Bay Area Reporter April 2 2015 by Bay Area Reporter

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Vol. 45 • No. 14 • April 2-8, 2015

D’Arcy Drollinger, Andrew Slade (Best Gogo Guy) and Heklina at Oasis (Best New Nightclub) Gareth Gooch

Besties

20 15

THE LGBT BEST OF THE BAY

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TONIGHT! Join us on tonight, April 2 from 6-8:30pm as we celebrate the winners of our 5th annual readers’ choice awards. We’ll take over Oasis, 298 11th Street at Folsom, San Francisco, for a special evening celebrating the LGBT Best of the Bay as voted by you, our loyal readers. Enjoy hosted beer and specialty cocktails and light refreshments from 6-7pm as we toast this year’s Besties Winners, followed with performances by Marga Gomez, Veronica Klaus and the Whoa Nellies. Emcee Queen Cougar, DJ Mark O’Brien. Must be 21 or older to attend. BESTIES 2015 SPONSORS:

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Pink Holy Week Saturday protest producer named

Brown taps gay attorney for SF court by Matthew S. Bajko

gay attorney who was part of the legal team that defended San Francisco’s groundbreaking Equal Benefits Ordinance has been appointed to the San Francisco Superior Court. Joseph Quinn, the Judge appointee husband of the pre- Joseph Quinn siding justice of the First District Court of Appeal’s Division One, James M. Humes, was one of three people Governor Jerry Brown named to the lower court Friday, March 27. Also named last week to vacancies on the local bench were Deputy Attorney General Ross C. Moody, 50, who works in the California Department of Justice’s Civil Division, Government Law Section, and San Francisco Assistant District Attorney Sharon M. Reardon, 44. Moody will serve in the seat vacated by retired Judge Julie Tang, while Reardon will fill the vacancy created by the elevation of Judge Marla J. Miller to the Court of Appeal. Quinn, 46, who lives with Humes in San Francisco’s Noe Valley neighborhood, fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge John E. Munter. All three will earn $184,610 as a judge. “I’ve wanted to be a judge for a long, long time,” said Quinn, who submitted his application last September to be considered for a judicial vacancy by the governor. In a phone interview with the Bay Area Reporter, Quinn joked that “things will be a little more even now” at home with Humes, who made history in 2012 when Brown, his longtime former boss, named him as the first openly LGBT judge to serve on a state appellate court. Quinn expects his swearing in ceremony will take place in mid-April. He will then face the voters on the June 2016 primary ballot in order to maintain his seat. “I am very grateful to Governor Brown and I am looking forward to earning the trust and confidence of the people of San Francisco,” said Quinn, who has been a partner at Hanson Bridgett LLP and an adjunct professor at Golden Gate University School of Law since 2010. According to LGBT legal advocates, he will bring the number of gay and lesbian jurists on the San Francisco bench to nine. “My intent is to serve all the people of San Francisco. But I do think it is significant, and should not be lost, that I am an openly gay man and have been open and outspoken my whole career,” said Quinn. “I think it is incredibly important that justice is inclusive. I am hoping my serving on the bench will send a message that justice is indeed inclusive and See page 5 >>

Vol. 45 • No. 14 • April 2-8, 2015

by Seth Hemmelgarn

John Bare

n estimated 300 people – parents, teachers, students, and supporters – turned out Monday, March 30 for a procession and vigil to protest San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone’s proposed morality clauses for the teacher handbooks for Catholic high schools in the diocese

and to reclassify school faculty as “ministry” so that they are exempt from anti-discrimination laws. Two mothers of Catholic high school students carried the cross along the 1.7-mile procession from Mission Dolores to St. Mary’s Cathedral, where “Teach Acceptance” banners were unfurled.

rganizers of this year’s Pink Saturday event have announced that a producer who’s been involved with San Francisco’s Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival and Bay to Breakers race will work with San FrancisPortraits to the People co’s LGBT Community Center to put on the gay Eliote Durham street party. Eliote Durham will serve as executive producer of the party, which is less than three months away. E. Cee Productions, Durham’s company, has for years worked with large civic and community gatherings “because we enjoy producing events that bring the community together, create See page 28 >>

SF law enforcement reeling over scandals by Seth Hemmelgarn

in our law enforcement community.”

an Francisco’s law enforcement History of allegations community, already embroiled in Federal court records show Neu, a controversy, has become mired in sheriff ’s deputy who allegedly made even more trouble over the past week as inmates fight, has faced serious allegasome sheriff ’s deputies face allegations tions before. that they made inmates fight – and In an amended complaint filed gambled on the bouts. against the city, then-Sheriff Mike HenFederal court documents show that nessy, and Neu in August 2007 in U.S. one of the sheriff ’s deputies has previDistrict Court for Northern California, ously been accused of sexually assaultinmates David Spears, who’s transgening transgender inmates. der, and Sabrina Wigfall claimed that On top of the fighting allegations, Neu had sexually assaulted them. analysis from the police DNA lab is According to the complaint, in May being questioned, and District Attor2005, Neu asked Spears if she “’wanted ney George Gascón announced this some of this’ and showed him his erect week that he’s formed a task force to penis. Neu then began masturbating Seth Hemmelgarn investigate the latest allegations at the in plain view” of Spears but left when San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi speaks at a March sheriff ’s and police departments. another inmate approached. In March, media reports revealed 26 news conference. Another time, the court documents that some officers had allegedly particisay, Neu ordered Spears to give him head. pated in exchanges of racist and homoWhen she refused, Neu told her to “lick it that “irregularities” in the police department’s phobic text messages. crime lab’s DNA unit prompted two staffers to one time.” Spears “obliged and quickly left.” Then, last Thursday, March 26, Public De- be reassigned while an investigation is conductThe filing says that among other actions, Neu fender Jeff Adachi announced that sheriff ’s ed. The paper has since said that authorities are forced Wigfall to suck his penis. deputies allegedly forced at least two inmates to The city denied the allegations. examining “1,400 criminal cases that were prosfight each other and one of the deputies is sus- ecuted in part based on DNA work” performed In August 2008, Kyle “London” Adams filed pected of threatening a male inmate with rape by the lab employees. a complaint in federal court against the city, earlier that month. Hennessy, and Neu. Adams, who’s transgender, At a Hall of Justice news conference Monday to The same deputy, Scott Neu, is the one who announce his task force, Gascón, a former police claimed that in a 2006 incident Neu “exposed had been accused of sexually assaulting trans- chief, said, “We do not know how deeply these his penis” to her and asked, “Do you know what gender women in jail. to do with this?” problems run,” but “San Francisco will have no Friday, the San Francisco Chronicle reported tolerance for bad behavior or criminal behavior See page 30 >>

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April 2-8, 2015 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 5

Bonauto to argue in Supreme Court marriage case by Lisa Keen

ell-known Boston-based attorney Mary Bonauto will be one of two advocates to argue against state bans on same-sex marriage before the United States Supreme Court April 28. The news came after the Supreme Court quietly stuck to its initial directive that the parties send up only two attorneys – one to argue each of the two questions the court posed in accepting the case for argument. The 37 attorneys for the same-sex couples sent a March 17 letter to the Supreme Court clerk proposing that they be able to send four attorneys to the lectern – one from each of the court cases in four states that are on appeal. The letter seemed to give credence to reports of tensions behind the scenes as many attorneys were vying for the opportunity to argue what will be one of the most high profile cases before the Supreme Court this term. A court spokesperson said the clerk’s office “verbally encouraged” the attorneys to accept the court’s initial plan. In press releases Tuesday, March 31, groups involved in the litigation announced that Bonauto, who led the legal challenge for equal treatment of same-sex couples in marriage licensing in Massachusetts in 2004, and Douglas Hallward-Driemeier, a partner in Ropes and Gray’s Washington, D.C. office, would deliver the arguments. They will be standing at the lectern for 37 attorneys representing plaintiffs in four cases across four states. And they will also be standing up in an appeal that could dramatically change the landscape for LGBT people legally nationwide. Bonauto, civil rights director for Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, is highly respected by attorneys straight and gay and is the best known of the attorneys working on the four marriage cases from the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal. She won the landmark Goodridge v. Commonwealth lawsuit in 2003 that led to Massachusetts becoming the first state in the nation to treat samesex couples the same as heterosexual couples in the issuing of marriage licenses and recognition of marriagerelated rights and benefits. She also led GLAD’s team in Gill v. Office of Personnel Management, the first successful federal appellate challenge against the federal Defense of Marriage Act. Bonauto’s been profiled in the New York Times magazine, awarded a MacArthur Foundation grant, and compared to civil rights giant and former Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall.

Gay attorney

From page 3

for all.” Attorney Jamie Dupree, a lesbian and co-chair of Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom, told the B.A.R. that the local legal group for LGBT attorneys is “pleased to see” Quinn be named a judge. “BALIF is thrilled by the appointment of Joseph Quinn, a longtime BALIF member and supporter, to the San Francisco Superior Court bench,” stated Dupree. “BALIF’s Judiciary Committee vetted Joe and highly recommended his appointment to the governor. He is extraordinarily well-qualified for the position.” Quinn earned a Juris Doctor degree from the UC Berkeley School of Law and a bachelor’s degree from UCLA. In 1994 he began his legal career as a trial attorney at the Fed-

Rick Gerharter

Attorney Mary Bonauto

Bonauto has led GLAD’s legal team for 25 years and has as much or more experience than any other attorney in the country in litigating the marriage equality issue specifically. She is co-counsel on the team of private attorneys in the Michigan case, DeBoer v. Snyder. A GLAD news release indicated Bonauto will be representing both the Michigan case and the Kentucky case, Love v. Beshear. She will be addressing the court’s Question 1: “Does the 14th Amendment require a state to license a marriage between two people of the same sex?” Hallward-Driemeier, a partner in the prominent conservative-leaning national law firm Ropes and Gray, in Washington, D.C., will be arguing Question 2: “Does the 14th Amendment require a state to recognize a marriage between two people of the same sex when their marriage was lawfully licensed and performed out of state?” Hallward-Driemeier is an attorney on the legal team challenging the Tennessee ban, in Tanco v. Haslam. He will also be representing plaintiffs in the Ohio case, Obergefell v. Hodges. Hallward-Driemeier heads Ropes and Gray’s Supreme Court practice and, prior to joining the firm, handled Supreme Court litigation for the U.S. Department of Justice. He also served as assistant to Republican Solicitor General Paul Clement during the administration of President George W. Bush. An article in the Journal of Law for Emory University School of Law said Hallward-Driemeier ranked 26th among the most frequent Supreme Court advocates between 2000 and 2012, having argued 13 cases. (Clement was No. 1, having argued 62 cases at that point. Clement added to that number in 2013 by arguing for the preservation of the Defense of Marriage Act.)t eral Defenders of San Diego. A year later he served as a law clerk at the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, and in 1996 he joined the law firm Jackson, Tufts, Cole and Black LLP as an associate. Within 12 months he was back clerking at the federal district court for now retired U.S. federal Judge Eugene F. Lynch. In 1997 Quinn was hired as a principal trial attorney at the San Francisco City Attorney’s office, where he worked until 2001. During that time he was part of the legal team that defended a city ordinance requiring city contractors to provide the same benefits to their employees with domestic partners as those received by their employees with spouses. United Airlines, as well as the Air Transport Association, sued over the policy. Quinn worked beSee page 14 >>

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<< Open Forum

6 • BAY AREA REPORTER • April 2-8, 2015

Volume 45, Number 14 April 2-8, 2015 www.ebar.com PUBLISHER Michael M. Yamashita Thomas E. Horn, Publisher Emeritus (2013) Publisher (2003 – 2013) Bob Ross, Founder (1971 – 2003) NEWS EDITOR Cynthia Laird ARTS EDITOR Roberto Friedman BARTAB EDITOR & EVENTS LISTINGS EDITOR Jim Provenzano ASSISTANT EDITORS Matthew S. Bajko • Seth Hemmelgarn CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Ray Aguilera • Tavo Amador • Race Bannon Erin Blackwell • Roger Brigham Brian Bromberger • Victoria A. Brownworth Brent Calderwood • Philip Campbell Heather Cassell • Belo Cipriani Chuck Colbert • Richard Dodds Michael Flanagan • Jim Gladstone David Guarino • Liz Highleyman Brandon Judell • John F. Karr • Lisa Keen Matthew Kennedy • Joshua Klipp David Lamble • Max Leger Michael McDonagh • David-Elijah Nahmod Elliot Owen • Paul Parish • Sean Piverger Lois Pearlman • Tim Pfaff • Jim Piechota Bob Roehr • Donna Sachet • Adam Sandel Khaled Sayed • Jason Serinus • Gregg Shapiro Gwendolyn Smith • Jim Stewart Sean Timberlake • Andre Torrez • Ronn Vigh Ed Walsh • Cornelius Washington Sura Wood ART DIRECTION Jay Cribas PRODUCTION/DESIGN Max Leger PHOTOGRAPHERS Jane Philomen Cleland • FBFE Rick Gerharter • Gareth Gooch Lydia Gonzales • Jose Guzman-Colon Rudy K. Lawidjaja • Georg Lester • Dan Lloyd Rich Stadtmiller • Steven Underhil Dallis Willard • Bill Wilson ILLUSTRATORS & CARTOONISTS Paul Berge • Christine Smith ADVERTISING/ADMINISTRATION Colleen Small VICE PRESIDENT OF ADVERTISING Scott Wazlowski – 415.861.5019 ADVERTISING ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Lance Roberts NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE Rivendell Media – 212.242.6863

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News Editor • news@ebar.com Arts Editor • arts@ebar.com Out & About listings • jim@ebar.com Advertising • scott@ebar.com Letters • letters@ebar.com Published weekly. Bay Area Reporter reserves the right to edit or reject any advertisement which the publisher believes is in poor taste or which advertises illegal items which might result in legal action against Bay Area Reporter. Ads will not be rejected solely on the basis of politics, philosophy, religion, race, age, or sexual orientation. Advertising rates available upon request. Our list of subscribers and advertisers is conﬁdential and is not sold. The sexual orientation of advertisers, photographers, and writers published herein is neither inferred nor implied. We are not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts or artwork.

Indiana must repeal anti-gay law

ndiana Governor Mike Pence forces established law in the state. last week signed a so-called ReAccording to Lambda Legal Deligious Freedom Restoration Act, fense and Education Fund, the law’s Senate Bill 101, that fundamenlanguage is so broadly written that tally changes the legal threshold someone can sue even without their for discrimination. It is the most religious beliefs having actually been sweeping of some 24 similar soburdened by simply suggesting that called RFRA bills that have been it is “likely” to occur. Pence knows introduced in 15 states this year, full well that Indiana doesn’t have according to the American Civil sexual orientation and gender idenLiberties Union. Basically, the law tity protections for its citizens. allows businesses to deny services Pence is a bigot. to customers based on the reliAs far back as his 2000 House gious beliefs of the business ownrace, he was spewing anti-gay ers. Plain and simple. rhetoric: “Congress should oppose Reaction has been swift, fierce, any effort to put gay and lesbian and growing. relationships on an equal legal staSan Francisco Mayor Ed Lee was tus with heterosexual marriage,” his one of the first to quickly condemn website stated. the law and forbid non-essential Pence should not get a pass now. Courtesy Ed Murray’s Twitter account city-funded travel to the state. He meant to sign that law and was His gay counterpart in Seattle, Ed Gay Seattle Mayor Ed Murray on Tuesday signed an executive photographed with anti-gay backMurray, did the same thing Tues- order banning official city travel to Indiana. ers during the ceremony. He does day. The San Francisco Board of not like us. Supervisors, led by gay members But that personal dislike does zation said in a statement. “We are committed Scott Wiener and David Campos, not give him – or state lawmakers, to diversity and inclusion with our sport and are expected to vote next week on a similar reswho passed the bill in the first place – the right therefore will continue to welcome all competolution. Business leaders have also come out to blatantly discriminate under the guise of itors and fans at our events in the state of against the law. Angie’s List scrapped “religious freedom.” People already enjoy freeIndiana and anywhere else we race.” a planned expansion – and a redom of religion. It’s settled law that businesses When NASCAR comes out ported 1,000 jobs – in Indiana. must serve the public equally. States cannot against you, you’ve got a problem. San Francisco-based Salesforce carve out exceptions and let people discrimiPence gave a widely-panned insaid it wouldn’t send workers nate because they don’t agree with their views, terview on ABC’s This Week with there. As our sports columnist religious or otherwise. We’re done with Jim George Stephanopoulos last Sunday writes this week, opposition has Crow. in which he feigned bewilderment come from top athletic conferencPence said this week that he’s seeking to that so many people, companies, es, organizations, players, coaches, “clarify” the law, whatever that means. What and political leaders were angry. and at least one college athletic he and the legislature need to do is repeal SB This was a day after thousands director (who happens to have a 101 and pass a law that offers job and housing protested the new law at the gay son). protections for all residents, including sexual Statehouse. He sought to blame On Tuesday even NASCAR exorientation and gender identity. the media – always a disingenuous pressed disappointment in the law. The state’s largest newspaper, the Indiaploy. And he was incorrect in several statements “We will not embrace nor participate in exnapolis Star, put it perfectly Tuesday in a rare he made, like his claim that SB 101 only reinclusion or intolerance,” the auto racing organifront-page editorial: Fix This Now.t

Suicide prevention: A fountain of confidence by Allen Jones

he San Francisco Bay Area chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention recently held its second annual Research to Practice Conference in San Francisco. This year’s conference focused on LGBT suicide risk and prevention. Ryan Ayers, northern California area director for AFSP, coordinated the daylong event, held at San Francisco State University. He admits there were a smaller number of attendees than last year’s 130 people. But he was just as excited to hear what those leading the way on research of suicide and prevention had to share. A good number of AFSP volunteers wearing blue T-shirts helped get the conference started offering refreshments, while a handful of organizations shared literature on suicide prevention. But before the conference began, a quick look at an AFSP pamphlet dispelled one myth: Suicides are not more frequent around the December holidays. “In fact,” the pamphlet stated, “suicide rates tend to be highest in the spring months, peaking in April, and are below average during the winter months, with the lowest rate in December.” The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) is the leader in the fight against suicide. It funds research, creates educational programs, advocates for public policy, and supports survivors of suicide loss. It is led by Chief Executive Officer Robert Gebbia and headquartered in New York. AFSP has 67 local chapters with programs and events nationwide.

Sad facts

John R. Blosnich, Ph.D., with public health sciences at the Department of Veterans Affairs in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, highlighted LGBT mental health issues specifically related to the veterans community, and his research of sexual minority status among U.S. military personnel. He reminded those in attendance that despite the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” transgender people cannot serve in the military. Ilan H. Meyer, Ph.D., a senior scholar for public policy at the Williams Institute for Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy at

UCLA’s School of Law, shared current research on suicide attempts and suicide in LGBT individuals. Meyer began his presentation with an illustration on a large screen with too many confusing lines that all pointed to suicide. Then he broke down the elements to show how researchers are finding ways to remove the confusion. In subsequent screen images the same information was presented, minus the confusing lines. Jody L. Herman, Ph.D., also at the Williams Institute, provided a landscape overview of the research on suicide among transgender people, including promising interventions. However, she also provided a sobering fact from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: In 2013, there were a little over 16,000 murders in the U.S. There were 41,000 suicides in that same year. Some of the information shared only a data nerd could understand. But these leading researchers made it clear to all that there is still too much that we do not know. There are many warning signs of suicide, which include verbal statements, depression that gets worse, a decline in performance at school or work, and changes in self-care, to name a few. There are also the risk factors that include previous attempts, substance abuse, extreme sensitivity to rejection or failure, and isolation. But too many have experienced what one conferencegoer described. Debra Anderson said her 82-year-old father-in-law committed suicide and not even her husband noticed any signs that he was suicidal. In fact, she said, his nickname for decades was, “Happy.”

Breakout sessions

The conference broke into several smaller groups for more education and sharing on suicide and prevention. San Francisco Suicide Prevention had an impressive young woman who knew her stuff. Sivan Adato, youth and outreach manager, spends a good deal of her time in the schools. But last weekend she was also educating those at least twice her age on

how to detect and help people at risk. She spoke as a seasoned professional, and is a suicide survivor and counselor. The faith community was represented in one breakout session. A man who identified himself as John leads a Catholic Church LGBT ministry in a San Jose parish. He told how in 2003 he attempted suicide by drinking bleach. That attempt got him kicked out of college but when he revealed to his relieved mother that he tried to kill himself because he was homosexual, she then kicked him out of her life. To this day she does not speak to her son. Ironically, John found a Catholic church that could not be happier to welcome him and the man he eventually married.

Food for thought

The nation spent $12 billion on AIDS and $2 billion on breast cancer in 2013. It only spent $165 million on suicide prevention at a time when suicide had more deaths than AIDS and breast cancer combined in that year. San Francisco recorded on average 100 suicides a year; not including those who use the iconic Golden Gate Bridge to end their life. On average there are only two to three teens in the city per year who end their life. Of the 70,000 calls to the San Francisco Suicide Prevention hotline per year, nine out of 10 are related to relationships.

A feeling of hope

The conclusion of the conference included dinner and libations. There was also a survey. One participant filled out his form and turned it in frustrated that he could not find the words that best described what he experienced for the “comment” line. While mingling with others, it hit him. He described feeling that we will get the upper hand on reducing the number of suicides by expressing what he wanted to say in the survey: that presenters all must have drank from a “fountain of confidence.”t Allen Jones is a San Francisco resident.

Politics>>

t Sex ed, trans juror bills among EQCA legislative priorities by Matthew S. Bajko

ills updating the state’s sexual education curriculum to be more inclusive of LGBT relationships and outlawing discriminatory practices against transgender jurors are among the legislative priorities this year for the state’s LGBT advocates and lawmakers. In a joint statement released this week, the statewide LGBT advocacy group Equality California and the California Legislative LGBT Caucus, an affiliation group for out lawmakers, announced seven pieces of legislation they have, so far, made a priority for this legislative session. A majority of the bills have straight lawmakers as the lead sponsors, while two on the list come from LGBT caucus members. At least one more bill, if not more, should be added to the tally later this month. “These bills are part of the continuing work to which we dedicate ourselves, and remember that the struggle for equality goes on,” stated lesbian Assemblywoman Susan Talamantes Eggman (DStockton), who chairs the LGBT caucus. “Health disparities, school inclusiveness and discrimination against transgender individuals are still pressing issues for the LGBT community.” One of the bills sure to be targeted by anti-gay groups is AB 329, authored by Assemblywoman Shirley Weber (D-San Diego). It aims to revise current law covering sex education for students in grades 7 to 12 to ensure that it “is accurate, comprehensive, medically accurate, age-appropriate and inclusive,” according to EQCA. In addition to fostering “greater understanding and acceptance of LGBT youth and families,” the bill calls for updating curriculum on preventing sexually transmitted infections, HIV, and pregnancy. EQCA is co-sponsoring the bill along with the American Civil Liberties Union of California, California Latinas for Reproductive Justice, Forward Together, and Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California. Another bill, AB 87, would ban discrimination against transgender jurors during the jury selection process in California courts. Authored by Assemblyman Mark Stone (DMonterey Bay), the bill also clarifies that jury selection discrimination based on ethnicity, age, genetic information, or disability is also prohibited. Also on the list is AB 1050, authored by gay Assemblyman Evan Low (D-Campbell), which would exclude private organizations that discriminate based on sexual orientation or gender identity from being eligible to participate in a state employee charitable giving program. A fourth bill that has yet to receive much attention is AB 827, authored by Assemblyman Patrick O’Donnell (D-Long Beach). It calls for the creation of a training program to help teachers combat bullying and support LGBT youth who are coming out of the closet or being targeted by other students. In February the Bay Area Reporter reported on two bills on the list authored by freshman Assemblyman David Chiu (D-San Francisco). AB 959, the LGBT Disparities Reduction Act, would instruct state agencies to begin collecting data on sexual orientation and gender identity no later than July 1, 2017. In conjunction with the bill, EQCA is working with Covered

Assemblywoman Shirley Weber

California, the state’s health insurance exchange, and Medi-Cal to update forms so those seeking insurance coverage through the entities could voluntarily disclose their sexual orientation and gender identity. As the B.A.R. noted in February, Covered California executives have requested that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services grant it permission to ask the LGBT-based questions after a person enrolls in an insurance plan. The second bill, AB 960, is known as the Equal Protection for All Families Act. It modernizes California law to protect families using assisted reproduction methods. Sperm donors would not be legally considered a parent, under the legislation, and unmarried people using assisted reproduction would have the same parental rights as married parents. Joining EQCA as co-sponsors are the National Center for Lesbian Rights and Our Family Coalition. Another bill the B.A.R. reported on in March, SB 703, is authored by gay state Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco). It requires that companies based outside of California that seek state-funded contracts must offer their transgender employees the same benefits other employees receive. California-based companies are already required to do so. NCLR and the Transgender Law Center are co-sponsors of the bill with EQCA. “Collectively, these bills not only close some of the remaining gaps in California civil rights laws but also help advance EQCA’s new objectives which are to address the health and well-being of LGBT Californians,” stated EQCA Executive Director Rick Zbur. “Our ‘Fair Share for Equality’ report highlights that LGBT people face significant disparities in their health and wellbeing compared with the broader community. Our legislative program is focused on beginning to address these disparities.”

EQCA endorses in East Bay Senate runoff

After its endorsed candidate in the race for a vacant East Bay state Senate seat failed to survive the special election last month, EQCA decided to back one of the two candidates that advanced to the May 19 runoff. Initially, EQCA chose to support former Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan (D-Alamo) for the state Senate District 7 seat covering much of eastern Contra Costa County and the Tri-Valley section of Alameda County. But she ended up in third place and failed to advance. This week EQCA announced it was now endorsing the secondplace finisher, Assemblywoman Susan Bonilla (D-Concord), in the runoff next month against Orinda Mayor Steve Glazer, a Democrat

who placed first in the March 17 election. The East Bay Stonewall Democratic Club, the area’s LGBT political group, had endorsed Bonilla earlier this year. Bonilla has faced criticism from some LGBT advocates for a number of political decisions perceived as being anti-gay. Yet during her first two terms in the Legislature, she has had perfect scores on EQCA’s legislative scorecard and carried a law banning gay and trans panic defenses in murder trials. “Prior to its passage, California courts legitimized prejudice and hate against our community,” noted Zbur in announcing the endorsement. He added that in addition to Bonilla’s “100 percent pro-equality track record, she has and will continue to be a strong voice for full equality for the LGBT community in California.”

April 2-8, 2015 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 7

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Rick Gerharter

Aaron Peskin wants his supervisor job back.

Former SF supe Peskin seeks re-election

Former San Francisco Supervisor Aaron Peskin, who served as president of the board, is seeking his old job back. This week he filed to run against interim District 3 Supervisor Julie Christensen this November to recapture the board seat he served in from 2001 to 2009. “I’m running for supervisor because the challenges facing San Francisco are simply too great for me to sit on the sidelines,” Peskin told supporters during a March 30 press conference in front of a Chinatown building where an elderly Chinese couple and their adult disabled daughter have been fighting their landlord’s attempt to evict them. District 3 includes Chinatown, North Beach, Nob Hill, Polk Gulch, Russian Hill, Telegraph Hill, Tenderloin, Union Square, Golden Gateway, the Financial District and Fisherman’s Wharf. Nicknamed the Napoleon of North Beach, Peskin, 50, served as chair of the San Francisco Democratic Party from 2008 to 2012. Married to environmental attorney Nancy Shanahan, he is currently president of an environmental nonprofit called Great Basin Land and Water, which secures water rights for Native American tribes. The prominent progressive politician famously sparred with former Mayor Gavin Newsom, now the state’s lieutenant governor, over myriad issues during their time at City Hall. Since leaving office Peskin has remained a vocal critic of development issues and clean energy policy in the city. “The affordability crisis has been allowed, over the last few years, to rage out of control and ravage our city,” stated Peskin. “Over 2,000 tenants were evicted last year. Ellis Act evictions are doubling every year. And only 6 percent of new housing that is being built is affordable to the middle class.” An outspoken foe of Mayor Ed

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What you need to know about YOUR

Commentary>>

April 2-8, 2015 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 9

Meanness and meaning by Gwendolyn Ann Smith

I’m trying to figure out how removing gender-neutral bathrooms can be really covered under this veneer of public safety. This can only be assumed to be squarely to disallow transgender people equal access to public facilities. A recent case in Midland, Michigan may be a new flashpoint in this battle. A Planet Fitness location dropped the membership of one of its users, Yvette Cormier. Cormier had stated that a “man” – in actuality a transgender woman – was using the facility, and complained to several other customers about it. Planet Fitness, citing its policy as a “judgment free zone,” canceled her membership. Cormier is not going quietly. Indeed, she is suing Planet Fitness for more than $25,000, claiming “embarrassment, humiliation, and severe emotional distress” from “a man [using] the locker room” while Cormier did. Her counsel, the Kallman Legal Group, has a history of anti-LGBT causes. I want to share one more story, though, in contrast to the above. Planet Fitness is not the first gym to face a similar issue. Some months back, a transgender woman by the name of Tammy Powers was at a 24 Hour Fitness location at Van Ness and Post in San Francisco. She had been using this facility for just over a year. Much like the Planet Fitness incident, Powers was in the changing room when another woman started shouting. “There’s a man in here,” she called. The two of them exchanged words, making their way to the front desk to complain about each other. The staff of 24 Hour Fitness took them both aside to get each other’s story. At the end of this, Powers was told that this situation would not happen again. Powers did not ask what the staff had done, deciding that it was over, and it was time to just “move on.” There’s more to this story. Months later, a woman approached Powers at the gym, saying, “Hi, remember me?” It was the woman who had called her out. She continued. “I really need to apologize to you,” she said. The woman added that she had no real information about transgender people, and did not understand what Powers was going through. She had since learned more. At the end, they hugged.

e are living in very mean times. The news is filled with police assaults and murders of people of color. Congress is continuing to try and gut health care and other social safety nets. Certain elements of the media continue to blame women, immigrants, the poor, religious minorities, and people of color – among others – for all of society’s ills. In the wake of all this, the religious right – presumably feeling that the writing is on the wall for the marriage battle they’ve fought since the 1990s – is looking for new avenues that will allow it to continue to discriminate against LGBT people. With a stroke of Governor Mike Pence’s pen, Indiana became the most recent state to pass a “religious freedom” bill. Senate Bill 101 opens the door for discrimination against LGBT people in the Hoosier State based on one’s religious beliefs. The Indiana law is one of 21 enacted by states after the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 was held as unconstitutional as applied to states in 1997. The push for these bills has ramped up, too, in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court decision last year in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores Inc., which allows the store not to cover contraceptives for its employees under the Affordable Care Act based on the privately held company’s owners’ religious beliefs. As the wildfires that are these religious freedom bills continue to spread, such is not the only tack the right is taking. Within the transgender community – as I have discussed more than a few times – the fight is on to bar trans people from restrooms and other public accommodations, under the guise of “public safety” and a mythological fear that sexual predators will use such spaces to commit crimes. Legislation continues to proceed in Texas and Florida. A third bill, in Kentucky, has thankfully failed to pass a Democratic-controlled House, but not without a fight. A pair of Missouri bills have an additional wrinkle: One will disallow bathrooms that aren’t singlestall to be gender neutral, while another would disallow state revenue to be used to help create a “genderneutral environment.”

Christine Smith

I spoke to Powers before finishing this column, and we discussed how this contrasted with what happened at Planet Fitness. It reminded me of an important part of all of these bathroom bills, and one I’ve addressed before. For many people out there, even

now, they do not understand us. They may not even realize they know any transgender people. We’ve not been a part of their experience. When their lawmakers push for these anti-transgender bathroom bills, people don’t see how this will harm anyone – and they may truly

believe that anyone who is transgender is a potential predator. Perhaps I’m overly optimistic, especially in the wake of all this anger, and hate, and general meanness in the air. We can hardly assert to be this modern, enlightened society we often claim to be while white cops are still being excused for killing blacks, or while women still get blamed for helping to cause their own rapes. As we gain a voice, and as we continue to gain visibility, we become harder to demonize. People begin to see transgender people as not some faceless “other” in the world, but their co-worker, their family member, their friend. We become human. Sometimes the greatest change will not come from policy nor law – but from people losing their fear through familiarity. That, too, will beat any meanness.t Gwen Smith is the change she wants to see in this world. You can find her on Twitter at @ gwenners.

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<< Community News

10 • BAY AREA REPORTER • April 2-8, 2015

SF supes move to condemn anti-gay Indiana law by Khaled Sayed

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ay San Francisco Supervisors Scott Wiener and David Campos Tuesday introduced a resolution condemning the anti-gay law recently signed by Indiana Governor Mike Pence. The two gay lawmakers are the latest city voices speaking out against the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which Pence signed in a closed ceremony March 26. The law, which goes into effect in July, allows anyone in the Hoosier State to use their religious beliefs to claim that they have a right to refuse to follow anti-discrimination protections and other laws. The law, known as Senate Bill 101, is primarily focused on allowing businesses to refuse service to gays and lesbians. It is a reaction to the advancement of marriage rights for same-sex couples and court rulings that have determined bakeries and wedding service providers can’t discriminate against LGBT customers. Since Pence, a Republican, signed the RFRA he has been faced with a huge backlash from LGBT people and their supporters around the U.S. This week, following a massive protest against the law last weekend, Pence said he would seek to “clarify” the law. In a March 31 news release, Wiener and Campos said their resolution, which the Board of Supervisors will vote on next week, condemns the law and calls on city departments and private businesses to end business relations with Indiana.

Randi Romo via Twitter

Crowds swelled outside the Indiana Statehouse in Indianapolis last Saturday as protesters condemned a new Religious Freedom Restoration Act law.

The day Pence signed the law, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee directed all city departments to ban any publicly-funded city employee travel to the Hoosier State. Wiener and Campos’ resolution calls on city departments to refrain from entering into any new or amended contracts with companies headquartered in Indiana, and to review existing contracts to explore opportunities to discontinue those contracts. “This law is an attack against the LGBT community and basic human

rights and has no place in our country,” Wiener said in a statement. This week Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf also said that she was directing the city administrator not to approve the use of city dollars for business travel to Indiana. She said she would ask the City Council to pass a similar resolution. San Francisco State University will bar school-funded travel to the state. See page 30 >>

REAF to expand giving compiled by Cynthia Laird

he Richmond Ermet AIDS Foundation, long known for its entertainment shows that raise money for HIV/AIDS organizations, has announced that it is changing its name and will expand its giving to community programs targeting hunger and disenfranchised youth. The nonprofit organization will now be known as the Richmond Ermet Aid Foundation. According to a news release, RAEF’s board members feel that by capitalizing on the organization’s 20-year history of successful fundraising through quality events, they could also make a difference by supporting programs that provide food for the needy and programs that support homeless, disadvantaged, and disenfranchised youth. Ken Henderson, REAF executive director, told the Bay Area Reporter that the organization hopes to raise more money by attracting new people to its events. He also said that public perception that AIDS is over has affected giving by individuals as well as corporate donors. “We hope this will be more attractive to corporate funders,” Henderson said. “A lot are not giving to AIDS causes as much.” Henderson explained that under REAF’s new model, donations from its events would now go to a two-way split, instead of a four-way split. For example, the annual Help is On the Way XXI: Hollywood Glam, set for June 26, will raise funds for testing and treatment programs at the San Francisco AIDS Foundation’s new gay men’s health center in the Castro and Meals on Wheels, which provides home delivered meals to seniors and

other home-bound individuals. REAF’s holiday show will raise money for Larkin Street Youth Services, which serves homeless and disadvantaged youth, and Aguilas, which provides HIV outreach and prevention services to Latino youth in the Bay Area. REAF also does special cabaret shows featuring stars of touring Broadway shows; the next one is scheduled for May 18 with the touring cast of The Book of Mormon. “We hope it will bring more universality to the cause,” Henderson said of the change. He pointed out that many other organizations have broadened their missions in recent years, as a way to increase revenue due to declining donations. “We’re kind of following the trend,” he said. Henderson also said the board wanted to make sure that funds raised stayed local and had the biggest impact. REAF’s founders, the late Barbara Richmond and the late Peggy Ermet, envisioned a world without AIDS when they started the foundation. Both had sons who died of AIDS-related complications. The nonprofit also launched a new website this week, at www.reaf.org.

LGBT Social Security town halls

The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare Foundation will hold two Bay Area town halls for LGBT people so that they can know their rights since the 2013 Windsor decision that threw out a key provision of the Defense of Marriage Act. Both are free and open to the public.

