the selector
Naked Girls Reading photo by R. Henry; Holograms photo by K. Notan; StrEat Flicks photo by Dan Liu; Santa Claus is Coming Out photo by Bree Michael Warner; Exodus photo by Shannon Coor; Growlers photo by Taylor Bonin; UpSwing Aerial Dance photo by Bryan Kato; Gary Gulman photo by Mindy Tucker; oakland interfaith gospel choir photo courtesy of oigc
Slim’s
upswing aerial dance see saturday/21
333 11th St, SF www.slimspresents.com
Growlers
its two nights at the Independent, so I’ll miss out again. Fortunately I can absorb the Costa Mesa band’s cult-like hippie vibes and appreciate its spooky, retro aesthetic through videos. You, however, should go. With a new EP, Gilded Pleasures, there’s a chance to hear some fresh material — and if the videos are any indication of the live experience, you’ll find the finger is on some filthy, reverbrich pulse and you won’t be able to look away. (Andre Torrez)
772 Pacific, SF www.koshercomedy.com
Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir
years, the label continues to go strong, and the group still plays with a raw, rebellious energy and spirit. (McCourt) With Civil War Rust, Rats in the Wall, Bum City Saints 9pm, $12 Thee Parkside
With Abigails, Mystic Braves
1600 17th St., SF
Fri/20-Sat/21, 9pm, $20
www.theeparkside.com
Independent 628 Divisadero
UpSwing Aerial Dance
www.theindependentsf.com
Saturday 12/21 Youth Brigade
Formed by brothers Adam, Mark, and Shawn Stern in 1980, Youth Brigade made its mark on the early California punk scene not only with empowering anthems like “Fight to Unite,” but also with the DIY attitude with which members
went about making their music. The Los Angeles-born band started the Better Youth Organization to promote shows and put out records for themselves and for their friends’ bands, and after more than 30 news
Dec 24-26, 6pm (dinner show); 9:30pm (cocktail show), $44-$64 New Asia Restaurant
I didn’t see the Growlers at Outside Lands last summer, or when the band played a VICE party in Mexico City while I traveled there that same month. Alas, I’ll be home for Christmas during
opinion
Jewish Home’s Esther Weintraub Comedy Clinic. (Haruta)
Cherie Carson’s UpSwing Aerial Dance Company is a small, Berkeleybased group of people who love to spend their time on ropes and trapezes — and even, at times, on stilts and unicycles. Only three years old, the group grew out of a pickup ensemble that wanted to perform on a more regular basis. At home in the Eighth Street arts complex, where it also presents its shows, UpSwing honors the longest night of the year and the return of the sun with a Winter Solstice celebration. In addition to the UpSwing dancers, junior group Teens Who Fly will make an appearance. Alissa Kaplan Soto designed an interactive visual installation, and musicians Dave Worm, Midnight Ramblers, and Sahib Amar and Amar Singh will do their share to make this a welcoming, audience-participation-invited holiday event. (Rita Felciano)
Saturday Write Fever Do you do some of your best writing under extreme duress? Can you act the hell out of a script that’s just been handed to you? Time to stretch your spontaneity muscles at Saturday Write Fever. Every third Saturday, EXIT Theatre and the San Francisco Theater Pub host writers and per-
formers for a mixer that gives way to a 30-minute writing sprint on a topic chosen that night, during which participants turn out original monologues. Actors are then cast from the audience (no previous acting experience necessary!) for flash performances of these hot-off-the-press works. Hosted by local writers Stuart Bousel and Megan Cohen, this coming together of creative community may move at lightning speed, but it is certain to be unforgettable. (Kirstie Haruta) 8:30pm, free
5:30 and 8pm, $10-$25
EXIT Theatre
Studio 12
156 Eddy, SF
2525 Eighth St, Berk
www.theexit.org
www.upswingaerialdance.org
food + Drink
the selector
music
arts + culture
Tuesday 12/24 Kung Pao Kosher Comedy Years ago, comedian Lisa Geduldig put a new twist on the old unwritten law that says “Jews must go to a Chinese restaurant on Christmas” after finding herself telling Jewish jokes at the Peking Garden Club in South Hadley, Mass. Soon thereafter, Kung Pao Kosher Comedy was born. With two shows a night over three days, the 21st annual show offers six chances to escape the holiday madness and have a good laugh. This year’s headliner is Gary Gulman (pictured), a Boston native whose resume brims with late-night talk show appearances and Comedy Central spots; he was also a runner-up on Last Comic Standing. Joining him are stand-up and improv star Adrianne Tolsch; Asian American Theater Company Comedy Competition winner Samson Koletkar; and, of course, host Geduldig. Proceeds from the shows benefit San Francisco and Marin Food Banks’ Healthy Children Pantries and the San Francisco
Rise up, clap your hands, and sway to the beat, because tonight the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir hollers holy at its 25th annual Holiday Concert. Rumor has it that temporary architectural reinforcements may be added to the walls at Slim’s, because the soulful bellowing of these gospel crooners could easily blow the roof off and bring down the house. Though the December holidays don’t immediately conjure up the deep timber and breathtaking vibrato of gospel and spiritual music, the OIGC’s mission — “to inspire joy and unity among all people” — coincides harmoniously with the holiday spirit. Joyful noise, indeed! (Baker) 7 and 9:30pm, $15 Slim’s 333 11th St, SF www.oigc.org
2
The Guardian listings deadline is two weeks prior to our Wednesday publication date. To submit an item for consideration, please include the title of the event, a brief description of the event, date and time, venue name, street address (listing cross streets only isn’t sufficient), city, telephone number readers can call for more information, telephone number for media, and admission costs. Send information to Listings, the Guardian, 225 Bush, 17th Flr., SF, CA 94105; or e‑mail (paste press release into email body — no attachments, please) to listings@sfbg. com. Digital photos may be submitted in jpeg format; the image must be at least 240 dpi and four inches by six inches in size. We regret we cannot accept listings over the phone.
kung pao kosher comedy see tuesday/24
film
classifieds
december 18 - 24, 2013 / SFBG.com 19