8 Days a Week

Jan. 14-21, 2004

IT'S ABSOLUTELY FITTING that local spoken word luminaries Youth Speaks host the 'Bringing the Noise for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.' celebration. OK, so King wasn't known for frequenting poetry slams. But his commitment to social justice and nonviolent protest, his fearlessness, and his ability to motivate and empower audiences with his speeches and sermons make the late civil rights hero the perfect recipient of this annual tribute. Back for a seventh year, "Bringing the Noise" aims to capture the spirit of King's enduring legacy – not to mention his inspiring way with words – with performances by youth poets, including numerous Youth Speaks Teen Slam champs, workshop veterans, and others, plus MCs Jason Mateo and recent Bay Guardian Goldie Award winner Marc Bamuthi Joseph (a truly electrifying performer in his own right). This year's party also features readings by authors published by Youth Speaks' brand-new imprint, First Word Press; music by DJ Funklor; and other special guests. Mon/19, 7:30 p.m., Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 701 Mission, S.F. $4-$10. Tickets: (415) 978-ARTS, www.yerbabuenaarts.org. Information: (415) 255-9035, www.youthspeaks.org. (Cheryl Eddy)

Jan. 14

Wednesday

Coasting Pigeons, seagulls, and those scraggly trees that grow out of the sidewalk represent all the "nature" most city dwellers experience on a daily basis. With all the concrete, noise, and weird smells, it's often easy to forget the Bay Area is, indeed, by a bay teeming with wildlife, delicate ecological systems, and fishing and shipping industries. And, naturally, it's full of knockout views and landmarks – on full display at the Oakland Museum of California's 'Portrait of an Estuary: San Francisco Bay,' which features brilliantly colored photographs by David Sanger with accompanying text by environmental historian John Hart. The exhibit, drawn from the pair's book on the subject, highlights vistas as grand as the fog-swathed Golden Gate Bridge and as wee as a sandpiper puttering around Crissy Field. See the pictures, then make time to step outside and witness the real thing. Through March 14. Museum hours Wed.-Sat., 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sun., noon-5 p.m., Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak, Oakl. $5-$8. (510) 238-2200, www.museumca.org. (Cheryl Eddy)

Jan. 15

Thursday

Now or never Coming straight from Philly for a gig at Berkeley's Jazz House, one of the Bay Area's most fertile farming houses for avant-garde talent, is Robert Getz, who brandishes the piano like a weapon of the heart, mind, body, and spirit. Solo, he knifes through on-the-spot narratives with a quick, hard language, and a grumbling, idiosyncratic ferocity like Cecil Taylor's. The 50-year mark is nearing for Getz, and having played at Manhattan's Knitting Factory and Philadelphia's Fringe Festival in 2002, he arrives here, for the first time, with an increasingly strong résumé. Influences include Stravinsky, Ornette Coleman, David Murray, punk bands from the '70s and '80s, and the "rhythms in nature" that Ralph Ellison was talking about. The name of this outing is "(airplanes to go over the ocean)," but the mood is yet to be determined. Keep your mind open as he combines growling bass chords with splintering middle-register chunks and sustain-pedal blur. 8 p.m., Jazz House, 3192 Adeline, Berk. $7-$15 sliding scale. (510) 649-8744. (Daniel King)

Subterranean homesickness Where did the underground go? Seems like as electronic music drifts further into the mainstream, it gets harder to find that inspired edge the San Francisco scene once straddled. If you're looking for mind-twisting innovation and a grin-inducing vibe, one place where you can consistently kick your feet up is the LowPro Lounge. For over two years the club night has broken barriers and moved asses in an effort to build a unique and enduring musical community. Combining on-the-fly P.A. production, turntablism, and instrumental improvisation, the LowPro experience is never predictable and always stimulating. This is the only free electronic music weekly in the Richmond District, and it offers alternative beverages (organic juices and yerba maté) and tech-heavy live video mixing. Tonight's gig features Jtonal, scratchmaster Citizen Ten, and guitarist Peter D'Elia dropping experimental hip-hop, James Christopher mixing dub and drum 'n' bass, Majitope blending house and breakbeat, and D7's Ben Sheppee on visual design. 9:30 p.m., 540 Club, 540 Clement, S.F. Free. (415) 414-4795, www.lowprolounge.com. (Jonathan Zwickel)