Attendees will learn how they might be eligible for additional monthly Social Security benefits, including spousal, children’s, and survivor’s benefits. In Oakland, the meeting takes place from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, April 7 at First Congregational Church of Oakland, 2501 Harrison Street. Speakers will include Grace Kim, regional commissioner, San Francisco region, of the Social Security Administration; Steve Breen, deputy regional commissioner; Web Phillips, senior policy analyst at the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare Foundation; Amy Whelan, senior staff attorney, National Center for Lesbian Rights; and Brendalynn Goodall, president of the East Bay Stonewall Democratic Club. Moderator will be Peggy Moore, senior adviser to Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf. To register, contact Karen Hughes at (510) 343-7130 or events@artosconsulting.com. In San Jose, the town hall will be held Wednesday, April 8 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Roosevelt Community Center, 901 E. Santa Clara Street. Kim and Phillips will also be there, along with Gabrielle Antolovich, board president of the Billy DeFrank LGBT Community Center; and Daniel Redman, an attorney with Spring and Associates. Wiggsy Sivertson, co-founder of the Bay Area Municipal Elections Committee, will moderate. Also scheduled to be on hand for brief welcoming remarks will be San Jose Representatives Mike Honda (D) and Zoe Lofgren (D). To register, contact Fred Carter at (408) 293-3040 or fabulous@defrank.org. See page 28 >>

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<< Community News

12 • BAY AREA REPORTER • April 2-8, 2015

TENDERLOIN

Stations of the Cross

Transparent actress honored by Out and Equal

A Place of Grace Noon - 2p.m. Good Friday, April 3, 2015

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Amy Landecker, left, a star in the TV show Transparent, was joined by one of the show’s writers, Ali Liebegott, as she acknowledged the audience’s applause during Out and Equal Workplace Advocates’ annual Momentum dinner.

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n actress in the groundbreaking television show Transparent was honored at the recent Momentum gala held by Out and Equal Workplace Advocates. About 400 executives and employees attended the March 26 fundraiser, which concluded a two-day executive conference. “The organization’s agenda is for executives to come out in numbers in terms of safety,” Amy Landecker, an actress and straight ally, said in an interview with the Bay Area Reporter. “An open safe place is valuable and people are more productive in their jobs if they are themselves.” For its eighth annual gala, Out and Equal honored Landecker, known for her role as Sarah Pfefferman in the Golden Globe-winning Transparent. The show, produced by Amazon.com, has been praised for its portrayal of the transgender community as it focuses on the Pfefferman family and the discovery that the person they knew as their father, played by Jeffrey Tambor, is a transgender woman. “I’m deeply honored to accept this award on behalf of Transparent, a show that continually makes me proud,” said Landecker. “Out and Equal’s work toward workplace equality for members of the transgender community is vital and an important step toward full equality for all members of the LGBT community.” Transparent, which was created by Jill Soloway, who has a trans parent, has hired 80 transgender people for its cast, crew and extras, Landecker said. It has also raised the transgender community’s visibility with a national audience. “It’s an absolute breakdown of Hollywood when the industry is requesting transgender actors. It’s exciting,” said Landecker, who sees streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon as the edgier cousins of cable and network television. In 28 states, employees can still be fired based on sexual orientation while 33 states still discriminate against transgender employees. At the conference, speakers talked about the importance of equal rights. “We need to change the frame so people understand this is about discrimination, not religious freedom,” Tim Sweeney said during his State of the LGBT Movement address at the executive forum. “Let’s set up a narrative that questions the idea of attacks on religious freedom and clarifies how discrimination affects communities.” See page 18 >>

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<< Community News

14 • BAY AREA REPORTER • April 2-8, 2015

Authors praise rise in LGBT-themed kids’ books by Chris Huqueriza

wenty-five years ago, Leslea Newman published a book about a child and her two moms. A simple story about a little girl and her two mothers dropping her off to school. Titled Heather Has Two Mommies, with illustrations by Laura Cornell, the book received both acclaim and controversy. Named a Lambda Literary Award finalist in 1990, the book would spark outrage two years later in North Carolina concerning its place in the public library. But most importantly, the book became a milestone in LGBT-themed books and a perspective many children need to see. Last month, a new edition was released to coincide with the milestone anniversary. “When writing books for young readers, it’s important to remember what it felt like to be a child,” said Newman, 59, who identifies as lesbian and has written over 60 books. “Tap back to your childhood and write to children. There was no book [at the time] to reflect my family.” Since then, many books have been released with LGBT themes or authored by out writers. Author Maya Christina Gonzalez

wrote and illustrated a children’s book called Call Me Tree/Llamame Arbol. While the book, published last year, focuses on the main character’s relationship to nature, it is known for not using any particular gender pronouns and uses both Spanish and English in its text. “I started off writing, then with painting. The freaks and geeks need to tell their stories and kids need to hear them and relate to them. The big major publishers won’t publish them,” said Gonzalez, 51, a queer Chicana who lives in San Francisco with her husband and has made multicultural books for the past 20 years. “Without using gender pronouns, it gives my character the opportunity to grow into themselves. There’s no reflection of that in the media.” Other authors write books using their own identity to shape their work. James LaCroce, Ph.D., has tackled issues of gay adoption and environmental issues in his books. In the latest, Chimpy Saves the Neighborhood, the plot revolves around a monkey named Chimpy and his best friend Matthew Chicken as well as his adopted parents, Juan and Benji. While touching upon environmental issues, the book

Cynthia Laird

A new crop of LGBT-themed kids books has added to choices for young readers.

Jeanine O’Connor

Author Maya Christina Gonzalez

also tackles LGBT hate crimes with Chimpy and Matthew Chicken building a robot because “their freedoms have been restricted.” “I wanted the plot of this book to concern community violence against the LGBT community in San Francisco. Even given all of our advancements (including gay marriage) there still is violence in our community,” said LaCroce, 41, a gay man who’s married to Bay Area

Reporter assistant editor Matthew S. Bajko. “Particularly we still have violence against the most vulnerable of the LGBT community. When we begin to combat crime, we also look at how this restricts our freedoms.” LaCroce’s book is a sequel to Chimpy Discovers His Family, which was published in 2010. Author Gayle E. Pitman, Ph.D., wrote This Day In June revolving around the importance of LGBT Pride parades. “It occurred to me that I’d never seen a children’s book about Pride before, and I thought that would be a fun, refreshing, and informative

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contribution to the LGBT children’s book genre,” said Pitman. With illustrations by Kristyna Litten, the children’s book provides an enriched reading guide and a note to parents and caregivers as Pitman anchors every two-page spread with information about LGBT history and culture. “So much of our history is being lost or maligned in some way,” added Pitman, 43, who identifies as pansexual and is a professor at Sacramento City College. “I was very surprised that almost nothing has been written about a guide for talking to children about sexual orientation and gender identity. When parents (especially if they’re straight) don’t know how to talk about these issues, they avoid them, and that’s dangerous.” For many of the authors, having these issues open dialogue makes children more comfortable with themselves. Author Marcus Ewert published a story about a little boy named Bailey who dreams about making and wearing 10,000 dresses. Illustrated by Rex Ray and titled 10,000 Dresses, Bailey receives criticism from his family and friends about his choices. “When I wrote the book in 2008, there were no books about trans kids and that needed to be addressed,” said Ewert, 44, a gay man who will be a keynote speaker on the American Library Association’s LGBT panel during its conference in San Francisco this summer. “At the time, people told me that no one in the world would publish [10,000 Dresses]. It’s not true now as there are many books out there that are different. There is a mini publishing explosion of queerthemed books. It was the first book to be about a trans kid.” For all five writers, they are pleased that there is now more diversity in LGBT children’s books, but Newman, for one, feels that movement has been slow. “There’s some progress but it’s not enough,” said Newman. “We need more diverse books when it comes to issues of race, disability, religion, and gender. I hope to see a lot of progress in the future very quickly.” As Newman’s iconic work celebrates 25 years, she is not alone in telling stories of the LGBT community. As she reflects back on her work, she imagines that little Heather and her mothers would be all grown up in a better world. “The mothers would be in their early 50s in their respective careers as doctor and a carpenter,” Newman said. “Heather would be 30 years old and a feminist. She would be very happy and loves doing what she does.”t

Gay attorney

From page 5

hind the scenes to encourage LGBT employees at United to come out publicly and testify in the case about the difficulties they faced due to not having equal benefits. “It put a human face on that otherwise theoretical challenge to a local ordinance,” he said. “That was probably the most impactful period of my career, to see the case develop that way. It was a very powerful thing for me.” While the aviation industry won a partial victory in the case – they did not have to provide domestic partner health insurance and pension coverage – the law laid the groundwork for the city’s marriage equality fight years later. “No way in 1999 doing that case did I think in 2015 I would have a marriage license in the state of California,” said Quinn, who married Humes in 2008. “I think it is in part from what we did in that case that marriage equality now exists in California.”t

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<< Travel

16 • BAY AREA REPORTER • April 2-8, 2015

Experience the unexpected in Monterey’s Carmel Valley by Heather Cassell

t was an unusually hot weekend in northern California recently, so my girlfriend and I headed to the Monterey coast to cool off and enjoy the outdoors for a quick getaway. Little did we know that the beach was sizzling too ... at least for the first day of our adventure. The sky was blue as far as we could see driving down Highways 101, 156 and 1. It was tank top, shorts, and flip-flop weather for sure. We were excited to see what was new and rediscover the Carmel Valley area as we tend to stay in Monterey proper when we cruise down to the area for weekend getaways with our friends. Getting away from the well worn touristy spots, Carmel Valley is a diamond in the rough, offering luxury that won’t lighten your pocket book too much, a plethora of outdoor adventures, and unique culinary and winery experiences, along with easy access to the beauty of Carmel, Monterey, Pebble Beach, Big Sur and the rest of what Monterey County has to offer. Only 10 minutes from Carmel-bythe-Sea and 15 to 20 minutes from Monterey and Pacific Grove by car, Carmel Valley is more pastoral. The postage stamp size of a town is small. However, travelers should make a point to stop at Carmel Valley Village, which is filled with wine tasting rooms, restaurants, and shops. Carmel Valley has retained its rugged Western feel, but it is also growing up, developing its own wine country charm along with some trendy spots for the younger crowd. “Carmel Valley is really that undiscovered destination, [but] it’s becoming more discovered,” said Max Schroeder, a 42-year-old gay man who is the assistant general manager

of the Quail Lodge and Golf Club, where we were guests. “Carmel Valley Village, as opposed to Carmelby-the-Sea, is really unique and much more affordable. You get a lot more value and there [are] some really unique wineries, restaurants, and shops. It’s still California, so it’s very LGBT-friendly. I think it’s fantastic.” Schroeder enjoys the relaxed pace of life after relocating from Chicago two and a half years ago to Monterey. At the same time he and his partner of 22 years haven’t had to give up the culinary and cultural experiences that they both enjoy, he said. Monterey offers all of those things. If they want more they can take a trip to San Francisco or Silicon Valley, he said.

Getting out into the wild

My girlfriend and I enjoyed a walk in Garland Park during our first day in the valley. On our second day, we headed to the coast as guests of Elkhorn Slough Safari, where we finally cooled off a bit as the fog briefly made an appearance. Monterey is rich with natural habitats for marine and land animals and outdoor activities, making it a destination for nature lovers. Garland Park is a popular destination for a variety of outdoor activities, including biking, hiking, horseback riding, and jogging. Creative types also like the park for the artistic adventures it offers. Artists and photographers alike enjoy the historical sites and scenery along the trails that cover 4,462-acres of the park and lead to the northern crest of the Santa Lucia Mountains, which provides picture-worthy scenery and views from the vista. Elkhorn Slough is one of the primary destinations for birdwatchers, offering sightings of up to 350 dif-

Geena Dabadghav

Visitors can discover the Elkhorn Slough’s wildlife with naturalist Laura St. Pierre, who runs the Elkhorn Slough Safari.

ferent bird species that stop off at the slough, a narrow wetland or swamp, during migration. Nature lovers can also observe otters, sea lions, and seals up close either on a boat, by kayak, or standup paddleboard. It was an unusual day on the slough, Laura St. Pierre, a 26-yearold lesbian naturalist and manager of the Elkhorn Slough Safari, said repeatedly as she delighted in showing guests all of the different animals and birds as we moved through the shallow waters on a pontoon boat for nearly two hours. The water is only two feet deep and filled with nutrient rich mud, which is why the birds and sea mammals like it so much. We spotted groups of otters and their pups floating in the water, sea lions along the docks, and harbor seals resting where the tide left them along the shore. Then there are the birds drying their wings along the shore and gliding above the water. As we came upon each bird and animal, St. Pierre talked about the history of the animals and the slough. Monterey’s natural environment attracted St. Pierre, along with her soon-to-be wife, who works in the-

ater, to the area from Maine two years ago, she said. In Maine, she worked in science education after earning her degrees in chemistry and zoology. “The cool thing for me is it never gets old, never,” said St. Pierre.

Working up a hunger

The flip side of Monterey’s proximity to the wilderness is that it’s also a sophisticated culinary and wine destination located in one of the state’s agricultural heartlands. Monterey is abundant with farms and vineyards producing organic produce and grass fed cattle that are often found on the tables of local restaurants, such as Baum and Blume, Crema, Edgar’s, Gusto’s, and Will’s Fargo. After our outdoor adventures, my girlfriend and I turned our attention to refueling by exploring Monterey’s culinary and wine offerings. Each meal represented a different style from American comfort food and steak house to California cuisine to Italian. This trip we added several new restaurants on our must-hit list to revisit. Brunch lovers will love Crema, located in a charming converted

Victorian house in Pacific Grove. Guests dine in uniquely designed rooms that add to the charm of this popular spot. The restaurant also serves up a mean lunch, so be prepared to eat. The food is downhome comfort and delicious. Other popular brunch spots are Katy’s Place in Carmel and the Wild Plum Cafe and Bakery in Monterey. Lunchtime spots Baum and Blume in Carmel Valley and Gusto’s Handcrafted Pasta and Pizza in Seaside satiate an afternoon hunger. Spring through fall Baum and Blume transforms its outdoor lunchtime and dinner dining into a Biergarten during happy hour. Owner Deborah Wenzler and her two siblings craft delightful menus with fresh dishes that are light and filling and hand select beer and wines – both local and imported. If you are looking for a casual sit down lunch in a charming location this is it. Gusto’s offers diners everything from fine dining to a pizza counter to a sports bar all in one location in American fashion, but with real Italian flair. The owner also owns Basil in Carmel, and recently opened Gusto’s. Since the doors opened a little more than a month ago the restaurant has been a hit. On a Sunday evening guests streamed into the restaurant taking seats at tables and the pizza bar and picking up takeout orders as we delighted in our meal of the freshly made pasta served with European wines. It was a different scene at Will’s Fargo, Carmel Valley’s historic steakhouse. The restaurant was recently taken over by the husband and wife team of Holman Ranch Vineyard, Nick Elliott and Hunter Lawder, and serves as a conduit introducing diners to their sustainable organic wines along with their nearby ranch and vineyard and tasting room, less than two minutes away. See page 18 >>

FEED YOUR SOUL VISIT. EAT. SMILE. On a Saturday morning drive into Sacramento, you stop by a fruit stand for fresh strawberries. The kids think they’re candy and you can’t help but smile. In Old Sacramento, you find yourself enjoying trains and horse-drawn carriages. It’s evening now and the Capitol lights up. The kids think it’s a castle and you chuckle. Before hitting the road the next morning, you make one last stop at the downtown Farmer’s Market. The kids tug at your shirt, more strawberries please! Life is sweeter in Sacramento. Come feed your soul. Start Your Experience at VisitSacramento.com/LGBT

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18 • BAY AREA REPORTER • April 2-8, 2015

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Carmel Valley

From page 16

We got a special tasting out of the barrels inside the Holman Ranch Vineyard wine cave just before going to dinner, courtesy of Elliott, who chatted with us about how the wines were made and their philosophy. It definitely helped us select what we wanted with our meal. Other not-to-miss dinner spots are Grasing’s Restaurant in Carmel, John Pisto’s Whaling Station in Monterey, and the Restaurant at Mission Ranch in Carmel. All of the restaurants we dined at as guests cater to customers’ needs offering vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options, and responding to other dietary restrictions.

Quenching our thirst

We started our wine exploration in Carmel Valley at Joyce Vineyards, a family-owned wine tasting room that was hopping during happy hour with live entertainment. During the day it was casual with vino explorers cozying up to the bar with their Carmel Valley Cellar Pass; one local even stopped by to refill his wine growler. Traditionally, the containers are filled with beer, but they are now being adopted by some wineries. Guests can refill their growler with the wine selection of the week from the barrel located on one side of the bar at Joyce Vineyards. We continued our wine tasting in Carmel-by-the-Sea, often simply called Carmel, with our Carmel Wine Walk Passport, visiting Manzoni Es-

Political Notebook

From page 7

Lee’s administration, Peskin was widely believed to be interested in running for re-election after Chiu, the former D3 supervisor, resigned in the fall upon his election to the state Assembly. In January, Lee tapped Christensen, 61, a neighborhood activist

Geena Dabadghav

A lone harbor seal enjoys the sun on the Elkhorn Slough.

tate Vineyard, Silvestri Vineyard, and Vino Napoli. The passport is perfect for weekend oenophiles stepping out beyond California’s traditional wine destinations. Visitors get cards and a map to visit nine tasting rooms all within walking distance around Carmel. The best thing is that – unless you want to – you don’t have to use them all up in one day or even a single weekend. The passes don’t expire, giving Bay Area weekend travelers an excuse to visit Monterey again. It seems like Carmel is becoming a popular destination for LGBT travelers. Walking from tasting room to tasting room we couldn’t turn a corner without bumping into a group of lesbians or gay men out enjoying the weekend. It gave us the feeling that word is getting out about Carmel’s affordable luxury and charm and outdoor offerings all wrapped up in one pleasant destination. It doesn’t hurt that Monterey County welcomes LGBT travelers. who owned her own design firm, to fill the vacancy on the board. The choice upset progressives and Chinatown leaders like Rose Pak who had publicly supported for the seat Planning Commissioner Cindy Wu, who works for the Chinatown Community Development Center. Pak is now backing Peskin’s bid for the seat. “Aaron Peskin has a proven record of service to Chinatown,” stated Pak, a consultant to the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, in a statement released by Peskin’s campaign. “He made sure our community organizations got their fair share, he built affordable housing, he started the Green Patrol to clean streets and alleys, and he doubled the size of St. Mary’s Park. That’s why we don’t just want Aaron – we need Aaron.” Christensen, during a recent editorial board meeting with the B.A.R., said the mayor picked her because she not only knows the district well, but also because he wanted “someone who could run a tough campaign.” Considered part of a 6-5 moderate

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Transparent

From page 12

As Out and Equal was holding its conference, Indiana became the latest state to pass a Religious Freedom Restoration Act bill. The backlash against the state has been fierce by business leaders and many others. “In our society, corporations determine the climate,” said Landecker. “When executives come out, corporate culture will change. It’s evolving and we’re going in the right direction.” At the self-identification panel, Ken Warner from Chevron and Monica Marquez from Ernst and Young were guest speakers. Straight ally Dawn Willoughby of Clorox and BlackRock employee resource group leader Zachary Buchwald spoke at the executive sponsors panel. “When I came to BlackRock in 2008, there was no ERG,” Buckwald said of the financial planning firm. “We created a network in 2009, and in 2012 introduced an ally program. When people join the ally program, they’re saying ‘I’m ready to support you in any way.’ I want LGBT

It also helps that some of the hotels and resorts are being run by openly LGBT managers, like the Quail Lodge and Golf Club. The 50-year-old resort was recently updated and reopened after being closed for a while during the recession. The 93 rooms are spacious and well appointed, tastefully embracing the local natural ambiance in its decor without going over the top. Each cabin overlooks the 18-hole championship golf course, which will complete its makeover midMay, and sports its own private patio. The entire resort is high-tech; guests can hook up their health gadgets to exercise machines to easily control the lighting and temperature in their rooms. The resort offers luxury without the price tag in a comfortable setting. Other places that we’ve stayed range in price from luxury to midrange include Casa Munras Hotel & Spa and Portola Hotel and Spa at Monterey Bay in Monterey, the Holiday Inn Express located on Monterey’s Cannery Row, and the Cypress Inn in Carmel.

The way to Monterey

Traveling from San Francisco enjoy a coastal drive down Highway 1. East Bay vacationers take Highways 80 to 880, depending on where you are traveling from, to Highways 101 to 1. Silicon Valley travelers hop onto Highways 101 to 1.t For a list of upcoming events and destinations, see the online guide.

majority on the board, Christensen questioned the validity of seeing the political divide in the city as being moderates versus progressives. “The whole dialogue of progressive versus moderate is broken. I am not sure what they mean anymore,” she said of the political labels. “To me progressive means looking out for people. A lot of progressives are not doing a good job of looking out for people. They have turned into NIMBYs.”t Web Extra: For more queer political news, be sure to check http:// www.ebar.com Monday mornings at noon for Political Notes, the notebook’s online companion. This week’s column reported on two upcoming forums focused on anti-gay “religious freedom” bills. Keep abreast of the latest LGBT political news by following the Political Notebook on Twitter @ http://twitter.com/politicalnotes. Got a tip on LGBT politics? Call Matthew S. Bajko at (415) 8298836 or e-mail m.bajko@ebar.com.

employees to feel a sense of belonging at BlackRock to have rewarding careers.” According to Marquez, out individuals in the workplace tend to be 30 percent more productive than those who are closeted. The landscape for the LGBT community will be changing as June approaches. “Momentum comes at a crucial point for the LGBT equality movement: the Supreme Court is expected to make a definitive ruling on marriage equality in June, yet workplace equality continues to lag behind,” Selisse Berry, founder and chief executive officer of Out and Equal, said in a news release. “Although there’s still much work to be done when it comes to LGBT equality, Transparent is breaking new ground.” Humorist and comedian Kate Clinton emceed the gala, which included entertainment, an auction, and a cocktail reception. Out and Equal’s next major conference will be its national summit in Dallas in October. For more information, visit www. outandequal.org.t

Besties 2015>>

April 2-8, 2015 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 19

The Besties yet!

compiled by Cynthia Laird

his year’s fifth annual Bay Area Reporter’s readers’ poll, the Besties: The LGBT Best of the Bay, was the most successful ever. Thanks to a revamped nominating process – and great prizes – more readers completed the survey, let-

ting us know what they think are the best among a variety of offerings in nine categories. Some winners, of course, are perennial favorites, but this year the vaunted Bestie crown was also bestowed on new people and companies. Readers will find our honorees throughout all three sections of

COMMUNITY Rick Gerharter

Best LGBT Event

San Francisco Pride The 45th annual San Francisco Pride parade and festival takes place the last weekend in June and it’s fitting that in this milestone year, it was named best community event. This is the third year in a row that SF Pride has won the Bay Area Reporter’s readers’ poll. The Pride parade itself is one of the largest in the world, drawing about 200 contingents and hundreds of thousands of people to the city. Gary Virginia, president of the board of the San Francisco LGBT Pride Celebration Committee, as it’s formally known, was pleased with the recognition. “San Francisco is a treasure of well-produced and meaningful LGBT events so winning this award is a huge honor for SF Pride,” Virginia told the Bay Area Reporter. “‘Equality Without Exception’ is our theme for our 45th anniversary cel-

A San Francisco Pride participant takes in the scene aboard a float at last year’s parade.

ebration and parade this year, and we also hope to be celebrating a victory for marriage equality with the Supreme Court of the United States ruling in June.” The high court will hear oral arguments later this month in same-sex marriage cases arising from four states: Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, and Michigan. The justices are expected to issue their decision in late June. More than just a party, SF Pride also gives back to the community. Thanks to gate donations, Pride annually returns tens of thousands of dollars to local nonprofits through its community partner program. The two-day festival starts Saturday, June 27 from noon to 6 p.m. in Civic Center Plaza; it runs from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, June 28. A $5-$10 dona-

the paper – news, arts and culture, and BARtab. We’d also like to acknowledge our appreciation for this year’s Besties sponsors Alaska Airlines, Maui Sunseeker, Vista Grande Resort, Live Nation, Trumer Pils, and Oasis. Enjoy the Besties.t tion at the gates is requested and includes a $1 discount on beverages. No one is turned away for lack of funds. The fabulous Pride parade steps off Sunday at 10:30 a.m. at Market and Beale streets downtown and ends at Market and 8th streets, near the festival site. Whether you’re marching in a contingent or viewing the parade from the sidelines, the last Sunday in June is not to be missed. San Francisco Pride, www. sfpride.org.

BESTIES 20 15

THE LGBT BEST OF THE BAY

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Light in the Grove (National AIDS Memorial Grove) The National AIDS Memorial Grove in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park is a place for quiet contemplation and a living tribute to all those touched by AIDS. The idea for it was conceived in 1988; site renovation began in 1991 and is still in progress. In October 1996, legislation spearheaded by now-House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) was signed by President Bill Clinton, designating the grove as this nation’s AIDS memorial. The grove, governed by a board of directors, relies on volunteers who See page 20 >>

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20 • BAY AREA REPORTER • April 2-8, 2015

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Activists follow their passions by Cynthia Laird

ers Alliance. A resident of Oakland, she hopes the movement she’s involved with and helped start can grow. “I’d like to win concrete victories and see an end to state-sanctioned violence,” she said.

ne of them used to be homeless. Another is credited with coining a phrase that became a viral hashtag during protests against police killings of unarmed black Jane Philomen Cleland men and boys. Both are also members of the Youth rising Alicia Garza of LGBTQ community and #BlackLivesMatter Angel VanStark, state earned distinctions for director for the pritheir activism from Bay vately funded, bipartisan Area Reporter readers in this year’s Campaign for a Presidential Youth Besties readers’ poll. Council, was named best LGBTQ Alicia Garza, named the best youth activist under 25. LGBTQ activist, co-founded #BlackA little over three years ago, LivesMatter in 2013 after a jury acVanStark, 22, who prefers genderquitted George Zimmerman in the neutral pronouns, was homeless shooting death of Trayvon Martin, and found help at the San Frana black Florida teenager. The slogan cisco LGBT Community Center, took on new urgency last with which they then summer after a white pobecame involved. They lice officer in Ferguson, also previously served on Missouri shot and killed the San Francisco Youth unarmed 18-year-old MiCommission. chael Brown and a white VanStark told the police officer killed Staten B.A.R. that work on the Island, New York resident presidential youth counEric Garner after placcil campaign is going Jane Philomen Cleland ing him in a chokehold. “pretty well.” When grand juries in each Angel VanStark A resolution for a priof those areas declined to of the Campaign vately funded presidenindict the officers, protests for a Presidential tial youth council was intook place in cities across Youth Council troduced in the previous the country, including in Congress but would need Oakland and San Francisco. to be re-introduced in the current Garza, 33, identifies as queer and Congress to move forward. Such a was one of the organizers for some council would advise the president of those demonstrations. and administration on the perspec“Black Lives Matter really has tives of young people and make aimed to ensure that we’re lifting up public policy-related youth proall black lives,” Garza told the B.A.R. grams more efficient and effective. a few months ago at the height of the VanStark, who is studying poprotests. “Black Lives Matter is not litical science at City College of San just about black men.” She said it also Francisco, said they spend about includes transgender black people, eight hours a week on the youth women, poor, disabled, and others council campaign. who have been “impacted directly by “In California I’m focusing on state violence and police violence.” getting bipartisan support – both In a phone interview earlier this Democratic and Republican so it’s month, Garza said that a lot of not top-heavy by one party or anpeople don’t know that the #Blackother,” said VanStark, who identifies LivesMatter project started with the as genderqueer. Martin shooting. VanStark said that they started “I think one thing is that the project their activist work in 2012 while started about two years ago,” she said. volunteering at the LGBT center. One of the things the hashtag has “It was what I needed to live and done is build connections “in real keep myself busy,” VanStark extime and use those to impact their plained. “Once I was out of homecommunities,” she added. lessness, it continued.” Still, the issue of police brutality It’s rewarding, VanStark said, to against people of color – usually black help motivate other people when men – continues to generate headlines. involved with a project “and people “Nowadays it’s a little more visirealize progress is being made.” ble than it has been,” she noted, “but VanStark said that they look to it’s been plaguing the community help other young people and other for a very long time.” marginalized communities. Garza hopes that changes can be “I feel a little more validated,” created “so we don’t keep reading VanStark said. about murders” of unarmed black people by law enforcement. Runner-up (LGBTQ activist) Garza, who this month was Aja Monet (Tenderloin Pride) named a community grand marshal Runner-up (LGBTQ youth of this year’s San Francisco Pride activist) parade, is the special projects direcAlex Neumann (San Mateo tor at the National Domestic WorkCounty LGBT Commission)t

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Community

From page 19

help out on regular maintenance days. It is a project of the nonprofit Tides Center. The Light in the Grove benefit started about five years ago and is an annual event held to coincide with World AIDS Day. Last year, 600 guests experienced candlelight reflection at the Circle of Friends, followed by a walk through the Redwood grove before enjoying cocktails and a buffet. It has proven to be a successful fundraiser, raising thousands of dollars for the grove. National AIDS Memorial Grove’s Light in the Grove, www. aidsmemorial.org.

Runner-up Santa Skivvies Run (San Francisco AIDS Foundation)

Best Blog

Sfist.com Witty, biting, humorous. Those are just a few words that describe www.sfist.com, a longtime local blog that covers San Francisco and other Bay Area cities. Whether gathering headlines from other media outlets and adding clever insights (with links for proper credit) or generating their own content, sfist writers know what the public wants: occasional snark and a good place to catch up on the day’s events. See page 23 >>

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22 • BAY AREA REPORTER • April 2-8, 2015

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<< Besties 2015

t A dog’s (and cat’s) best friend by Cynthia Laird

ccording to the American Pet Products Association, people in the U.S. spent just over $58 billion in 2014 on their animal companions. That figure is expected to increase this year. While chain stores make up the bulk of the business, smaller shops continue to be popular as pet guardians look for healthier food options and unique toys and treats. In the Castro, Best in Show has been the go-to boutique pet store since it opened in 2002 at its former location at 16th and Sanchez. Owner Richard Shiu said the store moved to its current location on Castro Street in 2006 (the Sanchez Street shop was closed a year later). A new winner in the best place to pamper your pets category in this year’s Besties, Best in Show caters to passionate dog and cat lovers, Shiu said. “Being on Castro Street, right

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Courtesy Best in Show

Best in Show employee Ken Stockwell holds Beau, a French bulldog.

down the block from Harvey Milk’s former camera shop, brings tourists from all over the world to our street, so a huge part of our business is tourism and our very local, very loyal neighborhood customers,” he added.

Shiu also touted the store’s selection of products, its pristine merchandising, and staff ’s product knowledge and customer service as reasons people keep coming back. “Even tourists who come once or twice a year make a pilgrimage to our store to pick something up for their pet(s) at home,” he said. Pets aren’t the only customers, however, Shiu said that the shop has an entire line of human products, including ball caps and T-shirts, made especially for the store under its BiS Dog brand. They also make dog toys under the brand. You’re sure to find something fun or tasty for your canine or feline companion at Best in Show. Best in Show, 545 Castro Street, San Francisco, (415) 864-7387. www.bestinshowsf.com. Runner-up Mudpuppy’s Tub and Scrubt

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Best Dog Park

Duboce Park Best Veterinarian

Mission Pet Hospital

Mission Pet Hospital emphasizes its long history – over 30 years – and ability to coordinate various specialists to treat your pet. The multiple doctor practice facilitates in-depth involvement both diagnostically and therapeutically. For example, vets perform ultrasound exams, more advanced surgeries, and more advanced treatments like chemotherapy. Being general practitioners that are more involved allows the doctors to understand and coordinate specialists’ opinions better, its website states. Their website also features important information to help pet guardians get information on common medical issues and tips for home health care. Mission Pet Hospital also has

Duboce Park in the city’s Duboce Triangle neighborhood took the top spot in this new category. Users like the camaraderie among dog guardians and it’s a safe grassy knoll. Dogs can run about and get their exercise without bothering kids, sunbathers, and other users of the green space. http:// sfrecpark.org/parks-open-spaces/ dog-play-areas-program/. Runner-up Bernal Heights Dog Park

Best Dentist

Aaron Rose, DMD Aaron Rose, part of the San Francisco Cosmetic Dental Group, received his dental medical degree (DMD) from Tufts University in Boston. He continued his education at University of the Pacific and received a certificate in advanced

Jim Provenzano

A couple relaxes in Duboce Park, which is also a fun place for people to play with their canine companions.

education in general dentistry. According to the dental group’s website, Rose is trained in all facets of dentistry, including treatment for children, adults, and elderly patients. Services include filling replacement, root canal therapy, gentle tooth removal, dentures, and removable bridges. The group’s website has a complete rundown of treatments, technology, and patient testimonials. San Francisco Cosmetic Dental Group, Aaron Rose, DMD, 7 Lombard Street, San Francisco, (415) 398-2582. www.sfcdg.com. Runner-up Michael Perona, DDS

Best Health Care Provider

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RESURRECTION

Celebrate Holy Week and Easter Sunday with Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco at our new home: 1300 Polk Street (at Bush) with Rev. Robert Shively, Senior Pastor MARCH 29: Palm Sunday, Noon and 6 p.m.

Enter the passion story of Holy Week

APRIL 1: Holy Wednesday, 7 p.m.

A meditative service of song and prayer with Holy Week scriptures

APRIL 3: Good Friday, 7 p.m.

One-person play, John’s Dream, features impressions of Holy Week from the view of the beloved disciples, by playwright Harry Cronin, author of Matthew Shepard Meets Coyote.

APRIL 5: Easter Sunday, Noon and 6 p.m.

Stories of resurrection and hope, plus glorious Easter bonnets!

MCC San Francisco has been serving the spiritual needs of the Bay Area LGBT community for more than 40 years.

Kaiser Permanente is a community of 17,000 physicians committed to providing excellent care today, which leads to healthier tomorrows, its website notes. From cancer and cardiology to high blood pressure and stroke, the excellent care Kaiser provides for these conditions and others leads to better outcomes for its patients. Kaiser also has well-regarded HIV/ AIDS medical care, a fact that was brought to the fore earlier this year when the medical provider quickly reversed a pharmacy plan that saw patients paying a higher 20 percent of a medication’s cost, rather than the lower copay. Quick action by gay San Francisco Supervisor Scott Wiener, following up on the Bay Area Reporter’s coverage, led to a meeting whereby Kaiser officials reinstituted the lower copay amount and said it would refund clients who had been caught up in the higher price plan. Kaiser has hospitals and medical centers throughout the Bay Area. www.kp.org. Runner-up UCSF Medical Center

Best Medical Marijuana Dispensary

Apothecarium

The movement for legalizing marijuana has grown, with ballot See page 23 >>

Besties 2015>>

April 2-8, 2015 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 23

Presidio’s General Store is the best place to rediscover SF’s roots by Matthew S. Bajko

hamburgers not only to golfers but also to the myriad hikers, joggers, n spring and summer foodies, and bicyclists passing by. The golf tourists, and Marina residents course commissary is located on flock to the Presidio’s Main Post the Presidio’s Park Trail, making it Lawn Sunday afternoons for the an ideal pit stop for those exploring Off the Grid Picnic. A bevy of food the former U.S. Army outpost and trucks dish up a wide range birthplace of the city turned of fare, from Peruvian and national park. Japanese to South AmeriThe dog-friendly trail – can and Indian, for the canine companions must hungry hordes. be kept on leash – leads Yet a short hike away hikers northward to a EDItor’s pick from the noisy crowds spur that brings them to and blaring music is a an overlook for the Presidio’s less trafficked eatery nestled National Cemetery. Continuamong a grove of Monterey pine ing farther on the trail through the trees. Called the General Store, the park’s forested canopy, hikers pass small outpost can be found adjaby horse stables, traverse under the cent to the historic Presidio Golf approach to the Golden Gate Bridge, Course’s 11th hole. and emerge onto Crissy Field with its During the warmer months of stunning bayside views. the year the General Store sets up a Those who travel south on Park grill outside and serves hot dogs and Trail from the General Store con-

Shopping

From page 22

measures passing in Washington, D.C., Oregon, and Alaska since last year’s Besties. Those states join Colorado and Washington. In California, backers are expected to head to the ballot next year in an effort to legalize marijuana for recreational purposes. On the medical cannabis front, California was the first state to do so back in 1996 and, in the last 19 years, dispensaries have served as the way most patients access their medicine. The Apothecarium remains a favorite of B.A.R. readers. Located in the Castro, it is a licensed, full-service medical cannabis dispensary that now offers free delivery in San Francisco. The Apothecarium, 2095 Market Street, San Francisco, (415) 5002620. www.apothecariumsf.com. Runner-up Green Cross

Best Tax Preparer

H&R Block

H&R Block, with numerous locations throughout the Bay Area, again was the readers’ choice in this category. With the April 15 filing deadline looming, now may be the time to check out their services. An added bonus is that this year, new clients can help raise money for SF Pride. H&R Block will donate $20 to SF Pride every time a tax filer brings with them a referral form with Pride’s ID on it. To download and print out Pride’s referral form, visit http://www.hrblockreferrals.com/public/Pages/kitflyer. aspx?id=40010001081330. H&R Block, 2370 Market Street, San Francisco, (415) 2410318. www.hrblock.com. Runner-up Johnston Tax Group

Best Bank

Wells Fargo Another repeat winner, Wells Fargo not only provides full banking services, but has also contributed to LGBT community events and organizations. It’s listed on the 2015 Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index, where it scored a perfect 100 percent. Wells Fargo Bank, www.wellsfargo.com.

