SF indie’s Another Hole in the Head is running from June 5-22, 2008.

The opening night party Thursday, June 5, 9pm, at Annie’s Social Club; features “Thee Merry Widows”, “The Zoopy Show”, “The Undertaker and his pals”.

Free with your “HoleHead” Pass or $5 will also let you see some previews and sip some $3 Redhook all night.

There are movies for everyone playing at the Roxie and Brava Theater, I’m looking forward to “Alone”, a horror movie about cojoined twins, and “Meter Maid Me Massacre”.

“Meter Maid Me Massacre” by Cecil B. Feeder is a locally made movie for anyone who has left their car for two seconds to find a ticket stuck to the windshield. I saw a bit of the DVD, but I’m going to the theater anyway!

Annie’s Social Club
917 Folsom at 5th
San Francisco, CA 94103
415.820.3907

Brava Theater
2781 24th Street
San Francisco , CA 94110
415.820.3907

Roxie Cinema
3117 16th Street
San Francisco , CA 94117
415.820.3907

Another Hole in the Head Information

(Filmmaker Cecil B. Feeder also released another film about everyone’s favorite traveling late night snack stand, the Tamale Lady. If you’ve been out after dark in the Mission, you’ve probably encountered her tasty treats. “Our Lady of Tamale” celebrates the woman behind the tamale.)

While I can hear the bagpipes & marching bands from the St. Patty’s Parade in the background, I know that fans of down n’ dirty white trash rock n roll should be heading over to the Alcoholocaust showcase at Thee Parkside tonight to catch a bad batch of musical acts yer momma woulda warned ya about if she’d ever heard of ‘em.

Appearing at this sordid soiree at Thee Parkside is Mark Curry’s group based outta the Sacto area called Hell’s House Band. Curry, a tall grizzled tatooed biker/model lookin’ dude, spent a few years on Virgin being pimped alongside labelmates like Janet Jackson & Lenny Kravitz, yet was found less on radio playlists, and more likely hanging out in bars at dawn with his pals in punk bands like NOFX.

I’ve thrown in an mp3 below for you to familiarize yourself with his latest musical direction…

Appearing after Curry’s band is a headlining set from Bay Area locals Sorrow Town Choir who are out supporting their second CD “Espinas de la Vida”. Their heathen blend of raw rootsy mid tempo tunes takes it’s cues from the garage rock greats & stadium seasoned sinners alike. If you don’t mind hearing a lil’ whiskey burned Skynyrd riff & a Nick Cave influence or two blended into your indie dirges, this could be a fine show to sit in the shadows & enjoy tonight.

Also on the bill Kemosabe & an acoustic set from Scott Quay of October Allied

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The rock is thick throughout this town Friday night, and I fear there are so many shows going on as usual, that damn if I’ll make it to 1/3rd of the ones I want to drop in on…

Here’s one I will definitely make…if just to see the inside an actual Elks Lodge...

Bawdy garage band The Poontones are a spurious retro rock combo comprised of pals like bassist / analog studio maven Kevin Ink, guitarist/songwriter/bartender dude Bone Cootes, Stinky Le Pew formerly of the late great Buck Naked & The Bar Bottom Boys, and on skins is former Tales of Terror/Pearl Harbour and Naysayers drummer Mike Hunter. They are playing a free event with saw enabled folky mountain man roots rockers Old Hangtown @ SF’s very own Elks Lodge within the Kensington Park Hotel.

The San Francisco Elks Lodge #3 itself dates back to 1873 when local actors and entertainers decided to organize an Elks Lodge, and inculcate the principles of Charity, Justice, Brotherly Love and Fidelity. Now numbering over 2000 lodges coast to coast, the Elks remain humbly behind the scenes doing charitable work such as donating the first veterans’ hospital to the government. Join them at their classic 3rd floor home since 1925, The Lodge at Union Square, replete with circular bar featuring an enormous Elk etched mirror, smoking balconies overlooking Post St and the Elks’ Grand Ballroom, where dinner is served every Friday night. Be sure to stay for the 11 o’clock toast, which you can join in on with yer $2 vending machine purchased beer :

The Elks 11 O’Clock Toast

You have heard the tolling of 11 strokes.
This is to remind you that with Elks, the hour of 11 has a tender significance.
Wherever Elks may roam, whatever their lot in life may be, when this hour tolls upon the dial of night, the great heart of Elkdom swells and throbs.
It is the golden hour of recollection, the homecoming of those who wander, the mystic roll call of those who will come no more.
Living or dead, an Elk is never forgotten, never forsaken.
Morning and noon may pass him by, the light of day sink heedlessly in the West, but ere the shadows of midnight shall fall, the chimes of memory will be pealing forth the friendly message,
“To our absent members.”

