San Francisco Bay Guardian

Harvey Milk Day - Celebrate the birthday of San Francisco hero Harvey Milk with free admission and special Milk-related displays and tours at the GLBT History Museum. Brief docent tours of the museum highlighting Harvey Milk and his times will be offered hourly. There will also be rare video clips screened in the main gallery and a special exhibit featuring Milk’s personal belongings in the front gallery 11am to 7pm, free. GLBT History Museum, 4127 18th St., SF., www.glbthistory.org



God Loves Uganda - One of the most memorable docs to play this year’s San Francisco International Film Festival, Roger Ross Williams’ God Loves Uganda offers a remarkably all-access look at evangelical Christians who travel from America to Uganda. In Africa, these bright-eyed youths build medical clinics, teach school and preach their ultra-conservative religion -- directly influencing a rise in hate crimes and draconian anti-gay laws. To mark both the Harvey Milk Day and the International Day Against Homophobia, American Jewish World Service and Horizons Foundation host a screening of this important film. Since it;s bound to stir emotions (outrage is a big one), there’ll be post-show discussion with human rights advocates and religious leaders. 6pm, free. Seating is limited to RSVP is required. SFJAZZ Center, 201 Franklin, SF. (866) 920-5299, www.gc.ajws.org

”A Gathering of Angels” Opening Event for Beat Memories - Let’s get it out of the way: A picture tells a thousand words. Though this doesn’t exactly apply to Allen Ginsberg, whose poetry portrayed imagery as vividly as any picture could, the many photos he took capture a different dimension. While his words express a beat mythology that continues to resonate, his pictures freeze isolated moments that bring the figures surrounding Ginsberg alive in a profound and intimate way. We see Kerouac smoking coolly against a brick wall in 1953, and then again in 1964, frowning and slumped in a chair; there’s Burroughs up close in a dark room, and Croso in an attic. The photos, beautiful works of art in themselves, show us the living people comprising the cultural history and because of that, they’re fascinating. The opening event includes a pop-up poetry salon, drop-in zine making Rad Dad creators, and a “typewriter petting zoo.” 6:30 pm, $5. Contemporary Jewish Museum, 736 Mission, SF. (415) 655-7881, www.cjm.org


Detroit Cobras - Some bands you’ll just never be able to judge by their album cover(s). Some bands just don’t have time for all that studio nonsense. They wanna rock -- and they wanna rock with you. Up close and personal. In your face. Get it? That pretty much describes the rough-and-ready Detroit Cobras method, after releasing a scant handful of albums, they’ve continued to tour extensively, bringing the husky, tough-girl vocals of Rachel Nagy and the gritty, jangling guitar riffs of Mary Ramirez to the people. Their reinterpretations of vintage, B-side rock, soul and Motown gives songs that could have been contenders a brash new life, while their relentless stage show gives their adoring fans a good, old-fashioned, foot-stomping workout. 9pm, $16. Slims, 333 11th St., SF. (415) 255-0333, www.slimspresents.com

Performance Research Experiment #2: Paradox of the Heart - Scientists frequently ask for volunteers on which to test the hypothesis their research suggests. Artists rarely get that kind of concrete response to what they are working on. In come Jess Curtis and Jörge Müller -- and a bevy of artist and scientist collaborators -- who will help them get scientifically measurable information that we the audience provide through our responses to what happens around us. The data will be translated into what Curtis calls an “interactive mash-up of dance/performance and physical science,” also called Performance Research Experiment #2: Paradox of the Heart. In case you care, the 2003 Experiment #1 also by the team of Curtis and Müller drew on the duo’s background in circus arts and involved a lot of brooms and balls. 8pm, $20. CounterPULSE, 1310 Mission, SF. /www.eventbrite.com



Bites Off Broadway - Grab a blanket and some friends and sample bites from over 15 food trucks including local favorites like Tina Tamale, Fist of Flour, and Two Mama’s Vegan Kitchen. While you satisfy your taste buds amuse your eyes with entertainment that changes weekly. Past events have consisted of live music, lawn games, and movies. 5:30-8:30pm, free. 45th St. and Lawton, Oakl. www.facebook.com/bitesoff