Community

From page 20

Part of the Gothamist.com family, sfist keeps the Bay Area entertained. (Thanks, guys, for your links to B.A.R. stories over the years.) www.sfist.com Runner-up The Bold Italic

Runner-up San Francisco Federal Credit Union

Best Bookstore

Books Inc.

Books Inc. is a locally owned independent bookseller with 11 locations in California. The bookselling model has changed drastically in recent years with the advent of Amazon.com. Books Inc. owner Michael Tucker carried out an ambitious plan to relaunch the brand following the death of the longtime owner in 1996 and a bankruptcy restructuring. That was successful, and today Books Inc. prides itself on customer service. Books Inc. offers author appearances and events for kids at its locations in San Francisco (Castro, Opera Plaza, Marina, Laurel Village), Alameda, Berkeley, Burlingame, and Palo Alto. The company also has locations at San Francisco International Airport, under the Compass Books name. Whether looking for new releases of classic titles, Books Inc. staff will be happy to help you explore the joy of reading. Books Inc., 2275 Market Street, San Francisco, (415) 864-6777. www.booksinc.net. Runner-up Green Apple Books

Best Bicycle Shop

Valencia Cyclery B.A.R. readers love this family bike shop in the Mission, and have again voted it the best in this category. The store has been doing business in the same location, and under the same ownership, since 1985. According to its website, the store prides itself on giving honest, expert advice to everyone from beginners to expert cyclists. When it comes to maintenance, Valencia Cyclery has the area’s largest inventory of parts, along with the tools and equipment to do the job right. According to its website, the store can repair just about any make or model of bicycle, from kids’ bikes to carbon fiber models. The store offers 20 percent off parts for its “tune-up special.” Valencia Cyclery also gives back to the community; it has long been a supporter of Project Open Hand (this year’s best LGBT nonprofit winner) and has raised $123,000

Best LGBT Nonprofit

Project Open Hand Project Open Hand has been serving meals with love to people living with HIV/AIDS since the late Ruth Brinker started the agency in 1985. In more recent years, the agency has expanded its client base to seniors and those with other critically ill conditions. According to its website, Open Hand prepares

nect with the Mountain Lake Trail and are afforded close-up views of the restoration and expansion of the watery basin. Then head toward the Presidio’s Arguello Gate and follow the Ecology Trail out to an overlook with a bird’s eye view of Alcatraz, the former federal prison turned tourist attraction. From the skyline perch follow the stairway down the sun-dappled hillside gathering the waters of the Presidio’s El Polin Spring. Gurgling within the confines of the national park’s Tennessee Hollow Watershed, the water source sustained early settlers of the area, from Native Ohlone to Spanish explorers and Mexican colonialists. Interpretative signs along the trail explain the area’s history and ecological features. Loop back up the hillside and follow the Ecology Trail to where it dead-ends next to over the past 19 years for the agency. Valencia Cyclery, 1065 and 1077 Valencia Street, San Francisco, (415) 550-6600 (sales) or (415) 550-6601 (repairs). www.valenciacyclery.com. Runner-up Mission Bicycle Company

Best Vintage Clothing/ Consignment

Buffalo Exchange

A new winner in this category, Buffalo Exchange specializes in new and recycled fashion. People can bring in their former favorites and receive cash or trade on the spot. Customers can also trade merchandise. The ever-changing inventory includes designer labels, vintage, jeans, leather, current basics, and one-of-a-kind items. You’ll also find brand new merchandise and accessories. Prices range widely, depending on the label, style, and other factors. Many items average around $15, although designer jeans are higher in price. Stores are generally located in progressive, urban areas; there are two outlets in San Francisco and one in Berkeley. Coming up is the April 18 Earth Day $1 sale, with a large selection of items available for a buck. Proceeds from the sale will be donated to the Fund for Animals, an affiliate of the Humane Society of the United States. Buffalo Exchange, 1555 Haight Street and 1210 Valencia Street in San Francisco, (415) 431-7733 or (415) 647-8332. In Berkeley, 2585 Telegraph Avenue, (510) 6449202. www.buffaloexchange.com. Runner-up Sui Generis

Best Thrift Store

Out of the Closet Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation operates its Out of the Closet Thrift Stores, with several Bay Area locations. You’ll find clothing, books, DVDs, and other assorted items, with proceeds benefiting AHF. At the location in Oakland, people can also get a free HIV test from a certified counselor. The stores accept donations of clothing, household items, and more. Out of the Closet, 1295 Folsom Street and 1498 Polk Street in San Francisco, (415) 558-7176 or 2,500 nutritious meals and provides 200 bags of healthy groceries every day. It currently serves clients in San Francisco and Alameda counties. Communications director Maria Stokes said that Open Hand is thrilled with the Bestie award. Open Hand is a new winner in this category. “We at Project Open Hand are delighted that B.A.R. readers have given us their vote of confidence and support,” Stokes said in an

Matthew S. Bajko

James LaCroce, the author’s husband, and their dog, Enzo, enjoyed a recent hike to the General Store in the Presidio.

the Inn at the Presidio. Nearby is the recently retrofitted Presidio Officer’s Club, the park’s oldest building now filled with exhibits inside (415) 771-1503. In Oakland, 238 E. 18th Street, (510) 251-8671. www.outofthecloset.org. Runner-up Community Thrift

Best Art Supplies

Flax Art and Design Flax Art and Design is a fullservice art store, offering a wide variety of paints, pencils, calligraphy materials, and more. The flagship San Francisco store (there is also an independently owned shop in San Mateo) be in its current location until early 2016. Flax Art and Design, 1699 Market Street, San Francisco, (415) 552-2355. www.flaxart.com. Runner-up Blick

Best Retirement Community

San Francisco Towers San Francisco Towers bills itself as the city’s most complete, premier senior living community. Yes, this is world-class living, its website says, but more importantly this is a true community where like-minded residents are just part of your life and lifestyle. In fact, residents say it’s their neighbors who make living there so wonderfully special. Operated by Episcopal Senior Communities, SF Towers offers residents a wide range of scheduled outings to events like the symphony or ballet, as well as in-house lectures and special interest groups like the poetry lunch. Amenities include a pool, rooftop lounge, and activity rooms. It also has assisted living, rehabilitation, and 24-hour nursing services on site. Interested people can call to schedule a tour. San Francisco Towers, 1661 Pine Street, San Francisco, (415) 776-0500. www. http://jtm-esc. org/san-francisco-towers/. Runner-up The Sequoias – San Francisco

Best Place to Buy a Car

Volkswagen San Francisco

Long popular among LGBTs, Volkswagen offers a variety of reliable cars that get good gas mileage. Compact models make for easier email. “We continue to raise the bar and elevate our impact by expanding programs that help our most vulnerable neighbors move toward wellness.” She added that the agency is “committed to continuing to nourish our community, so critically ill neighbors and seniors can live stronger, healthier lives.” In March Open Hand announced a leadership change and beginning

that explore the role the Presidio has played in shaping California’s history. To complete a loop hike of the park, walk northeast through the Main Post Lawn toward Lincoln Boulevard. Connect with the Presidio Promenade Trail then head west past the cemetery and intersect again with the Park Trail. While metered parking is in effect seven days a week in the main post parking lots, there are numerous free two-hour parking areas scattered throughout the Presidio. And unlimited free parking can be found near the stables off McDowell Avenue, making it a good staging area for any number of hikes through the Presidio. To learn more about the Presidio and its offerings, as well as to download a trail map, visit http://www. presidio.gov.t parking on city streets, always a plus. Volkswagen San Francisco is part of the Royal Automotive Group and has been serving the city since 1947. Whether you’re looking for a cute Beetle convertible or coup, or the larger Touareg or Tiguan models, B.A.R. readers give Volkswagen San Francisco high marks. Volkswagen San Francisco, 280/285 South Van Ness, San Francisco, (415) 262-9615. www. volkswagensanfrancisco.com. Runner-up One Toyota (Oakland)

Best Auto Mechanic

Luscious Garage Billing itself as offering “auto repair of the future,” Luscious Garage in the South of Market neighborhood specializes in hybrid auto repairs. The garage offers regular maintenance, repairs, and other services. Luscious also added a nighttime shift to repair hybrid taxis and cars used for ridehailing companies such as Uber, Lyft, Sidecar, and Homobiles. Luscious Garage, 475 9th Street, San Francisco, (415) 8759030. www.lusciousgarage.com. Runner-up John Gardner Automotive

Best Real Estate Firm

Zephyr Real Estate The housing market is hot right now, and Zephyr Real Estate can help you find that perfect property. Starting with four agents in 1978, Zephyr now maintains neighborhood offices in San Francisco and affiliated brokerages in the North Bay. “There were plenty of brokerages that made their agents feel like just another number, but we knew we could build a company where the agents could really be a part of the team,” says Bill Drypolcher, president of Zephyr Real Estate and one of the original founders, on the company’s website. Whether you’re buying or selling, Zephyr’s got you covered. Zephyr Real Estate, Noe Valley Office, 4040 24th Street, San Francisco, (415) 695-7707. www. zephyrsf.com. Runner-up Vanguard Propertiest this month it’s being headed by two gay co-chief executive officers, Simon Pitchford and Mark Ryle. Project Open Hand, 730 Polk Street, San Francisco, CA 94109, (415) 447-2300. www.openhand. org. Runner-up AIDS Emergency Fund See page 25 >>

<< Besties 2015

24 • BAY AREA REPORTER • April 2-8, 2015

Weddings

his is a new category in the Bay Area Reporter’s readers’ poll. Since same-sex couples are now tying the knot, we wanted to see what was popular with readers in wedding-related categories.

Best Formalwear for Women; Best Formalwear for Men

Macy’s

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Whether it’s the old Bestie category of best clothing store or the new formalwear listing, Macy’s has won the hearts (and wallets) of Bay Area LGBTs since our readers’ poll started four years ago. The flagship Union Square store has a complete wedding shop for women, offering everything from dresses to jewelry to accessories. For those planning a not-so-traditional ceremony, the department store offers a variety of dresses, suits, and jackets. For men, Macy’s has you covered with tuxedos, blazers, ties, and more. Macy’s, with stores throughout the Bay Area, also has a wedding registry, so your guests can get you the perfect gift. Macy’s Union Square, 170 O’Farrell Street, San Francisco, (415) 397-3333. www.macys.com. Runners-up Kipper Clothiers (women) Sui Generis (men)

A fun place to play… www.GPinHomeCare.com a fab place to stay!

Best Place to Buy Rings Make Castro your Tiffany & Company Make the home sweet home! Nothing says high-end like Tiffany Castro

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ongtime Bay Area photographer Steven Underhill wants your wedding to be a special day that you and your spouse will always treasure. A new winner in this year’s Besties for best wedding photographer, 53, has been snapping 9/14/14Underhill, 5:12 PM pics since 1990. He specializes in event and wedding photography, and Bay Area Reporter readers are familiar with his regular work for the paper, including a photo page in the BARtab section every week. Underhill said that he enjoys 9/14/14 5:12 PM photographing weddings, and does a lot of work at San Francisco City Hall, a favorite venue for gay and straight couples alike.

Rachel Swann

served meals, and of course, dessert. In addition to full-service for weddings, Taste also does corporate and private catering. Taste Catering, 3450 Third Street, Suite 4D, San Francisco, (415) 5506464. www.tastecatering.com. Runner-up J Jardine

Best Honeymoon Destination

Hawaii

This one wasn’t even close. Hawaii, long a popular destination for LGBT travelers, is also the top choice among readers as their favorite honeymoon destination. With its beaches, oceans, and majestic splendor, the islands of Hawaii offer something for everyone, from top-flight hotels to rustic outdoor adventures. The legalization of same-sex marriage in the state has opened up many opportunities for wedding-related businesses to bolster an already strong tourism market. www.gayhawaiiwedding.com; http://www.gogayhawaii.com. Runner-up Puerto Vallarta

Courtesy Macy’s

Macy’s highlighted same-sex couples in its Pride marketing campaign last year.

Best Caterer

Taste Catering When it comes to food for your special day, Taste Catering was the choice of B.A.R. readers. Wedding director Hayley Seed says on the company’s website that the wedding team has expanded, with more experts to help realize clients’ vision for the event. Taste has a list of possible venues with which it works, including San Francisco City Hall, as well as North Bay wineries, and other favorites. Menu options range from hors d’oeuvres to buffets to

Best Foreign Travel Destination

Paris, France

This category was very close, with Paris just nudging out Barcelona, Spain as the top foreign travel destination. Paris has long been a favorite city of LGBT travelers. It has worldclass museums, old-world charm, and delicious food. Whether you’re sitting in a cafe watching people stroll by, or taking in the great masters at the Louvre or Musee D’Orsay, Paris is a great place to visit. Website of the Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau: http:// en.parisinfo.com/. Runner-up Barcelona, Spaint

Photographer wants your wedding to be memorable by Cynthia Laird

Rachel Swann

& Company. The longtime jeweler has long been associated with elegance and style. This year, Tiffany aimed to increase its share of the same-sex wedding market when it rolled out print and TV ads featuring a samesex couple, a first for the venerable brand. With the tagline, “Will you?,” the ad was created by Ogilvy New York. At the time of the print launch, Business Insider reported, a Tiffany spokeswoman explained the thinking behind the push in a statement: “Nowadays, the road to marriage is no longer linear. True love can happen more than once with love stories coming in a variety of forms.” Tiffany has a wide selection of rings, as well as other items. It also has a wedding registry. Tiffany & Company, San Francisco Centre, 845 Market Street, (415) 536-3960; 350 Post Street, San Francisco, (415) 781-7000. www.tiffany.com.

“I’ll meet the couple Photography has on the steps and get some changed a lot since the pretty shots, then go to advent of digital cameras; the clerk’s office for the Underhill started shootappointment, then do ing digitally in 2006, and the ceremony and then like other professional Steven Underhill do portrait stuff outside photogs, he said that he where I can use a long has “stacks” of old negalens,” Underhill said, extives of myriad events plaining a typical City over the years. IncreasHall wedding. Some- Photographer ingly, he uses sites such as times, he can take a few Steven Underhill Dropbox when delivering photos of the couple in photos for clients. the mayor’s office. Underhill said he’s Underhill attributes his success to pleased to be recognized by B.A.R. his easygoing style. readers. “I think I make people feel really “It’s a treat,” he said. “They have comfortable, whether it’s doing a really good taste.” portrait or a wedding, where people Steven Underhill Photography, are a little nervous,” he said. www.stevenunderhill.com.t

Holy Week and Easter at St. John’s

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Good Friday, April 3, 7pm

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Besties 2015>>

April 2-8, 2015 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 25

Jack London drag bingo is a hoot by Cynthia Laird

they have enjoyed a livelier weeknight in a neighborhood akland’s Jack London that doesn’t see a lot of them. Square is bustling more “It’s fun to have something than it used to. An influx of to do,” said Mavis Perry, a Jack trendy restaurants – and the London Square resident who addition of the sports bar and was at the March game, which arcade Plank – brings the waterwas much better organized, with front district alive on weekends. games taking place quickly. It’s also home to a popular SunThe crowd really seemed day Farmers Market and the octo enjoy the “top or bottom” casional boat show. The Eat Real bingo game (winners needed a Festival in September always complete row across the top or packs the square. bottom of a card), and chimed But people don’t generally asTemujin Felix MacAvity right in as the next number sociate Jack London Square with was announced. Sister Rose Mary Chicken, left, checks a gay, much less drag. Thankfully, bingo card with assistance from Novice Sister “She’s a bottom girl,” a Sister that’s changed this year with the Angelina Holi at the February Drag Me to called out as a woman stepped advent of Drag Me to Bingo, Bingo game night in Jack London Square. forward with a potentially wina monthly party put on by the ning card. “It’s a verified botSisters of Perpetual Indulgence. tom bingo.”t This year the bingo games provement for players. Drag Me to Bingo, Thurstook place in February and March. Linda Meyer, marketing director day, April 23, 7 p.m., 55 Harrison One more event is planned for for Jack London Square, told the Street, Jack London Square. Tickets Thursday, April 23. The first two sold B.A.R. that it was looking for differ($10) are sold out online, although out with about 400 people crowding ent types of entertainment. a limited number may be available a vacant marketplace building in “We had been wanting to at the door. For information about February and 500 in March. do an event at Jack London the Sisters, visit www.thesisters.org. The mix of LGBT and Square themed around straight attendees goes drag bingo,” Meyer said along with the Sisters’ in a phone interview. sometimes risque humor, “We reached out to the EDItor’s but it’s all in fun and all for Sisters, who had done pick a good cause as proceeds go bingo in other locations.” to the Sisters community grant In fact, Sisters’ bingo games fund, which helps Bay Area organizain San Francisco also used to bring tions that are underfunded. in good crowds. Madelyne noted Sister Madelyne, 37, a member that the games haven’t been held in of the drag nuns’ San Francisco the city for the last few years, with chapter, said that about $2,000 was the exception of a couple special raised in February. events for nonprofits. Madelyne told the Bay Area Re“I think if the public expressed porter that Jack London Square interest in reviving bingo in SF via officials approached the group in our website, our order would likely January about holding the events. consider organizing it again,” said “I thought the crowd was amazMadelyne, whose day job is an office ing,” Madelyne, also known as manager with a tax and bookkeeping Shawn Cox, said after the February firm. debut. “It was a diverse group – Meyer said that organizers inthere were lots of longtime Sisters creased capacity for the March supporters and others who were event, with seating for about 500. unfamiliar with us.” And, although the April game is a The February 18 bingo night had couple weeks away, it’s not certain a few hiccups. There was a mix-up in that more will be held, she said. the number of bingo sheets each per“We’ve thought about it,” Meyer son got at the door, leading to some said, adding that no action has been initial confusion. But the crowd rolled taken. “If we did continue it would with it, and the games continued after only be through June or July.” lots more game sheets were distributThat’s because, as recently reed. There also weren’t enough “daubported, the building has been leased ers,” the ink that people use to mark to Steve Carlin, who plans an arthe numbers when they are called. tisanal food market similar to his “They’ve got 400 daubers waitdevelopment at the San Francisco ing for us,” Madelyn said before the Ferry Building, although with an March 19 game night. East Bay vibe. And indeed there were. That So April 23 might be your last night, there was a dauber in front chance to check it out. of virtually every seat, a marked imAs for those who have attended,

SAN FRANCISCO LOS ANGELES NEW YORK TORONTO

Community

From page 23

Best LGBT Sports League

San Francisco Gay Softball League

A new winner in this category, the San Francisco Gay Softball League is one of the oldest LGBT recreational sports groups. Commissioner Vincent Fuqua told the B.A.R. that the league marked its 40th anniversary a couple years ago and said that it is a great way to meet new people and play with your friends. “People want community and softball is one way to do that,” he said. There are 62 teams with close to 1,200 athletes in the league. Many of the teams are sponsored by local businesses, including gay bars, often leading to fun post-game gatherings. SF GSL is for men and women. There are Open and Women’s divisions, Fuqua explained, and those each have different levels, such as AB for the highest skill level (BC in the women’s), and others for varying abilities. Fuqua said that trans members can play in either division. This year’s season started in March and continues through July. Then the top teams in each division

Courtesy SF Gay Softball League

A player slides into second base during a Gay Softball League women’s division game.

go to their respective Gay Softball World Series event. Fuqua, who’s been commissioner since 2008, said that community members enjoy seeing players out and about in their uniforms when they are fundraising in the Castro. It doesn’t matter whether you played sports in school or never took a pitch, the league is welcoming to all. “Everyone can play,” Fuqua said. San Francisco Gay Softball League, www.sfgsl.org. Runner-up SF Fog Rugby Clubt

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<< Sports

26 • BAY AREA REPORTER • April 2-8, 2015

Edward Van Egri

1930 – 2015

t Sports backlash hits Indiana after anti-gay law signed by Roger Brigham

Edward Van Egri, longtime resident of San Francisco, died peacefully from natural causes at Kaiser Permanente Hospital on March 19, 2015. He was 84. He was predeceased by his life partner, Harmon Frohmuth, who died in 2010. He leaves behind several generations of cousins. Edward was born on September, 20, 1930 in Newark, New Jersey, the only child of Edward and Sue Van Egri (nee Eberhardt). He attended Weequahic High School in Newark and Stevens Institute of Technology in nearby Hoboken, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering. After graduating from Stevens, he served in the US Army, and then worked as an engineer for Standard Oil. Relocating to San Francisco, he taught engineering at City College, a position he retired from at age 40. He retained an interest in things mechanical, with a special passion for architecture, eventually designing and building a house in San Francisco on Russian Hill. Edward and Harmon traveled extensively, in Asia, Latin America, and Europe. The couple owned a rustic cabin in the hills above the Napa Valley, where they delighted in entertaining. In late years the cabin and the adjoining 140 acres were deeded to the Napa Land Trust to be enjoyed as open space in perpetuity. Edward was also a subscriber and patron of the San Francisco Opera, as well as as supporter of several gay rights oragnizations. Dear to his heart was another country place, “The Chalet”, in Chester, New Jersey, that his grandfather had built. He and Harmon returned there each Summer to be reunited with family and friends in the East. Edward will be missed by the many who esteemed him for his unending generosity, his infectious way with a story, his gift for friendship. There will be no service. Friends may make contributions to the charity of their choice.

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pity Indiana Governor Mike “No Clue” Pence, who has said he is bewildered by the public backlash against the state’s recently passed (and ironically named) Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Nowhere has that adverse reaction been more mobilized than in the national sports industry, where calls are spreading for major amateur championships to be pulled, and professional athletes and coaches are condemning the law. Pence says he just doesn’t understand it. Then again, he couldn’t or wouldn’t answer a direct question on national television about whether the law now allows discrimination against minorities. I can’t help Pence understand the broader social issues that now confront him and his political colleagues, but I can help him understand the response of the sports world. Mike, you have fumbled the ball. You are now facing a full court press. You are face down in the mud in the bottom of a scrum, and the cleats are a-coming. The clock is winding down and you can’t call a timeout. My suggestion? Punt. OK – that’s it for the sports cliches. Now for the details. The day Pence signed the legislation, known as Senate Bill 101, the LGBT Sports Coalition issued a demand that future major sporting events be pulled from the state so that attendees would not be subject to possible discrimination. The law does not take effect until July 1 and the coalition stopped short of asking that this weekend’s NCAA men’s basketball Final Four be moved out of Indianapolis. But immediately a flurry of phone calls and emails began to push for the removal of USA Gymnastics’ 2015 P&G Championship, the Big Ten’s 2015 football conference championship game, the NCAA’s 2016 women’s basketball Final Four and all other NCAA-organized events, the NFL’s annual scouting combine, and the USA Diving Olympic team trials in 2016. “The sports world must now stand united against such blatant discrimination,” the coalition’s statement said. “While we recognize the impossibility of Indiana-based schools and professional sports teams forgoing home games, we believe any sporting events that can be moved outside the state should be moved. To host a major sporting event in the state, with legitimate venues available elsewhere, would put LGBT athletes, coaches, and fans in harm’s way and lend support to the discrimination of LGBT people.” Gymnastics conference officials were also critical. “USA Gymnastics provides the opportunity to participate in gymnastics to all athletes, regardless of an individual’s religious, ethnic or cultural background, or sexual orientation,” Steve Penny, president of USA Gymnastics, said. “One of USA Gymnastics’ hallmarks is its

Indiana Governor Mike Pence

USA Gymnastics President Steve Penny

inclusion and diversity. We do not accept any form of discrimination toward our community or attendees at our events, and we are concerned about the possible impact of this law. We will work closely with the Indiana Sports Corp. and the mayor to better understand how this development might be contrary to hosting successful events that are open and welcoming to everyone.” The NCAA, as well as many other amateur sports organizations, is headquartered in Indianapolis. Its president, Mark Emmert, issued a statement, “The NCAA national office and our members are deeply committed to providing an inclusive environment for all our events. We are especially concerned about how this legislation could affect our student-athletes and employees. We will work diligently to assure student-athletes competing in, and visitors attending, next week’s men’s Final Four in Indianapolis are not impacted negatively by this bill. Moving forward, we intend to closely examine the implications of this bill and how it might affect future events as well as our workforce.” University of Southern California Athletic Director Pat Haden tweeted Tuesday that he would not go to the College Football Playoff committee meeting in Indianapolis this weekend in protest of the Indiana law. “I am the proud father of a gay son. In his honor, I will not be attending the CFP committee meeting in Indy this week. #EmbraceDiversity,” he wrote. LGBT Sports Coalition members You Can Play and Anthony Nicodemo, a gay high school basketball coach, have helped organize a panel discussion on LGBT issues for coaches at this weekend’s Final Four. “Any time I can preach inclusion in basketball it makes me feel really good,” Nicodemo said. “I love the sport and it’s my passion.” Former Indianapolis Pacers star Reggie Miller wrote on his Instagram account, “I’ve never been big into politics but I’m very disappointed in my adopted home state of Indiana and the passing of Senate Bill 101. I’ve always been about

inclusion for all, no matter your skin color, gender or sexual preference. We are all the same people, beautiful creatures.” And television basketball analyst Charles Barkley said, “Discrimination in any form is unacceptable to me. As long as anti-gay legislation exists in any state, I strongly believe big events such as the Final Four and Super Bowl should not be held in those states’ cities.” Sports agent Arn Tellem, whose lengthy client list includes gay basketball player Jason Collins, told the New York Times, “I urge the Indiana Pacers, the NCAA, and the professional sports leagues to not only condemn this blatantly unconstitutional legislation, but to take forceful action against it by re-evaluating their short- and long-term plans in the state.” Why such a vitriolic and unified industry-wide stand against the Indiana law? Perhaps because it goes against the wave of progress that has spread through sports the past few years to become more accepting, inclusive, and supportive and rid itself of the shackles of racism, homophobia, transphobia, and sexism. “I think it’s really sad that this type of legislation could even be pushed,” former Stanford gymnast Josh Dixon told Outsports.com. “With the positively changing landscape of LGBT inclusion in sports, one would think that such a sports-driven city as Indianapolis, with its affiliated professional teams, national governing bodies, and national training centers, would take a solid stance against allowing this type of outright discrimination. Let’s get real. This is along the lines of having legislation that refuses certain rights based on the color of one’s skin. I thought those days were over. I guess it’s different in Indiana.” The Indiana law, Tellem said, “codifies hatred under the smoke screen of freedom and jeopardizes all that has been recently accomplished. Sports embodies the principles of equality, dignity and mutual respect.” In summary, Governor Pence, the sports world is saying if your legislators don’t want to ensure a safe, inclusive and welcoming experience for visitors, we won’t visit. Of course, that’s not discrimination – it just means we got your message loud and clear. The ball, as we say in tennis, is now in your court.t

High School in 1940, he served in World War II as a court reporter in the Air Transport Command of the U.S. Army Air Forces in China-Burma-India. He saw four continents and 15 countries en route to and from that command. After WWII, Golden lived four years in Los Angeles before moving to San Francisco. There he spent 33 years in the executive suite of the Western Pacific Railroad Company. In 1956, he began to realize his dream

of “seeing the rest of the world.” By the time of his death, he had realized that dream. Golden traveled to 301 countries and island groups. He saw 236 of those countries with his Number One traveling buddy, Priscilla Williams of San Francisco. Robert is survived by one niece, two nephews, many grand and greatgrand nieces and nephews, and dozens of friends, all of whom he loved dearly.

Obituaries >> Robert Fitzgerald Golden May 4, 1922 – March 18, 2015

Robert Fitzgerald Golden was born in Arkansas on May 4, 1922. He died March 18, 2015 in Walnut Creek, California. After graduating Fort Smith Senior

<< Community News

28 • BAY AREA REPORTER • April 2-8, 2015

Pink Saturday

From page 3

a positive environment to enjoy San Francisco ... and build long lasting memories. Pink Saturday is a great event to join,” Durham said in response to emailed questions Tuesday. Rebecca Rolfe, the community center’s executive director, said Durham and her production company “were selected based on their extensive experience in producing large outdoor events, and their ability to integrate strong cultural programming with experience in public safety and event logistics.” This year’s Pink Saturday party in the Castro district is set to take place June 27. ECP has been doing large outdoor events since 2004. Durham has been the director of operations for Hardly Strictly, the free bluegrass festival that brings thousands of people to Golden Gate Park every fall. She’s also served on the production teams of events including Bay to Breakers, the annual footrace where people often dress in costumes, and the Now and Zen music festival. Durham’s selection is a significant step in preparations for this year’s Pink Saturday. Following years of concern about violence, in February the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence decided to end their oversight of the street party, which the group had managed for nearly two decades. The Sisters’ announcement threw into doubt the future of the festival, which draws thousands of people to the Castro the night before the city’s LGBT Pride parade. In March, though, gay Supervisor Scott Wiener, whose District 8 includes the Castro, announced that the community center had agreed to oversee the event, with help from the city. The center said it would also bring on an event producer on a con-

News Briefs

From page 10

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The San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously adopted on Tuesday first-in-the-nation legislation that protects the rights of LGBT seniors living in assisted care settings. As the Bay Area Reporter has noted, the legislation sets out a number of pro-LGBT policies operators of long-term care facilities in the city must follow. Residents must be allowed to room with the person of their choosing and be addressed by the pronoun and name of their choosing. Under the measure, such facilities are barred from evicting residents based on their sexual orientation, gender identity, or HIV status. They must also designate an LGBT liaison position and provide training to the staff person in the role. “It is designed not only to protect our LGBT seniors but to give them the tools to advocate for their needs themselves and for their families to advocate,” said gay District 8 Supervisor Scott Wiener, the lead sponsor of the ordinance. It is the first piece of legislation to be passed based on the recommendations of a city created LGBT Aging Policy Task Force that completed its work last spring. It passed 9-0 with Supervisors Eric Mar and Norman Yee absent.

New scooter club forms

A new club for LGBT scooter fans has formed and has its first event planned for Easter Sunday. Scooter Queers Riding Everywhere and More, or SQREAM, was started by Peter Quain. The club is the ninth chapter in the U.S. and the first LGBT scooter club in the Bay Area, he said. The club plans to hold monthly rides, events, and occasional fundraising.

tract basis to help plan for the party. In a joint response to emailed questions, Durham and Rolfe said they don’t yet have information on what changes there will be to the event, including whether there will be music stages and more security. “The event will start and end earlier, but the exact times have not yet been confirmed,” they said. Asked about the biggest challenge Durham sees for this year, they said, “We are focused on creating an event that unites the LGBT and allied communities in a safe and fun celebration of LGBT culture and Pride.” Durham, who will be a key planner for one of the largest outdoor gay celebrations in the country, wouldn’t say what her age or sexual orientation is. “I am the president of ECP and have a great team that works with me,” she said. “E. Cee Productions is a woman-owned small business and we are based in the Richmond district of San Francisco. Beyond that we prefer to focus on our experience as opposed to our personal lives.” Rolfe said Durham’s “age and sexual orientation are not relevant to her ability to produce the event.” The two said Durham will have plenty of help. “Eliote is putting together a team of people who will be working with her on this event,” they said. “In addition, the center is asking community stakeholders to work with us in an advisory capacity. Our planning team includes strong representation from people who have deep experience with this and other large public events, as well as stakeholders from the Castro.” Billy Picture, who said he’s “as queer as a three dollar bill,” has experience producing the Castro Street Fair, will be on the Pink Saturday production team. Durham said she and others from her production company have pre-

viously attended Pink Saturday.

Its first ride is planned for Sunday, April 5 around Golden Gate Park for the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence’s 36th annual Easter party. To contact the club, email Quain at petersqreamsf@sbcglobal.net.

The procession begins on the Polk Street side of San Francisco City Hall, at McAllister. For more information, call (415) 305-2124 or email temenos@gmail. com.

Volunteers still needed for Tessie Easter dinner

April Follies, the same-sex ballroom dance competition, returns to Oakland Saturday, April 25 as part of the North American Same-Sex Dancesport Championships. Now in its 13th year, the annual competition and show is the largest and longest-running such event in North America. All levels will compete during the day, beginning at 10 a.m. Dance styles include standard and international Latin, American smooth and American rhythm. Organizers said that due to high demand, there will also be expanded competition for Argentine tango and country western dances. The competition concludes with a dance lesson for attendees and new dancers, followed by the A-level finals and dance performances by top-rated couples in the evening. After all that, there will be an open social dance for everyone. Tickets are $15 (daytime events only), $25 (evening event only), or $35 for the entire day. A community dinner is available for $20. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.aprilfollies.com.t

Tenderloin Tessie volunteers said this week that 40 volunteers are still needed to help with its annual Easter dinner for those in need. The dinner takes place Sunday, April 5 from 1 to 4 p.m. at First Unitarian Church, 1187 Franklin Street (at Geary) in San Francisco. Tenderloin Tessie board president Michael Gagne said that helpers are needed for Saturday, April 4 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. to pick up items from the group’s storage facility and pick up groceries (some heavy lifting required). Then on Easter, volunteers are needed for the following shifts: 9 a.m. to noon, set up and decorate; noon to 4 p.m., help at the dinner and the mandatory meeting around noon; 3 to 6 p.m., help with the last hour of the dinner and tear-down. People can sign up for multiple shifts and all volunteers will get a meal around 2. Finally, people are needed to take the decorations and other items back to the storage unit Tuesday, April 7 from 9 to 10 a.m. Interested people can sign up online at www.tenderlointessie. com under the “Contact Us” tab on the left side of the page. Then scroll down to the “Volunteer” section. People can also call (415) 779-6285.

Tenderloin Stations of the Cross

Temenos Catholic Worker and the Society of Franciscan Workers Inc. will hold a Tenderloin Stations of the Cross from noon to 2 p.m. on Good Friday, April 3.

Uncertainties

Besides changes to Pink Saturday and other details, there are also other aspects of this year’s party that haven’t been determined. City Hall has agreed to foot the bill for the event, but the budget hasn’t been completed. The 2014 festival cost the Sisters $80,000, though Rolfe has said the center expects this year’s celebration will cost more to produce. Funding sources “will include sponsorships, gate donations, and support from the city,” she said in her email. Information on how much Durham will be paid for her work wasn’t available. The contract hasn’t been finalized. Organizers spoke with “four producers and/or production teams” before deciding on Durham, Rolfe said. It is not clear whether the Sisters, which own the Pink Saturday name, will allow it to be used this year. “We are in conversation with the Sisters, but have not yet been able to meet with the full order,” Durham and Rolfe said. Many feel that despite the Sisters withdrawing from the party, some kind of event had to be organized, complete with security. Not only does the annual Dyke March, held early in the evening of Pink Saturday, lead up to 10,000 people into the Castro, but the Pride-sponsored celebration that day in the Civic Center also wraps up around 6 p.m., and many of the attendees then head for the city’s gayborhood. City officials are also bracing for a larger-than-normal turnout for Pride weekend this year due to the U.S. Supreme Court expected to rule sometime in June on whether to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide.t

April Follies coming up

Matthew S. Bajko contributed to this report.

On the web Online content this week includes the Bay Area Reporter’s online column, Political Notes, and the Out in the World column. www.ebar.com.

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30 • BAY AREA REPORTER • April 2-8, 2015

Law enforcement

From page 3

Another time, Neu groped Adams’ breasts, showed her his penis, and “commanded” she give him head, court records say. “[W]hen London shied away, he grabbed London about the head and forced [her] to comply with his directive,” according to the complaint. “On other occasions, Deputy Neu fondled London’s genitals and demanded anal sex.” In the city’s response to the complaint, Neu denied the allegations, and the cases involving the women were all settled. (A city official said Adams and Spears are both transgender women. The court documents says Adams “was born a biological male” and was “undergoing hormonal therapy that has greatly enhanced his feminine characteristics ... .” The records say Spears is transgender but use male pronouns for both inmates.) Adams, Spears, and Wigfall couldn’t be reached for comment. Neu didn’t respond to an emailed interview request. Former Sheriff Hennessey couldn’t be reached.

