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MUSIC
Valient Thorr
Annie's Social Club isn't a huge venue, so beware of flying sweat. Valient Thorr singer "Valient Himself" has been known to shower the audience with a little rock-juice, flicking it about when not actively belting colloquial, clever lyrics about government conspiracies and being from Venus. In addition to their interplanetary concept, the Thorriors crank out some infectious, frantic tunes, melding punk, classic rock, and stoner metal, and their live show is catalyzed by the boundless energy of Mr. Himself, who works three times harder onstage than most of his peers — gotta stockpile armpit ammo somehow. (Ben Richardson)
With Early Man, Hightower, Nihilist, and DJ Rob Metal
8 p.m., $10
Annie's Social Club
917 Folsom, SF
(415) 974-1585
EVENT
Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original reading
Hey jazz cat, think you know about Monk? Really? Riddle me this, Poindexter: how come you ain't hip to Robin D.G. Kelley's new Monk biography, published by the Free Press? It's the first full biography of the man, with full access to the family's archives and dozens of interviews. Kelley has been working for years with Monk Institute founder Thelonious Monk Jr. No other scholar has had such access and support from the Monk family. Well? You were probably too busy playing bongos and huffing the muggles. Lucky for you, Kelley — one of the most eminent scholars on the AfroSurreal — is doing a reading and Q&A at City Lights. Can you pull yourself away from your angst long enough to join us? Solid. (D. Scot Miller)
7 p.m, free
City Lights Books
261 Columbus, SF
(415) 362-8193
DANCE
Trey McIntyre Project
In the last dozen years, Trey McIntyre has choreographed dozens of dances proving that ballet can be entertaining without being stuffy. His dances are fast, packed with action, and often witty. Three years ago, the Kansas-born, Texas-trained choreographer finally took the big step and started his own company. The Trey McIntyre Project is based in Boise, Idaho, because (as he has said) it's a beautiful place to live and the city has given the company a home. But these excellent dancers, including Lines Ballet alumnus Michael Schert, are not in Boise all that often. Now that McIntyre has his own company — rather than just having his work in rep programs — presenters have become more focused on this gifted and genial choreographer. The key piece in the company's San Francisco premiere is the recent The Sun Road, inspired by and including video images of dancers and Glacier National Park. (Rita Felciano)
8 p.m., $28
Jewish Community Center
3200 California, SF
(415) 292-1233
EVENT
"Very Postmortem: Mummies and Medicine: A Ghoulish Gala"
Timeless as the sands that blow across the Valley of the Kings, the legend of the mummy's curse has fascinated the West since Howard Carter first broke the seal of Tutankhamen's tomb back in 1922 — giving rise to a bevy of monster movies ranging from the atmospheric Universal classics to horrific modern-day interpretations. Though it's not Hollywood's favorite gauze-wearing ghoul Imhotep, San Francisco's Legion of Honor does indeed have a real-life mummy from ancient Egypt, Irethorrou, which returns to the city after 65 years, accompanied by a host of authentic antiquities for "Very Postmortem: Mummies and Medicine," an exhibit that kicks off with a Halloween party even Boris Karloff would be proud of. Featuring an unbeatably authentic and spooky setting along with demented dancing, drinks, and DJs, this "Ghoulish Gala" should be more fun than you can shake the scroll of Thoth at. (Sean McCourt)
8 p.m., $65–$85
Legion of Honor
100 34th Ave., SF
(415) 750-3548
PERFORMANCE
"Muni Diaries Live! Under the Influence"
"Just another day on Muni, fuckin' Muni." This could be any Fast Passer's mantra, but it has lodged itself into San Francisco's conscience as the opening line in the now-infamous Chinatown beatdown YouTube video. If you have yet to witness the videotaped brawl, then I suggest you head to the Make-Out Room for "Muni Diaries Live!" where I'm sure there will be at least one retelling. Everyone's favorite transit blog brings the boozy truth with a night of spoken word, musical numbers involving the 38, and transit-related cheers from the Cock Ts, a burlesque cheerleading squad. And we all know making out leads to limp bus-floor condoms, so Good Vibrations is offering prizes for the best "How did the condom get on the bus?" erotic short story. Wear your best transit costume and celebrate Halloween early with ghouls and crackheads. (Lorian Long)
7:30–9:30 p.m., free
Make-Out Room
3225 22nd St., SF
(415) 647-2888
FILM
The House on Telegraph Hill
As any film fan knows, the "house" of a scary-movie title is mos def not a place you wanna go: The Old Dark House (1932); House on Haunted Hill (1959); Last House on the Left (1972); The House By the Cemetery (1981); House of 1,000 Corpses (2003) — not to mention Don't Go in the House (1980), probably the most exacting argument ever against entering strange dwellings. It's time you found out we've got one of those bad places right here in San Francisco: The House on Telegraph Hill, a 1951 film noir directed by Robert Wise. Though it's not really horror, per se — leave that to Wise's The Haunting (1963) — it does involve suspense, identity theft, and murder, plus the added bonus of Oscar-nominated art direction. PS: Telegraph co-features with 1974's Cesar Romero-starring "oral scare film," The Haunted Mouth. Open up! (Cheryl Eddy)
