San Francisco Bay Guardian | Arts and Entertainment

8 Days a Week

Nov. 2-9, 2005

IS BUTOH IN the eye of the beholder? A product of postwar 1960s Japan, it's undergone a worldwide flowering as a performance-art style since the '80s. But butoh is so varied, cross-disciplinary, and ever changing – unfolding greedily and rebelliously, with ample amounts of horror and hilarity, at the intersection of modern history, ancient and contemporary theater and dance, and western influences such as expressionism, surrealism, Dada, and existentialist thought – that simple definitions are hard to find. The best ones, meanwhile, remain visceral. See this weekend's choice sampling of possibilities on display in two separate productions: Prized local innovator Shinichi Momo Koga (founder of inkBoat) and Cassie Terman (Citizen of Trees) perform a high-powered duet as part of the excellent 3 Drops of Blood performance series at Project Artaud. And at NOHspace, a truly international performing artist and butoh master, Kyoto-based Katsura Kan, culminates his two-week SF Butoh Lab residency with the West Coast premiere of Joker in the Forest – a solo piece based on his observations of elephant trainers on the Thai-Burmese border – and Fragments of Adam, performed with his international dance group, Saltimbantiques. Fast on these agile heels comes Monday's symposium "Body as Edge: The Useful Paradox," a discussion-with-audience Q&A on the state of the art form in the United States, featuring keynote speakers Kan and SFSU professor Yukihiro Goto and a panel of local butoh choreographers. 3 Drops of Blood performances: Fri/4-Sat/5., 8 p.m., Project Artaud, 450 Florida, SF. $20. (415) 561-1444. Katsura Kan performances: Fri/4-Sat/5, 8 p.m.; Sun., 5 p.m.., NOHspace, 2840 Mariposa, SF. $15. (415) 621-7978. Butoh symposium: Mon/7, SFSU, Fine Arts Building, Coppola Theatre, Holloway at 19th Ave, SF. Free. sfbutoahlab@yahoo.com. (Rob Avila)

Nov. 2, Wednesday

Lost and Found Cook dinner. Sex two times in car. Lion costumes. Buy house. Dan called. Such is the stuff Found magazine is made of: lists and love notes, Polaroids and poetry, ticket stubs and telephone bills: the ephemera of everyday life that has been lost – and found – and mailed to this up-and-coming publication. Join creator and editor Davy Rothbart and brother Peter as they share some of the most hilarious and heartbreaking finds to land in their mailbox. Davy will also read from his new book of short stories, The Lone Surfer of Montana, Kansas, and Peter will regale audiences with "lovely and lewd songs based on found stuff." 7 and 9 p.m., Intersection for the Arts, 446 Valencia, SF. $5. (415) 626-2787, www .theintersection.org. (Also Thurs/3, 7 p.m., A Clean Well-Lighted Place for Books, 601 Van Ness, SF. Free. (415) 441-6670.) (Caitlin Van Dusen) Balls to the Wal Ever dream of getting that asinine, price-droppin' Wal-Mart smiley face in the crosshairs? Of course you have. Sadly, corporate logo-icide probably won't do much to curtail the retail behemoth's unethical business and labor practices. So why not come out and support the spread of the anti-Wal Mart message instead? Documentarian Robert Greenwald's new agitprop, Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price, gets its West Coast premiere in San Francisco as part of a weeklong "viral marketing" blitz featuring grassroots screenings at house parties and locally owned theaters across the country (the opposite, appropriately enough, of the big-box approach). Greenwald is the filmmaker behind the incendiary Fox News exposé Outfoxed, so expect some choice muckraking. Just be sure not to wear your old Kathie Lee Gifford separates. 7:30 p.m., Cowell Theater, Fort Mason Center, Marina at Buchanan, SF. $25. (415) 575-2382. (Michelle Devereaux)

Nov. 3, Thursday

Videodrome Equal parts performance art and hands-in-the-air riot grrrl throw-down, a Tracy + the Plastics show is like no other. Masterminded by the self-professed "lesbian feminist film artist" Wynne Greenwood, the band of one deconstructs rock music and brings down the house in the process. Greenwood – one of the more interesting art-student-turned-rock-stars in the last few decades – plays all three members of the band; she sings live, as Tracy, in front of video projections of herself playing keyboards, as Nikki, and drums, as Cola. The timing between her and her video-selves is tightly rehearsed and totally mesmerizing, allowing space for between-song banter, breakdowns, and all the other things that go along with a show. Rock music has always been a fantasyland of self-invention, and Greenwood takes the rites of naming and performance to a deliciously creative place. If it all sounds a little too academic, it should be noted that she also pens plenty of killer hooks that will send 21 Grand's floor spinning. 0th open. 8 p.m., 21 Grand, 416 25th St., Oakl. $8. (510) 444-7263. (Max Goldberg)

