8 Days a Week

May 19-26, 2004

THE OAKLAND UNDERGROUND arts community is all about support and mutual respect for its emerging and established talent. Gallery spaces like Mama Buzz Cafe, Liminal Gallery, Ego Park Gallery, and 21 Grand; publications and organizations such as Kitchen Sink and the AK Press; and all of the local artists and organizers involved constantly give one another props, making sure that each gets exposure and assistance. So it's not surprising RockPaperScissors arts collective took flight with encouragement and advice from Mama Buzz owners Nicole Neditch and Jen Loy (who's also Kitchen Sink editor in chief). The collective's 10 members – Jenna Feldman, Emily Cohen, Amy Mosley, Tara Goe, Liz Harris, Emma Spertus, Nana Hayashi, Sydney Silverstein, Carla Costa, and Lauren Lamotte – plan on opening a storefront cooperative space in Oakland, where they'll sell locally made crafts, clothing, comics, music, and more; hold art and music shows; and run free and/or low-cost workshops in silk-screening, book making, sewing, graffiti arts, stenciling, Polaroid transfer, yarn crafts, and other skills. It's their way of giving back to the hood they live in and love. But the store can't be opened without your support – and, of course, donations. So be generous and check out RockPaperScissor's benefit featuring a silent auction of works and wares by more than 50 artists along with musical performances by Sandycoates, Gris Gris, Walrus, and KALX-FM DJ Monamie. Sat/22, 7 p.m.-midnight, Ego Park Gallery, 492 23rd St., Oakl. $5-$7 sliding scale. (510) 832-2050, rpscollective@yahoo.com. (Sarah Han)

May 19

Wednesday

Elf quest By Elephant 6 standards, Elf Power have never been too tripped-out, and on their latest effort, Walking with the Beggar Boys (Orange Twin), they tighten the reins on a popscape more crisp and digestible than ever. Singer Andrew Rieger even forgoes his penchant for role playing-game, Candyland lyrics to more directly tackle social and political issues, and despite the addition of former Olivia Tremor Control guitarist Eric Harris the songs are their most straightforward and focused yet. Perhaps Elf Power are maturing with age, or maybe this shift is due to the clarity they've gained from helping organize the Orange Twin Conservation Community, a 150-acre nature preserve just north of Athens, Ga., that was established by local Athens musicians and artists and features its own record label. Also from Athens, fellow E6 countrified psych-rockers Summer Hymns join them on tour. Love X Nowhere open. 9 p.m., Cafe du Nord, 2170 Market, S.F. $8. (415) 861-5016. (Ethan Goldwater)

May 20

Thursday

Rock the boat Penetratingly conceived, freely created, and wittily edited, Nguyen Tan Hoang's video shorts are some of the best to emerge from the Bay Area in recent years. In "Pirated!," Hoang subversively puts high-budget Hollywood in the service of humble autobiography, integrating an array of bare-chested sea-faring hunks – Christopher Atkins, Burt Lancaster, Brad Davis – in a personal memory of leaving Vietnam by boat as a child. Hoang's "The Calling" performs similarly cheeky homoerotic tricks with the subject of religion, simultaneously rejecting the priesthood and pulling movie men of the cloth out of the closet. "The Calling" and "Pirated!" are two of four Hoang vids featured in the first installment of "Dialogues in the Dark: The Pleasures and Anxieties of Influence," a new San Francisco Cinematheque program in which moviemakers discuss and screen their works and works that have inspired them. 7:30 p.m., Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 701 Mission, S.F. $4-$7. (415) 552-1990. (Johnny Ray Huston)

Divas live The freewheeling, unpredictable mix that is 'DIVAfest' enters its third year, taking over Exit Theatre's four stages for eight days' worth of drama, comedy, solo performance, dance, cabaret, film, and photography – all primarily by and about women. The brainchild of Exit artistic director Christina Augello, the theatrical showcase explores the multiple meanings of womanhood "from minx to matriarch, virgin to vamp." This year's program includes three world premieres developed by Exit: Erica Blue's Fellini-inspired Talking Machine; Kim Fowler and John Warren's document-based treatment of the voices of condemned women, The Women on Death Row Project (a coproduction with Unconditional Theater); and Kerry Reid's adaptation of the classic anarchist hobo memoir Boxcar Bertha, starring Augello and featuring original music by Jack "Applejack" Walroth. Among other highlights, Beth Wilmurt (fresh from her own neo-cabaret outing at the Exit Café) directs a duet between chanteuse and piano player in A Tingle Tangle Cabaret. A reasonably priced grab bag with a mission, 'DIVAfest' has been building a unique niche among minifests. Through May 29. Opens tonight, 8 p.m. Runs Thurs.-Sat. and May 25-26, 8 p.m. (also Fri.-Sat., 10 p.m.; May 26, 7 p.m.), Exit Theatreplex, 156 Eddy and 277 Taylor, S.F. $12-$20 sliding scale (festival pass $55). (415) 673-3847, www.divafest.org. (Robert Avila)

May 21

Friday

Hear, hear! Since 1973 Kronos Quartet have become world-renowned for their experimental take on classical and contemporary music and for always pushing the boundaries between the forms. The musical innovators have won several Grammys, along with dozens of other accolades around the globe for their arrangements and performances – which have run the gamut from works by Philip Glass to Jimi Hendrix. Their newest program, "Visual Music," incorporates visuals with the musical selections, including a part from the soundtrack of 1950s science-fiction film The Day the Earth Stood Still and a work by Icelandic post-rockers Sigur Rós. 8 p.m., Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 701 Mission, S.F. $26-$44. (415) 398-6449. (Sean McCourt)

