Results tagged “tonight”

FILM: The Oakland Underground Film Festival presents the San Francisco premiere of Black Dynamite, an action-packed comedy rooted in the traditions of American Blaxploitation and Kung Fu films, such as Shaft (1971), Super Fly (1972), and The Mack (1974). According to Sundance Film Festival, the film "sustains the comedy while taking a nice big sucker punch at the underlying politics of our time." Director Scott Sanders and co-writer/star Michael Jai White will appear in person at the screening.

COCKTAIL PARTY: Wow, we're intrigued. Bold Italic presents 1939. Tog to the Bricks!, a decadent cocktail party from the 1930s, celebrating the opening of the World's Fair. The organizers promise "a raucous good time while the gin and absinthe flow, photographers roam, the piano keys are plunked." Cocktails and food by St. George Spirits, Distillery No. 209, Aidells, Cheese Plus and Pacific Puffs are all included in the cover charge. Attire is 1930s inspired, of course, and the best dressed will get gift certificates to Decades of Fashion and tickets to Long Now's Rick Prelinger Lost Landscapes screening.

LIT: One of the first performance artists and a New York Underground cultural icon, Penny Arcade (Susan Ventura), will make a rare appearance tonight in celebration of her new book, Bad Reputation: Performances, Essays, Interviews, the first book by and about the legend herself. The book consists of three autobiographical plays, as well as a new interview with Penny Arcade by Chris Kraus and a collection of archival photographs of the East Village scene and Arcade's performances.

FILM: Director Barry Jenkins joins SF Film Society Director Graham Leggat for a screening of Medicine for Melancholy and a conversation afterwards. M4M, which was shot in a mere three weeks and made its West Coast Premiere at the 2008 SF International Film Festival, is a "love story of bikes and one-night stands told through two African-American twenty-somethings dealing with issues of class, identity and the evolving conundrum of being a minority in rapidly gentrifying San Francisco - the city with the smallest proportional black population of any major American city."

FILM: Multimedia artist Carter riffs off of Robert Rauschenberg's iconic drawing Erased Willem de Kooning in Erased James Franco, in which contemporary actor, James Franco, is stripped of the sureties of his craft and transformed into an almost sculptural object. Franco covers banal scenes from his own films, as well as segments of Julianne Moore's character in Safe and Rock Hudson's in Seconds. Franco, Carter, and SFMOMA Associate Curator of Public Programs Frank Smigiel will take the stage for a post-screening conversation about film, celebrity, identity, and art. The Castro will also be screening Safe, Seconds, and Franco's favorite episodes of Freaks and Geeks during the day as a double feature matinee to get the audience ready for the main feature.

VARIETY: The Devil-Ettes and The Mini Skirt Mob pay tribute to the great 60’s variety shows like Laugh-In, Shindig, and Hullabaloo in the action-packed Go Go Spectacular. Special guests The Barbary Coasters and Deke Dickerson’s All Star Frat Band will also perform.

ART: Artist Paul Madonna will debut his annual publication, Album, along with an exhibit of his corresponding large-scale, pen-and-ink drawings of '70s and '80s era toys, which serve as a catalog to the book. In the smaller Electric Works gallery, artist Ian Huebert will exhibit his images from an "(imagined?) Plain States landscape." The exhibit runs through January 9, 2010.

GALA: AIGA San Francisco presents Hung up, its annual fall gala. This year, AIGA celebrates the art of skateboarding and has invited its members to contribute custom skate decks, which will be auctioned off at the end of the night. The event also features a live art component and a raffle with prizes including posters, restaurant vouchers, magazine subscriptions, and a copy of Adobe CS4.

FILM: Soul legend Bill Withers (of "Ain't No Sunshine," "Lean on Me," and "Just the Two of Us" fame) is profiled in the new documentary Still Bill, which will be screening in San Francisco for one night only at Sundance Kabuki. The screening will be followed by an after-party at the Boom Boom Room, which is free with the purchase of a movie ticket. Curtis Bumpy, a Curtis Mayfield and Bill Withers tribute band will perform.