Rock the scene Since their last album became a club classic (well, maybe just at popscene), Metric has quickly danced its way into the hearts of hipsters and norms alike. The band's newest album, Live it Out (Last Gang), continues to draw on an ivory-tickling sound that has since become their formula for success. Front-runner Emily Haines (of the now-famous Broken Social Scene collective) contributes her soothing vocals to the foggy, almost eerie tunes. And while not quite as danceable as their previous gems, their live performance will incorporate just enough synth to invoke the classic scenester dance – y'know: left leg taut, right leg bends with a sassy vengeance to the bass beat, and don't forget the glazed-over stink-eye to others around you. The Death of a Party and the Lovely Feathers also play. 9 p.m., Slim's, 333 11th St., SF. $15. (415) 255-0333. (Justin Yu)

Talk hard Originally springing to life in Austin, Texas, the Dicks became widely known in the early punk underground for their outrageous stage shows and, more important, for their hard-hitting music. The band's first single, 1980's "Hate the Police," was a venomous blitz against cops but could also be taken as a rallying cry against the government, the border patrol, or any other abusive authority figure – particularly of the redneck variety. Over a maniacally down-stroked guitar-attack intro, singer Gary Floyd sarcastically snarls and screams throughout the tune, at one point baying, "Daddy, daddy, daddy / Proud of your son / He got him a good job / Killing niggers and Mexicans / I'll tell you one thing / It's true / You can't find justice / It'll find you." Twenty-five years later, these guys still haven't gone soft. Thee Merry Widows, the Teenage Harlets, and the Twots also play. 9 p.m., Eagle Tavern, 398 12th St., SF. $7. (415) 626-0880. (Sean McCourt)

Nov. 4, Friday

Justified theater If your ears, curiosity, and viable extremities do not perk up upon hearing the title of Sheila Callaghan's new play, Crumble (Lay Me Down, Justin Timberlake), then perhaps the reasonable "Thursday pay what you wish" ticket policy will. Crumble closes out Impact Theatre's 2005 season with this holiday-infused drama about a young girl who, while coping with the loss of her father, finds salvation in the prodigious Justin Timberlake. Impact Theatre perennially features young emerging playwrights from around the Bay Area and offers affordable tickets in order to appeal to a younger generation of theatergoers. As if Timberlake's appeal is not enough. Through Dec. 10. Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m., La Val's Subterranean, 1834 Euclid, Berk. $10-$15 (Thurs, pay what you wish). (510) 464-4468, www.impacttheatre.com. (Forrest Caskey)

I'd rather Parish Few other winsome Brits are popping through town this week, and with all the folk noir that has graced local stages lately, it's nice to see someone who can bang out noir music without the antiquarian lyrical pretensions, lace collars, or BO. Best known to nonscenesters as the guitarist-collaborator on P.J. Harvey's work from 1988 to 1996, including the '96 Dance Hall at Louse Point LP, John Parish has cranked out one of the year's most endearing records, Once Upon A Little Time (Thrill Jockey), a twee mixture of major-key wonder and minor-key intimacy. Parish comes to the States for an eight-date tour, and fans of Robert Wyatt, mellow Eno, and lo-fi Beck will make some front-page drive-in news as Parish and Co. work the night moves in Market Street's reddest basement. Knife and Fork and Josh Klinghoffer Band open. 9 p.m., Cafe du Nord, 2170 Market, SF. $15. (415) 861-5016. (A. Jacob Metz)

Low rumble Back in the heyday of polyester, many strangely dressed, ultraskilled musicians played a genre of music known as fusion. Now often dismissed as the precursor to smooth jazz, fusion once stood as a totem of progressive composition and collective improvisation by combining jazz with rock and roll. Legendary fusion bassist Stanley Clarke, a former member of Return to Forever, with pianist Chick Corea, begins a three-night residency tonight with two keyboardists and young drummer Ronald Breuner. Catch the Grammy winner showing off his fleet-fingered technique that seamlessly merges the funk and jazz traditions on top of a compositional ability that has earned him film- and television-scoring gigs. Through Sun/6. Fri.-Sat., 8 and 10 p.m.; Sun., 2 and 8 p.m., Yoshi's, 510 Embarcadero West, Jack London Square, Oakl. $5-$28. (510) 238-9200. (Alex K. Fong)