After the jump there are many more live lineups in the battle for mutant musical mindshare as the weekend starts up this Friday’s frenzied recreationally rawkin’ pace…
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Yes it’s ladies night… who knew that Weds Sept 26th held so many prospects and events to discover bold, beautiful, brainy and bodacious babes abounding in the Bay Area tonight.

Amongst the choices we have to enjoy their influence on our cultural landscape include:

Author Naomi Klein, who when she’s not grilling Alan Greenspan on the radio, is speaking at the First Unitarian Universalist Center on Franklin St, exploring the subject of “disaster capitalism” seen in the rampant corporatization occurring in the wake of cataclysmic events. Hiding in plain sight in the aftermath of either forces of nature or war, greed has replaced need and Klein’s new book “The Shock Doctrine: The Rise Of Disaster Capitalism” explores how. Klein identifies a “disaster capitalism complex” building a booming niche amidst the traumatic breakdowns after events like Katrina, WTC collapse, the Sri-Lankan Tsunami and and the Iraq war. Using highly visible examples of corporations enriching their coffers at the troughs of trauma, she extends her analysis to include numerous instances over the past 50 years where a common economic ideology has slipped in to win similar spoils amidst a backdrop of human suffering. She’s even narrated a short film on the subject, click pic at right to preview the flick. She dissects the politics & policies of mass manipulators that have enacted egregious economic blackmail techniques into so many ravaged regions from Latin America and Eastern Europe to South Africa, Russia, and now of course the U.S and Iraq. Is your interest piqued? Then head down to 1187 Franklin Street (at Geary), seating starts at 7 pm.

Or maybe you need something besides a shocking mental exercise, how about a series of Beginner’s Hula Hoop classes for ladies, or perhaps some Punk Aerobics?

At Thee Parkside aerobics instructor Gina “Lunges” Lovoi has tailor-made rock n roll infused workouts for all levels every Wednesday from 6ish to 7:30. Yer DJ is Me First & The Gimme Gimmes vocalist Spike, and unlike most gyms, there’s plenty of beer, cocktails and even burgers and french fries available to ease those post work out pains & hunger pangs…

Hula heads should boogie on down to 1805 Divisidero to work those abs, and be prepared to take this class run by Isabella Zamor seriously folks, as the instructor’s fees reflect that she surely does… more info at http://www.hoopgirl.com

…and for those in the mood for something a little less strenuous on the brain or body, like say kicking it to some live music, there are plenty of female talents lurking about on stages in venues ranging from The Hotel Utah to The Fillmore tonight, with several of these ladies listed after the jump. So whether you want to see a lesbian Led Zeppelin cover band, ambient indie rock from Arizona, or hear an upcoming jazzy chanteuse on tour from Rome Italy, a local lady comedian or attend a gala affair in Alamo Square… simply read on, and check out some mp3 samples and videos.
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Tonight, The SF Bay Guardian hosts it’s annual & free “Best Of The Bay” party at the revamped DeYoung museum in Golden Gate Park. Could be a good chance for automotive enthusiasts to try out Warren Hellman’s multi-million dollar parking garage, and mingle with Bruce Brugmann, who for some reason I doubt does much bicycling (details after the jump) …

Other events going on around town tonight include:

A jumpin’ Project Ahimsa fun-raiser benefit at 111 Minna with DJ J.Rocc, that’s free if you RSVP here before 8 pm tonight.

It’s KUSF’s B-Day tonight at Bimbo’s on Columbus where those New Wave hot Dog Eater’s from New Jersey known as Yo La Tengo perform.

Jimmy from The Barfeeders’ wild post-wedding party at Thee Parkside on 17th St is featuring TRICLOPS! and possibly a mysterious group of ex-Golden Gate Park denizens known as Three Weeks Clean.

Details on Guardian Free Party @ DeYoung after the jump…
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Every year, I always feel some sort of nagging “I shoulda, coulda, woulda ” when it comes to New Years Eve. Unlike those quieter manufactured religious holidays, NYE is sorta a huge amateur night and mess, one that is celebrated all over.

