Bay Area Reporter June 17, 2010 Edition by Bay Area Reporter

Highlights in first week’s features, documentaries & shorts.

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Shirley Q. Liquor drag show in Guerneville sells tickets and brings complaints.

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Frameline 34 opens

– ut e s. in al ko nl on ec r o ers Ch rte p po nd Re , a a s re fied y A ssi Ba cla he ts, s t ar It’ s, w ne

A Pride Month kerfuffle

see Arts

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BAYAREAREPORTER

Vol. 40

. No. 24 . 17 June 2010

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Serving the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender communities since 1971

Academy of Friends lags in charity payments

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Some of this year’s Academy of Friends beneficiaries attended a party last month during which portions of their pledges were distributed. From left: Dana Van Gorder of Project Inform, Bill Hirsch of AIDS Legal Referral Panel, AOF Executive Director Mike Horak, AOF board member Jon Finck, and Rick Dean of Face to Face.

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DADT repeal moves to full Senate the revised regulations went into effect. “The revised regulations have not stopped investigations and will not stop discharges,” cautioned Sarvis.

by Chuck Colbert s early as the end of this week, the full Senate could take up the Defense Authorization Act of 2011, this year’s version of a Pentagon spending bill that has attached to it an amendment to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” In advance of the Senate’s action, repeal advocates are gearing up, asking the LGBT community to keep up pressure on lawmakers to lift the nearly 17-year-old federal law that bans openly gay service. For repeal proponents, vigilance is the watchword for the next few weeks or months. A Senate recess is scheduled from July 4-12 and then again from August 9-September 10. And yet conventional wisdom holds that Democratic leadership would like to see Senate legislative action sooner rather than later, well before Congress recesses for the midterm elections in early October. Meanwhile, in asking senators for their vote, one message from lift-the-ban advocates is clear. “Follow the lead of Senator [Carl] Levin,” said Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. Levin, a Michigan Democrat and an ardent advocate for DADT repeal, serves as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. The message, Sarvis added, is the same for all members of the DADT repeal coalition, from SLDN to the Human Rights Campaign to the new grassroots, direct-action organization Get Equal. Sarvis made his comments in a conference call with LGBT media outlets earlier this month. SLDN also sounded a warning in light of recent action in the House and on the Senate panel that moves repeal forward. “‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ has not gone away,” said Trevor Thomas, SLDN’s communications director. “Every day the law is on the books,” gay and lesbian service members are “at risk” of being discharged, he added. Indeed while Congress deliberates and the Pentagon Working Group continues its review – including a plan to survey 30,000 troops and their families – gay and lesbian soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marine corpsmen remain in limbo. Just last week, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs

•••FIRST

Critical time

Bob Roehr

Courtesy San Mateo County Sheriff’s office

Steven Underhill

by Seth Hemmelgarn gay doctor was arrested Monday, June 14 at San Francisco International Airport for possession of the drug ketamine, according to the San Mateo County Sheriff ’s office. Dr. Keith Loring, 47, a trauma physician at San Francisco General Hospital, had recently arrived from Burbank and admitted to being in possession of the drug, according to the sheriff ’s office. A bag containing drug paraphernalia was found on Dr. Keith Loring his seat onboard the flight, the sheriff’s office said in a news release. San Francisco Police Department airport bureau officers and San Mateo County Sheriff’s office detectives at the airport conducted the arrest, the sheriff ’s office said. A San Francisco police spokesman said Loring was arrested by the San Mateo Sheriff’s office. Loring, who according to the sheriff ’s department lives in San Francisco, was booked into San Mateo County jail on possession of a controlled substance. A jail staffer said Loring posted bail Monday, but she couldn’t say what the amount was. According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, ketamine is a tranquilizer commonly used for horses. Lieutenant Ray Lunny III, investigations bureau commander for the San Mateo County Sheriff’s office, said he didn’t have information on the case other than what was in the news release. Loring could not be reached for comment Tuesday, June 15. Los Angeles held its 40th anniversary Pride festival last weekend. Many people visiting the city of Los Angeles use Bob Hope Airport in Burbank. According to Loring’s Facebook page, besides working at SFGH, he’s regional medical director at CEP (California Emergency Physicians) America. Charles Festo, CEP’s general counsel, referred to Loring’s arrest as an “unfortunate and regrettable situation.” Loring’s duties “have been assumed by a different individual until the investigation’s completed,” said Festo. CEP staffs emergency departments for area hospitals. Festo, who said he didn’t know whether Loring was LGBT, also said, “First and foremost is our concern for the protection and well-being of the patients and institutions that we serve.” Eileen Shields, a spokeswoman for the San Francisco Department of Public Health, which includes SFGH, said in an email, “Inasmuch as the incident with Dr. Loring is under police investigation, we are making no comments other than to confirm that he was working as a part-time courtesy physician in the Emergency De-

San Francisco organization that has contributed more than $8.5 million to over 70 Bay Area HIV/AIDS service organizations over the years cannot make full payments to this year’s beneficiaries. Academy of Friends, which is popular for its annual Academy Awards gala, has only distributed $31,380 of the $220,000 it had pledged to this year’s 11 partner organizations. None of the 2010 beneficiaries has yet received the full amount that AOF had pledged to them. Leaders from most organizations who have worked with AOF and agreed to interviews for this story indicated split payments are nothing new and they previously received the full amounts of what they had been pledged.

According to Mike Horak, AOF’s executive director, beneficiaries’ contracts state payments from ticket sales would be distributed in up to three installments. However, the 2010 beneficiaries have been invited back for a second year, and groups who last participated in 2008-09 won’t get to take part again in 2011. In an exchange of e-mails with the Bay Area Reporter, Horak, who said most 2010 beneficiaries have agreed to come back in 2011, discussed what’s happening. “The simple truth is that AOF is realigning its processes this year and therefore will not have an open application session at this stage,” as the group has typically had around June or July, wrote Horak. AOF “will announce our progress as the board meets and strategizes its plans” for the 2011 fiscal year “and

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by Seth Hemmelgarn

SLDN executive Director Aubrey Sarvis

Admiral Mike Mullen, speaking at the University of Southern California, referred to the troop survey, saying it was an important piece of the review process, to ensure that all voices are heard and to make certain implementation of repeal does not “electrify” combatants currently serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. According to a video from the USC appearance posted on the LGBT POV blog run by news editor Karen Ocamb, Mullen reaffirmed his “personal view” that DADT be repealed as a matter of service members not having “to lie about who they are” in an institution that values honesty and emphasizes “integrity.” Meanwhile, gay service-related discharges are continuing even under the regulations that require a flag officer – one star admiral or general – to initiate an investigation and sign off on discharges based on “homosexual conduct.” Defense Secretary Robert Gates implemented revisions earlier this year as a way to end discharges based outings by third parties or jilted ex-partners. One SLDN attorney is currently representing a service member facing a possible discharge initiated after

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Sarvis’s caution comes at a critical juncture of DADT repeal efforts. Last month the House of Representatives voted 234-194 in favor of an amendment that included repeal language, a measure sponsored by Representative Patrick Murphy, (D-Pennsylvania). The vote came as congressional leadership working on DADT repeal reached an agreement with the White House, requiring that before any repeal, President Barack Obama, Gates, and Mullen must sign off – or certify – that implementation of openly gay service can be accomplished without undermining the military readiness, effectiveness, unit cohesion, and recruitment and retention. In a key concession, repeal proponents agreed to leave out non-discrimination guarantees, a move that, after repeal takes full effect, may well require the president to issue an executive order to ensure equal employment opportunity on the basis of sexual orientation. Finally, after the sign off on certification, a 60day review period must pass before service members can serve openly. The non-discrimination concession bothers the Bay Area’s retired out Navy commander Zoe Dunning, who serves as co-chair of the SLDN board of directors. “I am keeping an eye out for it,” Dunning said in a recent phone interview, adding, “The job is not done until every gay, lesbian, and bisexual service member can serve without fear of losing their job.” With the Senate now poised to consider the defense bill, along with its repeal amendment, proponents remain on guard as the ranking minority leader of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Arizona Senator John McCain, has already threatened a filibuster. At the same time, GOP repeal opponents may seek to change the certification process by amendment to include approval from all service chiefs. An expanded amendment would present a significant hurdle insofar as some of the branch chiefs have made

SECTIONS•••

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SF doc arrested for drug possession

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BAY AREA REPORTER . eBAR.com . 17 June 2010

COMMUNITY

NEWS

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Prop 8 decision could allow weddings again by Matthew S. Bajko ith closing arguments now finished in the federal lawsuit seeking to overturn California’s ban against same-sex marriages, lawyers for the plaintiffs in the case are hoping their clients, and other LGBT couples, will soon be able to marry again in the Golden State. U.S. District Court Chief Judge Vaughn Walker is expected to issue a ruling in the case within weeks. Most legal observers believe he will find Proposition 8, the constitutional amendment ending the state’s gay nuptials that voters adopted in 2008, as being unconstitutional. It is also conceivable that Walker’s decision would allow same-sex couples to begin exchanging vows “immediately,” plaintiffs attorney Theodore Olson told reporters during a conference call last week. “If he withholds execution of that decision, then we hope the Ninth Circuit hears the case quickly. Although that is probably a year timeline,” said Olson, who delivered the closing arguments for the pro-gay side Wednesday, June 16. “Then it is on to the Supreme Court in six to eight months before we can get that on the court’s docket. Of course, I am being very optimistic.” The lawsuit, known as Perry v. Schwarzenegger, was filed in late May 2009 shortly after the California Supreme Court ruled that voters had the right to enact Prop 8 and dismissed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the ballot measure.

Jane Philomen Cleland

Attorneys Theodore Olson and David Boies meet with plaintiff couple Sandy Stier and Kris Perry on Tuesday ahead of closing arguments.

experts as well as the plaintiffs testified as to why allowing same-sex couples to marry does no harm to heterosexual marriages and, in fact, harms LGBT families. The backers of Prop 8’s legal team mounted a weak defense, pulling most of their experts from the witness list. The two who did testify ended up agreeing with many of the points made by the plaintiffs’ lawyers that there is no reason for the state to deny LGBT people the right to marry. “This is not a case where the defendants were not well represented ... The fact is there isn’t any support for the central propositions they tried to identify,” said Boies. The Bay Area Reporter will have coverage of the closing arguments online Thursday morning.▼

Academy

Funds for the beneficiaries come from individual gifts, corporate grants, gala ticket sales and other sources. Through sales of raffle tickets, gala tickets, or other underwriting, beneficiaries are required to raise 25 percent of their pledged grant. Beneficiaries also provide volunteers who set up for the gala, distribute posters, and perform other tasks. Horak indicated that a meeting with this year’s beneficiaries is ahead. “As the board formulates its strategies it will lay out plans to the beneficiary organizations,” he said. “An exact date has not been identified at this writing, but is most likely to take place in September.” Forms filed with the IRS for June 2007 through May 2008 list AOF’s costs for programs and services at $1,088,414. Of that, $408,500 went to beneficiaries, according to the forms, which the B.A.R. obtained from www.guidestar.org. Horak said that the remaining funds were used for gala-related expenses – including production, advertising, and talent – in addition to expenses to produce monthly fundraising events, among other costs.

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Olson and attorney David Boies, one-time adversaries in the Bush v. Gore U.S. Supreme Court case of 2000, teamed up to represent two couples – Berkeley residents Kris Perry and Sandy Stier, and Burbank residents Paul Katami and Jeff Zarrillo – who were denied the right to marry by the passage of Prop 8 and the California Supreme Court’s subsequent ruling upholding the constitutional amendment. The newly formed group American Foundation for Equal Rights bankrolled the lawsuit, which claimed that the state ban violates the United States Constitution’s due process and equal protection clauses and creates a category of “secondclass citizens” for gays and lesbians. Throughout three weeks of court testimony this past winter numerous

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beyond,” he wrote. “The fact that we are exploring ways to make our model stronger so that we can make future grants should encourage potential grant seekers to follow our progress and apply in the next open request for proposals,” he added. In another e-mail, Horak wrote, “Our goal is to steer at least 51 cents of every dollar to charitable organizations, but like many agencies we have struggled to reach that number in recent years.” He added, “While gala production costs have remained flat and office operations have been reduced, we quite simply have not attained the fundraising we had hoped to achieve from individuals, corporations, raffles and silent auction.” Like most nonprofits, he wrote, AOF, which has a 30-year history, has experienced a decline in corporate contributions. Corporate sponsors contributed approximately 14 percent of AOF’s overall revenues for the fiscal year. However, Horak wrote, “All agencies who have partnered with Academy of Friends will receive their pledge according to the terms of their contract” by December 31, 2010. Academy of Friends’ budget for the fiscal year 2010 gala season was $1.05 million. Unaudited preliminary results will show a shortfall of roughly $200,000 in fundraising, he wrote. Horak also said that since AOF’s 2010 fiscal year ended May 31, audited statements wouldn’t be available until at least October. Asked about changes planned for the organization, Horak said, “Changes to the operations of the agency will be addressed by the board of directors at the upcoming retreat and throughout the course of the fiscal year. They will be prioritized accordingly.” AOF annually holds a strategic planning retreat in late July.

Grantees weigh in Dana Van Gorder, executive director of 2010 beneficiary Project Inform, said his agency last partnered with AOF two years ago. It received two payments, but was paid fully. This year, Project Inform’s contract is for $20,000. The group was to have received half that amount at the recent check distribution in late May, but instead it received $3,000, he said. Van Gorder said AOF is “very genuine, and I take them completely at their word” that they will honor the contract. Project Inform has a budget of $1.45 million, and Van Gorder said $20,000 is “a significant amount for any nonprofit right now. We’ll be happy to see it eventually, and we’re in a position to float it until we see it. We have cash reserves we use to handle these kinds of things. We always have

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17 June 2010 . eBAR.com . BAY AREA REPORTER

BAY AREA REPORTER . eBAR.com . 17 June 2010

OPEN

BAYAREAREPORTER Volume 40, Number 24 17 June 2010 eBAR.com PUBLISHER Thomas E. Horn Bob Ross (Founder, 1971 – 2003) N E W S E D I TO R Cynthia Laird A R T S E D I TO R Roberto Friedman ASSISTANT EDITORS Matthew S. Bajko Seth Hemmelgarn Jim Provenzano CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Dan Aiello • Tavo Amador • Erin Blackwell Roger Brigham • Victoria A. Brownworth Philip Campbell • Chuck Colbert • Richard Dodds Raymond Flournoy • Brian Gougherty David Guarino • Liz Highleyman • Brandon Judell Robert Julian • John F. Karr • Lisa Keen Matthew Kennedy • David Lamble • Michael McDonagh Paul Parish • Lois Pearlman • Tim Pfaff • Jim Piechota Bob Roehr • Donna Sachet • Adam Sandel Jason Serinus • Gregg Shapiro • Gwendolyn Smith Robert Sokol • Zak Szymanski • Ed Walsh Dick Walters • Jane Warner • Sura Wood

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Change needed at Academy of Friends A helped to bind the community while raising descademy of Friends, the San Francisco perately needed dollars. The federal government nonprofit that raises money for Bay Area wasn’t providing resources and the local nonHIV/AIDS organizations, has done much profits that had formed needed money. good in its 30-year history. Partnering with corToday, AOF raises money from corporate porate sponsors and the nonprofit beneficiaries it sponsors, ticket sales to the Oscar gala and other selects each year, AOF’s signature event – the events, and even from the benefitting agencies Academy Awards viewing party – and themselves. To be accepted as a beneficiary other fundraisers throughout the year requires a group to commit not only bring in much-needed revenue as specified volunteer hours, but money as well as raise AIDS awareness. But well; about one-quarter of a benefitting something is wrong with the disagency’s pledged amount comes from the bursements made by the organization. agency itself. It is now slow in making the payments it pledged to the benefitting groups and, while This year that apparently is not unusual as several people told us, it appears that AOF is in a This year, those payments are period of financial stress. lower and late. AOF has stated in its E DITORIAL agreements that it can make the At a party last month to present the first round of checks, some nonpayments as late as December. profits received only a fraction of the pledged While some organizations might be able to float amount. One group that was to receive $10,000 funds until their AOF checks arrive, that’s not the was issued a check for $1,400. Most of the benecase for every organization. Horak did tell us that ficiaries we spoke with this week expressed conthe groups were contacted, but that is disputed fidence in AOF, but we must seriously question by representatives of some nonprofits. At any whether the organization’s model is still relevant rate, it’s high time that Horak and the AOF board and effective if drastic improvements are not have a face-to-face meeting with representatives made. Executive Director Mike Horak told us from this year’s beneficiaries to fully explain that his goal is to send 51 cents of every dollar AOF’s financial situation. That meeting should raised by AOF to the charitable organizations. be sooner rather than later. Only 51 cents? That is an abysmal figure and gets Perhaps as a consequence of the drop in reva failing grade by charitable watchdog groups. enue AOF has invited the 2010 beneficiaries back Charity Watch pegs groups that return 60 perfor 2011. While that may be a nice gesture, those cent of their revenue as worthy of a “C” grade – 51 percent would be an “F.” This tells us that AOF is either woefully inefficient at best or grossly mismanaging its money at worst. Either way, it is definitely not a good return on the investment of time and money that the beneficiaries must provide to AOF in order to receive the grants. Horak said that AOF has “struggled” to reach the 51 cents goal, leading anyone to conclude that currently AOF is returning less than half of the money raised. That is unacceptable and pathetic. And the benefitting organizations that are supportive of AOF need to take a hard look at the cost-benefit analysis of their participation. We believe major change is needed, perhaps even skipping or scaling down next year’s events while AOF retools and gets its financial house in order.

groups will have to ask some tough questions before accepting AOF’s offer. Will they still be required to put up 25 percent of their pledged amount in advance? Is this just a maneuver to get much-needed cash to AOF so that they can turn around and pay off the 2010 groups with money that is supposed to be for 2011? These questions must be answered by Horak and the AOF board. If this plan proceeds, it will prevent other groups from applying to be a grant recipient next year. AOF has a policy that an agency cannot be a beneficiary two years in a row, so groups that were beneficiaries in 2009 could have applied for 2011; however, if all the 2010 groups come back for 2011, then new beneficiaries won’t be allowed. That might be a good thing, given the problems that have surfaced for this year’s nonprofits. We’re disappointed that Horak stalled in talking to us; we first heard about this issue in May and yet Horak was only able to answer questions this week, and only via e-mail. If there’s a problem, it’s always better to be out in front of the story. Unfortunately, AOF has not done that. The situation at AOF is critical and it affects not just the benefitting organizations, but their employees and, most of all, the clients. Many HIV/AIDS nonprofits are cash-strapped in this economy. They shouldn’t have to wait months for their pledged checks from AOF. Major change is needed at AOF because clearly the present structure is not working.▼

Background AOF got started in 1980 as a private Oscar viewing party. When the AIDS epidemic hit, the event was turned into an AIDS fundraiser, which

Pride and Shirley Q. Liquor by Joel A. Brown and Erica Britton

Best Bay Area Community Newspaper 2006

FORUM

s it is every year, LGBTQ Pride Month is an opportunity for the LGBTQ community to celebrate its rich cultural identity and diversity. It is an occasion for all of us to unite and recognize our common bond, especially as we march collectively toward full equality in the American sociopolitical landscape. And so in recognizing Pride, we also must necessarily disassociate ourselves from anything – or anyone – who would denigrate those very ideas or peddle dangerous stereotypes as part of a sophomoric attempt to entertain. Strangely, the celebration of LGBTQ Pride in the Bay Area this year coincides with the arrival of F. Charles “Chuck” Knipp. For those unaware of him, Knipp is an American-born drag queen who has performed G UEST in blackface across the country for nearly a decade. As part of his act, Knipp invokes a variety of characters, including a black female persona known as “Shirley Q. Liquor.” Shirley Q. Liquor has been showcased in a number of video clips including “Ebonic Airways,” “12 Days of Kwanzaa,” and the less colorful, “Church Slave.” She is typically featured with a bathrobe and hair rollers, and speaks with a distinctly uneducated flair. On June 18, Knipp is scheduled to perform at the Russian River Resort in Guerneville, at around the same time as Juneteenth, when African Americans celebrate the end of legal slavery in this country. Knipp argues that his depictions celebrate black women and black culture, but there is nothing celebratory about portrayals that resuscitate old and tired stereotypes about women of color. At its best, comedy is intelligent, thought provoking, and reasoned. In contrast, Knipp has shown himself to be an uncouth opportunist and a poor student

of history. He has every right to exercise free speech, but his suggestions that he is not racist – since his racism is used to make people laugh – are disingenuous to say the least. Unfortunately, this is not Knipp’s first time visiting the Bay Area. In 2006, Knipp appeared at a South Bay venue and provided what some would describe as an “edgy,” “hysterical,” and “twisted” performance. As one supporter said, Knipp’s act “slaps you across the face and makes you look at it.” But even in the Bay Area, where artistic license is given considerable latitude, the words “twisted” and “edgy” should not be lauded as giving reverence to all things unconventional. Knipp’s act shows profound and unmistakable distaste for the lives of working-class black women, and clearly teeters on the edge of what most would describe as “enlightened” art. We agree: it is “twistO PINION ed” indeed. Given that black women still have to contend with the stereotypes of “Hoochie Mama” and “Welfare Queen” (long after Don Imus and Ronald Reagan politicized them), despite the fact that a black woman is this country’s first lady, the proverbial slap in the face that Knipp’s antics provide should serve as community wake-up call, not as invitation to study a Southern man’s narcissistic and risque attempts at counterculture. In 2007, a number of venues canceled his performances, including those in New Orleans, Boston, Los Angeles, and Hartford, Connecticut. Not surprisingly, Knipp seems unfazed by the criticism. Then again, Knipp can remove his “blackness” anytime he chooses; black women don’t have that luxury. Nonetheless, this issue is really not about Knipp, nor is it about the Russian River Resort, which will be hosting him. Knipp clearly enjoys his celebrity, although it comes at the expense of black women. And unfortunately, the Russ-

ian River Resort will seek to capitalize on this controversy because it finds value in racist drivel that denigrates an entire community. In light of these developments, the question for the rest of us within the LGBTQ community is: what type of community do we want to create? Do we want a community that remains splintered and factious, or do we want to establish a community that respects all of its members? Do we want a community that is party to intolerance, or do we want a community that supports inclusion at its high level? We think the choice is clear: we must support unity. Given the polarization that took place after Proposition 8 was passed, and given the historical struggles to unite women and men, black and white, transgender and nontransgender within the LGBTQ community, we can no longer afford to enable this type of bigotry. As the social, cultural, and political arm for the African American LGBTQ community in the Bay Area, the Bayard Rustin LGBTQ Coalition believes that the time has come for us to turn away from any ideas of “separation” and to embrace a global perspective. As a result, we are calling on every progressive organization in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond to renounce Chuck Knipp and the Russian River Resort for their exploitation of black women, and to avoid the resort for the remainder of the summer season. Let us remember that before we can have “Pride,” we must also have the consciousness to recognize the humanity and beauty of every person within our community. By rejecting Knipp and embracing more progressive sensibilities, we can lay the foundation for the type of community which we all envision: one where Pride is coupled with “Respect.”▼ Joel A. Brown and Erica Britton, Ph.D., are co-chairs of the Bayard Rustin LGBTQ Coalition.

