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.
GENERAL ARTS
Marke B. is in the arts hot seat.
FRI/21 + SAT/22: BERTHA: GRATEFUL DRAG “The world’s first Grateful Dead tribute band, BERTHA is an all-star collective of queer and allied East Nashville talent coming together in wigs and full face for a good cause.” OK, there is a LOT to unpack in that sentence, but all I know is they better perform ‘A Touch of Gay.” Local celebrity drag hosts join in the fun. Doors at 7pm, Great American Music Hall, SF. More info here.
THROUGH JANUARY 25: GLOW AT EXPLORATORIUM A burst of cool light sculptures on Pier 15 and all sorts of (literally) illuminating exhibits inside the hands-on museum will delight and inform. Play experimental LED dungeon crawlers! Experience nearly 500 suspended orbs in the form of a breaking ocean wave! Bask in the glow of an artificial Sun made of moving mirrors! Turn your shadow into stars! Exploratorium, SF. More info here.
SAT/22: ANTI-FASCIST ZINE FAIR Print is poised to make a comeback, so that’s one good thing to come out of the digital surveillance nightmare we inhabit now. Get frisky on this anti-fascist zine trip, a gathering of the underground press from the Bay Area and beyond put together by long-time print organizer Floyd Tangeman and artist Barry McGee—and featuring radical goodies from Street Salad Books, Slingshot Collective, Silver Sprocket Comics, and Barry McGee Studio, as well as DJ Los Ahijados de la Changa. 11am-5pm, YBCA, SF. More info here.
SAT/22 + SAT/23: WEST COAST CRAFT It’s that time of year… shopping time! Browse gazoodles of vintage and handmade items from 275+ artisans, including books, jewelry, ceramics, collectibles, furniture, headgear, paper goods, textiles, vinyl, wall decor—everything you need in one handy spot. 10am-6pm, Fort Mason, SF. More info here.
SAT/22-DECEMBER 21: GREAT DICKENS CHRISTMAS FAIR My favorite story about this absolutely bonkers event is that I once spent the whole day shopping, drinking, watching a play, taking fencing lessons, and drinking some more—without realizing I was only in the foyer of the fair. There was an entire city’s worth of Dickens to be had. You can easily get lost in the steampunk-friendly Victoriana of this Ye Olde London tour, grab some mead and ride it out. Cow Palace, SF. More info here.
MUSIC
Hit up John-Paul Shiver’s Under the Stars column for great tunes and shows every week.
FRI/21: HOME FRONT On their just-released project Watch It Die, Graeme MacKinnon and Clint Frazier orchestrate honest and sincere DIY punk through 12 danceable, buzz-worthy, electrifying tunes that, according to the band members, “come out of loss and heartbreak and failure, but I hope people have a good time listening to us.” 8pm, Parkside, SF. More info here.
SAT/22: OCEANATOR “In the literal sense, all my songs are about apocalypse and love.” That is the self-analysis from Elise Okusami, the Brooklyn-based creative artist known to fans of her big swinging guitar chords as Oceanator. In a rare opening slot labeled “solo,” it’s an added feature to hear this musician’s electrified, pop and punky arrangements distilled through a one-woman show. It should be a special treat. Arrive early; she’s opening for Laura Stevenson. 8pm, Swedish American Hall, SF. More info here.
SAT/22: BUZZED LIGHTBEER Let me put you up on game: Buzzed Lightbeer is a San Francisco band that is always on everybody’s lips. I’m serious; on a random night at Benders, Rickshaw Stop, GAMH, and even The Chapel, I’ll be talking to a bartender or running into friends or people I see at music shows. About 10 minutes in, I get: “Yo, you check out Buzzed Lightbeer yet?” And of course, I have to say no, because I have not. There are two—wait, three things that indicate they are worth all the water people are carrying for them. One, their videos are the shizz. They are. Two, when bartenders talk about bands, that’s real. Because bartenders hear a shit ton of bands, so if they dig ’em, that’s real. And third, this band got interviewed by PLAYBOY MEXICO, where they talked about the importance of representing the underground and queer scenes in music. Dammit, I gotta see this band. 6pm, Kilowatt, SF. 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.
