San Francisco Bay Guardian - Essential Bay Area News, Politics, Arts, and Culture

SF-born legend Terry Bozzio on UK's reunion, his dad's accordion, and the importance of drum lessons

emily — Fri, 18 May 2012 22:21:55 +0000

A rather impressive drum kit.

Bay Area-born and raised drummer extraordinaire Terry Bozzio (who plays the Regency Ballroom Fri/18 with reunited band UK) has performed with Frank Zappa, Missing Persons, Jeff Beck, Fantomas, and a host of other musicians over the years. Recognized as one of the best modern drummers, he has recorded a variety of instructional videos, been honored by Guitar Center’s RockWalk in Hollywood, and has created some of the most insane custom drum sets ever seen on stage.

Bozzio’s amazing talents will be on display live tonight as he performs with the reunited prog rock super group UK — with whom he originally played from 1978 through 1980 — which also features John Wetton (King Crimson, Asia) and Eddie Jobson (Frank Zappa, Roxy Music).

Born in San Francisco, Bozzio’s family moved to Marin County when he was in third grade. His father had been a child musical prodigy, playing the accordion on stage in San Francisco when he was only four years old, and continued to occasionally play when he was older and had a family.

“People would come over for a Sunday dinner, and they’d beg him to play the accordion — he would begrudgingly pull it out, but within a few chords he would silence the room, he could just hold them in the palm of his hand,” says Bozzio over the phone during a recent tour stop in Portland. “To witness that power was something I was very jealous of at an early age, and now having experienced being able to do that — so I’m told — I credit him with having inspired it.”

When Bozzio started playing a musical instrument himself a few years later — the drums — his father would often give advice to him and his band mates when practicing in one of his first groups, Blue Glass Radio, a combo comprised of friends from middle school. “I was pretty much a rock'n'roll, play by ear kind of guy until I took six months of drum lessons which were very, very key and important for me, when I was 15 or so,” says Bozzio.

“My last year at Drake High School I started to study music seriously, and continued to study jazz and classical at College of Marin; I graduated from there with a commercial music degree — just an A.A. degree — but that was enough to prepare me for what was going to happen within a very short time.”

Bozzio soon began playing a wide variety of musicians, in many different styles, and after some time found himself with a reputation as being one of the best drummers in the Bay Area, which eventually led him to being asked to join Frank Zappa’s band. From there, Bozzio has gone on to perform with an incredible amount of world-class musicians over a nearly four decade long career.

With this UK reunion, Bozzio says he is having fun looking back and re-examining that particular portion of his musical legacy.
“I’ve always been proud of that music, and I think both John and Eddie are tremendous musicians with a great history in rock'n' roll, making great contributions. When you listen back to some of this stuff, it impresses you because you kind of listen with fresh ears.”

Performing at the Regency Ballroom in San Francisco will have a special hometown meaning for Bozzio — he saw his first rock concert at the Avalon Ballroom, which was what the venue was called in its first incarnation back in the '60s.

“My dad and my uncle took me down, I remember clearly, we saw It’s A Beautiful Day, Canned Heat, and Vanilla Fudge. I’ve never been back, so this will be the first the first time since 1965 that I’ll be there!”

With UK set to play in Europe and Japan after the U.S. leg of the tour is finished, Bozzio’s schedule shows no signs of slowing down, and the talented musician is grateful for the opportunities he’s been given.

“The power of music is a very spiritual and amazing thing—I’m 61, and for almost 40 years I’ve been making a living as a musician, without having to get a day job—I consider myself very lucky, the stars have been lined up for me.”

Terry Bozzio with UK
Fri/18, 8pm, $65-$99
Regency Ballroom
1290 Sutter, SF
www.theregencyballroom.com

Facebook IPO: The good and the bad

tim — Fri, 18 May 2012 19:09:25 +0000

Facebook went public and the people who got in at the initial price of $38 made a little money, but the stock is hardly exploding in the way that suggests social-networking is the next stock market darling. In fact, right after Facebook started selling, Zynga (which gets the vast majority of its revenue from Facebook) collapsed so quickly that trading was halted.

Still, about 1,000 Facebook employees are a lot richer today, and Mark Zuckerberg will join the likes of Bill Gates and Larry Ellison atop the Forbes 400 leaderboard. The state of California gets a nice bump, too -- according to some accounts, the state will eventually pick up close to $1 billion in tax revenue when the Facebook Fuckinzillionaires exercize their options and start selling their stock.

But for all the rest of us? Sure, increased consumer spending will help the local economy (dealers in luxury cars are drooling in their cheap coffee). But if that's not your line of work, you may not be so lucky.

The biggest factor in lifestyle and economic security in San Francisco is the cost of housing -- and that's going the wrong way. The Chron estimates that the total increase in the housing market will approach $1 billion, which doesn't seem all the much spread around the Bay Area, but it will be concentrated in a few popular places, and the east side of San Francisco, particularly Noe Valley, the Mission and surrounding nabes, will be part of ground zero.

Meaning if you are looking to rent or buy a place in this city, you just lost a bunch of money. That is, you will now have to pay more for your housing, which will be a net benefit to landlords and sellers.

And it's not necessarily such good news for small business and other startups:

The winners are of course the 1,000 or so Facebook employees who will cash-in, however the losers will be the rest of Silicon Valley for the following reasons. Housing prices will rise across the whole Bay Area. For local businesses and start-ups, recruiting due to difficulty moving to this area because of those rising prices

Go at it, trolls. Tell me I'm utterly wrong. Because it seems like those non-radical types at the Chron and Trulia seem to agree with me that there's a downside here, too.

Sex Talk with Princess Donna: Squirting and the ass icon

caitlin — Fri, 18 May 2012 19:04:17 +0000

Donna believes communication is always more effective when wearing leopard print.