Nov. 5, Saturday

Out from Middle Earth What happens when a musician moves from techno city to the land of lamb? Here's your chance to find out as New Zealand-via-Detroit's Recloose comes to town in support of his brilliant Peacefrog release Hiatus on the Horizon. Recloose (a.k.a. Matt Chicoine), a former deli worker who allegedly got his start in music after slipping Carl Craig a demo along with his sandwich, has created one of the year's best albums by mixing his techno roots with the varying flavors of his current homeland, including ska, forging an organic sound that combines jazzy instrumental chops with rock-solid beats. 10 p.m., Rx Gallery, 132 Eddy, SF. $8. (415) 474-7973. (Peter Nicholson)

Still breathing Dax Riggs, leader of Deadboy and the Elephantmen, is hands-down one of rock's most underrated vocalists and songwriters from the past decade. He does have his die-hard fans, though, going back to his days with Louisiana swamp-metal mongrels Acid Bath, in the mid-'90s, and, more recently, with the short-lived Agents of Oblivion, whose self-titled 2000 release was a masterpiece of soaring, melancholy hard rock. Deadboy's first album, the self-released If This Is Hell, Then I'm Lucky, was a continuation of Agents of Oblivion's Ziggy Stardust-isms, but their new Fat Possum debut, We Are Night Sky, is a whole 'nother story. Riggs ditched the original lineup, recasting the band as a stripped-down duo of just him (on guitar and vocals) and newcomer Tessie Brunet on tambourine-rattling drums and backing vocals. It's a radical makeover, but the album's better moments strike the same lonesome, longing chords that Riggs has been hypnotizing us with for years – it's just a little quieter. Heartless Bastards also play. 9:30 p.m., Cafe du Nord, 2170 Market, SF. $10. (415) 861-5016. (Will York)

Nov. 6, Sunday

Grease monkeys Next time you're chowing down on a greasy Big Mac McCarcinogen, look for four shaggy-haired twentysomethings siphoning oil from the restaurant's grease traps out back – it's probably Piebald. They're back and on a mission: to tour the country in a van run solely on vegetable oil. It's no surprise – this DIY ethic has been their credo on each of their four full-length releases. Mostly pigeonholed as "guitar rock" or "emotional rock," Piebald is so much more fun than those dreary genre titles imply. On their newest CD, All Ears, All Eyes, All the Time (Side One Dummy), the boys take a more serious tone with the lyrics and yet still manage to churn out an altogether wall-pounding album. In addition to testing the limits of their veggie-powered vehicle, the band is on tour to promote a B-sides album as well as an upcoming tour DVD. Pistolita and coheadliners Hot Rod Circuit also perform. 8 p.m., Bottom of the Hill, 1233 17th St., SF. $12. (415) 621-4455. (Yu)

Lit up The second annual San Francisco Jewish BookFest is a big, almost sprawlingly diverse festival of contemporary Jewish literature, including fiction, history, memoir, and poetry. More than 25 authors, many of them local favorites, are on hand for readings and programs throughout the day: Amy Bender, Rebecca Walker, and Ruth Andrew Ellenson speak at "Oy the Pressure! A Modern Jewish Girl's Guide to Guilt"; Berkeley's Graduate Theological Union sponsors a discussion of the evolution of Yiddish language culture and the Yiddish Socialist Movement; and Rabbi Alan Lew hosts "A Beautiful Marriage: Jewish Teachings and Zen Buddhism." The free festival is sponsored by Jewish Community Center of San Francisco, A Clean Well-Lighted Place for Books, the National Foundation for Jewish Culture, and Congregation Sherith Israel. 10:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m., Jewish Community Center of San Francisco, 3200 California, SF. Free. (415) 292-1200. (Lydia Brawner)