New accusations

Last Thursday, at a news conference with Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi, Adachi announced the fight allegations against Neu and other deputies. Adachi and Mirkarimi said another agency would be asked to conduct an investigation. They couldn’t say how long the alleged fights have been happening or how many inmates may have been involved. In a recent phone interview with Adachi, inmate Ricardo Palikiko Garcia said that deputies had forced him to fight and bet against him. Garcia said that Neu, “told me what would happen if I didn’t fight, which was beating me up, cuffing me, and macing me.” Garcia said he was made to fight Stanley Harris, another inmate, who Adachi said is much larger than Garcia. Harris told Adachi that Neu threatened him “sexually” in an

Indiana

From page 10

“I am informing the campus community that no San Francisco State University funds from any source – general funds or auxiliary – will be used to support employee or student travel to Indiana,” SFSU President Leslie E. Wong said in a statement Monday, March 30. She also announced that she will not attend a required meeting of the NCAA Division II President’s Council, to be held in April in Indianapolis. Indiana is not the only state that adopted a religious freedom law. Nineteen other states have implemented similar laws, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. Indiana’s doesn’t specifically mention LGBT people but it gives the right for people to discriminate against LGBT people using their religion as an excuse since there are no laws in Indiana to protect LGBT people from discrimination. Last Sunday Pence appeared on ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos and was asked if he would support or issue a law to protect LGBT people from discrimination. Pence said, “I will not push for that. It’s not on any agenda. It’s not been an objective of the people of the state of Indiana.” One of the supporters of the bill, Eric Miller from Advance America, an anti-LGBT lobbying group, wrote on advanceamerica.com, “SB 101 will help protect individuals. Christian businesses, Christian bakers, florists, and photographers should not be punished for refusing to participate in a homosexual marriage!”

“embarrassing” way. “He’ll kinda tell me he’ll take my cheeks or something like that,” he said. When Adachi asked him what he understood that to mean, Harris said, “Like taking my ass or fucking me or something.” Recordings of Adachi’s interviews with the inmates, who are clients of his office’s, were played at the news conference. The alleged incidents first came to the attention of one of Adachi’s attorneys in March when a client’s father reported the fighting. Adachi, who referred to Neu as the “ringleader,” said the fights had been “done for bets.” Mirkarimi, who said he first learned of the reports from Adachi last Thursday morning, said the deputies allegedly involved have been reassigned. The sheriff this week responded via text to questions from the Bay Area Reporter. He noted the older cases against Neu were settled before he was elected to office in 2011. Neu was allowed to continue working because his agency “cannot impose discipline or take action without cause for a case previously settled,” Mirkarimi said. Asked about Gascón’s announcement this week, Mirkarimi said, “A task force could be a good idea, but the DA’s office is entwined with many of the systemic issues that implicate the police and sheriff departments. As evidenced by longstanding issues that have plagued the crime lab, the genesis of the texting, and response to cases we forward.” He said a “true independent task force would not be burdened by potential conflicts. In our case, this is why I initiated a request to the U.S. attorney and attorney general.” Mirkarimi said his office has delivered letters to the U.S. Department of Justice and the attorney general, and the work “with the DoJ is being planned.” In a brief interview Tuesday, Officer Albie Esparza, a police spokesman, said police have already been working with the DA’s office on the DNA problems.t

Swift opposition

Opposition from companies across the country was swift. The day Pence signed the bill, Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce, a San Francisco-based company, tweeted, “Today we are canceling all programs that require our customers/employees to travel to Indiana to face discrimination.” Bill Oesterle, CEO of Angie’s List, said March 28 that the company has pulled its proposed campus expansion project on Indianapolis’ near east side from City-County Council consideration as a result of the passage of the RFRA. “Angie’s List is open to all and discriminates against none and we are hugely disappointed in what this bill represents,” Oesterle said in a statement. The company, which is based in Indiana, was expected to break ground on the project within days. Among the CEOs who used Twitter to condemn the new law was gay Apple CEO Tim Cook, who also called on Hutchinson to veto his state’s bill. “Apple is open for everyone. We are deeply disappointed in Indiana’s new law and calling on Arkansas Gov. to veto the similar #HB1228,” Cook tweeted March 27. Leaders in other cities and states have curtailed publicly-funded travel to Indiana. Gay Seattle Mayor Ed Murray signed an executive order Tuesday banning city employee-funded travel to Indiana. “Laws that say you can discriminate have no place in this country,” he told reporters Saturday. Connecticut Governor Dan Malloy will sign a similar executive order barring state-funded travel to Indiana.t

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The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MELISSA CONGDON HAIRSTYLIST, 166 GEARY ST #400, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94108. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MELISSA ANN CONGDON. 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 03/09/15.

MAR 12, 19, 26, APRIL 02, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036312500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: WALLFLOWER DESIGN, 607 ANDOVER ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ELEANOR ALEX GERBER-SIFF. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 02/17/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 02/17/15.

MAR 12, 19, 26 APRIL 02, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036354500

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The following person(s) is/are doing business as: PROJECT UNIFIED ASSISTANCE, 2940 16TH ST #200-2, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed AHMED F. ALKHATIB. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 02/26/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 03/12/15.

MAR 19, 26, APR 02, 09, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036321400

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: PTYRONEPRESENTS, 2261 MARKET ST #188, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed PAUL TYRONE SMITH. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/01/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 02/23/15.

MAR 19, 26, APR 02, 09, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036362900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: FANCY PANTS AND TEA, 275 5TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a general partnership, and is signed DAAIMAH WAQIA & TAKIYAH ALAKE SMITH. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 03/11/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 03/11/15.

MAR 19, 26, APR 02, 09, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036375000

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: AESTHETIC LASER CONCEPTS, 490 POST ST #1701, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed AESTHETIC LASER CONCEPTS INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 10/01/14. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 03/17/15.

MAR 19, 26, APR 02, 09, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036364600

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: TAQUERIA MEXICO TIPICO, 4581 MISSION ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed RUBEN & ASOCIADOS, INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 03/01/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 03/12/15.

MAR 19, 26, APR 02, 09, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036371300

STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE A-033396500

The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as: AESTHETIC LASER CONCEPTS, 490 POST ST #1701, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business was conducted by a corporation and signed by PEARL IN THE SKY, INC. . The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 03/07/11.

MAR 19, 26, APR 02, 09, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036389900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: KOHLENBERG & ASSOCIATES VOCATIONAL COUNSELING SERVICES, 459 FULTON ST, #204, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed BETTY KOHLENBERG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/01/1981. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 03/24/15.

MAR 26, APR 02, 09, 16, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036368400

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: IPICKUP4U.COM, 2035 OAKDALE AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ASIANA CHAU NGUYEN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 03/12/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 03/12/15.

MAR 26 APR 02, 09, 16, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036370700

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MAC AND MILK SF, 8 RICHARDS CIRCLE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed LINDSAY BUSSEY. 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 03/13/15.

MAR 26, APR 02, 09, 16, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036389500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SKIN LOUNGE, 1640 BUSH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JENNIFER CLARK. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 03/13/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 03/24/15.

MAR 26, APR 02, 09, 16, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036382600

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: NATASHA GEORGIA, 5432 GEARY BLVD, #121, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94121. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed NATALIA ZHOGLO. 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 03/20/15.

MAR 26, APR 02, 09, 16, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036385500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: AMX PLUMBING, 4739 MISSION ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MAX NGUYEN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 03/23/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 03/23/15.

MAR 26, APR 02, 09, 16, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036379700

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: PURPLE SCOOTER, 288 SANCHEZ ST. SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed BARRY SYNOGROUND. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 03/19/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 03/19/15.

MAR 26, APR 02, 09, 16, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036381400

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: PERCENT JEWELRY, 1204 STEVENSON ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed THOMAS SCHWARTZ. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 03/19/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 03/19/15.

MAR 26, APR 02, 09, 16, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036374400

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: POLLINATION PRODUCTIONS, 310 ANDOVER ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by a married couple, and is signed ELIZABETH STEPHENS & ANNIE SPRINKLE. 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 03/13/15.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MV MEDIA, 171 LIBERTY ST, #201, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MARSHA VDOVIN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 03/17/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 03/17/15.

MAR 19, 26, APR 02, 09, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036358500

MAR 26, APR 02, 09, 16, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036370200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: B & G TRANSPORTATION, 1555 YOSEMITE AVE #39, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JUAN ELIAS GUTIERREZ. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 03/17/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 03/17/15.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: METHODOLOGY, 281 CLARA ST #3, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed METHODOLOGY SF LLC (DE). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 03/01/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 03/10/15.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: NINELUS BEAUTY SUPPLY, 4300 GEARY BLVD, #B, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed NATALYA RINGO. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 03/13/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 03/13/15.

MAR 19, 26, APR 02, 09, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036371100

MAR 19, 26, APR 02, 09, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036344700

MAR 26, APR 02, 09, 16, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036377200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MODERN POTIONS, 855 FOLSOM ST #313, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JANE MANGAN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 03/13/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 03/13/15.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: TOBEK, 1251 TURK ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ANTHONY C. EKE. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 03/04/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 03/04/15.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MAKASIAN LAW, 1995 OAK ST, UNIT #3, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ROSS B. MAKASIAN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 03/01/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 03/18/15.

MAR 19, 26, APR 02, 09, 2015

MAR 26, APR 02, 09, 16, 2015

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Read more online at www.ebar.com

April 2-8, 2015 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 31

Legal Notices>> SUMMONS SAN FRANCISCO COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT NOTICE TO DEFENDANT: BERNARDO RAMIRO FUENTES YOU ARE BEING SUED BY PLAINTIFF: IRMA ENCINAS CASE NO. CGC-12-526901

Notice: You have been sued. The court may decide against you without your being heard unless you respond within 30 days. Read the information below. You have 30 CALENDAR DAYS after this summons and legal papers are served on you to file a written response at this court and have a copy served on the plaintiff. A letter or phone call will not protect you. Your written response must be in proper legal form if you want the court to hear your case. There may be a court form that you can use for your response. You can find these court forms and more information at the California Courts Online Self-Help Center (www. courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp) your county law library, or the courthouse nearest you. If you cannot pay the filing fee, ask the court clerk for a fee waiver form. If you do not file your response on time, you may lose the case by default, and your wages, money, and property may be taken without further warning from the court. There are other legal requirements. You may want to call an attorney right away. If you do not know an attorney, you may want to call an attorney referral service. If you cannot afford an attorney, you may be eligible for free legal services from a nonprofit legal services program. You can locate these nonprofit groups at the California Legal Services Web site (www.lawhelpcalifornia.org), the California Courts Online Self-Help Center (www. courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp), or by contacting your local court or county bar association. NOTE: The court has a statutory lien for waived fees and costs on any settlement or arbitration award of $10,000 or more in a civil case. The court’s lien must be paid before the court will dismiss the case. The name and address of the court is: San Francisco Superior Court, 400 McAllister St, San Francisco, CA 94102. The name, address, and telephone number of the plaintiff’s attorney, or plaintiff without an attorney, is:

ROBERT P. GARCIA, 12 GEARY ST RM 708, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94108; (415) 648-3060 Date: Dec 11, 2012; Clerk Of The Court, by Steppe, Deputy.

APRIL 02, 09, 16, 23, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036382800

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SIRRON NORRIS STUDIO & GALLERY, 172 FAIRMOUNT, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94131. This business is conducted by a general partnership and is signed SIRRON NORRIS AND LAURIE SCOLANI. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/06/2010. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 03/20/15.

MAR 26, APR 02, 09, 16, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036378500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SOMA PIZZA, 483 3RD ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107. This business is conducted by a general partnership, and is signed ISAM ABDULLAH DARWISH. 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 03/18/15.

MAR 26, APR 02, 09, 16, 2015 SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA RAPID TRANSIT DISTRICT NOTICE TO PROPOSERS GENERAL INFORMATION The SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA RAPID TRANSIT DISTRICT (“District”), 300 Lakeside Drive, Oakland, California, is advertising for proposals for Detailed Station Cleaning Services, Request for Proposal No. 6M8098, on or about March 24, 2015, with proposals due by 2:00 PM local time, Tuesday, April 28, 2015. DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES TO BE PROVIDED The San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (hereinafter referred to as “BART” or “District”) intends to engage the services of one or more firms (“CONTRACTOR”) to provide detailed station cleaning services as described herein. The District presently intends to enter into up to three (3) separate Agreements with up to three (3) CONTRACTORs selected. Each Agreement will be for a base three (3) year term. A Pre-Proposal Meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 8, 2015. The Pre-Proposal Meeting will convene at 10:00 a.m., local time, at BART Offices located at 300 Lakeside Drive, 18th Floor – Conference Room #1800, Oakland, CA. At the Pre-Proposal Meeting the District’s Non-Discrimination Program for Subcontracting/Small Business Program Policy will be explained. All questions regarding these programs should be directed to Cindy Chan, Office of Civil Rights at (510) 464-6574 – FAX (510) 464-7673. Prospective Proposers are requested to make every effort to attend this only scheduled Pre-Proposal Meeting, and to confirm their attendance by contacting the District’s Contract Administrator, telephone (510) 464-6543, prior to the date of the Pre-Proposal Meeting. WHERE TO OBTAIN OR SEE RFP DOCUMENTS (Available on or after March 24, 2015) Copies of the RFP may be obtained: A PDF version of the RFP will be sent to all firms on the Interested Parties List at time of advertisement; or - By E-mail request to the District’s Contract Administrator, Aminta Maynard, at amaynar@bart.gov - By arranging pick up at the above address. Call the District’s Contract Administrator, (510) 464-6543 prior to pickup of the RFP. Dated at Oakland, California this 24th day of March 2015. /s/ Patricia K. Williams Kenneth A. Duron, District Secretary San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District 4/2/15 CNS-2732997# BAY AREA REPORTER

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-15-551034

In the matter of the application of: VISHAL AGARWAL, 4540 CALIFORNIA ST #10, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner VISHAL AGARWAL, is requesting that the name VISHAL AGARWAL, be changed to VISHAL KUMAR. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Rm. 514 on the 2nd of June, 2015 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

APRIL 02, 09, 16, 23, 2015 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-15-551033

In the matter of the application of: MEGAN ASHLEY GRIMM, 4540 CALIFORNIA ST #10, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner MEGAN ASHLEY GRIMM, is requesting that the name MEGAN ASHLEY GRIMM, be changed to MEGAN ASHLEY KUMAR. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Rm. 514 on the 2nd of June 2015 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

APRIL 02, 09, 16, 23, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036394700 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036375800

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: THE UPS STORE 0546, 182 HOWARD ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94105. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed SAN FRANCISCO MAIL BOXES CORP (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/13/2003. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 03/18/15.

MAR 26, APR 02, 09, 16, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036383900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BELLOTA, 888 BRANNAN ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed THE ABSINTHE GROUP, INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 03/19/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 03/20/15.

MAR 26, APR 02, 09, 16, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036376700

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: LA LUCHA COFFEE BAR, 1600 17TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed JACK OF HEARTS LLC (CA). 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 03/18/15.

MAR 26, APR 02, 09, 16, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036377000

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036381200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: EDEN OF SAN FRANCISCO, 572 O’FARRELL ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed HEREMBAG LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 03/19/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 03/19/15.

MAR 26, APR 02, 09, 16, 2015 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE A-035680300

The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as: SUNSET PLUMBING, 1858 45TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business was conducted by an individual and signed by YEHUDA GOLANI. The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 02/25/2014.

MAR 26, APR 02, 09, 16, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036394700

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SHARDS OF HISTORY, 1578 INNES AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed GREG FREEMAN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 03/26/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 03/26/15.

APRIL 02, 09, 16, 23, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036358300

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: GRANNY PANTY DESIGNS, 215 SANTA YNEZ AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MARISSA CARTER. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 03/10/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 03/10/15.

APRIL 02, 09, 16, 23, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036396000

Classifieds The

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Pet Services>>

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: TRISKELIAN’S KEY, 399 ARGUELLO ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed HERSCHELL LARRICK. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 03/27/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 03/27/15.

Blogs>>

APRIL 02, 09, 16, 23, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036396500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: PIZZA JOINT, 3088 BALBOA ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94121. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JIHAD DABIT. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 03/27/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 03/27/15.

APRIL 02, 09, 16, 23, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036363500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: RANGOON RUBY BURMESE CUISINE, 1608 POLK ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed RANGOON RUBY INVESTMENT, LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 03/13/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 03/18/15.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: UBIQUITY RETIREMENT & SAVINGS, 101 GREEN ST, 2ND FLOOR, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94111. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed DECIMAL INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 03/12/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 03/12/15.

MAR 26, APR 02, 09, 16, 2015

APRIL 02, 09, 16, 23, 2015

City and County of San Francisco Outreach Advertising April 2015

www.amongthehogs.com

GROOMINGDALES –

Professional Dog & Cat Grooming * Gay Owned * Certified Master Groomers * All Brands * Friendly Service * Se Habla Espanol! 1130 Chula Vista Ave just off Broadway, Burlingame, CA. 650-340-8801 or groomingdalessfbayarea.com

Movers>>

VIP GROOMING –

Pet Grooming. Proudly Serving the LGBT Community. 4299 24th St, SF. 415-282-1393 or vipgroomingsf.com

Stay Connected To the City through SF311 The SF311 Customer Service Center is the single stop for residents to get information on government services and report problems to the City and County of San Francisco. And now, we have even more ways for you to stay connected to the City with our SF311 App and SF311 Explorer website. The SF311 App lets you get information on City services and submit service requests onthe-go right from your smartphone. You can track your service requests through the app or through our new website, SF311 Explorer. SF311 Explorer not only lets you check the status of your own requests, it enables you to see what issues are being reported throughout all of San Francisco and what the City is doing to resolve them. Download the SF311 App from your smartphone’s app store and visit the SF311 Explorer at explore311.sfgov.org today!

Counseling>> KIP LEAKE, MA –

Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist #83312 3468 Mt. Diablo Blvd., Suite B200 office, Suite B201 mail Lafayette, CA 94549 925-297-5196

Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development (MOHCD) REVISED Notice of Public Hearing and Availability of Draft 2015-2016 Action Plan, Including Preliminary Funding Recommendations The Draft 2015-2016 Action Plan, which includes preliminary funding recommendations for the CDBG, ESG, HOME and HOPWA programs, will be available for public review and comment from March 26, 2015 through April 24, 2015. A public hearing to receive comments on the Draft 2015-2016 Action Plan is scheduled for Tuesday, March 31, 2015 at 6:00 PM at 1 South Van Ness Avenue, 2nd Floor Atrium Conference Room. For more information, please visit www.sfmohcd.org or call 415-701-5500.

San Francisco Arts Commission Arts Commission Street Artists Program: Refund of Fees for Honorably Discharged Veterans. If you are an honorably discharged Veteran and a resident of California who participated in the Street Artists Program between January 1, 2009 and July 1, 2014, you may be entitled to a refund of your street artist fees paid to the Arts Commission during that time period. Refund claims must be submitted in person or postmarked by July 1, 2015. Please visit sfartscommission.org/street_artists_program for more information about eligibility and instructions on how to file a refund claim.

Rentals>> MILL VALLEY RENTALS/S.F. –

Steps to SF Bus! (Min to GG) 2 Units in Beautiful Victorian! 1 Studio: Kitchenette & Full Bath! (Private Garden Setting) 2BR/2BA/ HUGE! (*Both Either Furnished Or Not) *Must See! (Some Utilities!) “Yay! We’re Gay!” Tales of Marin! Call Kevin 415-275-4286 or Seabearchef@gmail.com

Board of Supervisors Regularly Scheduled Board Meetings April and May 2015 OPEN TO THE PUBLIC – Come see your San Francisco government in action. Tuesdays, 2:00pm, City Hall Chamber, Room 250. · May 5 · April 7 · May 12 · April 14 · May 19 · April 21 · April 28 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

Household Services>>

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HOUSECLEANING SINCE 1979 –

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Thank you Bay Area Reporter readers for voting

Our bankers live and work in your community and know that good relationships make us all stronger. By getting to know you our experienced bankers can offer customized tools and services tailored to meet your financial needs. Visit us at a location near you and talk with a banker today. The Castro • 557 Castro Street • 415-621-0122 Market & Church • 2020 Market Street • 415-865-1486 Noe Valley • 4045 24th Street • 415-550-0128

wellsfargo.com * Readers’ poll, Bay Area Reporter, 2015

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3/27/14 4:10 PM

Bird seed

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Vol. 45 • No. 14 • April 2-8, 2015

www.ebar.com/arts

Miss Like Hell (2015), acrylic and mixed media on canvas by Tomokazu Matsuyama.

Best in the April art galleries

by Sura Wood

ome of the exuberant new paintings by Tomokazu Matsuyama, whose latest solo exhibition, Come with Me, is now at Gallery Wendi Norris, recall the charged paradisiacal color and lands of enchantment dreamt up by master Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki. Painted with an irrepressible youthful verve on discs and irregularly shaped canvases, boys gallivant on horseback, tropical birds take flight like origami party-favors come to roaring life, and celestial blue skies are overcome with stars. See page 39 >>

Ponces among the ponderosas by Richard Dodds

triking coal miners and their gay supporters, a burlesque performer who is safer playing gay than being gay, lesbian couples with procreation issues, gender and astral fluidity amid the ponderosa pines, the mother of an early AIDS victim looking for answers, a starving actor feeding Barbra Streisand’s ego, and a 1960s musical given a gay makeover are among the matters that New Conservatory Theatre Center will be addressing in its 2015-16 season. The eight-play series, recently announced by Ed Decker, artistic director of the LGBTQI-billed theater, also includes a third annual holiday production of Avenue Q. See page 36 >>

NCTC opens its 2015-16 season with the U.S. premiere of For the Love of Comrades, originally titled Pits and Perverts, after a tabloid headline about an alliance between striking coal miners and gay activists in Thatcher’s Britain.

{ SECOND OF THREE SECTIONS }

JOIN US TONIGHT! SEE INSIDE FRONT COVER OF THIS ISSUE FOR DETAILS.

BESTIES 2015 SPONSORS:

<< Out There

34 • BAY AREA REPORTER • April 2-8, 2015

Besties announced in Arts & Culture

Arts & Culture by Roberto Friedman

ut There is proud to present the deserving winners from eight Arts & Culture entries of the Bay Area Reporter’s 2015 Besties, the LGBT Best of the Bay awards. Hit it, maestro!

Best Live Music Venue

The Fillmore

Besties voters have always had a special place in their hearts for The Fillmore, which tied for winner in this category last year as well. Perhaps this is based on two factors: the classic ballroom’s storied history as a quintessential San Francisco rock venue, dating from its days as the flagship of impresario Bill Graham’s musical enterprise; and its continued relevance today, still an important

Rick Gerharter

Courtesy ACT

Two portraits by the Scottish artist Sir Henry Raeburn flank a grand landscape, “Niagara Falls, from the American Side” (1867) by Frederic Edwin Church, part of the exhibit Botticelli to Braque: Masterpieces from the Scottish National Galleries now on show at the de Young Museum.

stop on bands’ national tours. (Runners-up: The Chapel, Great American Music Hall, Masonic Hall, Regency Center, The Warfield.) The Fillmore, 1805 Geary Blvd., San Francisco. thefillmore. com.

An iconic image from ACT artistic director Carey Perloff’s praised production of Harold Pinter’s The Homecoming.

favorite show tunes, but settling for anything Sondheim or Rodgers & Hammerstein. It’s a popular stop for touring show companies on their night off, martini and mixed drink lovers, and all types of music aficionados. (Runners-up: Rickshaw Stop, Thee Parkside, SF Eagle, El Rio, The New Parish.) Martuni’s, 4 Valencia St., San Francisco. (415) 241-0205.

Best Small Music Venue

Martuni’s

Martuni’s is San Francisco’s indispensible neighborhood piano bar, a cozy place where you’ll still find theatre queens of all ages, genders and sexualities circled around the instrument in the back, calling out their

See what’s NEW at NEW CONSERVATORY THEATRE CENTER “Funny, fierce and immensely entertaining” N E W YO R K DA I LY N E W S

Best Museum

de Young Museum The de Young Museum, one-half of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (its other component is the Palace of the Legion of Honor), is an important mainstay of the San Francisco art museum scene. Its recent exhibitions, devoted to the political art of Keith Haring, and Botticelli to Braque: Masterpieces from the National Galleries of Scotland, have been highlights of the fine-arts museum season. The Legion is currently showing High Style: The Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection. (Runners-up: Asian Art Museum, Contemporary Jewish Museum, GLBT History Museum, Legion of Honor, Museum of the African Diaspora, Walt Disney Family Museum.) (Not on the ballot, but don’t overlook: the San Jose Museum of Art, now showing Jose Clemente Orozco: Figure Studies, through Aug. 3; Oakland Museum of California.) de Young Museum, 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. (415) 750-3600. famsf.org.

JON ROBIN BAITZ

DIREC T ED BY

ARTURO CATRICALA

PL AYING NOW - APR 5 PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST

OUTER CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD OUTSTANDING NEW OFF-BROADWAY PLAY

The venerable American Conservatory Theater, an actors’ company, producing theater and school of the dramatic arts, under dynamic artistic director Carey Perloff has become the Bay Area’s leading purveyor of must-see productions. With the addition of its new stage at the Strand Theater this spring, it’s poised to become even more of a powerhouse. Still to come this season: Let There Be Love (April 8-May 3), A Little Night Music (May 20-June 14), and Love and Information (beginning June 3). (Runners-up: Berkeley Repertory Theatre, New Conservatory Theatre Center, Ray of Light Theatre, Theatre Rhinoceros.) ACT, box office: 405 Geary St., San Francisco. (415) 749-2228, act-sf.org.

ODC Dance

N E W YO R K T I M E S

MICHAEL PERLMAN

IN CO LL ABO R AT I O N WI T H

CRAIG WESLEY DIVINO, K ARL GREGORY, JIMMY KING AND AARON ROSSINI

D IR EC T ED BY

PL AYING NOW - APR 26

ACT

Best Modern Dance Company

“Briskly moving and bristles with suspense”

GLAAD MEDIA AWARD WINNER

Best Theatre Company

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Winner in this category for the second year running, ODC Dance, formerly Oberlin Dance Collective, founded in 1971 by artistic director Brenda Way, relocated to San Francisco in 1976 and is now a Bay Area dance institution with three resident choreographers (Way, co-artistic director KT Nelson and Kimi Okada). ODC will present Cruising Altitude, in which seven choreographers premiere new work for ODC’s 65th Pilot Program, on Sat., April 11 (8 p.m.) & Sun., April 12 (4 & 7 p.m.) at ODC Commons, Studio B, 351 Shotwell St., SF. Included in the program is the premiere of Beckon, a new work by detour dance, which See page 44 >>

“Every moment feels like a fragment of a masterpiece.” — San Francisco Chronicle

TOP: DAVIT KARAPETYAN IN RATMANSKY’S SHOSTAKOVICH TRILOGY; INSET: SARAH VAN PATTEN, TIIT HELIMETS IN BALANCHINE’S THE FOUR TEMPERAMENTS (CHOREOGRAPHY BY GEORGE BALANCHINE © THE BALANCHINE TRUST) (PHOTOS © ERIK TOMASSON)

shostakovich trilogy APR 8-19

Also on Stage:

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<< Theatre

36 • BAY AREA REPORTER • April 2-8, 2015

Chekhov variations

by Richard Dodds

Jessica Palopoli

Carrie Paff plays a famous actress and Johnny Moreno is her authorconsort in Stupid Fucking Bird, Aaron Posner’s contemporary riff on Chekhov now at SF Playhouse.

NCTC

From page 33

The season opens in September with Michael Kerrigan’s For the Love of Comrades, the U.S. premiere of a play titled Pits and Perverts when it debuted in Northern Ireland in 2013. The time is 1984, when gay activists rallied behind striking miners in an epic showdown with Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s draconian labor policies. A tabloid newspaper came up with a pits/perverts headline, a moniker adopted by the unlikely alliance itself. The 2014 movie Pride is also based on the 1984 events. The Nance, opening in October, is set during the waning days of burlesque in 1930s New York. The play takes its title from a stock burlesque

character, a stereotypically effeminate man played by a presumably straight performer. But in Douglas Carter Beane’s story, the stage nance is also an indiscreet gay man whose personal and professional travails alternate with scenes from the burlesque show itself. Nathan Lane was the highly praised star of the 2013 Lincoln Center production on Broadway. NCTC will be offering the play’s regional premiere. To begat or not to begat, that is the subject upsetting the balance between two lesbian couples in The Kid Thing. Opening in November, Sarah Gubbins’ comedy-drama starts off with casual dinner-party banter when one couple surprises the other with the news of a coming child. The second couple has never discussed

Joan Marcus

Nathan Lane received raves for his performance as the title character in The Nance, a play in NCTC’s season about a burlesque performer who is only supposed to pretend to be gay.

ou may think Anton Chekhov has been shat upon, considering the title of Aaron Posner’s deconstruction-reconstruction of The Seagull. But while Stupid Fucking Bird does have fun at the expense of Chekhov’s famous ennui, it not only maintains the spirit of the Russian playwright, but also adds to it with a meta-theatrical remove of the fourth wall. The characters know they are in a play – or perhaps they are trapped in the play that endlessly feeds upon itself. San Francisco Playhouse is presenting a first-rate regional premiere of Posner’s 2013 play that ensnares not only the actors but the audience as well. The dialogue directed toward us is not always flattering, but it does flow organically from the characters who want to make us part of their world. The effect can be disconcerting at times, but it is most certainly bracing. You don’t really need to be on familiar terms with The Seagull to clue into what Posner is up to, but it is helpful to know that Chekhov is famous for his mastery at evoking melancholic stasis. It doesn’t take long to realize that Posner’s characters, contemporary versions of Chekhov’s originals, are destined to lives of disappointment. Chekhov always wanted his plays to be seen as

having kids, but the newly introduced topic sends them into soulsearching arguments. Gubbins’ play had its debut in Chicago in 2011. December brings NCTC’s third visit to Avenue Q, the Sesame Street sort of neighborhood where puppets and people deal with grownup issues. While the musical may seem on its way to becoming the theater’s Nutcracker, the upcoming production is billed as the “furwell tour.” A world premiere will help usher in 2016, as Sagittarius Ponderosa explores the fluidity of gender, the signposts of the stars, and secrets held by the giant pines. The central character is named Archer, but when he returns to Oregon to care for his dying father, the family insists on remembering him as Angela. Transgendered playwright MJ Kaufman, who developed the play at Yale School of Drama, said it emerged from her frustration “that most queer narratives are comingout stories, and most transgender narratives are transition stories. I wanted to create art that would acknowledge constant change as an intrinsic part of being a person.” Terrence McNally is perhaps the most produced playwright at NCTC. His newest play, Mothers and Sons, arrives in March and follows such other NCTC productions as The Ritz, The Lisbon Traviata, and Master Class. In Mothers and Sons, seen on Broadway last year, McNally created a sequel of sorts to his 1990 television movie Andre’s Mother. The play takes up 20 years after Katherine has buried her son and snubbed his lover, and now she has decided some sort of peace must be made with her son’s memory and the man who once loved him. Another March opening is Jonathan Tolins’ Buyer and Cellar, an off-Broadway hit in 2013 that played San Francisco last year in a tour that starred original actor Michael Urie. NCTC has already lined up J. Conrad Frank, sometimes known as Katya Smirnoff-Skyy, to play an outof-work actor who gets a job tending to an actual little village of shops that Barbra Streisand has created to showcase her collectibles. It’s a oneperson show in which Frank will play both the eager-to-please actor and the harder-to-please superstar. The season will conclude with the

mordant comic takes on the human condition, although he was often disappointed by their stolid first productions. With the help of director Susi Damilano’s astute production, Posner makes sure that comedy takes center stage, while not denying the aching heart beneath the surface. Unrequited love dominates the action, which takes place at a country home during a gathering of family and friends. The play opens with the son of a famous actress trying his hand at performance art on a makeshift stage, which seems intended to offend his mother and succeeds in that mission. Con loathes traditional theatrics, labeling Cirque du Soleil as “the handjob of theater” and ridiculing “clever-y little plays that are being produced by terrified theaters just trying to keep ancient Jews and gay men and retired academics and a few random others” at the ticket window. He strikes even closer to home in a final-act diatribe directed at a hushed audience. While Chekhov’s plays are ensemble pieces, and Stupid Fucking Bird follows that format, Con emerges as the angry conscience of the play. Adam Magill is terrific as the fulminating Con, when his anger is a comically childish tantrum or a harshly honest reflection. When he is not angry, Con is usually in a romantic mope because Nina, the star of his performance piece, does not share his ardor.

Martha Brigham’s performance as Nina takes an intriguing journey from limp ingenue to fierce seductress to world-weary troubadour. The object of her seductions is a famous writer who is the current consort of Con’s mother. As Emma, star of stage and screen and careless motherhood, Carrie Paff is so vibrant that she can make her character’s selfish superciliousness seem appealing. Johnny Moreno gives her author-lover a pomposity that he delivers in little packets of carefully enunciated dialogue. Also on the scene is Emma’s brother, an aging, rueful doctor that Charles Shaw Robinson warmly plays with the resignation of the family also-ran. Providing additional sides to the play’s various love triangles are the morosely wonderful El Beh as a cook who sings woeis-me ballads and a handyman that Joseph Estlack delivers with an infectious guilelessness. Both Bill English’s set and Abra Berson’s costumes play off contemporary and 19th-century styles that connect the play’s attitudes. And attitude is something Stupid Fucking Bird has in abundance, starting with that I-dare-you title.t Stupid Fucking Bird will run at San Francisco Playhouse through May 2. Tickets are $20-$120. Call (415) 677-9596 or go to sfplayhouse. org.

wernerimages.com

J. Conrad Frank will star in NCTC’s production of Buyer and Cellar, a one-man play about a struggling actor who goes to work for Barbra Streisand.

May opening of On a Clear Day You Can See Forever. But this is not quite the 1965 Broadway musical that starred Barbara Harris, or the film version that starred Streisand a few years later. In reworking the original libretto about a psychiatrist and his psychically gifted patient, the neurotic woman has been turned into a gay man. In a past life, the patient was a girl singer in a 1940s big band, and the doctor falls in love with her as their therapy sessions bring her incarnation forward. With contemporary scenes moved to the go-go psychedelia of the 1970s,

songs from other Alan Jay Lerner and Burton Lane projects have been interpolated into the original score. The “revisical” had a brief Broadway run in 2011. Season tickets to the eight-show series, as well as a seven-show option without Avenue Q, are now on sale. A four-show sampling of any four shows is also on sale, and with the coming season, NCTC will be introducing a limited number of pay-what-you-can tickets for each preview performance. Single tickets go on sale June 1. Call (415) 8618972 or go to nctcsf.org.t

Graylon Hughes

Transgendered playwright MJ Kaufman examines gender expectations in Sagittarius Ponderosa, having its world premiere at NCTC.

Theatre>>

April 2-8, 2015 â&#x20AC;˘ BAY AREA REPORTER â&#x20AC;˘ 37

Next-generation bullying by Richard Dodds

t first, the retaliation seems deserved. A school bully from years ago gets his comeuppance at the hands of a former victim who has a platform much larger than high school corridors. In a kind of reverse of Tom Hanksâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Oscar speech, in which he accidentally outed as gay a former teacher whom he meant to praise, From White Plains begins after a screenwriter has outed as a bully an old classmate in his acceptance speech. His winning movie is a lightly fictionalized account of the toll taken by one high-school bully in particular. Anyone who has ever gone to school has encountered at least one memorable bully, and in my case, the ignoble goal was just to stay out of the line of fire. It was all considered just a rite of passage, except in the case of one Mitchell Cole who killed himself after years of torment from schoolmate Ethan Rice. Another of Ethanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s victims turned his experiences into an award-winning screenplay, but neither the movieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

success nor his naming-names speech has provided him cathartic release. Dennis obsessively keeps up the assault with YouTube postings that not only cost Ethan his friends and job, but also puts at risk Dennisâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; own relationship with the easygoing Gregory, who just wants life to go back to normal. New Conservatory Theatre Center is presenting the West Coast premiere of From White Plains, written by Michael Perlman in collaboration with its original New York cast. Director Sara Staley smoothly moves through mirroring scenes between gay lovers Dennis and Gregory and jock buddies Ethan and John. Gregory and John, the non-combatants in the battle between the now-alpha Dennis and the newly victimized Ethan, are increasingly disgusted by their friendsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; behavior both past and present. The play does have a resolution of sorts, at least up until a confusing series of final tableaus. Much of the power of the production comes from the polished and emotionally committed work of the cast. As the crusading Oscar-winner

Dennis, Sal Mattos conveys a vengeful ferocity (though his in-character stammering could lose a few hems and haws). Ed Moreno is appealing in a teddy-bear fashion as he envisions a white-picket life with Dennis. As Ethan, the former bully now a tempered asshole, Nick Trengove is able to make the character likeable and even sympathetic. Fernando Navales plays Ethanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best friend, John, with an inviting affability that becomes increasingly taxed by Ethanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s past and present behavior. While cyberbullying is one of those â&#x20AC;&#x153;trendingâ&#x20AC;? topics that manage to commodify any spontaneous gathering of ideas, Perlmanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s play manages to avoid the trappings of simplistic after-school sermonizing. White hats and black hats bleed into gray in an era when social media have given bullying a pulpit that extends far beyond the schoolyard.t From White Plains will run at New Conservatory Theatre Center through April 26. Tickets are $25$45. Call (415) 862-8972 or go to nctcsf.org.