HISTORY: As part of the SF Museum and Historical Society's 2009 "Neighborhoods of San Francisco" program, author and historian Woody LaBounty will reintroduce the community to Beachside Bohemia: Carville-by-the-Sea and the Birth of the Outer Sunset District, which he researched extensively for his new book, Carville-by-the-Sea: San Francisco’s Streetcar Suburb. Carville-by-the-Sea, which was in its heyday in the 1890s, is one of the quirkiest and least-remembered communities in San Francisco’s history. There will also be a companion walk to this event with Woody LaBounty on Saturday from 2 to 4. Meet at the corner of La Playa and Lincoln Way.

COMEDY: Attention adventurous singles with some extra cash -- Improv Dating Scene might be for you. The event begins with a comedy show with Big City Improv performing sketches based on audience suggestions. Then, dating coaches will lead participants through a series of fun and easy improv games. The evening concludes with a mixer with snacks and drinks, giving singles an opportunity to better get to know the people they connect with the most.

FILM: Filmmaker Nara Denning will be celebrating the release of her new DVD Neurotique with a premiere screening. Neurotique is a collection of six silent and tragic love stories set to live musical performances by Mister Odom & the Odom Poles, Charith Premawardhana, and Momo and Friends -Cheeskos Junction.

MUSIC: Alternative Tentacles have been celebrating their 30th Anniversary with an Incest-A-Thon this weekend. Tonight's line-up is Alice Donut, Victims Family, and Burning Image.

Lawrence Ferlinghetti: Evolution of a Painter at George Krevsky Gallery, Exploration and Celebration Finale at Sandra Gallery, C3, Akira, KMNDZ at Shooting Gallery, plus many more.

VIDEO: Check out the West Coast premiere of Target Video's SF Punk, as part of the SF Main Library's Punk Passages exhibit. The film features Bay Area early punk legends The Avengers, Dead Kennedys, DILS, Crime, Nuns, Flipper, Factrix, Noh Mercy, Minimal Man, Chrome, Offs, Z, UXA, Sick Pleasure, KGB, Negative Trend, The Mutants, and the Sleepers. A Q&A with videographer Joe Rees and photographer Ruby Ray will follow.

THEATER: Comedian and playwright Rick Reynolds presents his hilarious and gut-wrenching personal confessions and childhood remembrances in Love, God, Sex (and and other stuff I don’t have), which is directed by Jason Alexander.

VARIETY SHOW: Tonight is the premiere of PianoFight's Monday Night ForePlays, a female-driven variety show that will run every Monday through November 23. Consisting of comedy sketches, original dance numbers, a rotating line-up of musical acts, and special additions ranging from burlesque acts to comedians, the shows will feature "a titillating collection of comedic sketches touching on performance anxiety, bodily functions, relationships, robots, office politics, writers block and sex."

MUSIC: If you missed Built to Spill's Halloween show last night, in which Doug Martsch played with a fake scar on his forehead and then peeled it off halfway through the set, they'll be at the Fillmore again tonight, promoting their new album, There Is No Enemy. Camper Van Beethoven's Jonathan Segel will accompany the band.

DRAG: Trannyshack and Midnight Mass host Halloween: A Party, starring Heklina as "Dracula" and Peaches Christ as "Tran Hesling," with a special performance by guest star Jackie Beat and a whole line-up of other performers, including a midnight drag show by the darkest divas of Trannyshack. There will also be a costume contest judged by a celebrity panel.

LIT: It's another installment of Muni-inspired entertainment at Muni Diaries Live! Under the Influence, with BART tales added to the mix, too. Entertainment includes the Cock-Ts, Shane Papatolicas, the winning Muni Erotic fiction post, and more. Prizes from Muni Shirts and Routesy will be given away. Costumes encouraged!

