Welcome to Big Week, our weekly guide to cool things to do, put together by our expert critics and writers. Hey, have you voted for Best of the Bay yet?
GENERAL ARTS
Marke B. keeps an eye and ear and everything else out.
FRI/18: SF OPEN STUDIOS KICK-OFF CELEBRATION The massive citywide tradition of artists throwing open their studio doors commences next weekend and continues for a month—you’re sure to find some local treasures—but it all kicks off Friday with this preview celebration, including drinks, light bites, and work by more than 300 artists. 7-10pm, SOMArts, SF. More info here.
FRI/18-DECEMBER 27: BEHERE / 1942: A NEW LENS ON THE JAPANESE AMERICAN INCARCERATION I’m not sure I’ve ever wished to be immersed in an internment camp, but this exhibit feels super-important right now: “Can looking closely at photographs change what we see, know, and feel about this history? Japanese artist Masaki Fujihata explores this very question in BeHere / 1942: A New Lens on the Japanese American Incarceration. Through immersive installations of historic images and augmented reality experiences, the exhibition brings visitors into the moments of 1942—before Japanese Americans in Oakland, San Francisco, and Los Angeles were transported to concentration camps during World War II.” Oakland Museum of California, more info here.
FRI/18-SUN/20: SAN FRANCISCO GREEK FOOD FESTIVAL One of my absolute favorite events of the year. This is an old school culture fest at a church (Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation, to be exact), where you buy your food ticket from the nice people in the cafeteria and the proceed to chow down on some of the most amazing Greek food ever, washed some with some wine or ouzo, of course. Then peruse the many Mediterranean wares and dance til your feet hurt to the traditional band and DJ. It’s so wholesome and delicious! Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation, SF. More info here.
FRI/18-SUN/20: SAN FRANCISCO ARMENIAN FOOD FESTIVAL Looks like we will be EATING this weekend. After you stock up on Greek dolmas, hop over to St. Gregory’s Church for the 69th edition of this delicious festival. “Widely recognized as one of the best ethnic food festivals in the Bay Area, the festival features authentic Armenian cuisine, dancing, music, and art. Enjoy everything from live musical performances and folk dancing to shish-kebab, sandwiches, vegetarian delicacies, and pastries.” Let’s go! St. Gregory’s Church, SF. More info here.
FRI/18-SUN/20: HOW TO MAKE A PASSIVE DANCE Choreographer San San Kwan’s long-gestating work finally comes to fruition. “In an era marked by increasing political aggression, How to Make a Passive Dance poses a timely question: is there value in being passive? Asian Americans historically have had a fraught relationship with passivity, but might there be reason for us to reconsider qualities like deference or quietude? And how can dance – a medium defined by embodied action—serve paradoxically as a space for exploring inaction? This quintet investigates dance as a practice of listening and attunement.” The iMPACt Center for Art and Dance in San Francisco, more info here.
SAT/19: LETTERS TO HEAVEN: DOLLY PARTON “You know all about Jolene but have you heard of Lil’ Andy?Dolly loved a dark Appalachian tragedy and wrote hundreds of B-side hits full of dying children, betrayed wives, murdered lovers, and women falsely committed in asylums. There’s no better way for us to celebrate one of our nation’s greatest songwriters than a Drag celebration of some of her most unique and darkly entertaining work. Come celebrate the Southern Gothic stylings of our dear departed Queen!” 9pm-2am, The Stud, SF. More info here.
SAT/19: SECOND ANNUAL “KING OF THE STREETS” LOWRIDER PARADE Last year’s inaugural event from the Mission’s Lowrider Council was a joyful burst of community pride during Latino Heritage Month, and this second iteration promises to be no less colorful. With an art exhibit, a massive parade down Mission Street, live entertainment, great food, and more than 300 lowrider on display, it’s a new civic tradition not to be missed. Noon-6pm, Mission Street, SF. More info here.
SUN/20: 47TH ANNUAL HAIGHT ASHBURY STREET FAIR Get with it, man! Throw on your tie-dye and take a trip to “where the spirit of ’67 meets the sound of now. Two stages. Dozens of acts. A celebration of San Francisco’s counterculture legacy—louder, bolder, and more electrifying than ever.” Also the best place to score a new bong while getting your face painted, fyi. 11am-6pm, Haight + Ashbury, SF. More info here.
MUSIC
Hit up John-Paul Shiver’s Under the Stars column for great tunes and shows every week.
FRI/18 + SAT/19: BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE The Bay Area’s own Talking Heads tribute band seems to have made great use of that critically acclaimed, loose, weird, hypnotic, and rhythmic palooza of a discography. It’s loaded with ample hits and deep cuts aplenty. No, David Byrne and his culture-breaking big white suit will not be in attendance at Peri’s Tavern in Fairfax on 9/18 or at The Lucky Horseshoe in San Francisco on 9/19. Just a committed band, two dedicated venues full of T-Heads singing every damn song, and the community experience. Bringing new songs and maintaining that nervous fonk mystique, Burning Down The House is a tribute band that’s over the karaoke edge. Grab tix here and here.