Lois Tema

Sal Mattos (right) plays a filmmaker who has demonized on screen a former school bully (Nick Trengove) in From White Plains at NCTC.

Both sides (of the pond) now by Philip Campbell

n Monday night a few weeks back, HBO staged a gala Season Five premiere for mega-series Game of Thrones at the War Memorial Opera House, while on the other side of Grove Street, a different but also thrilling cultural event captivated another sold-out crowd at Davies Symphony Hall. The London Symphony Orchestra appeared with former Principal Conductor and current Principal Guest Conductor Michael Tilson Thomas for the second night of two different showcase concerts included as part of the orchestraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s MTT 70th Birthday Tour in the San Francisco Symphonyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Great Performers series. It was cause for lots of excitement and celebration, not least because of MTTâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s four decades of association with the LSO, but also for the uniquely satisfying display of obvious musical camaraderie and dedication given him on both sides of the big pond. After 20 years on the podium as Music Director of the SFS, it was a little disconcerting seeing him in front of so many other smiling faces onstage at DSH. And it certainly

looked like no cost was spared in sending every available LSO member on the US tour. The large program hit the ground running and never let up until, after encores, a happy and exhausted crowd was bid good night two-and-a-half-hours later. MTT and the LSO, not to mention the youthful guest soloist Yuja Wang, could probably have gone on longer. It was just that kind of a party. The opening selection was British composer Colin Matthewsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; brief Hidden Variables for Orchestra. The original chamber version was transcribed for orchestra as a cocommission from the LSO and New World Symphony for MTT, and first performed in 1992. Influences range from Schoenberg to Ligeti, and most noticeably, Steve Reich and John Adams (big-time). Matthews himself was in attendance, and it took some coaxing getting him onstage, but Hidden Variables, like much of the composerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s music, is more than simply derivative. He synthesizes his inspirations well, and if the piece must have sounded a little dated even 25 years ago, he still creates an interesting sound of his own. Pianist Yuja Wang entered next to gasps of what sounded like surprised approval in a stunning neon-lime dress, but her reputation for fashionforward apparel is only a part of her appeal, and her kinetic energy and talent quickly had us concentrating more on her star performance. Gershwinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Piano Concerto in F is MTT territory, and his English colleagues followed his sure hand in framing Wangâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wonderful interpretation.

A special spotlighting allowed LSO Co-Principal Trumpet Philip Cobb to make his mark in some perfectly idiomatic solos. The second half brought another MTT traversal of Shostakovichâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gargantuan Symphony No. 5, and it was more than a little interesting to see that he is still tinkering with his interpretation after so many equally thrilling performances here with the SFS. The Fifth is arguably the composerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most famous work, and whatever one thinks of the supposed subtext (ironic nods to Soviet

might, etc.), there can never be any doubt as to the workâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tremendously wrenching impact. It takes a big enactment with big gestures to bring off well, and here is where MTTâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and the LSOâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s reading slightly edged out the more tailored and sharp performances with our own orchestra. The LSO is known for a big and sumptuous if slightly wild sound, and this was a performance to blow the top off the hall. Wang had made her encore a slight and charming piece written for her by MTT called You Come

Here Often?, reading the music from an iPad. The Orchestraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s encore was a sweeping Brahms Hungarian Dance No. 1, read more traditionally from scores. The evening ultimately offered a wealth of insights and rewards to concertgoers and fans of Michael Tilson Thomas who have followed his career on both sides of the Atlantic. He has moved into the 21st century seamlessly, embracing change and growth with his trademark energy and passion. LSO, SFS, NWS: MTT.t

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ď?´ď?¨ď?Ľ ď?Ąď?¤ď?Źď?Ľď?˛ ď?Śď?Ľď?Źď?Źď?Żď?ˇď?ł ď?Śď?˛ď?Żď? ď?´ď?¨ď?Ľ ď?łď?Ąď?Ž ď?Śď?˛ď?Ąď?Žď?Łď?Šď?łď?Łď?Ż ď?Żď?°ď?Ľď?˛ď?Ą ď?Łď?Ľď?Žď?´ď?Ľď?˛

M OZA RT a n d R O S S I N I ROSSINI The Marriage Contract

Art Streiber

SFS music director and LSO principal guest conductor Michael Tilson Thomas.

Courtesy SFS

Pianist Yuja Wang.

MOZART Arias from Zaide and La finta giardiniera

Friday April @ PM SFJAZZ Center San Francisco

Stay a er the concert for the Annual LGBT Reception! www.philharmonia.org

T I C K E T S S TA R T AT ! (415) 392-4400

<< Film

38 • BAY AREA REPORTER • April 2-8, 2015

Missing treasure

Courtesy Amplify Releasing

Rinko Kikuchi as the title character in the Zellner Brothers’ strange feature Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter, opening Friday.

by David Lamble

music

dance

theater

Cal Performances U

2014/15

S E A S O N

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Robert Battle Artistic Director Masazumi Chaya Associate Artistic Director See Bay Area premieres by Moses and Rushing Plus returning favorites, including Revelations

“Unbelievable. Go see Ailey. It’s change-your-life good.” —NBC’s Today Show

April 21–26 ZELLERBAC H H ALL

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Glenn Allen Sims Photo by Andrew Eccles

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emember your college days, when in order to take an advanced class, you had to sit through the school’s entry-level offering, surrounded perhaps by half the varsity football and basketball squads? If the filmmaking Coen Brothers rebranded themselves as a college option for folks who prefer to experience the world in front of a giant screen, it would seem perfectly rational for Deans Joel and Ethan to mandate that you sit through an odd new feature by the novice filmmaking brother act of David and Nathan Zellner. In the Zellners’ strange and at times baffling feature Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter, a Japanese “office lady,” the astonishing Rinko Kikuchi (Babel, Pacific Rim), finds herself, at 29, the object of cruel jokes by her female co-workers. She’s also getting none-too-subtle hints from her womanizing old-guy boss that she’s reached her female-beauty expiration date. In a first-act scene that’s as deftly constructed as the one in Billy Wilder’s office-politics satire The Apartment, Kumiko is interrogated by her cruel boss about just why she’s blocking his view of younger and lovelier “office ladies.” “Are you unhappy here?” “No, not at all, Sir.” “Please have the decency to look at me when speaking!” “I’m sorry, Sir. I’ve always enjoyed working here, Sir.” “What are your plans?” “What do you mean, Sir?” “You know, long-term. After being an office lady. How old are you?” “29.” “As I’m sure you know, most managers have office ladies that are married by 25, unless they choose to move on in their careers. At your age, they most likely have a family.” “With all due respect, Sir, we all have our own path.” “Do you currently have a boyfriend?” “No, not right now.” “Are you homosexual?” “No, not at all.” “Are you sure? There are many fresh young girls ready to be office ladies. When older people don’t make room, it can hold them up.” One of the things that makes this scene sizzle is the 60-something boss’ body language: his over-the-top arrogance and belief that his Tokyo

female staff are little more than employees at his own personal brothel. After this brazen, unapologetic sexism, Kumiko starts acting: first tossing the old bugger’s dry cleaning in the trash, then attempting to steal a library book containing a detailed map of the environs around Fargo, North Dakota. Acting under the assumption that the Coens’ dark comedy Fargo was a documentary, and that the snow-covered ground near a barbed-wire fence is the location of a briefcase stuffed full of “Benjamin Franklins” ($100 bills), the soon-to-be-ex-office lady starts acting like a criminal mastermind, or like a faithful old retainer with a screw loose who’s out for payback and then some. Each of Kumiko’s steps – from leaving her cherished pet rabbit on a subway train to using her boss’ company credit card to pay for a ticket to Minnesota – raises the stakes but also increases our sense of incredulity. If this spinster lady is truly mad, how will the movie gods jerk her chain? What’s our stake in this unraveling, potentially hilarious mess of a caper? There are some films you have to watch twice to figure out what’s up, and those films normally tank at the box office. I think the Zellners have been clever enough to avoid a mass exodus at Kumiko’s cinema engagements. This isn’t Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter, where the whole silly movie heads immediately for a cliff and dives off. Kumiko’s a gal worth following. I suspect if you stay at 10 minutes, you’ll be hooked for the full 105-minute ride. Like the Coens, the Zellners have stocked their shaggy-dog caper with a zany supporting cast: the paperbackloving old gal who tries to divert Kumiko from her path; the helpful male cop who sincerely wants to help, but isn’t up for the whole nine yards of Kumiko’s obsession. Even if it takes you a second viewing to figure out why you watched the first time, rest assured there is something worth catching at the end of this mad office lady’s treasure hunt. While the Zellners insist that this movie is pure fiction, I’m sure they would appreciate the coincidence of its appearing at the conclusion of a major Silicon Valley sex discrimination case. It also wouldn’t hurt to rewatch Fargo, Where’s Poppa? or even Rosemary’s Baby to fully dig the Zellners, and really ace this course.t

Film>>

April 2-8, 2015 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 39

Dogs behaving badly by Erin Blackwell

he last Hungarian movie I saw was The Countess, Julie Delpy’s version of Erzebet Bathory’s vampire existence, a properly gruesome meditation on the body and the lengths some Hungarians go to, not to die. Now there is White God, which won Un Certain Regard (A Certain Look) at Cannes last year and was selected as Hungary’s hope for a foreign Oscar. Having no idea what other films Hungary released in 2014, I hesitate to pass summary judgment on writer/director Kornél Mundruczó’s earnest endeavor. Decide for yourself at Opera Plaza Cinemas, starting Friday, April 3. Spoiler alert: The first third of the two-hour narrative follows an adolescent girl misunderstood by her gruff father, who used to be a professor but now slices into hearts to certify sides of beef are fit for human consumption. Comparative anatomy, maybe. A drop of cow’s blood lands on his chest like a mark of Cain, accusing him of conspiracy against peaceable quadrupeds. This isn’t a movie about slaughterhouses or the meatpacking industry per se, but about man’s inhumanity to animals, at least abstractly. Dad wasn’t informed, when he fetched his daughter from his ex-wife, that he was also being saddled (pun intended) with a dog. At first we think Dad’s a garden-variety meanie, but no, there’s something weird about dog licenses in this town by the Danube. When he enters his apartment building with young Lily, a nosey neighbor or concierge immediately snaps about the dog. It seems that mutts who aren’t purebred Austrian breeds must be registered. There’s a list. Well, that sounds like the Jew-herding techniques of the Third Reich, so we’re in allegory territory. There’s some typical teenage angst for Lily, played with unmannered conviction by Zsófia Psotta, whose small, sturdy frame recalls the great Eastern bloc gymnasts. A star trumpeter in her school orchestra, Lily brings her dog to school to keep Dad from sending tawny mutt Hagen to a shelter. She’s thrown out of rehearsal, and Dad dumps the dog in a vacant lot. Now begins a coming-of-age epic along the lines of Oliver Twist. Hagen starves, finds companionship with a Jack Russell terrier, is adopted by a handsome old hollow-cheeked bum,

Courtesy of Magnolia Pictures

Zsófia Psotta in writer/director Kornél Mundruczó’s White God.

sold to a cafe owner, resold to a dog trainer. In a brief montage recalling Rocky, the mutt trains and trains for the big fight. Matched with a German shepherd in a bout unconvincingly gentle by Hollywood standards, Hagen

wins, then seems sorry he did. The bad guys want to buy him but the trainer won’t sell, so they get tough and Hagen splits, but is rounded up and sent to the pound, where he’s slated for destruction. Interspersed with Hagen’s fabulous adventures

is a subplot of generic teen troublemaking involving disco and drugs, which unexpectedly and unconvincingly transforms bad Dad into understanding parent. We don’t hear any more about the concept of dogs-as-Jews, gypsies, or gays. It’s

hard, writing a script, to keep track of all the genres you’re juggling. After 90 minutes of this, White God flips into Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, with Hagen as that chimp who was really played by an actor whose performance was translated by computer using a technique called motion capture. The dog playing Hagen gives an outstanding performance, showing an enviable range, from good-natured tongue-lolling to snarly, growling display of canines. Even at his worst, you feel he’s just acting, he doesn’t mean it, he would never really bite you. But Hagen is no pussy. He and his bitches track down every person who did him wrong and kill them, with a lot less collateral damage than you might expect. No scattered limbs, no severed heads. No humans or animals were harmed in the making of this picture. But instead of heading for the forest, as the apes do, Hagen and his pack – well, you have to see what they do for yourself. It’s very parable. A happy ending, perhaps, if you call happy having “a well-organized army” of stray dogs with a track record for targeted assassination under the sway of a pubescent trumpeter.t Opens April 3, Opera Plaza Cinemas in SF, and Shattuck Cinemas in Berkeley.

FEB 11–JUN 29 2015

Galleries

From page 33

Influenced by ancient Japanese art of the Edo and Meiji eras, classical statuary, Renaissance painting, the presto-pow visual vocabulary of American pop culture, and a hybrid cultural upbringing in Japan and the U.S., the artist integrates an urban new world order and the historic past, blending Eastern and Western aesthetics with a dreamy hallucinatory energy. His paintings are complemented by steel sculptures forged in gold and silver. (Through May 2.) For San Francisco literary icon and City Lights Books co-founder Lawrence Ferlinghetti, words are not enough. Famous for being tried in the 1950s for publishing Allen Ginsberg’s Howl, the outspoken 96-yearold poet identified with the Beats has been passionately engaged with his lesser-known foray into visual art – painting, drawing, mixed media and prints – since the late 1940s in Paris, where he was pursuing a graduate degree at the Sorbonne. If not convinced, you can catch Legends of the Bay Area at the Marin Museum of Contemporary Art before it closes on Sunday. The show of his paintings, supplemented by a dash of poetry and video, includes his first important work, which was See page 46 >>

IN THE PRESIDIO 104 MONTGOMERY S A N F RA NC IS C O WALTDISNEY.ORG

Revel in the golden age of Hollywood through an exhibition of photography from George Hurrell—one of America’s finest photographers, credited with creating the opulent glamour portrait of the 1930s and 40s. See rare and vintage prints of Jean Harlow, Clark Gable, Joan Crawford, Katharine Hepburn, Carole Lombard, and more, including Hurrell’s uncle-in-law, Walt Disney. Image: George Hurrell, Carole Lombard in The Princess Comes Across, 1936; courtesy of Pancho Barnes Trust Estate Archive, © Estate of George Hurrell. Lights! Camera! Glamour! The Photography of George Hurrell is produced by The Walt Disney Family Museum. The Walt Disney Family Museum® Disney Enterprises, Inc. | © 2015 The Walt Disney Family Museum | The Walt Disney Family Museum is not affiliated with Disney Enterprises, Inc.

<< Out&About

40 • BAY AREA REPORTER • April 2-8, 2015

Out &About

O&A

Talley’s Folly @ Harry’s Upstage, Berkeley Aurora Theatre Company restages Lanford Wilson’s lyrical uplifting two-actor drama. $30-$50. Tue 7pm. Wed-Sat 8pm. Sun 2pm. 2081 Addison St., Berkeley. (510) 843-4822. www.AuroraTheatre.org

Unusual Movies @ Oddball Films

Fri 3 Sidra Bell Dance New York

Best bets I

n case you hadn’t heard, this is our fifth annual Besties issue, and our fifth annual Besties Awards party will be at Oasis, and you’re invited. See April 2 listings for details. Actually, every week we play best bets, by choosing from among the hundreds of press releases, invites and random hand-scrawled pleas stuffed into our mailbox each week. Here are the best for the week, or at least the most legible.

Thu 2 Antigone @ Exit on Taylor Cutting Ball Theater’s production of Daniel Sullivan’s new translation of Sophocles’ classic Greek tragedy, with music and movement. $10-$50. Thu 7:30pm. Fri & Sat 8pm. Sat 2pm, Sun 5pm. Thru Mar. 29. 277 Taylor St. 5251205. www.cuttingball.com

Besties @ Oasis The Bay Area Reporter’s fifth annual readers poll winners in 80-plus categories are feted at the early evening party, with complimentary Trumer Pils beer and specialty cocktails, food and cake, performances by Marga Gomez, Veronica Klaus and Whoa Nellies, DJ Mark O’Brien (Polyglamorous) and MC Queen Cougar. 6pm-8:30pm. No cover. 298 11th St. at Folsom. www.sfoasis.com www.facebook.com/ events/792583177498790/

The Cry of Jazz @ YBCA New documentaries about jazz music visionaries, with restores ‘80s documentaries and new films. April 2, 7:30pm: Lily Keber’s Bayou Maharajah, about New Orleans piano legend James Booker. Other films thru April. Also, Dark Horse: Film Noir Westerns. $10. Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 701 Mission St. ybca.org

New & Classic Films @ Castro Theatre April 2: The Trial (7pm) and Elevator to the Gallows (9:15). April 1: Grey Gardens (3:30, 7:30) and Pink Flamingos (5:20, 9:20). April 3-5: sing-along Beauty and The Beast. (Fri 7pm, Sat & Sun 2:30, 7pm). April 6: Tim Gunn in person (7pm). April 7: The Moth and Blue Moon. April 8: Disposable Film Festival (8pm). $11. 429 Castro St. www.castrotheatre.com

Nick & Nora @ Eureka Theatre The lighthearted 1991 musical by Arthur Laurents, Charles Strouse and Richard Maltby, based on Dashiel Hammet’s 1930s The Thin Man, gets a production by the vintage musical revival ensemble. $25-$75. Wed & Thu 7pm. Fri 8pm. Sat 6pm. Sun 3pm. Thru April 19. 215 Jackson St. 2558207. www.42ndStMoon.org

The Office, Dolly @ Z Below Word for Word’s stage adaptation of two short stories by Nobel Prizewinning author Alice Munro. $20, $35-55. Wed & Thu 7pm. Fri-Sat 8pm. Sun 3pm. Thru April 12. 470 Florida St. (866) 811-4111. www.zspace.org

In Living Color @ Oasis Honey Mahogany and Dulce De Leche’s new cabaret show. $15. 9:30pm. 298 11th St. at Folsom. www.sfoasis.com

Jewels of Paris @ Hypnodrome Thrillpeddlers’ new production is a “revolutionary” Parisian-themed musical revue, with original music and lyrics by original Cockette Scrumbly Koldewyn, including characters based on Picasso, Cocteau, Josephine Baker and even Marie Antoinette. $30-$35. Thu-Sat 8pm. Thru May 2. 575 10th St. www.hypnodrome.org

Lea Salonga @ Feinstein’s at the Nikko The Tony Award-winning singeractress ( Miss Saigon, Les Miserables) performs cabaret hits and some of her Broadway classics. $5-$75. 8pm. Thru April 5. Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. www.ticketweb.com

An immersive, circus-infused culinary extravaganza set in San Francisco’s notorious Barbary Coast red light district, with aerial performances, live music and a four-course dinner. 21+. $120. Fri & Sat 8pm. Thru April 4. 633 Florida St. 310-9238. TheSoiledDove.com

Whoa Nellies @ SF Eagle

Stereotypo @ The Marsh

Fri 3

Don Reed’s new solo show, subtitled Rants and Rumblings at the DMV showcases the banal automotive office as a showcase of diverse characters. $20-$100. Fri 8pm, Sat 8:30pm. Extended thru April 25. 1062 Valencia St. 282-3055. themarsh.org

The musical comedy revue celebrates its 40th year with an ever-changing lineup of political and pop culture icons, all in gigantic wigs. Reg: $25$160. Beer/wine served; cash only; 21+, except where noted. 678 Beach Blanket Babylon Blvd (Green St.). 4214222. beachblanketbabylon.com

Dis/Play @ SOMArts Cultural center Expansive exhibit of works in several media by more than 30 Bay Area artists and groups (Artful Steps, NIAD Art Center, Sins Invalid) who expand the depiction of disability; includes special performances thru the run by AXIS Dance Company (April 8, 6pm-9pm), and other groups. Events ASL interpreted, and wheelchair accessible. Reg. hours Tue-Fri 12pm7pm. Sat 12pm-5pm. Thru April 23. 934 Brannan St. 863-1414. www.somarts.org

Absolutely Fabulous @ Exit Theatre The drag performance of episodes from the hit BBC comedy include Terrance McLaughlin, ZsaZsa Lufthansa, Raya Light, Nick Leonard and other talents. $25-$35. Fri & Sat 8pm. Also (w/ different episodes, two a night) May 15 & 16, June 19 & 20, 26 & 27. 156 Eddy St. eventbrite.com

Arcadia @ Cinnabar Theatre, Petaluma Tom Stoppard’s masterpiece play –a comedy, mystery and love, with 12 actors– is produced by the north Bay company. $9-$25. Fri & Sat 8pm. Sat & Sun 2pm. thru April 19. 3333 Petaluma Blvd. (707) 763-8920. www.cinnabaetheater.org

The Braggart Soldier @ Custom Made Theater Custom Made Theatre Company’s updated version of Plautus’ Roman satirical comedy (which served as the inspiration for Sondheim’s A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum ). $20-$40. Thu-Sat 8pm. Sun 7pm. Thru April 26. 1620 Gough St. at Bush. 798-2682. www.custommade.org/braggart/

One Week Only! April 14–19, 2015 The Bay Area welcomes spring each year with this popular weeklong exhibition featuring unique art and floral mash-ups in which floral designers create arrangements that pay tribute to and draw inspiration from the works in the de Young’s permanent collection. Throughout the week, visitors can participate in floral demonstrations by prominent designers, hands-on art activities for children, catered luncheons, and more.

First Fridays @ Downtown Oakland The monthly arts and outdoor nightlife and food fest returns. 5pm9pm. Telegraph Ave. from West Grand to 27th St. oaklandfirstfridays.org

Michael Perlamn’s suspenseful drama involves a film director who outs a high school bully in his Oscar speech, leading to a confrontative reunion. $30-$40. Wed-Sat 8pm. Sun 2pm. Thru April 26. 25 Van Ness Ave., lower level. 861-8972. www.nctcsf.org

Art in Bloom is the new theme of the 41st annual store-wide floral festival of displays, fashion, cooking and DIY demos welcomes springtime retail, with different art movements represented on each floor. Thru April 4. Union Square. Macys.com/FlowerShow Lauren Yee’s drama about a mother who loses her son. $20. Thu 7pm. Fri & Sat 8pm. Sat 3pm. Thru April 25. 533 Sutter St., 2nd floor. 677-9596. www.sfplayhouse.org

The Soiled Dove @ InnerMission

Beach Blanket Babylon @ Club Fugazi

From White Plains @ New Conservatory Theatre Center

Flower Show @ Macy’s

In a Word @ Tides Theater

John Kolvenbach’s play about family conflicts and relationships. $20-$60. Wed-Sat 8pm. Sun 2:30pm. Tue 7pm. Thru April 19. Fort Mason Center, Bldg D, 3rd floor, 2 Marina Blvd. at Buchanan sts. 441-8822. magictheatre.org

Weekly screenings of strange and obscure short films. April 2: Eastern European Animation. April 3: Mr. Bill, Mimes, Monkeys and more! $10. 8pm Also Fridays. 275 Capp St. 558-8117. www.oddballfilm.com The rockin’s retro fun band, including veteran musicians Peter Fogel and Leigh Crowe, perform at the famed leather bar’s music night. $8. 9:30pm. 398 12th St. at Harrison. sf-eagle.com

by Jim Provenzano

Sister Play @ Magic Theatre

Tue 7

Miriam Gurba with Sister Spit

San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus @ Various Venues

Other Desert Cities @ New Conservatory Theatre Center This local production of Jon Robin Baitz’ Pulitzer Prize finalist drama concerns a family disrupted by divisive political differences. $20-$35. WedSat 8pm. Sun 2pm. Thru April 5. 25 Van Ness Ave., lower level. 861-8972. www.nctcsf.org

The chorus performs premieres of Jake Heggie’s For a Look or a Touch, also Charles Anthony Silvestri’s #twitterlieder: 15 Acts in 3 Tweet, and Steve Huffines’ My Friend, My Lover: Five Walt Whitman Songs. $25-$90. 8pm, Davies Symphony Hall, 201 Van Ness Ave. 865-2787. www.sfgmc.org

Sidra Bell Dance New York @ Dance Mission Theater

Student & Faculty Concerts @ SF Conservatory of Music

Sing-Along Jesus Christ Superstar @ Victoria Theatre

April 2 & 4, 7:30pm: SFCM Opera’s performance of Donizetti’s L’eliser d’amore. $15-$20. April 6, 8pm: Guitar Dept. recital; free. April 6, 8pm: Voice Dept. recital; free. April 7, 7:30pm: Chamber music master class; free, and New Music Emsemble (8pm). April 8, 8pm: Piano dept. recital. April 9, 8pm: Telegraph Quartet, $15-$20. 50 Oak St. 5036322. www.sfcm.edu

The New York company premieres the intensely physical Unidentifiable: Bodies, a new work. $10-$20. 8pm. Also April 4, 8pm. 3316 24th St. 3491210. www.dancemission.com

The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence and Bad Flower Productions present the fourth annual screening of the classic rock musical about Jesus’ last days, with Storm Miguel Florez, a wild costume contest, Chunky Jesus contest, and an ASL interpreter. Partial proceeds benefit the Trans March. $15-$35. 7pm. 2961 16th St. http://singalongjcs2015. brownpapertickets.com/

Grand Patron Diane B. Wilsey

Event Leader

Event Contributor McGladrey

Media Sponsors

Unidentified artist, girandole mirror, ca. 1810. Limewood, glass, brass, and gilding. FAMSF, gift of Mrs. Virginia Bosche, 78.60. Floral design by Church Street Flowers. Photograph © Greg A. Lato / latoga photography

Tartuffe @ Berkeley Repertory

Botticelli to Braque @ de Young Museum

Dominique Serrand directs the awardwinning East Bay theatre company’s modern production of Moliere’s classic satire of religious hypocrisy. $29-$79. Tue, Thu-Sat 8pm. Wed & Sun 7pm. Sat & Sun 2pm. Thru April 12. Roda Theatre, 2025 Addison St., Berkeley. (510) 647-2949. www.berkeleyrep.org

Masterpieces from the National Galleries of Scotland, an expansive exhibit of classic paintings; thru May 31. Also, Embodiments: Masterworks of African Figurative Sculpture, thru July 5; photographer Janet Delaney: South of Market, thru July 19. Other exhibits of modern art as well. Free/$25. Thru May 31. 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive. www.famsf.org

Sat 4

Fool La La! @ The Marsh

Antigonick @ Ashby Stage, Berkeley Guggenheim and MacArthur fellowship-winning playwright Anne Carson’s take on Sophocles’ Antigone is produced by the innovative Shotgun Players. $20-$35. Thu-Sat 8pm. Sun 5pm. Wed 7pm. Thru April 25. 1901 Ashby Ave., Berkeley. (510) 841-6500. www.ShotgunPlayers.org

Unique Derique’s holiday clowning show’s fun for kids and adults alike. $15-$35. Sundays 2pm. Extended thru April 12. 1062 Valencia St. 282-3055. www.themarsh.org

Hostel Comedy @ Piano Fight Andrew Roberts’ weekly comedy show with visiting comics and backpacking tourists telling funny stories. Free. 7pm. Thru April 25. 144 Taylor St. www.pianofight.com

Out&About>>

Mirandolina! @ Center Repertory Company, Walnut Creek

April 2-8, 2015 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 41

Fri 3

Carlo Goldini’s 18th-century tale of a Tuscan inn mistress, love, seduction and chocolate, gets an East Bay staging. $33-$60. Tue & Wed 7:30pm. Fri & Sat 8pm. Sun 2:30pm. Thru May 2. 1601 Civic Drive, Walnut Creek. (925) 943-7469. www.centerrep.org

Richard III @ La Val’s Subterranean, Berkeley Shakespeare’s classic drama about an evil king gets a new treatment from the innovative East Bay theatre company. $10-$25. Thu-Sat 8pm. Sun 7pm. Thru April 5. 1834 Euclid Ave., Berkeley. (510) 224-5744. www.impacttheatre.com

At Large: Ai Weiwei @ Alcatraz Island

The 70s supergroup is back on tour. $60-$230. 8pm. 7000 Coliseum Way, Oakland. www.ticketmaster.com

The internationally acclaimed Chinese sculptor’s exhibit of seven sitespecific multimedia installations; the largest art exhibit ever hosted by the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy. $18-$30. Daily thru April 26. Ferries to and from Pier 33 at Embarcadero. AiWeiWeiAlcatraz.org www.alcatrazcruises.com/website/ ai-weiwei.aspx

The Griots of Oakland @ CIIS Multimedia exhibit of visuals and storytelling by young African American men of the East Bay. Thru June 20. 1453 Mission St. ciis.edu

Oaxacalifornia @ Modern Times Bookstore Art exhibit about borders and barriers being crossed. 2919 24th St. 2829246. www.mtbs.com

Fleetwood Mac @ Oracle Arena, Oakland

Other Desert Cities Lois Tema

Sun 5 Abrazo, Queer Tango @ Finnish Brotherhood Hall, Berkeley Enjoy weekly same-sex tango dancing and a potluck, with lessons early in the day. $7-$15. 3:30-6:30pm. 1970 Chestnut St., Berkeley. (510) 8455352. www.finnishhall.com

Rirkrit Tiravanija: The Way Things Go @ YBCA A Special Curatorial Project … uncovers narratives, reveals personal stories, and shares vignettes that lead to a larger understanding of the migration of people in the production of material culture. Free/$12-$15. Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 701 Mission St. Thru June 21. 978-2787. www.ybca.org

Seduction: Japan’s Floating World @ Asian Art Museum New exhibit of ancient art from the John C. Weber Collection. Thru May 10. Also, The Printer’s Eye: Ukiyo-e, from the Grabhorn Collection. Other fascinating exhibits as well. Free (members, kids 12 and under)-$15. Tue-Sun 10am-5pm. 200 Larkin St. www.asianart.org

SF Hiking Club @ Mount Diablo

The News @ SOMArts Cultural Center The monthly queer performance showcase this time includes Althea and the Graceland Girls, Migueltzinta Cah Mai Solís Pino, Peacock Rebellion, the Congregation of Liberation and The Lady Ms. Vagina Jenkins; MCs Seaman and Vaidya. Free/$5. 7:30pm. 934 Brannan St. www.somarts.org

Ralph Eugene Meatyard @ Robert Tat Gallery Exhibit of black and white prints by the creator of creepy yet beautiful imagery. Tue-Sat 11am-5:30pm (1st Thu til 7:30pm). Thru May 30. 49 Geary St. 781-1122. roberttat.com

Robert Crane @ Books Inc. The son of actor Bob Crane discusses Crane: Sex, Celebrity, and My Father’s Unsolved Murder, the compelling book about the unsolved murder of his father. 7:30pm. 2275 Market St. www.booksinc.net

Lava Thomas @ Museum of the African Diaspora Exhibit of contemporary works. Also, The Art of Elizabeth Catlett, and historic exhibits of African cultures. Free/$10. 685 Mission St. www.moadsf.org

Let There Be Love @ Geary Theatre American Conservatory Theatre presents Kwame Kwei-Armah’s family drama about a West Indian immigrant and a Polish young man’s lives connect, despite prejudices. (Out With A.C.T. April 22) $20-$105. Tue-Sat 8pm. Wed, Sat & Sun 2pm. Thru May 3. 415 Geary St. 749-2228. www.act-sf.org

SF LGBT Book Club @ Books Inc. Discuss gay-themed books with others. 7pm. 2275 Market St. www.booksinc.net

Join GLBT hikers for a 10-mile hike along Wall Point Ridge to Rock City at Mt. Diablo State Park; walk through rolling meadows, chaparral, woodlands, grasslands, and oak forests. Bring water, lunch, hat, layers, sturdy shoes, sunscreen. Carpool meets 9:00 at Safeway sign, Market & Dolores. 794-2275. www.sfhiking.com

Mon 6 Letters to Afar, Poland and Palestine: Two Lands and Two Skies @ Contemporary Jewish Museum Dual exhibit of new Jewish cultural documentation (thru May 24); also, Havruta in Contemporary Art (thru April 14). Other exhibits, lectures and gallery talks as well. Free (members)-$12. Fri-Tue 11am-5pm, Thu 11am-8pm (closed Wed). 736 Mission St. 655-7800. thecjm.org

Queer Past Becomes Present @ GLBT History Museum Eexhibits about Bay Area LGBTQ people, history and communities. Free (members)-$5. Reg hours: Mon, WedSat 11am-7pm. Sun 12pm-5pm. 4127 18th St. 621-1107. glbthistory.org

Various Exhibits @ California Academy of Sciences Golden Gate Park • deyoungmuseum.org/bouquets

Sin Visa @ Roxie Theatre Screening of Without a Visa, Ana Simões and Bassam Kassab’s film about a 17-year-old immigrant’s troubles and eventual friendship with a gay couple (in Spanish with English subtitles). $10. 7pm. Also April 5, 5pm & 7pm. 3117 16th St. 863-1087. Afterparty at Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts, 2868 Mission St. roxie.com

Stupid F#cking Bird @ SF Playhouse Aaron Posner’s satirical Hollywood update on Chekhov’s The Seagulls. $20-$120. Tue-Thu 7pm. Fri & Sat 8pm. Sat 3pm. Sun 2pm. Thru May 2. 450 Post St. 677-9596. sfplayhouse.org

The Waiting Period @ The Marsh Brian Copeland returns with his popular solo show, about the tensions of considering suicide, and waiting for approval to buy a gun. $30-$100. Saturdays 5pm, Sundays 5:30pm. Extended thru May 31. 1062 Valencia St. 282-3055. www.themarsh.org

Easter with The Sisters @ Golden Gate Park Dolores Park is half under construction by crews, and half under destruction by teeming hordes. Buck that trend at the annual Easter concert and outdoor show with the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, Foxy Mary and Hunky Jesus contests, with performances by Red Hots Burlesque, Empress Khmera Rouge, Kippy Marks, Sundance Saloon, Fou Fou Ha, The Monster Show, Momma’s Boyz, Gayc/DC and more. 11am (Kids’ Easter), 12pm-4pm. Hellman Hollow. www.thesisters.org

DILF Comedy Night @ Pa’ina Lounge Hella Gay Comedy’s night of straight male comics (Matt Gubser, Bryant Hicks, Tommy Arnold, Butch Escobar and Ira Summer) stand-up. $10. 21+. 2-item minimum. 7pm. 1865 Post St. at Webster. 829-2642. www.painasf.com

Exhibits and planetarium shows with various live, interactive and installed exhibits about animals, plants and the earth; special events each week, with adult nightlife parties most Thursday nights. $20-$35. Mon-Sat 9:30am5pm. Sun 11am-5pm. 55 Music Concourse Drive, Golden Gate Park. 379-8000. www.calacademy.org

Sat 4

Sin Visa

Sister Spit @ Rock Paper Scissors, Oakland The women’s queer writing and performance collective returns to the Bay Area along their latest tour, with MC Michelle Tea, Myriam Gurba, Kate Schatz, Miriam Klein Stahl, Mica Sigourney, Tom Cho and Virgie Tovar. $10. 7pm. 2278 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. Also April 8 at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (8pm, 701 Mission St.), and April 9 at Humbolt State University. www.sisterspit.com www.rpscollective.org

Wed 8

Fotanicals @ SF Botanical Gardens Fotanicals: the Secret Language of Flowers, an exhibition of photographs by artist joSon. Also, see blooming floral displays, including new Magnolia blossoms (51 species and 33 cultivars!), plus trees and exhibits. Also, daily walking tours and more, at outdoor exhibits of hundreds of species of native wildflowers in a century-old grove of towering Coast Redwoods. Free-$15. Daily. Golden Gate Park. 661-1316. www.SFBotanicalGarden.org

Greg Archer @ Books Inc.

