8 Days a Week

Jan. 28-Feb. 4, 2004

AMONG THE DUBIOUS accomplishments of the Bush administration is the expansion of daily news into the funny pages. Of course, the jokes come at our expense. There's the one that starts, "Vice President Dick Cheney and Justice Antonin Scalia went duck hunting while Cheney's appeal was pending before the Supreme Court." Or the one that goes, "George W. Bush laid a birthday wreath on Martin Luther King Jr.'s grave, and the next day he snuck a notorious segregationist onto the U.S. Court of Appeals." When these wise guys aren't cocking their guns they're cocking their snoots, all the while placing themselves above accountability with a self-serving concept of American justice – made Teflon-tough in these post-Sept. 11 times. Still, there's time to beat them to the punch line. Comedians Will Durst, Bill Santiago, and Rene Hicks head up 'Behind Every Terrorist – There Is a Bush,' a night of searing satire, music, spoken word, and film to benefit an open and honest inquiry into the events of Sept. 11. It's the kind of investigation the stonewalling Bush people fear, as their own hopelessly compromised 9-11 Commission suggests, and for good reason: there's nothing funny about the cycle of state-sponsored terrorism and imperial blowback they've been riding so high, or the long shadow cast over it by the Bush dynasty. Humor is a more humane leveler than Bush and Osama bin Laden, so it's time to send in the professionals and send out the clowns. Other participants include musician David Rovics, spoken word artist Drew Dellinger, activist Carole Brouillet, and writer Eric Hufschmid; plus, there's a film screening by Take Back the Media. Sun/1, 7 p.m., Herbst Theatre, 401 Van Ness, S.F. $9-$22. (415) 392-4400, www.cityboxoffice.com, www.deceptiondollar.com. (Also Mon/2, 7 p.m., Gunn High School, Spangenberg Theatre, 780 Arastradero, Palo Alto.) (Robert Avila)

Jan. 28

Wednesday

Way out West If you've never experienced a set by singer Paula West, you're missing one of the city's real pleasures. I used to eat at Town's End, where West waited tables, just to talk to her (I never brought up the personal stuff, but my heart tells me she could read between the lines). Now the jazz-cabaret diva, who has locally been a star of sorts for nearly a decade, also has an army of fans in New York City, where she appears regularly at the Algonquin Hotel's Oak Room. And she's so famous she quit her day job – I'm happy for her but not for me. Anyway, if you're tired of the Great American Songbook, you haven't heard West sing – she gets down inside a song like no one else. I never miss her when she's at the Plush Room. The Eric Reed Trio also play. Through Feb. 15. Wed.-Sat., 8 p.m. (Feb. 13, 7:30 and 10 p.m.; Feb. 14, 4 and 10 p.m.); Sun., 5 p.m., Plush Room, York Hotel, 940 Sutter, S.F. $25-$30 (Feb. 13-14, $55). (415) 885-2800, www.plushroom.com. (Also Mon/2, 6 p.m., private venue, 2627 Steiner, S.F. Call for price. 415-437-2900, ext. 106, www.continuumhiv.org.) (J.H. Tompkins)

Jan. 29

Thursday

Uncertain symmetry Taking an acid trip can start by buying some tabs from a "homeless" trust-fund kid hanging out in the Haight or by listening to any of Thomas Dimuzio's creepy noise-ambient-everything-in-between instrumentations. Dimuzio creates simultaneously claustrophobic and mellow soundscapes using dark atmospherics punctured by indistinguishable noises, beeping synthesizers, and oddly placed samples. The layers of sound and the succession of noises, like the crunching of machine cogs and a far-off summer thunderstorm, come at you from so many directions that the music is just disorienting enough to make you wonder whether you actually did take a tab before you threw on one of his albums. Sound artist Joseph Hammer also performs. 8 p.m., Luggage Store Gallery, 1007 Market, S.F. $6-$10 sliding scale. (415) 255-5971. (Helen Christophi)

