8 Days a Week

Jan. 21-28, 2004

I GREW UP in Los Angeles's San Fernando Valley, a suburban hotbed of Korean American and Korean immigrant families in the '80s and '90s. I took it for granted until I moved to San Francisco, where Koreans are somewhat of an Asian minority. I'm mistaken for being Japanese or Chinese every day, even by other Koreans. In the absence of many other Korean Americans, I've become more aware of my heritage and the diverse experiences of Koreans who have lived, and are now living, in the United States. I think about how the racism my parents encountered when they immigrated to California in the '50s and '60s differs from what I experience today, how the upbringing of my two Midwestern Korean American friends who were adopted by white families must have varied widely from mine, and how growing up in L.A.'s tightly knit Korean community has affected my life, even though English is the only language I can speak fluently and Korean food is a special treat rather than a daily ritual. The Oakland Museum of California's exhibit 'In Our Own Voice: The Making of a Korean Community' recognizes the need to present the "Korean American experience" as individual experiences. It explores the community's similarities and differences through first-person interviews produced by filmmaker Dean Borshy Liem, photographs, and artifacts. This historical showcase is the perfect way to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Korean immigration to the United States. Exhibit runs Jan. 23-Nov. 28. Opening reception Fri/23, 7-9 p.m.; 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. (Sarah Han)

Jan. 21

Wednesday

Rock steady A clever mind can usually appreciate those edgy, hyphenated genres: alt-country, blip-hop, and indie-bhangra-booty-bass all make sense to someone, somewhere. But some folks just want to keep things straightforward and go with the gut. When you're ready for a big burning swig of life-affirming, fist-pumping, 80-proof rawk, check out an ing show. The rangy San Francisco quartet pack arena-rocking grandeur into a bar-band aesthetic, showing more honesty and emotion in a single set than most groups muster in a career. That's not to say there's no room for intellect: ing's lyrics, delivered in Sean Mylett's plaintive voice, are poetic and evocative, while Mark Smotroff's expansive guitar waxes, wanes, and wails. After three years with their present lineup, ing have reached the pinnacle of their expression – their newest release, Stagger and Belligerence (Heyday), is brilliant – proving the relevance and resilience of good ol' rock 'n' roll. Bottoms up. The Lawnmowers and Finding Stella also play. 8 p.m., Red Devil Lounge, 1695 Polk, S.F. (415) 921-1695. $5. (Jonathan Zwickel)

Jan. 22

Thursday

Homeboy There should be a moratorium on big, lamely themed group art shows. Thankfully, Tiffany Bozic's recent solo show, "Unraveled," rocked 111 Minna Gallery. And starting today, Jeremy Fish takes over Upper Playground's Fifty24SF Gallery with his solo show "Stay Home." After completing his "Get in the Van" mobile art tour, which covered 7,000 miles in 30 days, Fish did stay home – and produce quite a bit of new work. "Stay Home" has something for everyone: paintings, drawings, screen prints, sculpture, hand-cut and painted skateboard decks, and even some home furnishings. Challenged by U.P. owner Matt Revelli to create an installation, Fish (a Bay Guardian art contributor) aimed for usable pieces, hence the furniture, light fixtures, and other wood-grained treats (careful: you may go blind looking at the wall-mounted, his-and-her-busts lamps). Fish's Americana language of symbols includes homelessness, blue-collar blues, and lusty matters; although the artist's infamous hybrids are creepier than ever, his lines are still clean, and his humor is intact. Don't stay home – get over to the lower Haight and check out this exhibit. Through Feb. 22. Opening reception tonight 7-10 p.m.; gallery hours Wed.-Sun., 1-7 p.m., Fifty24SF Gallery, 228 Fillmore, S.F. Free. (415) 252-0144. (Lori Spears)

Jan. 23

Friday

All you can beat Sometimes you gotta just fuck any semblance of seriousness and go for the fun. Tonight is a good night for that as the City of Steel's Grand Buffet stumble into town in support of their new, self-released 19-minute opus, Pittsburgh Hearts. While Lord Grunge and Grape-a-Don probably won't make the cover of the Source with rhymes like "Santa had a one-night stand with my lady / This Christmas Santa Claus gave me a baby," there's a good chance they'll put a dopey grin on your mug. Schaffer the Darklord also plays. 10 p.m., Hemlock Tavern, 1131 Polk, S.F. $7. (415) 923-0923. (Peter Nicholson)

Liquid courage Jo Kreiter, with her company, Flyaway Productions, treads the slippery ground of social activitism and experimental choreography. With other artists, one usually gives in to the other. But not with Kreiter. Over the past six years she's been remarkably successful in infusing aerial- and apparatus-based dance with thematic material that tells us something about who we are and how we live our lives. In her latest endeavor, the full-evening Grim Arithmetic of Water, she takes on our tortuous relationship with the fragile natural resource. Her collaborators on this project are composer Jewlia Eisenberg and set designer David Fredrickson, who created a series of moving sculptures based on pumps and pulleys. Through Jan. 31. Runs Fri.-Sat. and Jan. 29, 8 p.m., Cowell Theater, Fort Mason Center, Marina at Laguna, S.F. $20. (415) 345-7575, www.ticketweb.com. (Rita Felciano)

