THIS WEEKJan. 11-18 By Johnny Ray Hustonjohnny@sfbg.com "How do I look?" Kicking off the A&E section, I'll steal a line from Holly Golightly, trusting that you'll take a cue from her man-of-the-minute and answer, "Very good – I must say, I'm amazed." In the pages to come, prepare to be blitzed by a surreal Sonic Reducer, skaters-or-die rock, visual art peer pleasure, a new play that turns on the radio, and a decades-old movie that suits the days of Abu Ghraib. Every week there's something I wish I'd had more time or space to spotlight. Beginning Thurs/12, "Scattered Clouds: The Films of Mikio Naruse" at the Pacific Film Archive Theater will take a month to serve up around a third of the 90 feature films made by a master of radiant despair. (Go to www.bampfa.berkeley.edu for more info.) I hope I'll get a chance to see you there.
Wednesday Jan. 11 MUSIC Esbjorn Svensson Trio 8 and 10 p.m. Yoshi's 510 Embarcadero West, Jack London Square, Oakl. $10-$14 (510) 238-9200 www.yoshis.com Also Thurs/12 Swedish pianist Esbjorn Svensson stopped studying jazz in college and concentrated on classical music. He felt his jazz professors focused too intently on the bebop tradition instead of the emerging new currents personified by then-progressive figures like Keith Jarrett. But later on Svensson made his way back to jazz and formed a trio bearing his initials, E.S.T. With bassist Dan Berglund and drummer Magnus Öström, the group now stands at the forefront of the European jazz scene, which has added elements of free improvisation, chamber music, and indigenous music sensibilities into what was once a distinctly American stew. Catch E.S.T. tonight, playing the music that has placed them alongside the Bad Plus and the Brad Mehldau trio in the vanguard of young, thoroughly postmodern, jazz-piano trios. (Alex Fong)
Thursday Jan. 12 ART "Private Transits" Reception Thurs/12, 5:30-7:30 p.m. Runs Jan. 12-Feb. 24., Tues. and Fri., 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sat., 11:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Urbis Artium 49 Geary, second floor, SF Free (415) 369-9404 www.urbis-artium.com The BART commute from the East Bay to San Francisco usually puts me in a contemplative mood. It's 30 minutes of peace and humming tracks. Artist Nate Pagel's works in "Private Transits" tap into this sense of transient contemplation via public transportation. Using sound and video, he explores the Tokyo subway systems in his series "Eiden (Tokyo)." Pagel's no stranger to transit; his previous works have focused on the Paris metro and London tube. The show, which should give you more to think about during your next morning commute, also features sound and video installation works by Randall Heath. (Lydia Brawner) COMEDY San Francisco Sketch Comedy Festival Opens tonight, 8 p.m. Runs Jan. 13-29, various times. Various venues $10-$35 (415) 675-9707 www.sfsketchfest.com January is the soggiest time of year around these parts – but how can you hate a month that brings us the SF Sketchfest? Also known as the San Francisco Sketch Comedy Festival, this year's fifth rendition is the biggest ever, with a tribute to Mr. Show and favorites from Saturday Night Live (Amy Poehler!), The State (Michael Showalter!), and The Daily Show (Rob Corddry!). Local jokesters also take the stage, including Kasper Hauser and Will Franken – plus a dozen troupes making their SF Sketchfest debuts (best name: Oh, You and Your Bone Spurs). For maximum hilarity, catch your favorite stars (David Cross!), but also make time for some up-and-coming groups – trust me, the SF Sketchfest programmers sow the funniest ones. (Cheryl Eddy)
Friday Jan. 13 MUSIC Weird Weeds, Breezy Days Band Also Zdrasvootie and Ascended Master 9:30 p.m. Hemlock Tavern 1131 Polk, SF $6 (415) 923-0923 www.hemlocktavern.com Former Teethe, Cherry Blossoms, and Nitre Pit guitarist Aaron Russell moved to Austin, Texas, a few years back. He returns to town with his trio, Weird Weeds, who have taken root with a new record, Hold Me, on Digitalis Recordings. Offering painfully delicate guitar work and all three members singing falsetto harmonies, the Weeds mix in harsher layers of sound in just the right doses to keep their music edgy. Drummer Nick Hennies has a feather-light touch that must have served him well backing up both Jandek and the Castanets, and the fractured pop-creep is made all the more spectral with this effect of withholding. Breezy Days Band is another champion of the as yet nameless genre that uses the skittery energy of anti-music to service guitar-based pop forms. Yasi Perera's teetering Jenga percussion and Jessica LaFlemme's Cat Power-esque turn on guitar and vocals make for antsy entertainment and solid sounds. (George Chen) MUSIC Bill Haley's Original Comets 9 p.m. Also Bud E. Luv Orchestra Bimbo's 365 Club 1025 Columbus, SF $25 (415) 474-0365 www.bimbos365club.com Not too many people can say they played an instrument on one of rock's definitive anthems – and very few can lay claim to performing on one of the very first hit records of rock 'n' roll. But that is exactly what members of Bill Haley's Original Comets can proudly declare, more than 50 years after laying down "Rock around the Clock" with their late bandleader. Initially released in 1954 to a fairly successful reception, the single exploded after it was included in the film Blackboard Jungle a year later and heralded the coming age of rock 'n' roll. The track, with its counted-off intro, staccato saxophone, and frantic guitar solo, is now part of the genre's pantheon of greats and was later complemented by other hits from the group such as "Shake, Rattle and Roll," and "See You Later, Alligator." These guys might be as old as (or older than) your grandparents are, but they can still play with the exuberant energy, palpable talent, and a clear love of what they do that puts most of today's big artists to shame. (Sean McCourt)
