Instead of parties, paisley, and love-ins, the pair revel in soiled bedsheets, dingy bedsits, damp days, cold coffee, bloated disco, lousy lays – you know, the stuff of black-and-white '60s British kitchen-sink dramas. Expect ear-bustingly loud sonics, curmudgeonly beats, and Glaswegian soul, as interpreted by Moffat, as well as some of the magnificently somber songwriting from the duo's last album, Monday at the Hug and Pint (Matador). Songs: Ohia's Jason Molina performs as Magnolia Electric Co. (the title of his latest CD), and Middleton opens the show, performing songs from his solo debut, 5:14 Fluoxyline Seagull Alcohol John Nicotine (Chemikal Underground). Cheers! 8 p.m., Great American Music Hall, 859 O'Farrell, S.F. $16. (415) 885-0750. (Kimberly Chun)

Nov. 26

Wednesday

Savvy laddies None the worse for wear thanks to the success of their last album, Go Forth (French Kiss), the Rhode Island School of Design refugees and Brooklyn savants of Les Savy Fav regroup and reassess after experiencing the joy of charting boldly and firmly on CMJ. What to do except reissue all that neglected good work on Tigerstyle, Sub Pop, Chunklet, Desoto, X-mist, and Self-starter? The Fav's next album, which is expected early next year, will gather 18 songs culled from past, now out-of-print singles as well as freshly written, tweaked, and recorded tunes that are scheduled to come out on 7-inches in the future. Ah, does anyone care except all you quirk rock collectors? The men of Les Savy Fav have a bit at stake. Bassist Syd Butler runs Frenchkiss Records like it's a fiercely productive legion of music makers: upcoming releases include recordings by Anti-Pop Consortium's Beans, the Bloodthirsty Lovers, Ex Models, S Process, Modest Mouse, and Pretty Girls Make Graves. 9 p.m., Great American Music Hall, 859 O'Farrell, S.F. $13. (415) 885-0750. (Chun)