You have to have communication skills if you're going to responsibly wield the amount of sexual power that Princess Donna holds in her sexy little hands in the depths of the Mission District's very own porn palace, Kink.com. The director-actor of such sites as Kink's Ultimate Surrender, Bound Gang Bang, and Public Disgrace knows about expanding sexual horizons -- which is why it's so rad we've tapped her for this new love and sex advice column.

Submit to it! Really -- the email address where you can send questions of your own is at the end of this post.

Dear Donna,

I've heard a lot about female ejaculation, but I haven't seen much evidence of it in real life. Is this something that anyone with a vagina should aspire to?

Signed, Hot Springs

Dear Hot Springs,

I am not in the business of telling people what specific sexual acts they should aspire to. I think what’s important is finding out what fulfills you sexually and doing that. So yes, if squirting is something you think looks fun, go for it!

I personally think squirting orgasms are rad. As for the conversation about whether it is piss or ejaculate I would like to quote my dear friend Jeremiah Finklestein Brown, “I don’t care if it’s chicken salad coming out of there, it’s still awesome!”

xo, Donna

Dear Princess,

I am from Turkey. 33 years old a doctor. I love your movies but it is very hard for me. Because i want to have sex only with you.

I have never fuck an ass, but after your movies sex is only your ass for me. I am far away, but i must fuck u. Please answer me anything. I need you.

Dear Turkish doctor,

Hi! I don't see a question in there, but it seems you have excellent taste in women.

xo, Donna

DON'T MAKE DONNA RELY ON LOVESICK TURKISH DOCTORS FOR MATERIAL -- ASK HER A QUESTION YOURSELF! Sex, love, a combination of the two, a lack of both? Email sextalkwithprincessdonna@gmail.com for the best possible solution

Head of the (dance) class

marke — Fri, 18 May 2012 18:27:05 +0000

Students and alumni celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Ruth Asawa School of the Arts

Well-schooled: a RASOTA student shines onstage

PHOTO BY RAPT PRODUCTIONS

DANCE Complaining about the quality of public schools is about as ubiquitous as whining about MUNI. Admittedly, the quality of the former has a bigger impact on our future than having to wait for the N another 10 minutes. The good news is that the San Francisco Unified School District is not nearly as bad as its reputation; talk to some parents who have kids in it. While its art components are woefully underfunded, at least they exist. The yearly "Young at Art" exhibit at the de Young Museum (through Sun/20) has a selection from this year's crop.

Dance programs, however, would probably not exist without outside funding. Zaccho Dance Theatre, for instance, has had but the minutest support from SFUSD for a program it has run for elementary school children in the Bayview neighborhood since 1990. On May 9, 125 kids packed Z Space with a rockingly exuberant and intelligent program in front of cheering, shouting, and stomping parents and friends. It was quite a show.

However, San Francisco does have one first-rate arts education program that is the envy of school districts with much better reputations: the Ruth Asawa School of the Arts, which this year celebrates its 30th anniversary. Its dance department is so good that students from around the Bay Area request inter-city transfers to attend. "I have one student who comes all the way from Vacaville," says its director, Elvia Marta.

These dancers — 40 of them — will show their moxie this week at the Palace of Fine Arts with a concert of student and faculty choreography. Also included is a piece from alumnus Zack Benitez, who worked in Hollywood with Paula Abdul and is now coaching a musical, Adam and Eve, in Paris. (In French, of course.) At a rehearsal at ODC Commons, the students looked young, raw, and fierce. You could see these were dancers on their way, knowing where they want to be in a few years and having an inkling of how to get there. They were disciplined, focused, and attentive to the suggestions that Marta and Brittany Ceres Brown, who teaches choreography, gave them. In that way they are already professionals.

Getting into this public-school dance program is not easy. The application process is rigorous — questionnaires, grades, recommendations, essays, statements of commitment, auditions with small pieces of solo choreography — and sounds suspiciously like a rehearsal for college. Plus, according to the department's website, students need "a basic ballet foundation."

"Ballet focuses on alignment," Marta explains. "It gives you an understanding of how the body and its skeletal and anatomical systems function." But she also says that over the years she has had "kids who come from modern dance with a really good understanding of the body." One way or another, this is not a program for beginners.

It also means that in all probability, the students come from families who have been willing and able to pay for ballet lessons in private studios or ballet-company schools. Criticism about "elitism" has wafted around RASOTA almost since the beginning. Marta is not deterred: "I let people talk. I don't think it's elitist. I think kids need something to be passionate about. It keeps them focused and on the straight and narrow. These [students] work very hard, taking academics in the morning and dance in the afternoon."

Marta, born in Panama, grew up doing salsa. "Everybody knew how to do it. We didn't have any training," she says. At Balboa High School, dance teacher Yvonne McClung, who later became the first head of the RASOTA's Dance Department, suggested Marta and her twin sister should take dance classes. At first, she didn't know what a dance class was. She has since learned.

This year, all ten graduating dancers are off to colleges — many of which have distinguished dance departments. One of them, Marta says, was accepted at Juilliard. "It's the second year," she says with almost motherly pride. Juilliard is the country's toughest dance program to get into.

"RUTH ASAWA SAN FRANCISCO SCHOOL OF THE ARTS 30TH YEAR ANNIVERSARY DANCE CONCERT"

Fri/18-Sat/19, 8pm, $18-$28

Palace of Fine Arts

3301 Lyon, SF

www.sfsota.org

Meister: Another presidential step against anti-gay bias

bruce — Fri, 18 May 2012 16:55:25 +0000

By Dick Meister

Dick Meister, former labor editor of the SF Chronicle and KQED-TV Newsroom, has covered labor and politics for more than a half-century. Contact him through his website, www.dickmeister.com, which includes more than 350 of his columns.

