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This is heavy, man. A bit of headbanging. A bit of stage-diving. And if you're lucky, a whole lot of air guitar. Speed Metal Karaoke is the ultimate combination of thrashing metal and the grind of your own voice. Much like the combination of ABSOLUT, only it's a little bit smoother; winter wheat and pure aquifer water.
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| | Thomas Frank brings us cultural critique at its most provocative, but not without humor. With three books, a decade of written pieces for magazines such as Harper's and Artforum, and an editor-in-chief post at the long-running journal The Baffler, Frank has had ample opportunities to hone his arguments debunking the mystique of the New Economy, defending labor, and preserving the tradition of Veblen and Mencken. He brings his latest book, What's the Matter with Kansas?, to the unabashedly liberal streets of the Bay Area. Born in the book's titular state, Frank laments how America's populist and grassroots values have been usurped by conservatism to wage a war on intellectualism and the so-called liberal elite. (CT)
Note: Thomas Frank also appears at Cody's Books on Wed 6.23 (7:30pm).
  
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| | San Francisco welcomes back progressive bluegrass cult figure Peter Rowan, along with Tony Rice, for a host of adventurous sounds: straight bluegrass, a cappella singing, mandolin picking, and perhaps even a little yodeling. Hailing from a modest family of Boston musicians, and with nearly 60 years of practice, Rowan's sound is as penetrating as ever. Having collaborated with the likes of David Grisman, Jerry Garcia, and bluegrass hero Bill Monroe, he is one of the genre's legends. Rice, arguably bluegrass' most inventive flatpicker, adds texture to Rowan's deeply melodic and, at times, haunting vocals. (SNS)
 Where, and from which artists, did bluegrass music get its name? The first two correct answers each win a pair of tickets to the show.
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| | Hella aren't just the world's best duo, but leaders of a new society based entirely on weight. The band's fans, legions of no-hipped noise kids perpetually juiced on soda and soy snacks, lead the Weight-ists — as they are wont to be called — in a revolution favoring those 160 pounds and lighter (male and female). The scales tipping against your favor? Simply attend a Hella gig, where the spastic flings of the crowd (aka "dancing") shed off no less than three low-carb colas per song. It's no wonder that Need New Body open the show. (YS)
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| | We spend so much time waiting that it seems a natural topic for reflection. Contributors to The Paris Review Book for Planes, Trains, Elevators, and Waiting Rooms (due out July 1) cover scenarios we can all relate to — from endless highway commutes and lines at the DMV to waiting for the doctor or the elevator. Including poems, essays, and stories published in the journal since 1953, it's a support group manual to entertain us during that inflicted downtime, and to remind us that we're not alone. Denis Johnson, Junot Diaz, and Paul Hoover all read at this event. (SSS)
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FILM
Plagues & Pleasures on the Salton Sea (2003)
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| when: | Wed 6.23 (7:30pm) |
| where: | Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater (700 Howard St, 415.978.2787) |
| price: | $7 |
| links: |
Yerba Buena |
| | The Salton Sea, actually California's largest lake, was born in 1905, when massive flooding sent the Colorado River coursing into a desert basin. By the '60s it was a popular destination for fishing and waterskiing, but in the last three decades, increasing salination and pollution have turned it into an environmental disaster area. As Chris Metzler and Jeff Springer's documentary uncovers, however, the place — situated near Palm Springs and Coachella — has also become a magnet for some of the weirdest characters in the West, including roadside Christian nudists, squatting seniors in trailer parks, and even the zealous builder of a manmade mountain. It's fascinating viewing, and a great stop for your next road trip. (PS)
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| | The Legendary Pink Dots are psychedelic casualties in the best sense of the term. Though they've never reached the stature of industrial freak-out merchants such as Psychic TV or rave-era day-trippers like the Orb, the Dots share the spooked, electronic approaches of both those bands with some weird savant-pop tendencies thrown in for good measure. Those sauntering up to the Café Du Nord on a lark may be shocked to see how many geezers turn up to re-live the kosmiche memories of 1984. (PO)
What was the name of LPD member Edward Ka-Spel's collaboration with Skinny Puppy's cEVIN kEY? The first two correct answers each win a pair of tickets to the show.