Jan. 16

Friday

Bombs away Oakland's Greenlight the Bombers are back, and that's good news. They returned to the scene in December – after almost a yearlong hiatus while guitarist Todd toured the world as the drum tech for the Donnas – as a powerful band just hitting their peak. Featuring an awesome new bass player, Greenlight (once known as Sixty Foot Time) bring their concise brand of noisy rock music to the Tenderloin once more. So in case you blew it and missed their incendiary set at the Hemlock Tavern with Lower Forty-Eight last month, you've got another chance – definitely a don't-miss for fans of the Helmet/Drive Like Jehu/Fugazi/Jesus Lizard axis of rock and roll. Also playing are Los Angeles's two-drummer, Monorchid-style, garage-noise rock outfit Manifolds and manic, political post-punk locals 24K Gold. 9:30 p.m., Edinburgh Castle Pub, 950 Geary, S.F. $5. (415) 885-4074. (Conan Neutron)

Homegrown irie They're clearly growing something in addition to grapes in Sonoma, judging from the authentic scent of Groundation's roots reggae. The nine-member band's latest album, Hebron Gate (Young Tree Records), is their sixth since coming together at Sonoma State University in the late '90s. Hebron Gate continues to develop the group's loving approach to a form that often is merely paid lip service. With distinctive vocals, and a strong brass section capable of turning out compelling solos, Groundation remind us Jah isn't just for Jamaica. Groundation play with Dub Mission's chief selector, DJ Sep. 10 p.m., Elbo Room, 647 Valencia, S.F. $8. (415) 552-7788. (Peter Nicholson)

Bounce with me You know Felonious are one of the city's most loved hip-hop outfits. You know their shows combine virtuoso musicianship – on keys, drums, guitar, and bass – with dizzying MC skills and 808-quality beatboxing. But did you know Felonious brought the art of b-boying around the world and back again? Two years ago MC Dan Wolf found his family legacy in Germany when a film producer sought out Wolf's contribution to a documentary about the country's vaudevillian past. Turns out Wolf's grandpa was a famous stage entertainer before being driven from his homeland during the Holocaust. Wolf and company traveled to Hamburg to meet the filmmaker and were introduced to the Trainingslager Bouncesystem, a 20-person collective of dedicated hip-hop heads, and the two crews instantly bonded over the art form that brought them all together. Felonious and members of the Bouncesystem – a DJ, three MCs, and one very explosive beatboxer – perform, a funkified example of international musical solidarity. 9:30 p.m., Blakes, 2367 Telegraph, Berk. $7. (510) 848-0886. (Also Sat/17 with DJ Illinills, 9 p.m., Cafe du Nord, 2170 Market, S.F. $10. 415-861-5016.) (Zwickel)

Jan. 17

Saturday

Et tu, Brutes? While a live music fan might find January stagnant for want of touring acts, a fresh blast of wind comes up from Los Angeles in the form of hardcore supergroup Wrangler Brutes. They're not the conventional, Traveling Wilburys-esque second shot at the middle-American wallet. For one thing, most of the members have been in other supergroups – which means very little in the punk world beyond the fact that they're old enough to have been in several bands and are therefore probably over 30. Still, when those past bands include Born Against, Universal Order of Armageddon, Men's Recovery Project, Nazti Skinz, Skull Kontrol, and Fast Forward, the supergroup is a must-see. The Brutes eschew the art damage for a relatively straightforward thrash execution. There's even some nods to classicism, with vocalist Sam McPheeters donning a wig (wigs are the new masks) and reciting Shakespeare. What brand of theater lies in store is anyone's guess. Given the presence of Jewdriver, a Jew-led cover band of notorious skinhead archetypes Skrewdriver, it's gonna be an interesting night. Onion Flavored Rings, Shemps, and Orphans also play. 8 p.m., 924 Gilman, Berk. $5. (510) 525-9926. (George Chen)