President Obama's bold endorsement of same-sex marriage should be only the first of his key acts in behalf of gay Americans. It's now past time for him to redeem a 2008 campaign promise to issue an executive order barring federal contractors from discriminating against gay workers.

Such discrimination is already banned in Washington, D.C., and 21 states, including California. A presidential order would cover the millions of federal contractor employees in the other states. Building roads, bridges and dams are among the many essential tasks they perform throughout the country.

Previous executive orders, first issued seven decades ago, have made it illegal for contractors to discriminate on the basis of race or religion. Recent investigations by the San Francisco Chronicle and the gay publication Metro Weekly noted that Obama made his promise to add a ban on anti-gay discrimination during a meeting with a gay rights group in Houston four years ago.

The Chronicle quoted Heather Cronk, director of the gay rights group Get Equal, as noting that a non-discrimination order "would give concrete, real-life workplace protections to people who work for federal contractors like ExxonMobil that refuse, year after year, to add those protections on their own."

Cronk recalled that former Bay Area activist Cleve Jones recently presented Obama with a binder containing more than 40 accounts of workplace discrimination in hopes of making a decisive case for a presidential order. The president accepted the binder, Cronk said, without saying a word. But later, Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett said the president had no immediate plans to ban contractor discrimination on his own.

That was confirmed a day later by Jay Carney, Obama's press secretary. Carney claimed the president nevertheless "is committed to securing equal rights" for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans. He cited Obama's long-time support for the proposed Employment Non-Discrimination Act that would give federal protection to LGBT workers in government as well as private employment.

Instead of issuing an executive order, Carney added, the president's plans are to take "a comprehensive approach" by pushing for passage of the non-discrimination act.

But, as the Chronicle noted, "the legislation has no chance of passing in the current Congress," whereas congressional approval is not needed for an executive order to go into effect. In any case, there seems to be only a slight chance that Obama would suffer serious political harm for issuing an order, since polls show strong public support for him doing so.

The president has in fact been losing support because of his refusal to act. The Chronicle, for instance, noted the anger of Log Cabin Republicans, the gay rights group that led the legal fight against the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that had excluded gays and lesbians from military service. The GOP group complained that Obama has "turned his back on 1.8 million LGBT workers" and failed to deliver on a policy that has broad, bipartisan support among the American peopl

Harsh criticism came, too, from a former congressional staffer, Tico Almeida, who helped draft the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and now heads a group called Freedom to Work. He called Obama's refusal to act "a political calculation that cannot stand" as he announced that his organization was launching a campaign to increase pressure on Obama to issue an order.

One prominent – and wealthy – activist who's pledged to contribute $100,000 to the drive to get Obama to change his mind called his refusal to sign an order "craven election-year politics."

Pretty strong language, but Obama's inaction on such a vital issue rightly opens him to such harsh judgment. His endorsement of same-sex marriage took genuine political courage. It proved he has the strength, the will and the ability to take the country another step closer to granting true equality to all Americans. Now the president needs to take that next essential step.

New JFK bike lanes are bad for everyone

steven — Fri, 18 May 2012 00:28:14 +0000

Golden Gate Park visitors have had a couple months to get used to the confusing new lane configurations on JFK Drive – with bike lanes along the edges of the road and a row of parked cars in the middle – and I have yet to hear from anyone who likes this design. Nice try, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, but this design isn't working for any road users and should be scrapped.

The idea of using a row of parked cars to separate cyclists from motorists isn't inherently bad, and it has worked well in some European cities. But the way this is designed, passengers exiting vehicles must cross the bike lane to get to the sidewalk, creating a conflict that isn't good for either user. It was intended to create safer bikeways, but they actually feel more dangerous and uncertain now.

There are buffer zones where motorists aren't supposed to park, but on busy days they do anyway, with little to fear from parking control officers who rarely venture into the park, often crowding into the bike lane. The design also accentuates the visual blight of automobiles in this beautiful park, with more lanes of cars dominating the viewscape in many spots.

And I'm not the only one who feels this way. After my cover story on urban cycling last week, I got a few notes critical of the new design, including an email from longtime local cyclist Thomas Kleinhenz, who wrote, “When the new Golden Gate Park bike lanes went in I scratched my head. Who dreamt this up. It helps no one. Cyclists now ride in a lane between the curb on the right and parked cars on the left. You have cyclists, roller-bladers, rental bikers, and children all stuck in the same lane with pedestrians trying to get to and from their cars.”

Kleinhenz cited state road design manuals discouraging this kind of design, claiming they may even be illegal. He continued, “When I've ridden it, I've had to dodge a child darting out from between the cars and a family of 5 who strolled across the bike lane confused about where to go. I've also been stuck behind Segways and rental bikers, forcing me and another rider to go out into the traffic lane just to top 5 mph. But of course the traffic lanes are now thinner to make room for the new bike lanes. So we're left with one non-functional, unsafe lane and another mildly functional unsafe lane. Meanwhile cars have less room to maneuver, and people getting out of their parked cars are forced to try to avoid traffic on one side and cyclists on the other. While cyclists who don't want to deal with the congestion in the bike lane now must be aware of having car doors opened into them in the now narrower traffic lane.”

His comments are typical of others that I've heard, including those from transportation engineers who are similarly baffled by the choices made here. The SFMTA deserves credit for trying something new, but I'll give them even more credit if they just call this one a mistake and start over. And that is a possibility.

“We're going to continue monitoring the JFK bikes lanes closely and we will consider potential adjustments to make them more intuitive and user-friendly,” SFMTA spokesperson Paul Rose told us, adding that the agency will analyze changes in traffic speed and volumes for both cyclists and motorists and parking volume, as well as surveying people's perceptions of the project.