Framed Targets @ CIIS Gallery New exhibit of abstract sculptural wall art by Truong Tran, a local gay visual artist. Thru April 11. 1453 Mission St. 575-6100. www.ciis.edu

The award-winning journalist and author of Grace Revealed discusses his latest compelling novel about a Polish family’s ordeals under the Stalin regime. 7pm. 2275 Market St. www.booksinc.net

Liss Fain Dance @ Z Space World premiere of A Space Divided, a new dance-installation by choreographers Amy Seiwert and Christian Burns, and set designer Matthew Antaky. $20-$35. Thu-Sat 8pm. Sun 2pm. Thru April 12. 450 Florida St. (800) 838-3006. www.Zspace.org

Tue 7

Steve Tyrell @ Feinstein’s at the Nikko

Gay Skate Night @ Church on 8 Wheels LGBT night at the former Sacred Heart Church-turned disco roller skate party space, hosted by John D. Miles, the “Godfather of Skate.” Actually every night is gay-friendly, including Saturday’s Black Rock night (Burning Man garb encouraged). Also Wed, Thu, 7pm-10pm. Sat afternoon sessions 1pm-2:30pm and 3pm5:30pm. $10. Kids 12 and under $5. Skate rentals $5. 554 Fillmore St at Fell. www.churchof8wheels.com

Thu 9

The Grammy-winning vocalist perfroms in a special two-week engagement at the elegant intimate cabaret nightclub. $ 8pm. Thu & Fri 8pm. Sat & Sun 7pm. Thru April 19. Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. (866) 663-1063. www.stevetyrell.com www.ticketweb.com

Sun 5

Easter in Golden Gate Park Steven Underhill

To submit event listings, email jim@ebar.com. Deadline is each Thursday, a week before publication. For more bar and nightlife events, go to On the Tab in our BARtab section, online at www.ebar.com/bartab

<< Film

42 • BAY AREA REPORTER • April 2-8, 2015

Loveless marriage

by David Lamble

ne of the hardest films to watch and to write about is the mediocre art-house variety that bears an impressive creative pedigree but is emotionally hollow to the core. Effie Gray’s story is simple and potentially appealing. Young Effie (Dakota Fanning) enters a very bad marriage to the up-and-coming author/painter John Ruskin (18191900), who, while a reformer, has a reactionary side when it comes to the bedroom. Refusing to consummate the marriage, Ruskin (Greg Wise) declines to release Effie from her vows, setting up a classic 19thcentury loveless marriage, the kind that was, for many women, worse than doing hard time in a nasty prison. Effie’s only chance at freedom from this brute lies with two friends: a young artist/rebel and potential lover, John Everett Millais (the very handsome Tom Sturridge); and a female mentor, the wise and wily Lady Elizabeth Eastlake (the redoubtable Emma Thompson). The filmmakers fail to turn Ruskin into an interesting villain, somebody you can sink your teeth into properly hating. Instead we are tossed crumbs of character traits, as when Ruskin is seen shouting platitudes to his coterie of fans, “Gentlemen, paint what you see, draw what you see.” Trapped on the Ruskin family estate, Effie receives no succor from the grande dame Margaret Cox Ruskin (Julie Walters), who says, “You have married no ordinary man.” Or, as a perceptive male friend confides, “Your husband is opposed to pleasure, and you are

Dakota Fanning as Effie Gray, bride of John Ruskin.

not.” At the peak of her domestic bondage after Effie has suffered an emotional breakdown, the family doctor (the always reliable Robbie Coltrane) gives the obstinate Ruskin a proper dressing-down. “There’s nothing wrong with your wife that some love and attention won’t cure.” Or a 19th-century version of tabloid TV’s Divorce Court. In a film that could have used some of the high spirits and bubbly romanticism that the Merchant/ Ivory team used to bring to their Edwardian-era classics (A Room with a View, Maurice, Howard’s End), we do get a humorous back-and-forth between an elderly couple whose relationship survived the rough seas Effie is drowning in.

“That poor girl’s not happy.” “Neither were you at the beginning. Very grim you were.” “And you were pompous and distant.” Effie Gray sports a Masterpiece Theatre-worthy ensemble – James Fox, Derek Jacobi and the Italian star Claudia Cardinale – who, sadly, are never allowed to properly bare their fangs and roar. But Effie gets a decent boost from the motionpicture rating folks: a PG-13 for thematic and sexual content, and my personal favorite, some nudity. Pity these treats are largely squandered, especially the virile, bearded Sturridge.t Opens Friday.

Shock of sudden loss by Brian Bromberger

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he American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow once wrote, “There is no grief like the grief that does not speak.” Being able to express grief and loss is at the heart of the deeply moving British film Lilting, just released on DVD by Strand Releasing. Lilting was a centerpiece drama at last year’s Frameline, and enthralled the audience despite what many might see as a gloomy theme. What could have been plodding and mawkish is instead rendered sensitive and life-affirming. Essentially, Lilting is a series of table conversations between the characters, half 10:17 AM of whom cannot understand each other’s languages, yet our interest never wavers because we can empathize with their inability to divulge their true selves to one another, as they unwittingly inflict emotional wounds on each other. The fact that this is a feature debut directed by Hong Khaou only adds to our admiration of its achievement. Set in contemporary London, Lilting relates the story of an elderly Cambodian-Chinese woman, Junn (Cheng Pei Pei), who is mourning the untimely loss of her son, Kai (Andrew Leung). Kai, unable to care for her, had placed his mother temporarily in an assisted living home. Kai was living with his best friend Richard (Ben Whishaw), who was actually his boyfriend for the last four years. The night before being fatally hit by a car, Kai had visited his mother, wanting, after years of urging by Richard, to come out to Junn, and then ask her to reside with them. But Kai loses his nerve and instead invites her over to dinner the following night. After Kai’s sudden death, Richard feels an obligation to help Junn, so he hires a young Chinese woman, Vann, as a translator, to help foster a developing courtship between Junn, who only speaks

Mandarin, and an Anglo resident of the home, Alan, who only speaks English. Richard wants to ask Junn to live with him, but first must reveal to her the real nature of his relationship with Kai. Whether he is willing or able to rise to this challenge provides the dramatic focus of Lilting. Isolation, the difficulty of communicating, and the longing for connection infuse the film. Basing the film on his play (though that featured a heterosexual relationship), Khaou skillfully uses the idea of a translator as a narrative device bridging ethnic and sexual differences. Yet cultural barriers and miscommunication remain. Grief is a difficult subject to convey on film, and Lilting may be one of the most honest depictions of loss ever filmed (i.e., still being able to smell Kai in the bedroom), avoiding the trap of crying jags as the sole representation of mourning. Richard and Junn are still in bereavement over Kai’s death, but must somehow try to navigate this painful transition. Junn resented having to fight for her son’s attention, being jealous of his relationship with Richard. But Richard accuses Junn of failing to assimi-

late to contemporary British culture, thus having to rely on Kai for everything, as well as choking him with guilt. Can they overcome their grievances and forge a new relationship without Kai? Regret filters through every frame, and the best scenes in the film are reenactments of past incidents with Kai, as they struggle to move ahead with their lives. As superb as the script and direction are, Lilting would be close to naught without the extraordinary two lead actors. Chen Pei Pei is one of Asian cinema’s martial arts legends and Hong Kong’s first action heroine, most notably in Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. In Junn she manages to portray ferocity as well as vulnerability. The openly gay British actor Ben Whishaw replaced Judi Dench’s M with his own Q in the most recent James Bond, Skyfall. LGBT audiences will have fond memories of his supple ass when he played the homosexual Sebastian Flyte in the film version of Brideshead Revisited in 2008, as well as his Freddie Lyon in two seasons of The Hour for BBC TV. Whishaw is probably one virtuoso performance away from superstardom, and his compassionate but conflicted and melancholy Richard adds to his distinguished repertoire. Lilting’s expert depictions of the shock of sudden calamity hearken back to the early years of the AIDS epidemic, when gay men at the height of youth and beauty died of the disease in a matter of weeks, and often had not come out to their families. The film may well revive remembrances of those staggering losses and the challenge of coping with such senseless death, especially for older viewers. The bonus 10-minute interview with Khaou adds to appreciating Lilting. After viewing this first film triumph, it is understandable why in 2013 he was named in Screen International as one of the stars of tomorrow.t

April 2-8, 2015 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 43

Circle of gay history

publishes a magazine. Homosexuality is legal in Switzerland, though it is considered socially unacceptable by the general population. Robi, 18, is a drag performer who lives with his surprisingly (for that period) accepting mom. It’s love at first sight for Robi and Ernst, 26, when they meet through The Circle. Ernst’s visits to Robi’s home give him a brief taste of what living in a tolerant society might be like. Robi’s mom (Marianne Sagebrecht) is a simple

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arch 20 was the 100th anniversary of the birth of Sviatoslav Richter, who died in 1997, depressed about a hearing ailment that gave him a false sense of pitch. At the time he was working on Schubert’s Five Piano Pieces, D. 459, apparently for the first time. No 20th-century pianist had done more for the rehabilitation of Schubert, the very idea of which sounds absurd today. But I remember well, in the 1950s and 60s, that if anyone so much as spoke of Beethoven and Schubert in the same sentence, it was to identify the second as the lesser. The Richter anniversary has brought the predictable avalanche of box sets and reissues, any of which someone new to Richter might want to snap up, but first out of the gate among them – and for Richter fanatics anyway, the most important of the lot – is Melodiya’s four-disc set Richter Plays Schubert Live, Moscow performances from the late 1970s plus the late C Minor Sonata, D. 958, from 1971. Another company with anything as big would have released it by now, so kudos to Melodiya for carrying on its work at the center of Richter’s art. As the idea that Schubert himself may have been gay again recedes in the scholarly view, it’s hard not to wonder whether Richter, who would have heard such rumors about the “second-rate” Schubert, gravitated to the composer out of more than musical sympathies. It’s now accepted that Richter was gay at a time when homosexuality was as illegal and dangerous in the USSR as it is in Russia today. Bruno Monsaingeon’s documentary Richter l’Insoumis (Richter the Enigma) is must watching, and can only enlarge rather than diminish that perspective on the man. It’s helpful to remember that these four discs were not planned as a set, much less as a program. Still, Richter, who had a penchant for performing recitals devoted to a single composer, and ambivalence about the very idea of a “program” apart from that, might have been pleased with this set. Of the late, great sonatas, often grouped today,

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tefan Haupt’s The Circle is a fascinating combination of documentary and drama. Newly released on DVD via lesbian-owned Wolfe Video, the film tells the story of Ernst Ostertag and Robi Rapp, a gay couple together since the 1950s. Matthias Hungerbuhler and Sven Schelker play the young Ernst and Robi in 1950s Zurich, Switzerland. The men, who still live in the Zurich apartment they’ve resided in since 1967, appear as themselves in a series of newly shot interviews that are sprinkled throughout the film. Ernst is now 85 years old. Robi, a drag artist who continues to perform, is in his late 70s. The film is a sobering reminder of how difficult gay life could be in decades past. With states like Indiana, among others, now passing “right to discriminate/ religious freedom” bills, we are reminded that the hardships endured by Ernst and Robi are far from over. Ernst is a schoolteacher in 1950s Zurich. He lives his life deep in the closet, even as he gets involved in The Circle, a semi-underground gay organization that hosts parties and

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woman, a widow who takes in laundry in order to feed her family. Her quite grace and her love for her gay son – and his boyfriend – are quite touching. The police soon begin cracking down on The Circle after several gay men are murdered by gay-for-pay “rent boys.” The principal of Ernst’s school, a closeted married man with children, is outed after the police question him. His family leaves him. Ernst is terrified. He’s afraid that if he comes out, he’ll lose his career. But the tense hardships that are forced upon them only serve to bring Ernst and Robi closer together. They’re soulmates. They survive those difficult early days. When the real Ernst and Robi are seen making tea in their apartment as an elderly couple, viewers see that everything they lived through was worth it. They had a wonderful second and third act. The Circle is lovely and inspiring. It’s an important history lesson about an unknown episode in European gay history. Actual issues of The Circle’s magazine are seen in the film. Most importantly, The Circle is a love story. (Swiss with English subtitles.)t

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Spring at the Cliff House there are only the “big” G Major, D. 894, and the antepenultimate in C Minor, D. 958. (Their companions are not hard to find on other Richter discs.) What’s striking about all of them is their sure sense of scale. The shorter works are not given the false-Biedermeier treatment, that is, played as decorative near-trifles. Audiences, particularly these days, do want thunder and lightning – and at least four seasons, a couple of them ideally stormy – from a piano recital. What the Moscow Conservatory audience of Oct. 18, 1978, got instead from D. 566, 625 and 664 were ultralucid readings of the three sonatas that – indirectly – proved how masterfully crafted they are and also were rich in the mercurial aspects of Richter’s playing that made it so beguiling – startling without having to come at you to make its often surprising effects. There are innumerable examples here of Richter playing a stretch of music as full of phrases as repetitious as the verses in his strophic songs – and then, over a suspension or rest, taking that music, which seemed to flirt with boredom, and drawing it into a larger musical context. It changed something you’d already heard, and how often does that happen? Playing that seemed “objective,” “colorless” or even “boring” bloomed. The C Minor, the latest sonata on the disc but the earliest in performance date (10/6/71), is perhaps the most revelatory. It and its two suc-

cessors have, in our time, attained the status of communications from the beyond. A concert of Richard Goode or Mitsuko Uchida playing them can be life-altering. Richter treats them more as a song cycle, with this C Minor the Paradise Lost of a lost trilogy. The exceptional phrasing and terracing of dynamics in the first three movements set the stage for a kind of tarantella in the fourth, in which the listener feels pursued by the subtlest and nimblest of ghosts. The final phrases are breathless. The fourth disc is a program of one-movement works that together demonstrate that Richter was not only a great Schubert mind, but also the possessor of that “touch” now considered the sine qua non of Schubert pianism. The E-flat Major Impromptu is airborne, and the Thunderous March D. 606 a reminder of what a broad range the composer had. If Schubert’s piano music is new to you, you could do worse than invest in Daniel Barenboim’s new 5-disc set, the Schubert Piano Sonatas (DG). Barenboim, who began his career as a pianist of uncommon promise, has gone on to become, arguably (Pierre Boulez, who just turned 90, would be the counterargument) the world’s greatest all-around living musician. His Schubert sonatas show the lifetime’s thought he’s given them, if occasionally also the price of less time to practice.t

Join us for these Cliff House Weekly Favorites • Wine Lovers’ Tuesday – Half Priced Bottled Wines* • Bistro Wednesday Nights – $28 Three-Course Prix Fixe • Friday Night Jazz in the Balcony Lounge • Sunday Champagne Brunch Buffet *Some restrictions apply. Promotions are not valid on holidays.

The Lands End Lookout Be sure to visit the Lookout Cafe at the Lands End visitor center. Operated by the Cliff House team, the cafe serves a delicious selection of locally sourced grab-and-go items including the famous It’s It originally for sale at Playland at the Beach. The center, under the direction of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, offers educational and interactive exhibits, a museum store, stunning views, and the amazing Lands End Trails. Open daily from 9:00 am – 5:00 pm Located at Point Lobos and Merrie Way

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44 • BAY AREA REPORTER • April 2-8, 2015

Oscar Wilde, the absolute environmentalist Best gay icon: Oscar Wilde by Peter Garland

uring most of the year of 1882, the Irish poet Oscar Wilde gave a lecture tour of the United States and Canada. Delivering 140 lectures in 260 days, he spoke on such subjects as “The Decorative Arts,” “The English Renaissance,” and “The House Beautiful.” In his lectures and in many newspaper articles he also expressed his concern about the pollution of skies and rivers. He also spoke of cities, human rights and education. Early on, a reporter aboard a train with the lecturer from New York wrote, “As the train neared Philadelphia, Wilde again grew distracted and depressed by the scenery. Whitman and other poets, he said, had always been ahead of science, at least conceptually. Now he wondered, ‘Why does not science, instead of troubling itself about sunspots, why does not science busy itself with drainage and sanitary engineering? Why does it not clean the streets and free the rivers from pollution? Why, in England, there is scarcely a river at some point [that] is not polluted: and the flowers are all withered on the banks!’” (Philadelphia Press, Jan. 7, 1882.) Wilde’s ecological consciousness may have been inherited from his father, Sir William Wilde (1815-76), perhaps Europe’s leading eye and ear doctor of the time, but also an archaeologist and preservationist, delving into Ireland’s pre-historic sites, urging the peasants to take care of them, cataloging thousands of historical specimens for what is now the National Museum of Ireland, and leaving large amounts of fairy and folk tales that were published by Lady Jane Wilde after her husband’s early death. When treating the poor for ear or eye problems, Sir William, speaking their original Gaelic, asked that, instead of paying him in geese and cauliflowers, they give him fairy tales. Oscar’s 1882 lecture tour began

and ended in New York City. He spoke sometimes to the cream of Boston society, at other times to the miners of Leadville, Colorado; to the Americans of the Deep South (Jefferson Davis could not stand him, while ex-general Beauregard jovially showed him around New Orleans), as well as to the especially receptive Irish (and others) of San Francisco. He traveled first-class, by train – facing sometimes hostile audiences and almost always an ignorant and hateful press. (He came, he said according to the Halifax Morning Herald for Oct. 10, 1882, “to talk seriously to people about art,” but an incredibly obtuse press, he said, “talked about my tie!”) There were exceptions. The San Francisco Chronicle on March 27, 1882, found that Wilde “could not only talk of the matter-of-fact when he pleased like a man of education and refinement, but like a man who was capable of deep thought and vigorous conclusions.” Oscar sometimes made people mad by criticizing their architecture. He had seen, he told San Franciscans, “ill-looking rooms in ill-built houses, furnished with bloodcurdling evidences of barbarism in the shape of machine rosewood furniture and black-leaded stoves.” He recommended naturally colored stone, red brick or wood and warmer colors. He was against carpets that collect dust and were unhealthy. Other bêtes noirs were: painted/ heavy china; pollution; wrongheaded education; too many/large windows; ugly, inappropriate (in materials and design) architecture; boring colors; many current fashions in headwear and clothes; and dirty streets. In Chicago he lectured, “There is no beauty in cast iron, no poetry in the steam engine. The value of the telephone is the value of what two people have to say. Give children beauty, not the record of bloody slaughters and

Oscar Wilde, green before his time.

barbarous brawls as they call history.” He might well have talked of slaughter for, many years later, Cyril, the elder of his two sons, would be killed on a battlefield in France. (Lewis & Smith, Oscar Wilde.) Wilde repeatedly ruffled feathers in the rebuilt Chicago whose 154-foot water tower had survived their terrible fire of 1871, by calling it “a castellated monstrosity with pepper boxes stuck all over it.” On the other hand, “Nothing is more graceful in the world than the broad-brimmed hat of the Rocky Mountain miners,” he told the citizens of Montreal. He enjoyed the “bigbooted, red-shirted, yellow-bearded and delightful ruffians.” All along the way he repeated an environmental theme. In Dayton, Ohio, it came while he crossed the Miami River. “Wilde spoke approvingly of Indian place names, then gave the city fathers a piece of advice that might have carried over, with profit, for the entire industri-

alized East: ‘You should never let manufacturers pollute the air with smoke.’” (Roy Morris, Jr., Declaring His Genius.) Wilde, who spent much of his youth fishing and hunting in Connemara with his father and his brother Willie, was a nature poet like Keats and Shakespeare. Here is one selection from his first book, Poems, published in 1881: “Through the grey willows danced the fretful gnat,/The grasshopper chirped idly from the tree,/In sleek and oily coat the water-rat/Breasting the little ripples manfully/Made for the wildduck’s nest, from bough to bough/ Hopped the shy finch, and the huge tortoise crept across the slough.” – “Humanitad.” Biographer Barbara Belford, in A Certain Genius, tells us, “Of all the regions of America, he preferred the West, ‘with its grizzly bears and the untamed cowboy, its free, open-air life and its free open-air manners, its

Out There

success, selling out for all five dates this season. (Runners-up: Old First Church, SF Conservatory of Music, War Memorial Opera House.) Davies Symphony Hall, Grove St. between Van Ness and Franklin, San Francisco, SFS box office: (415) 864-6000. sfsymphony.org.

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delves into the cruising culture of gay men and complex power dynamics of catcalling. Tickets ($15): (415) 863-9834 or odcdance.org. (Runners-up: AXIS Dance Co., Jess Curtis/Gravity, Joe Goode Performance Group, Keith Hennessy/Circo Zero, Katie Faulkner/ little seismic, Sean Dorsey Dance.) ODC, 3153 17th St., San Francisco, (415) 863-6606. odctheater.org.

Best Cultural Neighborhood

Civic Center

Best Ballet Dance Company

San Francisco Ballet We’re in the midst of another great season at San Francisco Ballet, with highlights having included the return of Giselle, Jerome Robbins’ iconic Dances at a Gathering, and last season’s hit Hummingbird (score by Philip Glass, choreography by Liam Scarlett). Still to come in the season’s last three programs: Alexei Ratmansky’s brilliant Shostakovich Trilogy, a triumph from last season; choreographer-inresidence Yuri Possokhov’s world premiere Swimmer; Balanchine’s The Four Temperaments; and artistic director Helgi Tomasson’s setting of Romeo & Juliet, closing out his 30th season with the company. (Runners-up: Alonzo King Lines Ballet, Ballet San Jose, Post/ Ballet, Smuin Ballet.) (Not on the ballot, but don’t overlook: Oakland Ballet Company, Diablo Ballet.) San Francisco Ballet, at the War Memorial Opera House, 301 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco, box office: (415) 865-2000. sfballet.org.

boundless prairies and its boundless mendacity!’” After a 2,000-mile train trip from Omaha to the West Coast, he wrote memorable words to an actor friend, Norman Forbes-Robertson: “Grey, gaunt, desolate plains, as colorless as waste land by the sea, with now and then scampering herds of bright red antelopes, and heavy shambling buffaloes and screaming vultures like gnats high up the air, then up in the Sierra Nevadas, the snow-capped mountains shining like shields of polished silver in that vault of blue flames which we call the sky, and deep canyons full of pine trees, and at last from the chill winter of the mountains down into eternal summer here, groves of orange trees in fruit and flowers, green fields and purple hills, a very Italy, without its art.” He really did love nature, and most famously, flowers, the lily and the sunflower. San Francisco proved to be the American city most receptive to his aesthetic preachments, according to biographers Lewis & Smith. In our Chinatown, “he was particularly edified to be served a cup of tea on delicate blue-and-white china such as he had used at Oxford. However, at the Palace Hotel, he complained, ‘I was obliged to drink my chocolate or coffee out of a cup an inch thick – so that it suggested the idea that it was intended as a weapon, to be hurled at the heads of those seated at the next table.’” On he rolled to Salt Lake City, where he found the Mormon Temple “the most dreadful building I ever saw,” but approved of citizens’ private orchards, “their apricot, peach and plum trees showing primly against the purple-shadowed mountains to the east.” There spoke a real environmentalist. At the end of his life, Wilde foresaw the eventual success of the gay movement, but only after considerable bloodshed. That, too, is part of the environment in which we all live and love.t

Rick Gerharter

Out There waves a regal hand from the Loggia of the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco.

Best Nature Science Museum

California Academy of Sciences There’s always a lot to explore at the CAS. In Color of Life, a major new exhibit opening June 12, live animals, scientific specimens, and immersive interactives will allow visitors to touch, see, and experience the often surprising ways that nature’s colors help us understand the health of ecosystems and the interconnectedness of life on Earth. Per the CAS: “Live Gouldian finches within an open aviary will

showcase how color patterns can vary within a single species and how this dazzling distinction gives female birds a ‘heads up’ when choosing a mate. A display of Riggenbach’s reed frogs, whose color patterns vary dramatically between males and females of the same species, demonstrates how bright colors often spark investigations into scientific mysteries.” (Runners-up: Exploratorium, SF Botanical Gardens, SF Conservatory of Flowers.) CAS, 55 Music Concourse Drive, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. (415) 379-8000. calacademy.org.

Best Classical Venue

Davies Symphony Hall Home to the San Francisco Symphony’s subscription concerts and Great Performers series, Davies Hall survived controversy about its acoustics when it opened in 1980 to become a much-loved institution (with much-improved sound qualities). This year a rehearsal space in the rear of the hall has been revamped into SoundBox, a nightclub-like venue for musical exploration led by SFS musicians and guest artists. It’s been an instant

This category was not offered on the Besties ballot, but was entirely invented by Out There because it’s so true. Not only does the Civic Center hood host Besties winner Davies Symphony Hall, it boasts the War Memorial Opera House, the SFJAZZ Center, the Nourse Auditorium, the SF Conservatory of Music, and Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, and it’s adjacent to the fashionable Hayes Valley hood, home to chic restaurants and boutiques. The civic buildings that surround Civic Center constitute the greatest ensemble of Beaux Arts architecture West of the Mississippi. The Opera House is OT’s absolute favorite building in SF, from the elegant chandelier hanging in its concert hall to its stunning public spaces, including the outdoor Loggia overlooking Van Ness Ave., the “Champs Elysees” of SF. To gild the lily a little, OT lives on Grove Street, between Jardiniere and the Boxing Room, so the trips to our seats at San Francisco Symphony concerts, San Francisco Opera and SFB performances, are just steps and a heartbeat away. That’s where you’ll find us many nights, enjoying the best of what the Bay Area has to offer Arts & Culture fans.t

Books>>

t 27th Lambda Literary Award Finalists announced

April 2-8, 2015 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 45

est LGBT books? Here’s what’s in the running for the Lambda Literary Awards this spring. Lesbian Fiction: Adult Onset, Ann-Marie Macdonald, Tin House Books; Last Words of Montmartre, Qiu Miaojin, translated by Ari Larissa Heinrich, New York Review Books; Lovers at the Chameleon Club, Paris 1932, Francine Prose, Harper Collins/Harper; Miracle Girls, MB Caschetta, Engine Books; New York 1, Tel Aviv 0, Shelly Oria, FSG Originals/Farrar, Straus and Giroux; The Palace Blues, Brandy T. Wilson, Spinsters Ink; The Paying Guests, Sarah Waters, Riverhead Books, Penguin Random House; Yabo, Alexis De Veaux, RedBone Press Gay Fiction: All I Love and Know, Judith Frank, HarperCollins/William Morrow; Barracuda, Christos Tsiolkas, Hogarth; Bitter Eden: A Novel, Tatamkhulu Afrika, Macmillan/Picador USA; The City of Palaces, Michael Nava, U. of Wisconsin Press; I Loved You More, Tom Spanbauer, Hawthorne Books; Little Reef and Other Stories, Michael Carroll, Terrace Books, an imprint of the U. of Wisconsin Press; Next to Nothing: Stories, Keith Banner, Lethe Press; Souljah, John R. Gordon, Angelica Entertainments Ltd/Team Angelica Publishing Bisexual Fiction: Best Bi Short Stories: Bisexual Fiction, Sheela Lambert editor, Gressive Press, an imprint of Circlet Press; Extraordinary Adventures of Mullah Nasruddin, Ron J. Suresha, Lethe Press; Finder of Lost Objects, Susie Hara, Ithuriel’s Spear; Give It to Me, Ana Castillo, The Feminist Press; She of the Mountains, Vivek Shraya, Arsenal Pulp Press Transgender Fiction: Everything Must Go, La JohnJoseph, ITNA PRESS; For Today I Am a Boy, Kim Fu, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; Moving Forward Sideways like a Crab, Shani Mootoo, Doubleday Canada; Revolutionary: A Novel, Alex Myers, Simon and Schuster; A Safe Girl To Love, Casey Plett, Topside Press LGBT Debut Fiction: Death in Venice, California, Vinton Rafe McCabe, The Permanent Press; Kill Marguerite and Other Stories, Megan Milks, Emergency Press; A Map of Everything, Elizabeth Earley, Jaded Ibis Press; The Music Teacher, Bob Sennett, Lethe Press; Nochita, Dia Felix, City Lights/Sister Spit; Part the Hawser, Limn the Sea, Dan Lopez, Chelsea Station Editions; Unaccompanied Minors, Alden Jones, New American Press; The Walk-In Closet, Abdi Nazemian, Curtis Brown Unlimited LGBT Nonfiction: An American Queer: The Amazon Trail, Lee Lynch, Bold Strokes Books; Hold Tight Gently: Michael Callen, Essex Hemphill, and the Battlefield of AIDS, Martin Duberman, The New Press; The Invisible Orientation: An Introduction to Asexuality, Julie Sondra Decker, Skyhorse Publishing/Carrel Books; Nevirapine and the Quest to End Pediatric AIDS, Rebecca J. Anderson, McFarland; Robert Gober: The Heart Is Not a Metaphor, Hilton Als, Ann Temkin, Claudia Carson, Robert Gober, Paulina Pobocha, Christian Scheidemann, The Museum of Modern Art; Sexplosion: From Andy Warhol to A Clockwork Orange, How a Generation of Pop Rebels Broke All the Taboos, Robert Hofler, It Books/HarperCollins; The Transgender Archives: Foundations for the Future, Aaron H. Devor, U. of Victoria Libraries; The Up Stairs Lounge Arson: ThirtyTwo Deaths in a New Orleans Gay Bar, June 24, 1973, Clayton DeleryEdwards, McFarland Bisexual Nonfiction: Fire Shut Up in My Bones, Charles M. Blow, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; Not My Father’s Son, Alan Cumming,

HarperCollins Publishers/Dey Street Books; Recognize: The Voices of Bisexual Men, Editors: Robyn Ochs & H. Sharif Williams, Bisexual Resource Center Transgender Nonfiction: Man Alive: A True Story of Violence, Forgiveness and Becoming a Man, Thomas Page McBee, City Lights/ Sister Spit; Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love and So Much More, Janet Mock, Atria Books; Trans Bodies, Trans Selves: A Resource for the Transgender Community, Laura EricksonSchroth, Oxford U. Press Lesbian Poetry: Haiti Glass, Lenelle Moïse, City Lights/Sister Spit; Janey’s Arcadia, Rachel Zolf, Coach House Books; Last Psalm at Sea Level, Meg Day, Barrow Street Press; Like a Begger, Ellen Bass, Copper Canyon Press; MxT, Sina Queyras, Coach House Books; Mysterious Acts by My People, Valerie Wetlaufer, Sibling Rivalry Press; Only Ride, Megan Volpert, Sibling Rivalry Press; Termination Dust, Susanna Mishler, Red Hen Press/Boreal Gay Poetry: [insert] boy, Danez Smith, YesYes Books; Clean, David J. Daniels, Four Way Books; Don’t Go Back to Sleep, Timothy Liu, Saturnalia Books; ECODEVIANCE: (Soma)tics for the Future Wilderness, CAConrad, Wave Books; The New Testament, Jericho Brown, Copper Canyon Press; Prelude to Bruise, Saeed Jones, Coffee House Press; This Life Now, Michael Broder, A Midsummer Night’s Press; This Way to the Sugar, Hieu Minh Nguyen, Write Bloody Publishing Lesbian Mystery: The Acquittal, Anne Laughlin, Bold Strokes Books; Done to Death, Charles Atkins, Severn House Publishers; The Old Deep and Dark-A Jane Lawless Mystery, Ellen Hart, Minotaur Books; Slash and Burn, Valerie Bronwen, Bold Strokes Books; UnCatholic Conduct, Stevie Mikayne, Bold Strokes Books Gay Mystery: Blackmail, My Love: A Murder Mystery, Katie Gilmartin, Cleis Press; Boystown 6: From the Ashes, Marshall Thornton, MLR; Calvin’s Head, David Swatling, Bold Strokes Books; DeadFall, David Lennon, BlueSpike Publishing; Fair Game, Josh Lanyon, Carina Press; A Gathering Storm, Jameson Currier, Chelsea Station Editions; Moon Over Tangier, Janice Law, Open Road Media; The Next, Rafe Haze, Wilde City Press Lesbian Memoir/Biography: Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around: Forty Years of Movement Building with Barbara Smith, Alethia Jones and Virginia Eubanks, with Barbara Smith, SUNY Press; Cease – a memoir of love, loss and desire, Lynette Loeppky, Oolichan Books; Eating Fire: My Life as a Lesbian

Avenger, Kelly Cogswell, U. of Minnesota Press; The End of Eve, Ariel Gore, Hawthorne Books; Under This Beautiful Dome: A Senator, A Journalist, and the Politics of Gay Love in America, Terry Mutchler, Seal Press Gay Memoir/Biography: Body Counts: A Memoir of Politics, Sex, AIDS, and Survival, Sean Strub, Scribner; Charles Walters: The Director Who Made Hollywood Dance, Brent Phillips, U. Press of Kentucky; Closets, Combat and Coming Out: Coming of Age as a Gay Man in the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Army, Rob Smith, Blue Beacon Books by Regal Crest; Inside a Pearl: My Years in Paris, Edmund White, Bloomsbury; Letter to Jimmy, Alain Mabanckou, translated by Sara Meli Ansari, Counterpoint/Soft Skull Press; The Prince of Los Cocuyos, Richard Blanco, HarperCollins/Ecco; Tennessee Williams: Mad Pilgrimage of the Flesh, John Lahr, W.W. Norton & Co.; Wagstaff: Before and After Mapplethorpe, Philip Gefter, W.W. Norton & Co./Liveright Lesbian Romance: Christmas Crush, Kate McLachlan, Regal Crest; The Farmer’s Daughter, Robbi McCoy, Bella Books; The Heat of Angels, Lisa Girolami, Bold Strokes Books; Jolt, Kris Bryant, Bold Strokes Books; Nightingale, Andrea Bramhall, Bold Strokes Books; Seneca Falls, Jesse J. Thoma, Bold Strokes Books; Tangled Roots, Marianne K. Martin, Bywater Books; That Certain Something, Clare Ashton, Breezy Tree Press Gay Romance: The Companion, Lloyd A. Meeker, Dreamspinner Press; Everything’s Coming Up Roses: Four Tales of M/M Romance, Barry Lowe, Lydian Press; Foolish Hearts: New Gay Fiction, Timothy Lambert and R.D. Cochrane, Cleis Press; Like They Always Been Free, Georgina Li, Queer Young Cowboys; Message of Love, Jim Provenzano, Myrmidude Press/CreateSpace; The Passion of Sergius & Bacchus, A Novel of Truth, David Reddish, DoorQ Publishing; Pulling Leather, L.C. Chase, Riptide Publishing; Salvation: A Novel of the Civil War, Jeff Mann, Bear Bones Books Lesbian Erotica: All You Can Eat. A Buffet of Lesbian Erotica and Romance, Andi Marquette and R.G. Emanuelle, Ylva Publishing; Forbidden Fruit: stories of unwise lesbian desire, Cheyenne Blue, Ladylit Publishing; Lesbian Sex Bible, Diana Cage, Quiver Books Gay Erotica: Bears of Winter, Jerry Wheeler, Bear Bones Books; Incubus Tales, Hushicho, Circlet Press; The King, Tiffany Reisz, MIRA Books; Leather Spirit Stallion, Raven Kaldera, Circlet Press; The Thief Taker, William Holden, Bold Strokes Books LGBT Anthology: Black Gay

Genius: Answering Joseph Beam’s Call, Charles Stephens and Steven G. Fullwood, Vintage Entity Press; A Family by Any Other Name: Exploring Queer Relationships, Bruce Gillespie, TouchWood Editions; Outer Voices Inner Lives, Mark McNease and Stephen Dolainski (co-editors), MadeMark Publishing; The Queer South: LGBTQ Writers on the American South, Douglas Ray, Editor, Sibling Rivalry Press; Understanding and Teaching US Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender History, Leila J. Rupp & Susan K. Freeman, U. of Wisconsin Press LGBT Children’s/Young Adult: Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out, Susan Kuklin, Candlewick Press; Double Exposure, Bridget Birdsall, Sky Pony Press, an imprint of Skyhorse Publishing; Five, Six, Seven, Nate!, Tim Federle, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers; Forgive Me If I’ve Told You This Before, Karelia Stetz-Waters, Ooligan Press; Lies We Tell Ourselves, Robin Talley, Harlequin Teen; Pukawiss the Outcast, Jay Jordan Hawke, Dreamspinner Press/Harmony Ink Press; This is Not a Love Story, Suki Fleet, Dreamspinner Press/Harmony Ink Press; When Everything Feels like the Movies, Raziel Reid, Arsenal Pulp Press LGBT Drama: The Beast of Times, Adelina Anthony, Kórima Press; Bootycandy, Robert O’Hara, Samuel French; A Kid Like Jake, Daniel Pearle, Dramatists Play Service; The Whale, Samuel D. Hunter, Samuel French; Wolves, Steve Yockey, Samuel French LGBT Graphic Novels: 100 Crushes, Elisha Lim, Koyama Press; Band Vs. Band Comix Volume 1,

Kathleen Jacques, Paper Heart Comix; Pregnant Butch: Nine Long Months Spent in Drag, A.K. Summers, Soft Skull, an imprint of Counterpoint; Second Avenue Caper, Joyce Brabner; Art by Mark Zingarelli, Hill and Wang, a division of Farrar, Straus and Giroux; Snackies, Nick Sumida, Youth in Decline LGBT SF/F/Horror: Afterparty, Daryl Gregory, Tor Books; Bitter Waters, Chaz Brenchley, Lethe Press; Butcher’s Road, Lee Thomas, Lethe Press; Child of a Hidden Sea, A. M. Dellamonica, Tor Books; Full Fathom Five, Max Gladstone, Tor Books; FutureDyke, Lea Daley, Bella Books; Skin Deep Magic, Craig Laurance Gidney, Rebel Satori Press LGBT Studies: After Love: Queer Intimacy and Erotic Economies in Post-Soviet Cuba, Noelle M. Stout, Duke U. Press; Charity & Sylvia: A Same-Sex Marriage in Early America, Rachel Hope Cleves, Oxford U. Press; Delectable Negro: Human Consumption and Homoeroticism within US Slave Culture, Vincent Woodard, Ed. Justin A. Joyce and Dwight McBride, New York U. Press; Queen for a Day: Transformistas, Beauty Queens, and the Performance of Femininity in Venezuela, Marcia Ochoa, Duke U. Press; The Queerness of Native American Literature, Lisa Tatonetti, U. of Minnesota Press; Sexual Futures, Queer Gestures, and Other Latina Longings, Juana Maria Rodriguez, New York U. Press; The Sexuality of History: Modernity and the Sapphic, Susan S. Lanser, U. of Chicago Press; Under Bright Lights: Gay Manila and the Global Scene, Bobby Benedicto, U. of Minnesota Press Winners will be announced on June 1 in New York City.t

<< Fine Art

46 • BAY AREA REPORTER • April 2-8, 2015

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Voted Best Breakfast & Best Late-Night Restaurant 2015 Starr Sutherland

Photographer and media artist Doug Hall, in an image taken during filming of The Terrible Uncertainty of the Thing Described from the south tower of the Golden Gate Bridge.

