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AUGUST 13 - AUGUST 19
What's worse — the teasing summer sun on a deskbound day or the fog rolling in again to blot it out? San Francisco summers could give anyone the blues, which is why we've got a week full of flavor to chase it away (and even an event or two to deepen an indigo mood). |  |
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| | Ever wanted to know how to make wireless antennae at home? Need to build the most obnoxious bullhorn ever? With topics as practical as setting up a home electronic music studio and as ridiculous as building fire-spewing vacuum cleaners, dorkbot-sf's August meeting has something for everyone. Spun off from dorkbot-nyc, this collective serves as a forum for electronic artists of all kinds to learn, teach, collaborate, or just check out some of the cool things their neighbors are building in their basements. (HH)
  
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MUSIC: Jazz
Jeff Watts Quintet
| | when: | Wed 8.14 (8pm & 10pm) | | where: | Yoshi's (510 Embarcadero West, Oakland, 510.238.9200) | | price: | $16 |
| links: |
Yoshi's |
| | Although drummers are often the targets of musician's jokes, even a cursory listen to Jeff "Tain" Watts will stop any such laughter cold. An indomitable force, Tain attacks the drums with such intense physicality that he could carry a show himself. His ability to incorporate complex jazz rhythms with funk and soul has earned him gigs backing jazz notables Wynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis, and Sonny Rollins. Now a leader of his own quintet and on the heels of his just released CD Bar Talk, Tain brings his conversational, agile, and imposing drumming to Yoshi's tonight. (JO)
 Which instrument can best carry a solo? The 10 best answers each win a pair of tickets to either the Wed or Thur 10pm show.
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| | As the beatkeeper behind The Roots, Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson is the epitome of simplicity — reserved and contained behind the drum kit, he's the man who keeps rappers Black Thought, Scratch, and Rahzel in line. But when he hops behind the turntables, the crowd belongs to him. Throwing down an encyclopedic survey of current hip hop, classic cuts, and pop music's best and most unusual in a beat-matched mix,
?uestlove gets a joint jumping and doesn't let up until the last track spins. He's touring in support of his new between-the-sheets soul compilation, Babies Making Babies, but he's promised more bumpin' than lovin' at this show. (AS)
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| | The story of an executive leaving his or her job to venture out and start a dot-com
was a common story in 1999. But making that dot-com work and still being in the game
three years later — now that's an interesting story. In the heydays of Internet
madness, Sherrie Krantz left her job as Director of Public Relations at DKNY to start
Vivianlives.com, which follows the animated adventures of the young and hip female
Manhattanite "Vivian." Site visitors watch an animated "web-cam," interact with Vivian,
see her journals, and gain access to countless women's magazine-style articles. Its unique
blend of interaction and voyeurism, not to mention some well-timed product placement
deals, have helped the site survive the dot-com bust. Tonight, Ms. Krantz will discuss her
new book The Autobiography of Vivian. (NN)
NOTE: Admission includes a wine-and-cheese reception at 6:15 pm.
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| | The unsung hero of Wilco's rise to the top of the alt-country heap, Jay Bennett was perhaps the biggest force behind Wilco's slow torque from jangly bar band to impressionistic, experimental power pop purveyors. But he ditched Wilco on the eve of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and hasn't minced words about the reason why. After six years in Jeff Tweedy's shadow, the multi-instrumentalist was ready to showcase his own musical ideas — ideas he promptly recorded (with long-time collaborator Edward Burch) in the critically-mixed The Palace at 4am. So with this stage set, the question is whether Bennett can really shine outside Tweedy's long shadow. (RR)
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DJ: Breaks
Are Friends Electric?
| | when: | Fri 8.16 (10pm) | | where: | Galaxy (1840 Haight St, 415.387.2996) | | price: | $5 before 11pm / $10 |
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Galaxy Club |
| | Friends don't let friends fake the funk: that's why Are Friends Electric?, the monthly from Ubiquity Records and XLR8R magazine, is so fantastically groovy — it's got two of SF's most venerable electronic-music institutions keeping each other on their toes. This month's installment is finger lickin' good, thanks to the breakbeat antics of Lee Coombs, the man BBC's superselector Pete Tong has called his "in-house orchestra," and local support from Felix the Dog and DJ Push (from FutureBreaks.fm). (PS)
Are friends electric? The four best answers win a pair of tickets to the show, plus either a trial subscription to XLR8R or a copy of Ubiquity's No Categories Volume 5 compilation CD.
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| | In the '80s, Michael Gira fronted Swans, which took post-punk brutality to new levels on records like Filth and Greed. Over time they discovered acoustic instruments and their sturm-und-drang clangor turned to quietly swirling dirges. As a solo artist, Gira's work approximates humid, dusky death-folk. Case-in-point is his masterful Solo Recordings at Home, which hints at the intimate set he'll deliver tonight at Noe Valley Ministry. Not recommended for the truly depressed, but everyone that loves a good wallow will find it's as refined as it is bitter. (PS)
What Joy Division song did Swans famously cover? The third correct answer wins two tickets to the event.
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| | Equipped with only a digital audio camera, Jamie Catto (founding member of Faithless) and Duncan Bridgeman spent six months travelling through 25 countries, interacting with some of the greatest contemporary artists and intellectuals along the way. In songs and interviews with Neneh Cherry, Michael Stipe, Dennis Hopper, Kurt Vonnegut, and Baaba Maal, among many others, they sought to capture something they called the "unity within the diversity." More than just a film about music, 1 Giant Leap is concerned with the exciting breadth of culture and artistic expression in the world. (MC)
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| | An air of excited anticipation has swept over SF roots lovers. Arrested
Development has been absent for too long, and fans are still thirsty.
