Welcome to our calendar feature BIG WEEK, wherein our expert Arts & Culture writers recommend the best things in Arts, Music, Food & Drink, Stage, Film, Nightlife, and more. This week, we were very sad to hear that Altman-Siegel Gallery, a pillar of local conceptual representation, will close after 16 years at the end of November—hit it up to catch the gorgeous Shinpei Kusanagi show through November 15.
GENERAL ARTS
Marke B. usually knows what’s up.
THU/16-SUN/19: OTHER MINDS FESTIVAL This festival of experimental and “other” music always impresses and delights. “A panoply of composers will assemble for the 29th Other Minds Festival in San Francisco, an international annual showcase for composers. Join us for multi-generational musical connections, multimedia masterpieces, and contrasting takes on the fusion of gamelan and American musical traditions.” Brava Theater, SF. More info here.
SAT/18 + SUN/19: SHIPYARD OPEN STUDIOS The 40-year-old extravaganza shows off the Hunters Point Shipyard’s more than 130 painters, metal artists, jewelers, furniture makers, ceramicists, photographers, and others, opening the doors to their studios to the public. You can also grab a draft from Enterprise Brewing (recently named Best of the Bay) hosting in the Biergarten while Radio Afrika Kitchen serves up their mix of North African & Mediterranean food, J&D’s BBQ offers grilled meats and sides, and more deliciousness. There’s also live music—and a how-to demonstration of metal bending! 11am to 6pm, free with RSVP, Shipyard Studios, SF. More info here.
SAT/18: FESTIVAL OF ROCK POSTERS Prepare to rock your eyeballs off at this bonanza of gorgeous and unique concert poster art. Stanley Mouse, Jim Mazza, Alexandra Fisher, and tons more contemporary and vintage artists’s work will be on display, plus chances galore to interface in person with legendary silk-screeners. 10am-6pm (3pm-6pm for non-Rock Poster Society members), Hall of Flowers in Golden Gate Park, SF. More info here.
SAT/18: DRAG ME 2 THE BEACH Surely, someone will lose their wig in the waves? Drag performers take over Ocean Beach in broad daylight. This fundraiser for the Surfrider Foundation includes not just performances by international flouncer Pattie Gonia and tons more, but also “Art, Activism, Community, Dancing, Ocean Safety Talk, and Wakan Wiya Drum Circle.” Let’s hit the dunes, gals. 2pm-last light, Noriega Street where it meets the Great Highway, SF. More info here.
SAT/18+SUN/19: SF PHOTOBOOK FAIR Dozens of artists from all over the Bay Area and California display their image-based books, and I want all of them. Gimme. Saturday 11am–5pm, Sunday 10am–4pm, Harvey Milk Photo Center, SF. More info here.
SAT/18: BEARRISON It’s time for the big boys (and others) to come out and take over Harrison Street, scattering furry gay fairy dust and manly man, beardy-beard magic all over SoMa—hopefully no gutters will be clogged. Yes, the bears are having one last blast before winter hibernation, with live music, dancing, a deadlift contest, “Full Queer Wrestling,” an XL art gallery, and of course copious food and drink. Noon-6pm, 11th and Harrison Streets, SF. More info here.
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SUN/19: FOODWISE SUNDAY SUPPER: A FARM TO CITY FEAST “30 of the Bay Area’s best restaurants will be cooking an epic meal together, including Michelin-starred and acclaimed favorites like Acquerello, Californios, Delfina, Hilda and Jesse, Kin Khao, Rich and Table, Saison, and many more, all featuring the best produce from small California farms at Foodwise’s Ferry Plaza Farmers Market. And it’s all for a good cause, raising critical funds for Foodwise farmers markets, food access initiatives, and education programs, which serve thousands of San Francisco kids and families.” 4:30pm-9:30pm, Ferry Plaza, SF. More info here.
THROUGH OCTOBER 25: LITQUAKE A true bounty of all things book is upon us with the Bay’s annual world-class literary festival. There are readings, gatherings, and concerts for every kind of reader—here’s a good place to start flipping through the pages of programming. Various Bay Area venues. More info here.
MUSIC
Hit up John-Paul Shiver’s Under the Stars column for great tunes and shows every week.
SAT/18: 50TH POTRERO HILL R&B FESTIVAL Oakland’s bouillabaisse of bump-and-go, The Grease Traps, cover all sides of “funk.” They cruise through the Meters-type joy in repetition, swing by the cinematic psychedelic vibes of ’60s soul, are touched by the acid-rock influence, give high praise to the JB’s hustle-bustle, and even dole out a bit of that Tower of Power slow jam finesse that low-rider culture cruises to. Get a whiff on Saturday, but don’t get burned. They will be part of a full-fledged line-up all day at the 50th Potrero Hill R&B Festival from 10am-4pm for free at 20th Street. Come jam out over four blocks with live music, food, family, and fun. The Festival is a benefit for the neighborhood public schools, including Daniel Webster and Starr King Elementary Schools, and after-school programs at the Potrero Hill Neighborhood House, and the local community center, which provides essential services to Potrero’s most in need. More info here.
SAT/18: ORCHESTRA GOLD Join the Oakland-based psychedelic rock band Orchestra Gold to celebrate the release of their new album, Dakan, at their album release show at 7th West in Oakland, with an early show at 3pm, with local phenom cumbia outfit Combo Tezeta supporting. Both bands represent the glow-up happening right now in World music. It’s outernational and Bay Area fantastic. More info here.