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17 June 2010 . eBAR.com . BAY AREA REPORTER

LETTERS

LGBTs should demand more of candidates

happy dog. In fact, there were many interactions with the park/dog people and the pink triangle painting party volThe recent article in the Bay Area Reporter carried a front unteers. I also worked side by side with those two young page with the headline “Harris wins Dem AG primary.” boys for many hours. I never saw those two boys spray any[June 10]. With a laudatory article the B.A.R. followed thing but tarps with paint so if Mr. Higgins saw some playthrough previous editorial endorsements of Harris emphaful nature by those two hardworking boys it must have been sizing her friendship with the LGBT community. Is this a very isolated incident. enough to receive your paper and our community’s enI am a longtime and proud pink triangle volunteer who dorsement? is straight and married but will fight hatred of any kind Harris’s record on crime is abysmal. Recent problems against my fellow man. The pink triangle is our annuwith the crime lab and violation of court orders al reminder to ensure we do not forget those regarding disclosure of police records show at that have suffered the results of violent hatred least that she is a poor administrator, if not that and in particular the Holocaust. My father she has been criminally negligent. Maurice, who is also a pink triangle volunteer, But, those of you at B.A.R., who go to the is a WWII combat veteran, 89th Infantry Didinner parties around town, know her oh so vision, 353rd Regimental Combat Team, 3rd well. She’s a friend of Willie Brown just like dear Battalion, I Company who helped liberate ol’ Gavin Newsom. Which brings us to anOhrdruf-Nord Concentration Camp on April other friend of gays the paper blindly supM AILSTROM 5, 1945 and he saw those triangles sewn into ported for re-election despite his poor record: the uniforms of the walking dead. I think a litNewsom. Your support of the friends of gays tle pink paint remembering what my father did and his dino matter the candidates’ records in getting their job done rect knowledge of the Holocaust and hatred is not a price continues. But, I digress. too high to pay (so many paid a much higher price) and it Members of the LGBT community, as taxpayers, busiis the least we can do. ness owners, property owners, and residents of this city should demand more of candidates than they are the best Philip Risken friends of the LGBT community. Good roads, public transWalnut Creek, California port that runs on time, schools offering great education, lower taxes, job creation, and more public safety – these are Grassroots action at work some of the measures against which we should gauge canThese past 13 years, it has been my privilege to observe didates and decide endorsements. We should demand, forethe incredible dedication of Patrick Carney and the hunmost, that they exercise leadership and perform the duties dreds of volunteers that annually install the pink triangle of their office in an exemplary manner. To do otherwise atop Twin Peaks. Their labors honor the innocent victims of lacks integrity and smacks of the kind of partisanship that Nazi barbarism and inspire me to fight all forms of oppreshas deadlocked our country and state for the last two years. sion. Two weeks ago, my husband and I dropped in on the Are we willing to sacrifice the interests of the larger compainting party at Corona Heights Park to provide some munity just because someone is a friend of ours? If we conwell-earned refreshments for Patrick and his crew as they tinue doing the same thing election after election we can toiled to replace the panels burned in last year’s hateful atonly expect the same results – increasingly worse public sertack. The scene was a heartwarming one, exemplifying all vices, even higher taxes, more partisanship and even more that is good about our city. I witnessed the joyous coming deadlock. together of our community in the epitome of grassroots action toward a common goal. As I watched, I was reminded Drew Freyman that our open spaces are not the private property of a select San Francisco few, but have a cherished history of being gathering places for community projects, events, protests, celebrations, and No concern from parkgoers yes, even the occasional painting party. They are no one’s front yard. Harvey Milk understood that and given the I was one of the many pink triangle painting volunteers choice on one day every five years between canine crap or at the park a couple of Saturdays back and I read the letter pink grass ... well, we all know how he felt about doggy doo. from Mr. Higgins with dismay. I watched and worked with the adults and kids for eight hours that day. Never once did Teddy Witherington I witness any concern by parkgoers who we joined that day. San Francisco I saw many people with dogs playing in the park adjacent to our work area and never did I see an unhappy face or un-

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BAY AREA REPORTER . eBAR.com . 17 June 2010

BUSINES S

NEWS

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Putting their stamp on Pride by Raymond Flournoy aving a gay old time – wish you were here!” San Francisco visitors who want to send a Pride Month greeting back home have two new choices to add local flavor, thanks to P.O. Plus (584 Castro Street). The Castro Street shipping and mailbox center has commissioned two original pieces of art to celebrate the back-to-back events of Harvey Milk Day and San Francisco Pride. A smiling image of Milk is available on postcards and greeting cards, and a collage celebrating San Francisco Pride graces postage stamps. Owner Paul Moffett was looking for ways to join the Milk Day celebration and came up with the idea of creating a Harvey Milk stamp using the www.stamps.com service. However, postal regulations against depicting famous historical figures on stamps squashed the original plan, and Moffett decided to produce the series of cards instead. The portrait of Milk was created by Canadian artist Matt Brossard. Brossard is an illustrator and comic artist, and his illustrations have appeared in Bear magazine. A portion of the proceeds from the Milk cards was earmarked to benefit the Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy, and Moffett has already turned over his first donation of $200 to the school’s foundation. After the Milk stamp fell through, B USINESS Moffett decided to create a stamp to celebrate LGBT Pride. He turned to Southern California artist Thom Collins, a.k.a. tdcollins, who had pre-

Steven Kasapi

P.O. Plus staff, back row, from left, Jim Leach, Jeff Henderson, and Jason Whipple join owner Paul Moffett and store mascot KD in front of the display of Harvey Milk cards.

viously created art for Long Beach’s Pride celebration. The new image includes San Francisco icons such as the Castro Theatre (429 Castro Street) marquee, the Painted Ladies, and a cable car. The first run of 50 sheets of stamps has already sold out, and Moffett has ordered a second run. The stamps cost $18.99 for a sheet of 20 firstB RIEFS class stamps.

Check out the Bay Area Reporter online at:

www.ebar.com

Castro sidewalks get civil? At the June 3 Merchants of Upper Market and Castro general meeting,

the members voted overwhelmingly to support the sit/lie proposition that Mayor Gavin Newsom has placed on the November ballot. Representatives from the newly-formed Civil Sidewalk Coalition came to the merchants group to present their arguments in favor of the law, which would make sitting on the sidewalk a citable offence between the hours of 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. During the discussion period, some MUMC members questioned whether the legislation would target homeless LGBT youth in the neigh-

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17 June 2010 . eBAR.com . BAY AREA REPORTER

POLITIC S

North Bay candidate remains in limbo by Matthew S. Bajko t will be another week before openly gay Vallejo City Councilman Michael Wilson will know whether he will pull off an upset victory in his bid for a North Bay state Assembly seat. Wilson was competing in the three-man Democratic primary race for the open 7th Assembly District seat, which covers Sonoma, Napa, and Solano counties. With all precincts reporting after voters went to the polls June 8, it appeared Wilson had lost his bid by a mere 520 votes to former Santa Rosa Planning Commissioner Michael Allen, who was favored to win the race. Yet by Wednesday afternoon elections officials in the three wine country counties said an avalanche of last-minute absentee ballots that arrived before the polls closed could flip the election to Wilson. The two top vote-getters have been in a state of limbo ever since, with a final tally now expected to be announced sometime on June 24. “I feel like I am on a roller coaster. I said that to my husband, Peter, and he said, ‘Why are we on the upside down portion?’” Wilson told the Bay Area Reporter last week. It is a bit of déjà vu for Wilson and his supporters in Vallejo, who three years ago experienced a topsyturvy mayoral race in which the gay candidate, former city councilman Gary Cloutier, had a seven-point advantage over opponent Osby Davis Election Night. Cloutier was at first declared the winner and sworn in as mayor only to be ousted from office a week later when a recount switched the race to Davis. Now Wilson, who was elected to

reported counting 17,000 additional ballots after the polls closed with another 1,400 provisional ballots yet to be counted. Allen issued a statement saying he was confident his lead would hold and he would be declared the Democratic nominee. “The majority of remaining ballots come from areas that heavily supported my campaign and I feel very good that once every vote is counted, I will be the Democratic nominee for state Assembly,” stated Allen according to the press reports. Wilson sounded equally positive that he still had a chance of winning the election. Due to the heavy Democratic makeup of the district, who ever is declared the Democrat’s Assembly candidate Michael Wilson candidate that person is all but assured of winning the seat in the fall. the council that year, finds himself in “I believe there can be a swing the polar opposite position that still at this point,” Wilson said TuesCloutier faced. He has been fielding day. “But there is nothing I can do to questions if gay Vallejo candidates speed it up, there is no campaigning are somehow cursed. I can do.” “We like close elections Wilson plans to be at the Napa apparently. Hopefully, elections office next week to obthe curse will be liftserve the counting of the addied,” he joked last week. tional ballots. He already spent “It is so weird how in time watching Solano elections Vallejo we just had been workers tally additional balthrough a similar time durlots. ing my last election. ... Real“At all of these registrar ly, it is not over offices there are until the elections just mounds of officials certify the P OLITICAL N OTEBOOK ballots and nuelection.” merous people According to working on local press reports this week, there them and checking signatures. It is are still 13,600 ballots to be counted interesting just to see the process and in Napa County. The county electo gain an understanding of how tions staff will begin tallying those much work goes into it,” said Wilballots Monday, June 21. Another son. 20,000 ballots remained to be tallied Should Wilson come out on top, after Election Night in Sonoma he would join the two gay male and County, and Solano County officials one lesbian non-incumbent Democ-

rats expected to enter the Legislature next year. And he would bring to eight the number of out candidates winning Assembly primary races this year. For now Wilson has been spending time with his husband and his parents who are in town visiting. “We keep waiting and answering people’s question if we won or lost. Everyone wants to know,” said Wilson. “At the end of the day, if I win or lose, I feel good that we created a strong race and had such a strong message.”▼ Web Extra: For more queer political news, be sure to check www.ebar.com Monday mornings around 10 a.m. for Political Notes, the notebook’s online companion. This week’s column reports on the LGBT winners in last week’s ballot fight for local Democratic Party posts.

▼

BAY AREA REPORTER . eBAR.com . 17 June 2010

COMMUNITY

NEWS

Shirley Q. to bring controversy to Guerneville he Russian River Resort in Guerneville is expecting a standing-room-only crowd for its annual F. Charles Knipp performance Friday, June 18, but some people believe the show should be canceled. Calling Knipp’s performance as the character Shirley Q. Liquor racist, an ad hoc group of people have posted a petition on the Internet to stop him. They have also sent letters to local newspapers and the Russian River Resort management and posted comments on the resort’s Facebook site. Javarre Wilson, an Oakland resi-

dent who works as the program coordinator for the Black Coalition on AIDS in San Francisco, said Knipp’s act is demeaning to black women and destructive and “drives a wedge between the LGBTQ and black communities.” “I want the Shirley Q. Liquor performance to be canceled and ultimately banned. I believe that the reenactment of blackface minstrel shows depicting black women and black culture will continue to negatively impact human dignity, cause frustration and foster long-term psychological and social resentment toward the LGBTQ community,” he said. Shirley Q. Liquor, Knipp’s most

popular character, is a black single mother with 19 children and a penchant for malapropisms. Knipp, a gay comedian from Texas, performs the role in blackface and a fluffy pink wig. But Knipp says his act, which he performs in clubs and private parties around the country, does not exploit stereotypes, but uses comedy to expose them. In addition to Shirley Q., he plays Betty Butterfield, a weepy church-hopping white woman for whom he dons white make-up, smeary red lipstick, oversized sunglasses, and an auburn wig. In an interview with the Bay Area Reporter last week, Knipp described himself as “a poor man’s Jonathan Winters mixed in with a little Pearl Bailey and Millie Jackson.” He rejects the description of his act as racist, saying that he is using humor to demolish the old stereotypes. “I remember 20 years ago reading an angry and accusing op-ed about a so-called welfare queen with four children with odd names, and I thought, ‘How presumptuous! Even if this lady has a full time job her life can’t be easy.’ My next thought was, ‘Okay. Let’s take this to an insane extreme. Make it a dozen children, no, 19, and give them the most incredibly bizarre names I could come up with.’

Charles Knipp performing as Shirley Q. Liquor.

Most people easily got the joke that this was a dig at race-baiters by exploding the stereotype, but, unfortunately, a few still take it at face value.” According to a statement put out by Knipp, the Shirley Q. character began as a message on his answering machine in 1992. “Before I knew it my phone was ringing all day and night – strangers calling to hear the message. I began

changing it every day, telling little stories, and, before I knew it, Shirley Q. had a cult following.” Three years later he made 100 cassette copies of the messages and brought them to a local store. They sold out in two hours, and he took Shirley Q. on the road. Shirley Q. CD’s are top sellers, according to Knipp, and he performs her to sold-out audiences around the country. But Wilson says Shirley Q. is no joke. “We are constantly bombarded with images from the media depicting single parent households as dysfunctional,” Wilson said. “This is just one of the many distorted views on the black experience. Knipp’s portrayal of black women as promiscuous, inarticulate, shoplifters, and malt liquor drinkers is utterly offensive. My mother and countless other single parent black women are hardworking, conscious and dedicated mothers who made sure their children got an education.” He has never seen Knipp’s act in person, Wilson said, but he has viewed many excerpts from his performances on YouTube. According to Gregory Gajus, who booked Knipp’s performance for the Russian River Resort, this is the comedian’s third appearance there in as many years. Gajus said he has received “a few e-mails” protesting the show and there is “a lot of dialogue, pro and con” about it on the resort’s Facebook site. “But every comedian we’ve ever had we’ve had complaints about,” he said. “This kind of thing has been going on forever.” Gajus said the Russian River Resort features a wide spectrum of entertainment. “There are no sacred cows. Everyone is welcome,” he said. As for Knipp’s show, Gajus said, “This is one of the few things we do at the River that we can get people of color up from the city to see. This is one of the biggest turn-out events every year.”▼

Business Briefs ▼

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borhood. But Haight Street business owner Ken Uyehara explained that the legislation was “about making the sidewalks usable by everyone” and that no specific groups would be targeted. MUMC President Steve Adams also noted that the majority of problems that have been reported with people camping on sidewalks have not been queer youth or what he called “our homeless.” “We know our homeless, and we take care of our homeless. But these are just troublemakers who come into the neighborhood and harass residents and customers,” he said before the vote. The final vote was 27-2 to endorse the proposition.

Levi’s sponsors historical exhibit The GLBT Historical Society (www.glbthistory.org) has announced that Levi Strauss & Co. has become the presenting sponsor of the new historical exhibit, scheduled to open at 4127 18th Street. The San Francisco-based corporation presented the historical society with a $50,000 donation during last month’s Harvey Milk Day celebrations. The new exhibit is set to open on September 1, with a preview in late July. The Planning Commission will vote on the project June 24. Currently, the historical society has created a window display on the life of Harvey Milk for 575 Castro Street, the former home of Milk’s camera shop.

Neighborhood updates Supervisor Bevan Dufty announced at the June MUMC meeting

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by Lois Pearlman

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17 June 2010 . eBAR.com . BAY AREA REPORTER

ELECTION

2010

Oil spill seeps into CA race by Matthew S. Bajko he daily images of oil-soaked Gulf Coast marshes and marine birds caked in brown goop due to the ongoing deepwater blow-out in the Gulf of Mexico are also seeping into a California state Senate race along the central coast. Former Santa Cruz mayor and state Assemblyman John Laird, one of the first openly gay men to serve in the state Legislature, has been bombarding his opponent in the race, anti-gay Republican Assembly Minority Leader Sam Blakeslee, with accusations he is in the pocket of big oil companies. In television ads and e-mails to reporters, Laird’s campaign has pegged Blakeslee, who once worked for Exxon, as a backer of opening up California’s coast to oil drilling. The Sierra Club and the coastal protection group Vote the Coast held a protest in front of a San Jose gas station this week to draw voters’ attention to Blakeslee’s push last year to allow 28 new oil well sites off the coast. “Sam Blakeslee was elected to the Assembly with the support of oil companies, including BP, Exxon, and Shell,” stated Vote the Coast member Sara Wan. “Blakeslee brought his Exxon economics to the Legislature and we saw that last year in his advocacy for new offshore oil drilling.” Blakeslee, who has earned failing grades the last two years on LGBT group Equality California’s legislative scorecard, argues Laird and his backers are manipulating his record. In 2008 he was the only Assembly GOP member to vote for a resolution urging then-President George W. Bush to maintain a moratorium against new drilling along California’s coast. And he notes that environmental groups,

John Laird

including the Sierra Club, had initially backed last year’s plan for additional oil drilling. He told the San Jose Mercury News this week that he has “been an environmental Republican throughout my service. I’ve never wavered on my protection of the coast.” Laird counters that, since his being elected to the Santa Cruz City Council in the 1980s, he has been a vocal opponent of off-shore oil drilling. The two politicians’ stances on the issue, Laird said, are “a clear dividing line and it is very present in the public’s mind right now. It is good to establish that difference.” With turnout for the special primary election next Tuesday, June 22 to fill the vacant 15th Senate District seat expected to be at record lows, Laird is trying to lasso coastal residents’ fear of seeing an oil spill devastate their communities into a reason to go to the polls and elect him as their new senator.

“With a low turnout election it is about just motivating the base and convincing the independents there are differences on these issues. It is clear the offshore oil issue cuts with Democrats and independents the right way,” said Laird. He has set up a ground campaign that he thinks could propel him to victory next week. If no one captures 50 percent plus one of the vote Tuesday then there will be a special runoff election August 17. “I think it is possible to capture the seat this month but it is difficult,” said Laird, who has focused the bulk of his energies in San Luis Obispo where he said his campaign has contacted every Democratic household by phone or person at least once. The seat became available when GOP state Senator Abel Maldonado resigned to become the new lieutenant governor. Democrats have made the race a top priority as a win by Laird would put them one vote closer to being able to pass a budget out of the Senate without GOP support. Laird oversaw budget negotiations when he served in the Assembly and believes the experience he gained is particularly needed now as the state continues to grapple with budget deficits. “They need help in Sacramento now more than ever,” said Laird. ▼

Web content Online content this week includes more letters to the editor; the Wockner’s World, Transmissions, and Jock Talk columns, news briefs, and an article about the Sisters’ Pride safety campaign. www.ebar.com

BAY AREA REPORTER . eBAR.com . 17 June 2010

17 June 2010 . eBAR.com . BAY AREA REPORTER

BAY AREA REPORTER . eBAR.com . 17 June 2010

17 June 2010 . eBAR.com . BAY AREA REPORTER

BAY AREA REPORTER . eBAR.com . 17 June 2010

COMMUNITY

NEWS

▼

Multimedia project shares intergenerational HIV stories by Matt Baume here’s a troubling isolation among many people living with HIV/AIDS, said media producer Marc Smilowitz: an isolation based on age. “When folks were born informs when they entered the HIV crisis,” he told the Bay Area Reporter, “and generations are siloed from each other.” In other words, the experiences of LGBTs who first encountered HIV in the early 1980s are so different from those who came of age in the late 1990s that the two groups have difficulty connecting, communicating, or even understanding each other. As a successful documentary producer and consultant with credits on such films as Trembling Before G-d and The Celluloid Closet, Smilowitz reached out to colleagues to find ways to overcome those intergenerational barriers. The resulting organization, the HIV Story Project, explores the personal stories shared by individuals whom the pandemic has touched over the last 30 years. This week saw the premier of just one element of the HIV Story Project: an interactive installation called Generations HIV, combining personal testimony reminiscent of the AIDS Memorial Quilt with the connectivity offered by video. From the outside, Generations HIV looks like a mall photo booth, set up at the Under One Roof store in the Castro; but when you step inside, a custom-built software program asks your age and presents you with a choice: either answer a question about how

Courtesy HIV Story Project

Jorge Vieto Jr. is a subject in the short film Ritual, directed by Jörg Fockele, which is part of the HIV Story Project.