Produced and polished by a musical genius known as Speech, this
hip hop crew has created songs with roots to the soul so tightly knit it
seems they will never unravel. With enduring jams like "Tennessee" and
"Mr. Wendal," they've already made classic status. Bringing their
down-home Southern style back to the urban streets, Arrested Development
is destined to make today a family affair. (JK)
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INDIE ROCK: Indie Rock
Breakout, Golden, Rye Coalition
| | when: | Mon 8.19 (8:30pm) | | where: | Bottom of the Hill (1233 17th St, 415.621.4455) | | price: | $10 |
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Breakout | Golden |
| | San Francisco has a proud history of (semi-ironic) heavy metal tribute
bands. Add to that list Breakout, who ape Ireland's underappreciated axe-wielders
Thin Lizzy. Featuring members of local doom-groovers Hammers of Misfortune, Pantz
Noyzee, and The Fuc*ing Champs, Breakout "favors music over visuals," employing a
lineup of five musicians to better handle the breadth of the original
powerhouse quartet. For even more star power, check Golden, an indie supergroup
featuring members of Trans Am, Six Finger Satellite, the Make*Up, and
Royal Trux. The hard-rockin' Rye Coalition opens. (PS)
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| | The frenetic crowds and warehouse decor give VIK's Chaat Corner the feel of a bazaar in New Dehli, while the delicious food gives it the flavor. Next door to VIK Distribution, an Indian market and import company that
supplies most of the Bay Area's restaurants with ingredients,
VIK's is open daily but the best time to go is on weekends (they don't
serve dinner since they have a policy of not competing with their
customers). Long lines of Indian-food lovers wait to order ridiculously inexpensive yet desi-licious snacks, many of which are substantial enough for a meal. Favorites include dhosa, lamb roti, and aloo paratha, all washed down with a smooth mango lassi. (NN)
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MUSIC: Experimental
Transparent Tape Festival II
| | when: | Fri 8.16 - Sun 8.19 (8:30pm) | | where: | Transparent Theater (1901 Ashby St, Berkeley, 510.883.0305) | | price: | $7 nightly / $15 festival pass |
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Transparent Tape Festival II |
| | The San Francisco Tape Music Center, established in 1961 as a studio for improvised electronic music, helped set the stage for decades of musical experimentation in the Bay Area. In tribute to its pioneers, the Center presents a festival of experimental sound. Featuring works from the '60s until now, it's not all reel-to-reel, but the pieces presented, ranging from John Cage and Pierre Schaeffer to Ryoji Ikeda and Curtis Roads, will have your head reeling nonetheless. The festival runs three nights; see the program for details. (PS)
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| CD REVIEW: Plankton Man vs. Terrestre |
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:\Run Recordings
Released August 13 2002
$16.98 (Amazon)
Veterans of Tijuana’s now-disbanded Nortec Collective, Plankton Man and Terrestre have teamed up to turn out a collection of brassy, gutsy funk, thick with border horns and cowbells and laced with the stutter-punk percussion of drill ’n bass pranksters like Squarepusher. Terrestre, who also records contemplative minimal techno as Murcof, records the banda sounds of TJ gin joints, reconfiguring them into weirdly jubilant declarations of global soul. Plankton Man melds similar sources into shuddering, off-beat techno jams that are prickly like cacti and splashed with garish color (via accordions, tubas, and trombones) like night-blooming desert flowers. (PS)
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| LITERARY NETWORK: BookCrossing.com |
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| When was the last time you heard of a book club that had over 60,000 readers and 30,000 books in its reading list? Welcome to BookCrossing. This virtual book club unites readers in a game that’s half library, half Easter Egg hunt. Upon finishing a favorite tome, members tag and number the book, then "release" it into the wild, noting the "Crossing Zone" — the café or curb where they left it — on the web site. If a casual passerby stumbles upon the book and makes it her own, she can return to the site to log its retrieval. Motivated readers can seek out nearby Crossing Zones and swoop in, page-turning talons at the ready. San Francisco alone lists hundreds of recently freed books at parks, café, and even the MUNI #5 bus, so focus those eagle eyes next time you’re out and about. If there’s a book you really love, set it free. |
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| STREAMS: Groovetech |
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Half the people we know have been laid off of late; the others sit at work watching their companies' stock prices drop and wondering when the other shoe will come down with them. But whether you're gazing glazed-eyed at your resume for the umpteenth time or squeezing those last bits of bandwidth out of your employer's T1, Groovetech always offers the best in aural escapism — sans bullet points and action items.
Free streams and a global vinyl selection.
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| CREDITS |
| Header Design: |
| Designer | Chantal Sanchez | | |
| Staff: |
| True Blue | Philip Sherburne | | Azure | Sascha Lewis | | Slate Blue | Husani Oakley | | NYPD Blue | Christopher Hampton | | |
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. Please email in any event submissions that you think may be worth listing here. As always, feel free to send in any and all feedback — comments, questions, ideas or rants. Spread the flavor... |
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| Contributors: | | Blue Shift | Mark Mangan | | | | Denim | Cristy Turner | | Royal Blue | Hillary Hall | | Cobalt Blue | Jana Klass | | Cornflower | Nihal Mehta | | Bind Blue | Nish Nadaraja | | Ultramarine | Jamie Okubo | | Midnight Blue | Michele Pred | | Diffused Blue | Karine Versace | | Blue Is the New Black | Andrew Strickman | | Blue Is Just a Beginning | Michael Cohen | | Navy Blue | Steve Rogenstein |
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DESIGNERS WANTED
We are continually seeking new header designs from the flavorpill community. All headers that we run receive credit in the "design by" section (linked directly below the header). We want to promote your work. Please email us with any submissions or questions. |
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