Zombie Prom - So your high school prom experience wasn’t great? Give it a second go – as a zombie. Back for its second year this Zombie Prom benefiting the Aids Life Cycle has all the fixings of a traditional prom: prom photos and a king and queen crowning, except you know… you’ll look pretty deathly. Also at the Elbo Room tonight will be a silent auction featuring local businesses, a zombie drag show, and zombie burlesque. 9pm, $10. The Elbo Room, 647 Valencia, SF. www.sfzombiebar.com



”Sex Worker Sinema” - The cinema, er, sinema portion of the San Francisco Sex Worker Film and Arts Festival -- focusing on the “lives, the art, and the struggle for workers’ and the human rights of people employed in the sex work industries” -- is highlighted by several intriguing-sounding documentaries. Alexander Perlman’s Lot Lizard explores the lives of prostitutes who conduct business out of truck stops; James Johnson’s American Courtesans widens the scope, following 11 different sex workers in various situations; and a legendary NYC trans activist and Stonewall icon get her due in Pay It No Mind: The Life and Times of Marsha P. Johnson Also on tap: a full slate of shorts, both doc and narrative. The $35 pass scores entry into all films in the fest. 2pm to midnight, $35. Roxie Theater, Roxie Theater, 3317 16th St., SF. www.roxie.com

Forbidden Island Luau - No need to book a flight to Hawaii when you can have a tropical vacation right here in the Bay Area. Forbidden Island Tiki Lounge is hosting its annual luau today that’s as authentic as anything you’ll find west of California. Scarf down on a pig roast, shake your hula hips at dance lessons led by Aloha Polynesia, and sip on rum cocktails. 2-10pm, $5. Forbidden Island Tiki Lounge, 1304 Lincoln, Alameda. www.forbiddenislandalameda.com



Twilight Circus Dub Sound System - For 25 years, dub wizard Ryan Moore of the Netherlands (psychedelic heads know him from Legendary Pink Dots) has blown minds with his reverberating soundscapes, pumping up classic ragga sound with sly wit and smokin’ updates. This is top sound, folks. 9pm, $7-$10. The Elbo Room, 647 Valencia, SF. www.dubmissionsf.com

Nerd Nite - Fully nerd out this evening with lectures sure to stir up your brain cells. Kate Poirier will speak on topology – the study of spaces and spaces – and relate it to securing your bike from sneaky thieves. Bioengineer Terry Johnson will discuss how and why we build new DNA from scratch, and Megan Elizabeth Carlsen will talk about color theory. If all this info gets to be too much, grab a drink and just watch nerds in their element. Doors open at 7pm, show starts at 8pm, $8.The New Parkway, 474 24th St., Oakl. (510) 658-7900, www.nerdnite.com



Frances Ha - Noah Baumbach isn’t exactly known for his romance and bright-eyed optimism. But Frances Ha -- the black and white tale of a New York City hipster (Baumbach’s real-life squeeze, Greta Gerwig) blundering her way into adulthood -- is probably the lease Baumbach-ian Baumbach movie ever. Owing stylistic debts to both vintage Woody Allen and the French New Wave, Frances Ha relies heavily on Gerwig’s adorable-disaster title character to propel it’s plot. Frances Ha captures twenty-something ennui with the same honesty Baumbach deployed in Kicking and Screaming. see website for show times, $10.50. Embarcadero Center Cinema, 1 Embarcadero Center, SF. (415) 352-0835, www.landmarktheatres.com

Radiation City - Radiation City has a near-magical wooing ability; Comprised of two couples, even the band can’t resist its own magnetism. Maybe it’s a result of chemistry that extends offstage, but Radiation City has arrived at an enchanting formula that combines dreamy pop, some ‘60s girls band flare, a shadow of psych-rock and the occasional hint of bossa nova. After the May 21 release of it’s third album, Animals in the Median, Radiation will play new music to an enchanted crowd at the Rickshaw Stop. Be among those dancing, shouting and bewitched. With Cuckoo Chaos, 8pm, $12. Rickshaw Stop, 155 Fell, SF. (415) 861-2011, www.rickshawstop.com



Summer of Art - Soak up some sun and add some music and dance to your lunch break. This free, weekly series features different dancers, musicians, and theatre shows each week for your entertainment while you chow down on some Off the Grid goodies. Noon to 1pm, free. UN Plaza, Market and Hyde, SF. /www.facebook.com/summerofart