HIV/AIDS affected your generation, or ask a question of another generation. Based on their age, the booth matches visitors with questions and stories they might never otherwise have had an opportunity to explore. Smilowitz is excited about the experiment’s potential. “The world premier at Under One Roof is the first road test of the booth,” he said. “I think we’ll learn a lot in the next two weeks.” Community members are invited to drop by the store during business hours between now and June 30 to participate. “We have a two-year road map,” he added. “We want to take it to places that are very different from San Francisco ... so you can imagine HIV Story Project Dallas and HIV Story Project Minneapolis.” Ultimately, he said, the dream is to participate in the 2012 International AIDS Conference in Washington, D.C. The conference is returning to the U.S. now that the country’s 22-

year ban on visits by HIV-positive foreigners has been lifted. In addition to the Generations HIV booth, there’s more work coming from the HIV Story Project this month: on June 26, a 45-minute compilation of short films produced by the organization will premiere as part of Frameline 34. Directed by such local filmmakers as Stuart Gaffney, Johnny Symons, and Deborah Craig, each film tells the story of a person touched by HIV/AIDS, spanning a diverse cross section of subjects and genres. The HIV Story Project’s ambitions continue: the organization also provides video support and training to nonprofits. “Our mission is to become the media partner for other HIV/AIDS nonprofits,” Smilowitz said. “As we near the 30th anniversary of HIV next year, we wanted to encourage more robust interactive conversations across generations.”▼

▼ Ron Rios March 21, 1958 – May 28, 2010

Ron was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and moved to California in 1988. Ron was the bar manager at The Deco Lounge for the past two years. He had been in the bar business since he moved to San Francisco, having worked at the Rendevous, Tango

17 June 2010 . eBAR.com . BAY AREA REPORTER

OBITUARIES Tango, Kimo’s and a few other bars over the years. At each place he worked, his friends grew and followed. Ron also held the title of Royal Daddy in San Francisco for the past two years. Ron always lived his life to the fullest. He enjoyed each small moment and he made the best of life. He was always there with a helping hand for more people then one can count. He was one of a kind and one that can never be replaced. Ron left us much too soon. We will miss him because his heart was

always so big, because the spot he touched in our hearts can’t be touched again. Ron leaves behind his best friend Mark Manz and his husband Ryan, his daughter Roxann Rios of Adams, WI, his brother Steve Rios of Milwaukee, along with many, many loving friends. A celebration of Ron’s life will be held at the Deco Lounge, 510 Larkin Street, on Sunday, June 20 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, please contact Mark at mickey0104@yahoo.com

Scott Smith’s mother, Elva Roberts Smith, dies lva Roberts Smith, the mother of Harvey Milk’s long-term life partner Scott Smith, died June 2 at a hospice in Cullman, Alabama. She was 90. The cause of death was cancer, according to her niece Diane Roberts. Milk confidante Dan Nicoletta said that the LGBT community had a friend in Mrs. Smith, who years ago frequently visited her son, Scott, and his family of friends at his home in the Castro District. As executor of Milk’s estate, Smith was an important historical figure, in part due to his close proximity to the Milk legacy. After Smith died intestate on February 4, 1995 from AIDS complications, Mrs. Smith became the executor of both men’s estates. She generously donated her son’s papers – in accordance with his verbalized wishes – to the James C. Hormel Gay and Lesbian Center at the San Francisco Public Library. The papers currently housed there and named the Harvey Milk-Scott Smith Collection are essential LGBT historical materials documenting Smith’s long-term relationship with the late supervisor. Mrs. Smith was always a stalwart supporter of her son’s work in the LGBT civil rights movement and she kept in contact with many of his friends after his death. Milk’s and Smith’s lives were depicted in the 2008 Oscar-winning film Milk. Sean Penn played the late supervisor, while Smith was portrayed by James Franco.

Rick Gerharter

Elva Roberts Smith attended the dedication of the Harvey Milk bust in San Francisco City Hall on May 22, 2008.

Roberts, who is a lesbian, said that her aunt, who had been in assisted living since October 2008, did get to see the film. “Her health had been okay until about the first of May,” Roberts said in an e-mail. Mrs. Smith also traveled to San Francisco in May 2008 to attend the dedication of the bust of Milk in City Hall. Ms. Smith was born November 7, 1919, in Edinburg, Mississippi (Leake County), to John Younger and Elva Kelley Blocker Roberts. She received her nursing training at South Highlands Infirmary School of Nursing, Birmingham, Alabama and her nursing education degree from the University of Mississippi.

Jane Philomen Cleland

Officer Warner remembered

ith the rainbow flag at Castro and Market streets flying at half-staff, the Castro community mourned San Francisco Patrol Special Police Officer Jane Warner, who died of cancer last month. Ms. Warner’s mother, Carol Warner, was escorted by SFPD Officer Lorraine Lombardo, and accompanied by her sisters Lynn Fitch and Kathryn Ness, as they walked to the June 9 service at Metropolitan Community Church-San Francisco. The afternoon service was standing room only inside the sanctuary as more than 250 people gathered to pay their respects. A classical pianist, Warner would often end her night patrols of the gay neighborhood at the church where she could play the piano before heading home. Warner also wrote the crime column in the Bay Area Reporter. Mission Station Captain Greg Corrales said Warner was “the epitome of community policing” and called her an “outstanding, tenacious police officer.” Corrales presented Warner’s mother, Carol, and her wife, Dawn, with an American flag that had flown over the station house. Longtime friend Michelle Ourlian described Warner as “the Castro’s supercop.” She said that her family has been “in awe at the outpouring of love from this community.”

She worked in the nursing profession until her retirement in 1981. Mrs. Smith served a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy Nurses Corps during World War II. After her discharge from the Navy, she continued her nursing profession as a public health nurse at the Hinds County Health Department in Mississippi. She taught in the Student Practical Nurse School at the Mississippi Baptist Hospital and had extensive experience in office, general duty, and private duty nursing. She was appointed to the position of state supervisor for School Health Nursing Services for the state of Mississippi and served in that capacity until her retirement. Mrs. Smith had been a member of the Dripping Springs chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Order of the Eastern Star. She was also a member of Cullman First United Methodist Church. She was preceded in death by her parents; her son, Joseph Scott Smith; two sisters, Sibyl Robbins and Chris-

▼

by Cynthia Laird

page 16

BAY AREA REPORTER . eBAR.com . 17 June 2010

COMMUNITY

DADT repeal ▼

page 1

public their opposition to repealing DADT. Besides fending off a filibuster and preventing a broadened certification process, proponents must beat back any move to strike repeal language entirely from the Defense Department spending bill. In the Senate, 60 votes are required to end a filibuster, while only 51 votes are necessary to approve the defense authorization legislation. Four senators could be key to the future of DADT: Democrats Jim Webb of Virginia and Mark Pryor of

Business Briefs ▼

page 8

that RadioShack (2288 Market Street) has signed an agreement to relocate across Market Street to the storefront previously occupied by Plant’It Earth (currently located at 661 Divisadero Street). However, a legislative aide from Dufty’s office later clarified that the agreement was not signed yet, but that Dufty is “cautiously optimistic that a deal would be signed very soon.” Kent Jeffrey, a member of the family that owns the Market and Noe

Academy ▼

page 2

any number of funders who take a while to actually get us checks, and so we use our cash reserves to be able to manage our cash flow, and that’s what we’ll do in this case.” Van Gorder said Project Inform would “happily” partner with AOF again in 2011 “because the return on

NEWS

▼

Arkansas, who could vote against repeal, and Maine Republicans Susan Collins and Olympia Snow, who could vote for repeal. Strategically in the Senate, Sarvis said, “We’re going to suggest to leadership only one amendment to ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’” be permitted. As he explained, for repeal proponents, a best-case scenario would be to “beat back” the filibuster and bring “cloture,” or an end to Senate debate, with hopes that “we are dealing with only the amendment to strike.” Why is that? “It’s easier to message and easier to get Republican support,” Sarvis said. Defeating any amendments, he

explained, is key because right now the language adopted in the Senate Armed Forces Committee is the same as that passed by the House. Accordingly, after the Senate votes, the DOD spending bill then goes to a joint congressional conference committee. There, Sarvis said, if the House and Senate language is the same, “It will be difficult, but not impossible, for conferees to make adjustments or modifications on language.” If the House and Senate agree in conference and the Defense Authorization Act of 2011 is passed into law and signed by the president, DADT repeal likely would take effect in 2011.▼

Center where RadioShack is located, confirmed in a June 13 e-mail to the Bay Area Reporter that RadioShack still has not signed any agreement to vacate its lease. RadioShack’s move would clear the way for Jeffrey to lease the entire ground floor to Trader Joe’s, and until an agreement is reached the city cannot move forward with a review of the traffic study. Sandwich shop Ike’s Place still does not have a court date so its eviction is currently on hold. However, owner Ike Shehadeh said in correspondence with the B.A.R. that because of continuing neighbor complaints his shop has had

“two visits from the building department, two from the department of health [and] four visits from SFPD” just in the last two weeks. Shehadeh said that he is exploring the possibility of moving to a second location in the Castro, but the cap on restaurants in the Castro district is making it difficult to find a suitable location in the neighborhood. His second sandwich shop is scheduled to open in Palo Alto in August or September.▼ Contact Raymond Flournoy at castroshopper@yahoo.com.

organizations can reply accordingly.” He also said, “$10,000 [the amount pledged to the center] is a lot of money for a nonprofit organization, and to not receive the funds when you anticipate it is a shock and causes hardship,” said Williamson. Told of Williamson’s remarks, Horak wrote in an e-mail, “Each grantee was contacted by our beneficiary chair and had a personal conversation of the status of the grants and the payment cycle. Each grantee received the information that Academy of Friends stood firmly behind their commitments and would honor the grants we made to the organization.” He also wrote that each grantee was informed that the payment cycle would extend until December 31, 2010. “Our intent was to be quite open and forward with beneficiaries as they are the reason we exist and whose purpose and missions assist us in raising funds for them and the community as a whole,” said Horak. He also said in an e-mail that the contract with each beneficiary states, “AOF shall distribute the ticket sales in up to three installments between May 31, 2010 and December 31, 2010.” In an interview in late May, Rebecca Rolfe, the center’s executive director, said her organization was “honored” to partner with AOF this year. She said the center “would love to be a beneficiary again” but was “exploring what [it] might mean to be a beneficiary again in 2011.” Rolfe did not respond to a subsequent request for comment.▼

SF doc

A June 2001 San Francisco Chronicle story about the California AIDS Ride quoted Loring, who rode that year, as saying, “One of my boyfriends died from AIDS three years ago.” The website of the LGBT-focused Horizons Foundation indicates Loring has been a supporter. Roger Doughty, the foundation’s executive director, declined to comment on Loring.▼

▼

our investment of time is a good one.” Ron Karp is executive director of Food for Thought, the Sonoma County AIDS food bank. The organization was a 2009 beneficiary. Karp said they were granted $16,000, and they got the funding over three payments. “For us, it’s a large gift, because we’re not a huge organization,” said Karp. Karp said he hadn’t heard that Food for Thought would not be able to participate in 2011, but he said, “I don’t think it’s our place as a beneficiary to tell them how to run their business. ... Other funding organizations do that; they change their priorities or change the way they give funding. That’s something we deal with all the time.” James Williamson, a board cochair of the San Francisco LGBT Community Center, a 2010 beneficiary, expressed frustration, however. He said he contributed $2,500 so that the center could meet its obligation as an AOF beneficiary. Williamson said there hasn’t been any explanation from AOF of what’s going on. The expectation was that checks would be distributed in full in May, he said. Williamson said the lack of a timetable of when distributions will be made is causing confusion. He said it’s important “that the Academy of Friends continues because of the good work they do in raising money for HIV and AIDS programs.” However, he added, “They need to communicate clearly what’s happening right now so the recipient

page 1

partment at SFGH.” St. Mary’s Medical Center is also listed as a current employer on Loring’s Facebook page. Frank Austin, St. Mary’s marketing director, said, “There really isn’t a story as far as we’re concerned.”

Smith ▼

page 15

tine Roberts; and a brother, W.M. Roberts. Survivors include two nieces and a host of friends. Memorial services for Mrs. Smith were held June 4 at Cullman Heritage Funeral Home Chapel. Mrs. Smith

was buried at the Harris Cemetery in Carthage, Mississippi, the site of her family grave. The family requests donations be made to Cullman First United Methodist Church or to a charity of one’s choice, or Omega Hospice, 101 Second Avenue, SE, Cullman, AL 35055. It was Omega Hospice that took care of Mrs. Smith during her last weeks.▼

17 June 2010 . eBAR.com . BAY AREA REPORTER 17

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NOTICE OF APPLICATION TO SELL ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES To Whom It May Concern: The name(s) of the applicant(s) is/are: JOSHO INTERNATIONAL INC. The applicants listed above are applying to the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control at 71 Stevenson Street, Suite 1500, San Francisco, CA 94105 to sell alcoholic beverages at: 1801 Clement Street, San Francisco, CA 94121-2206. Type of license applied for:

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41-ON-SALE BEER AND WINE EATING PLACE JUNE 17, 2010

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NOTICE OF APPLICATION TO SELL ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES

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• Probate • Wills and Living Trusts • Estate Planning • Pre Registration Agreements

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FLAT FEE shelleyfeinberg.com 415.421.1893

To Whom It May Concern: The name(s) of the applicant(s) is/are: PLAYBAR INC. The applicants listed above are applying to the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control at 71 Stevenson Street, Suite 1500, San Francisco, CA 94105 to sell alcoholic beverages at: 101 6th Street, San Francisco, CA 94103-2814. Type of license applied for:

48-ON-SALE GENERAL PUBLIC PREMISES JUNE 3,10,17, 2010

STATE OF CALIFORNIA IN AND FOR THE COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE # CNC - 10 - 546860 In the matter of the application of Billie Cayot Gordon for change of name. The application of Billie Cayot Gordon for change of name having been ﬁled in Court, and it appearing from said application that Billie Cayot Gordon ﬁled an application proposing that his/her name be changed to Billie Jill Cayot . Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Room 218 on the 13th day of July, 2010 at 9:00 am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted

MAY 27, JUNE 3,10,17, 2010 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTICIOUS BUSINESS NAME: #0288134-00 The following persons have abandoned the use of the ficticious business name known as Los Jarritos, 901 South Van Ness Avenue San Francisco, CA 94110. This business was conducted by an individual, signed Dolores Reyes. The ficticious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/31/05.

MAY 27, JUNE 3,10,17, 2010

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BAY AREA REPORTER 415.861.5019 email BARadv@aol.com, or online at www.ebar.com

BAY AREA REPOR TER . eBAR.com . 17 June 2010

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LEGAL NOTICES City and County of San Francisco CONCESSION OPPORTUNITY AT SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT San Francisco International Airport is preparing to conduct a competitive selection process for the Terminal 3, Boarding Area “F” Gourmet Food and Gift Store Lease and invites you to attend the informational conference scheduled for Thursday, June 24, 2010, at 10:00 a.m. in Terminal 2, Fourth Floor Conference Room at San Francisco International Airport. The lease premises measures approximately 455 square feet in Terminal 3, Boarding Area “F” for the operation of a pre-packaged regionally-themed gourmet food and gift store. The proposed minimum acceptable proposal amount is $100,000.00 and a proposed term of seven years. The Request for Proposal document is posted online. For additional information, please call Nanette Hendrickson, Principal Property Manager, Revenue Development and Management, at (650) 821-4500. SAN FRANCISCO ARTS COMMISSION SEEKS ARTIST/ARCHITECT TEAMS This is a Call for Artist/Architect teams interested in becoming candidates for the San Francisco Veteran’s Memorial Project. The Project will create a Veteran’s Memorial in Memorial Court that will honor the extraordinary dedication, commitment and sacrifice of those who have borne the battle and will offer a site of contemplation to reflect and to remember. The San Francisco Arts Commission will conduct a selection process for an artist and architect/landscape architect team to develop a proposal for a tribute to military veterans. For more information about this project please visit: http://www.sfartscommission.org/pubartcollection/calls-for-artists/2010/05/11/rfq-san-francisco-veteransmemorial-project/ Application forms are available through CaFÉ, an online artist application system. Interested teams will apply directly online to the CaFÉ system at www.callforentry.org. Application deadline: JUNE 25, 2010, 11:59 PM MDT. For more information, contact Zoe Taleporos at (415) 252-3215 or by email at zoe.taleporos@sfgov.org. Art in Storefronts Artist Panel Saturday, July 17; 2 p.m. Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco, 750 Kearny Street (Third Floor), San Francisco Take an excursion into Chinatown! Eat some dim sum, take a walking tour of the Art in Storefronts installations, and then join us for a lively discussion with the artists. The Art in Storefronts programs brings four dynamic installations and two murals to Chinatown on view from June 11 – September 18, 2010. For more information visit: http://www.sfartscommission.org/storefronts StreetSmARTS Celebration Exhibition Dates: June 19 – September 30 Opening Reception: Saturday, June 19\ 6 p.m. – 2 a.m. African American Art and Culture Complex, 762 Fulton Street, San Francisco Join the celebration of hip-hop with an evening filled with live muraling, DJ-ing, break dancing, and a midnight gallery unveiling of artwork by the StreetSmARTS urban artists. StreetSmARTS is a pilot program put on by the San Francisco Arts Commission and Department of Public Works, which commissioned ten murals throughout the city to curb illegal graffiti vandalism. For more information visit: http://www.sfartscommission.org/streetsmarts 311 CUSTOMER SERVICE CENTER Having trouble finding a service? Need assistance in another language? Dial 3-1-1 (within San Francisco only) or (415) 701-2311. One Call Does it All – City Services Simplified, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. The City and County of San Francisco encourage public outreach. Articles are translated into several languages to provide better public access. The newspaper makes every effort to translate the articles of general interest correctly. No liability is assumed by the City and County of San Francisco or the newspapers for errors and omissions.

STATEMENT FILE A-032780300

STATEMENT FILE A-032794100

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: 1.Center for Business and Consciousness, 2.Tree of Life 58 West Portal Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94127. This business is conducted by an individual, signed Natalie Zeituny. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 01/20/10 The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/14/10.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Salinas Auto Sales, 790 Jerrold Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94124. This business is conducted by an individual, signed Maria Guadalupe Garcia. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 05/21/10 The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/21/10.

MAY 27, JUNE 3,10,17, 2010 STATEMENT FILE A-032790200 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: San Jalisco Restaurant, 901 South Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, signed Dolores Reyes. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 05/20/10 The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/20/10.

MAY 27, JUNE 3,10,17, 2010 STATEMENT FILE A-032781000 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: 1.ElderWorks 2.LGB&T Elderworks, 2000 Van Ness Avenue,Suite 516, San Francisco, CA 94109. This business is conducted by an individual, signed Helene V. Wenzel. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 07/01/00 The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/17/10.

STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTICIOUS BUSINESS NAME: #0296756-00 The following persons have abandoned the use of the ficticious business name known as Oakside Cafe, 1195 Oak Street San Francisco, CA 94117. This business was conducted by an individual, signed Brenna Li. The ficticious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/31/06.

JUNE 10,17,24, JULY 1, 2010

STATEMENT FILE A-032798600

STATEMENT FILE A-032828600

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Bruce Weitzman, MFT, 295 Fell Street, Suite B, San Francisco, CA 94102. This business is conducted by an individual, signed Bruce Weitzman. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 08/31/07 The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/24/10.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: M Design, 1738 18th Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94122. This business is conducted by an individual, signed Marlene Duong. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 06/08/10. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/08/10.

JUNE 3,10,17,24, 2010

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Fifi & Fanny, 2987 25th Street, San Francisco, CA 94110. This business is conducted by a general partnership, signed Carolyn Edison. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 04/15/07 The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/11/10.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: West River Trucking, 854 30th Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94121. This business is conducted by an individual, signed Albert Nishikawa. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 05/21/10. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/21/10.

STATEMENT FILE A-032836600

JUNE 3,10,17,24, 2010 STATEMENT FILE A-032812100 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: “K” Salon, 1134 Lombard Street San Francisco, CA 94123. This business is conducted by an individual, signed Lethuy Nguyen. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on NA The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/28/10.

JUNE 3,10,17,24, 2010 NOTICE OF APPLICATION TO SELL ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES To Whom It May Concern: The name(s) of the applicant(s) is/are: PLOW LLC. The applicants listed above are applying to the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control at 71 Stevenson Street, Suite 1500, San Francisco, CA 94105 to sell alcoholic beverages at: 1299 18th Street, San Francisco, CA 94107-2919. Type of license applied for:

41-ON-SALE BEER AND WINE EATING PLACE JUNE 17,24, JULY 1, 2010 NOTICE OF APPLICATION TO SELL ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES To Whom It May Concern: The name(s) of the applicant(s) is/are: Joseph Yousef Dabit. The applicants listed above are applying to the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control at 71 Stevenson Street, Suite 1500, San Francisco, CA 94105 to sell alcoholic beverages at: 896 Sutter Street, San Francisco, CA 94109. Type of license applied for:

41-ON-SALE BEER AND WINE EATING PLACE JUNE 17,24, JULY 1, 2010

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: 1.BV Health Solutions, 2.Sexual Health Clinics of Northern California, 1246 Castro Street, #9, San Francisco, CA 94114. This business is conducted by a corporation, signed William Bell. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on NA The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/08/10.

JUNE 10,17,24, JULY 1, 2010

STATEMENT FILE A-032786500

STATEMENT FILE A-032772600

STATEMENT FILE A-032809200

MAY 27, JUNE 3,10,17, 2010 STATEMENT FILE A-032790700 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: NM Group, 101 Jules Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94112. This business is conducted by an individual, signed Nathaniel Vizcarra. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 05/20/10 The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/20/10.