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Galleries

From page 39

reportedly inspired by the mischievous, openly bisexual Jean Cocteau. (Through April 5.) Originally trained as an anthropologist, San Francisco photographer and media artist Doug Hall is on a roll this month with concurrent installations at two local venues. The Terrible Uncertainty of the Thing Described (1987) at the San Francisco Art Institute, which hasn’t been seen in the Bay Area since its premiere at SFMOMA in 1989, is a cross between mad science and storm-chaser footage on the Weather Channel. Not so much tripping the light fantastic as pursuing what Hall calls “the technological sublime,” it features the high drama and unadulterated terror of the tumultuous, downright Biblical weather the planet has been experiencing. As a reminder of human frailty, it couldn’t be more topical. The piece, featuring a three-channel, 17-minute video montage played via a half-dozen monitors and a projection, shows disastrous weather conditions – tornadoes, epic floods, rampaging wild fires, raging ocean storms – as well as industrial and

power plants and other mammoth edifices we erect to harness and control forces of nature we’re at the mercy of, despite our delusions to the contrary. Behind a metal-mesh fence resembling a prison barricade sits another component: a pair of austere, stiff-backed, imposing steel chairs that would be right at home in an execution chamber; intermittent bolts of lightning, emitted courtesy of a (Nikola) Tesla coil, jolt viewers whose attention may be wandering. But how could that be with a twister scarier than the one that catapulted Dorothy from Kansas to Oz? (Through June 6.) Though love may be a transaction that more often than not occurs within built environments, the jumping-off point for Hall’s ironically titled Love and Architecture is a collection of photo-based works from 1991 as well as found and newly created images, all of which broadly play on the theme of obsessive love, in particular the brand of love characterized by a compulsion to fetishize objects and spaces that have come into intimate contact with a lover. (Rena Bransten Projects, through May 16.) Mind Traveling: Ink Art of Lu Chuntao at the Chinese Cultural Foundation’s Visual Art Center

marks the first solo exhibition in the U.S. for the Shanghai-based artist Lu Chuntao, who transforms traditional Chinese ink paintings into a contemporary, sometimes abstract medium without sacrificing the ancient form’s poetry or reverence for nature. The show’s underlying concept, mind travel, is derived from a spiritual belief, rooted in Chinese art, that viewers could be magically transported to – and vicariously experience – the beauty and serenity of new places by entering the realm of a landscape painting. (Through April 11.) And just for fun, in Blow Up: Inflatable Contemporary Art at the Bedford Gallery, one can find companionship with a pair of colossal fuchsia rabbits who really know how to fill up a room (Momoyo Torimitsu’s “Somehow I Don’t Feel Comfortable”) or with Billie G. Lynn’s spectral white elephant who lives up to its name. Lewis deSoto’s statuesque and very gold “Paranirvana” blockades a gallery while taking a heavenly snooze on its side, and Guy Overfelt’s “Smokey and the Bandit” Trans-Am muscle car offers a speedy getaway, but doesn’t have a prayer of getting insurance. (April 26-June 21.)t

Responsibilities include: attend assigned meetings or events; necessary interviews, and writing news articles weekly. Coverage includes breaking news, City Hall, health, LGBT organizations, and other matters of interest to the community. Availability should include at least one of the following: weekday daytime hours, evenings or weekends to cover assigned events. News reporting experience preferred; newspaper background a plus. Candidates should demonstrate ability to write under deadline and be detail-oriented. Send cover letter, resume & writing samples to c.laird@ebar.com Cynthia Laird, News Editor,

44 Gough Street, Suite 204, San Francisco, CA 94103 415-829-8749

Lotus, No. 49 (2012), ink on paper by Lu Chuntao.

Courtesy of the Chinese Culture Foundation of San Francisco

Tickets are available at ticketmaster.com and select Walmart locations. To charge by phone (800) 745-3000. Limit 8 tickets per person. All dates, acts and ticket prices are subject to change without notice. All tickets are subject to applicable service charges.

arriving to New Zealand on the back of a giant.

According to Maori legend, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s exactly what whale-rider Paikea did. Discover the cultural connections between whales and people at this new exhibit, opening April 3. Get tickets at calacademy.org

Developed and presented by the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. This exhibition was made possible through the support of the New Zealand Government.

24092_Whales_9.75x16_BayAreaReporter.indd 2

3/30/15 8:57 AM

Bestie People

Bestie Events

NIGHTLIFE

SPIRITS

DINING

SOCIETY

ROMANCE

LEATHER

PERSONALS Vol. 45 • No. 14 • April 2-8, 2015

Dallis Willard

www.ebar.com ✶ www.bartabsf.com

Hugs on the patio dance floor at El Rio’s Hard French.

t isn’t hard to imagine DJ Carnita’s –yes, jokingly-not jokingly christened for his love of taqueria meat– 45 collection spilling out of his closet and onto his desk. See page 52 >>

Gareth Gooch

Hard French fills El Rio with soulful fun

by Andre Torrez

Heklina and D’Arcy Drollinger at Oasis.

by Ray Aguilera

ars and nightclubs both classic and new got nods this year in several nightlife categories. Here are your selections. See page 51 >>

{ THIRD OF THREE SECTIONS }

JOIN US TONIGHT! SEE INSIDE FRONT COVER OF THIS ISSUE FOR DETAILS.

BESTIES 2015 SPONSORS:

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Read more online at www.ebar.com

April 2-8, 2015 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 51

Besties Bars

From page 49

Best New Bar or Nightclub

Oasis

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you probably already knew that Oasis would snatch the crown as San Francisco’s favorite new club. The space’s gay history, prime SoMa location, and owners’ long-standing commitment to queer nightlife made Oasis a high-heeled shoe-in for the top spot. Since opening on New Years Eve, Oasis has quickly become a favorite, whether it’s taking in one of co-owner Heklina’s outrageous Saturday night dragstravaganzas at Mother, shaking what your mama gave you at Swagger Like Us, or nerding out with the musically-obsessed DJs at the relaunched Rarebits. Oasis serves up diverse events with more than a little for everyone. They also get serious bonus points for the well-designed accessible unisex bathroom featuring individual stalls. The Moroccan-inspired Fez Room is the perfect spot for drinks with friends, and the main room –formerly an outdoor pool in an earlier incarnation of Oasis– hosts dance parties, performances and cabaret events. With great sound and lighting, a large stage, friendly staff and a welcoming “come one, come all” vibe, the appearance of this Oasis is a welcome sight for queers of all stripes thirsty for a good time. Oasis, 298 11th St. at Folsom. 795-3180. www.sfoasis.com

Ray Aguilera

Tom Shaw accompanies Katya Smirnoff-Skyy at Martuni’s.

Best Mixed Drink Best Cabaret Venue

Martuni’s

With a name like that, the drinks have got to be good. The Martinis at Martuni’s are large and, well, let’s go ahead and call them extremely “festive.” The bar sits on the corner of Valencia and Market, a ways beyond the edge of the Castro. If you’re one of those people who rarely leaves the rainbow island, it’s possible that you’ve never been inside, but it’s worth the trip. It’s dark inside, in a groovy kind of noir-ish, loungey speakeasy kind of way. So dark in fact, that I had been coming almost weekly for years with a friend for glasses of Veuve and Cosmos before I even realized there was another room. Unlike the back rooms at some, uh, other places around town, the back room of Martuni’s is boisterous. The drinks are flowing, people are laughing, and there’s always music. You might catch a local drag celebrity, a cabaret performance, or

Bars

Runners up: Brewcade Club BnB

Blush! Wine Bar

one of the regular pianists holding court during piano bar. Singers range from earnest newbies to seasoned pros, but you’re guaranteed to have a good time. The giant cocktails will make sure of that. Martuni’s, 4 Valencia St. at Market. 241-0205. www.martunis.ypguides.net Runners up, Mixed Drink: Blackbird Twin Peaks Runners up, Best Cabaret Venue: Oasis Feinstein’s at the Nikko

Best Beer Selection Best SoMa Bar Best Place to Meet Men:

SF Eagle

Like the proverbial phoenix, The Eagle has risen again, and is back on its perch at the center of SoMa nightlife. The Eagle isn’t the spot for a craft cocktail, or house-infused this or that, but nothing beats the bar’s outdoor patio with a beer in hand. Sunday beer busts are popular and crowded, but with three separate bars, there are plenty of taps and bartenders to keep your thirst quenched. It’s no coincidence then that The Eagle lands at the top as the best SoMa Bar, Best Beer Selection, and the Best Spot to Meet Guys. If you’re not careful, it can also be the Best Place To Piss Off Your Jealous Boyfriend. Just saying. Some say there’s less of the oldguard leather scene than The Eagle of yore, but an infusion of monthly parties like Pound Puppy (Best Monthly Event), Loaded and Disco Daddy are bringing new vibes (and plenty of new men) into The Eagle on a regular basis to cavort and carouse. Live music on Thursday nights are a welcome respite from the electronic beats that are everywhere else. There are still plenty of opportunities for leatherfolk to strut their stuff, and I’ve even seen a few working it out on the floor to some classic disco beats. Like the rest of San Francisco, The Eagle evolves. SF Eagle,398 12th St. at Harrison. www.sf-eagle.com Runners up, Best Beer Selection: Pilsner Inn Toronado Runners up, Best SoMa Bar: Powerhouse The Stud Runners up, Best Place to Meet Men: Powerhouse 440 Castro

Best Wine Bar

Blush!

Patrons at the White Horse Bar

Sometimes the hustle and bustle of Castro bars can be a bit much. When you want to settle in for a nice glass of wine and maybe a nosh or two, Blush! is the go-to spot. The mix of tables and bar seats works for groups of any size. Wines by the glass are the obvious draw, but Blush! also features a small menu of homemade eats ranging from small snacks to warm sandwiches. A halfdozen taps feature interesting beer

SF Eagle’s Instagram

Beer, men and more at the SF Eagle.

options for your friend that prefers suds, rounded out by a small but considered collection of beers in bottles. Blush! also features live music several nights a week, half-off happy hours, and Dirty Bingo, which is one of those things you’ll just have to experience for yourself. Blush! Wine Bar, 476 Castro St. 558-0893. www.blushwinebar.com Runners up: Swirl City Club

Best East Bay Bar

White Horse Bar Affectionately known as “The White Ho,” Oakland’s White Horse is one of the best reasons for jaded San Franciscans to get on BART for a change. Or maybe not—its very East Bay vibe is one of the best things about it, so don’t go ruining it. The White Horse lays claim to being the oldest gay bar in America, standing on the corner of Telegraph and 66th since the 1930s. There’s a bit more of a clubhouse feel here than any gay bar in the city. Pool-playing lesbians mix and mingle with gay old-timers, while dancing queens of all types, ages, and races, hit the dance floor. The White Horse regularly features drag kings, drag queens, and even karaoke two nights a week. Fridays and Saturdays, the place is packed with neighborhood locals, college students, and yes, even some adventurous San Franciscans party-

ing it up White Ho style. The bar recently had a star turn, standing in for a Modesto gay bar in an episode of Looking. White Horse Bar, 6551 Telegraph Ave., Oakland (510) 652-3820. whitehorsebar.com Runners up: Club BnB Club 21

Best Castro Bar

The Edge

The Edge calls itself “San Francisco’s neighborhood bar” and obviously the neighborhood agrees. With a schedule full of events ranging from Musical Mondays, to the legendary Monster Show on Thursday nights, The Edge caters to a diverse crowd of locals and visitors alike. Saturdays are always a blast, thanks in no small part to the friendly crowd and cheap Mason jar specials. The space can feel a little crowded at times, but that’s part of the appeal, especially when a softball team invades for a Sunday beverage bust. The crowd is more diverse than some other spots, and in general the vibe is fun, loud, and a bit flirty. What’s not to love? The Edge, 4149 18th St. 8634027. www.edgesf.com Runners up: 440 Castro The Lookout See page 71 >>

Serving the LGBT communities since 1971

52 • BAY AREA REPORTER • April 2-8, 2015

Dallis Willard

Dancers on the ground and on platforms at Hard French.

Dallis Willard

Tom Temprano, guest DJ Bus Station John and Amy Martinez at a recent Hard French.

Hard French

From page 49

“They’re everywhere,” says Tom Temprano (his name when he’s not behind the decks) over the phone. He describes the vast majority of them as ‘60s soul, R&B and funk— all easy to groove to and closely-related genres showcased at Hard French. Having just celebrated their fifth anniversary, it’s a popular dance party with proven longevity and is thrown in the Mission at El Rio. “Hard French is a collaboration of five people; six when we started,” says Temprano. “Having that many people involved with different backgrounds builds community. All these interwoven circles have a place to dance.” And the dance has been going strong since its inception. In March 2010, Temprano, along with fellow DJ-producers Devon Devine, Jorge Portillo, Tina Faggotina, and DJ Brown Amy, took the helm of a brand new party that packs anywhere from 500 to 800 brightlydressed queers, soul lovers, leather daddies and then some on one of the best back porches the city has to offer. One of the party’s more recognizable traits is the long line that pours out the door and onto the sidewalk, but it’s not much of a deterrent for those eager to make their way inside for daytime drinks, dancing and fun. Both Hard French and El Rio won Bestie readers’ poll awards this year from Bay Area Reporter (Best non-weekly/monthly Nightlife Event, Best Neighborhood Bar) and they make a convincing winning combo. “People come back for the community,” he says. “Amy [Martinez (Brown Amy)] and I had been talking about throwing a daytime soul party for a couple years. SF has a ‘60s mod-soul scene, but there weren’t a lot of queer people there.” Temprano’s referring to 1964 at Edinburgh Castle in the Tenderloin, which he admits enjoying, but says it was straight. “There wasn’t a queer presence.”

But this is San Francisco, a city saturated with nightlife (daytime in this case) and events that cater to just about everybody’s needs. Still, Hard French manages to set itself apart from the others by creating its own desirable niche. The idea of DJs spinning in the daytime isn’t exactly original, Temprano admits. He nods to Mango at El Rio (which also won a Bestie as Best Women’s Event) and similar events like SF Eagle’s Beer Bust, but somehow it all goes back to nostalgia and feeling comfortable— like you’re at home. “It’s stuff I’d listen to when my dad would barbecue on the weekend. Same for Amy; it had that same resonance. It’s a music so many people are infused with. You hear Diana Ross and The Supremes; it’s like, ‘This is a beat I can dance to or a beat I like.’ The owner at El Rio said they had a Saturday available. We weren’t really modeled after anything other than what we wanted to see. It’s not pigeonholed like Castro Top 40 or a hyper-dance remix.” He jokes about the Castro experience for DJs that may veer outside the demographics’ tastes. If it’s not to their liking or too out there, there’d be demands of “Play MJ” or get out of here. And it certainly isn’t in the Castro where they’ve found their success, which is another notable testament that they offer something different. It’s a vibe that counterbalances the often testosterone-driven gayborhood. There seems to be an emphasis on all-inclusiveness and there are plenty of women on the scene. “When we first started, two DJs were lesbian and four were gay men. Since high school I’ve had queer women friends. I was the lead singer in an all-lesbian band in high school. I’ve felt at home with queer women. There are a lot more guys venturing out from the Castro to see what we’re up to.” Temprano recalls, “So many Folsom leather-clad guys” one year at a Folsom Street Fair after party outside Public Works. He says their reaction to the music they played surprised him.

“They said, ‘I haven’t danced to this in years. Where do I find you?’”; thus the importance of creating one’s own space and atmosphere. “Part of making women feel comfortable includes women DJs at our events. Knock on wood we haven’t had significant problems. It’s a positive atmosphere.” The fifth anniversary party is no exception, and the weather goddesses cooperate by delivering digits that flirt with 70 degrees. I arrive a few hours into the party, bypass the signature long line and head back to the music. This month’s guest DJ lineup is particularly stellar. I miss out on KALX’s WAM BAM Ashleyanne and DJ Larsupreme, but for now, my eyes are fixated on a sea of flesh, tank tops, shiny glam ensembles and just about every body shape, size and color, from curvy and bold, to long and lanky. A platform seems to be reserved for the best, or maybe the most uninhibited of the movers, and two particular pedestals display a pair that can’t seem but help shake their stuff. It’s no wonder. I look behind the decks to see Soul Party’s Paul Paul holding it down with some girlgroup charm, followed by the original Disco Daddy himself, Bus Station John. And with his age-worn beard, ball cap and simple flannel style, he does look like a daddy. Anyone unfamiliar with him might do a double take, guessing he’s not the type to spin a disco cover version of an old Stevie Wonder song, but I watched the Motown label rotate with my own eyes as the crowd energy heightened. Sadly, I missed out on the free barbecue, but the photo booth was still going strong. As part of the community aspect, every month proceeds from the booth goes to benefit a different non-profit organization. This month’s recipient being AIDS/ LifeCycle– a seven-day bike ride that

stretches from SF to LA. “I’m always looking to use a platform to advocate for the community, using nightlife and parties as a way to do that,” Temprano says. And it seems he has many outlets for just that type of thing. He co-owns Virgil’s Sea Room, the bar just a few doors down from El Rio. His other party, Daytime Realness with Heklina and DJ Stanley Frank, once again combines the daylight element with DJs, but with the twist of drag. Temprano’s a man on the scene and he seems to put that same amount of energy into politics and activism. He’s been the president, co-president and currently sits on the board of the Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club. In 2011 Hard French had their own take on Rock The Vote, called ‘Funk The Vote’ to get voters registered in the mayoral race. Who can forget candidates like former Board of Supervisors’ President David Chiu and John Avalos milling about and mingling with the crowd talking politics, but not really being given a platform to speak out since it wasn’t anyone’s official endorsement. Temprano says his parents, who had public-service jobs, instilled this side in him at a very young age. His mom, a nurse practitioner, he says, was very “political and progressive.” “I can remember my mom having important discussions on politics,”

Temprano adds. “Her roommate in college was lesbian and I remember her pulling me aside when I was eight and talking to me about gay marriage.” He explained that she told him same-sex couples can love one another just like straight couples and that it was okay. Some party throwers will never get the exposure the Hard French crew has achieved. They remain a force and their momentum hasn’t waned. In fact, their calendar is looking pretty loaded through the summer. They’ve booked Bronx no-wave legends E.S.G. for their first pride gig in the bar’s 37-year existence. “So many people are commenting like we booked Beyoncé,” he says noting their historical and underground significance. As for Temprano, he comes across as self aware and appreciative of the recognition the party is receiving and the significant impact it’s had on San Francisco’s events scene. “Parties in San Francisco tend to have a pretty short shelf-life, so winning an award like this is pretty special. After five years, it’s gratifying to know that Hard French is still appreciated by our queer community.”t Hard French returns to El Rio Saturday April 4, with Honey Soundsystem, 2pm-8pm. 3158 Mission St. www.hardfrench.com www.elriosf.com

Dallis Willard

The iconic Carmen Miranda mural backs up celebrants in El Rio’s backyard.

Dallis Willard

Bustin’ a move at Hard French.

Serving the LGBT communities since 1971

54 • BAY AREA REPORTER • April 2-8, 2015

Slade to the rhythm

Andrew Slade, Bestie-winning gogo guy

Georg Lester Steven Underhill

Andrew Slade with a fan at The Café.

their arms up to see how pale I am next to them.” Slade’s 2009 move to San Francisco (where a non-tan is normal), included a brief stint with an all-male cheer squad. But the time commitment to join the larger Cheer SF squad didn’t work out. As a designer for an event planning company, Slade Gareth Gooch makes 3D videos for productions and video games, Bestie-winning gogo guy Andrew Slade even helping to visualize at Oasis. parties and weddings. “It’s a lot more helpful by Jim Provenzano than just storyboards or floor plans,” he said of the masteris boyish smile can light up ful technique that compliments his the darkest nightclub, and his recent foray in creating multiplemuscled frame stands out as well. dancer multimedia drag acts. But what’s most notable about our But wait; rewind. My query about Bestie-winning gogo guy Andrew Slade’s first gogo dancing experiSlade is how darn nice he is. ence takes us back to Iowa. Born in Dubuque, Iowa, Slade “I was at the one gay bar in Iowa may not have imagined he would City, Studio 13,” Slade recalled. one day dance in a jock strap with “One time, me and a girl friend a panda, or in a museum as a greenwere dancing in the club. We were so skinned female alien, or even as a hot and sweaty, we took our shirts transgender pro wrestler. Or maybe off. I was shirtless, and she was in a he did imagine all that, only to make sports bra. The gogo box was right it happen. nearly, and one of the hired dancers “I’ve been out since freshman got down and pulled us up and said, year of high school,” said Slade in “Dance here!” an interview. “It was actually very By the end of the night, the DJ ofeasy, but I was not a jock at all unfered to pay Slade and his gal pal to til college at the University of Iowa.” dance. “We ended up coming back While studying Art Design, Slade every Saturday night. I made $50, took to cheerleading easily. and back then I felt like the richest “I didn’t start working out until guy. It was nice.” my sophomore year in college,” said Fast-forward to Slade’s San FranSlade. “I kept dropping the girls and cisco reel. With a commitment to got a complex about it. So I went art school, he didn’t want a job that to the gym and gained about 20 interfered with his studies. By 2010, pounds in one year.” he said, “I thought dancing a couple Slade, who recently turned 30, is hours would make me some money known for his physique on the gogo for the week, so I went to Trigger platform, where he modestly men[now Beaux] and did the gogo autioned another recent 20-pound dition, and they hired me. That was muscle gain. “That was a postfive years ago.” breakup inspiration,” he said. Since then, Slade has danced at What was once a subject of ridinearly every San Francisco gay club cule has become Slade’s trademark or bar, with wads of tip cash that look; his exceptionally pale skin. gets a curious glance at his bank. “I was really skinny and pasty,” said “I think, ‘Oh if they only knew Slade. “I used to be made fun of for where it came from.’” it when I cheered. Guys would put How the tips get stuffed into his

shorts leads to a question about patron behavior. “People for the most part are respectful,” said Slade. “I’ve only had to use my teacher voice a few times on people. You sometimes need to draw the line. ‘I don’t need a five-dollar bill that bad, honey.’ Some people think that a tip means they own you, but I’m like, ‘No. This is not rentboy.com.’” And while a bit of flirting is “par for the course,” Slade admits, “I’m dancing in my underwear in a bar. People are going to get touchy-feely, but I draw the line between respecting myself and getting money. I don’t need the money that bad.” Despite sometimes questionable music, Slade finds fun in dancing, particularly with other guys like Besties runner-up Paul William. “When I dance with him, I can’t stop laughing. We have too much fun together.” Chaka Corn, everybody Slade recently stepped out as his new drag persona, Chaka Corn. His debut performance won him the 2013 Trannyshack Star Search competition. Since then he’s developed full-

Andrew Slade with Panda at Cockfight, in 2010.

scale production numbers with pop culture themes ranging from Harry Potter to Guardians of the Galaxy, each with a computer animation component as well. “I’ve done that for every one of my performances, mostly like for the opening titles, like the Harry Potter parody.” Slade also mentioned his Lord of the Cock Rings parody. He posts many of the clips on YouTube. Slade credits his drag mother Pollo Del Mar, for nurturing his drag ambitions and letting him beta-test his act at Glamazone at The Café. “At first I had no idea what I was doing; gogo dancing in wig. But it was fun, and a good experience to get my feet wet.” Slade’s official premiere as a high-flying pro wrestler Chaka Corn combined his athleticism and drag aspirations in one of the more physically amazing performances in Trannyshack history. “I went into that competition planning to lose, because I knew I was going up against all these seasoned queens,” recalled Slade. “I didn’t know how to do makeup or anything, and I was fully self-aware of how ridiculous I looked.”

Yet his muscular and comedic ‘warrior princess’ theme was a huge hit. “It was timely and something I had to get out of my system. The crown was kind of a surprising bonus,” said Slade. But when he realized that the Star Search winner would be obligated to return to Trannyshack, said Slade, “The other half of me thought, ‘Shit! Now I gotta learn how to do drag for real!’” Slade also returned to gogo dancing after a haitus when he realized how much money he’d have to spend on drag costumes. But with the aide of his House of Glitter queen mothers and big sister, the collective led by Landa Lakes has helped nurture Slade’s beefy drag persona through many iterations. Along with the nightlife performing community, Slade said he’s still having fun, citing the Café and The Edge as among his favorite venues, and DJ MC2 as one his preferred groove-spinners. “Whenever he DJs, it never feels like work.”t Andrew Slade will be dancing (as himself) at Consummate, Sunday April 5 at Ruby Skye, and Thursday April 9 at The Edge’s Montser Show. See him as Chaka Corn on April 11 at Oasis’ Mother.

courtesy Andrew Slade

Andrew Slade in his college cheerleading days.

FBFE

Chaka Corn (aka Andrew Slade) with Sue Casa after being crowned at the Trannyshack Star Search contest in 2013 at DNA Lounge.

Dusti Cunningham

Andrew Slade flies through the air as Chaka Corn at the 2013 Trannyshack Star Search at DNA Lounge.

COCK?

Read more online at www.ebar.com

April 2-8, 2015 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 57

Besties People Bestie-winning bands, singers, DJs and comics

Shot in the City

DJ Guy Ruben

by Jim Provenzano

his year, we more than doubled our Besties categories in nightlife, because despite gentrification, techie invasions and Brohole herding, LGBTQ nightlife folks are having more fun, in more places, and they’re doing more things and being even more fabulous. And yes, we forgot a few people and events, but took note of the write-ins, and may even expand our ballots more next year. For now, congratulations to our winners and finalists. Look for expanded write-ups in these and other categories from our talented writers and photographers in our biggest Besties issue yet. And be sure to join us at our Besties party April 2 at Oasis, at 6pm!

Best Bartender

Best Female Comic

A stalwart in the leather community, with an impish grin that brightens up The Edge bar, Lopez is also the instigator behind the Castro bar’s Code, where leather gets back in the usually vanilla gayborhood. For more about Lopez, Check out Race Bannon’s column on page 66. Runners up: Steve Dalton (SF Eagle) Michael Tempesta (Midnight Sun)

I had the pleasure of featuring Marga Gomez’ new monthly show, Performerama just a few weeks ago, so no, Marga, you don’t get another feature… for now! Generous when promoting other peoples’ work, as appreciative of our support as she is prolific in our own field of theatre, performance and comedy, Marga is always a community favorite. For more on our comic winners, see page 61. Runners up: Lisa Geduldig Natasha Muse

Erick Lopez

People

Best Male DJ

Guy Ruben With his trademark red phone, Guy Ruben may be the Batmanlike superhero of DJing. He’s everywhere, from Oasis to Qbar, The Powerhouse to Lookout, and he’s saving us from boring grooves with his festive and feisty mixes. Shake your booty to Ruben’s DJ skills at Jock Sundays (April 5 & 26), Lick It (April 10) and Hardbox (April 17) both at the Powerhouse, and at Mother (Oasis) April 18. www.djguyruben.com Runners up: Bus Station John David Harness

Best Event Host/MC

Cookie Dough

The outpouring of love and sympathy following the sudden illness and tragic loss of Cookie Dough, aka Eddie Bell, led prominent members of the drag community to defer their votes to Cookie, who won in this and two other categoies. Read our tribute on page 63. Runners up: Heklina Juanita More!

Marga Gomez

Page Hodel

Justin Lucas

His brash, offbeat comic stylings can be seen at Harvey’s Funny Tuesdays (also a Besties winner), and you can often see Justin Lucas in Theatre Rhinoceros productions of more serious yet gay-themed shows. And while we don’t yet have such a category, Lucas would hands-down win the Comic With the Best Six-Pack. Runners up: Nick Leonard Ronn Vigh

Best Drag Queen

Cookie Dough

Best Gogo Guy

Andrew Slade

You don’t have to be a longtime resident of San Francisco to appreciate Page Hodel’s living legacy of DJing, but it helps. From The Box to the Sir Francis Drake, hodel’s grooves refuse to let you sit on your butt. Read our Q&A on page 58. Runners up: Olga T Ms. Jackson

His winning smile and beefy build are just part of Andrew Slade’s charm. When not dancing solo, he supports drag acts as a back-up dancer, and recently made quite a sensation as drag performer Chaka Corn. Read our interview on page 54. Runners up: Josh Colwell Simon Palczynski

Best DJ Duo/Group

Hard French

Best Gogo Gal

As an ensemble/duo, Carnita, Brown Amy and their frequent guests at Hard French share DJ pleasures, often interchanged at each others’ events with fellow Bestie nominees. It’s an expanded collective of fun that makes our nightlife more adventurous. Read our feature on page 49. Runners up: Honey Soundsystem Go Bang!

Some of our male readers expressed surprise that there even were female gogo dancers in the queer community. To which we reply, ‘get out more.’ Jella won in a close ballot count with her colleagues, who shake up women’s nights like Switch at Qbar, and Pussy Party at Beaux. Runners up: Lucy Dorado Chloe Rainwater

Jella Gogo

Cookie Dough

Jason Brock

Best Male Comic

Dearly missed, and one of the nicest people in nightlife, or life, Eddie Bell’s recent death left a gap in the local scene. Friends and fans have shown support for the host and Golden Girls drag performer, who’s won posthumously in several categories. Runners up: Donna Sachet Sister Roma

Best Female DJ

Jose A Guzman-Colon

The Whoa Nellies

Best Female Cabaret Performer

Veronica Klaus

With four CDs and a few decades of local cabaret concerts on her impressive credits, Veronica Klaus will also be performing this week at Oasis on April 3. See our interview on page 62. Runners up: Leanne Borghesi Katya Smirnoff-Skyy

Best Male Cabaret Performer

Jason Brock

You wait for it, that clear, open wondrous high note in many of Jason Brock’s musical performances, that moment where you realize, ‘That is a voice!’ We’re lucky to have

this talent, who performs at both intimate and expansive venues with equal aplomb. Runners up: Joe Wicht Tim Hockenberry

Best LGBT Band

Whoa Nellies The taste of Cap N Crunch with an Osmonds cut-out record on the cereal box; the pre-teen joy of a Partridge Family episode; Incredible Edibles! These are among the synaptic joyful retro memories conjured up at a Whoa Nellies concert, whose joyful interpretations of ‘60s classic tunes prove that too much nostalgia is never enough. Runners up: Pepperspray Double Duchesst

Serving the LGBT communities since 1971

58 • BAY AREA REPORTER • April 2-8, 2015

Bestie DJ: Page Hodel

DJ and club promoter celebrates 35 years of creating community through music and art by Heather Cassell

Miki Vargas

DJ and promoter Page Hodel.

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age Hodel is legendary in the San Francisco Bay Area as a fixture of its nightlife. For 35 years she has been spinning the hits at nearly every San Francisco nightclub –gay and straight– as well as being an LGBT party promoter. Many people recall two of her legendary dance clubs, The Box and Club Q, to name a couple, and she has no plans on stopping. Fans can see her every Friday night at the Starlight Room at the top of the Sir Francis Drake Hotel in Union Square. She also continues to spin at many parties around the bay, like Christiana Remington’s Sister Sundays in Oakland and DJ Rockaway’s Play parties around the Bay Area. Since California’s wedding bells have been ringing for same-sex couples, Hodel has been quite popular keeping guests on the dance floor at many same-sex nuptials in addition to her usual wedding gigs. She’s also an artist and author with her book Monday Hearts for Madalene, a collection of the hearts she makes every Monday for Madalene Rodriguez, the love she searched for her entire life and fi-

nally found at age 48. Hodel will be honored by the Mass General Cancer Center as one of its “One Hundred” honorees for Monday Hearts for Madalene at a gala in Boston on May 26. The award honors 100 people publicly nominated from around the world who celebrate hope in the cancer community and inspire others to take action. Hodel has had a love affair with music long before she stepped into the DJ booth three and a half decades ago. In her youth, Hodel, 58, believed that she was going to be a musician, mastering funky rhythm guitar, but she realized quickly that her options for making a decent living as a guitarist were slim. She turned her attention to the turntables and dance clubs. “Music is a language that I speak and always have,” said Hodel, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that nearing her sixth decade in life that she has no plans to turn the music off or shut the party down. She’s seen it all, as music has morphed from people actually playing real instruments to people creating sounds from synthesizers and machine. Hodel answered some questions about her life as a DJ and her love of music; three and a half decades of LGBT nightlife and the challenges of the lesbian community today; and being a creative person seamlessly expanding from music to art. Heather Cassell: What does music mean to you? Page Hodel: I love the way music so profoundly affects people’s lives. I think that music is a conduit to heaven. It’s a window into your heart and your soul and opens everything up. Music is an “unspoken language,” it’s a “universal language.” It is something that completely bonds us all together. I want to keep making people dance, even if I’m old and gray and in a wheelchair. I love it too much, that’s where I feel most at home, in the DJ booth watching and making everybody dance. What is the DJ’s job? The DJ’s job is to capture and create the greater good in every moment and to find the perfect record to make the most amount of people the most happy at any one given time. We chase that moment always. How has being a DJ changed during the 35 years you’ve been spinning records? Being a DJ for 35 years, I know dance music like the back of my hand. And I know people and how they behave on the dance floor. At the same time, it always still stays interesting for me because the music is always changing and evolving and I love to create a community experience wherever I play. Our Bay Area dance community is an extraordinary beautiful community. Being a DJ is very different now than the old days. It is not nearly as social it was. It used to be, every Thursday and Friday we all (DJs) go to the record store. You would see all of your DJ friends and catch up, “How is this record working for you?” There was so much interaction and camaraderie. There were lifelong friendships formed over those record stacks. Then there is the physical tactile aspect. Songs were something I would literally hold in my hand, but now they reside on a screen. I grab the song with an index finger and drag into a virtual folder. It’s quite a different experience. One of the positives of technolSee page 59 >>

t <<

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Page Hodel

From page 58

ogy’s affect on DJs and music is that it used to be I would arrive at a club with four crates of maybe 250 records for the night and it has now evolved to me showing up with 22,000 songs on my laptop. Today, you can’t say, “Sorry, I don’t have it with me tonight,” because club-goers and wedding party guests know very well you probably do have it. And with most venues having Wi-Fi, if I don’t have it, in most cases I can buy it right there on the spot. How has the party scene changed with the advent of electronic music? Over time I can really see that it’s amped up. There are a lot of things that are being done electronically to elevate the energy on the dance floor. The energy is so high. Watching 6,000 people dancing to really hard and bangin’ EDM; it’s quite impressive. The expression, passion, energy and power, it’s really something else, the ability of the electronics to turn things up and drop things down. What is the secret to being a DJ and a party promoter? Not all DJs become promoters. Promoting is not for everyone. DJs who become promoters are either because they are a natural leader or have a propensity to be super-entrepreneurial. For me, it was always in my blood. When I was a little girl, I was one of those kids that had lemonade stands and little carnivals in my driveway. I would rustle up all the neighborhood kids to come to my little carnivals. For me it was a very natural progression from DJ to promoter. I had a strong desire for the freedom to artistically play what I wanted. I knew what would make everyone dance and was tired of being confined by other people’s and club owners’ desires. Promoting and being the DJ at the same time is very difficult to do. Being a promoter is very challenging and a tremendous responsibility. I was always very fortunate to have exceptional managers and people working with me – I’m sure people will tell you, it’s real fun to work with me, but its also very tough to work with me. For me it wasn’t just a big giant party; it was a piece of artwork. We all had a great time, still do. Who are your favorite artists, today and in the day? Stevie Wonder, Rihanna, and

April 2-8, 2015 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 59

Azealia Banks. Rihanna creates absolutely beautiful, gorgeous pop music. Azealia Banks is a sassy delicious female rapper. My favorite song right now is by Nikki Minaj called “Truffle Butter.” That song is driving me crazy today. I really miss all the female rappers like Queen Latifah, MC Lyte, and Missy Elliott. I love all R&B Hip Hop artists and I love the boys, too! Your artwork has expanded beyond music into creating physical pieces of art with your Monday Hearts for Madalene. Can you tell me more about this project? I began making hearts for my beloved Madalene when we first met. I would make a heart and leave it on her doorstep every Monday morning just as a romantic gesture and reminder of how much I loved her. Seven months after we met, she was diagnosed with advanced stage ovarian cancer and passed away very quickly. We met almost exactly ten years ago today. Just before she died, I promised Madalene that I would continue to make my hearts for her for the rest of my life as a tribute to our beautiful love and to keep her in my physical world. Soon after she passed, I began sending photos of my hearts to our friends and family, over the Internet, with the invitation for everyone to make a list of their loved ones and forward them on and on. The whole project has become an unbelievable worldwide expression of love every Monday. I now personally send the hearts to 3,142 people all over the world. I receive emails from Bali, Bangkok, Serbia, South Africa, and Vienna. It’s just really a magical expression of love, first to my beloved Madalene, and now a little burst of love on Mondays, just reminding everyone how important love is and to start your week with love in your heart. I once read a beautiful quote from Mother Theresa that said, “Every act of love is an act of peace.” That really touched me deeply.t For more information about Monday Hearts for Madalene, visit www.mondayheartsformadalene. com. If you would like to receive a heart every Monday on your “digital doorstep” send an email to page.hodel@gmail.com and write “subscribe” in the subject. Heather Cassell is a travel and entertainment writer for the Bay Area Reporter and other publications. To read about queer women’s travel and entertainment, visit www.GirlsThatRoam.com.