There are giant pricetags put on often ordinary looking shows and then there are some magical bills that actually do seem worthwhile…

I never seem to know for sure where to head to, so I end up seeing the Supersuckers at Slims or something…( well not this year, cuz they are in Utah…)

I know that because I spent way too much time this past month compiling a list of all the huge mega concerts & even many lil pub & vfw hall shows I could find…

Not just in the Bay Area mind you, but from Amsterdam to Auckland, Tokyo to Tucson…

and I figgered I should post it here before it becomes horribly out of date within the next few dozen hours…

So if yer looking on info on where the party is at when they drop the big ball…

read on after the jump…
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So, KRON reports that the Chronicle circulation is down around 16% (can’t find a link directly to the story or it would be here - feel free to deposit one in the comments section if you have one).

So, on behalf of bloggers and on-line news readers everywhere, I’d like to urge you to buy a damn paper once in awhile. See, we all want news to be free. We’ve come to expect it. The Chronicle is by far my favorite newspaper website (best layout - beats the pants of the old and new LAT layouts, WaPo, and NYT). But they have to pay people. The web people who put stories online. The reporters who write the things to begin with. If no one buys the paper anymore, it’s not hard to imagine the Chron will start charging for online access.

So sometimes, just for kicks, buy an actual newspaper and do yourself and everyone else a favor. Try Sunday’s, it’s full of fun and useful coupons. Try a daily and see if your brain functions better when you aren’t in a brain-wave altering wifi zone.

It’s cheap. It can be used for papier-mache, packing, gift wrapping, or even, god forbid, learning.

Buy a paper today. Keep information free a day longer.

Okay, I’ve only lived in San Francisco for six months, so this is probably old news to most of you, but I felt compelled to Google today after seeing a Philadelphia streetcar trolling down Market this morning. Little did I know that on any given day, I could see streetcars from Cincinnati, New Orleans (the original streetcar named “Desire,” I kid you not), Baltimore and Boston, as well as the far-flung hamlets of Hamburg, Milan, Kobe and Melbourne.

Check out The Market Street Railway’s fleet online. Apparently, there are a lot of Philadelphia cars, including the 1054 “Cream Cheese,” thusly named for its resemblance to the Kraft-packaged condiment and sadly “severely damaged on November 16, 2003, when it was rear-ended by an LRV on San Jose Avenue during routine brake tests for the PCC.” Rest in peace, 1054. I barely (okay never) knew thee.

It’s hard to choose a favorite. I was going to go with the 351, straight outta Johnstown, PA (about 50 miles from my hometown), but I guess I’ll go with the ever-popular 228 Blackpool model, pictured above. I hear this weekend’s supposed to clear up. Maybe they’ll bust out ol’ 228 for a ride.

San Francisco, or at least my corner of it, has a peculiar kind of conceit and navel gazing when it comes to audio control. Folks are OCD re: what they want to hear, when they want to hear it, and at what volume, fidelity, and through a particular platform/device. Drive up Fillmore or downtown and you encounter it when folks blast bass out of stereos that are worth more than the value of the hoopty itself. Yuppies debate the superiority of Jelly Jamz over Iskins for their Ipods. And the average commuter knows exactly when to tune in to NPR for All Things Considered and Fresh Air to start out their day.
To a degree it’s a sort of fascism. I haven’t listened to the radio for music in several years now, choosing to opt-out of ClearChannel broadcasts and supplement with either home burned mixes or CD’s purchased from local indie bands.
My galpal here at work borrowed my car the other night and flipped on 105.3.
Consider me shocked. The last time I tuned in they were a HipHop and Rave culture station a few years back. Now it’s all “alternative rock” with a Sunday night show that goes over Local Music Spotlight at 9:00 PM.
Am I the last idiot on the planet to know about this? Hmm Perhaps so. In which case the “Committee” of troll dipshits will likely flame again on this post.
Regardless, not one, but TWO of the bands that my exboyfriend is in were discussed at length while on the show.
It made me consider this running joke in Austin, TX
Q: “What do you call a musician without a girlfriend?”
A: “Homeless”
To wit, in SF:
Q: “What do you call a musician without a gig at Bottom of the Hill?”
A: “A web developer.”
My favorite local music venues: Bottom of the Hill, Cafe Du Nord, and over in East Bay - Eli’s Mile High Club. Also Thee Parkside, Slims, and the back in business Hotel Utah
And your favorite haunts?
Maybe you could even Dodgeball me.