Saturday Jan. 14 MUSIC Secret Chiefs 3 Also Sleepytime Gorilla Museum 9 p.m. Great American Music Hall 859 O'Farrell, SF $18 (415) 885-0750 www.gamh.com The current musical outlet of Mr. Bungle guitarist and behind-the-scenes mastermind Trey Spruance, Secret Chiefs 3 is not a band in any traditional sense. It has, however, remained too much of a secret since its inception, in the mid-'90s. For a semilocal act, SC3's shows are exceptionally rare: This one is their third San Francisco show this decade. Over the years, SC3 has delved into everything from Middle Eastern techno and organ-heavy funeral dirges to Indian film music covers and hellishly extreme death metal – and pulled almost all of it off masterfully. SC3's 2004 CD, Book of Horizons (Mimicry), unveiled Spruance's more compartmentalized "band of bands" concept, as the disc is actually a compilation of songs by six distinct subbands. Tonight's show features two of those bands, the Persian-influenced Ishraqiyan and the parallel-reality surf-rock band Ur. Fans can expect a mix of familiar songs and new material from these subgroups' forthcoming full-lengths; newcomers, meanwhile, can expect at least a taste of SC3's musical (and conceptual) miniuniverse. (Will York) MUSIC Tecolote Fest Noon Golden Gate Park Fulton and Funston, SF Free www.tecolotemusic.com The last time I caught Whysp, they were playing in my living room in Santa Cruz, sitting amid fake fireplace logs and strumming guitars, sitars, clanking woodblocks, and puffing on various pipes. (Musical? You be the judge.) Their music falls halfway between forest-folk jams and the kind of music that's appropriate for listening to while train-hopping in Appalachia. San Francisco CD-R label Tecolote Records presents its first annual music festival featuring Whysp, White White Quilt, Chinatown Bakeries, Thanksgiving, Brown Recluse, and many others. Dress warmly and cross your fingers for good weather. (Sean Patrick Maylone)
Sunday Jan. 15 ART "Close Calls: 2006" Reception, Sun/15, 1-3 p.m. Runs Jan. 15-Feb. 26., Mon.-Fri., 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sun., noon-5 p.m. Headlands Center for the Arts Fort Barry, Bldg. 944, Sausalito Free (415) 331-2787 www.headlands.org "Close Calls: 2006" presents works by 29 California artists who applied for the coveted Headlands Center for the Arts' Artist-in-Residence program. Out of almost 300 applicants, 9 visual artists are chosen for one-to-three-month-long residencies throughout the year for which they are given a studio, meals, and the opportunity to create art without worry. This show presents the artists who were close but not close enough ... yet. Included in the exhibition are the four finalists for the Tournesol Award in Painting for emerging painters who are given a one-year nonresidency program and a $9,000 stipend: Lisa Chou, Jeffrey Eisenberg, David Hamill, and Ryan Reynolds. (Katie Kurtz)
Monday Jan. 16 MLK. JR. DAY EVENTS A Day On, Not a Day Off 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Arrowhead Marsh Martin Luther King Jr. Regional Shoreline, Doolittle Drive and Swan Way, Oakl. Free (510) 562-1373 www.ebparks.org Make the Dream Real 10 a.m.-noon Taylor Memorial Methodist Church 1188 12th St., Oakl. Free (510) 652-5530 www.ahc-oakland.org Help Achieve the Dream in the 'Hood 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Love Center Church 10400 International Blvd., Oakl. Free (510) 548-4040, ext. 390 Expressing the Dream 2-4 p.m. Malonga Casquelord Center for the Arts 1428 Alice, Oakl. Free (510) 238-7217 For those of us who have the day off from work, let's remember the real reason we're not making the commute to the office for the daily grind: Martin Luther King Jr. Today the city of Oakland honors his legacy with four events. In the early morning, head over to Arrowhead Marsh for "A Day On, Not a Day Off," a volunteer event at which you can make a difference by helping clean up Martin Luther King Jr. Regional Shoreline. Afterward, attend "Make the Dream Real," a community gathering featuring lectures by Rev. Ron Swisher, Dr. Matthew Fox, Jim Garrison, Rabbi Michael Lerner, Kokomon Clottey, Dr. Fania Davis, performances by Shaur shaman Anank Nunink Nunkai and others, and an awards ceremony for those performing commendable service in their community. Concurrently, at the "Help Achieve the Dream in the 'Hood" workshop for Criminal Records Dismissal, you can learn more about getting criminal convictions in Alameda County dismissed and also about health and service organizations for you and your family. Last, the afternoon program ends with "Expressing the Dream," a tribute event featuring music, spoken word, and dance performances. (Sarah Han)
Tuesday Jan. 17 MUSIC Russell Malone Quartet 8 and 10 p.m. Yoshi's 510 Embarcadero West, Jack London Square, Oakl. $10-$16 (510) 238-9200 www.yoshis.com Also Wed/18 Despite jazz savior Wynton Marsalis's posturing about using all the musical roots of his genre, he still remains simply a technically skilled trumpeter who inserts anachronistic textures into his playing. But guitarist Russell Malone is a completely different story. The Georgia native grew up with church, blues, and country music. As a musician he combines the otherworldly harmonics of Pat Martino with George Benson's rhythm-and-blues-inflected style for an approach rooted in traditional American music that remains individual and modern. Malone and his quartet will undoubtedly perform a jazz set consisting of material from The Great American Songbook, gospel, pop, and whatever else he sees fit. (Fong) 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. |
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