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FEB 4 - FEB 10
With UN inspectors picking new locks and the latest
Bond film still raking in money (not to mention the shortlived
Operation TIPS) who can say that the intrigue of espionage is
dead? This week we spy all kinds of events — from Larry Sultan's
voyeuristic photos to the stunning, surreal Wings of Desire
— that'll keep your eyes delighted.
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Surface magazine is a modern compendium of
fashion, arts, and style. Here's a reminder to subscribe |
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This week's flavor:
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DJ
2003 San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival Launch Party and Fundraiser
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| when: | Tue 2.4 (7-10pm) |
| where: | 111 Minna Street Gallery (111 Minna St, 415.974.1719) |
| price: | $12 NAATA members / $15 non-members |
| links: |
Event Info | 111 Minna Gallery |
| | The San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival (SFIAAFF) was founded in 1982 to bring films about the Asian American experience to Bay Area audiences. Now the largest of its kind in North America and in its 21st year, SFIAAFF continues to showcase films and videos that reveal the complex and vivid nature of Asian America. To kick off this year's event, SFIAAFF is hosting a launch party and fundraiser that, with music by DJs Nihal (Urbangroove) and Vijay (BlackMahal) and renowned dhol player Mitch Hyare, promises to be exceptional. (PS)
Note: The official 2003 SFIAAFF web site with complete program descriptions, screening times and other information will be available starting February 11, 2003.
  
 What's your favorite Asian-American independent film? The first 16 responses will win a pair of tickets, a t-shirt, a totebag, or a CD by blacKMahal.
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| | The all-female, SF-based Erase Errata may not have hit the mainstream yet, but the ladies are well on their way. Reviving the spirit of bands as disparate as Sonic Youth and Siouxsie and the Banshees, Erase Errata's sound reflects their post-punk influences while defying any fixed genre. Assaulting the ears with off-key chords and discordant melodies, they balance the din with groovy basslines and dance rhythms. Opening bands include Flying Luttenbachers, Murder Murder, and Dynasty. (JK)
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| | Moonlighting on porn movie sets in the San Fernando Valley, still photographer Larry Sultan is interested not in the money shot, but in what goes on just beyond the movie camera's hungry eye. His lens focuses on pedestrian details — a piece of half-eaten pie, dirty linens in a heap, actors taking a break — that offer clues to a puzzling other-world. Without the absurd (non-) plot and abundant carnal action, shabbiness, sadness, and stoicism take center stage in a most revealing way. (LRJ)
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ART
The Music
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| when: | Thur 2.6 (6-9pm) |
| where: | Juice Design (351 9th St, 415.355.9900) |
| price: |  FREE |
| links: |
Juice Design |
| | The Music presents a selection of visual works produced by artists noted for their involvement in the independent music world. The exhibit features the work of musicians who moonlight as visual artists, as well as pieces by artists whose imagery is informed or defined by their immersion in music and their interaction with the people who make it. The lineup includes Amedeo Pace of Blonde Redhead, Pall Jenkins of Blackheart Procession, Jodi Buonanno of Secret Stars, Harrison Haynes of Les Savy Fav, and many more. The main squeeze behind the show is Juice, one of SF's most sought-after design firms, which spikes its own creative output by showcasing hot emerging artists. (NN)
What's the greatest record cover of all time? The first four answers win a CD from Harrison Haynes of Les Savy Fav or a Touch and Go Records Promo CD.