Hopefully some changes will be in the offing, but I think the project is an example of a bigger problem that I discussed in last week's article, and that is political and civic leaders going with the easy bicycle infrastructure projects so they can claim lots of new mileage rather than the more politically difficult projects we actually need.

Last year on Bike to Work Day, newly minted Mayor Ed Lee announced two bike projects: the JFK lanes and new cycletracks on the dangerous few blocks on Fell and Oak streets to connect the Panhandle with the Wiggle, which has long been a high priority for cyclists as it completes a popular east-west bike corridor. Well, the former project got done and the latter got delayed when neighbors complained about the lost parking spots.

Now, because the SFMTA tried to accommodate motorists with too many new parking spots in Golden Gate Park – despite previous promises to decrease street parking in the park in exchange for building a massive underground parking lot – we've ended up with a messy design that only exacerbates conflicts between motorists, pedestrians, and cyclists. In their effort to please everyone, as is often the case, they have pleased nobody.

"Charitable beer circus"? Is this a miracle?

marke — Thu, 17 May 2012 23:04:20 +0000

Come one, come all (unless you’re under 21) to Petaluma this Sat/20, and witness death-defying displays -- with a twist. A screw-top twist, that is (sorry). Attendees of the Lagunitas Beer Circus can “ooh” and “aah” at aerialist acts, laugh at outrageously face-painted clowns, watch a lithesome figure breathe fire or swallow swords, and gape at the magnificence of exotic burlesque dancers, all the while drinking the fine beers and sweet ales of Lagunitas. It'll be three rings of tastiness! And it's charitable.

A $40 entry fee to the splendor of the Lagunitas Beer Circus benefits the Petaluma Music Festival and Music In Schools. Entertainment features acts from B.A.D. roller girls to the Vau de Vire Society and music from The Ferocious Few to the Sour Mash Hug Band (along with a marching band or two). Plus: cotton candy, paella, pizza, bangers, and barbecued oysters.

Yes, beer is in the event title, but even your sober driver (who’ll be necessary for lack of public transportation, and whose $25 reduced-price ticket you should spot because they’ve agreed to cart you all the way out to Petaluma), will have plenty to delight their eyes, ears, and taste buds. So step (or sway) right up, ladies, gentlemeen, and others. Check out our slideshow of acts above.

LAGUNITAS BEER FESTIVAL
Sat/20, 1pm-6pm, $40.
Lagunitas Brewing Company
1280 N. McDowell, Petaluma
(707) 769-4495.
www.lagunitas.com/beercircus

June 6 hearing may spell the end of HANC recycling center

yael — Thu, 17 May 2012 22:23:32 +0000

Some beds at HANC's community garden, with the recycling center in the background

GUARDIAN PHOTO BY YAEL CHANOFF

It’s just a triangle of land on Frederick Street, right next to Kezar Stadium. But the Haight Ashbury Neighborhood Council (HANC) recycling center has been the subject of years of political battles- and depending on the results of a June 6 hearing, they may get shut down for good.

HANC got an eviction notice in December 2010. HANC’s lawyer, Robert DeVries, successfully challenged the eviction. The Recreation & Parks department sued for eviction again in in June 2011, and that matter may finally come to a close June 6. The Guardian is awaiting comment from Rec & Parks.

In December, the Planning Commission approved a plan to turn the site into a community garden. They meant a garden run by Rec & Parks, not HANC. But HANC got to work building one, and Executive Director Ed Dunn is proud to say that they did so “without a cent of taxpayer money.”

Dunn emphasizes that “over the course of the past year or so the operation has been completely transformed.” The new community garden has 50 beds, which resident gardener Greg Gaar says are divided into about 100 plots, are are planted with mostly native plants that are currently in full bloom.

“We could build one community garden like this per month at no cost to the city,” said Dunn, referencing a recent SPUR report that talked about the benefits and challenges of urban agriculture.

Said Dunn, “we can help fill in some of those challenges.”

The center has a history of working on the cutting edge of environmentally friendly trends. The site at 780 Frederick was established as a recycling center in 1974, a decade before San Francisco implemented curbside recycling. The curbside program became fully operational in the early ‘90s. But 18 recycling centers remain in the city- and state Bottle Bill laws require the existence of recycling centers in "convenience zones." Dunn says the HANC recycling center fulfills the legal requirement to be nearby a recycling center for several supermarkets.

Now, many San Francisco residents rely on curbside recycling, rather than trucking their bottles, cans, and paper products to a recycling center. But a large population uses recycling centers- for excess amounts of recyclables that don’t fit in the bins, other material that doesn’t fit like large cardboard, or to generate income. Those who benefit from money traded for recyclables include housed people looking to supplement income, often immigrants and the elderly, and people living on the streets. But the center's opponents have painted the population it serves as mostly or all homeless, and the city has argued for its eviction on the grounds that the recycling center attracts homeless people to the area.

“[Gavin Newsom] thought the eviction was one way they could ward off camping in Golden Gate Park,” said Dunn.

Some neighbors have raised concerns about the noisy garbage-picking in the nightime, and questioned the need for recycling centers with curbside in place. If the center is shut down, though, it won't signal the end of recycling centers or those who benefit from them. It will likeley change where people go to cash in on recyclables; HANC's recycling center is centrally located, while the majority of San Francisco's recycling centers are in neighborhoods on the city's borders, including several in Bayview-Hunters Point.

Regardless of the centers effects on the community, HANC’s landlord, Rec & Parks, doesn’t legally need a reason to evict them- they just need to give notice. HANC has fought the eviction, but after almost two years of successful stalling, Rec & Parks may finally succeed.