Make-out club Although Finest Dearest claim that "the dark indie-pop movement has begun," listening to the San Francisco quintet reminds me of the late '90s, before iPods and Myspace, when K Records meant something and "indie pop" was still a phrase in my vocabulary. But hey, let's call it a draw and say it's a revival. Finest Dearest take dreamy melodies and meet them with sometime shoegaze-y and drone-y, sometimes bouncy and minimalist guitars. Featuring a singer whose gentle, dulcet voice recalls Connie Lovatt and Rebecca Gates, the band takes me back to a time when indie rock was more about earnestness than irony. Serene Lakes headline; darkly twangy, atmospheric four-piece Carousel and experimental hip-hop act Bookworm complete the bill. 8 p.m., Cafe du Nord, 2170 Market, SF. $8. (415) 861-5016. (Sarah Han)

Nov. 7, Monday

Double time Two-thirds of director Terrence Malick's famously low output is a Castro Theatre double feature tonight: 1978's Days of Heaven and 1973's Badlands (the missing piece being 2000's Oscar-nominated The Thin Red Line). Both are elegiac films filled with gorgeous cinematography, ambiguity, the thinnest of plots, and, given roughly 20 years, are still hip as hell. Badlands features Martin Sheen and a tiny, unbreakable Sissy Spacek playing fugitive lovers in Badlands, a story loosely based on the Starweather-Fugate murders of the '50s. Days of Heaven follows a similar arc of lovers on the move and, in addition to being Sam Shepard's first movie, features a pre-American Gigolo Richard Gere who, sorry, was once cool. Days of Heaven: 7 p.m.; Badlands: 8:50 p.m., Castro Theatre, 429 Castro, SF. $5.50-$8.50. (415) 621-6120, www.thecastrotheatre.com. (Brawner)

Nov. 8, Tuesday

Big in the Bay At 6'8", Charlie Tate is big enough for b-ball, but, being a Brit, he chose the bass instead. His past efforts include recordings as one half of successful electronic funk outfit King Kooba, as well as performances in support of Roy Ayers and Fred Wesley. A few years ago, Tate came to Oakland and quickly hooked up with local talents Azeem and Capitol A, both of whom will appear tonight on the mic in support of Tate's Colossus release West Oaktown (Om). If the album's any indication, it should be some hot hip-hop on the jazzy tip. The Procussions and DJs Trout and the Whooligan support. 7 p.m., Mighty, 119 Utah, SF. $10 donation. (415) 626-7001. (Nicholson)

Rub your dub The Drift is one of those bands, like many Temporary Residence acts, that provide scores for movies that haven't been made yet. Most of the songs on their new album, Travels in Constants, are from a hypothetical spaghetti western set in snowy Colorado (but actually filmed in Germany); there is a touch of Morricone laid out softly in a bed of contemporary jam-rock. Combining stand-up bass, drums, guitar, and trumpet (the latter two processed through effects and loops), the band squeals out a combo of postrock dub that suggests, true to its name, a feeling of moving aimlessly. Nine out of ten dubheads suggest herbal supplements to fully unlock drifting potential. Boston's Cerberus Shoal headlines; Micah Blue Smaldone also plays. 9 p.m., Bottom of the Hill, 1233 17th St., SF. $7. (415) 621-4455. (Sean Patrick Maylone)

Nov. 9, Wednesday

Gamer's guide Unglue the controller from your hands, put a hold on World of Warcraft, and tell your teammates to gore on without you – it's time for a little bit of book readin'. And what better piece of literature than one that outlines video games and their ubiquity in modern pop culture? Heather Chaplin and Aaron Ruby, authors of Smartbomb: The Quest for Art, Entertainment, and Big Bucks in the Videogame Revolution, present a discussion on the history and pervasiveness of these vicious time-suckers. Beloved by players and morally decried by right-wing finger-pointers, video games have become a multibillion-dollar industry capable of influencing an entire culture, transcending age, race, and social class. So what is the next evolution of the video game? Who is to blame for game-emulated violence? How do I get a Bloodring racer in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City? These questions and more will be addressed in a Q&A session featuring authors and video-game moguls John Romero (Doom, Quake) and Will Wright (SimCity, The Sims). 7:30 p.m., Cody's Books, 2 Stockton, SF. Free. (415) 773-0444. (Yu)