WED/23: HOT LAUNDRY Take this Bay Area band that pushes their own self-described “Garage Soul Rock n Roll,” playing at North Beach Wacky Wednesdays in Jack Kerouac Alley at Vesuvio Cafe and City Lights Books from 7pm to 10pm. As the infamous John Waters proclaims, “Can punk rock be feel-good? You bet, and these beloved bad girls and grisly garage guys will give you a trickish treat like nobody else!” Hot Laundry traffics in dishing out high-octane rock n roll with hints of Motown, revved-up guitars in the vein of MC5, and a heavy dash of delta boogie. Or as old JW promises, “Their talent never shrinks!” Wacky Wednesday, Jack Kerouac Alley, SF. More info here.
FOOD & DRINK
Tamara Palmer’s weekly Good Taste column tells you where to stick your fork.
THROUGH SUN/20: FINAL WEEK FOR YANK SING @ RINCON CENTER Sunday is the last day to eat at Yank Sing in Rincon Center, which is closing as its lease ends. The dim sum staple has been in business in San Francisco since Alice and George Chan first opened on Powell Street in 1958; the third gen family owner is Vera Chan Waller and husband Nathan Waller. If you miss service on Spear this week, the 49 Stevenson Street location is staying open — with the beloved dim sum carts intact. 101 Spear Street, SF. More info here.
STAGE
Charles Lewis III checks out theaters and performance spaces every week in the Drama Masks column.
SAT/19 THROUGH OCT/1: CLOWISH WORLD PREMIERE. Sara Toby Moore’s wacky work often defies explanation. So, it’s a good thing their latest show has no proper description. The versatile performer once again teams up with co-star DeMarcello Funes for a show describes as “not artificial… OR intelligent,” but “very gay.” Living, breathing humans will bounce back-and-forth at Theatre Rhino for the sake of showing an audience what it’s like to show off super-queer slapstick that AI slop could never replicate. Theatre Rhino, SF. Further information here.
FRI/18 AND SAT/19: SMUIN BALLET’S FRENCH KISS. One of the Bay Area’s most revered dance companies (and there are many) kick off their new season with romantic mix of the old and the new. After a successful opening in Mountain View, they’re bringing the show to the Lescher Center this weekend before finally pointe-stepping their way to SF at the end of the month. The show includes a world premiere by choreographer My’Kal Stromile, a beloved revival by artistic director Amy Seiwart, and a classic by their late namesake, Michael Smuin. In short, the romantic show will be a love letter to their loyal patrons. How can you pass that up? Lescher Center for the Arts, Walnut Creek. Further information here.
FILM
Dennis Harvey’s long-running Screen Grabs has tons more flicks to recommend.
THU/17-SUN/20: CRITTERFEST Among documentary features in this inaugural animal-obsessed fest are The Ark, focusing on a family home in Eastern Ukraine that by necessity became a sanctuary for domestic creatures displaced by war; Better Call Babs, about a real-life “pet detective” recovering lost or stolen four-legged BFFs; plus opening night feature Second Nature, which examines sexual and gender diversity in the non-human sphere, and is narrated by Elliot Page. There are also several animations, including a free SPCA-sponsored outdoor show on Fri/18 at Proxy of 2019’s family-friendly ‘toon The Secret Life of Pets 2, whose voice talents include Kevin Hart and Harrison Ford. There are also live-action films about cats, dogs, bats, ducks, flamingos, cows, toads, wasps, owls, Western Snowy Plovers, “tripawds” (three-legged canines), Bears in Hot Tubs, and more. 4 Star Theater, SF. More info here.
NIGHTLIFE
Marke B. usually knows what’s up.
FRI/18: CHARLIE HORSE REUNION If you were alive and crazy and rock and roll and queer in the 2000s then you made your way, somehow, to this raucous weekly drag mess at Polk Street’s Cinch bar which combined the truly talented with the truly tragic. So many beloved queens found their little drag hoofs on the postage-stamp sized stage—Felicia Felatio, Marcy Playground, NoSeeUm, Juanita Fajita… others—all guided along by actually legendary hostess Anna Conda. Well, she’s back for one night only before the Cinch closes for a minute for some upgrades, so hie thee hence, and watch for falling wigs. 10pm-2am, The Cinch, SF. More info here.
SAT/19: DANIEL AVERY LIVE Seminal British hypnotic house DJ has always had ayen for guitar music—something hits mentor, the great Andrew Weatherall, would sure understand—so it will be fascinating to experience how he translates his aesthetic with a live band. 8:30pm, The Independent, SF. More info here.
SAT/19: CUT CHEMIST Lucas MacFadden of Los Angeles dug deep into his crates to help redefine the sound of hip-hop with Jurassic 5 and Ozomatli during turntablism’s peak. Twenty years after his solo release The Audience’s Listening bent many an eardrum, he’s celebrating that 2006 landmark with a full-on tour that “bridges underground hip-hop, global music exploration, and avant-garde composition.” He’s a keeper! 8:30pm, The Independent, SF. More info here.