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| | Cinephiles of the world unite! San Francisco's Independent Film Festival kicks off with acclaimed video director Jonas Auckerland's first feature — a darkly comic tale about a meth addict and his weekend of sex, drugs, rock 'n roll... and Mickey Rourke. With a host of Hollywood stars and starlets, including Jason Schwartzman, Mena Suvari, Brittany Murphy, and Patrick Fugit, it sometimes feels like you've tuned into Entertainment Tonight. But this film is not on network TV and not for the faint of heart. The characters wield crack pipes rather than microphones, and make-up jobs are replaced with speed-freak teeth. A bit disturbing, and with MTV-style, Guinness World Record number of film cuts and edits (5,300), rest assured that Spun will spin you right round, baby. (LE)
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| | The dark daddy of cyberpunk, William Gibson's influence is felt in Blade Runner and The Matrix, the work of writers such as K.W. Jeter and Rudy Rucker, and most video games that have come out in the past 10 years. Neuromancer, the first cyberpunk novel, which Gibson wrote in 1986, was set in a dark world of corporate domination and deserted streets ruled by anarchist forces. A harsh social forecast, the book anticipated the '90s, predicting the reach of the Internet, chat rooms, and avatars in an eerily clairvoyant vision of the Web-wide world. Tonight, Gibson reads from his latest, Pattern Recognition, touted to bring cyberpunk to a new plane. Could it be cyberdebunk? (LK)
What Gibson novel borrows a title from the Velvet Underground? The third correct answer wins a copy of Pattern Recognition.
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ART
Town & Country Opening Reception
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| when: | Fri. 2.7 (6-8pm) |
| where: | San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery (401 Van Ness, 415.554.6080) |
| price: | FREE |
| links: |
Event Info | SFAC |
| | "The grass is always greener" and its urban counterpart "the pavement is always grayer" are at the heart of Town & Country, in which Janet Delaney, Maizie Gilbert, Elvira Hufsmid, and Paula McCartney scrutinize the romanticized allure of the "other" via video and photography. Various works reflect the longing of city slickers for pastoral slopes, while other pieces express the quickening pulse of country souls who yearn for the chaotic metropolis. Lamentation and longing, both for what we have and don't, are key in this exploration of conflicted duality. (LRJ)
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| | The high-energy bump-and-grind of a Los Amigos Invisibles show is, simply put, dance-floor perfection. Fusing funky melodies with '60s space-age pop vocals and infectious percussion beats, the band captures the flair and energy of Latin culture without the cheese of Ricky Martin or Enrique Iglesias. Their latest album, Arepa 3000: A Venezuelan Journey Into Space, is a party masterpiece. Though the majority of the lyrics are in Spanish, you can just feel the sex and sweat coming off each song. Los Amigos Invisibles aren't out to change the world, but they sure do make it a happier, sexier place to live. (NN)
Where was Arepa 3000 recorded? The third and fourth correct answers each win a pair of tickets to the show.
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| | SF label Dreams by Degrees, true to its name, is slowly warming up the daydream nation, thanks to a roster of acts that includes Sappington, Loquat, and Colophon. Unusual in the download era, the label's just as meticulous about its packaging as its music, taking a page from 4AD's portfolio in its high-concept, immaculately designed releases. Tonight's performers are responsible for three-fourths of last year's Seasons Series, a set of 10 inches following the phases of the calendar. This year Dreams by Degrees kicks off the Colors Series, curated by label head Jonathan Lee and Tarentel's Jefre Cantu-Ledesma. (The first hue, and appropriate choice for a label this moody, is blue.) (PS)
What group originally wrote and recorded "Primitive Heart," which Coastal covered for the Seasons Series? The first three correct responses will win a pair of tickets to the show or a complete set of the Seasons Series.
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ART
Jen Pack: roygbp Opening Reception
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| when: | Sat 2.8 (6-7:30pm) |
| where: | 364 Hayes Street (364 Hayes St, 415.431.0364) |
| price: | FREE |
| links: |
364 Hayes Street |
| | Diaphanous silk is both canvas and paint in Jen Pack's new series, roygbp. She layers and sews brightly hued gauze into organic grids and stripes that suggest cross sections of earth, ocean, or atmosphere. But unlike the pages from eighth grade science books, these studies are serene and textured, maximizing the graphic potential of thread and edge. More akin to watercolor than fashion design, Pack's fabric collages rely on color theory, diffuse light, and the viewer's mood to bring their subtlety to life. (LRJ)
Note: Exhibition runs through February 27.