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8 Days a Week Nov. 2-9, 2005 *IS BUTOH* IN the eye of the beholder? A product of postwar 1960s Japan, it's undergone a worldwide flowering as a performance-art style since the '80s. But butoh is so varied, cross-disciplinary, and ever changing – unfolding greedily and rebelliously, with ample amounts of horror and hilarity, at the intersection of modern history, ancient and contemporary theater and dance, and western influences such as expressionism, surrealism, Dada, and existentialist thought – that simple definitions are hard to find. The best ones, meanwhile, remain visceral. See this weekend's choice sampling of possibilities on display in two separate productions: Prized local innovator Shinichi Momo Koga (founder of inkBoat) and Cassie Terman (Citizen of Trees) perform a high-powered duet as part of the excellent 3 Drops of Blood performance series at Project Artaud. And at NOHspace, a truly international performing artist and butoh master, Kyoto-based Katsura Kan,** culminates his two-week SF Butoh Lab residency with the West Coast premiere of Joker in the Forest – a solo piece based on his observations of elephant trainers on the Thai-Burmese border – and Fragments of Adam, performed with his international dance group, Saltimbantiques. Fast on these agile heels comes Monday's symposium "Body as Edge: The Useful Paradox," a discussion-with-audience Q&A on the state of the art form in the United States, featuring keynote speakers Kan and SFSU professor Yukihiro Goto and a panel of local butoh choreographers. 3 Drops of Blood performances: Fri/4-Sat/5., 8 p.m., Project Artaud, 450 Florida, SF. $20. (415) 561-1444. Katsura Kan performances: Fri/4-Sat/5, 8 p.m.; Sun., 5 p.m.., NOHspace, 2840 Mariposa, SF. $15. (415) 621-7978. Butoh symposium: Mon/7, SFSU, Fine Arts Building, Coppola Theatre, Holloway at 19th Ave, SF. Free. sfbutoahlab@yahoo.com. (Rob Avila) Nov. 2, Wednesday Lost and Found Cook dinner. Sex two times in car. Lion costumes. Buy house. Dan called. Such is the stuff Found magazine is made of: lists and love notes, Polaroids and poetry, ticket stubs and telephone bills: the ephemera of everyday life that has been lost – and found – and mailed to this up-and-coming publication. Join creator and editor Davy Rothbart and brother Peter as they share some of the most hilarious and heartbreaking finds to land in their mailbox. Davy will also read from his new book of short stories, The Lone Surfer of Montana, Kansas, and Peter will regale audiences with "lovely and lewd songs based on found stuff." 7 and 9 p.m., Intersection for the Arts, 446 Valencia, SF. $5. (415) 626-2787, www .theintersection.org. (Also Thurs/3, 7 p.m., A Clean Well-Lighted Place for Books, 601 Van Ness, SF. Free. (415) 441-6670.) (Caitlin Van Dusen) Balls to the Wal Ever dream of getting that asinine, price-droppin' Wal-Mart smiley face in the crosshairs? Of course you have. Sadly, corporate logo-icide probably won't do much to curtail the retail behemoth's unethical business and labor practices. So why not come out and support the spread of the anti-Wal Mart message instead? Documentarian Robert Greenwald's new agitprop, *Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price,* gets its West Coast premiere in San Francisco as part of a weeklong "viral marketing" blitz featuring grassroots screenings at house parties and locally owned theaters across the country (the opposite, appropriately enough, of the big-box approach). Greenwald is the filmmaker behind the incendiary Fox News exposé Outfoxed, so expect some choice muckraking. Just be sure not to wear your old Kathie Lee Gifford separates. 7:30 p.m., Cowell Theater, Fort Mason Center, Marina at Buchanan, SF. $25. (415) 575-2382. (Michelle Devereaux) Nov. 3, Thursday Videodrome Equal parts performance art and hands-in-the-air riot grrrl throw-down, a Tracy + the Plastics show is like no other. Masterminded by the self-professed "lesbian feminist film artist" Wynne Greenwood, the band of one deconstructs rock music and brings down the house in the process. Greenwood – one of the more interesting art-student-turned-rock-stars in the last few decades – plays all three members of the band; she sings live, as Tracy, in front of video projections of herself playing keyboards, as Nikki, and drums, as Cola. The timing between her and her video-selves is tightly rehearsed and totally mesmerizing, allowing space for between-song banter, breakdowns, and all the other things that go along with a show. Rock music has always been a fantasyland of self-invention, and Greenwood takes the rites of naming and performance to a deliciously creative place. If it all sounds a little too academic, it should be noted that she also pens plenty of killer hooks that will send 21 Grand's floor spinning. 