Welcome to our calendar feature BIG WEEK. Each week, our expert Arts & Culture writers recommend the best things for you to do in the best city on earth: Arts, Music, Food & Drink, Stage, Film, Nightlife, and more.
ARTS
Marke B. guides you right. There’s tons more to do and support right here.
THROUGH FRI/11: ANTI-PRIME DAY Looking for something new to read? Forget financing another hideous wedding for Jeff Bezos during Prime Day. Instead of Amazon, buy some books from the wonderful Bookshop.org online, which not only benefits local bookstores that you can designate, but also throws in free shipping until the end of the week for its “Anti-Prime Day.” May we point you to the ever-fabulous Staff Favorites at my alma mater Green Apple Books for some suggestions? (Or hey, just go to the store itself this weekend and grab some yummy dim sum and Schubert’s Bakery cake across the street afterwards. Thank me later.)
THU/10-SUN/13: SF ART BOOK FAIR Dozens of exhibitors from art galleries to indie publishers, terrific events including screening programs from SF Cinematheque and an Open Studios moment with live artists, awesome people-watching galore: The four days of the 8th annual SF Art Book Fair are pure bliss for anyone into brilliant, limited edition tomes that are perfect enough to eat, and help sustain the city’s artistic spirit. Please, somebody stop me from moving in and going broke. And don’t miss: a special Discogs listening room on Sun/13, 1pm-5pm, featuring musical greats Deltron3000, Chaz Bear, TOKiMONSTA, and Howard Wiley talking about their favorite records. Minnesota Street Projects, SF. More info here.
THU/10-SAT/12: SFDANCEWORKS The 8th season of the adventurous company brings in some killer choreographers: West Coast rising stars Jordan Johnson and Aidan Carberry of JA Collective for a world premiere, Yue Yin with intensely physical duet for men “A Measurable Existence,” and “the enigmatic Emma Portner” for hypnotic and deeply moving duet titled “elephant.” Z Space, SF. More info here.
SUN/13: AL PASTOR PAPI DAY One of our favorite food purveyors is finally launching a brick-and-mortar in Union Square, and this grand opening party offer the opportunity to celebrate a local success story and help your neighbors: Chef Miguel Escobedo is inviting the public to help wrap and distribute fresh burritos to unhoused neighbors in need. There will be a mariachi band and free treats! 2pm-3:30pm, 232 O’Farrell, SF. More info and volunteer sign-up here.
TUE/15: WAITING FOR BRITNEY SPEARS One of my favorite music writers, Jeff Weiss, has busted out this fascinating book about the country’s millennial schlock inferno. “America, 2003: A country at war, its shiny veneer beginning to crack. Von Dutch and The Simple Life dominate. And on the cover of every magazine, a twenty-one-year-old pop star named Britney Spears. Tracking her every move for a third-tier gossip rag in Los Angeles was an unknown young writer taking whatever job he could while pursuing his distant literary dreams. He’d instead become an eyewitness to the slow tragedy of a changing nation. Weiss will be in conversation with local music mavens Zack Ruskin and Emma Silvers. 5:30pm, Ferry Building, SF. More info here.
TUE/15: NOONTIME CONCERT: REDWOOD VIRTUOSI Noontime Concerts at Old St. Mary’s Cathedral in Chinatown on Tuesdays are one of the city’s hidden musical (and technical) wonders. And they’re free! There’s only one this month due to summer vacations, but it’s a doozy: Alicia Yang (violin), Caroline Lee (viola), and Joyce Yang (cello) Jon forces to fill the afternoon with Mozart, Strauss, and more. 12:30pm, Old St. Mary’s, SF. More info here.
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MUSIC
Hit up John-Paul Shiver’s Under the Stars column for great musical picks every week.
SAT/12: MACY GRAY Right around the time SpongeBob debuted on Nickelodeon, Britney was catching the “too sexy” label for tweenyboppers, and both The Blair Witch Project and Sixth Sense films were terrifying sold-out box offices, Macy Gray’s debut album, On How Life Is, became a thing on the heels of the anthemic mantra, “I Try.” Twenty-five years later, the raspy-voiced singer hasn’t stopped musically exploring, doing things on her own terms. 7pm, Palace of Fine Arts Theatre, SF. More info here.
SAT/12: ORCHESTRA GOLD It’s truly exciting to witness Oakland-based psychedelic rock band Orchestra Gold steadily gaining momentum, respect, and a well-deserved reputation as an outfit on the verge of national recognition. Led by the powerhouse frontwoman Mariam Diakite, they continue to captivate audiences as they crest in popularity. Witness their cosmic swirl, Fela-like groove. Take in Diakite’s raw, mesmerizing vocals amid attacking saxophone charts, measured bass lines, and a galvanic meter, while expanding guitar lines pierce through. 2pm, free, Yerba Buena Gardens Festival, SF. More info here.
SUN/13: VINYL WILLIAMS Lionel (Vinyl) Williams has been making music for almost 20 years. Mang. Just smashing it with some of the most loverly, that’s right, I said loverly, psychedelic sounds of the 21st century. Melodic, rhythmic, and undeniably trippy—at times. Experiencing him live is like cruising through the nebula. I know I catch a lot of flak for talking about Mr. Williams. People say, “Jay, you’re on that stuff.” But I tell them, it’s not me; it’s Vinyl Williams. So if you want to experience where true musical astrology, Bohemian culture, and indie rock come together for a magnificent combination of sound and vibrations, go see Vinyl Williams. It will change you for the better. 7pm, Great American Music Hall, SF. More info here.