Round the outside

marke — Thu, 17 May 2012 22:15:44 +0000

Two crackin' new nightlife venues open. Plus: Wunmi, Deetron, Andre Lodemann, Harvey Milk's birthday, more parties

The amazing and gorgeous Wunmi

SUPER EGO Zounds and gulldurnit. Figures I'd fall ill right at the start of street festival season, when the weather was gorgeous, the freaks were How Weirding, and two new clubs were throwing open their fresh-painted portals. Why can't my body just obey my mind and be invincible! It's nothing but an overgrown orang-oo-tang. Oh well, I guess when you have only one sinus left — thanks, 1997 — every day of health is a smelly blessing.

Those two clubs: OK, one was really a hard re-opening. 222 Hyde (www.222hyde.com) has been going packed and strong for a few months since its remodel. The skinny-as-a-rail, bi-level spot has a bit more capacity and a lounge and smoking area — but the real talk is the absolutely transfixing light display on the ceiling above the basement dance floor. It feels like disco Tron! The good Tron!

And a blizzard of ecstatic Tweets agonized me about missing the actually opening of RKRL (52 Sixth St., SF. www.facebook.com/RKRLSF), a satellite of Club Six that plans to bring small-venue live rock — and a little dancing, too — to downtown's wilds, courtesy of the crazy Low SF crew. I'll be there soon. Achoo!

WUNMI

Sunny live Nigerian (via London and NYC) riddem vibes from one of the world's most gorgeous and talented women at the always-pumpin' Afrolicious weekly global funk party? You can't miss this high-octane Wunmi bliss — I can't wait to see what she's wearing.

Thu/17, 9:30pm, $8 before 11pm, $10 after. Elbo Room, 647 Valencia, SF. www.elbo.com

ANDRE LODEMANN

Among my all-time favorite techno producers and DJs, who rides that impeccable sweet spot between intelligently danceable and emotionally hypnotic. The delicious twist here is that the classic German, instrumental in East Berlin's 1990s dance scene, will be playing at Marques Wyatt's lovely monthly deep, deep house party Deep. The collision of spiritual currents with waves of brain-tickling tech should be, well, splashy. In the sweat-inducing sense.

Fri/18, 10pm-4am, $15 advance, $20 door. Mighty, 119 Utah, SF. www.mighty119.com

THE CHASE

A hot-sounding new monthly party named, presumably, after the brilliant Model 500 record from 1989, already promising a warm blanket of chill Balearic house-y sounds. Up first: the West Coast cosmic boogie boy known as Suzanne Kraft, lo-fi sensual wooziness from SFV Acid, Ash Williams, Avalon Emerson, Caitlin Denny, more.

Fri/18, 9pm-3am, $5. Public Works, 161 Erie, SF. www.publicsf.com

DEETRON --- (JUST HEARD DEETRON HAD TO CANCEL DUE TO ILLNESS ;(, BUT THE AMAZING CAMEA WILL NOW PLAY AN EXTENDED SET)

The second in a massive series of techno parties from the quality As You Like It crew (this time teaming up with Public Works) sees Swiss wiz Deetron bang the party with his signature melodic twists on the Detroit sound. Bern, baby, Bern! With Camea, Rich Korach, and Mossmoss.

Sat/19, 9pm-4am, $10 before 10pm, $15 after. Public Works, 161 Erie, SF. www.ayli-sf.com

HARVEY MILK BIRTHDAY PARTY

"Out of the bars and into the streets!" But first onto the dance floor with a who's who of the queer scene to raise some funds for and awareness of the Harvey Milk Democratic Club. Honey Soundsystem, Hard French, Stay Gold, Some Thing, Dial Up, Anna Conda, Bear Z. Bub, and a huge gay buffet! Mon/21 7-10pm buffet and reception, $40–$80 then dance party $5 10pm-2am, Beat Box, 314 11th St., SF. www.tinyurl.com/milkbday

Smalltown confidential

marke — Thu, 17 May 2012 20:51:34 +0000

A true-crime tale inspires Richard Linklater's cheerful new black comedy

I love you to death: Shirley MacLaine and Jack Black in Bernie.

arts@sfbg.com

FILM When trial locations are moved, it is generally because the crime is so notorious, or the local populace so riled, that it is not expected the plaintiff can avoid a hostile jury. It is seldom, if ever, moved for the precise opposite reasons: say, because a defendant is wildly popular and the person he's accused of murdering was considered "possibly the meanest woman in East Texas."

Nonetheless, that scenario actually happened 15 years ago when wealthy Carthage, Tex. widow Marjorie Nugent, her absence finally a cause for concern rather than relief after several months, was discovered in her garage freezer under various frozen edibles. The immediately confessed culprit was none other than one Bernhardt Tiede II, the town's beloved assistant funeral home director turned full-time companion to the elderly Mrs. Nugent. The mild-mannered, much-younger Tiede had simply snapped under the weight of her abuse one day, impulsively pumping four bullets into her backside. Trouble was, at least according to the ambitious local district attorney, that pretty much no one in Carthage blamed him, or felt the crime deserved much more than a slap on the wrist.

What might have appeared an obvious case of money-hungry predation to outsiders — after all, Tiede had become the sole beneficiary of Nugent's will, in theory forever separating the family fortune from already-exasperated relatives she'd estranged herself from — didn't look that way to townspeople. Bernie was generous to a fault with his own money; once he'd ingratiated himself to Marjorie, he accomplished the impossible and got her to use her money to help the local needy and contribute to charities. (Check forgery allowed this to continue after her death, until he was arrested.) He'd liberated her from a miserly, hermit-like old age, encouraging her to enjoy life on lavish vacations and cultural outings — which he also enjoyed, natch.