0th open. 8 p.m., 21 Grand, 416 25th St., Oakl. $8. (510) 444-7263. (Max Goldberg) Rock the scene Since their last album became a club classic (well, maybe just at popscene), Metric has quickly danced its way into the hearts of hipsters and norms alike. The band's newest album, Live it Out (Last Gang), continues to draw on an ivory-tickling sound that has since become their formula for success. Front-runner Emily Haines (of the now-famous Broken Social Scene collective) contributes her soothing vocals to the foggy, almost eerie tunes. And while not quite as danceable as their previous gems, their live performance will incorporate just enough synth to invoke the classic scenester dance – y'know: left leg taut, right leg bends with a sassy vengeance to the bass beat, and don't forget the glazed-over stink-eye to others around you. The Death of a Party and the Lovely Feathers also play. 9 p.m., Slim's, 333 11th St., SF. $15. (415) 255-0333. (Justin Yu) Talk hard Originally springing to life in Austin, Texas, the Dicks became widely known in the early punk underground for their outrageous stage shows and, more important, for their hard-hitting music. The band's first single, 1980's "Hate the Police," was a venomous blitz against cops but could also be taken as a rallying cry against the government, the border patrol, or any other abusive authority figure – particularly of the redneck variety. Over a maniacally down-stroked guitar-attack intro, singer Gary Floyd sarcastically snarls and screams throughout the tune, at one point baying, "Daddy, daddy, daddy / Proud of your son / He got him a good job / Killing niggers and Mexicans / I'll tell you one thing / It's true / You can't find justice / It'll find you." Twenty-five years later, these guys still haven't gone soft. Thee Merry Widows, the Teenage Harlets, and the Twots also play. 9 p.m., Eagle Tavern, 398 12th St., SF. $7. (415) 626-0880. (Sean McCourt) Nov. 4, Friday Justified theater If your ears, curiosity, and viable extremities do not perk up upon hearing the title of Sheila Callaghan's new play, Crumble (Lay Me Down, Justin Timberlake), then perhaps the reasonable "Thursday pay what you wish" ticket policy will. Crumble closes out Impact Theatre's 2005 season with this holiday-infused drama about a young girl who, while coping with the loss of her father, finds salvation in the prodigious Justin Timberlake. Impact Theatre perennially features young emerging playwrights from around the Bay Area and offers affordable tickets in order to appeal to a younger generation of theatergoers. As if Timberlake's appeal is not enough. Through Dec. 10. Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m., La Val's Subterranean, 1834 Euclid, Berk. $10-$15 (Thurs, pay what you wish). (510) 464-4468, www.impacttheatre.com. (Forrest Caskey) I'd rather Parish Few other winsome Brits are popping through town this week, and with all the folk noir that has graced local stages lately, it's nice to see someone who can bang out noir music without the antiquarian lyrical pretensions, lace collars, or BO. Best known to nonscenesters as the guitarist-collaborator on P.J. Harvey's work from 1988 to 1996, including the '96 Dance Hall at Louse Point LP, John Parish has cranked out one of the year's most endearing records, Once Upon A Little Time (Thrill Jockey), a twee mixture of major-key wonder and minor-key intimacy. Parish comes to the States for an eight-date tour, and fans of Robert Wyatt, mellow Eno, and lo-fi Beck will make some front-page drive-in news as Parish and Co. work the night moves in Market Street's reddest basement. Knife and Fork and Josh Klinghoffer Band open. 9 p.m., Cafe du Nord, 2170 Market, SF. $15. (415) 861-5016. (A. Jacob Metz) Low rumble Back in the heyday of polyester, many strangely dressed, ultraskilled musicians played a genre of music known as fusion. Now often dismissed as the precursor to smooth jazz, fusion once stood as a totem of progressive composition and collective improvisation by combining jazz with rock and roll. Legendary fusion bassist Stanley Clarke, a former member of Return to Forever, with pianist Chick Corea, begins a three-night residency tonight with two keyboardists and young drummer Ronald Breuner. Catch the Grammy winner showing off his fleet-fingered technique that seamlessly merges the funk and jazz traditions on top of a compositional ability that has earned him film- and television-scoring gigs. Through Sun/6. Fri.