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From the Blogs

Sheriff's wife talks to KGO-TV

05.27.12 - 2:05 pm | Tim Redmond |

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KGO's Dan Noyes flew to Caracas, Venezuela to interview the wife of embattled San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi, and while her comments haven't made anywhere near the media splash that most scraps of information on this sordid tale create, it's very much worth watching the video. Check it out here.Read more »

Movement Detroit day one: Sweetest Kiss-Over (or, I Feel French)

05.27.12 - 6:11 am | Marke B. |

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Not much gets better than dancing with 33,000 people in downtown Detroit at the fantastic 12th annual Detroit Electronic Music Festival, aka Movement, to the techno music that was invented here.

The first day of three, a bit stormy weatherwise but warm and squiggly on the musical front, saw the five stages brimming with choice DJ segues like Greg Wilson into Todd Terje, David Squillace into Seth Troxler with Guy Gerber, SBTRKT into Roni Size, Derrick Carter into Lil Louis -- and the triumph (for me, and native Detroiters) of last night, young techno keepers of the flame Kyle Hall and Jay Daniel, playing a smooth classics timewarp set, into quintessential DJ's DJ Mike Huckaby, who took us all the way into wiggy jazziness.

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Sweden's best banger: Zhala is "Slippin' Around"

05.25.12 - 2:29 pm | Caitlin Donohue |

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So I walked into this Swedish party with cotton snowdrifts and round, mosquito-netted white beds with some pink lipstick... it's a long story, but the scenario (the monthly Donna Scam party, it's a something) was partly the brainchild of Zhala, Sweden's reigning single-maker. The club promoter-singer's single, you ask? Read more »

Memorial Day in Rock Rapids, Iowa, circa 1940s to 1950s

05.25.12 - 2:18 pm |

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(Reprinted by popular demand)

When I was growing up in my hometown of Rock Rapids, Iowa, a farming community of 2,800 in the northwest corner of the state, Memorial Day was the official start of summer.

We headed off to YMCA camp at Camp Foster on West Okiboji Lake and Boy Scout camp at Lake Shetek in southwestern Minnesota. The less fortunate were trundled off to Bible School at the Methodist Church.

As I remember it, Memorial Day always seemed to be a glorious sunny day and full of action for Rock Rapids. The high school band in black and white uniform would march down Main Street under the baton of the local high school band teacher (in my day, Jim White.) A parade would feature floats carrying our town’s veterans of the First and Second World wars, young men I knew who suddenly were wearing their old uniforms. And there was for many years a veteran of the Spanish American War named Jess Callahan prominently displayed in a convertible. Lots of flags would be flying and the Rex Strait American Legion Post and Veterans of Foreign Wars would be out in force. We never really knew who Rex Strait was, except that he was said to be the first Rock Rapids boy to die in World War I and the post was named after him. Read more »

Snap Sounds: Buillon

05.25.12 - 1:30 pm | Taylor Kaplan |

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Buillon
Love Me Oh Please Love Me EP
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Releasing singles and EPs as Bullion since 2008, laptop-whiz Nathan Jenkins has managed to avoid the generic, cut-and-paste aesthetic that's corralled so many of his colleagues into mediocrityville. He's always edited his samples with an old-school rock musician's touch, allowing the drums, synths, and guitars to breathe, instead of exposing them to heavy-handed whiplash. Read more »

$3,000 an hour -- is that fair?

05.25.12 - 12:57 pm | Tim Redmond |

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Does anyone really think it's ok for the average CEO to make so much more money than the average worker that a person earning the median income in this country would have to work 244 years to earn what the median CEO earns in a year?Read more »

Live Shots: Spiritualized at the Fillmore

05.25.12 - 12:52 pm | Ryan Prendiville |

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Spiritualized at the Fillmore. Photo by Ryan Prendiville.

Nikki Lane at the Fillmore. Photo by Ryan Prendiville.

The guy working security at the Fillmore Wednesday night gave all the photographers in the pit the fingers. Two. Letting them know that rather than the usual three songs, they’d only be allowed to stay there and shoot the first couple. Coming from some bands this sort of announcement would be enough to send the photogs into a hurried panic, but as Spiritualized set the pace with “Hey Jane,” the almost nine-minute rocker that opens latest album Sweet Heart Sweet Light, it was clear the show wouldn’t be so rushed. Read more »

The Performant: Street people

05.25.12 - 11:26 am | Nicole Gluckstern |

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Midnight Mystery Ride. Photo by Nicole Gluckstern.

Total eclipse shadow. Photo by Nicole Gluckstern.

Eclipse on the streets. Photo by Nicole Gluckstern.

Marshall Weber. Photo by Nicole Gluckstern.

Poetry wagon. Photo by Nicole Gluckstern.