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| | Since the late '90s, Berlin-based production cartel Jazzanova have become celebrated masters of fusing live jazz, bossa nova, and organic soul with the precision of electronic beat manipulation. Some call it future jazz, some say nu jazz, and others label it broken beat. But whatever genre Jazzanova slip into, their inspirational string of transformative remixes and their critically acclaimed album, In Between, have enticed fans from San Francisco to Tokyo to London to Rio. Supporting their new mix CD (appropriately titled …Mixing), this leg of Jazzanova's global DJ tour offers plenty of soulful sounds. (GKH)
Tell us a better name for the genre sometimes known as nu jazz; our favorite two answers each win a pair of tickets to the show.
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| | They sample liberally from Björk and the Wu-Tang Clan, borrow album titles from Guns N' Roses, and somehow mix a ballad in with what sounds like a broken vacuum cleaner. Funkstörung elicit comparisons to Autechre and Matmos, but differ in their increasing use of vocals (sometimes sampled, sometimes original), as well as their organic approach to making and broadening electronic music. The duo continue to create unique sounds on Disconnected, its latest release. They perform tonight at a very special edition of SF's long-running webcast series, the Beta Lounge. (AL)
What does Funkstörung mean in German? The first two correct answers each win a pair of tickets to the show.
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MUSIC: Experimental
"Dhomontmos": Matmos, Richard Chartier, Francis Dhomont, and Jean-François Denis
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| when: | Fri 6.25 & Sat 6.26 (8pm) |
| where: | Recombinant Labs Compound (1070 Van Dyke Ave, 415.971.4276) |
| price: | $12 |
| links: |
Event Info | Matmos | Francis Dhomont |
| | Encounters like the one-of-a-kind Dhomontmos project — a collaboration between electronic agitators Matmos and musique concrete pioneer Francis Dhomont — rarely happen in a live setting. In most cases, the duo would make a pilgrimage to Dhomont's countryside studio in France, but San Francisco's Recombinant Media Labs' 64-channel spatialized performance venue was just the ticket to coax the man out of his quiet European home. Matmos have put Dhomont's musical theories into practice both in their recent Yerba Buena Center for the Arts residency and as Björk's backing band, so it's a sure bet that this evening's set will be as memorable as it is groundbreaking. (KT)
Note: Microsound composer and Whitney Biennial laureate Richard Chartier also appears, along with No Type's Jean-François Denis.
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| | Pride weekend is a joyous occasion, but it's hardly complete without giving something back to the community. To that end, the philanthropic promoters at Project Pangea present tonight's event, a no-holds-barred dance party to benefit the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and Bay Area AIDS service organizations. Headlining DJs Ellen Ferrato, Adnan, and Laird, all well-known figures on the local club scene, provide high-intensity house and breaks — accompanied by Ahmed the Funky Pharoah on drums — to suit the energy of the weekend. But the real gems tonight are Deep Dickollective, the Bay Area's outest, proudest, and loudest queer hip-hop crew. (PS)
Short of a cure, what is the most pressing issue in resolving the AIDS crisis? The two best answers each win a pair of tickets to the event.
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| | William Winant may not be the most famous percussionist in the world, but he can certainly contend that he's one of the more important ones. Having performed with John Cage, Iannis Xenakis, Cecil Taylor, and Steve Reich, as well as holding residencies with John Zorn's Chamber Ensemble and Mills College's esteemed experimental music program, it's no surprise that the LA Times called Winant "one of the best avant-garde percussionists working today." Tonight he assumes one of his more leftfield guises — he's also the percussionist in Mr. Bungle — as he takes part in the always-engaging Jiffy Scuttler series with Wobbly, members of Sagan, and Circuit73. (KT)
Which William Winant composition appears on Sonic Youth's Goodbye 20th Century? The first two correct answers each win a pair of tickets to the show.