FOOD & DRINK
Tamara Palmer’s weekly Good Taste column tells you where to stick your fork. Sign up for the new Good Taste newsletter here!
THU/16: THROUGH FRI/31 BAYVIEW FOOD & BEVERAGE PASSPORT AND NATIONAL GUMBO WEEK Starting Wednesday, Chef Dontaye Ball’s restaurant Gumbo Social will be offering the Bayview Food & Beverage Passport, which contains deals from local eateries such as Frank Grizzly’s, Let’s Eat BBQ, and La Laguna Taqueria that last until the end of the month. Stamps on the passport can later be used to earn raffle tickets for prizes at the finale party and free gumbo tasting on Oct. 25. In the meantime, as part of National Gumbo Week, Ball will also host Kitchen Takeover Dinners at Gumbo Social from 10/20-22 (Mon., October 20: Smoke Soul Kitchen, Vanessa Lee; Tues., October 21: Sapphire Bistro Catering, Sasasha Fleming; Wed., October 22: Pops’ Creole, Chef Gabriel LaMothe). Get tickets here. 5176 Third Street, SF
SAT/18: COPRA’S DIWALI BRUNCH California has just made Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, an official state holiday. Chef Srijith Gopinathan is celebrating by offering a one-day brunch menu consisting of around 15 dishes. Menu highlights include gongura paal katti curry, eggplant pollichathu, and tropical halwa with mango ice and candied citrus; there will also be vegetarian options. Make reservations here. $75, 11:00 a.m. to 2 p.m., 1700 Fillmore Street, SF
STAGE
Charles Lewis III checks out theaters and performance spaces every week for his Drama Masks column.
THROUGH NOVEMBER 1: TERROR VAULT’S HEXED It’s safe to say that when Kat Robichaud welcomes you into a production that the show is more than likely to be enjoyable. I wasn’t expecting to see her as one of the goth-y ghouls inside Peaches Christ’s latest Hallowe’en horror, but an in-character Kat greeting we opening-night patrons was a good sign. This year has a much better balance of round-the-corner shocks and story details, making it much easier to follow the latter. The group I was with were invested in the story and paying attention to every noise, so they’d occasionally be pulled out of a scene by hearing another scene in the next room. Fortunately, there were plenty of rat-people and yetis to pull them back in. The San Francisco Mint. More info here.
THROUGH NOVEMBER 1: ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW D’Arcy Drollinger and his gender-bending geniuses at club Oasis join forces with Ray of Light Theater to bring back this SF Halloween stage tradition on the 50th anniversary of the movie’s release. In tune with our times, the players have ramped up the naughtiness so the whole enterprise feels deliciously subversive—but also heartfelt and bittersweet, especially with Oasis closing at the end off this year. Dammit, Janet. More info here.
FILM
Dennis Harvey’s long-running Screen Grabs has tons more flicks to recommend.
OPENS FRI/17: IF I HAD LEGS I’D KICK YOU Linda (Rose Byrne) is a 40-ish woman living on Long Island with her husband and child. Only her husband seems perpetually away on business, while the approximately seven-year-old daughter has some unspecified illness that requires intubation and 24/7 monitoring. Linda almost never has a moment to herself, and isn’t coping well—she’s sleep-deprived, wine-guzzling, open to any other mind-altering chemical, pressured on various fronts, angry at everybody. That includes her therapist (former late-night TV host Conan O’Brien, a casting leap that completely works), and we are shocked to discover that this walking trainwreck is, herself, also a therapist. Read our full review here.
THU/16-OCTOBER 26-SUN/12: UNITED NATIONS ASSOCIATION FILM FEST The 11-day festival, its 28th installment, features 60 shorts and features, at least half of them directed by women and POC—and the theme is “Messages for the Future.” There are contributions from and/or about Mongolia, Rwanda, Georgia, Iran, Luxembourg, Mali, Turkey, Afghanistan, Congo, Sudan, Cambodia and numerous other countries, not excluding such expected political hotspots as Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, Hungary and the US. More info here.
NIGHTLIFE
Marke B. usually knows what’s up. Check out his club The Stud for more great parties.
FRI/17: IDP 10-YEAR ANNIVERSARY A couple weeks ago, I stranded myself at a warehouse deep in Oakland —the last BART train had left, and car services were loathe to venture out that far into the industrial nethers. It had been a long time since I wondered how the hell I was getting home, but it was so worth it to hear certified techno genius Christina Chatfield create the most incredible, deep, and pounding vibe. She’s playing this venerable crew’s decade celebration, with Seguno, R Tyler, and Saeztti from Lima, Peru. 8pm-2am, Underground, SF. More info here.
SAT/18: VINYLISSIMO! The recently refreshed Kilowatt Bar has brought great live rock and/or roll back to the legendary spot, love to see it venture into more dancier realms. Italian DJ Nino Msk, who I adore, kicks off this “brand-new all-vinyl night bringing the warm, analog soul of Italo Disco, funky and soulful house, and worldwide grooves straight to the heart of the Mission.” It’s free! 9pm-2am, Kilowatt Bar, SF. More info here.
SAT/18: 4 ON THE FLOOR: MOTHERSHIP’S 4-YEAR ANNIVERSARY PARTY It seems like forever ago when Mothership took over the space where vaunted watering hole Virgil’s Sea Room once held sway. And yet, the adorable little bar with the huge patio landed in the right spot. This celebration with DJs Brown Angel, Brontez Purnell, Infinite Jess, Freaky Emo, SOBA, and Lizzy Al Toque will be non-stop freaky fun. 8pm-2am, Mothership, SF. More info here.