Luri(e)d truth With her feet planted in solid jazz technique and her head buoyed by a free-flowing jam-band sensibility, Seattle's Jessica Lurie is a natural draw for open-minded fans of both genres. On both sax and flute Lurie can sustain impressively rich, compelling solos that stretch deep into Eastern European and post-bop melodic influences while remaining fundamentally groove-oriented. Her current project, the Jessica Lurie Ensemble, unites the nuanced, dynamic guitar of Nels Cline with San Francisco local Scott Amendola's mesmerizing drum work and Todd Sickafoose's versatile bass. Lurie will no doubt be in top form with such an accomplished, virtuoso backing band, so expect some serious fireworks when these four hit it full-steam. 9:30 p.m., Starry Plough, 3101 Shattuck, Berk. $8. (510) 841-2082 (Also Fri/30 with Carney Ball Johnson, 9 p.m., 12 Galaxies, 2565 Mission, S.F. $12. 415-861-6862.) (Jonathan Zwickel)

Jan. 30

Friday

Free your mind Picture this: Black Arts Movement cofounders Amiri Baraka, Askia Touré, and Sonia Sanchez joining San Francisco poet laureate devorah major, writer Ishmael Reed, scholar Dr. Nathan Hare, and 50 other revolutionaries in celebrating Black History Month. Well, it's happening at the Tenderloin Book Fair and University of Poetry, a two-day festival designed to mobilize and organize attendees through workshops and performances. Other participants include the Black Panther Party's first female member, Tarika Lewis; Harlem Black Panther Party founding member Sam Anderson; Recovery Theatre director and this event's producer, Marvin X; and Black Panther Party chief of staff David Hilliard, among other authors – plus an array of dancers, musicians, and activists. Today, 4-8 p.m.; Sat/31, 8:30 a.m.-8 p.m, Recovery Theatre, 133 Golden Gate, S.F. $20 (book fair only, free). (510) 798-9155 or (415) 241-6506. (Daniel King)

Musical words Setting poetry to jazz, Asian-influenced harmonies to African percussion, and 10 Bay Area musicians in motion ought to produce one steamy hybrid. Tonight, when Avotcja uncorks her vocals at varyingly quick speeds, Jon Jang plays the piano with luscious textures that have earned him gigs with Max Roach, Francis Wong plays the sax with a power he's honed when not working as executive director of the Asian American Jazz Festival, and Baba Ken Okulolo caresses the "talking drum," you'll know it's time to holler. Other performers include violinist Sandy Poindexter, bassist John-Carlos Perea, drummer Jimmy Biala, and djembe player Val Serrant, along with additional special guests. 8 and 10 p.m. (followed by an after-midnight jam session), Club Jazz Nouveau, 2801 Leavenworth, S.F. $10. (415) 921-2100. (King)

Jan. 31

Saturday

The good fight You know that giddy, empowered buzz you get when you land at the intersection of art, entertainment, and activism? It makes you feel like you're part of a movement, immersed in an opportunity to make a difference in your community. We Bay Area dwellers are often privy to such elevated moments, and here's one of the first of '04: the 'AWOL Magazine Release/Hip Hop the Vote Benefit,' hosted by True Skool and Sage Productions. Philly-based AWOL Magazine – a "Revolutionary Artists Workshop" – embraces hip-hop culture as a tool for grassroots organizing and radical political expression. AWOL's third issue, focusing on the military's relentless courtship of Latino and African American youth, launches nationally this month with an accompanying CD. An impressive musical lineup rallies the party, including funky militants the Coup, beatbox superhero RadioActive, and Bronx phenom MC Immortal Technique. Davey D and Mario Africa host the festivities, which also feature a slew of Bay Area DJs and spoken word by Youth Speaks. 9 p.m., DNA Lounge, 375 11th St., S.F. $15. (415) 626-1409, awol.objector.org. (Zwickel)