Midnight Mystery Ride and Marshall Weber take it to the streets

It’s quarter to midnight, Saturday night in the Tenderloin, and out front a well-known, Geary Street watering hole, a cluster of cyclists is quietly gathering. It’s the May edition of the monthly Midnight Mystery Ride, and comers are mellow, enthusiastic. Lacking the Testosterone Brigade of Critical Mass, or the themed costumery of the San Francisco Bike Party, the distinguishing factor of the MMR is definitely the “mystery” aspect. The address of the meeting location is published the day of the ride only, no route maps or pre-planned itineraries are available, and the ride leaders and locations change each month, keeping everyone on their toes, or at least their pedals. Read more »

Chippy Nonstop gets "Kicked Out Da Club"

05.25.12 - 9:57 am | Emily Savage |

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Oakland's resident twerk master Chippy Nonstop premiered her flashy new video for “Kicked Out Da Club” today. Directed by none other than Kreayshawn, the strobe lights and lasers-enhanced clip features teeny Chippy whipping a freaky long green-twirled braid and stage diving with local pals. Get ready, it's about to be stuck in your head.

The comeback kids: Indie-pop straight poppin'

05.24.12 - 3:38 pm | Julia B. Chan |

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The Bay Area has always been a warm breeding ground for bands and thus a vibrant music scene. Indie-pop is a rock subgenre that has thrived particularly well here. Back in the 1990s, indie-pop experienced a significant heyday in the Bay - a phenomenon that may be bubbling up once again. Read more »

Danzig on Doyle, his fans, Verotik, and that Metallica anniversary

05.24.12 - 2:43 pm | Sean McCourt |

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Glenn Danzig has spawned a cult following with his dark and brooding voice, and the sinisterly seductive imagery of his lyrics. From the early days – some 35 years back – as front person for horror punk icons the Misfits, to metal-infused Samhain, and finally to the eponymous Danzig, where he achieved a degree of mainstream success, he has taken macabre themes, blasted them with an obsessive sheen, and come up with some of the most hauntingly memorable songs this side of hell. Read more »

Vibrators! Aliens! Cops on the edge! New movies are here!

05.24.12 - 12:27 pm | Cheryl Eddy and Guardian Staff Writers |

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As we all breathlessly count the days — nay, milliseconds — until the June 1 release of Piranha 3DD, there's still plenty to gnaw on this Memorial Day weekend. Chernobyl Diaries screens tonight (i.e., the night before it opens) which is usually not a great sign, but it's likely critic-proof anyway (even for me, someone who's not entirely opposed to the idea of a new genre: nuclear-meltdown-sploitation! Sit down, 1979's China Syndrome. This one's got screaming teens and spooky spooks!) Er, anyway ... check back tomorrow for my review of that one.

Meanwhile, apply your brain and/or sense of social justice while watching Michael Glawogger's final entry in his "globalization trilogy," Whores' Glory (Dennis Harvey's review here), or adjust your popcorn levels accordingly for these other recommends:

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Film

Hej, creativity! 4 bonkers Stockholm art projects

05.24.12 - 8:16 am | Caitlin Donohue |

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What creative forms would you expect at the near-ends of the earth? My recent trip to Stockholm, Sweden was weird in the way that travel usually is, more just-like-home moments than alien fears realized of winding up cold and frozen because I forget to transcribe the 17th letter in the name of the street I was staying on.

Honestly, I went for the close-to-the-North-Pole party (did you know you can swim just about anywhere in Stockholm? Sunrise after-afterparty dips abound), but surprise! I ran into artistic inspiration. That's really having your herring burger and eating it too. Here's four people and projects that really did it for me, Swedishly speaking.

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The Beat: Eclectic events spin heads, shake butts

05.24.12 - 3:35 am | Julia B. Chan |

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Having too many options can prove paralyzing, but sometimes it can be the reason you end up shaking that ass for days on end. This week, much like the wind, I found myself swirling in four different directions -- musically that is. Not able to focus on just one artist or event (and in a city like San Francisco, why should you have to?) I decided to map out all of my fancies this week. Here are four appealing acts traveling to and performing in The City this weekend -- suck on a Red Bull and see you at the show. Read more »

City weighs artificial turf fields in Golden Gate Park

05.23.12 - 3:26 pm | Steven T. Jones |

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[[UPDATE 5/25: The project was approved]] The San Francisco Planning and Recreation & Park commissions will hold a special joint hearing tomorrow (Thurs/24) afternoon to consider approving the Beach Chalet Athletic Fields Renovation, a controversial city proposal to replace the natural grass fields on the west end of Golden Gate Park with artificial turf.Read more »

Hot List

Ash Reiter - Looking for a sound to kick off that summer breeze? Ash Reiter's band is ideal listening on a sunny day at the beach, or even while braving the San Francisco fog. Lead singer and songwriter Ash Reiter is a crooner with a voice that critics compare to Cat Power, and a sound that is influenced by Grizzly Bear, the Kinks, and the Strokes. She lives in the Berkeley hills with her band's drummer (boyfriend Will Halsey). Their latest EP Heatwave is a perfect warm up for this springtime performance, to keep us tied over until their upcoming summer full-length release, Hola. Idea the Artist and Jeremy Rourke support, with their inventive opera and stop-motion art takes on performance, respectively.
9pm, $10. Cafe Du Nord, 2170 Market, SF. (415) 861-5016, www.cafedunord.com