May 22

Saturday

Sweater set They may have never matched the mainstream success of their ubiquitous hit single "Lovefool" back in 1996, but Sweden's Cardigans have continued to cultivate a loyal band of followers with their pop-infused rock. Instantly recognizable by Nina Persson's lilting vocals but with moments of jazzy introspection and the odd Black Sabbath cover, the Cardigans have much more to offer beyond mere sugary confections, as evidenced by the melancholy flavors of 1998's Gran Turismo (Mercury). After a five-year hiatus, the band are back with Long Gone before Daylight (KOCH), which continues their shift in a deliciously bittersweet direction. Loquat open. 9 p.m., 330 Ritch, S.F. $10. (415) 522-9558. (Peter Nicholson)

Franken sense Ever since 1989, when Stephanie Weisman and Peggy Howe began presenting their once-weekly performance series at the Hotel Utah Saloon, the Marsh has been a grazing spot for theater artists and some of the Bay Area's most bizarre and fabulous comedians. Today the tradition continues at the Marsh's Mission District location, with performers such as Pamela Z and Josh Kornbluth dropping in to do one-off specials over the coming weeks and others, like gangly humorist Will Franken, making the black-box theater something of a second home. "The Will Franken Show," a monthly offbeat comedy night at the Marsh's Mock Cafe featuring Franken and guests, brings off-kilter comedy on the second Friday of every month starting June 11. But before all that kicks off, Franken attempts to impersonate phone conversations, voice mail systems, and – I'm intrigued to know how he does this – the space-time continuum in his new solo show, Robot Soup. 11 p.m., Marsh, 1062 Valencia, S.F. $10. (415) 794-7057, www.willfranken.com. (Chloe Veltman)

May 23

Sunday

All fired up Wind down the weekend at Thee Parkside this afternoon with down-home eats, fire-grilled treats, and a heapin' helping of smokin' Americana and roots rock by singer-songwriter Gina Villalobos. With a new record, Rock n Roll Pony, due out next month on Kick Music, Villalobos combines a slightly raspy singing style, confessional lyrics, and a sometimes melancholy, sometimes inspirational sound that shimmers with slide guitar and her laid-back strumming on the rhythm side of the tracks. Dave Gleason's Wasted Days also play. 5 p.m., Thee Parkside, 1600 17th St., S.F. Free. (415) 503-0393. (McCourt)

In a bind Even without a Wal-Mart within spittin' distance of the city limits, there are still sinister forces at work against local small businesses. Beloved Mission District institution Modern Times Bookstore is having a tough go of it lately, experiencing a drop in sales that may eventually spell the end for the 33-year-old shop. The thought of Modern Times closing its doors is pretty sickening, isn't it? Get your book-loving booty down to Valencia Street for a fundraiser featuring novelists Dave Eggers and Andrew Sean Greer, DJ tunes, refreshments, and more. And if you can't make it today, go tomorrow or next week or every day this month and pick up everything on your summer reading list. 2 p.m., Modern Times Bookstore, 888 Valencia, S.F. $5 and up. (415) 282-9246, www.moderntimesbookstore.com. (Cheryl Eddy)

May 24

Monday

Art matters In 1971, the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in Canada commissioned an original, on-site installation by John Baldessari. But he couldn't make it, and so he asked the students there to scrawl "I will not make any more boring art" on the gallery walls in his place. The walls were filled with the sentence, like standards written on a chalkboard in a detention hall; its message countered by its repetition and didactic form. Baldessari – fascinated with language as a medium and known for works that deconstruct language's meaning and interpretation – later created a 13-minute black-and-white film of himself writing those same eight words in a notebook. The film, like the rest of Baldesarri's works, challenge not only the art establishment but also the process itself, all with a wry sense of humor. The lauded conceptual artist speaks as a part of the American Institute of Graphic Arts San Francisco and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art's Architecture and Design Forum's 15th annual design lecture series. 7:30 p.m., Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater, 700 Howard, S.F. $18-$20. (415) 978-ARTS. (Sarah Han)

May 25

Tuesday

Notes of hope The spirit of the 1960s lives on with a special screening of Murray Lerner's 1967 Festival – which chronicles the Newport Folk Festivals, circa 1963 through '66 – with Lerner and film subject Joan Baez in person for a postshow discussion. Other performers in the Oscar-nominated music doc include Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Howlin' Wolf, Pete Seeger, and pretty much anyone who was anyone in that era's folk scene. Fittingly, the proceeds from the screening benefit Bread and Roses, founded by Baez's sister, the late Mimi Fariña. Since 1974 the organization has fostered free performances for adults and children in cut-off-from-the-mainstream places like homeless shelters, drug and alcohol treatment facilities, and convalescent homes. 7:30 p.m., Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center, 1118 Fourth St., San Rafael. $20. (415) 945-7120, www.breadandroses.org or www.cafilm.org. (Eddy)

May 26

Wednesday

Whirled beat When he arrived in America from his native Kenya, Victor Sila had one goal in mind: to weave the music he grew up with – African high life, Soukous, and Afro-beat, plus American pop, soul, and funk – into a unique, personal expression that would bring people together. Twelve years later he's finally perfected that sound in a blend he calls Afro-funk. His latest project, simply called Sila, has exploded onto the Bay Area world music scene with an irresistible blend of traditional African and Afro-Latin rhythms, slinky guitar, and Sila's syrupy Swahili and English vocals. The five-piece also throws some crucial reggae skank and hip-hop swagger into the mix, resulting in an upbeat, multiculti celebration that's guaranteed to keep you glued to the dance floor. Tonight's show is being recorded for an upcoming album, so it'll be an especially intimate and infectious night. 9 p.m., Bruno's, 2389 Mission, S.F. Call for price. (415) 648-7701. (Jonathan Zwickel)