FOOD: Local street cart chefs will discuss their food, their big plans, their permit status and how the new street-eats scene is changing ideas about dining out during the Commonwealth Club's The Street Food Movement: SF Hearts the Cart discussion. There will also be an after-party at 111 Minna, where limited samples will be offered by Bacon Potato Chips, Bike Basket Pies, Creme Brulee Cart, Gobba Gobba Hey, Magic Curry Kart, Mission Street Food, Soul Cocina, Sweet Constructions, and Smitten Ice Cream.

THEATER: It's the first night of Ghosts of the River at Brava Theater, which runs through November 8. Incorporating actors, shadow puppets, and music with the epic writing of Octavio Solís, the play presents vignettes of those who have encountered the Rio Grande throughout time, from both sides of the divide. The performance will be bilingual with Spanish/English translation provided through subtitles.

FASHION: Witness a live, Project Runway-type fashion show at the ongoing Fashion Feud SF. Designers will create their "garments" on stage within an hour, the models will have a "walk-off," and the audience will vote for the winner. This month's participants are Chanel Rosales and Julia Meeks.

WALKING TOUR: It's that time of year again! It's the annual Ghost Walk at City Hall. Learn all about the "disinterred remains, assassinations, and other ghostly lore" surrounding city hall. If you can't make tonight's walk, there's also the Ghost Walk at The Palace on the 30th and the Ghosts, Sinners and Secret Places on the 31st.

THEATER: There are two more preview nights for David Mamet's over-the-top comedy, November, which takes a satirical stab at American politics. The play was a Broadway success, and critics describe it as "one of the first breezy and intelligent comedies of substance we've seen in a long time" and "a hilarious, timely, decidedly un-Mamet-like laughfest." The play officially opens on Wednesday, and there are several nights this week with $10 seats available, including tonight. What a deal!

ART: It's the first annual Passport, in which the SF Arts Commission invites the public to stroll through one of San Francisco’s neighborhoods to create their own limited edition art book by collecting “passport stamps” made by local artists. This year's featured event is located in the Mission. Tonight is the Kick-Off Party, and the main event is tomorrow from Noon to 4 p.m., with Mission Playground as home base, Valencia between 19th & 20th. (Passports for tomorrow's event are $25 and are available for purchase at various locations. Check the SF Arts Commission Gallery's site for more info.) Tonight's Kick-Off Party will feature live music by The Old Fashioned Way and tunes by DJ Sharbaugh.

MUSIC: The eccentric, musical genius of Daniel Johnston takes some getting used to, but his sincerely sweet and simple vocals and arrangements win his fans over for life. The melodic Hymns open.

COMEDY: Margot Leitman and Giulia Rozzi present Stripped Stories, a touring night of sex-themed stories. Each show features a comedian, a non-comedian, and a musical act revealing hysterically honest stories about their sex lives plus an interactive jaw-dropping game of "never-have-I-ever" and an audience interview. Tonight's line-up is Chris Garcia (SF Sketchfest, The Onion Comedy Series), Sara Faith Alterman (Author, My Fifteen Minutes, Rooftop Comedy), and music from Mark Silverman (NPR, Dr. Demento)

MUSIC: The 27th Annual Jazz Festival presents living jazz legend Omara Portuondo. Portuondo, who is dubbed the “la novia del filin” (fiancée of feeling), will perform the romantic Afro-Cuban boleros and Brazilian-inspired jazz that first made her a star six decades ago, which are featured on her latest release, Gracias.

FILM: SF DocFest is going strong! Waiting for Hockney profiles Baltimore artist Billy Pappas, who has spent the past eight and a half years creating a portrait that requires drawing for seven hours a day using a 20x magnifying glass. Now that the masterpiece is finally completed, Pappas is on a mission to find reclusive modern artist David Hockney, the one person whom Pappas believes can justify his decade of work.