MAY 27, JUNE 3,10,17, 2010

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Scope Architecture and Design, 2550 Baker Street, San Francisco, CA 94123. This business is conducted by an individual, signed Emily O’Keeffe. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 05/01/10 The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/28/10.

MAY 27, JUNE 3,10,17, 2010

JUNE 10,17,24, JULY 1, 2010

STATEMENT FILE A-032812600

STATEMENT FILE A-032825800

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Oakside Cafe, 1195 Oak Street San Francisco, CA 94117. This business is conducted by an individual, signed Shu Ping Chen. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 06/01/10 The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/01/10.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Zooty Designs, 2939 B, Folsom Street, San Francisco, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, signed Laura Tulloss. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 06/07/10 The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/07/10.

JUNE 3,10,17,24, 2010

STATEMENT FILE A-032831100 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Pinkies Bakery, 1196 Folsom Street, San Francisco, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a limited liability company signed Boris Nemchenok. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 05/31/10 The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/09/10.

JUNE 17,24, JULY 1,8, 2010 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTICIOUS BUSINESS NAME: #0312921-00 The following persons have abandoned the use of the ficticious business name known as Pinkies Bakery, 1294 Vallejo Street. #5, San Francisco, CA 94109. This business was conducted by a sole propietorship, signed Cheryl Burr. The ficticious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/05/08.

JUNE 17,24, JULY 1,8, 2010 STATEMENT FILE A-032831000 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Citizens Band #1, 1198 Folsom Street, San Francisco, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a limited liability company signed Boris Nemchenok. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 06/01/10 The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/09/10.

JUNE 17,24, JULY 1,8, 2010

You got served!

It’s on now!

STATEMENT FILE A-032828100

MAY 27, JUNE 3,10,17, 2010 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Get To Russia Travel, 5438 Geary Blvd., San Francisco, CA 94121. This business is conducted by an individual, signed Karine Mkhitaryan. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 05/12/10. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/12/10.

JUNE 17,24, JULY 1,8, 2010

JUNE 10,17,24, JULY 1, 2010

MAY 27, JUNE 3,10,17, 2010 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Buffalo Whole Food and Grain Company, 598 Castro Street,San Francisco, CA 94114. This business is conducted by an individual, signed Nagi Mubarez. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 05/19/10 The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/19/10.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Takara Sushi S.F., 4243 18th Street, San Francisco, CA 94114-2409. This business is conducted by a general partnership, signed William C.P. Chan. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on NA. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/25/10.

JUNE 17,24, JULY 1,8, 2010

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Cow Tools Productions, 2261 Market Street, #182, San Francisco, CA 94114. This business is conducted by an individual, signed Susan D. Conley. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 06/08/10 The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/08/10.

STATEMENT FILE A-032793700

STATEMENT FILE A-032801300

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Viva Goa, 2420 Lombard Street, San Francisco, CA 94123. This business is conducted by a general partnership, signed Nicolau Fernandes. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on NA The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/08/10.

STATEMENT FILE A-032795500

STATEMENT FILE A-032770400

JUNE 17,24, JULY 1,8, 2010

STATEMENT FILE A-032829000

STATEMENT FILE A-032778700

MAY 27, JUNE 3,10,17, 2010

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: 1. Professional Garage Doors, 2. Reliable Locksmith, 2055 16th Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94116. This business is conducted by an individual, signed Sagy Vaknin. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 05/26/10 The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/26/10.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Brass Knuckle, 507 Mississippi Street San Francisco, CA 94107. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, signed Shellie Kitchen. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 05/14/10 The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/14/10.

STATEMENT FILE A-032828700

MAY 27, JUNE 3,10,17, 2010

JUNE 10,17,24, JULY 1, 2010

STATEMENT FILE A-032805100

STATEMENT FILE A-032778800

MAY 27, JUNE 3,10,17, 2010 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Ace Electrical Service, 2200 Cesar Chavez Street, #4, San Francisco, CA 94124. This business is conducted by an individual, signed Dennis James Stevenson. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on NA. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/24/10.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Dream SF Real Estate, 150 Manchester Street, San Francisco, CA 94110. This business is conducted by a corporation, signed Beth C. Newman. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on NA The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/03/10.

JUNE 3,10,17,24, 2010

MAY 27, JUNE 3,10,17, 2010 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Veal’s Residential Care Home, 69 Lobos Street, San Francisco, CA 94112. This business is conducted by an individual, signed Keiko Kanezaki Wells. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 05/14/10 The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/14/10.

STATEMENT FILE A-032819500

JUNE 10,17,24, JULY 1, 2010

MOVERS

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Helios Architectural Glass, 1550 McKinnon Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94124. This business is conducted by a general partnership, signed Constance Levathes. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 06/11/10 The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/11/10.

JUNE 17,24, JULY 1,8, 2010

17 June 2010 . eBAR.com . BAY AREA REPOR TER 19

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RATES Newspaper only: First line, Regular 6.00 All subsequent lines4.00 Newspaper and website: First line, Regular 8.00 All subsequent lines 5.00 Web or e-mail hyperlink 5.00 CAPS double price

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Classical music hits the spot

Wilde Rhino tracks

Lives of the starz

SF Opera’s ‘Walkure’ & ‘Fanciulla,’ Thomas Ades’ gay-partner-influenced piece ‘Tevot.’

Theatre Rhinoceros announces details of its upcoming season.

Porn performers are up-close & personal in new ‘Rising Starz.’

pages 25, 26

page 24

page 35

ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT

BAYAREAREPORTER Vol. 40 . No. 24 . 17 June 2010

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Wonderful world of Frameline 34!

Manolo Cardona and Cristian Mercado in Undertow.

San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival, week 1 ~ by David Lamble ~

eldom has any edition of America’s favorite LGBT Film Festival matched Frameline 34 for the sheer volume and variety of stories on thwarted love. From pre-Victorian ladies looking to marry within their gender while evading the brutal wages of primogeniture – The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister (Castro, opening night) – to the absurdist two-step involved in fulfilling lustful thoughts in a Jerusalem kosher butcher shop – Eyes Wide Open (Victoria, 6/22) – and the tribulations of a highly decorated female officer – A Marine Story (Castro, 6/19) – this year there’s a story for every queer taste (June 17-27, in venues the Castro Theatre, the Roxie Cinema, the Victoria Theatre, and Berkeley’s Rialto Cinemas Elmwood). Undertow Writer/director Javier Fuentes-Leon nestles a quixotic ghost story along Peru’s pristine Pacific beaches. A married fisherman must choose between his male lover and his tiny seaside community’s immutable moral codes. The first image reveals the paradoxes buffeting Miguel (Cristian Mercado) and Mariela’s (Tatiana Astengo) world: a large pregnant belly gets a wet smooch from a happy bearded macho cooing to his unborn son. Here 21stcentury culture (ultra-sound and TV soap operas) clashes with centuries of encrusted superstition and fear of the sea. Miguel officiates at an ocean burial of a friend’s cousin. The funeral procession is photographed by an itinerant painter, Santiago (Manolo Cardona). Later, Miguel and Santiago embrace in the village cemetery, a clandestine affair whose revelation will send Mariela fleeing, and force men, women and kids to choose sides. Fuentes-Leon abandons his tale’s realistic moorings and substitutes the confounding dilemma that Santiago has died at sea and that his ghost confronts his guilty lover at the most inconvenient moments. Watch a master filmmaker reinvigorate hoary clichés about closets and the sins of unrepentant machos. (Castro, 6/22) Children of God Director Kareem J. Mortimer brings The New York Times Almanac’s entry on the Bahamas to life onscreen as an outrageously

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Truth is stranger than fiction Selected documentaries from Frameline 34, week 1 • by David Lamble ere are some highlights among the documentaries that are screening during the first week of Frameline 34. Our coverage will continue in next week’s issue. 8: The Mormon Proposition Perhaps the saddest of Frameline 34’s must-see docs, Reed Cowan’s thorough autopsy of the role of Mormon elders in forging a religious coalition to overturn same-sex marriage in California spends its first hour making the case that Mormon dollars accounted for as much as 70% of the Prop 8 campaign war-chest. As one out male, former Mormon, Prop 8 opponent explains, we’re talking big bucks here, much of it bundled directly from Mormon congregations in Utah. “We’re talking Obama kind of money – we’re talking about people we had never heard of before, who had never given to a political campaign, except Mitt Romney for President.” The film shifts into high gear with a secret recording of a closed-circuit election-strategy broadcast from top Mormon leaders, in which the “wise men” come across like those creepy old baddies from the Matrix movies. Narrated by Milk’s Oscar-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, himself raised Mormon in Texas, the film’s emotional centerpiece is an enthusiastic young male couple with, as it turns out, impeccable Mormon credentials: Tyler Barrick and Spencer Jones, whose lineage can be traced back to the 19th century, when the fledging church was the subject of ferocious persecution from fundamentalist Christians. Tyler and Spencer go from the exuberance of young love sealed with a kiss at San Francisco City Hall nuptials

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Courtesy Frameline

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Scene from 8: The Mormon Proposition.

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BAY AREA REPORTER . eBAR.com . 17 June 2010

OUT

THERE

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by Roberto Friedman f reading one book at a time is, metaphorically speaking, monogamous, then Out There cops to being a polygamist bookworm. The stack of books on our rustic nightstand does ever overflow with new releases and art tomes. We thought we’d share a few of them with you, and we’ve arranged them by weight, heaviest first. Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Modern Century (MoMA) is the catalogue

of a major retrospective exhibition for the French photographer which originated at the Museum of Modern Art, NY (through June 28), organized by MoMA Dept. of Photography Chief Curator Peter Galassi. The show is coming to SFMOMA from Oct. 30 through Jan. 20, 2011, and meantime it’s fascinating to dip into this mother lode of mid-century life in Europe, America and points beyond. It’s like revisiting some lost worlds. Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Remembering the Running Fence (U. of

California Press) is author Brian O’Doherty’s account of the artistic vision and long-range planning from artist team Christo and JeanneClaude that resulted in the 24.5-mile Running Fence that ran from Sonoma County to the Pacific Ocean for two weeks in Sept. 1976. The artist partnership would go on to wrap the Reichstag in Berlin (1995), the Pont Neuf in Paris (1985), and islands in Biscayne Bay, Greater Miami (1983), and would triumph in NYC by erecting The Gates in Central Park (2005), but Running Fence was perhaps their most otherworldly work. It was a project that makes most art installations look as simple as pick-up sticks. Running along the properties of 59 ranchers and standing 18 feet high, the fence’s installation took helicopters, barges, and more than 300 Bay Area students and workers. The process of planning it required legal representation and lasted nearly four years. The result was masterful. As art historian Werner Spies is quoted as saying, the work was a “startling piece of calligraphy, a dreamy arabesque.” It captured the light, the landscape and somehow the ethos of Northern California. Out There saw the exhibition connected with this catalogue in a visit to the Smithsonian American Art Museum last week, during a few days in Washington, DC. It remains on view through Sept. 26. Also worth seeing should you be in DC are Yves Klein: With the Void, Full Powers, a retrospective of the French artist and creator of the pigment International Klein Blue, at the Hirshhorn Museum through Sept.

Courtesy MoMA

Promiscuous reading

“Paris Opéra, 1953,” by Henri Cartier-Bresson, from Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Modern Century.

12; and Beat Memories: The Photographs of Allen Ginsberg, at the National Gallery of Art through Sept. 16. Kissing the Mask – Beauty, Understatement and Femininity in Japanese Noh Theater – With Some Thoughts on Muses (Especially Helga Testorf), Transgender Women, Kabuki Goddesses, Porn Queens, Poets, Housewives, Makeup Artists, Geishas, Valkyries and Venus Figurines by William T. Vollmann (Ecco) is not only a mouthful of a title-subtitle-subsubtitle, it’s full of Vollmann’s trademark steamer-trunk paragraphs, footnotes and appendices. Though a devoted Japano-phile after only one visit, OT could only approach this material in small helpings. “‘A flower shows its O UT beauty as it blooms, and its novelty as its petals scatter.’ This aphorism of Zeami’s must be true; otherwise why would modes and fashions change?” The Godfather of Kathmandu by John Burdett (Knopf): This fourth in a series of Bangkok thrillers/police procedurals brings back Royal Thai Police detective Sonchai Jitpleecheep to investigate the grisly murder of a farang Hollywood director in a BKK flophouse. Burdett’s books are as much about Buddhist musings as true crime, and you can smell and taste the Bangkok night in his pages. Deluxe escapism. Just Kids by Patti Smith (Ecco): Poet-performer Smith’s account of her close relationship with gay art-photographer Robert Mapplethorpe in New York in the 1970s: a portrait of young artists in a time of sexual and social revolution. “I came home and there were cutouts of statues, the torsos and buttocks of the Greeks, the Slaves of Michelangelo, images of sailors, tattoos, and stars. To keep up with him, I read Robert passages from Miracle of the Rose, but he was always a step ahead. While I was reading

Genet, it was as if he was becoming Genet.” A Life Like Other People’s by Alan Bennett (Farrar, Straus and Giroux): There’s a lot more to this perfect little family memoir than the bit we’re going to cite for you – the British dramatist who wrote The History Boys describes his parents’ marriage, his childhood, his aunties – but this is the part our readers will want first. “One of the [family photo] albums in particular fascinates me (and even today falls open at the place): it has a photo, postcard size, of two Australian soldiers, ‘Jordy’ and ‘Ossie,’ standing in bush hats and bathing trunks against a background of palm trees. ‘Jordy’ is unremarkable, with a lascivious T HERE other-ranks sort of face. It is ‘Ossie’ who draws the eye, better-looking, with his arms folded and smiling, and with some reason, as he is weighed down, practically over-balanced, by what, even in the less than skimpy bathing trunks of the time, is a dick of enormous proportions, the bathing costume in effect just a hammock in which is lolling this colossal member. Underneath Aunty has written, roguishly: ‘Yes, girls! It’s all real!’”▼

17 June 2010 . eBAR.com . BAY AREA REPORTER

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BAY AREA REPORTER . eBAR.com . 17 June 2010

THEATRE

Wilde, Sondheim & gay others Theatre Rhinoceros announces its 2010-11 season

John Fisher’s new adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray will open the Theatre Rhinoceros season in August.

ed rights to stage Marry Me a Little, it took three months before his request for a same-sex staging was approved. “They sent me a contract saying I could use two men, but that I had to do the show word for word as written. So I had to ask about all the pronouns, like changing ‘she’ to ‘he,’ and they said go ahead.” For Fighting Mac!, opening June 2 at Thick House, Fisher is tapping into the story of a British war hero largely unknown to Americans. Finishing his career as a Major-General, Hector MacDonald was a commoner who achieved advancement on military merit in such conflicts as the Second Anglo-Afghan War, the First and Second Boer Wars, and the Sudan campaign. Rumors of his homosexuality had long circulated, and when he read in the newspaper that he would be facing a court-martial hearing, he shot himself to death in a Paris hotel room. “I’m a huge war freak,” said Fisher, who, in addition to writing and directing the play, will also portray MacDonald. “One of my struggles is reconciling my feeling about war as adventure and an entertainment and my

feeling that it is an abomination as a reality. I’m trying not to get bogged down in what happened here or what happened there, or offering a lesson in colonialism. But this is a great metaphor for the United States, since MacDonald did a lot of his fighting in Afghanistan.” As for the comic parts of the Rhino season, Westenhoefer will be making her third appearance for the theater since Fisher became executive director. The April 8 & 9 appearances at the Victoria Theatre are part of her Totally Inappropriate tour. As for Gomez, her upcoming seventh New Year’s Eve show at the Victoria will be her last under the Rhino aegis. “We both want to go out with a bang and not get into a rut,” Fisher said. He already has someone “really great,” but for now unnamed, lined up for the 2011 New Year’s Eve show. Subscription tickets ($100 and $135) to the five-event season are now on sale. Call (800) 838-3006 or go to www.therhino.org. ▼ Richard Dodds can be reached at BARstage@comcast.net.

North Beach cantata by Richard Dodds hile watching The Tosca Project at ACT, I kept wanting to make contact with an overcoat. Nearly a decade ago, down the block at the Curran Theatre, director-choreographer Susan Strohman’s Broadway hit Contact was on its national tour. With little spoken dialogue, the production told a series of simple stories through movement, dance, and pre-recorded popular music that retains a striking emotional power to this day. A few years later, ACT itself presented The Overcoat, a Canadian import in which Morris Paynch and Wendy Gorling took a Nikolai Gogol story and created a heart-breaking spectacle in which a large cast, though not necessarily trained dancers, used movement and Shostakovich’s music to tell the story of a faceless officeworker momentarily empowered by a tailor-made overcoat. Peter Anderson played the poor schlep in The Overcoat, and that the Canadian performer now has a role in The Tosca Project suggests that ACT Artistic Director Carey Perloff was encouraged by The Overcoat, and perhaps by an earlier contact with Contact at the neighboring Curran, to explore this hybrid form that

Kevin Berne

heatre Rhinoceros is not yet again a charging beast, but its recently announced 2010-11 season is stepping up the pace from the careful canter of the recently completed season. “I’m not nervous. I’m not scared,” said Rhino Executive Director John Fisher. “Last season I was, like, we’ll see, and this season I’m, like, this is going to be good.” Last season saw the long-running LGBT theater choosing to become an itinerant company rather than continue to deal with the rent increases, maintenance hassles, and audience re-

sistance to the 16th Street location. Fisher himself for a new play about The cash-strapped theater produced real-life Scottish military hero Hector only two full-scale productions in MacDonald titled Fighting Mac! loaned facilities, but the Fisher has managed to upcoming season increasinclude Oscar Wilde as a es that to three produccharacter in his version of tions, in addition to two MacDonald’s exploits, familiar names – Marga which ended with his gayGomez and Suzanne shame suicide in 1903. Westenhoefer – returning Fisher is also injecting to the Victoria Theatre for himself, as the adaptor, their own stand-up gigs. into Wilde’s 1891 novel The main attractions The Picture of Dorian are also products of Gray, which will open names with which you Rhino season on B ACKSTAGE the are likely to be familiar: Aug. 26 at the Eureka Oscar Wilde, for The Theatre. “There’s really not that much hoPicture of Dorian Gray; Stephen Sondmosexuality in Wilde’s plays,” Fisher heim, for Marry Me a Little; and John said, “but Dorian Gray is very much a gay book. It’s also a very odd book for him, because it is an early attempt at a style he really didn’t follow through on. But I think it’s very autobiographical, at least as his fantasy of wanting to live the life of a libertine and getting away with it, of wanting to be young forever, and it’s like the life he didn’t get.” Fisher said he is taking artistic license in his version of the story of a young man whose portrait registers the vagaries of time and the ugliness of his actions, leaving him with his pristine beauty. “90% of what comes out of people’s mouths are Oscar Wilde’s own words,” Fisher said, “but the license will come in the use of space and dance and movement. It’s going to be very theatrical, very loose, very free.” As he always does, Fisher will direct his own play. He has fewer credits directing musical theater, but he said he is also the likely director of Marry Me a Little, opening at the Eureka on Feb. 2. “There is a story I want to tell, and the piece is sort of open to interpretation. My interest in it is same-sex marriage.” Marry Me a Little is made up of songs cut from Sondheim musicals or from his musicals that were never produced. First presented in 1981, it focuses on a man and woman, each alone in adjoining apartments on a Saturday night, and basically romantically bereft in a minimal plot that the songs set up. What caught Fisher’s attention was a 1999 production, approved by Sondheim, that allowed LA’s Celebration Theatre to cast the two roles with men. Though Rhino was quickly grant-

Sabina Alleman and Peter Anderson share an unlikely encounter at the Tosca Cafe in The Tosca Project at ACT.

develops from a melding of dance and theater. Unfortunately, despite a long gestation and the visible results of arduous labor, The Tosca Project provides neither the inventive movement nor an involving story that combine to create a memorable work. The setting is clever enough. The Tosca Cafe in North Beach has provided a window on, and a home to, a changing society for 90 years. Specifically, its view is on a specific neighborhood, and while trends born there reached into the broader culture, and outside events certainly im-

pacted on both the cafe and the world in which it exists, Perloff and collaborator Val Caniparoli of the San Francisco Ballet have tried so hard to incorporate nine decades of American social patterns that the charm of the locale’s specificity gets muffled in a miasmatic swirl of flappers and hippies and soldiers and beatniks and ballet tutus and yuppies and cell phones and even a disco ball to briefly herald gay lib before AIDS is invoked over snippets of broadcasts that provide occasional historic contexts.