-Sat., 8 and 10 p.m.; Sun., 2 and 8 p.m., Yoshi's, 510 Embarcadero West, Jack London Square, Oakl. $5-$28. (510) 238-9200. (Alex K. Fong) Nov. 5, Saturday Out from Middle Earth What happens when a musician moves from techno city to the land of lamb? Here's your chance to find out as New Zealand-via-Detroit's Recloose comes to town in support of his brilliant Peacefrog release Hiatus on the Horizon. Recloose (a.k.a. Matt Chicoine), a former deli worker who allegedly got his start in music after slipping Carl Craig a demo along with his sandwich, has created one of the year's best albums by mixing his techno roots with the varying flavors of his current homeland, including ska, forging an organic sound that combines jazzy instrumental chops with rock-solid beats. 10 p.m., Rx Gallery, 132 Eddy, SF. $8. (415) 474-7973. (Peter Nicholson) Still breathing Dax Riggs, leader of Deadboy and the Elephantmen, is hands-down one of rock's most underrated vocalists and songwriters from the past decade. He does have his die-hard fans, though, going back to his days with Louisiana swamp-metal mongrels Acid Bath, in the mid-'90s, and, more recently, with the short-lived Agents of Oblivion, whose self-titled 2000 release was a masterpiece of soaring, melancholy hard rock. Deadboy's first album, the self-released If This Is Hell, Then I'm Lucky, was a continuation of Agents of Oblivion's Ziggy Stardust-isms, but their new Fat Possum debut, We Are Night Sky, is a whole 'nother story. Riggs ditched the original lineup, recasting the band as a stripped-down duo of just him (on guitar and vocals) and newcomer Tessie Brunet on tambourine-rattling drums and backing vocals. It's a radical makeover, but the album's better moments strike the same lonesome, longing chords that Riggs has been hypnotizing us with for years – it's just a little quieter. Heartless Bastards also play. 9:30 p.m., Cafe du Nord, 2170 Market, SF. $10. (415) 861-5016. (Will York) Nov. 6, Sunday Grease monkeys Next time you're chowing down on a greasy Big Mac McCarcinogen, look for four shaggy-haired twentysomethings siphoning oil from the restaurant's grease traps out back – it's probably Piebald. They're back and on a mission: to tour the country in a van run solely on vegetable oil. It's no surprise – this DIY ethic has been their credo on each of their four full-length releases. Mostly pigeonholed as "guitar rock" or "emotional rock," Piebald is so much more fun than those dreary genre titles imply. On their newest CD, All Ears, All Eyes, All the Time (Side One Dummy), the boys take a more serious tone with the lyrics and yet still manage to churn out an altogether wall-pounding album. In addition to testing the limits of their veggie-powered vehicle, the band is on tour to promote a B-sides album as well as an upcoming tour DVD. Pistolita and coheadliners Hot Rod Circuit also perform. 8 p.m., Bottom of the Hill, 1233 17th St., SF. $12. (415) 621-4455. (Yu) Lit up The second annual San Francisco Jewish BookFest is a big, almost sprawlingly diverse festival of contemporary Jewish literature, including fiction, history, memoir, and poetry. More than 25 authors, many of them local favorites, are on hand for readings and programs throughout the day: Amy Bender, Rebecca Walker, and Ruth Andrew Ellenson speak at "Oy the Pressure! A Modern Jewish Girl's Guide to Guilt"; Berkeley's Graduate Theological Union sponsors a discussion of the evolution of Yiddish language culture and the Yiddish Socialist Movement; and Rabbi Alan Lew hosts "A Beautiful Marriage: Jewish Teachings and Zen Buddhism." The free festival is sponsored by Jewish Community Center of San Francisco, A Clean Well-Lighted Place for Books, the National Foundation for Jewish Culture, and Congregation Sherith Israel. 10:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m., Jewish Community Center of San Francisco, 3200 California, SF. Free. (415) 292-1200. (Lydia Brawner) Make-out club Although Finest Dearest claim that "the dark indie-pop movement has begun," listening to the San Francisco quintet reminds me of the late '90s, before iPods and Myspace, when K Records meant something and "indie pop" was still a phrase in my vocabulary. But hey, let's call it a draw and say it's a revival. Finest Dearest take dreamy melodies and meet them with sometime shoegaze-y and drone-y, sometimes bouncy and minimalist guitars. Featuring a singer whose gentle, dulcet voice recalls Connie Lovatt and Rebecca Gates, the band takes me back to a time when indie rock was more about earnestness than