But then, Bernie was a tonic to everyone. At the funeral home he'd been a consummate consoler, corpse make-up artist, seller of upscale caskets, and had sung hymns with the theatrical fervor of a musical-theater queen. (He was also highly active in the local community theater.) He doted on all old ladies, while seemingly oblivious to the overtures of women nearer his age. Even if those gay rumors were true, well, conservative Carthage could turn a blind eye in his case.

Ergo the trial was, at D.A. request, moved to more neutral terrain. This bizarre love-story-gone-wrong of sorts is dramatized in Richard Linklater's delicious new film, an ideal reunion with his School of Rock (2003) lead Jack Black. Bernie has Black as the pie-sweet titular figure, Shirley MacLaine — face like an old leather boot ready to kick a dog — as the formidable Marjorie, and Matthew McConaughey as Danny "Buck" Davidson, the vainglorious D.A. determined to make his name on this case. They're all great, but in a way the film's star is its Greek chorus: a colorful array of Carthage townsfolk (many played by actual residents) narrating and commenting on events that, naturally, they still gossip about today.

In town recently for Bernie's San Francisco International Film Festival screening, Linklater says the project had a hard time getting financed precisely because of that running pseudo-documentary commentary, nearly all of it lifted from quotes in co-scenarist Skip Hollandsworth's original Texas Monthly reportage.

"There was so much of it — no one could make the leap with me," the director explains. "[To funders] it just didn't seem like a real movie. Yet now [the commentary] ends up a lot of people's favorite element." Once his lead actors signed on, things fell into place, although they still had to squeak by on a tight 22-day shooting schedule.

Linklater calls Bernie "my little ambiguous love letter" to East Texas, where he grew up. "It's a place you get out of if you feel at all different, like I did in moving to Austin," he says.

Returning homeward to shoot the film, he found locals "suspicious — they think they're going to be portrayed as hicks — but still very friendly and open. They all had opinions." He says the case illustrates "how arbitrary our justice system is," and that once the trial was moved Tiede was prosecuted "for his otherness — [the D.A. describing] him flying first class on vacations to jurors who've never been on a plane."

Wild rumors still swirl in Carthage, from alleged sex tapes (of Tiede and gentlemen friends) to Nugent family members' belief that Bernie "still has [stolen] millions stashed in Swiss bank accounts." Linklater scoffs at such unsubstantiated tales — after all, the truth on record is already quite satisfyingly strange enough. 2

BERNIE opens Fri/18 in Bay Area theaters.

Battles without honor and humanity: this week's new movies

cheryl — Thu, 17 May 2012 20:49:36 +0000

Shirley MacLaine and Jack Black in "Bernie."

Photo courtesy of Millennium Entertainment

While all the cool kids are at Cannes, us losers are stuck stateside to contemplate the two big Hollywood movies opening this week: Battleship, which stars Liam Neeson, the guy still smarting from his titular role in the reigning biggest flop of all time, and aliens (and has no chance of being the best movie based on a board game); and The Dictator (review below). Your choice is clear.

You could also feed your Jack Black obsession (already running red-hot with the new Tenacious D album, natch) with Richard Linklater's new comedy, Bernie (review here). You could expand your cinematic horizons at the San Francisco Cinematheque's third annual "Crossroads" festival. Or, while weeping over blogs detailing Cannes flicks you won't get to see until 2013, you could organize your summer movie plan of attack.

And, of course, feed your Sno-Cap habit with The Dictator and other top picks from the rest of this week's opening slate:

The Dictator As expected, The Dictator is, yet again, Sacha Baron Cohen doing his bumbling-foreigner shtick. Said character (here, a ruthless, spoiled North African dictator) travels to America and learns a heaping teaspoon of valuable lessons, which are then flung upon the audience — an audience which, by film's end, has spent 80 minutes squealing at a no-holds-barred mix of disgusting gags, tasteless jokes, and schadenfreude. If you can't forgive Cohen for carbon-copying his Borat (2006) formula, at least you can muster admiration for his ability to be an equal-opportunity offender (dinged: Arabs, Jews, Asians, African Americans, white Americans, women of all ethnicities, and green activists) — and for that last-act zinger of a speech. If The Dictator doesn't quite reach Borat's hilarious heights, it's still proudly repulsive, smart in spite of itself, and guaranteed to get a rise out of anyone who watches it. (1:23) Balboa, Presidio. (Cheryl Eddy)

Indie Game: The Movie Much like the film business, the video-game biz is mostly controlled by a few huge companies with thousands of employees, hell-bent on ensnaring as many of the billions of dollars spent on games annually as possible. And then, as James Swirsky and Lisanne Pajot's documentary explores, there are the little guys, who are "not trying to be professional" or produce glossy content for the masses. Instead, these individuals (or pairs) take advantage of the miracle of digital distribution to follow their own visions and create their own games. The best-case scenarios — illustrated by San Francisco indie developer Jonathan Blow and his hugely successful Braid — can reap enormous creative and financial rewards, but getting there — as the struggles facing the creators of Super Meat Boy and Fez plainly attest — can be a mentally and physically draining process, filled with frustration and self-doubt, exacerbated by the taunts of haters online. A thoughtful, artfully-shot peek at one tiny corner of a behemoth industry, Indie Game also offers a surprisingly tense, raw look at some very bright minds struggling to triumph on their own terms. (1:36) Roxie. (Eddy)