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| | In the tradition of holy modal freakouts, perhaps none is more famous — nor so otherworldly — than Coltrane's masterpiece of spiritual cacophony, Ascension (1965), which combined the muscular gesturalsim of action painting with the traditions of New Orleans jazz. Now, as part of its 25th anniversary season, Rova Saxophone Quartet, one of the Bay Area's most important new-music players, has assembled an absolutely dynamite ensemble that promises to blow the piece sky-high. The Orkestrova fleshes out the Rova quartet with some of experimental music's leading lights — Fred Frith, Ikue Mori, Nels Cline, Otomo Yoshihide, Chris Brown, Donald Robinson, Carla Kihlstedt, and Jenny Scheinman — in a lineup that will electrify the traditional arrangement with the addition of turntables, sampler, electric bass and guitar, electronics, and drum machine. (PS)
Note: Fri 2.7, Rova plays Steve Lacy's "Saxophone Special" for saxophone, guitar, and electronics.
What was the lineup on the original recording of Coltrane's Ascension? The fourth correct answer wins a pair of tickets to the show.
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| | It's hard to find a more lively act than the Transmission Trio, a spinoff of the full Transmission combo, who turn out hardscrabble funk and bare-knuckled jazz from a bass, drums, and sax alone (ok, sometimes horn player Colin Stetson, who's recorded with Detroit future jazzbo Recloose, throws in a clarinet for good measure). Percussionist Andrew Kitchen moonlights in local funk outfit Boostamonte while bassist Eric Perney is fresh from Tom Waits' recent album Alice, but they're not the only cats with pedigrees. Their setmates tonight are the old school acid jazzers Broun Fellinis, who list slots with Ben Harper and The Roots on their decade-deep résumé. Tonight's show, celebrating the release of the Trio's new CD, is a shot in the arm for the local live music scene, and with a $5 cover, just the right price. (SB)
What Eastern European folk music band does Colin Stetson occasionally play with? The first correct answer wins a pair of tickets to the show.
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| | Considered one of Wim Wender's greatest accomplishments, Wings of Desire tells the story of Damiel, an angel who falls in love and "takes a plunge" to become mortal. The German director deftly examines the relationship between the material and the spiritual, delving into existential issues of mortality, transcendence, and what it means to be human. The film’s reverent mood, lyricism, and exquisitely shot photography of angels towering above Berlin, still divided by the wall, sets the original masterpiece miles apart from its Hollywood imitation City of Angels. Wenders' watchful angels suggest the possibility that we are not completely alone in our isolated existence. (KV)
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| | For the latest installment in its series of staged readings on the second Monday of the month, Playbrokers presents EGO, a new play by professor Carl Djerassi. Neither a conventional academic nor a dramatist, Djerassi is Professor Emeritus of Analytic Chemistry at Stanford and a co-inventor of the birth control pill. He is also an accomplished novelist and playwright whose plays have been performed around the world and translated into numerous languages. Djerassi calls his writing "science-in-fiction," through which he explores the personal, philosophical, and political dilemmas posed by modern science. His new play is a black comedy about a prize-winning novelist and his psychotherapist. Join the author, actors and director Frances McCain in post-performance discussion. (SS)
Note: Djerassi is also an art collector. His works by Paul Klee are on display at SFMOMA.
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| | "Architecture is frozen music," Johann Wolfgang von Goethe once said. 23 Five and SFMOMA couldn't agree more, as they kick off the 6th Annual Activating the Medium Festival, which examines the intricate intersections between sound and architecture. Featuring audiovisual innovators from around the globe, the festival plays host to such luminaries as Swedish experimental composer Leif Elggren, sound art pioneer Christina Kubisch, acoustic engineer Michael Gendreau, and conceptualists CM von Hausswolff and Achim Wollscheid. Friday night's festivities commence with an evening of eclectic sound performances, and the party continues all weekend with more performances, artist panel discussions, and sonic installations.
(CT)
Note: Friday's performance is at 8pm. Saturday's performance is at 2pm, and the panel discussion follows at 3pm.