8:30 p.m., $10
Oddball Films
275 Capp, SF
(415) 558-8117
rsvp@info@oddballfilm.com (RSVP required due to limited space)
PERFORMANCE
ShadowLight Theatre
In the Bay Area, we're lucky to be surrounded by all manner of theater companies — and among the most unique is ShadowLight Productions, founded by Larry Reed, one of few Americans to be an expert in traditional Balinese shadow puppetry. ShadowLight is currently performing Ghosts of the River (see www.shadowlightghosts.org for details) and putting on a special free Halloween event for fans of old-world entertainment: The Metamorphosis of Karaghiozis, with Greek shadow theater performer Leonidas Kassapides. This folktale set during the Ottoman Empire offers imaginative storytelling with magical shadow trickery — eye candy treats for the young and old. (Jana Hsu)
7 p.m., free
Union Square
Powell at Geary, SF
EVENT
"Journey to the End of the Night"
Have you ever fantasized about getting chased through San Francisco's piss-stained alleys, up and down its elevated terrain, or between its many interstices by zombies or some other form of the undead? Or maybe you're just looking to abort that sugar baby you conceived after gobbling up an entire bowl of candy corn and Tootsie Rolls? Either way, this Halloween the urban provocateurs of SFZero invite you to stop waiting for the H1N1 apocalypse and play with your city's geographical possibilities. Treating the city as a haunted funhouse, and implementing the good ol' Situationist-inspired urban rearranging tactic of the dérive — in this case, the hyperactive dérive — participants are promised new perspectives of SF's spaces and peoples. (Spencer Young)
7 p.m., free
Starts at Steuart between Market and Mission, SF
MUSIC
Possessed
Possessed has been through enough lineup changes and break-ups to scuttle six lesser bands, but the San Francisco legends are still gigging. Often credited with inventing death metal, their 1985 album Seven Churches (Relativity/Combat Records) was a pivotal moment in heavy music's development, inspiring a whole generation of fleet-fingered guitarists and grunting, guttural vocalists. Though original member Jeff Becerra is now surrounded by a cast of relative unknowns, those wanting to bathe in a bit of Bay Area headbanger history would do well to check out this pioneering band. (Richardson)
With Impaled, Sadistic Intent, Witchaven, and DJ Rob Metal
6 p.m., $25
DNA Lounge
375 11th St., SF
(415) 626-1409
MUSIC
Día de los Muertos Family Concert
Mexican folklore tells us that this time of year, when the fall chill begins to sharpen and nights begin to lengthen, is primo visiting time for departed souls. For the pains they took making the commute, tradition — and good manners, really — mandates that we show them a good time. Ghost hosts in the know haunt the San Francisco Symphony's yearly family concert, where 29-year-old conductor/breaker of glass ceilings/hottie Alondra de la Parra will be leading a performance of Saint Saëns' "Carnival of the Animals." Like Water For Chocolate author Laura Esquivel will also be on hand to share verse in the form of calaveras, playful epitaphs that roast the living. Pre-show festivities include Mayan dancers, altar displays by the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts, a sugar skull-making demonstration, and colorful tissue paper like you wouldn't believe. (Caitlin Donohue)
1 p.m. (concert starts at 2 p.m.), $15–$65
Davies Symphony Hall
201 Van Ness, SF
(415)503-5474
MUSIC
Pamela Rose
Finish your weekend with a creamy order of yellowtail sashimi as you listen to a varied gathering of music, courtesy of chanteuse Pamela Rose and the songwriters highlighted on her new album, Wild Women of Song: Great Gal Composers of the Jazz Era (Three Handled Records). Rose, who grew up in Los Angeles in the 1970s and honed her talents at singer-songwriter nights at the Troubadour nightclub, serenades with an eye toward history, highlighting writers like Dorothy Fields ("A Fine Romance") and Doris Fisher (Billie Holiday's "That Ole Devil Called Love"), as well as her own tunes. (Hsu)
7 p.m., $22
Yoshi's San Francisco
1330 Fillmore, SF
(415) 655-5600
MUSIC
BROADCAST
British electronic-psych Warp Records band Broadcast rarely tours its disjunctive, ethereal sound. This is likely due to not having released new material since 2005's Tender Buttons, an album that is simultaneously schizophrenic (being loyal to the Gertrude Stein lifted title) and infectiously poppy — a sound you can freak out and dance to but shouldn't be confused with "freak dancing." In preparation for its upcoming full-length, it has teamed up with Ghost Box label owner Julian House to release a teaser "mini-album" curiously titled Broadcast and The Focus Group Investigate Witch Cults of the Radio Age. Returning to its earlier discombobulated sound, these mostly one-minute songs (23 of them) haunt, bleeding the shadows of October into November. (Young)
With Atlas Sound and Selmanaires
8 p.m. $16
Great American Music Hall
859 O'Farrell, SF
(415) 885-0750
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