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by Richard Dodds

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17 June 2010 . eBAR.com . BAY AREA REPORTER

MUSIC

One wild ride! San Francisco Opera’s ‘Die Walkure’ opens by Philip Campbell he San Francisco Opera opened Die Walkure, the second installment of director Francesca Zambello’s so-called “American Ring,” last week to thunderous ovations, critical praise, and probably more than a few sighs of relief. Making good on the promise of last year’s intriguing but slightly hesitant Das Rheingold (the first opera of the Wagner tetralogy), Zambello continues to refine her intelligent and ambitious co-production with Washington National Opera. Setting the Ring cycle in the wild and woolly early decades of the last century in America is proving a deft and surprisingly easy fit for a masterpiece that has been subjected to just about every cockamamie interpretation one could ever think of. Die Walkure, like all of the other operas, is able to stand on its own, but it is also the one most frequently performed outside of the complete series. That is not surprising, considering the absorbing drama and action that fill each of the three lengthy acts. There is also an endless stream of glorious music, including some of Wagner’s greatest hits: the Ride of the Valkyries, the Magic Fire music, and two of the most beautiful and lyrical arias in all of the Ring: “Du bist der Lenz” and “Wintersturme.” It is fortunate Zambello has a conductor like former SFO Music Director Donald Runnicles as a collaborator. He is clearly on the same page with her lucid story-telling, and he willingly gives the stage to the singers, never drowning them out, but punctuating the action with exciting interludes, and lending urgency to Zambello’s insightful and natural dramatic flow. There is an almost cinematic quality to this Walkure, and the sets by Michael Yeargan, with Mark McCullough’s effective lighting, help greatly. The stage design is both striking and unfussy. Jan Hartley’s projections, remembered from Rheingold as being a little like computer screensavers, have risen to the level of the new production with often breathtaking effects. Catherine Zuber has provided costumes that are appropriate and understated, except when the look is meant to impress. The aviatrix outfits worn by the Valkyries, as they parachute in at the start of Act III, are a real coup de theatre. So the look of Die Walkure is mostly spot-on, with only a few minor quibbles about the incessant time-shifting of eras occasionally becoming a distraction. We are left to enjoy an amazingly cohesive framework for some of the best singing and acting one could ever hope for. A virtually flawless cast, with alluring voices and giving thoughtful and committed portrayals, get their

Mark Delavan (Wotan) and Nina Stemme (Brunnhilde) in San Francisco Opera’s Die Walkure.

Tosca Project ▼

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There are remnants of the actual history of the Tosca Cafe used to provide the suggestion of a through-line, but they are weakly invoked and don’t create much of an involvement. If the choreographed movements had more than just hints of clever surprise, the story’s weak brew could more easily provide a binding sustenance. Only three characters are identified with a name, generic though they be, and they are Jack Willis as Bartender, one of the founding figures of the cafe (and sporting a terrible Italian accent); Rachel Ticotin as Immigrant, who represents current owner Jeannette Etheredge and her mother Armen Bali; and Gregory Wallace as

Cory Weaver

rightful place of importance on an uncluttered stage. Soprano Nina Stemme’s Brunnhilde has been highly anticipated, and she supplies a remarkable sense of love and pathos, not to mention glowing tone, to the brighteyed Daddy’s girl who can not comply with his cruel orders. Other singers make the part work with sheer lung-power. Stemme (with the sympathetic help of Maestro Runnicles) conquers with beautiful and unforced vocal realism. As the original CEG (Chief Executive God) Wotan, Mark Delavan built on his interpretation of the role in last year’s Rheingold with a performance that exposed the complex motivations of a world leader and captain of industry caught up in his own politics. His voice may have been tiring a bit by the end of the evening, but that seemed fitting after the rigors of his confrontations with a ruthlessly demanding wife and recalcitrant daughter. Mezzo-soprano Janina Baechle, making her SFO debut as the scolding and unforgiving wife Fricka, took the stage with impressive and suitably chilly authority. As wonderfully compelling as the concluding acts proved to be – a big shout-out to the boisterous Valkyries and their thrilling contributions to the opening of Act III – the surprise triumphs of the night came from the singers in Act I. American bass Raymond Aceto, as a skinhead Hunding, added disturbing sexual menace to his gleaming sound, and if his stage business may have seemed a little obvious, it was always convincing. He created an unforgettable villain who sometimes can seem monochromatic.

Musician, though his duties seems to be mainly sweeping and answering the phone. Seven dancers play scores of the patrons who pass through the establishment, and while their contributions are estimable, the steps they are given seldom seem more than generic representations of whatever era we are flitting through. To both Perloff and Caniparoli’s credit, the production maintains an energetic fluidity that sustains its 90 minutes that, incredibly enough, represents 90 years of life at 242 Columbus Ave.▼ The Tosca Project will run through June 27 at American Conservatory Theater. Tickets are $15-$87. There will be an Out with ACT performance and reception on June 23. Call 7492228 or go to www.act-sf.org.

As the hapless Siegmund, tenor Christopher Ventris made a fine partner for another company debutante, Dutch soprano Eva-Marie Westbroek as his sister Sieglinde. Ventris has a strong and pleasing voice, and he suffered only one small misstep towards the end of the nearperfect first act. His realization of the role was a little generic by comparison, but he was still believable. He certainly sounded like a man freshly emboldened by the power of love. Westbroek was simply heartbreaking as his battered but brave sister. She made her powerful voice sound alternately strong and tender with an effortless technique. She was rewarded during the curtain calls with a wild roar of audience approval. Die Walkure plays through June 30 at the War Memorial Opera House. If it isn’t too late, I would rush to the box office. This production really makes a positive buzz for the complete Ring Cycle San Francisco has in store for next summer.▼

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BAY AREA REPORTER . eBAR.com . 17 June 2010

MUSIC

free and far away, having taken a new path of redemption”), only arrives in the final act. The other vocal music is less memorable. Music Director Nicola Luisotti was eloquent, lavish, and effusive in his indulgence. The orchestra sounded gorgeous – as wonderful as the men of the San Francisco Opera Chorus – swelling, sighing, ringing, and climaxing with all the power and glory one expects from Wagner and Richard Strauss. How Luisotti would fare with underpowered principals is open to question – he certainly demands every decibel his leads can produce – but with this powerhouse cast, his near-visionary sweep and mastery of the long line are breathtaking. Voigt looked gorgeous, and sometimes made lovely sounds in her upper middle range. Unfortunately, her lows now sound more than a mite old-maidish, and her screeched highs are more suited to Strauss’ demented Elektra than the virgin Minnie. Frontali sang solidly, but created little more than a one-dimensional character. Licitra, finally making his SFO debut, only opened up in the final act. The voice was beautiful in the mid-range, but failed to sing above the stave. That pitted three vocal almosts against the godlike Luisotti. Perhaps the impression would have been different had all three leads not been making their role debuts, but with these first-

Although she would undoubtedly benefit far more from a 12-Step Love Addiction group than from the 10 Commandments, Minnie – the Girl of the Golden West – stands by her man. The visually delightful ride into the celluloid sunset, masterfully lit by Duane Schuler, amply compensates for the long wait. Puccini, swayed by Wagner, Debussy, and Strauss, lavishes most of his considerable melodic gifts on the orchestra. It is the instruments, rather than the singers, that most tellingly express the characters’ emotions. The best-known aria, Dick’s “Risparmiate lo scherno, Ch’ella mi creda libero e lontano” (“Spare me your taunts, Make her think that I’m

Salvatore Licitra (Dick Johnson) and Deborah Voigt (Minnie) in San Francisco Opera’s The Girl of the Golden West.

timers, the orchestra stole the show. In smaller roles, Adler Fellows David Lomelí, Brian Jagde, Austin Kness, and Maya Lahyani acquitted themselves admirably. So did local favorites Igor Vieira (finally making his SFO debut), Bojan Knezevic, and Brian Leehuber. Matthew O’Neill’s little gay dance was cute, albeit gratuitous; and Kenneth Overton, Steven Cole, Kevin J. Langan and Trevor Scheunemann were all quite fine. If I left anyone out, shoot me. Kudos to director Lorenzo Mariani for getting the boys to move like

men hungry for action and love, set designer Maurizio Balò for his imaginative recycling of cliffs, and the horse for not making a mess. Prompter Jonathan Khuner must have been working overtime, because none of the first-timers audibly flubbed. There’s no point debating the opera’s shortcomings, and why it is mounted so seldom. Nothing can erase the delight of this new, joint production’s picture-perfect sunset. Everyone who loves the art-form will want to see it. ▼

Ades’ ark by Tim Pfaff ’m going to take a wild guess that gay marriage is going to be a theme at this year’s Pride goings-on. Classical music-loving couplers not out shopping for the best version of the Bridal March from Lohengrin (might I suggest Abbado) might want to consider spending a little time – 22 minutes, to be precise – with Tevot, the centerpiece of a new Thomas Ades CD, and surely the most gay partner-influenced piece of music to have appeared since Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears shuffled off this mortal coil. New in 2007 but just out on CD (EMI Classics), Tevot has already staked its claim as the best thing Ades has done for full orchestra (in this case very full orchestra, the commissioning Berlin Philharmonic under Sir Simon Rattle). Less talked about is the terrific Ades interview, around the time of the premiere, by the UK Guardian’s Tom

David Thompson

ar more Pasta Primavera than Spaghetti Western, Puccini’s opera The Girl of the Golden West (La Fanciulla del West) has returned to the stage where it rightfully belongs. Set in Gold Coast territory, with references to San Francisco, Sacramento, and Wells Fargo, the three-act opera abounds in local color. It is also saddled with a plot whose references seem as rooted in Puccini’s Tuscan birthplace as in Sonora. Riding high in the San Francisco Opera production is Minnie (Deborah Voigt), the golden-haired proprietress of the Polka Saloon. A mother figure to prospectors who drown their sorrows with her booze, Minnie may carry a pistol between her breasts and hide a winning poker hand under her red leather skirt, but she also gives Bible lessons to the boys. Incredulously, she remains a virgin, living alone in her cabin in the hills. Hot on Minnie’s heels is Sheriff Jack Rance (baritone Roberto Frontali), who almost rapes her in Scarpia-like fashion. He ultimately holds her to a bargain sealed over a deck of cards, and surrenders to Christian forgiveness. You can almost hear the Te Deum in the background. The drama centers around Minnie’s fixation on another man, Dick

Johnson of Sacramento, aka the ruthless Ramerrez (tenor Salvatore Licitra), whom she has met only once before. Her Dick may be a twotiming liar and a bandit, but Minnie falls hopelessly, helplessly, and inextricably in love. Although she would undoubtedly benefit far more from a 12-Step Love Addiction group than from the 10 Commandments, Minnie stands by her man. The resolution of the love triangle makes for an exciting, blessedly concise third act.

Composer Thomas Ades.

Service, to whom Ades reveals that he wrote Tevot just after entering civil partnership with Israeli video artist Tal Rosner, among whose contributions to the piece was its Hebrew title (or maybe just a richer understanding of its title). Tevot means “ark” in the sense of Noah’s, or a vessel such as the Ark of the Covenant, and it is the word for bars, as in the lines separating measures in a music score. For Ades, the two merge in the idea of a vessel taking beings on a journey, the measure a container for the notes. There’s nothing more that needs saying about the piece beyond Ades’ sage, evocative words from the interview (easily Googled), except that it’s a stunner. And you don’t need 3D glasses or 3G earphones to appreciate it. Sure, Ades uses every color in the orchestral palette, and paints them thickly and way to the edge of the canvas, but Tevot speaks with a directness granted to few composers of any age in any age. You have to get on board, Ades does the rest of the work. The piece had a tad more frisson in a live New York version broadcast on NPR, when it was still new and shocking in its eloquent command. But the vastly greater degree of detail in this recording, made in Berlin around the same time, fully compensates. You feel the journey Ades describes, for him like “flying a plane” that takes people through vast spaces. “You need to land

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by Jason Victor Serinus

Cory Weaver

SFO mounts the golden girl

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17 June 2010 . eBAR.com . BAY AREA REPORTER

BOOKS

Me, myself and idol by Jim Piechota Like Me by Chely Wright; Pantheon Books, $25.95 Where’s My Wand? by Eric Poole; Amy Einhorn/Putnam, $24.95 She Ain’t Heavy, She’s My Mother by Bryan Batt, Harmony Books, $24 Portrait of an Addict as a Young Man by Bill Clegg; Little, Brown, $23.99 Role Models by John Waters; Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $25

hese days, it seems everyone has something to say. It’s epidemic: there‘s an uncanny need to tell all, piggybacking on an obsessive need to know. Must everything be shared? Whether blogging online or blathering on television as a Jersey Shore kickstand, a privileged Hills burnout, or a “real” New Jersey housewife, everyone wants their 15 minutes of fame. Yet while the outrageous hubris of some may depreciate the playing fields of others, there are still rare gems out there to be found, with the promise of hours of amusement and enlightenment as we vicariously peep into the lives of others. June is a busy month for gay memoirs. Here are five outstanding autobiographies that are earnestly legitimate in both the engaging delivery of their stories and the pure entertainment potential they all offer. Comely singer Chely Wright’s surprising announcement in May 2010 that she is a lesbian broke new ground in the country music world. It was the first time in history that a country music artist has come out in public. A requisite visit on Oprah and the Today show, along with a spread in People magazine, shed light on her struggle to reconcile her Christianity with her homosexuality, but her new book Like Me is a more extensive, introspective look into the award-winning vocalist’s life. The memoir details her upbringing in rural Wellsville, Kansas, the daughter of a “blue-collar Christian” household, where she understood homosexuality to be an abhorrent behavior, but though she prayed for God to “take it away,” her undeniable crushes on girls continued right into adulthood. An ascent up the country music ranks went swiftly (though her sexual orientation continued to be whispered about within the industry), and by the summer of 1999, Wright turned vegetarian and had scored a #1 hit song with “Single White Female.” A “complete and total breakdown” a few years back hobbled her career and personal life, mostly due to a painful, heartbreaking separation from girlfriend Julia and bouts with internalized ho-

Thomas Ades ▼

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safely,” and you do. What’s truly startling after the fact is to realize that Ades spells out his extravagant, mytho-poetic mini-epic in the regular vocabulary of the symphony orchestra, the language of Beethoven and Wagner. By now he must be tired of being called “the next Britten,” having been his own man musically for at least a decade now. But like Britten before him, Ades knows how to plot – how to use music to tell a story, whether it’s one translatable into words or not. A lot of people write superbly. Great writers can plot. The rest of the very full CD is testimony to Ades’ prodigal invention and polyglot musicality. As is clear from the titles of its three movements, “Rings,” “Paths,” “Rounds,” his 2005 Violin Concerto Concentric Paths is rich with subtext. But ignorant of it, you could still be bewitched by the piece, which wraps two short, dazzling, sprung movements – that indulge microtones and take violinist Anthony Marwood, for whom it was written, all over the instrument, but most often into Ades’ beloved stratos-

mophobia. But with this bittersweet, highly personal account alongside a brand-new 11-track album, Wright seems to be back where she wants to be: an award-winning music artist, living in New York City and dating again. There is hilarity and much cause for eye-rolling when reading a self-effacing story about an odd boy growing up in the 1970s. An award-winning marketing VP for Fox Television, Eric Poole’s tales of his youth in Where’s My Wand? spill out like red wine at a gossipy cocktail party. Spending his childhood in a Midwestern suburban tract home with fighting, obsessive-compulsive parents, Bible School demands, and an awkward friendship with an armless girl named Stacy wasn’t easy, but Poole’s effervescent prose makes it all laughable and highly amusing. Christmastime is hilarious (and a reminder that the family was broke) after sister Val gets Remington hot rollers as a gift (“For that, I was nice all year?”) and Poole realizes that his imagined magical powers were “obviously becoming keen.” These “powers” stemmed from an obsession with Endora from Bewitched, whom he pretended to become after donning a caftan and chanting spells in the basement. This laugh-out-loud coming-of-age memoir has Gay Pride written all over it, and is definitely not to be missed. Mad Men actor Bryan Batt’s memoir She Ain’t Heavy, She’s My Mother is a comical literary rosette to his Mom Gayle, a tough, resilient Southern belle who became the anchor of his childhood and the cornerstone of his success on Broadway. Awash in pearls and a cotton-candy-esque coiffure spritzed with All Set hairspray, Gayle croons “Jiminy Christmas, lamb chop, look at the time, we’ve got to skedaddle on home” with a straight face. There’s much to love amidst all the silliness and over-the-top gaiety. At seven, Batt proudly emerged in a hoop skirt at his parents’ cocktail party, but became crestfallen when his father admitted to a “short-lived dalliance.” His discovery of men’s physique magazines encouraged the “full-blown wood” of his youth, as does a certain love of “theatricality” in the late 1970s, which has garnered him numerous successful roles in both Broadway (Cats) and offBroadway (Jeffrey) productions. Scrapbook pictures scattered throughout the book only add to Batt’s allure, making this Mama’s Boy a true winner. Also of note, Batt co-owns the home-accessory shop Hazelnut in New Orleans with Tom, his partner of 20 years. Not so comical is New York literary agent Bill Clegg’s descent into drug ad-

phere – around a central chaconne of grave beauty that, in its final bars, evaporates into silence. In the Concerto, Ades conducts the commissioning Chamber Orchestra of Europe, as he then also does in 2006’s Three Studies from Couperin, not his first gloss on the music of the 18th-century French composer, but by far his most delicious. A departure from the kind of wicked parody that once was Ades’ stock in trade, it’s a succulent contemporary re-tooling of the music that’s sure to smear a smile all over the faces of early-music fans. Finishing the CD saucily, Paul Daniel conducts the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain in the three-movement suite Ades distilled in 2007 from his chamber opera Powder Her Face, still the only opera I know of with an onstage blowjob. I’m sure some German director has figured out how to work one into The Magic Flute, but this one is in the libretto and score. The question for me is whether Ades will be our young century’s “next Stravinsky,” which is to say the one who re-imagines music as we know it. To hear his piano-playing in Hyperion’s new CDs of Stravinsky’s complete music for violin and piano, with Marwood, I’d say it’s looking good.▼

diction in his harrowing private chronicle Portrait of an Addict as a Young Man. Clegg’s “creeping horror” began in 2001 when he became increasingly dependent on getting a crack fix behind his boyfriend’s back, which, at 34, turned into a full-blown addiction depleting his sizeable bank account, stripping 40 pounds off his already-diminutive frame, and sacrificing the love of his devoted partner. The book is written in small, clipped paragraphs, and readers will feel Clegg’s increasingly palpable paranoia and desperate need as he describes the push-pull acceleration of a relentless crack addiction from the blissful “first hit and the bloom of exquisite calm it will bring” to many sexual escapades and hazy encounters, to finally hitting rock bottom. His rickety return to the publishing world (“It feels like a scorched field that can no longer hold life”) holds hope in this affecting addict’s story about two months of hell, and the years of amends needed to put a life back together again. Last and certainly not least is John Waters’ Role Models, an insightful and consistently lively collection of revelations about the people who have formed his sensibilities and made him the person he is today. The list of these folks is as eclectic as Waters himself. Today, Waters relishes his outsider status, but as a boy he followed such luminaries as Johnny Mathis, Clarabell (the Howdy Doody Clown, “whose

makeup later inspired Divine’s”) and Patty McCormack from The Bad Seed. Mr. Bobby “Boris” Pickett of “The Monster Mash” fame elicits a sympathetic nod from Waters, who can relate to the one-hit musical wonder as he tours colleges with his spokenword act. The author proudly notes that Patricia Hearst is his “one-time demi-goddess and now good friend,” gushes about his boyhood love for Tennessee Williams, a man who loved Provincetown as much as Waters and whose words, Waters writes, “could save your life, too.” His loving appeal for 60-year-old convicted former “Manson girl” Leslie Van Houten’s parole is as moving as his obsession with Comme des Garcons designer Rei Kawakubo is whimsical. From a young age, Waters felt a connection with Little Richard, “admiring his processed pompadour,” and with outsider pornographers Bobby Garcia and David Hurles, whose life “has been an inspiration to my inner filth for years.”