I Break Horses - Listen to "Winter Beats" and the title song from 2011's Hearts, and you'll probably have Stockholm, Sweden's I Break Horses figured as a purely dreamy, slightly cold shoegazing act. Just listen to those mesmerizing synth arpeggios and slow, distantly winsome vocals. But as soon as the snares start cracking on "Wired" and build into a beat that a person could actually bounce around a bit too, some of the ice starts melting away, as the sun comes out a little bit. Or maybe your body is heating up, revealing an exciting range to the duo of Maria Lindén and Fredrik Balck, who opened for M83 on the most recent tour.
9:30pm, $14. Rickshaw Stop, 155 Fell, SF. (415) 861-2011, www.rickshawstop.com

The Twelves - Perhaps it was destiny that Rio de Janiero duo João Miguel and Luciano Oliveira would produce music together, since they happen to share the same birth date of July 12. The Twelves have been dubbed the Brazilian Daft Punk because of an affinity for dance-electro-house music. While Daft Punk may lean toward producing original work, the Twelves are best known for their string of party remixes on tracks rooted in different genres, including MIA, Asobi Seksu, and Two Door Cinema Club. And they have a welcome unabashedness when it comes to remixing and mashing up on the fly during live sets.
9pm, $18.50. Mezzanine, 444 Jessie, SF. (415) 625-8880 www.mezzaninesf.com

Harlem's Poetic Rebellion: A Salon for the People - "The world is before you and you need not leave it as it was when you entered." Kali Boyce and Celeste Chan, founders of the lively Queer Rebels performance organization, take James Baldwin's immortal words to heart, using the legacies of the past to reinvigorate the present. Taking inspiration from the genius flurry of artistic and social developments that was the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s and '30s, they present a night of music, poetry, and stage entertainment by nine queer African American performers. Dancer and punk stalwart Brontez Purnell, filmmaker and LunaSea founder Crystal Mason, Youth Speaks champion Joshua Merchant, "Drag King of the Blues" TuffnStuff, and "big, bold and beautiful treasure" The Lady Ms. Vagina Jenkins, among others, will contribute to keeping the light of black culture flaming.
7pm, $12-$15. La Pena, 3105 Shattuck Av, Berk. www.lapena.org

San Francisco Carnaval Parade - Carnavalescos, let's go! Limber up that bodystocking and get ready to shake your all-over tailfeathers, that glorious festival of SF-style Latin-Carribean-Brazilian exuberance is at (maraca-shaking) hand. Join thousands of brightly clad revelers as they fill the Mission streets with joyful noise and colorful sites — provided by some of the Bay's favorite performance groups, like the Loco Bloco drum troupe, Ballet Folklorico Nicaragua Viva, Xiuhcoatl Danza Azteca, Grupo Samba Rio, Our Boys Steel Orchestra, and dozens more. And chow down on the cultural treats of the super-festive, possibly Cachaça-soaked Carnaval street festival, going on all weekend. SF Carnaval dates back to 1979 and featured some of the first samba schools in California, so your shimmy-and-shake and bang-on-the-drum is historical, too.
9:30am-noon, free. Street festival, 10am-6pm (festival also Sat/26). Parade begins at 24th Street and Bryant. Street festival located at 23rd Street and Harrison, SF. www.sfcarnaval.org

"Wanted Man: Johnny Cash at San Quentin - We all know there was only one Johnny Cash, but leave it to Anton Patzner (of the Bay Area string metal duo Judgement Day), Laura Weinbach (Foxtails Brigade), Joe Lewis, and Josh Pollock to tackle a reinterpretation of Johnny Cash's legendary prison performance for one night only, on Memorial Day. Patzner, Lewis, and Weinbach are going by the name the East Bay Three for this show, and one can only guess how Patzner will bring in his infamous violin skills to this inventive concept. The band challenges the audience to act like a "house full of roaring inmates" as Cash was graciously greeted with during his performance, and they ask us, "Been out of your cell lately?"
8pm, $15. Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby, Berk. (510) 841-6500, www.shotgunplayers.org

Active Child - Pat Grossi lobbied his mom to tryout for the Philadelphia's Boys Choir when he was a kid, which likely influenced the soaring sound he now projects as Los Angeles-based Active Child. AC combines his ethereal vocals and harmonious harp chords with reverbs and electronic drum samples to produce music with an almost hymnal quality to it. Think if the pastoral sensibilities of Bon Iver merged with the synth-pop of M83 or Washed Out and you'll have the general idea. 2011's You Are All I See engrosses and haunts listeners with its intimate visceral sermons on identity.
8:30pm, $15. The Independent, 628 Divisadero, SF. (415) 771-1421, www.theindependentsf.com