Feb. 1

Sunday

Going strong Deborah Vaughan speaks with a quiet voice. At panel discussions, and when answering questions from journalists, she seems almost shy – a marked contrast to the power that emanates from her dancers every time they take the stage. For 30 years this remarkable woman has inspired performers – those in Dimensions Dance Theater and an untold number of kids in Dimensions' Rites of Passage program – with training and choreography that speaks of strength, survival, and joy no matter what life and society may throw at you. Vaughan also gives her company the opportunity to perform traditional African dances, many of which she researches herself, as well as original work. As a choreographer, Vaughan has developed a language that is rooted in African dance but speaks with decidedly contemporary and urban accents. For the celebratory full-evening Stream of Legacies, Vaughan collaborated with composer (and Latin Grammy nominee) Omar Sosa; Dimensions' dancers are joined by members of Rites of Passage. 3 p.m., Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 700 Howard, S.F. $25-$35. (415) 978-ARTS. (Rita Felciano)

Feb. 2

Monday

Globe-trotter It's Groundhog Day. So there's a possibility you might have to live today over, and over, and over and be faced with the horrible realization that Andie MacDowell is your soul mate. Or it might just be an ordinary Monday, capped off with a not-so-ordinary sojourn to the "Monday Night Marsh," an ongoing series of works in progress by local performers at Mission District theater hot spot the Marsh. This week native San Franciscan Dan Hoyle (son of legendary clown Geoff Hoyle) tests out his new solo show, Around the World, a piece that draws on his experiences studying American companies in developing countries as well as his travels "in the trenches of globalization." 8 p.m., Marsh, 1062 Valencia, S.F. $7. (415) 826-5750. (Cheryl Eddy)

Feb. 3

Tuesday

Kill 'em all Don't you hate those annoying copycat bands that have been popping up recently, trying to make it big off an old style like, cough, the Darkness? I was skeptical when I heard about Watch Them Die, a band from Oakland being compared to every classic thrash metal group you can think of. But what makes these guys different from '80s thrashers is that they throw in hefty doses of crust and hardcore and keep it slow enough that you don't feel like you just got an anvil dropped on your face, à la Pig Destroyer. Add morbid black metal-style lyrics ("I just stabbed the shit out of him until he didn't move anymore") bounced off of high-pitched screaming and a live show with the potential for singer Pat Vigil to gush blood from his head, and the result is a chaotic mindfuck that's every bit as cathartic as the real thing. Constipated Gut and Carniceria also play. 9 p.m., Cat Club, 1190 Folsom, S.F. $7. (415) 431-3332. (Christophi)

Dream team If you attend one jazz show this month, make it McCoy Tyner's. The decorated pianist's two-week, 10th annual residency at Yoshi's started last Tuesday with help from Christian McBride and Jeff "Tain" Watts. This week's lineup is just as electrifying: Tyner jams away with a commanding touch alongside bassist Charnett Moffett; saxophonist Pharaoh Sanders, a thrilling improviser whose lacerating tone energizes crowds; saxophonist Ravi Coltrane, a savvy young player whose famous dad bestowed him with much breathing room in his improv patterns; and riveting percussionist Eric Harland. Together they exchange friendly fire and deep understanding. Through Feb. 8. 8 and 10 p.m. (Sun., 2 and 8 p.m.), Yoshi's, 510 Embarcadero West, Jack London Square, Oakl. $22-$30. (510) 238-9200. (King)

Feb. 4

Wednesday

War and peace If you read last week's Bay Guardian, you know Errol Morris's new documentary about former secretary of defense Robert McNamara, The Fog of War: 11 Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara, is the kind of film that gets people thinking, talking, wondering, head-shaking, and, potentially, arguing in a rather animated fashion. Even if you wish Morris had been tougher on the 87-year-old McNamara – who was eye-level with the Vietnam War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and other war-machine machinations – there's no denying the movie and the man are fascinating. Dig deeper into The Fog of War tonight, when Morris and McNamara take the stage at Zellerbach Hall for a Commonwealth Club of California-sponsored clip screening and discussion; UC Berkeley journalism prof Mark Danner moderates. 7:30 p.m., Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley, Bancroft at Telegraph, Berk. $5-$10 (reservations required). (415) 597-6705, www.commonwealthclub.org. (Eddy)