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| | Prepare to be dragged deep into the groove as England's dynamic DJ duo of Layo Paskin and Matthew Benjamin — better known in the dance world as Layo & Bushwacka! — storm into San Francisco for an all-out, beat-friendly affair. Layo (the chief selector) and Bushwacka! (the production wizard) met in the mid-'90s at infamous London tech-house club the End. Since then, the duo has forged a unique blend of breaks, techno, electro, dub, and even blues to create a brand-new underground sound. This appearance comes hot on the heels of their most recent double mix CD All Night Long — a good indicator of how long their vibes will last. (JC)
Note: This show was originally listed in error on Thur 6.24.
Which British acid house veteran founded the nightclub the End? The first two correct answers each win a pair of tickets to the show.
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FESTIVAL: Video
Youth Video Festival. East Bay Style.
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| when: | Sat 6.26 (7pm) |
| where: | Oakland Box Theater (1928 Telegraph Ave, Oakland, 510.451.1932) |
| price: | $5 |
| links: |
Event Info |
| | Instead of doodling, journaling, or blogging, the 14 Oakland-based youth producers, directors, and editors featured here use video to get through what many deem the best and worst of times — their teenage years. The Factory, Youth Sounds' advanced video production team, screen "Elements," a collection of 64 shorts about the traps, trials, and triumphs of growing up. The shorts are shown simultaneously on eight screens, in a bombardment mirroring the frenzy of the high school experience. DJs and dancing follow, as wallflowers and young love bloom in downtown Oakland. (CT)
As a child, what kind of creative arts did you want to pursue as an adult — and have you kept up with it? Our two favorite answers each win a pair of tickets to the event.
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MULTIMEDIA
Monuments & Masses: A Photo & Rock Show
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| when: | Sat 6.26 (8pm-1am) |
| where: | Ego Park Gallery (492 23rd St, Oakland, 510.653.9529) |
| price: | $5-15 |
| links: |
Event Info |
| | This photography exhibit, featuring live music from Oakland's explosive instrumental rock threesome From Monument to Masses, takes place at Ego Park, the anti-gallery whose backyard regularly hosts noisy bands laying down soundtracks to the installations inside. Ticket proceeds go to the Neighbor Lady Community Arts Project, a nonprofit that supports local visual, literary and performance artists. Neighbor Lady's print faction, Kitchen Sink Magazine, has secured a small pack of fiery Bay Area photographers to harmonize with the band — together, they provoke some serious thoughts. Featured artists include Joe Niem, Jessamyn Harris, Emma Spertus, Shane Montgomery, and Nicole Neditch. Instrumental quartet Tenebre also perform. (KD)
What's the best fusion of music and photography you've ever seen (or heard)? Our favorite five answers each win a pair of tickets to the show.
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| | Hawthorne, CA's dios channel hometown hero Brian Wilson to create melancholy space-pop tinged with alt-country and touched up with harmonies bathed in sunshine. Although their eponymous debut album has a psychedelic flair, with quirky lyrics and found-sound inclusions reminiscent of Yoshimi-era Flaming Lips, there's no stage full of folks in animal suits or other such antics with this band. Instead, there's just down-to-earth, delicate delivery — and a Neil Young cover, if we're lucky. Local indie rock favorites Beulah headline, and shoegaze rockers Stratford 4 also play. (EC)
Name three other bands who have incorporated deities into their name. The third correct answer wins a pair of tickets to the show.
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| | The definition of who could make rock 'n roll used to be very narrow; if you were gay in popular music, you had to be prepared to camp it up, Boy George-style, or make an utterly unconvincing attempt at bisexuality (yes you, Elton John). Enter Pansy Division, the uncompromising Bay Area band who signed to Lookout! records in 1991 and went on tour with Green Day at the height of their MTV-conquering Dookie. The boys of Pansy Division rocked and refused to downplay their sexuality, making loud pop-punk songs with a smart sense of humor. Celebrate Pride weekend with some totally gay rock, including the all-male Go-Gos cover band the Ga-Gas and the sweet sounds of Paradise Island featuring Erase Errata's Jenny Hoyston. (RH)
Which is your favorite queercore band, and why? The best two answers each win a pair of tickets to the show.