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| | With corporate accounting scandals and the hedonism of the high-tech boom still all too fresh in the mind, for a welcome refresher consider instead the philanthropy of Phyllis Wattis, whose contributions as a trustee and benefactor to SFMOMA have been indispensable. Now through June 24, the museum presents Treasures of Modern Art: The Legacy of Phyllis Wattis, which features 80 of her important donations to the permanent collection. Artists represented constitute a veritable survey of modern and contemporary pioneers: Marcel Duchamp, Piet Mondrian, Rene Magritte, Alberto Giacometti, Barnett Newman, and Andy Warhol. Capping off the collection are some 14 works by Robert Rauschenberg. Come see for yourself how Mrs. Wattis' generous vision has helped to make SFMOMA, in her words, worthy of the Michelin rating, "Four stars, worth a detour." (SS)
Note: On the first Tuesday of every month, admission is free.
Who was Phyllis Wattis' famous great-grandfather? The third and fourth correct answers each win a pair of tickets to the show.
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| CD REVIEW: MADLIB, Blunted in the Bomb Shelter Mix |
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Antidote
Release date: November 4 2002
$16 (Dusty Groove)
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The premise: Trojan Records, a crucial layer in reggae's rocksteady bedrock, ships Madlib — one of indie hip hop's most talented producers, also known as Quasimoto and Yesterdays New Quintet — its entire back catalogue (plus, presumably, a pound or two of Jamaica’s finest). Madlib, with the schizo touch he's used to freak a host of assumed identities, holes up in his Bomb Shelter studio and gets duplicitous with the dub and the dutchie. The result? A psychedelic tour of reggae's golden years, where tracks from I-Roy, King Tubby,
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Prince Jammy, The Upsetters, and more swirl together in a skanky, skunky dustup. Half island languor, half hip hop frenzy, Blunted is an homage to the original studio scientists – by one of this decade’s prime movers of the mixing board. (PS)
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| LOGOCENTRIC: Laundry Day |
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These days, cute tees with cheeky sayings are a dime a dozen. Laundry Day offers clothes-hounds a chance to keep their fashion sense in check while giving their brains a bit more to ponder. The SF-based clothing line delivers culturallly-aware and visually-pleasing designs to challenge the norms and stimulate further thought about ideas of socially-accepted values. Quite a feat, one that Laundry Day pulls off with plenty of style. (MG)
What's the boldest statement you've ever made with your clothing? Five best answers each win a Laundry Day t-shirt.
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| STREAMS: Groovetech |
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We know you like things that are free. Don't deny it. Everybody digs a free ride, a give-away, a Groovetech. That's right, much like this flavorfull guide to cultural stimuli, the GT Radio is straight-up free of charge. Access an extensive array of asskickin' live DJ sets, always available for streaming direct to your synapses. When you need a pick-me-up or just a groove-on-down, check Groovetech for the latest and greatest breaks, cuts, beats, and bumps.
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| CREDITS |
| Header Design: |
| Monocole | Stellah De Ville | | |
| Staff: |
| Diana | Philip Sherburne | | Microscope | Sascha Lewis | | 20/10 eyeballs | Mark Mangan | | Welding goggles | 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. As always, feel free to send in any and all feedback — comments, questions, ideas, or rants. Spread the flavor...
EVENT SUBMISSIONS
Please send all interesting event information (press releases, links, etc.) to events |
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| Contributors: |
| X-Ray spex | Husani Oakley | | Disposable colored bifocals | Laura Kenney | | Night vision goggles | Cristy Turner | | Retinal scanner | Lauren Epstein | | Zoopraxiscope | Sam Smith | | Binoculars | Hillary Hall | | Laser guided missle | Nish Nadaraja | | DV camera | Robert Rosenthal | | Satellite camera | Menaka Gopinath | | Periscope | Jamie Okubo | | Leica | Jennifer Bachman | | X10 Tiny Wireless Surveillance Camera | Karine Versace | | Photocopy machine | Jana Klass | | Corneal implants | Andrew Strickman | | Pinhole Camera | Laura Richard Janku | | Spyglass | Stephen Baxter |
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WRITERS & DESIGNERS WANTED
We are always looking for new writers and designers to contribute some flavor. If you follow what's happening in SF and know how to put it into words, email us here. If you have a design that would look good atop this mailer, please email us with any submissions or questions. |
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Please visit our website to learn more about advertising opportunities on flavorpill SF and NYC, or feel free to email us directly. To find out more about the design and deployment of graphical emails, contact our partners at Sublit Industries. |
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