FOOD & DRINK
Tamara Palmer’s weekly Good Taste column tells you where to stick your fork.
SAT/12: JOLLOF FESTIVAL A touring cooking competition and food event with stops throughout the United States and the UK, the heavily-promoted Jollof Rice Festival comes to Oakland this weekend. Vendors from different West African countries will sell à la carte plates and also compete with their different regional takes on jollof, making this a rare opportunity to learn about and taste the breadth of what’s typically thought of as a red-colored, spiced rice dish with chilies and tomatoes. Kids under 10 are free, otherwise tickets start at $25 and go up for those who want a sample jollof pack and a vote in the cooking contest. 3pm-8pm, 7th West, 1255 7th Street, Oakland. More info here.
SUN/13: FERRY BUILDING TURNS 127 The San Francisco Ferry Building marks 127 years of life with this weekend’s Ferry Fest. Expect a high-quality day of live music booked by Noise Pop featuring Big Blu Soul Revue, Liv Belda, Prophet Martian, and more. It’s also a good opportunity to graze in front of and inside the building —and to check out newcomers like Gott’s new cookie counter, which sells thick classics with three different kinds of “dipping milks.” RSVP for free tickets and a VIP giveaway here. 11am to 6:30pm at 1 Ferry Building, SF. More info here.
STAGE
Charles Lewis III hits up theaters and performance spaces every week for his Drama Masks column.
THROUGH AUGUST 3: SF MIME TROUPE There’s a renewed energy to be found in this year’s Mime Troupe show, it’s 66th, called Disruption: A Musical Farce, playing at various parks through the summer. The show doesn’t depict an imaginary San Francisco so much as satirize the current one. The primary focus is Augie Dimalanta, a Philippine-born, Daly City-raised resident whom we first meet wearing an orange jumpsuit in an ICE detention center: He has no idea what he’s doing there, nor has he any idea of when he’ll get out. Meanwhile, on-the-go Ms. Macintosh pitches our illustrious mayor such corporate-friendly ideas as selling the naming rights of local landmarks (“Golden Arches Gate Park”, the “Flamin’ Hot Cheetos Fire Department”). Both she and the chatty AI on her watch are all too eager to rid our fair city of activists and people like Augie, and pave the way for a privatized, sanitized SF. This being a Mime Troupe show, sessions will be learned. Playing the Panhandle, SF, Sat/13, 2pm. More info here.
FILM
Dennis Harvey’s long-running Screen Grabs has tons more flicks to recommend.
THU/10: UNDERGROUND ORANGE Colorful rebellion is on full display in this scrappy feature, which plays SF’s Marina Theatre on Chestnut this Thu/10 only (more info here). In person for post-screening discussion will be writer-director Michael Taylor Jackson, who also stars as a young Spanish-fluent Californian traveling in Argentina, where after having his money and ID stolen he falls in with a small collective working on a play about the long-term impact of American imperialism on their nation. Soon he’s involved not just in that stage performance, but also in less legal anti-establishment acts like a bank robbery… while exploring various points on the Kinsey scale with his polyamorous new colleagues.
SOVEREIGN In Christian Swegal’s film, which releases to streaming platforms this weekend. Nick Offerman plays Jerry Kane, an Arkansas widower who frequently leaves his teenage son Joseph (Jacob Tremblay) home alone while he’s out holding “seminars” that tap into the helplessness and rage of heartland residents sinking beneath financial quicksand. What he’s selling is the “Sovereign Citizen” belief system, a libertarian-ish view of life that claims no one is lawfully obligated to recognize the authority of courts, currency, taxation and other governmental arms. Sovereign‘s relatively low-key progress (until all hell finally breaks loose) does provide potent insight into how ordinary people might drift into extremism, in the end victimizing themselves as well as others. It’s a small, astute film with considerable integrity and climactic punch.
NIGHTLIFE
Marke B. usually knows what’s up.
THU/10: ANTIMATTER, FAMOUS TECHNO, SHOLEH ASGARY If you’re looking more for sensorial-aural stimulation than dancing, one of the best kept secrets of the underground electronic/noise scene has been promoter Pharmar Histamine’s regular gatherings at Peacock Lounge. Get there, grab a drink and a seat, and wig TF out to this round: minimal-materialist static maestro ANTIMATTER, incandescent oscillator Famous Techno, and one of my favorite local synth-conjurers (soon to be moving on, boo!), the insanely talented Sholeh Asgary. 8pm-11pm, all ages, Peacock Lounge, SF. More info here.
FRI/11: ‘OUTSIDE SEX’ CLOSING PARTY The ever subversive Dark Entries record store in the TL has been presenting the gorgeous photos of Daniel Case, documenting infamous cruising spots in nature. (There’s a great book, too.) This closing party features a reading by Brontez Purnell and music by Nick Moss. ‘Twill be hottt. 7pm-10pm, Dark Entries Records, SF. More info here.
SAT/12: MACHINEDRUM Wistfully uptempo sounds define the work of US DJ-producer Travis Stewart, aka Machinedrum, who recently fled to Joshua Tree for his birthday and emerged with some surprisingly funky sounds. This one’s outdoors in the afternoon, sweet for some day dancing. 2pm, Midway, SF. More info here.
SAT/12: SCOTT ZACHARIAS One of those true IYKYK DJs, a marathon-master who has soundtracked decades of trips day-night-days in Detroit and beyond, with a trippy techno selection that can hardly be matched. The best par? He’s coming to the wee brilliant wine Bar Part Time to pop those natural corks. 9pm-1:30am, Bar Part Time, SF. More info here.