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| | San Francisco's Pride Parade was born in 1970 with a few dozen "hair fairies" marching down Polk Street to commemorate the Stonewall Riots of the year before, and it has grown into one of the city's most anticipated events, drawing hundreds of thousands of revelers from all over the
world, transforming the Castro into a carnival of epic proportions, and reaffirming San Francisco's status as the LGBT capital of the world. This year's parade kicks off from Market and Beale at 10:30am with the SF
Women's Motorcycle Contingent leading the charge, and there's no shortage of ancillary events at the Civic Center Celebration, including Deep Dickollective, Jacqui Naylor, and Chaka Khan. (PS)
Note: The 12th Annual Dyke March takes place on Sat 6.26, starting in Dolores Park (7pm).
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| | A pedal steel guitarist with the surname "Funk," a feline accordion player who dabbles on piano, frenetic percussion and upright bass players, and a frontman from Montana with roots in alternative country music and a creative writing degree: these are the Decemberists. A bluesy Portland quintet whose poppy sounds draw favorable comparisons to the likes of Belle and Sebastian, the band weaves elaborate stories against a backdrop of bizarre barnyard beats reminiscent of Neutral Milk Hotel. Leave the heat outside and embrace their winter chill. (SNS)
Despite their wintry name, which month do the Decemberists celebrate on Castaways and Cutouts? The first two correct answers each win a pair of tickets to the show on Mon 6.28.
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| | Kids in the Hall and Mr. Show may be well into their third round of syndicated reruns, but that hardly sounds the death knell for irreverent sketch comedy. In fact, the Bay Area-based film collectives Independent Exposure and Blackchair have had their ears to the ground for quite some time, gathering similarly minded, chuckle-worthy shorts from all manner of entertainers. Tonight's screening of Blackchair's upcoming comedy-themed DVD — also including live performances by Killing My Lobster and Tony DuShane — consists of 17 films, ranging from the absurd instructional video The Art of Lovemaking to the monotone deadpan narration and live animated drawings of Tales of Mere Existence. (KT)
Note: Also screens Wed 6.30 at 21 Grand in Oakland (8pm).
What's the funniest short you've ever seen, and what was so hilarious about it? Our two favorite answers each win a pair of tickets to the event.
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THEATRE
Dave Eggers' Sacrament!
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| when: | Now through Mon 6.28 (Thur-Sun: 8pm) |
| where: | Intersection for the Arts, Mancuso Theatre (446 Valencia St, 415.626.2787) |
| price: | $9-15 |
| links: |
Event Info | Dave Eggers |
| | As if SF literary prince Dave Eggers hasn't tackled enough new ground lately with his recent foray into music writing for Spin and his acclaimed lit journal The Believer, he's now crossed into the theatre world. His first stage production, Sacrament!, is a collaboration with San Francisco's forward-thinking Intersection for the Arts. A revision of the Eggers novel of the same name, Sacrament! explores the author's interest in the workings of memory through a sort of self-aware stream-of-consciousness — a technique present in just about all of his works. Along with Kent Nicholson and Campo Santo, Eggers augmented and reworked his old text, asking in the process if one can rewrite his own past. (KT)
Note: Thursdays are pay what you can.
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FILM
Los Angeles Plays Itself
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| when: | Now through Tue 6.29 |
| where: | Pacific Film Archive (2575 Bancroft Way, Berkeley, 510.642.0808) |
| price: | $8 |
| links: |
Event Info |
| | Take Raymond Chandler and add Roman Polanski, with a touch of modern-day Robert Altman. Throw in hints of suburban ennui, noir, and urban crisis for this aptly named film series that casts Los Angeles as its main character. Filmmaker, scholar, and CalArts teacher Thom Andersen curated these films that capture his adopted city in all its grit and glory, ranging from traditional noir (Polanski's Chinatown and Deray's The Outside Man) to the more recent Los, which consists of photographic shots of overlooked urban spaces. Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe is reborn in the '70s in Robert Altman's The Long Goodbye, featured along with Antonioni's Zabriskie Point, two Billy Woodbury films capturing black life in Watts, and more. (LW)
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| Wayne McGhie & The Sounds of Joy, Wayne McGhie & The Sounds of Joy |
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Light In The Attic
Released April 2004
$13.49 (Amazon)
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Another case of magical sounds saved from history's scrap heap by industrious crate-diggers, this reissue of classic soul-funk made by Jamaicans living in Canada in the late-'60s/early-'70s represents music's cultural globalization, anticipated. Born in Montego Bay, crooner/guitarist Wayne McGhie was one of many musicians who escaped the glut of talent in the island's nascent reggae industry of the mid-'60s by relocating to Toronto. There, he hooked up with legends like Jackie Mittoo and Alton Ellis to mix rock and pop standards, calypso and ska, R&B, and jazz. That's what this "lost" LP with the Sounds of Joy is all about: music that rare groove newbies and 45 kings can happily bond over. (PO)
What is the name of the studio where this album was recorded? The fourth correct answer wins a copy of this CD.