The book isn’t without its moments of shock and awe, however. In true John Waters fashion, though he admits that it is possible to “go too far,” the author gushes over an affinity for “the most notorious pervert ever to come out of Philadelphia,” Ed Savitz. Savitz was an HIV-positive sexual neurotic and deviant known for spending oodles of cash on teenaged boys’ sweaty socks and skid-marked underwear, and, yes, collecting their excrement in cellophane and pizza boxes. Much, much more about this oddity can be found online (if you dare), but before he moves on to other role models, Waters gleefully comments that at the police arrest of Savitz’s home, 312 garbage bags of socks and soiled underwear were found. 312! Simply put, Waters’ stories are nothing short of fantastic in their edgy, racy, and delicious ways. With so much to choose from, there’s something for everyone among these memoirs for the ultimate summer-reading experience.▼

BAY AREA REPORTER . eBAR.com . 17 June 2010

DVD

▼

Spreading the news Groundbreaking ‘Word Is Out’ is out on DVD by Tavo Amador hirty-three years is a big segment of an individual life, but for a civil rights movement, it’s very little time. Today, acceptance of gays and lesbians is at unprecedentedly high levels. Same-sex marriage is legal in several states, and was, briefly, in California. Congress is preparing to allow openly gay men and lesbians to serve in the military. In 1977, San Francisco Bay Area filmmakers Nancy Adair, Andrew Brown, and Rob Epstein interviewed hundreds of openly gay men and lesbians, and culled 28 of them for a revolutionary documentary about their lives, Word Is Out – Stories of Some of Our Lives, which has just been released in DVD. The changes since then are extraordinary. How extraordinary? Watch Rick

Stokes discuss being subjected to about 25 electric-shock treatments, to “cure” him.” At seven, Stokes knew he was attracted to boys. At 10, he and a 12-year-old neighbor, Joe, began having sex. In high school, Joe dated girls, dropped them off, then went to bed with Rick. During his four years in the army, Stokes displayed Joe’s picture on his locker. Both men married and fathered children. But Stokes knew what great sex had been, and he wasn’t having that with his wife. She called Joe’s wife and said, “If he wants Rick, he’d better come to get him.” Stokes’ inlaws forcibly institutionalized him. He survived, moved to San Francisco, and met David, with whom he was sharing a 16-year committed relationship. Today, homosexuality isn’t a “psychological disorder.” Sally Gearhart, a professor at San

Francisco State, speaks movingly of trying to suppress her feelings for women, about feeling alone. She attended straight weddings and thought that she’d never have a validated relationship. Then she came out, met other lesbians, and felt alive as never before. Pat Bond describes being in the Women’s Army Corps during World War II, where she met many relatively open lesbians. Following the war, however, the army began “purging” “sexual deviants.” In San Francisco, Bond found other women who loved women. At one time, she says, there were five lesbian bars in North Beach. Her observations about the way women adapted heterosexual role models is fascinating – some were “butch” and did “men’s” work. Others were “femme” and confined to traditional women’s duties. Pam, married with two children, realized she was a lesbian. She met another woman, who had also been married and had four children. They formed a family, loving each other’s kids as their own. But Pam’s ex-husband sued for custody, and won. Today, same-sex couples in many states are rearing their children. Those interviewed represent our community’s racial and ethnic diversity. Ages range from early 20s to 77. Gay rights pioneer Harry Hay and his then-partner, David Gillow, talk about finding love and happiness in their 50s. Professions include actor,

poet, businessman, truck driver, and teacher. Many articulate their initial sense of isolation, of thinking no one else felt the way they did. Then, when they learned they weren’t alone, they feared losing the love and respect of their families and friends. Yet, despite such terrible anxieties, they refused to deny their true nature. Today we are visible in unprecedented numbers, and many of us are open with and loved by our bioloical families. One youth speaks of feeling he was a woman trapped in a man’s body. He faced ridicule from the straight and the gay world. But he insisted on embracing his masculine and feminine selves, and in San Francisco met others who shared his sensibility. He astutely observes, “We’re all born naked. So anything we put on is drag.” Today, an openly trans-

gender woman is running for San Francisco Supervisor in District 6. What is especially admirable about each person is his/her courage. Although many had been victimized, they didn’t see themselves as victims – they fought, refused to let others define them, and forged healthy, productive lives. The need to express their true nature and the joy they felt in doing so compelled them to risk of exposure, which could mean loss of job, home, family, or, in the case of Stokes and a lesbian, barbaric institutionalization. One young man says that when he fell in love with another youth, he at last felt like “a real person. I was ecstatic.” In a prescient moment, Bond talks about the gay rights movement in San Francisco just nine years after Stonewall. She misses the earlier days, when lesbians were part of an exclusive, “secret” club, with its own language and rules. She decides, however, that acceptance is better. One middle-aged man becomes emotional when recalling The Black Cat, where gay men cheered the legendary Jose Sarria’s camp versions of Carmen, Madame Butterfly, and other operas. The happiness of being part of a community was almost indescribable. At the end of each evening, Sarria asked patrons to sing, “God save us nellie queens.” But, he adds, “What we were really saying is that we have rights.” We now have many. Getting the rest is just a matter of time. In case anyone had doubts, Word Is Out proves we’ve come a long way, baby.▼

17 June 2010 . eBAR.com . BAY AREA REPORTER

BAY AREA REPORTER . eBAR.com . 17 June 2010

Little Prints at the LGBT Center, Fri.

OUT&ABOUT Anniversary Party @ Café Flore Customer and staff appreciation party for the indoor-outdoor nightclub-café-restaurant located at the pivotal Castro intersection, with performers, appetizers, cheap drinks, prizes. DJs Sergio and Steve Fabus. 9pm-2am. 2298 Market St. 621-8579. www.cafeflore.com

Boys Will Be Boys @ New Conservatory Theatre

Queeple

by Jim Provenzano

t almost felt condescending to remind a rather assertive yet clueless publicist who was pushing her mainstream (i.e. not in the least bit gay) client, that: A; We’re a gay newspaper, and B; It’s June. Therefore, if it ain’t got gay swing, it ain’t for Miss Thing. At the same time I was assuring said publicist that no, there was not room in our publication for her client this week, a fellow writer (who’s so gay he should have a varsity letter G) shared (via Facebook) a freshly coined term for his online tweeting pals: Tweeple. So, my Queeple (queer people), you know it’s Pride Month. You’re busy. I’m busy. The week’s best is on these pages. Go. Sunday June 20, Dancing With the Drag Stars at Cheryl Burke Dance Studio is a must-see. The second Planet Bootie at season of the local drag spin-off Café DuNord of the popular dance TV show, hosted at the studio of Dancing With the Stars pro Cheryl Burke, includes contestants Mercedes Munro, Sasha Soprano, Margaret Cholo, Ferosha Titties, Cassandra Cass, and returning contestants from last year. Donna Sachet, Sister Roma, Bebe Sweetbriar and Patrick Gallineaux cohost/judge. Proceeds benefit the Richmond/Ermet AIDS Foundation. $25-$100. 6pm11pm. 1830 17th St. www.patrikpresents.com The Faetopia Festival invades the former Tower Records June 20-26. The groovy Playa Joy folks bring Eco Homo, a fun-filled week of environmental arts, awareness and activist events. Sunday, June 20, the must-see event is “Crude Boys Oil Wrestling,” a fundraiser for Gulf oil spill relief, with hours of real live (but fake oil) grappling (including participation by a certain gay wrestling novel author), from 2pm-6pm. Subsequent days, partake of workshops, film screenings, photo sessions and exhibits, and drag shows, including a multimedia recreation of Aliens Cut My Hair, with Suppositori Spelling, Veronic Klaus, Elvis Herselvis and more. Check the website for times and tickets. Thru June 26. 2278 Market St. at Noe. www.playajoy.org Thursday, June 24, I’ll be at the no-doubt packed Dark Horse Cabaret at Café Pepperspray at the Eagle du Nord featuring Planet Booty (the multi-talented and cute Germick brothers), Ethel Merman Experience, Trauma Flintstone, Erika Von Volkyrie, Alyssa Stone, F BJ Browne, Gottie Lux, Kitten on the Keys, Jeremiah Broom, Matthew Martin and Lady Monster in a festive night of queer and curious cabaret. $12-$15. 21+. 8pm. 2170 Market St. at Sanchez. 861-5016. www.cafedunord.com Equally fab and also June 24 (decisions, decisions!) PepperSpray reunites at the Eagle Tavern. Drag stars Peggy L’eggs, Jordan L’Moore, Precious Moments and Tinkle Peterson reunite with Princess Kennedy, Swirly Rat Jr. and Stony Curtis. The special Pride season showcase includes Carletta Sue Kay and Brent James performing as well. $5. 9:30pm. 398 12th Street at Harrison. www.peppersprayband.com www.sfeagle.com Get out and get your gay on, queeple!▼

Crude Oil Wrestling at Faetopia Festival

Najva Sol

Fri 18 >>

Dancing With the Drag Stars

Drew Montana and Kentucky Fried Woman. $15-$20. 9pm. Also June 19. 934 Brannan St. www.queerculturalcenter.org

The Real Americans @ The Marsh Dan Hoyle (Tings Dey Happen) premieres a new multiple-character solo show based on his road trip to Middle America to explore the profound disconnect in a politically polarized country. $15-$50. Thu-Fri 8pm. Sat 5pm. Thru Aug 8. 1062 Valencia St. at 21st. (800) 838-3006. www.themarsh.org

SF Moving Men @ The Garage

Joe Miloscia’s comedy musical revue about gay stereotypes. $22-$40. Wed-Sat 8pm. Sun 2pm. Thru June 26. 25 Van Ness Ave., lower level. 861-8972. www.nctcsf.org

The annual concert of men’s dancing works returns, with dances by Joe Landini, and Christine Cali & Co. $20. Fri-Sat 8pm. Sun 2pm. Thru June 26. 975 Howard St. www.975howard.com www.sfmovingmen.org

Cabaret Acts @ The Rrazz Room

Something COOL Festival @ Eureka Theatre

The classy lounge gets extra gay-friendly this week, with Crystal Monee Hall’s R&B vocals ($20-$30, June 18 & 19, 10:15pm), Sharon McNight performing songs from Hollywood legends ($30, June 20 & 21, 8pm), Connie Champagne as Judy Garland ($30, June 22, 8pm), and out gay singer Sam Harris ($30$45, June 23-26, 8pm June 27, 7pm). Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. (866) 468-3399. www.TheRrazzRoom.com

Carly Ozard, Tom Orr and Russ Lorenson headline a month of weeknight jazz and cabaret shows, with lots of singers and open mic nights. Free-$10. Lorenson’s Tony Bennett tribute Thu-Fri 7:30, Sat 6pm, Sun 3pm. Other acts 7:30 (Mon-Tue) 8pm (Wed). Mon-Wed thru June 27. 215 Jackson St. at Battery. (800) 838-3006. www.somethingcoolcabaret.com

Ethnic Dance Festival @ Palace of Fine Arts Showcase of dozens of the best ethnic dance ensembles in Northern California, including 600 performers, 26 world premieres and 4 new commissioned works. Benefit gala June 11 ($125. 6pm-10:30pm). Sat 2pm & 8pm, Sun 2pm thru June 27. $22-$44 (packages $80-$158). 8pm. 392-4400. www.worldartswest.org

Frameline Film Festival @ Various Theatres Annual LGBT film festival showcases the best of narrative, documentary and short films with gay themes. $7-$10. Castro Theatre (429 Castro St.), Roxie Theater (3117 16th St.) and the Victoria Theatre (2961 16th St.), and in Berkeley at Rialto Cinemas Elmwood (2966 College Ave.). www.frameline.org

Fresh Meat Festival @ Theater Artaud Diverse transgender/queer performance showcase featuring hip hop, modern dance, theater, voguing, clogging, live music, comedy and more from Sean Dorsey Dance, Barbary Coast cloggers,. GAPA Men’s Chorus and others. $17-$20. 8pm. Thru June 20 (7pm). 450 Florida St. at 17th. www.freshmeatproductions.org

The Golden Girls @ Mama Calizo’s Voice Factory Heklina, Cookie Dough, Matthew Martin, Pollo Del Mar, Mike Finn and Laurie Bushman stage scripts from the popular senior ladies TV show. $20-$25. 7pm & 9pm. ThuSat thru June 25. 1519 Mission St. at 11th, 2nd. floor. www.trannyshack.com

Little Prints, Youth Speaks @ LGBT Center Queer Youth Take on the Universe, a reception for a visual art exhibit of work by a dozen young artists. Free. 2nd floor. 6pm. Upstairs at 7pm, Youth Speaks members perform Queeriosity XIII. Also free. 1800 Market St. www.queerculturalcenter.org

Marga Gomez, Proud & Bothered @ New Conservatory Theatre Marga Gomez is back with her GLAAD Media award-winning comedy, Proud and Bothered. About Pride MC gigs gone wrong, and a hilariously sordid affair with a Jersey girl; direction by F. Allen Sawyer; originally directed by David Schweizer. $22-$34. ThuSat 8pm; Sun 2pm. Thru June 26 (no show June 25). 25 Van Ness Ave. near Market St. 861-8972. www.nctcsf.org

Forever Never Comes @ Boxcar Playhouse Crowded Fire Theatre’s production of Enrique Urueta’s “psycho-southern queer country dance tragedy” set in Virginia. $15-$25. Wed-Sat 8pm, Sun 5pm thru June 26. 505 Natoma St. 255-7846. www.crowdedfire.org

Generations HIV @ Under One Roof Video storytelling booth for people effected by HIV. Ask questions, tell stories, or share memories of others lost. Free. Thru June 30. 518A Castro St. www.TheHIVStoryProject.org

In the Wake @ Berkeley Repertory Obie Award winners Lisa Kron and Leigh Silverman’s complex drama set at a Thanksgiving dinner where American political freedoms (or lack of) come into question. $13.50-$71. Thru June 27. Tue, Thu-Sat 8pm, Wed Sun 7pm, Thu, Sat, Sun 2pm. Roda Theatre, 2015 Addison St. (510) 6472949. www.berkeleyrep.org

Speech & Debate @ Aurora Theatre, Berkeley

It’s That Easy! With Terry Van Ween! @ LGBT Center

Stephen Karam’s hit Off-Broadway comedy about three geeky teens, including a gay kid, who fight for truth amid a small town scandal. $24-$45. Tue 7pm, Wed-Sat 8pm, Sun 2pm & 7pm. Thru July 18. 2081 Addison St. (5100 843-4822. www.auroratheatre.org

Annie Danger’s sardonic motivational slideshow and presentation mocks self-help gurus while empowering a queer vision of success. $12-$20. 7:30pm. Rainbow Room, 1800 Market St. www.queerculturalcenter.org

The Tosca Project @ ACT Dance and theatre blend through the talents of SF Ballet, modern and local theatre artists in this North Beach bar-inspired operatic re-imagining of a century of romance; directed by ACT’s Artistic Director Carey Perloff, with music by Puccini, Jimi Hendrix and others. $7.50-$85. Tue-Sat 8pm. Sun 2pm & 7pm. LGBT “Out with ACT” show June 23. Thru June 27. 415 Geary St. 7492228. www.act-sf.org

Wang Chung @ Slim’s Classic 80s band (“Dance Hall Days,” “Everybody Have Fun Tonight”) performs hits and new music; Notorious opens. $25. 9pm. 333 11th St. www.slims-sf.com

Pearls Over Shanghai @ The Hypnodrome Thrillpeddlers’ revival of the comic mock operetta by Link Martin and Richard Koldewyn, performed by the gender-bending Cockettes decades ago, and loosely based on the 1926 play The Shanghai Gesture. $30$69. 8pm. Extended, Fri & Sat thru August. 575 10th. (800) 838-3006. www.thrillpeddlers.com

Pink Pride Tours @ Various Locales Enjoy local tours of LGBt historic areas, wine country visits, hikes to Muir Woods, Sausalito and more. $56-$96. Daily thru June 29. gaypridetours2010-bettylist.eventbrite.com

Precompression @ SF Concourse Exhibition Center

Sat 19>> Accidental Edutainment @ Oddball Film Gumby, Betty Boop, Woody Woodpecker and short kids educational films that entertain adults, too. $5 (kids), $10. 8pm. 275 Capp St. 558-8117. www.oddballfilm.com

Bootie @ DNA Lounge Adrian Roberts and Mysterious D’s global DJ mash-up phenom returns home and gets hella gay, with special Monster Show drag acts by Cookie Dough, Anjie Myma, Landa Lakes, Sandra O’Noshi Di’n’T and more. $6$12. 10pm-2am. 375 11th St. at Harrison. www.BootieSF.com www.DNALounfe.com

The Fantastiks @ SF Playhouse

Enjoy talented performers in a large preBurning Man festival to celebrate its 25th anniversary, with music, circus acts, DJs, dancers and more. Playa costumes encouraged (get a $5 discount). $25-$35. 21+. 8pm-4am. 635 8th St. www.burningman.com

Teatro Zinzanni @ Pier 29 Hearts on Fire is the current show at the theatre-tent-dinner extravaganza with new guest chanteuse Liliane Montevecchi, comic Frank Ferrante, Twin acrobats Ming and Rui, Vertical Tango rope dance, plus magic, comedy, a five-course dinner, and a lot of fun. $117$145. Saturday 11:30am “Breve” show $63—$78. Wed-Sat 6pm (Sun 5pm). Pier 29 at Embarcadero Ave. 438-2668. www.teatrozinzanni.com

Wicked @ Orpheum Theatre

Local production of the classic Off-Broadway musical about young love and interfering parents. $30-$50. Wed-Sat 8pm. Also Sat 3pm. Thru Sept. 4. 533 Sutter St. at Powell. 677-9596. www.sfplayhouse.org

Fauxgirls @ Kimo’s Ninth anniversary of the classic drag show, with Victoria Secret, Alexandria, Chanel, Davida Ashton, Pinky Bubbles, Tiger Lily, Maria Garza, Shelly Wilde and “boy toy” Bobby Ashton. No cover. 10pm. 1351 Polk St. at Pine. 885-4535. www.fauxgirls.com

Mega-hit musical based on the book about the two famous Oz witches as young college roommates. $30-$99. Tue-Sat 8pm. Wed, Sat, Sun 2pm. Sun 7:30pm. Open run. 1192 Market St. at 8th. $30. 512- 7770. www.shnsf.com

Sun 20 >> All-Stars 3 @ The Garage

The New Century @ New Conservatory Theatre

City Solo @ Off-Market Theater

West Coast premiere of Paul Rudnick’s gay comedy. $22 - $34. Thu-Sat 8pm; Sun 2pm. Thru July 11. 25 Van Ness Ave., lower level, near Market St. 861-8972. www.nctcsf.org

Queer and comedic solo shows by Janine Brito, Martha Rynberg, Julia Jackson and Thao P. Nguyen. $15-$20. 7pm. Sundays thru June 20. 965 Mission St. www.cafearts.com

Rally the Troupes 6 @ SOMArts A night of savvy political and sexy queer performances by Charleston Chu, House of Glitter, Simone de la Getto, Brush arbor Gurlz, Brock Cocker and more; MCed by

Philip Huang’s wild performance solo, and Baruch Porras-Hernandez’ Reasons to Stay on the Ground. $10-$20. 8pm. Also June 21. 975 Howard St. www.975howard.com

Happy Hour @ Energy Talk Radio Youth Speaks at the LGBT Center, Fri.

Interview show with gay writer Adam Sandel as host. 8pm. www.EnergyTalkRadio.com

17 June 2010 . eBAR.com . BAY AREA REPORTER

Hot Greeks @ Hypnodrome Thrillpeddler’s second revival of a hilarious Cockettes show, this one Martin Worman and Richard Koldewyn’s 1972 musical extravaganza about crazy ancient Greeks, with Connie Champagne, Birdie-Bob Watt, Michael Soldier in this wacky update of Lysistrada. $30-$69. Thursday 8pm and Sundays 7pm. Thru June 27. 575 10th St at Bryant. (800) 838-3006. www.thrillpeddlers.com

Connie Champagne at The Rrazz Room, Tue.

Horst P. Horst, George HoyningenHuene @ Robert Tat Gallery Exhibit of high fashion, art, and nude prints by the two gay iconic photographers of the 20th century. Tue-Sat 11am-5:30pm, by appointment, and first Thursdays til 7:30pm. Thru July 31. 49 Geary St. Suite 211. www.roberttat.com

Radar: Old School @ SF Public Library

Sunday’s a Drag @ Starlight Room

Readings by contemporary writers, including Justin Chin, Cyd Nova, Ali Liebegott and Len Plass, on how they envision gay life decades ago. Free. 6pm. 100 Larkin St. www.queerculturalcenter.org

Donna Sachet and Harry Denton host the weekly fabulous brunch and drag show. $30. 11am, show at noon; 1:30pm, show at 2:30pm. 450 Powell St. in Union Square. 395-8595. www.harrydenton.com

Sam Harris @ The Rrazz Room

Mon 21>> Patricia Racette @ LGBT Center

Stellar vocalist, who’s also out and gay, performs Broadway, cabaret and classic songs. $30$45. Wed-Thu 8pm. Fri-Sat 9:30pm. Sun 7pm. thru June 27. Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. at Ellis. 394-1189. www.TheRrazzRoom.com

Opera soprano shares an onstage discussion with SF Opera’s Kip Cranna. $12-$20. 7:30pm. 4th floor, 1800 Market St. www.queerculturalcenter.org

Speaks performers, and hiphop singer Aima The Dreamer of Goddess Alchemy. $4-$15. 7:30pm. 1519 Mission St. www.outloudradio.org

SF Bicycle Coalition @ Duboce Park Café

Rehistoricizing Abstract Expressionism in the Bay Area: 1950 to 1970 @ Luggage Store Gallery

Legendary lesbian former burlesque stripper tells her tawdry tale; Kitten on the Keys performs at a 10pm burlesque party. $20-$40. 8pm. 2170 Market St. 861-5016. www.satansangel.com www.cafedunord.com

Exhibit that shows how women and people of culture were part of the abstract expressionist movement, but shut out by the era’s bias toward white men. Exhibit thru July 31. 1007 Market St. at 6th. www.queerculturalcenter.org

Thu 24 >>

Meet and mingle event for LGBT cyclists and pals, happy hour, fundraiser. Sign up to ride with the SFBC in the Pride March June 27. 6pm-8pm.2 Sanchez St. at Duboce. www.sfbc.org

Ten Percent @ Comcast 104 David Perry’s new talk show about LGBT local issues. New times: Mon-Fri 11:30am & 10:30pm, Sat & Sun 10:30pm. www.davidperry.com

Tue 22 >> Connie Champagne @ The Rrazz Room Popular local singer brings back her wonderfully comic yet sincere Judy Garland show, “Over the Rainbow.” $30. 8pm. Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. at Ellis. 394-1189. www.conniechampagne.com www.TheRrazzRoom.com

David Jedeikin @ A Different Light Author of Wander the Rainbow, about gay travel and liver donation, reads from and discusses his memoir. Free. 7:30pm. 489 Castro St. www.wandertherainbow.com www.adlbooks.com

Foto Ada @ Robert Koch Gallery Exhibit of 1930s German photomontages that commented on the Nazi uprising. Also, Miroslav Tichy vintage photos. Tue-Sat. 10:30-5:30pm. Thru Aug. 21. 49 Geary St. 421-0122. www.kochgallery.com

In Sickness and In Health @ LGBT Center Readings about “best friends” by Michelle Tea, Meliza Beñales, Yosimar Reyes, Storm Florez, Luis Gutierrez-Mock and others. $12-$20. 7:30pm. 1800 Market St. www.queerculturalcenter.org

Mary Patricia Anderson @ Magnet Exhibit of portraits of “Glam Community Heroes” like Glamamore, Tita Aida, Donna Sachet, Sister Roma and more. Tue-Sat 11am-6pm Wed-Fri 2pm-9pm. Thru June 27 (closing party 3pm). 4122 18th st. at Castro 5811600. www.magnetsf.org