Ballroom blitz It's been pretty damn nippy out, but the Mission Creek Music Festival's Winter Ball fundraiser is cause to roll out of hibernation and gussy up. With performers Gold Chains rapping about all-night pussy licking, the breathtaking Double Dutchess team rocking the jump ropes, and Kill Rock Stars band the Gossip getting everyone all hot and bothered on the dance floor until 4 a.m., the promise of warm toes and other important body parts is real. Put on the flair and leave the long johns at home, 'cause this party costs less for those in fancy dress. Crack: We Are Rock, the Vanishing, DJs the Paradise Boys and Maybe, and a local designer fashion show join in to help make this summer's Mission Creek happen. 8 p.m., StudioZ.tv, 314 11th St., S.F. $15 (formal), $20 (casual). (415) 252-7666, www.mcmf.org. (Deborah Giattina)

Jan. 18

Sunday

People like him His days as Stuart Smalley (mostly) behind him, Al Franken is now better known as a political commentator and author – albeit one with more of a sense of humor than most. He's blunt (see: Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations) and, like many of us, a sworn enemy of Fox News Channel, Bill O'Reilly, Ann Coulter, George W. Bush, and their conservative ilk (see: Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right). Only, Franken gets to air his disagreements on CNN, while you and I have to settle for yelling at the TV screen. Tonight, Franken teams up with New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, author Kevin Phillips, and Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman for a discussion enticingly titled "Unraveling the Lying Liars of the Great American Dynasty." The event benefits Global Exchange and KPFA-FM. 7 p.m., Berkeley Community Theater, 1930 Allston, Berk. $15. (415) 392-4400 (tickets), (415) 255-7296, ext. 253 (information). (Eddy)

Jan. 19

Monday

Play time Get your shoes on, grooves on, and hards on, because the Bay Area's Games – pianist Art Hirahara, bassist Todd Sickafoose, and drummer Scott Amendola – breathe life into standards, fire into originals, and excitement into Yoshi's for a double dose of sonic intelligence. Their tunes range from covers of Radiohead and Cole Porter to Monk and Ornette, and at any given moment Sickafoose grumbles beneath Hirahara's abstractions while Amendola beats drums into submission and alternately massages them, combining brushwork, stick work, mallet banging, and hand slapping. The group's odd timing, emotional presence, and airy sound elevate this performance to code necessary. Think Dirty Three, Brad Mehldau, Jelly Roll Morton, Aphex Twin, and Bad Plus imploding. 8 and 10 p.m., Yoshi's, 510 Embarcadero West, Jack London Square, Oakl. $10. (510) 238-9200. (King)

Jan. 20

Tuesday

Tropical Tuesday Michelle Gascoigne isn't from Brazil, but you'd never know it by the way this L.A. woman handles "Girl from Ipanema," inhabiting the tune with airy warmth, smoky charm, and calm sensuality befitting Antonio Carlos Jobim's 1963 classic. Backed by Smith Dobson, who plays percussion; Mike Irwin, who lends cool guitar; and Seth Ford-Young, who lifts the group to breezy mountaintops via upright bass, she pedals through Portuguese and Spanish lyrics. Together they form five-month-old Bossa Suave, a local band that releases a CD in two weeks and prepares for a possible Japanese tour this summer. Every Tuesday they play Brazilian jazz favorites with Spanish interludes at Lingba Lounge. 8 p.m., Lingba Lounge, 1469 18th St., S.F. Free. (415) 355-0001. (King)

Jan. 21

Wednesday

(Take) action! Recently news of Britney's Vegas adventure traveled as far as the front page of the New York Times. Now the nonprofit MediaRights.org offers a reality check with its third annual Media That Matters Film Festival. Hitting the Bay Area for the first time, the roving fest features 16 short films on subjects ranging in tone from somber to celebratory and in subject matter from classroom bullying to hate crimes to species extinction and other ecological disasters. Allysson Lucca's "We Were Humans" speculates about an alternate reality in which military funding is channeled into education and eliminating world hunger. Guerrilla News Network's "CopWatch" examines how the local organization's neighborhood watch changed the dynamic between residents and the police. Stick around for a discussion and Q&A with members of CopWatch and other community representatives. 6:30-8:30 p.m., Bay Area Video Coalition, 2727 Mariposa, second floor, S.F. (415) 558-2121, www.bavc.org/meet/contact, www.mediathatmattersfest.org. (Lynn Rapoport)