FRI/21 THROUGH SUN/23: PALIO’S $35 ANNIVERSARY MENU WEEKEND If you haven’t managed to sit down for a comforting bowl of handmade pasta at Palio in the 35 years that it’s been open (or even if you have!), the Italian trattoria is offering some good deals this weekend. A three-course prix fixe with a salad, choice of three entrées, and tiramisu costs $35, and diners can order one martini per person for $1. The promotion runs Friday through Sunday. 640 Sacramento Street, SF
STAGE
Charles Lewis III checks out theaters and performance spaces every week for his Drama Masks column.
THROUGH NOVEMBER 23: THE WOMAN IN BLACK If you’re not familiar with Susan Hill’s The Woman in Black, it’s the story of a man named Arthur Kipps (David Acton) and his travels as a young man (James Byng) to a remote English village–yes, another one–to see about the remains of an estate. In course of his duty, he’s haunted by pale woman in all-black, whose appearances always precede tragedy. Now, Arthur wants to share his story with us. The play is full of spooks and scares, and what’s frightfully delightful about this international production is how effective they are, even on a second viewing. Lesher Center for the Arts, Walnut Creek. More info here.
THROUGH NOVEMBER 23: DADA TEEN MUSICAL Our story finds over-achiever Mariah (Chanel Tilghman, whose scene-stealing performance was a highlight of last year’s Evita at SF Playhouse) so close to a Harvard enrollment that she can taste it. Unfortunately, she’s lacking some artsy-fartsy credits to boost her extra-curriculars. As a last-ditch effort to boost those numbers before the end of the school year, she makes a bold pitch to teacher Mr. Dorfman (Alan Coyne): a Dadaist deconstruction of The Sound of Music. Interesting chaos ensues, although the show could use some more music. Berkeley City Club. More info here.
FILM
Dennis Harvey’s long-running Screen Grabs has tons more flicks to recommend.
OPENING FRI/21: PUT YOUR SOUL ON YOUR HAND AND WALK Sepideh Farsi’s documentary is essentially a record of her Facetime communications with Fatima Hassouna: One is a veteran filmmaker in forced exile from her native Iran for political reasons, the other an aspiring photojournalist documenting the Israeli military campaign, which now keeps her and her family virtual prisoners in a Gaza City rapidly getting reduced to rubble. Hassouna is remarkably upbeat to a point, excited at having a long-distance friend offer some connection to the outside world amidst the isolation imposed by near-constant bombing. But as the situation goes from bad to worse, we see her deteriorate—disoriented from hunger and despair. Soul offers a look at civilian life during wartime that is as up-close and personal as it gets. Roxie, SF. More info here.
NOW STREAMING ON MAJOR SITES: THE DISINVITED This smart, resourceful enterprise is located somewhere noir, horror, romcom and Tarantino-esque snark. Carl (Sam Daly) is the kind of guy who makes a great first impression…gradually followed by awareness that something is disturbingly “off.” His more insufferable side drove away very cool girlfriend Monica (Dani Reynolds). Having realized how badly he blew it, Carl makes the unwise decision of driving to attend a wedding between former mutual friends where absolutely no one—Monica least of all—wants him. He arrives already rattled due to a series of disturbing incidents en route. Or is it just that Carl is paranoid, and his perceptions (our own primary POV) aren’t to be trusted? The answer imay not be surprising, but getting there is a hoot.
NIGHTLIFE
Marke B. usually knows what’s up. Check out his club The Stud for more great parties.
FRI/21: DNA LOUNGE 40-YEAR ANNIVERSARY Celebrate four decades of wild and wonderful party-going, from longest-running-ever goth weekly Death Guild to Swiftie singalongs, with burlesque, vaporwave, gay circuit, doomcore, and everything else in between. Live bands, DJs, and more (don’t forget to snag that DNA pizza slice!) set it all off. 9pm-2:30am, DNA Lounge, SF. More info here.
FRI/21: TIMEDANCE 10 Some fabulously deep and delicious bass-y techno on deck as several awesome parties—Parameter, Moniker, FLUXIONS, Thought Society & N/A Sound System come together to bring in heavy hitters from 10-year-old Bristol label Timedance: Batu, dBridge, Yushh, and Martyn (doing a 140bpm set for the ragers). 9pm-4am, Public Works, SF. More info here.
SAT/22: GENE HUNT The Chicago house legend pops into town to turn it out at Oakland’s I Found Luv party, with Jayvi Velasco backing it all up. Beep beep. 9pm-2am, Fluid510, Oakland. More info here.