Matmos @ The Rickshaw Stop Local experimental music duo stops back home along their tour. Acclaimed and unusual groups So Percussion and the Lexie Mountain Boys also play. $12. 8pm. 155 Fell St. at Van Ness Ave. 861-2011. www.rickshawstop.com

More Glitter - Less Bitter @ Electric Works Gallery Exhibit of fascinating photographs by Daniel Nicoletta from 1975 – present, including on-set stills from Milk, and sexy cast pics from Pearls Over Shanghai. Through July 10, 2010. 130 8th St. 626-5496. www.sfelectricworks.com

RadioActive Youth @ Mama Calizo’s Voice Factory Live radio show of performances of music, slam poetry and more by LGBTQ teenagers, Youth

Sizzle @ Femina Potens Open mic for genderbending reading and performance, with Jack Halberstam (The Drag King Book). $10-$15. 8pm. 2199 Market St. www.feminapotens.org

Wed 23>> All-Stars 4 @ The Garage My Body Love Story by queer disabled femme Dominika Bednarska, plus Nia Witherspoon’s The Messiah Complex, about a young butch navigating the complex world of gender, race and reconciling one’s history; Trashina Cann’s On Stand, a story about multiple identities, blame and survival. $10$20. 8pm. Also June 24. 975 Howard St. www.975howard.com

Blackbird @ Mama Calizo’s Voice Factory Seth Eisen’s fascinating and funny musical cabaret tour through queer cabaret history, from speakeasy singers to Klaus Nomi and Sylvester. $20-$25. 8pm. Thu-Sat (some Sun). Thru July 10. 1519 Mission St. www.eyezen.org www.mcvf.org

Girl Talk @ LGBT Center Spoken word show intended to foster dialogue about these relationships and our many overlapping issues (feminism, sexuality, love, being differently-bodied. $12-$20. 7:30pm. 4th floor, 1800 Market St. www.queerculturalcenter.org

Homo Evolution Show @ El Rio GLBT rap, pop and hip hop with Foxx Jazell, Drew Mason, Benni E., Sgt. Sass and Mack Mistress. Hosted by Miss Barbie Q, with DJ Nawty Boy. 9pm. 3158 Mission St. www.homoevolution.com www.elriosf.com

Satan’s Angel @ Café du Nord

Hot Draw @ Mark I. Chester Studio Gay male models strike sexy poses for your artistic drawing pleasure. Donations. 6:30pm. 1229 Folsom St. 621-6294. www.markichester.com

Lesbian/Gay Chorus of San Francisco @ Mission High School Annual pride concert, “The Sound of Fabulous,” with San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus, Golden Gate Men’s Chorus, Voices Lesbian Choral Ensemble, and Cheer SF. $15$40. 8pm. Also June 25. 3750 18th St. at Dolores. www.sfprideconcert.org

Liza Minnelli @ Wente Vineyards, Livermore Award-winning legendary singer performs at the suburban vineyard’s outdoor concert series, with dinner, wine and more. $89-$259. 8pm. 5050 Arroyo Road. (925) 456-2424. www.wentevineyards.com/concerts/

La Mission @ Cowell Theatre Peter and Benjamin Bratt are honored at this benefit screening of the acclaimed locally-made film about a tough 1970s bus driver who struggles to deal with his gay son. Speakers include Senator Mark Leno, Chip Conley (Joie De Vivre Hotels), with performances by Aztec dancers, Lamott Atkins & the 22nd St. Band, and a low-rider car exhibit. $50. 6pm-9pm. Fort Mason, Buchanan at Bay streets. 257-2499. www.marininstitute.org

Passionate Struggle @ GLBT Historical Society Exhibit about Bay Area LGBT historical events and people. Also, Man-I-Fest, a new exhibit of letters and documents by FTM transgender pioneer Lou Harrison and friends. Free/donations. Wed-Sat 1pm-5pm. 657 Mission St. #300. 777-5455. www.glbthistory.org

A Spot of T @ African American Arts Complex Original Plumbing magazine’s Amos Mac and Rocco Katastrophe, along with some of their favorite transmale artists present a transmale cabaret; films by Chris Vargas, performance Glenn Marla, art by Ketch Wehrwolf, a slide show by Amos Mac, songs by Katastrophe. $12-$20. 8pm. 762 Fulton St. www.queerculturalcenter.org

For more bar and nightclub listings, go to our new website and monthly print nightlife guide, www.bartabsf.com To submit event listings, email jim@ebar.com. Deadline is each Thursday, a week before publication.

Fox Jazell in the Homo Evolution Show at El Rio, Wed.

BAY AREA REPORTER . eBAR.com . 17 June 2010

MUSIC

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Gay music men he gay male music scene remains divided into a few different camps, and Julian Yeo and Carlo Chapelle are in the cabaret/showtunes faction. On Deep Purple Dreams (LML Music), Yeo adds a jazz hue to his interpretations of standards by Jobim (“How Insensitive”), Cole Porter (“Love for

Sale”), Kurt Weill (“September Song”) and Irving Berlin (“Let Yourself Go”). Chapelle goes for a mood indigo on Shade of Blue (LMGPOP) via his renditions of classics by Hoagy Carmichael (“Nearness of You”), Billie Holiday (“God Bless the Child”) and the Bergmans and Michel Legrand (“What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?”). Gay male singer/songwriters are in

a league of their own. Listening to Electric Grids & Concrete Towers (Deep Tissue), it’s hard to believe that it’s only Dylan Rice’s second fulllength disc. It’s so polished and assured, you’d think Rice had many more records to his credit. Songs such as the pre-apocalyptic bisexual encounter of “Emma Jane,” the heartbreaking duet with Grazyna Auguscik on “Eggshells & Landmines,” the queer country-tinged consequences of “Homewrecker’s Lament,” the thrilling centerpiece “Motel Daughters,” the dancing blues of “Pleasure Pilot” and the erotic religious experience of “Rome” buzz. With a Pen (withapen.com) by Stephen Leonard is sure to appeal to fans of simple and straightforward folk-tinged tunes. Leonard has a warm vocal quality, and songs such as the title track (on which he boasts of doing crossword puzzles in ink) and the piano-and-vocal number “7 a.m.” hold promise for the future. Josh Zuckerman is one of those gay male musicians who has found a home for his music videos on LGBT cable network Logo. “I Thought You Loved Me,” from his latest album Got Love? (joshzuckerman.com ), was in heavy rotation on the channel. Zuckerman rocks out, and

slows it down on “Fall in Love Again.” Comedic singer/songwriter Ben Lerman demonstrates his diversity on the EP Size Matters (benlerman.com), on which he raps (“Ben Lerman Plays Ukulele”), gets you to shake your booty (“Chubby Chaser”) and flashes the suggestive retro part of himself (“The Idol in Me”). Also be sure to also check out Irrational Disposition (scottmalcolm.com) by Milwaukee’s Scott Malcolm, and the 2010 remastered reissue of (Kevin) Thornton’s Had a Sword (thekevinthornton.com). A new breed of gay male musicians, such as Owen Pallett (formerly known as Final Fantasy), Ed Droste (of Grizzly Bear), Kele Okereke (of Bloc Party) and Jónsi (of Sigur Ros), are redefining the genre. On Death to God (Noise On Noise) deVries invents a new genre that we can call “shoegayze,” a queer take on the shoegaze craze of the late80s/early-90s. DeVries sprinkles glitter on the 14 tracks here, glamming it up when the occasion calls for it. Fans of Chris Garneau will find much to like on Oh, Light (Sounds Super Recordings) by Careful. Also compared to the late gay musical genius Arthur Russell and the late Elliot Smith, Careful (aka Eric Lindley) gives listeners a soft place to land from wherever (or whatever) it is they’re coming down. Collaboration appears to be the word of the day. One of the most inspired collaborations on record is gay male cut-and-paste electro wizards Matmos and new music quartet So Percussion’s Treasure State (Cantaloupe). The disc opens with the twisted tropical island breeze of “Treasure,” followed by the sonic splash of “Water” and shots of funk “Needles,” “Cross” and the crinkly “Aluminum.”

Victor Krummenacher, an openly gay founding member of Camper Van Beethoven, returns with Time for Leaving (Magnetic), a collaboration with Alison Faith Levy under the moniker McCabe & Mrs. Miller. The 11 tracks are a blues-and-roots blend of insurgent country numbers. More than a dozen years after his collaboration with Bernard Butler (exLondon Suede), British soul genius David McAlmont teamed up with legendary film-score composer Michael Nyman (sort of the British Philip Glass) for The Glare (MN). The glare of the title refers to the spotlight, and over the course of 11 songs the unlikely duo addresses the subject from various perspectives, including Susan Boyle’s (the titular track) and Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi’s (“In Rai Don Giovanni”). Pink Martini’s Splendor in the Grass (Heinz) is a bit jarring in that it takes a few listens to penetrate. Gay martini-master Thomas M. Lauderdale subtly shakes and stirs listeners over the course of 14 tasty tracks. Still as exotic a musical experience as you are likely to have on one CD (listen for the sitar on “Tuca tuca”), Pink Martini plays it cool throughout. The disc’s near-boiling point occurs on out lesbian Chavela Vargas’ guest spot, “Piensa en Mí.” Avi Wisnia would fit in well with the Pink Martini crowd. The 10 originals on Something New (aviwisnia.com) feature him on piano and vocals often backed up by a tight combo, and would warm the hearts of Ben Folds’ followers. Wisnia also demonstrates unique taste in covers with his compelling renditions of The Cure’s “Love Song” and TLC’s “No Scrubs.”▼

Leaping lesbians! by Gregg Shapiro ut singer/songwriter Chris Pureka has been peddling her brand of moody folk music for nearly 10 years. Think Mary Gauthier, minus the occasional twang. With each album, including the fittingly named How I Learned To See in the Dark (Sad Rabbit), Pureka continues to mature as both a songwriter and performer. Opener “Wrecking Ball” sets the atmosphere with its mournful fiddle, courtesy of Merrill Garbus. Songs such as “Hangman” and “Shipwreck” maintain the aura. But by “Barn Song,” the darkness begins to show signs of lightening, although the rhythmic “Broken Clock” casts a shadow. The bouncy “Lowlands” shows a Springsteen influence. Renowned for her work as a touring and session musician, drummer Allison Miller steps up with her instrumental jazz effort Boom Tic Boom (Foxhaven). Surrounding herself with other outstanding musicians, Miller capably drums her way through a set that includes four originals and four covers. Highlights include Miller’s own experimental “CFS

(Candy Flavored Sidewalks)” and sexy “Big Lovely,” and her intimate reading of Hoagy Carmichael’s “Rockin’ Chair.” With their respective albums The Magician’s Private Library (XL) and No Snare (K), Holly Miranda and Tender Forever (a.k.a. Melanie Valera) take their places as lesbians in the hipster milieu. Produced by TV on the Radio’s Dave Sitek, Miranda’s album

would be right at home alongside the latest by Gorillaz, Broken Bells or Mumford & Sons. The hot-and-cool vibe is strong throughout, beginning with the organic shuffle of “Forest Green Oh Forest Green” and continuing through the dreamy and loose

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17 June 2010 . eBAR.com . BAY AREA REPORTER

BOOKS

Reading the will

ENTER

TO WIN!

Sex, hope & heart in ‘Inheritance’ by Tim Miller Inheritance by Steven Reigns, Lethe Press, $13

teven Reigns’ extraordinary new book Inheritance sizzles with the unsparing heat of memory. This soulful poetry collection displays a queer voice so precise and deft it leaves the reader almost singed by how close to the mark the words flare. Inheritance is unflinching in its courage to remember, name and call out abuse of one vulnerable gay kid. The work crackles with the unjust power dynamics and complicated spaces of sexuality. Though unsparing in its account of a gay boy’s journey through abuse, Inheritance exhilarates in the energy released when the story is told, claimed and transformed. I spoke with Reigns in Los Angeles about memory, the body, and what we all inherit.

Tim Miller: Your new book gets so close to the real feeling of a queer childhood’s confusions and chaos. What brought you to write Inheritance?

Steven Reigns: I’m addicted to personal narrative. I’ve always enjoyed memoirs and biographies. My first collection flirted with autobiography but wasn’t there fully. After that collection was published, I realized that though it was scary to disclose so much, the non-autobiographical elements or the things I created to “cover up” that a poem was about me didn’t make me feel more secure. It actually made me feel worse. For me, it felt cheap to tell half of a story and recreate the other half. Truth is not only stranger than fiction; I think it’s more interesting. In Inheritance, my scope was narrow. I aimed to poetically tell my story as clearly and as directly as possible. I wanted to be as emotionally honest as I am able. I did this in hopes others could relate deeply to what it means to grow up in our culture and explore what we are given, what we inherit. What is the sexual journey that is marked in Inheritance?

I’m highly aware of power, but I don’t think I’m an exception. Gay men at an early age are painfully aware of the value placed on our lives, loves, sexuality, and legal rights. We are given clear messages who has the

Lesbians ▼

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“Joints” to the faintly exotic whiff of “No One Just Us,” the 60s pop of “Sweet Dreams” and the subliminal surf of “High Tide.” Holly Miranda knows she has the right to make nearly indescribably magical music. Valera established herself as an artist with an appreciation for elec-

tronic beats. The beats are still present on No Snare, but the whole thing feels more organic, less programmed. Like the tree and grass on its cover, No Snare sounds like Valera going green while keeping things fresh for the listeners.

power. Your Dead Body is My Welcome Mat explored abuses of power, and Inheritance explores the inequities of power. Coming from a physically and sexually abusive home amplified a feeling of powerlessness for me. I didn’t even feel as if my body were my own. Part of the reclaiming process of my life involved redefining everything for myself. To do that required an inventory of what I have. These poems document what I’ve been given. Your work really argues for the power of poetry to hit the jugular of what life feels like. Do you have a kind of poetic manifesto you try to bring to the work?

I have a deep love for poetry. It’s an automatic interest. I love writer’s manifestos, but I don’t have one. I’m weary of making any bold declarations and don’t spend much time thinking about rules for poetry or the writing process. I grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, and my value system is rooted in all of those Midwestern stereotypes. I write the way I do out of respect. The reader is giving me their time and attention, and I want to honor that with the work being honest, concise, crafted, and moving. I don’t want readers to feel like they are solving a riddle in the form of poem. I want readers to feel, to relate, and to understand more about their own experiences. I like art that goes for the jugular and hits the core. Poetry does this quickly, and doesn’t allow for much excess. In our fast-paced lives, I think conveying something in economic language like the poetic form should be more welcomed. The reward of reading just one poem can be as great as submerging oneself in a novel or film. The intimacy of Inheritance is so powerful. What gave you the courage to dive in so deeply?

As a writer I’m thankful I have immense trust in the page. There are things I don’t openly talk about with family, friends, or lovers, but I don’t hesitate when writing, it’s where I feel the safest. My desire to pull back is present when I contemplate showing others what I’ve written. When looking over the final proof of Inheritance, I noticed it was missing a poem I wrote about my mother. I remembered, “Oh, I got scared and took it out.” So I, daringly, put the poem back

The busy queer music scene in Chicago is exemplified by Katie Todd and Shelley Miller. Both women have productive careers and can regularly be found performing in live-music venues. The gorgeous title track of Mumbled Speech (Level It), the latest disc by Todd, is a perfect example of her kind of near-flawless pop-ballad songwriting skills. She also has admirable taste in cover material with her rendition of Leonard Cohen’s oftrecorded “Hallelujah.” Miller, sounding like Chicago’s answer to Chris Pureka and Mary Gauthier, returns with her solid When It’s All Gone, You Come Back (shellymiller.net), on which she strikes the right balance between torch and twang. As original concepts go, you’d be hard-pressed to find one that can top all-female trio Girl in a Coma’s Adventures in Coverland (Blackheart). Consisting of three seven-inch vinyl singles whose jackets join together to form a game board, the set features Girl in a Coma covering the Beatles (“While My Guitar Gently Weeps”), Joy Division (“Transmission”), Velvet Underground (“Femme Fatale”) and Patsy Cline (“Walking After Midnight”), all performed in the band’s distinctive garage-punk style.▼

Author Steven Reigns.

into the book. It makes me nervous, but to withhold that poem would make me feel like I’m holding a card to my chest. I’m not interested in that. I want everything out on the table. Secrets are some of the worst things to inherit, and I don’t intend to leave any behind in my will. How do we journey from acknowledging these hurts, these real injustices, and step forward into our lives?

Silence only protects predators. Voicing our experience not only helps us come to terms with our past, but it also helps us forge deeper connections with others. It’s great when we’re able to find that medium ground of not being shamed or muted, but also not dwelling too much on the past. All elements of my life are written about, because they are the dowry I come with. The poetry is about what I’ve inherited, and the book, this journey I’m sharing, is what I’m bequeathing to others.▼ Steven Reigns will be reading in SF on July 3, 4 p.m., at A Different Light.

Win two tickets and two T-shirts to

BLOWOFF June 26 at Slim’s DJs Bob Mould and Rich Morel 10pm-2am. 333 11th St.

Register for free at BARtabSF.com Winner will be randomly chosen from registrants between June 3 and June 21. Winner will be notified by June 21, 5pm. Tickets and T-shirt will be available at the door.

www.blowoff.us ★ www.slims-sf.com ★ www.bartabsf.com

BAY AREA REPORTER . eBAR.com . 17 June 2010

LEATHER+

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Drama, drama, drama! by Scott Brogan t’s Pride month. Perhaps it’s fitting that the current drama surrounding the newly selected International Mr. Leather, Tyler McCormick, is at a peak during this month of reflection on who we are and the obstacles we’ve overcome. McCormick is a female-to-male transgender who recently won the “big one” of all men’s leather titles, International Mr. Leather (IML) 2010. Not only is he the first transgender to win, but also the first in a wheelchair. Either of these facts alone would make some people uncomfortable. Put them together, and you have an even bigger recipe for IML 2010 winner Tyler McCormick. drama. As expected, there are two camps out there, one that fully supports McCormick, and one that does not. Some of the most vocal dissenters have called for a boycott of IML, for the runners-up to return their medals and titles in protest. One person even chided the entire 2010 IML class of men for “losing to a girl” (which brings up all kinds of misogynistic debate that I won’t go into here). To quote Mama, I say to you dissenters out there: Shut the fuck up! And I might add: Get over it! In a month when we should be celebrating our differences and have pride in who we are, too many people are focusing on tearing down someone who in reality exemplifies our differences. It wasn’t too long ago that IML 2010 Tyler McCormick is surrounded by his fellow contestants after Daddy Alan Selby (who originated winning the title. Mr. S Leather – that’s what the “S” stands for) had to hide his leather business as though it were a lepers in Ben-Hur. I’m talking would be polarizing, and have a bigspeakeasy during Prohibition. ger spotlight on him if he won. Well, about our gay community. We’ve Yes, he literally had to peek he won, and in the video I saw of come so far in the past 30-odd out at who was ringing the him on YouTube, I saw a humble years, thanks to the work bell of the unmarked door man who was open and honest, and of people like Alan Selby and size them up before very easy-going about his disability and Marcus Hernandez, letting them in, for fear of and transgender status. He jokingly it’s crazy to revert back what the police would do calls himself “Leather Gimp,” and into freaking out over to him for selling such plainly said, “You’re not going to ofsomeone who’s different. scandalous items. It wasn’t fend me if you use whatever words We should all emthat long ago when those in your heart, but if you’re trying brace McCormick not L EATHER only for winning, but for are who were into leather, to be PC, then lighten up a little bit. kink or anything that It’s a big game, and I know I’m dishaving the strength of strayed from “the norm” abled, so don’t worry about it.” character (and balls) to compete in were derided and treated like the the first place. I’m sure he knew he

Rich Stadtmiller

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Coming up in leather & kink >> Fri., June 18: Code Yellow at Chaps Bar (1225 Folsom). Raging Stallion DVD Release Party: many scenes were shot at the bar. Three of the film’s models, Paul Wagner, Scott Tanner and Race Cooper, will be at the bar in person to celebrate the release. Go to: www.chapsbarsanfrancisco.com. Fri., June 18: Exiles Monthly Program: With Daddy Sal and boyjean, the Women’s Building (3543 18th St.). 810 p.m. Go to: www.TheExiles.org. Fri., June 18: Exiles Post-Program Coffee Social, at The Wicked Grounds (289 8th St.). 10:15 p.m.-close. Go to: www.TheExiles.org. Fri., June 18: The SF Citadel & Maestro Stefanos present the original celebration of female submission & male dominance in The Master’s Den: Revelry, first in a triptych leading to Auction. Socialize, learn, play & explore in an environment of decadence, service & respect. At the SF Citadel (1277 Mission). 7:15 p.m.-1 a.m. Admission: Single Dominants (without invite): $30, Accompanied Dominants: $20, Submissives: $20. Go to: www.sfcitadel.org. Fri., June 18: New Monthly “Back Pack” Hot Buns contest at The Powerhouse (Dore & Folsom). 10 p.m.Midnight. Winner receives $100. Cost: $5 donation at the door (all money raised goes to the AIDS Emergency Fund and Under One Roof). Go to: www.powerhousesf.com. Sat., June 19: Back Bar Action at The Eagle Tavern (398 12th St.). Back patio bar opened to all gear/fetish/leather. 10 p.m. to close. Go to: www.sfeagle .com. Sat., June 19: Open Play Party at the SF Citadel (1277 Mission). 8 p.m.-1 a.m. $25 per person. Go to: www.sfcitadel.org. Sun., June 20: Rope Dance: Dynamic Passionate Movements presented by Midori at the SF Citadel (1277 Mission). Doors open at 1:30 p.m. Class from 2-5 p.m. Fees: $30 solo/$50 pair. Go to: www.sfcitadel.org. Sun., June 20: Castrobear presents Sunday Furry Sunday at 440 Castro. 4-10 p.m. Go to: www.castrobear.com.