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| CONFESS: Group Hug |
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Do you have something preying on your mind? Group Hug offers you the opportunity to enter the Interweb Confessional, where you can relieve your guilty conscience. The voyeuristically fascinating stories here range from amusing one-liners to sexual peccadilloes to more serious criminal confessions. A brief selection: "I secretly want to have sex with my step-brother. We're not blood-related, so it's okay, right?" "One time I took a sip of my pee to see what it tasted like." "I 'borrow' people's pens with no intention of ever returning them." "Seven years ago this month my best friend disappeared. There were police searches. News stories. Everything. But no one could ever find him. I know what happened to him. But I've never told anyone. I can't." All together now: mea culpa. (SR)
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| STREAMS: Fabric |
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Continuing in their fine tradition, London's Fabric — club, record label, and font of quality electronica — provides us with three exclusive new streams. Nitin Sawhney and Adam Freeland, subjects of FABRICLIVE.15 and 16 respectively, chime in: Sawhney's minimalist compositions step to inferred beats and implied verve; breaksketeer Freeland's mix debuts in August. Fabric devotees know Craig Richards as his alter-ego Tyrant. If Fabric 15 knocked your socks off too, here's a second date. (NP)
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| CREDITS |
| Header Design: |
| Absolut | Dave Kinsey | | |
| Editors: |
| Trainers | Philip Sherburne | | Cleanliness | Sascha Lewis | | IM | Mark Mangan | | Hair gel | Peter D Stepek | | Joint-cracking | Jocelyn K Glei | | Punkiness | Paul Laster | | Big words | Lisa Rosman | | Trance | Nick Parish | | Thesaurus | Jane Lerner | | |
ABOUT US
flavorpill SF is a free weekly mailer covering music, arts, and cultural events in San Francisco. All listings are researched and written based on what we think has flavor. As always, feel free to send in any and all feedback — comments, questions, ideas, or rants. Spread the flavor...
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| Stalking | Sam Smith | | Pilates | Cheryl Taruc | | Loaded gun | Gordon K Hurd | | Gossip | Lisa Butterworth | | Sarcasm | Ken Taylor | | Celebrity | Lauren Epstein | | Fashion | Teresa Concepcion | | Hyperactivity | Seiji Carpenter | | Pacharan | Shiraz Randeria | | Diet Coke | Andrew LaVallee | | Impertinence | Scott Benbow | | Procrastination | Piotr Orlov | | Magaholic | Erika Christiansen | | Blind item reading | Rebecca J Hill | | Taqueria meltdown | Jimmy Carson | | Drunk dialing | Reyhan Harmanci |
| Writing instruments | Sam N Shah | | Almonds | Sarah S Sung | | Premature antifascism | Jeremy Sampson | | Coveting | Yancey Strickler | | Fruit water | Cyrus Wadia | | Funky danceaholic | Lisa Won | | iPod obsession | Nish I Nadaraja | | Shirking | Kevin Dick | | Spam | Stuart A Sheldon | | Petty theft | Sarah G Lefton | | |
| Production: |
| Cruising | Jen Bachman | | Line cutting | David Morrow | | Discarding pennies | Emily Welsch | | Kettle Chips | Krista Freibaum |
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GLOBAL FASHIONS
In addition to Earplug and Boldtype, Flavorpill Productions also publishes JC Report, an inside track to fashions and trends from around the world.
Issue 43
is out now.
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