Jan. 24

Saturday

Ease back While the traditionalists and old-timers head to the Fillmore for the predictable suit-and-tie swing of Maceo Parker, the true roof-raising muthafunkas will be across town stomping and sweating with Leo Nocentelli. Best known as the guitarist for legendary New Orleans party band the Meters, Nocentelli perfected a minimalist, syncopated chop that has greased countless hip-hop samples and defines the essence of New Orleans funk. But that was 35 years ago – today Nocentelli's shock-and-awe guitar incorporates hard rock, jazz, and the hip-hop bounce he so heavily influenced. While many established masters remain mired in their classics, Nocentelli still strives to evolve his style, and his backing band of crack L.A. session players do their best to keep up. Funk archivist DJ Motion Potion warms up the crowd, so get there early. 10 p.m., Elbo Room, 647 Valencia, S.F. $10. (415) 552-7788. (Zwickel)

Jan. 25

Sunday

Jazz oasis San Francisco's newest addition to the jazz scene, Savanna Jazz, opened two months ago and has kept a low profile despite presenting some of the city's hottest musicians, among them the duo of pianist Eugene Pliner and guitarist Pascal Bokar, who owns and operates the club when he's not teaching at UC Santa Cruz and the Jazzschool. Together, they belly into fast-and-furious bebop tunes with an uphill, inventive, loose sense of swing. While you're there, check out the records lining the walls, which tell detailed narratives about jazz's evolution from blues to bebop and beyond and lend historical context to the bright melodies, sprawling rhythms, and textured harmonies that shoot from Bokar's guitar and Pliner's piano on a weekly basis. 8 p.m., Savanna Jazz, 2937 Mission, S.F. $5. (415) 285-3369. (King)

Jan. 26

Monday

Reel it in An antidote to the Monday blahs and the end-of-the-month onslaught of bills is Microcinema's Independent Exposure: Ninth Season Premiere Edition. Independent Exposure, a screening series of short films, digital projects, and videos, highlights entries from across the globe (this month the works hail from the United States, China, Japan, and Spain); in nine years, the touring minifest has presented independent works at alternative venues in more than 41 countries. This edition's 10-film program includes a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to become a dog groomer (Amy Nicholson's "Beauty School") and an audition tape of two pint-size rappers that shows what it takes to train a child star (Jonnie Ross's "Dacari and Donell's Demo Tape"). Add some hand-painted digital images (Mark O'Connell's "Get the Beer from the Fridge") and throw a little Japanese animation into the mix (Shizuko Tabata's "3 Minutes Out"), and you're in for the kind of cinematic ingenuity and expression that's missing from the local multiplex. Last Monday of the month through Oct. 8 p.m., 111 Minna Gallery, 111 Minna, S.F. $5. (415) 864-0660, www.microcinema.com. (Melissa McCartney)

Jan. 27

Tuesday

Two worlds collide Head to A Clean Well-Lighted Place for Books to support – or acquaint yourself with – local author Samina Ali. Her first novel, Madras on Rainy Days, is earning praise for its compelling study of conflicts in Hyderabad, India – conflicts both religious, illustrated by Hindu-Muslim clashes, and cultural, as a traditional, pious family faces down their modern, free-spirited daughter. Ali draws on her background as a Muslim Indian to weave the story of Layla, a first-generation Indian American who is thrust into an arranged marriage, with less-than-fairy-tale results. Ali is the first Muslim Indian woman to be published in the United States, and Madras is powerful proof this perspective is well worth exploring. 7 p.m., A Clean Well-Lighted Place for Books, 601 Van Ness, S.F. Free. (415) 441-6670. (Cheryl Eddy)

Jan. 28

Wednesday

Non-boob tube Not every '60s upheaval took place on the streets – an "electronic revolution" commencing late in the decade, thanks to newly cheap and available videotaping equipment, provoked the hitherto purest-capitalist medium into developing its own flip side. From that point on, video artists explored political and avant-garde potentialities diametrically opposed to the subtly propagandic commercial broadcast industry. Andres Tapia-Urzua and Ralph Vituccio's new documentary, When Video Came, provides a whirlwind overview of this undersung movement, from early experiments (Nam June Paik, Frank Zappa's 200 Motels) to today's incorporation of digital technology. Video's unique ability to synthesize, appropriate, and critique aspects of our culture is explored in clips and comments by such artists as Chip Lord, William Wegman, and Lynn Hershman. The program (which is filled out by three short, mid-'70s Paik works) is the second in Pacific Film Archive's "They Might Be Giants: Seminal Videoworks" series, which continues Wednesdays through Feb. 25. 7:30 p.m., PFA Theater, 2575 Bancoft, Berk. $4-$8. (510) 642-1412. (Dennis Harvey)