Mon., June 21: SF D/s Discussion Group with Eric Arkouda, at the SF Citadel (1277 Mission). 7:30-9:30 p.m. $5-$15 sliding scale. Go to: www.groups.yahoo.com /group/SFDsDG/. Tue., June 22: Mommy/Boy & Girl Panel organized by Alix Iron at the SF Citadel (1277 Mission). 8-10 p.m. $20. Go to: www.sfcitagel.org. Tues., June 22: 12-Step Kink Recovery Group at the SF Citadel (1277 Mission). 6:30-8 p.m. Go to: www.sfcitadel.org. Wed., June 23: Leathermen’s Discussion Group. Upstairs at Blow Buddies (933 Harrison). 7:30-9:30 p.m. Go to: www.sfldg.org. Wed., June 23: Leather Buddies at Blow Buddies (933 Harrison St). 8 p.m.-Midnight. $12, Buddies membership required, $8 for 6 months. Go to: www.blowbuddies.com. Wed., June 23: Men, Come Meet the 15 Association! At the SF Citadel (1277 Mission). Doors open at 7:45 p.m. Event starts at 8 p.m. Cost is $20 ($15 for 15 Assoc Members). You don’t have to be a member or even on our guest list to attend, just 18 or over with a government-issued male I.D. (If you don’t have a liability waiver on file, you will be asked to sign one and to present legal identification.) Go to: www.the15association.org. Wed., June 23: 3rd Annual Dirty Jockstrap Auction. This event is back for another year at Chaps Bar (1225 Folsom). 100% of money raised goes directly to the Stop AIDS Project. Chaps team members will “scent” jockstraps for a week, and they will be silent-auctioned that night. Five celebrity go-go studs dance and collect tips that will go to SAP. At 9 p.m., Lenny Broberg will auction off the go-go dancers’ jockstraps. Go to: www.chapsbarsanfrancisco.com Wed., June 23: SoMa’s Men’s Club. Every Wed., the SoMa Clubs (Chaps, Powerhouse, Truck, Lone Star, Hole in the Wall, The Eagle) have specials for those who have the Men’s Club dogtags. See your favorite SoMa bar for details.

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17 June 2010 . eBAR.com . BAY AREA REPORTER

KARRNAL

Sweet jizzus by John F. Karr irst there was Starz, followed by More Starz. Then there was Ultimate Starz. Now we get Rising Starz (Star Books, $19.95), and it’s the best of them all. Its interviews with 45 XXX stars are compulsive, gobble-them-up reading. After all, who doesn’t want to know more about the real as well as the reel life of the porn starz – to cop the spelling of series author Owen Keehnen. How they got there, what they found, how they coped, what do they do when they’re not there, and what’s the kinkiest thing they’ve done – the men behind the fantasy tell all about themselves and their adventures in the jizz biz. The book includes all types of guys: twinks and daddies, S&M-ers and cuddlers, with a focus on new performers – well, new when the interviews were conducted. So we get the currently very popular Johnny Gunn and Ty LeBouef, twink Ethan Storm, bodybuilder/gymnast Skye Woods, and exotic Kai Ford, as well as Bruno Bond, Shane Frost, and Connor Habib. I was surprised to hear a majority of guys say the most favorite item in their toy box is a Fleshlite – I guess I’m gonna have to get one. I liked hearing about the most aroused they’ve ever been on set, and which movie they’ve been in is their favorite – that helps you compile a swell gotta-watch-that list. I don’t know why, but I really like knowing flow, and follow along when somea performer’s age, although a few thing comes up that’s off the road guys state the date but won’t reveal map. He wants to know more when the year – surprisingly, some Turk Mason brings up drugs, younger as well as some older persteroids and unprotected sex, when formers. One who does reveal is the Lucky Daniels brings up his fiancé, fierce and super fine-looking Colin and Andy Kay his Mormon backSteele, who’s remarkably prime at ground. He lets Tony Buff discuss 46. He’s also a thrilling 6’ 7”, loves his the BDSM scene, and en11” dildo, has no gag reflex, courages three men of and fantasizes about a dark color to speak about alley with spit and no race and porn. He doesnames. n’t edit out industry seA particularly revealcrets, like the on-set ing question is Favorite prevalence (even exMovie. Wow, the passpectation) of Viagra, ing fancy and just plain Cialis, Levitra and even crud that tops many a Caverjack. Yet Keehnen dude’s list! Yes, Scott sadly misses one fasciMatthews lists Gone K ARRNAL nating area, by being not With the Wind, but K NOWLEDGE at all curious about the there’s nary a title of sexual identity of seversubstance nor a timeal included performers who may be tested classic among the choices. I bisexual. sure wish Keehnen had asked about Most all of the guys say they were favorite books. How dull it is that the pleasantly surprised by the profesDream Vacation and Romantic sional, accommodating attitude on Evening is invariably naked on the set, and unpleasantly surprised by beach and dinner by candlelight. the pain-producing hours of hard Nobody wants Paris, all the shows (no pun) work it takes to film even on Broadway, or a hot tub on the the simplest suck-n-fuck. They bedeck of a secluded cabin – though, moan that technical needs kill sponmuch to his credit, Kirk Cummings taneity, and remark, nearly every wants an evening of sushi, the opera, one, on the sudden knowledge that and hours of sex. reel sex has nothing to do with real Still, Keehnen has focused his sex; it’s all acting. questions well. If he sticks closely to That sad revelation aside, there’s the same set with each star, that’s not much that’s fun and juicy in the a straitjacket. He can go with the

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These types of comments show a real strength of character. Isn’t that what we want in an IML? Or do we want some archaic image of a Tom of Finland drawing that might be nice to look at, but no one’s home? Times have changed. People need to either change with them, or stay home looking through their scrapbooks of days gone by. IML is not fixed. The judges have a tough enough time just learning who the 50-60+ contestants are, let alone try to coordinate their scoring to pick some pre-determined winner, as they’ve been accused of. Accusations happen every year. Disgruntled contestants who didn’t place in the top 20, or did but didn’t make it to the podium, will claim the

contest was rigged and that they should have won for blah-blah reason. There are always sour grapes. But really, there’s no way the contest could be rigged. If it were, don’t you think we would have heard about one of these riggings by now? It goes with the territory of any contest, be it leather, gay, or straight, that accusations of impropriety start immediately after the winner is announced. This year, the dissenters are even more vocal because of McCormick’s handicap and his transgender status. IML does not preclude anyone from competing based on transgender status. If you’re legally a man, and your license states you’re a man, then you can compete. It’s International “Mister” Leather, not International “Born Male” Leather. One of the judges, San Francisco’s own Demetri Moshoyannis, wrote a very eloquent piece

Star Books

www.ebar.com

Rising Starz author Owen Keehnen.

book. I was glad to encounter the humor of David Taylor and Braxton Bond (who wins points from me for liking Moulin Rouge). Tony Buff ’s fantasy is to be joined in an orgy by his two brothers and their boys. His two brothers! Can you hear me hyperventilating? Mike Dreyden describes his fantasy of an orgy that’s hotter than any on film (are you listening, directors?), while the hottest turn-on had by Damien Crosse in a movie made me ache with jealousy. Sorry, guys, I’m not telling; you’ll have to read it.▼ here in the B.A.R. last week about this issue. Bravo, Demetri! I hope people can put aside their fears and ignorance, just as they expected others to do for them not too long ago, and accept McCormick for who he is as a person, and invite him to their towns and cities. What better way to educate people about our many differences than to have him as your guest? When it comes down to it, it really isn’t about whether IML is transgender, in a wheelchair, has a mole on his ass, is missing a nut, sings show tunes, or whatever – it’s what each person does with his title that matters. Whether that title is IML or Mr. Podunk Leather, it’s what that titleholder does throughout the year that he or she will ultimately be judged on. So don’t prejudge McCormick before you give him a chance. You might be pleasantly surprised.▼

▼

BAY AREA REPORTER . eBAR.com . 17 June 2010

FILM

Short but sweet by David Lamble rameline 34 joins the Sundance and Mill Valley film festivals in showcasing the art of the short subject. Here are some suggestions from programs playing through Wed., June 23. Coverage will continue in next week’s issue. The New Tenants Danish director Joachim Back is wickedly funny in spinning the story of a queer male odd couple who have moved into the worst building since the one in Rosemary’s Baby. Beginning with a chain-smoking partner blowing sec-

ond-hand smoke into his buddy’s puss while savagely dishing the news of the day, this one quickly descends into latter-day Jules Feiffer, especially his brilliant, over-the-top family meltdown Little Murders. What clinches the deal in this Oscar-winning short is the ensemble. Hardcore LGBT filmgoers will savor the memory of Vincent D’Onofrio as the revenge-seeking, not-so-closeted cop with the wackjob for a mom in Tom DeCerchio’s anti-gay-bashing cautionary tale Nunzio’s Second Cousin. As evidenced in the recent underrated Big Fan, Kevin Corrigan

shines in the most thankless supporting roles the biz has to offer. This is a true gem! (Fun in Boys’ Shorts; Castro, 6/19, 27) The Best Is Yet To Come Eunice Wu finds a subtle way to make good propaganda go down as easily as sweet-and-sour pork in this sincere tale of an interracial teen couple navigating the backlash of the Prop 8 election. (Fun in Girls’ Shorts; Castro, 6/19, 27) Dyke Dollar The old activist trick of stamping the currency with our logo is brought into comic relief in Laura Terruso’s wry live-action cartoon, where two skinny teens are

Frameline 34 captivating, distinctly troubled island paradise where the dominant AfroCaribbean population (85%) is torn between its middle-class and mainstream Christian roots and the lingering colonial trappings represented by the white minority (12%). The fear of crime from the small armies of unemployed young men is always present. Mortimer’s sensual tragedy centers on the unlikely and very rocky courtship between a shambling, would-be musician, Romeo, and a skinny white art-student, Johnny. The piece is positively electric during an emotionally and erotically charged half-hour when the slyly seductive black hunk (Stephen Tyrone Williams) schemes to bed Johnny (Johnny Ferro). He meets the kind of resistance he’s obviously never encountered before, from a pushy bottom who employs every trick in the passive/aggressive playbook. Johnny is dearly afraid of life – as evidenced by the paucity of passion in his landscapes – but beneath the spiky brown mop there lurks a very ferocious lover with impossibly high standards. First-time director Mortimer gives his lover-boys a series of increasingly thrilling beats: Romeo persuades Johnny to surrender his fears in a sea-cushioned massage, and Johnny, in turn, gives Romeo a poetic description of a possible future for their taboo love. “Are you really scared of dying alone?” “Yeah, boy, I want to be surrounded by the people I love and be loved.” “When you die, your heart stops, but your brain keeps working for five minutes, and in those moments you dream, for five minutes. But there’s no sense of time in the dream world, so that dream lasts forever and ever.” Inspired by the 2008 homophobic murders in the islands, the film is a haunting glimpse at a sun-baked world that has been touched by American televangelism, and that is still symbolically overseen by the British Queen. (Castro, 6/23) I Killed My Mother This Quebec chamber-piece from prodigy Xavier Dolan will be catnip for fans of such Mom-bashing classics as Where’s Poppa?, Mommie Dearest, Portnoy’s Complaint and Ordinary People.

Frameline docs ▼

page 21

to bitter tears as the election-night returns destroy their dream. A bizarre moment in the Mormon full-court press to a 52%-to-48% win is a Prop 8 election ad with blond surfer dudes pondering the threat of married queers. “Gays interrupt the Mormon plan for Heaven, so taking away any sense of humanity or rights that they may deserve is just collateral damage in pursuit of what they believe is critical to their beliefs.” – a Prop 8 opponent. An almost giddy Prop 8 proponent,

Courtesy Frameline

▼

page 21

The Adults in the Room looks at the confusion of a teenage affair.

Dolan strips away conventional wisdom, and finds a painfully funny way to present a series of adolescent queer boy/Mommy pitched battles that only completely snap together at the end, when Mom is given her primal scream. Dolan, who just wowed critics at Cannes with his follow-up crazy love feature, plays petulant 16-year-old queer boy Hubert, who has been raised by his single mom, Chantale (Anne Dorval), since his useless dad decamped during his toddler years. Dolan has a knack for piercing insights, witty bashing of mom’s bourgeois fashion sense, and an innate skill for framing what, in less competent hands, could become tiresomely selfindulgent rants. Especially lovely are Dolan’s B&W self-portrait video diary entries, designed for Mom to find, as she ever-so-deliciously does. (Castro, 6/19) The Adults in the Room “He’s not a pervert, he went to Harvard.” Selftaught filmmaker Andy Blubaugh shines with a meta-fiction feature that mixes the confusion still swirling within him about an affair he had as a teenager with a 30something man, a fractured doc about his fictional alterego making a film about said affair, and comments from adult experts, plus odd slices of the controversy that enveloped Portland, Oregon’s openly gay Mayor Sam Adams after confessing his sexual tryst with one Beau Breedlove, a barely legal male intern. Whew! Too much information? In lesser hands, possibly, but Blubaugh, using skills honed in his meteoric

short-film career that carried him to Sundance, is mostly able to keep us on message, and in the process create a film that will undoubtedly provoke a good post-screening discussion. He compensates for the occasional narrative hiccups with shrewd casting, especially the emotionally supple Calvin McCarthy as his teenage persona. McCarthy employs his choir-boy countenance to hint at the many faces and motives of the teen “victim” of an adult/child relationship. Sex-advice columnist Dan Savage shrewdly assesses the phenomenon. “The paradox is that often the best older person to be involved with a young person sexually is a person who wouldn’t be involved with a young person sexually.” (Victoria, 6/23) The Stranger in Us Scott Boswell takes his sweet time finding the core of his story in this ultra-low-budget debut feature, shot in the dingiest corridors of our fair city. As soon as his frustrated poet Anthony (Raphael Barker), a new boy in town, crosses paths with cute, needy hustler Gavin (Adam Perez), the piece catches fire and carries us through a realistic if downbeat climax. Fueled by a psychologically astute turn from Scott Cox as the abusive older boyfriend, Boswell finds original and witty ways to assess the price of life on the streets for each nano-generation that seeks out our little psychotic Disneyland. (Roxie, 6/23) Sasha The fate of a feckless family of Balkan refugees striving to be good burgers in Angela Merkel’s Germany is amusingly spoofed in Dennis Todorovic’s slapdash comedy that al-

celebrating at a California electionnight victory party, gushes, “It makes me feel American – call it cheesy, but it really does.” (Victoria, 6/18) The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls Leanne Pooley examines the only-in-New-Zealand phenomenon of twin yodeling, country-singing lesbian sisters Jools and Lynda Topp. Raised along with their gay brother in their island nation’s rugged cattle country, the Topp gals started busking for giggles in the early 1980s, leading to a career that has no clear American counterpart. The film switches from chronicling their nearicon status with gently funny spoofs of New Zealand male and female ar-

chetypes, to serious episodes of antinuclear and pro-queer demos. (Castro, 6/20) Beautiful Darling: The Life and Times of Candy Darling, Andy Warhol Superstar “Candy fit in perfectly because she was like a real movie star from MGM, only in a world that was filled with LSD and speed.” – John Waters. Perhaps the most poignant and fleeting stab at stardom from the Warhol crowd belonged to a young man, James Slattery, fated to grow up with a girlish countenance and an obsession to follow in the stylish footsteps of Jimmy Stewart’s frequent costar Kim Novak. Raised just off the

Courtesy Frameline

Frameline shorts programs, week 1

David Rakoff in The New Tenants.

taught the power of a dollar. The piece is sparked by dead-on accurate takes on teen male psychology and body language, especially from newcomer Peter Pinelli. (Fun in Girls’ Shorts; Castro, 6/19, 27) Gayby The fine art of satire pays off in this droll 12 minutes on how a queer man and woman decide to procreate without the aid of kitchen utensils. (Gayby program; Roxie, 6/22) Go Go Reject The brutal way men dish each other around body issues is engagingly addressed in Michael Saul’s spoof about a skinny boy who just wants to dance. (Skinnyfat; Roxie, 6/20)▼

ternates laughs for the swells and the groundlings. The most precious creation is young Dustin Hoffman lookalike Sascha Kekez, who pulls off an unconscious homage to his Hollywood soulmate in his portrayal of a fidgety piano student who’s caught between his bumpkin family’s pratfalls, his mother-fueled concert ambitions, and his own very ferocious crush on his German piano teacher. (Castro, 6/18) The Owls Director Cheryl Dunye, who wowed festival-goers with Watermelon Woman and Stranger Inside, returns (with the help of co-screenwriter and acclaimed novelist Sarah Schulman) with a very funny and painfully accurate take on the members of a cult dyke band who are, to say the least, aging badly, 10 years after their 15 minutes. With a fabulous cast – Guinivere Turner, VS Brodie, Lisa Gormick, Deak Evangenikos, Skyler Cooper and Dunye herself – The Owls (meaning Older, Wiser Lesbians) is part sophisticated cat-fight, part psychological thriller and mind-game standoff, part witty and self-conscious postmodern film critique, and mostly just nimble good fun in 67 swiftly-paced minutes. Imagine Last Summer at Bluefish Cove meets a lesbian take on The Petrified Forest meets anything by Charlie Kaufman. Enough said: enjoy! (Castro, 6/18) Grown Up Movie Star Adrianna Maggs conceals the homo hook in her bleak, slyly funny Newfoundland soap opera well into the second act. It’s to her credit that when she hooks us, it’s with a uniquely Canadian take on how a plucky lass gets in too deep with her closeted dad’s guilty secret partner, himself a lovely contradiction: a sexy boy in a wheelchair with a dirty mind and quick shutter-finger. Big Love’s Shawn Doyle is engagingly feral as the rage-aholic ex-hockey player who’s over his head in the Dad department, and a step away from the penalty box at all times. Tatiana Maslany is saucy and endearing exploring the mystique of her missing Mom’s Hollywood vanishing act. Be patient with this one, especially through one too many third-act meltdowns. (Castro, 6/18) Is It Just Me? This mistaken-identity comedy wobbles badly between cringe-inducing satire and a true romantic’s need to find signs of intelligent life in the Southland’s craven boy

ghetto. Blaine (the sweet/savvy Nicholas Downs) is a low-self-esteemafflicted, almost-pretty boy who’s fishing for love in the oil-infested waters of Web chat-rooms. Blaine’s waking hours are spent spinning a poetic personal column for a nitwit gay rag. An on-line chat with a guitar-strumming Texan (David Loren, miming a young Andy Griffith) convinces Blaine that Xander’s his soulmate. Director J.C. Calciano’s smartest conceit has Xander mistaking Blaine for his sex-pig roomie, Cameron. An achingly sincere climax will either convince you that this is the new Big Eden or send you out to rent the real deal: Jim Fall’s delayed-gratification classic Trick. (Castro, 6/22) Madchen in Uniform In The Celluloid Closet, Vito Russo uses the original 1931 boarding-school drama to illustrate the insidious nature of homophobia at the dawn of the sound era. Banned by American censors, the film had US distributors who agreed to drastic cuts that eliminated overt lesbian behavior, creating, as Russo writes, “a classic example of how American society has willfully deleted the fact of homosexual behavior from its mind. The censors removed it, anyone who still saw it was labeled a pervert.” This 1958 remake by director Geza von Radvanyi features the then-rising German starlet Romy Schneider as the love-stricken Manuela. (Castro, 6/23) Bloomington This succulent lesbian bodice-ripper from Brazilianborn Fernanda Cardoso shows she’s done her homework on the inside baseball of both WB-style TV and the incestuous precincts of Midwest academia. This is a fantastic résumé piece for all three female leads: Sarah Stouffer, as the freshman psych major eager to discover if there’s life after primetime TV stardom; Allison McAtee, who reminds one of a young Kathleen Turner as the lesbian abnormal psych “seductress” professor; and Katherine Ann McGregor, as the controlling mom who’s desperate to be neither cliché stage mother nor a mere prop in her daughter’s fight for fame. Cardoso understands that the real issue in student/teacher affairs is often one of appearances. This very funny and honest film is a glorious homage to all those who lack impulse control. (Victoria, 6/23) (Continues next week.)▼

Babylon line of the Long Island Rail Road (the train that NYC cops getting off the Midnight shift ride), Candy Darling plopped herself down inside Manhattan precincts where a man in makeup, let alone a dress, risked arrest and worse. Crashing the hothouse world of Warhol’s movie factory in the mid-60s along with a handful of starstruck chicks with dicks, Candy Darling quickly established a reputation as perhaps the one boy actress who had the aura of a young Marilyn Monroe. Starring in Warhol’s feminist parody/homage Women in Revolt, which miraculously garnered her a Hollywood opening, Candy’s career would peak and

crash as drugs and fashions adjusted for the yuppie 70s. Director James Rasin has assembled a remarkable chorus of New York insiders – Fran Lebowitz, Jayne County, Paul Morrissey and Waters – to not only assess Candy’s bitter 15 minutes, but to provide a fitting epitaph for an era with its guerrilla wars over fame, gender and fickle mediadriven fads. Beautiful Darling climaxes with a provocative debate on trans identity and the moving efforts by best friend Jeremiah Newton to find a fitting resting place for her ashes next to his mom’s, and ultimately his own. (Castro, 6/23)▼

Info: www.frameline.org.

17 June 2010 . eBAR.com . BAY AREA REPOR TER 37

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