Payback Jumping off Margaret Atwood’s Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth, her 2008 meditation on borrowing and lending and the way those acts reverberate through culture, documentarian Jennifer Baichwal finds a thought-provoking, graceful, seemingly free-form way into the writer’s ideas. The film dips into the dynamics between a handful of unlikely debtors and creditors scattered around the globe: two families in Northern Albania tied by a blood feud over disputed land and dishonor; organizing migrant workers and their employers in Florida; and the BP oil spill and an unsuspecting environment. Baichwal, like Atwood, uncovers few easy answers — especially when it comes to handling disasters on the scale of the BP spill — all the while treating her material with elegantly considered imagery and handling her subjects with a cool intelligence. That approach might leave some yearning for an uptick in emotional connection, or simply some connect-the-dots storytelling and, dare we say, drama. Meanwhile fans of the director’s Manufactured Landscapes (2006) will see Payback as its writerly relation, a tone poem about the crimes we’ve manufactured and muddled. (1:26) Lumiere, Shattuck. (Kimberly Chun)

Where Do We Go Now? With very real, deadly sectarian conflict on their doorstep, a group of Lebanese village women are making it up as they go along in this absurdist, ultimately inspiring dramedy with a dash of musical. Once sheltered by its isolation and the cheek-to-jowl intimacy of its denizens, the uneasy peace between Muslims and Christians in this small town threatens to shatter when the outside world begins to filter in, first through town-square TV broadcasts then tit-for-tat jabs that appear ready to escalate into violence. So the village’s women conspire to preserve harmony any way they can, even if that means importing a motley cadre of Ukrainian “exotic” dancers. What results is a post debauchery climax that almost one-ups 2009's The Hangover — and a film that injects ground-level merriment and humanity into the headlines, thanks to director, co-writer, and star Nadine Labaki (2007’s Caramel), who has a gimlet eye and a generous spirit. (1:40) Embarcadero. (Chun)

The Performant: Traveler's tales

marke — Thu, 17 May 2012 19:47:44 +0000

The WE Players' courageous Odyssey on Angel Island

It’s an overcast morning, typical San Francisco springtime, but upon disembarking from the Angel Island ferry at Ayala Cove, we are transported imaginatively to the island kingdom of Ithaca, where a merry band of brash suitors vie for the attentions of the fair Penelope (Libby Kelly) outside her palace, which might have otherwise been mistaken for the Angel Island visitor’s center.

A bevy of serving girls approach each disoriented oddience member to offer sustenance and mysterious smiles, as the suitors challenge a stalwart few to join in the contests for Penelope’s hand -- tug-of-war, footraces, pushing competitions. So begins the WE Players newest production “The Odyssey on Angel Island,” an all-day performance combining the elements of a hero’s quest with a day hike around Angel Island State Park -- one of the Bay Area’s loveliest natural treasures.

It takes a while for the real action to begin, and the suitors’ rambunctious ardor begins to seem wearisome, but finally Telemachus (James Udom), Odysseus’ son makes the scene, the catalyst behind what will become our mutual quest. Although “The Odyssey” is best remembered as being the tale of the protracted homecoming of Odysseus, Telemachus’ own journey and coming-of-age story is an important piece of the epic tale, therefore it’s his footsteps that we wind up following in around the island, as he searches for news of his long-lost father, who hasn’t bee seen in Ithaca for nineteen long years.

Two distinguishing characteristics of the WE Players stand out in this ambitious performance project. One is their truly ingenious use of space, including both the natural and the man-made features of the island. A breeze-buffeted meadow outside the historic Camp Reynolds stands in for the land of Aeolus, “warden of wind” (Nathaniel Justiniano), a dramatic ridge along the perimeter road serves as Mount Olympus, and the dank and crumbling Batteries Wallace and Drew become the hypnotically creepy Land of the Lotos-Eaters and the cave of the Cyclops, respectively. The brooding ruined barracks of the East Garrison serve double duty as the palace of Circe (Julie Douglas) and the underworld home of the prophet Tiresias (Michael Moerman), while the soft, sugary sands of Quarry Beach beckon the weary traveler to bask in Calypso’s (Caroline Parsons) treacherous thrall.

The second distinctive WE Players characteristic on display is the intersection of slapstick physical comedy and elegant ritual. While humorously exaggerated characters such as Justiniano’s dim-witted, corporate executive Zeus and Ross Travis’ vain and petulant Hermes elicit more laughter than fealty from their mortal subjects, the beguiling dance of a drifting siren (Libby Kelly), the soporific sacrifice of the Lotos-Eaters, and a protection ceremony enacted by a cluster of nymphs on sacred ground (a former military chapel) create a meditative bond between performers and participants.

However, as the day progresses, it becomes apparent that the overall experience could use less ritualized downtime during each performed segment, and a more non-programmed downtime in between scenes for more self-direction (and, honestly, snack breaks). It would make the languid pace of the quieter scenes seem more deliberately introspective than as ways to fill time until the last ferry, and allow Telemachus’ “stalwart crew” more opportunities to connect independently to the themes of travel, duty, heroism, and homecoming presented by the players (along with bread and cheese) on a silver platter.

But you won’t see a play this summer with better views or loftier ambitions, guaranteed, and when the sky finally clears, and Helios shows his face at last, you do get the feeling that the gods are watching over the long journey home.

“The Odyssey on Angel Island,”
Through July 1
Angel Island State Park
$40-$75
(415) 547-0189
www.weplayers.org

The Beat: The two sides of Birds & Batteries

julia — Thu, 17 May 2012 19:41:50 +0000

Birds & Batteries: playing with dualities

What do a parrot and a vibrator have to do with a well-known San Francisco band you ask? Well let me tell you.

Birds & Batteries is the indie-pop project of singer and multi-disciplined musician Mike Sempert. Together with Christopher Walsh and Jill Heinke, the band is a homegrown, hometown staple in The City's arsenal of great local acts.