irony. Serene Lakes headline; darkly twangy, atmospheric four-piece Carousel and experimental hip-hop act Bookworm complete the bill. 8 p.m., Cafe du Nord, 2170 Market, SF. $8. (415) 861-5016. (Sarah Han) Nov. 7, Monday Double time Two-thirds of director Terrence Malick's famously low output is a Castro Theatre double feature tonight: 1978's Days of Heaven and 1973's Badlands (the missing piece being 2000's Oscar-nominated The Thin Red Line). Both are elegiac films filled with gorgeous cinematography, ambiguity, the thinnest of plots, and, given roughly 20 years, are still hip as hell. Badlands features Martin Sheen and a tiny, unbreakable Sissy Spacek playing fugitive lovers in Badlands, a story loosely based on the Starweather-Fugate murders of the '50s. Days of Heaven follows a similar arc of lovers on the move and, in addition to being Sam Shepard's first movie, features a pre-American Gigolo Richard Gere who, sorry, was once cool. Days of Heaven: 7 p.m.; Badlands: 8:50 p.m., Castro Theatre, 429 Castro, SF. $5.50-$8.50. (415) 621-6120, www.thecastrotheatre.com. (Brawner) Nov. 8, Tuesday Big in the Bay At 6'8", Charlie Tate is big enough for b-ball, but, being a Brit, he chose the bass instead. His past efforts include recordings as one half of successful electronic funk outfit King Kooba, as well as performances in support of Roy Ayers and Fred Wesley. A few years ago, Tate came to Oakland and quickly hooked up with local talents Azeem and Capitol A, both of whom will appear tonight on the mic in support of Tate's Colossus release West Oaktown (Om). If the album's any indication, it should be some hot hip-hop on the jazzy tip. The Procussions and DJs Trout and the Whooligan support. 7 p.m., Mighty, 119 Utah, SF. $10 donation. (415) 626-7001. (Nicholson) Rub your dub The Drift is one of those bands, like many Temporary Residence acts, that provide scores for movies that haven't been made yet. Most of the songs on their new album, Travels in Constants, are from a hypothetical spaghetti western set in snowy Colorado (but actually filmed in Germany); there is a touch of Morricone laid out softly in a bed of contemporary jam-rock. Combining stand-up bass, drums, guitar, and trumpet (the latter two processed through effects and loops), the band squeals out a combo of postrock dub that suggests, true to its name, a feeling of moving aimlessly. Nine out of ten dubheads suggest herbal supplements to fully unlock drifting potential. Boston's Cerberus Shoal headlines; Micah Blue Smaldone also plays. 9 p.m., Bottom of the Hill, 1233 17th St., SF. $7. (415) 621-4455. (Sean Patrick Maylone) Nov. 9, Wednesday Gamer's guide Unglue the controller from your hands, put a hold on World of Warcraft, and tell your teammates to gore on without you – it's time for a little bit of book readin'. And what better piece of literature than one that outlines video games and their ubiquity in modern pop culture? Heather Chaplin and Aaron Ruby, authors of *Smartbomb: The Quest for Art, Entertainment, and Big Bucks in the Videogame Revolution,* present a discussion on the history and pervasiveness of these vicious time-suckers. Beloved by players and morally decried by right-wing finger-pointers, video games have become a multibillion-dollar industry capable of influencing an entire culture, transcending age, race, and social class. So what is the next evolution of the video game? Who is to blame for game-emulated violence? How do I get a Bloodring racer in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City? These questions and more will be addressed in a Q&A session featuring authors and video-game moguls John Romero (Doom, Quake) and Will Wright (SimCity, The Sims). 7:30 p.m., Cody's Books, 2 Stockton, SF. Free. (415) 773-0444. (Yu) The Bay Guardian listings deadline is two weeks prior to our Wednesday publication date. To submit an item for consideration, please include the title of the event, a brief description of the event, date and time, venue name, street address (listing cross streets only isn't sufficient), city, telephone number readers can call for more information, telephone number for media, and admission costs. Send information to Listings, the Bay Guardian Building, 135 Mississippi St., SF, CA 94107; fax to (415) 487-2506; or e-mail (paste press release into e-mail body – no text attachments, please) to listings@sfbg.com. We cannot guarantee the return of photos, but enclosing an SASE helps. Digital photos may be submitted in jpeg format; the image must be at least 240 dpi and four inches by six inches in size. We regret we cannot accept listings over the phone.