I meet with Sempert and band manager Dan Koplowitz -- also of Friendly Fire Recordings fame -- at the Lone Palm in the Mission for what turned out to be a series of stories and Manhattans. Initial probes into the name Birds & Batteries brings us to the story of Antonio the parrot.

Antonio was incredibly despondent, tells Sempert. "He was just a really sad and lonely bird," he says, "and he was always crying." A solution popped up in the form of a battery-operated orgasm-yourself appliance (read: B.O.O.Y.A.!). "We found that if we were to give the bird a vibrator that it would comfort him … it wasn't sexual at all, it was purely a comforting vibration." One day, however, Sempert and his college roommates ran out of batteries and Antonio died of sadness.

Gripping, I know.

A moment of silence followed this tale as we sipped on our drinks and avoided eye contact, contemplating the fragility of life. But then the absurdity sunk in, eyes met and laughter burst forth.

Now, it should be said that while Sempert is a force of musical talent, there is also a great streak of whimsy and humor to the man. I can't help but also mention the band's moniker might be a reference to the Tom Robbin's book "Still Life with Woodpecker." Whether it's because of Antonio and the vibrator, or "Woodpecker" (I'm sensing a theme here) Sempert wanted Birds & Batteries to express both the organic and synthetic elements of his music.

Performing at Public Works tonight for "Broke & Classy: Broke-Ass Stuart's 10-year anniversary of living in SF," Sempert and band are gearing up for the release of their next full-length LP Stray Light in August. Having just dropped the EP Unfold last month, Sempert wrote and recorded both records at the same time. By a happy accident, a dichotomy emerged from the results of his studio sessions -- some songs were of pain but most were that of happiness and love.

UNFOLD by Birds & Batteries

The more harrowing tunes cover darker territory and ended up on Unfold. Truths and spirits "loom in the future" on track "Greatest Minds" while Sempert finds himself breaking down and questioning his cool on "Epic Fail." Sempert croons over foreboding synth melodies, melancholy and dejected. Sempert says he wanted to "filter the ones [songs] that felt that they would get in the way of joy."

As for the joy, jubilance was reserved for Stray Light. "The goal of this record was to tap into those moments of clarity with love," Sempert says. "The idea that light and happiness and joy are accessible to us." The album is positive and upbeat. Lead off number "The Golden Age of of Dreams" is about a bright future -- in stark contrast to Unfold's "Greatest Minds" -- and is brimming with hope. Triumphant harmonies swirl about while synthetic plinks and plunks sparkle throughout. Stray Light is a blast into the cosmos sonically (nerd note: Sempert is a recently-converted Battlestar Galactica addict). This time around, Sempert sings with hint of a promise, as if the paradise is right around the corner. The album ends with ballad "Arctic Flowers" in which the singer surmises "we are new again."

For those B&B fans who fell in love with 2010's Panorama and its quirkily rad video for single "Strange Kind of Mirror," Stray Light will be decidedly more synth-tacular. B&B "dials down the Americana," explains Koplowitz, "the music is getting richer, the song structures more interesting, and Mike has a way of coaxing these really interesting sounds out of his instruments."

Although Sempert admits, "I take some pride in unpredictability," he has always had a taste for what he calls his "dancey future-flavor." Synthy elements have existed throughout B&B's 8-year career as heard in 2009's Up to No Good EP and other singles.

As for Sempert, is he unfolding or enlightened? Is his future bright? He smiles and answers, "Blindingly so."

Julia B. Chan is a writer and hosts "Play for Today," a radio program about new music on www.radiovalencia.fm every Friday from 6 to 8 p.m. Follow her on Twitter @onTheBeat.

What small business owners care about

tim — Thu, 17 May 2012 18:57:57 +0000

Since the mayor's office still insists that any business-tax reform ought to be revenue-neutral, and since he and other continue to talk about the myth that a payroll tax hurts job growth, I found the latest Bank of America survey of local small business owners fascinating.

Here's what the survey found: Small business owners are concerned about (1) the cost of healthcare (2) access to credit and (3) finding qualified employees. Local taxes aren't even on the list.

Now, if you ask almost any business operator whether he or she would like to pay lower taxes, most will probably say, sure. And I agree that a gross receipts tax is a better way of spreading the burden around. But the notion that slightly raising business taxes would hinder job growth in any significant way isn't supported by reality.

In fact, if you used higher taxes to improve the schools (and thus the education of the future workforce) it would do more to keep employers from leaving San Francisco than cutting taxes. If the state of California went to a single-payer health-care system -- dramatically reducing the cost to employers -- it would do more to attract jobs to this state than all the tax cuts in a Republican's wet dreams.

And if Bank of America and Wells Fargo would start loaning money to small businesess, you'd see almost immediate job growth.

How's that for a Small Business Week agenda?

Live Shots: Livening up Mendell Plaza

marke — Thu, 17 May 2012 00:11:27 +0000

Every Saturday, as part of a 12-week free concert series, the Bayview Opera House transforms Mendell Plaza into a music-filled oasis. (I visited on May 12 and fell in love with the sounds and sights of this Bayview spot.)

While listening to soulful live tunes, you can join in on a game of dominoes, stroll through the organic community garden to check out some vivacious kale fronds, or head over to the 100% College Prep Club table.

The Club is an inspiring organization that offers youth in the Bayview-Hunters Point after-school tutoring, with the ultimate goal of getting them into college. The Club also takes its students on college tours to help motivate them and explore learning opportunities outside of San Francisco. These kids are an amazing and multi-talented bunch! All the musicians who performed were either former graduates of the program or soon off to college. Pretty impressive.

Thanks to the beautiful weather, there was a large turnout from the Bayview-Hunters Point community. Even the pup guarding the bbq stand gave a howl of appreciation for such a fun and vibrant event.