Page Hodel

The annual Valentine’s Human Heart on the beach in Half Moon Bay for Monday Hearts for Madalene.

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60 • BAY AREA REPORTER • April 2-8, 2015

Eatin’ up Besties Best food ranges from comfort to crepes by Sean Timberlake

tro St. 864-2262) had legs, coming in second, while downtown’s Press Club (20 Yerba Buena Lane. 7445000) made the cut for third.

Best Lunch

on your Björk swan dress; it’s time to walk the red carpet for this year’s Besties. Here’s how you chimed in on your favorite bites and nibbles.

Best Breakfast

Orphan Andy’s

N o t h i n g quells a brutal hangover like a honkin’ big plate of fried eggs and fatty pork products. Castro mainstay Orphan Andy’s (3991 17th St. 864-9795) has been dishing it up for almost 40 years, and they must be doing it right, because you voted it tops. Stacks (501 Hayes St. 241-9011) stacked up second, while Crepevine (216 Church St. 4314646) wrapped in third.

Café Flore Apparently what’s old is new. Café Flore (2298 Market St. 6218579), also 41 years young, retains its mantle as your favorite lunch. Juicy burgers, decadent mac and cheese, and a steady stream of eye candy walking by are the main draws. Harvey’s (500 Castro St. 4314278) milked out a nod in second place, and Super Duper (2304 Market St plus other locations. 558-8123) almost lived up to its name in third place.

And now for a few categories I think you need to know about:

Best Bagel

All Good Pizza

eats

Best Brunch

Zuni Café Speaking of venerable restaurants, the always-delightful Zuni Café (1658 Market St. 552-2522), in its 41st year, took the gold with their quintessential California menu. Sure, the roast chicken with bread salad takes an hour, but that just leaves you time to enjoy some oysters and a few more mimosas. The imperatively named Squat and Gobble (3600 16th St. plus two other locations; 552-2125) came in as runner up.

Orphan Andy’s satisfies late night cravings.

Really, I should say Only Actual Bagel in San Francisco. Earl Shaddix of Earl’s Bread has branched out, making authentic, New Yorkstyle bagels with hand-milled flour. They’re only available Sundays at All Good Pizza (1605 Jerrold Ave. 933-9384) in the Bayview, but they’re worth the trek.

Best Place to Eat Next to a Hell’s Angel

Just For You Café

Chow’s

One of the longest-lasting stalwarts in a now very up-and-coming neighborhood, Dogpatch’s Just For You Café (732 22nd St. 6473033) is conveniently located a half block from the biker club’s local chapter house, making dining at a communal table occasionally more interesting than usual.

When it’s time to settle in for supper, you chow on Chow’s (215 Church St. 552-2469) menu of globally minded classics using organic ingredients. Firewood Café (4248 18th St. 252-0999) is burned into your minds as a backup plan, while Pesce (2223 Market St. 928-8025) is on the hook for the third spot.

Best New Restaurant Trend

Best Dessert

Sweet Inspiration’s For another year, you’re sweet on Sweet Inspiration’s (2239 Market St. 621-8664) inspired confections. Head on over and enjoy a mighty slab of their legendary cakes. You find Tartine’s (600 Guerrero St. 487-2600) pastries worth the lengthy lines, and Cream (3106 16th St. 400-4551) rose to a thirdplace ranking.

Café Flore

Café Flore, which is basically just a patio with a restaurant nestled inside it, won this one by a landslide. Starbelly’s (3583 16th St. 252-7500) cozy back patio still had a moment in second place, and Catch (2362 Market St. 431-5000) netted third place.

Best Coffee Shop The always popular Chow

BARtab

Best Dinner

Best Outdoor Patio

BARtab

Philz’

You can’t get your fill of Philz’

Verbena/Al’s Place Helder Ribiero

Café Flore’s breezy patio.

(4023 18th St. plus other locations, 415-875-9656) top-notch pourovers with tasting notes as erudite as a winery’s. Second-wave coffee originator Peet’s (2257 Market St. plus other locations; 626-6416) is second in line, and Dolores Park Café (501 Dolores St. 621-2936) made the cut, likely as a spot to go en route to the Fruit Shelf.

Best Late Night

Orphan Andy’s Another award for Orphan Andy’s, by another landslide. Diners seem to serve what you crave in the wee hours, with Sparky’s and GrubStake (1525 Pine St. 6738268) taking the runner-up spots.

program since reopening last year. The aptly named Pilsner Inn (225 Church St. 621-7058) was tapped for second place, and beer emporium Toronado (547 Haight St. 8632276) took home third.

Best Wine Bar

Blush

Spitters and swallowers alike favored Blush (476 Castro St. 558-0893), overwhelmingly voting this wine bar to the top spot. Nearby Swirl on Castro (572 Cas-

As people become more aware of the ecological impact of meat production, it’s nice to see restaurants that shine the spotlight on vegetables as stars on the plate. While neither is exclusively vegetarian, two restaurants are showcasing vegetables in exciting ways. While it’s going through a chef change, Verbena (2323 Polk St. 441-2323) remains dedicated to its mission of elevating vegetables, and the new Al’s Place (1499 Valencia St. 416-6136), from Aaron London, formerly of the defunct vegetarian restaurant-cumyoga studio Ubuntu in Napa, has gone so far as to call the meat dishes on the menu “sides.” t

Best Happy Hour Bites

Hi Tops’

You voted Hi Tops’ (2247 Market St. 551-2500) happy hour the top spot, with a substantial margin. Don’t miss those 25-cent wings on Mondays! In second place you said yes to Nopa (560 Divisadero St. 864-8643), while Dosa’s (995 Valencia St., 642-3672; and 1700 Fillmore St. 441-3672) Indian nibbles took third.

Just For You Café

Best Bar Menu

Harvey’s courtesy Hi Tops

Hi Tops’ happy hour bites.

Harvey’s in the heart of the Castro has your heart for their boozefriendly bites. Hi Tops took home the silver, while the Lookout’s (3600 16th St. 431-0306) new menu made your radar. Must be the Dirty Balls.

Best Mixed Drink

Martuni’s

You picked Martuni’s (4 Valencia St. 241-0205) as the best place to sip a tipple, all the better while someone’s tinkling the ivories. Blackbird’s (2124 Market St. 503-0630) selection of craft cocktails made a solid second, while Twin Peaks (401 Castro St. 864-9470) peaked at third.

Rick Gerharter

Harvey’s

Best Beer Selection

SF-Eagle Sweet Inspiration’s tempting cakes

When it comes to brews, you said SF-Eagle (398 12th St.) or bust. The leather bar has expanded its

A stylish dish at Verbena.

Read more online at www.ebar.com

April 2-8, 2015 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 61

All Fun and Games Bestie-winning comedy & game nights

Steven Underhill

Marga Gomez (left) with Bebe Sweetbriar at Harvey’s.

by Ronn Vigh

t’s said that laughter is the best medicine. Of course, a shot of tequila never hurts. Fortunately, laughs and liquor combined are easily accessible in our city by the bay. As a part of Besties 2015, our readers have scouted out some of their favorite places and people that help them unwind at their favorite comedy and game nights in San Francisco. Harvey’s, which has been at the corner of 18th and Castro since 1996, is becoming known for more than just grabbing a bite to the eat. This year, B.A.R. readers voted in Harvey’s for both Best Trivia Night and Comedy Night! “Our entertainment programing is a reflection of our desire to not only be a restaurant, but also a part of the culture of our community,” says Steve Porter, general manager of Harvey’s. “These nights have become world famous and often serve as models for similar nights in other cities.” Harvey’s was voted Best Game Night for Play With Bebe, the weekly trivia night hosted by Bebe Sweetbriar, a local drag queen, entertainer and columnist. Sweetbriar hosted the recently retired trivia night for five years, estimating that she has asked players over 7,000 questions. “What I truly enjoyed were the people from all over the world coming to play and seeing all barriers broken through a fun game and laughter,” said Sweetbriar. Trivia still lives on Wednesday nights with Miss Kitty at Wild Side West (424 Cortland Avenue). Hi Tops (2247 Market St.) also boasts a Tuesday trivia night as well.

However, the gay sports bar came in second place in our readers’ poll for their Wednesday night Bottoms Up Bingo, which utilizes a little less brain power, but still results in a fun time with friends, whether they be bottoms or tops. Harvey’s continued to collect votes in this year’s Besties when readers voted Harvey’s Funny Tuesdays, produced by Ronn Vigh (hmm.. that name sounds familiar) as best comedy show. Comedy at Harvey’s is nearing its ten-year anniversary of offering a free weekly LGBT-friendly standup comedy shows. None of it would be possible without the support of Steve Porter, Harvey’s fine staff and the community who comes out each week and fortunately finds it funny enough to bring their friends and visiting family members. We have certainly had our ups and downs, which range from Margaret Cho packing out the place –where she tried to bring levity to the recent passings of comedic icons Robin Williams and Joan Rivers. Part of the appeal of our comedy night and location is that you just never know who or what to expect at any moment. On one night, a young feisty heckler had to be removed by staff. As a result, he walked out front and shattered the glass window behind the stage with his own hands, startling the audience and the comedian who was still onstage! LGBT friendly comedy can also be found outside of the Castro by our second and third place best comedy show winners, Comedy Returns at El Rio and Hella Gay Comedy. Lisa Geduldig is proud to host the monthly Comedy Returns to El Rio (3158 Mission St.), because it’s community-oriented and

where she got her start in the funny business in 1989. “I created Comedy Returns at El Rio to resurrect the comedy night that used to exist there,” said Geduldig. “The show is celebrating its sixth anniversary in May. Had I known it would last so many years, I would’ve named it something else; it’s been returning for six years now!” Your vote for this year’s Best Female Comic went to Marga Gomez, who is always hard at work as a comedian, actress, writer and performer of numerous one-woman shows, and even as an occasional comedy show producer. Gomez travels extensively as an entertainer, but has long called San Francisco home and a treasured place to perform. “Every day that I’m not evicted or run over by the Google bus is special,” says Gomez. “I have always loved

in San Francisco. Live performance working in the Bay Area because we can always use new supporters. have the smartest, most open-mindAnd while prices may vary, buyed audiences. The Bay Area comedy ing a ticket or a beer is much cheapscene is awesome, because being gay er than cable!t isn’t an obstacle anymore. I’ll miss being a novelty, though.” Marga is certainly keeping busy Ronn Vigh is a stand up comedian and former writer for Joan Rivthrough 2015, premiering her new ers on Fashion Police. He will be “lezploitation” show, Pound! in June headlining at The San Francisco at The National Queer Arts Festival, Punchline, 444 Battery St., on as well as continuing PerformeraApril 7th, 8pm. Tickets: ma, her monthly variety series at www.punchlinecomedyclub.com Oasis (298 11th St.). Your vote for Best Male Comic went to Justin Lucas, who always seems to have a new hairstyle and vocal impersonation at every show. Lucas has performed stand-up since 2011, and also had a small role as a nurse in the HBO series Looking. Lucas has become known for his comedic and vocal range. “My favorite character is a female voice, usually an imitation of women I’ve come across in my life, including a nurse and auntie,” said Lucas. “The real-life-like vocal was inspired in my teens, when I’d go on the Party Line and pretend to be a sexy, sultry woman while talking to men who had absolutely no idea.” These days, Lucas hits the stage as a stand-up once a week while also balancing upcoming theater projects. 2015 is still young, with plenty of time to head on out and see if you agree with our readers’ poll choices for this year’s best comedians, Comic Justin Lucas comedy and game nights

In Springtime, a young man’s fancy turns to... the World’s #1 Source for Gay News, Photos, and Entertainment!

edgemedianetwork.com A trivia-winning team at Hi Tops.

Serving the LGBT communities since 1971

62 • BAY AREA REPORTER • April 2-8, 2015

Veronica Klaus Our Bestie chanteuse on all that jazz by Jim Provenzano

ongtime San Francisco music fans may have heard the sultry tones of Veronica Klaus at Café du Nord, The Elbo Room, Club 181, or Enrico’s in North Beach. Klaus has also performed at countless local benefits and galas, bringing her classy sounds, often with the Tammy L. Hall Trio or accompanist Tom Shaw, to many venues for more than two decades. “I also performed at the Lush Lounge on Polk Street for quite a while,” added this year’s Bestiewinning chanteuse for Best Female Cabaret Performer. Klaus’ shows have ranged from intimate gigs to full concerts. “A long time ago, I had a twelvepiece band called The Heart and Soul Revue,” said Klaus. “We did a lot of R&B, old Ike & Tina Turner stuff, with ballads mixed in. Having a big band was great, and a nightmare. It’s too hard to deal with co-

ordinating so many people. I sort of cut it down and started doing more smaller jazz and cabaret sets.” Klaus, who has recorded four albums, said her recent jazz focus “was always there, but a different mix. I would call it an eclectic mix of jazz standards and cabaret. I guess I’m a bit of a musicologist. My interest in a lot of different genres started with Bette Midler. Her early albums were such an eclectic mix. Inspired by her, I started to study other songs and songwriters.” Klaus’ 1997 debut CD was “mostly more R&B-modeled pop, which I wrote.” The CD was nominated for a GLAMA Award for Best Female Artist. 2007’s Live at the Lodge was recorded at the Regency Center’s third floor lounge. Recorded as a benefit for Rainbow World Fund, Klaus shared the bill with gay folkrock singer-composer Mark Weigel. Something Cool, recorded in 2012 over three days, also became the source material for Klaus’ fourth

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CD, the latest devoted to the musical tribute to singer-composer Peggy Lee. Aided by a Kickstarter campaign, Klaus was able to get the funds to record and release her own music her way. Klaus credits her many collaborators, but still admits that when self-producing, “unfortunately you have to do so much. This last year has been about rethinking things, priorities,” she said. Focusing on Peggy Lee’s music at her recent Feinstein’s concert proved to be a great match. “There’s a really rich understatement that she possessed,” said Klaus. “I like her music because you have to get inside her world, inside her voice. It’s not really showy. It’s very transportive. There was something very intriguing to me about her voice.” Offering some perspective on music genres, Klaus said, “Jazz singers used to be called popular singers’ that was when jazz was popular music. Peggy Lee is vastly underrated as a jazz singer, which is what she was. That’s why I wanted to delve into her music. She recorded more than 150 songs, mostly for herself.” Klaus has also appeared in several films, including the locally filmed Transgender Tuesdays: A Clinic in the Tenderloin, and the wacky 1992 comic film Aliens Cut My Hair. Another creative outlet includes cooking. Klaus has begun sharing her baking and dinner cuisine at pop-up events with invited guests, who enjoy a tempting homemade menu of meals. “I do it as often as someone books it,” said Klaus, “usually Saturday or Sunday brunches in my house. You don’t have to wait in line. It’s a really good time.” Born in Gillespie, Illinois, Klaus said her family life had its ups and down in an area known for its Festival of Coal. “My parents are still there,” she said. “I talk to them a lot. We get along well now, which was not always the case.” Klaus’ song “Black Diamond Days” includes references to her family and her coal-mining hometown roots. “It became a metaphor for my growing up there.” Looking both back and to the future is where the artist sees herself.

Veronica Klaus performing in 2014.

“Turning fifty had something to do with re-thinking things; realizing what’s realistic as far as music goes and saying I’m interested in this stuff, too. I don’t have to be so myopic about choices. “I can have more than just one style. I realized I’m not going to be this huge sensation. I don’t have that sort of ambition; perhaps I used to ten or twenty years ago, if I ever did. Right now, it’s about figuring out what I want to do that makes me happy and feel creative.” Klaus will perform at the April 2 Besties party, and on April 3 with her full concert, Spring Affair, both at Oasis, the new (and also Bestiewinning) nightclub. “We’re doing some of the stuff we haven’t done in a while,” said Klaus

of her song list. “I wanted to do all of our favorites, but I’m still figuring out which songs.” Klaus is also happy to perform in a familiar yet new venue. “I remember the space from the 1990s,” she added. “What I love about Oasis is that it’s a community, a family, and most of these people in town, and who are having this resurgence of energy, are people that I know. And that’s fantastic. Oasis really does feel like, ‘Wow, our family is doing this.’” t See Veronica Klaus’ Spring Affair, with the Tammy L. Hall Trio, Friday, April 3 at Oasis. $20. 7:30pm. 298 11th St. www.sfoasis.com Follow Veronica Klaus at https:// twitter.com/veronicaklaus.

2586

Jose A. Guzman Colon

Veronica Klaus with her dogs Charisse and Pearl.

Read more online at www.ebar.com

April 2-8, 2015 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 63

Cookie Dough The late drag icon’s a multi-Bestie winner

Gareth Gooch

Cookie Dough at The Edge’s Monster Show in 2014.

by David-Elijah Nahmod

dward Bell was an ordinary guy who became a beloved Castro drag icon known as Cookie Dough. She gained a huge following through her performances at Trannyshack, as Sophia in the locally produced drag version of The Golden Girls, and as the hostess with the mostest of The Monster Show, her very own, wildly popular show at The Edge. People in the drag world and beyond were shocked and heartbroken when Ed/Cookie collapsed this past January while on a working vacation in Puerta Vallarta. She lapsed into a coma; it was meningitis. Though she was moved to a San Francisco hospital, it was too late. Eddie Bell, aka Cookie Dough, died at age 52 on January 29, 2015. He left behind Michael Chu, his heartbroken spouse. The outpouring of love from the community was immediate, and preceded Cookie Dough’s passing. A GoFundMe page to help defray her medical expenses received many, many donations; that page is no longer live. On March 1 loved ones, friends and fans packed the Victoria Theater for Cookie Dough: A Celebration of Life. Drag superstars such as Heklina, Peaches Christ, Sister Roma and Bebe Sweetbriar co-hosted the event.

They and performers such as D’Arcy Drollinger, Katya Smirnoff Skyy, Sue Casa, and Matthew Martin took to the stage to perform and express their love for a lost friend who had become a loved one to them all. “When Cookie first started doing drag, she came to me and asked me for advice,” recalled Peaches Christ, who worked with Cookie on a variety of shows. “I remember thinking that she was too nice to do drag for very long. Boy, did she prove me wrong! She stayed nice, which is the even bigger accomplishment.” Peaches summed up the experience of working with Cookie quite simply: “I had a blast!” When the Bay Area Reporter hosts the fifth annual Besties: The LGBT Best of the Bay Celebration, Cookie Dough will be among the most honored. As voted upon by the public, The Besties have named Cookie Dough as Best Drag Queen and Best Event Host/MC. The Monster Show takes home the prize for Best Drag Show and Best Weekly Nightlife Event. In addition, The Edge, home to The Monster Show, was chosen as Best Castro Bar. It surprises no one that even months after her passing, the adoration for Cookie Dough, and Eddie Bell, continues. Eddie Bell began his career working behind the scenes at Marc Huestis’ wildly popular classic

film screenings/celebrity signings at the Castro Theater. “Cookie is secondary to me after Ed Bell, who I’ve known since the mid-90s,” Huestis recalled. “He did tech for Lypsinka’s show. His toothy smile was so infectious. Then he started to do the spotlight for all of my shows and did it well into his drag career, until recently.” Huestis recalled Bell’s enthusiasm for his work. “He was like a starstruck kid,” Huestis said. “He was over the moon when Karen Black was at the Castro. There was never a flicker of negative energy. Eddie was full of light, literally.” “He gave me lessons on how to be a better person,” said frequent co-star Heklina. “I believe I am more caring, less competitive, less judgmental, more patient and a more generous person today than I was before I met Cookie.” Heklina observed how supportive Ed/Cookie was to everyone in his life, in particular to Michael Chu. “Now that Cookie is gone, Michael and I are a bit shattered,” she said. “But time will hopefully partly heal this grief. Cookie and I lived in the same building; the mere act of coming home now fills me with sadness. Something is missing.” Heklina described her friendship with Cookie as another Lucy and Ethel. Matthew Martin said that as native San Franciscans, he and Eddie Bell could share stories about having grown up in the city. “He left a legacy of love from which we can all learn,” Martin said. “I miss his bright beaming face and beautiful blue eyes smiling at me every time we would see one another, and our inside jokes. He is so missed by all who knew him.” Cookie Dough/Edward Bell’s joyous zest for life also touched people who didn’t appear on stage with him. “He was always gleeful, had a smile on his face and was eager to assist in any way necessary for the good of the project every time I worked with him,” said publicist Lawrence Helman. “He always thanked me for any publicity I got for him or a show he was in.” San Francisco’s theater scene has produced many iconic, even legendary drag performers. All have become beloved performers. But few touched the hearts of people as did Edward Bell Cookie/Cookie Dough. “Cookie was the best friend anyone could ever have,” said Heklina. “We are all better for having known him.”t

Thanks!

....for voting Harvey’s the winner of the Besties for Best Bar Menu, Best Comedy Night, and Best Game Night. Happy Hour • M-F 3-6pm $4 APPS / $3 DRAFTS HarveysSF.com • (415) 431-HARV

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A makeshift memorial for Cookie Dough at Castro and 18th streets.

Serving the LGBT communities since 1971

64 • BAY AREA REPORTER • April 2-8, 2015

Besties Events

Bestie-winning grooves, gays, kinks and kings

Carol Hill

Mango at El Rio.

by Jim Provenzano

successful event is nothing without innovative fun-loving people who create them. Yet, in our expanded editorial coverage, we bring you unusual and classic events that make living in the Bay Area fun. And of course, the events’ organizers and their patrons are the winners.

Best Women’s Event

Mango at El Rio Although it’s the off-season for this popular women’s event, its popularity was evident in the reader voting. With a music variety that’s particularly welcoming to women of color, El Rio wins again with another popular event. www.elriosf.com Runners up: Pussy Party (Beaux) Cockblock (Rickshaw Stop)

Best Comedy Night

Funny Tuesdays at Harvey’s At the southwest corner of the rainbow-painted intersection of Castro and 18th streets, comedy rules each Tuesday as Ronn Vigh welcomes a variety of stand-up performers each week. From fellow Bestie winners Marga Gomez and Justin Lucas, to newcomers and comic veterans, you can be sure the jokes are with us, not on us; well, sometimes on us. See more comedy winners on page 61. www.harveyssf.com Runners up: Comedy Returns (El Rio), Hella Gay Comedy (various)

Uel Renteria

Go Bang’s Sergio Fedasz and Steve Fabus.

Best Drag Show

The Monster Show at The Edge By a huge majority, every category that included the late, great Cookie Dough won. The Monster Show’s range of themes offered hilarious parodies and drag tributes. Often filled to capacity, the cozy bar atmosphere made for some closeup encounters between patrons. The tradition carries on, with new hosts, and continued crazy drag fun. www.edgesf.com Runners up: Mother (Oasis) Glamazone (The Café)

Best Weekly Nightlife Event

The Monster Show at The Edge Again, We ♥ Cookie! Runners up: Mother (Oasis), Sundance Saloon (Space 550, Beatbox)

Best Monthly Nightlife Event

Go Bang! at The Stud

Not only do you get a bouyant joy of music from Sergio Fedazs (our straight but honorary homo DJ), but a Go Bang! night offers a sweaty interactive gay history lesson with veteran DJ Steve Fabus, who’s been creating amazing disco dance parties since the days when most of our readers were still in either a closet or a crib. For hip-shaking calorie-burning euphoria, Disco Rules. www.studsf.com Runners up: Beatpig (Powerhouse) Comedy Returns (El Rio)

Best Game Night

Best (non-contest) Leather Event at a Bar

Play With Bebe at Harvey’s People know stuff; silly stuff, unimportant yet vital stuff, like lines from All About Eve, and the length of the Golden Gate Bridge. Mixed in with a few cocktails, a tasty menu of nibbly things or a full meal, plus witty host Bebe Sweetbriar, Hump Days were fun, but Sweetbriar’s off to other adventures, so stop by on the Bestie-winning Funny Tuesdays or at our runnerup game nights. harveyssf.com Runners up: Bottoms Up Bingo (Hi Tops), Miss Kitty’s Trivia Night (Wild Side West)

Daddy at Powerhouse

Despite being one of the most popular leather title-holders in years, the handsome Andy Cross doesn’t shy away from getting down and naughty at the bars. When he’s not busily working with the bar staff, he can be worshipped atop the bar in boots, a jock strap, and little else but his stunning smile. It’s no wonder that Daddy won a Bestie. Read more in race Bannon’s feature on page 66. www.powerhousebar.com Runners up: Code (Edge) Lick It (Powerhouse)

Events

Best Nightlife Event (non-weekly/non-monthly)

Hard French at El Rio

Our cover feature (on page 49) tries to get a grip on the raucous, sensation that is Hard French. But some events are just intangible, pleasure rising up from the back patio of El Rio, along with the sizzling barbeque smoke and waves of soul music. Get in line early for the next edition on April 4, with guests Honey Soundsystem. Hard French is le plus amusant. www.hardfrench. com www.elriosf.com Runners up: Bearracuda (various venues) Comfort & Joy (various venues)

Best Theme Night

Pound Puppy at SF Eagle

From groovy tunes to sexy gogos, and the occasional hot barber, Pound Puppy has quickly established itself as one of SoMa’s premiere alternative fun events, where guys and women of all types can cavort. Cubs, bears, wolves, otters, whatever your spirit animal, Jorge and Blake’s monthly Pound Puppy is a big part of the Eagle’s renaissance. The next Pound Puppy’s April 11, with guest DJ Jeffrey Sfire. www.facebook.com/oscarblake. jorgekevin Runners up: Cubcake (Lone Star Saloon) Mazel Top (Oasis)

Best Unusual Nightlife event

Nightlife at the California Academy of Sciences With live and not-so-live animal exhibits nearby, a party with an albino alligator as your doorman can’t be topped by a mere bar event. So it is with our voters, who love sipping cocktails while getting docent demonstrations about mammal brains and sea creatures. The fascinating museum reminds us that we’re far from the most interesting species on the planet. www.calacademy.org Runners up: Kink.com parties Dragula (Oasis; SF Eagle)

Honorary Bestie: Best Drag King Event

Drag King Contest Oops! We did it again, and Drag King Contest guru Fudgie Frottage came out swingin’ after we did not include a Drag King ballot. Well, we apologize. Certainly, the annual Drag King Contest is a highlight of nightlife fun, as it pokes fun at stereotypes of masculinity with a wild wicked edge. But we also encourage promoters of other drag king events to send event info for inclusion every other week of the year. What’s not on our radar doesn’t get included. www.sfdragkingcontest.comt

On the Tab, our weekly listings, can be found online this week. They will return to print next week.

Celeste Lindahl FBFE

Pound Puppy.

Bestie winner Andrew Slade (center) with his Guardians of the Galaxy crew at a California Academy of Sciences party.

Publicity photo from the 2014 Drag King Contest.

Serving the LGBT communities since 1971

66 • BAY AREA REPORTER • April 2-8, 2015

Sexy Besties Winning ways to get your kink on by Race Bannon

lsewhere in this publication you’ll see a number of deserved winners of this year’s Besties: The LGBT Best of the Bay. I’ve been given the privilege of honoring some of the winners in this column. Let me start with one of San Francisco’s most venerable bar institutions, the SF Eagle, that has been awarded Besties for both Best SoMa Bar and Best Place to Meet Men. Since 1981 the SF Eagle has been one of the most frequented and revered bars South of Market. It’s place in leather history is firmly established. It continues to this day to serve its leather and non-leather patrons well. I asked Beth Bicoastal, the SF Eagle’s Events Coordinator, what she thinks makes the bar special and keeps it thriving. “The history of the SF Eagle is well known, and it has been a go to for ages due to the ambiance, outdoor patio space, special leather events, community involvement, our fully stocked bar and our friendly staff,” said Bicoastal. “We are famous for our Saturday and Sunday beer bust fundraisers for nonprofits from 3pm-6pm. We are a space where good ‘ol cruisin’ meets fresh new dance parties.”

sexY Best SoMa Bar

SF Eagle

Runners up: Powerhouse, The Stud

Best Place to Meet Men

SF Eagle

Bicoastal went on to explain how the bar tries to host a wide variety of events appealing to different demographics. “As our queer community evolves and becomes more inclusive, we are desiring to include all members of the rainbow, which is reflected in our various events. Thursday Night Live with bands performing weekly, our comedy nights on Wednesdays, and our bigger weekend parties tend to attract a variety of people, queer and straight alike. This allows us to keep the soul and history of this bar, but create a new identity that is open to all.” I can attest to the fact that the owners, management and staff of the SF Eagle work hard to keep this venerable institution vibrant and relevant amid the quickly shifting fates of so many bars. They do a great job and it continues to be one of my regular nightlife spots.

Hot dogs

An event that takes place regularly at the SF Eagle also won a Bestie this year. Pound Puppy won Best Theme Night. Pup play has been a quickly growing part of the men’s (and some women) kink crowd, but while the “pup” theme permeates this popular dance and hangout party, it’s not solely focused on that clientele. Blake Cedric, founder and producer, alluded to this when asked to what extent Pound Puppy is involved with the local pup scene. “We don’t necessarily consider ourselves a strictly pup party,” he said. “We have every single type of fetishist at our parties. We like to keep it open for any interpretation

FBFE

Andy Cross, Mr. SF Leather 2013 and International Mr. Leather 2013, is the host and producer of the Daddy events held at the Powerhouse bar.

and set an environment that is open for anyone that may be curious in it. We don’t discriminate and we never will. Masters, pups, trainers, slaves, Daddies, bears, cubs, manatees, otters...bring it on. It’s chill.” By all measures, the Pound Puppy events are successful, drawing large crowds that appear to revel in the atmosphere created. Cedric considers certain playful and laidback aspects of the party to have contributed to its success. “We are successful because we just ultimately wanna have fun and throw a cute party,” said Cedric. “When you try to get too many factors involved, people get stressed out and the party gets tense. We just want you to get drunk and laid, and it helps that we have lots of slutty friends to facilitate that.” I sure do like the direct way the Pound Puppy crew openly embraces that it’s all about having fun, including getting its clientele laid. That’s a pretty awesome goal for any event, in my book.

Get randy with Andy

Runners up: Powerhouse 440 Castro

Best Theme Night

Pound Puppy at the SF Eagle Runners up: Cubcake at Lone Star Saloon, Mazel Top at Oasis

Best (non-contest) Leather Event at a Bar

Daddy at the Powerhouse

BARtab

Erick Lopez bartending at The Edge.

Runners up: Code at The Edge Lick It at Powerhouse

Best Bartender

Erick Lopez, The Edge Runners up: Steve Dalton at SF Eagle, Michael Tempesta at Midnight Sun

Best Place to Buy Sex Toys

Good Vibrations Runners up: Mr S, Does Your Mother Know?

Best Sex Venue

Steamworks Berkeley Runners up: Blow Buddies, Eros

A model shoot at Steamworks Berkeley.

Walk a few blocks down Folsom Street from the SF Eagle and you’ll come upon the Powerhouse, another longstanding nightspot in SoMa. It’s here that Daddy, the winner for Best (noncontest) Leather Event at a Bar, is held. The force behind Daddy is Andy Cross, Mr. SF Leather 2013 and International Mr. Leather 2013. Cross started Daddy because he wanted to throw a party that appealed to people in the leather com-

Rich Stadtmiller

Men at a recent Eagle beer bust.

munity, but also appealed to people who might be leather-curious. He wanted to create a party that would be fun for everyone. He figured the word “Daddy” summed up his intentions. Daddy is daddies and daddy lovers. All of the proceeds go to the San Francisco Bay Area Leather Alliance. I mentioned to Cross how the whole “daddy” thing seems to be big right now and asked him why he thinks that’s the case. “For me, it’s always been huge!” said Cross. “There’s always been this archetype of a leather ‘daddy’ that has appealed to me, and now I find myself being at a point of my life where I can be both attracted to that

type of guy and also be that type of guy. I also don’t think that the term ‘daddy’ means the same thing to everyone. I think more people are embracing the fact that they can be a ‘daddy’ no matter their age.”

Close to the Edge

Of course, no bar will sustain its clientele for long without good bartenders. So The Edge should celebrate because its popular bartender, Erick Lopez, has won this year’s Best Bartender award. Erick is well known throughout the local LGBT nightlife scene. I live about a block from The Edge and it’s my most frequent hangout bar as a result. Erick’s smiling face is often one of the first things I see as I walk in the bar. I asked Lopez what he thinks makes his style of bartending so appealing. He said, “I don’t know if it’s my style of bartending per se, but my father always told me knowing a customer’s name goes a long way. Ever since I was little, I’ve made it my business to know people by name so I’ve always been good with them. I think that’s one thing a lot of customers may enjoy about me. I’ve always said I’m the backwards bartender; most bartenders will remember your drink before your name, but I definitely remember your name first.” Lopez is also the creator and impetus behind Code, the Castro’s most successful leather and kink event, a monthly party created with the intention of bringing leather back to the Castro. Rightly, Lopez is quite proud of See page 70 >>

t Bestie Porn Dude: Leo Forte Serving the LGBT communities since 1971

68 • BAY AREA REPORTER • April 2-8, 2015

by Cornelius Washington

houghtful. Provocative. Insightful. Latent. Daring. Introspective. Beautiful. Sensitive. All of these adjective describe the man that you, our readers, have chosen Leo Forte as your Best Bay Area Gay Male Porn Actor. You voted for him, and now you’ve got him!

Cornelius Washington: Congratulations! You have been voted Best Bay Area Gay Male Porn Actor by this year’s Besties readers poll. How do you feel? Leo Forte: Thank you very much to the B.A.R. for having me as part of the nominees. I feel fantastic! When it comes to the adult industry, I’ve always felt I’ve never gotten the lion’s share, so to win is a fantastic feeling. What do you think that you’ve brought to porn, escorting, entertainment in general, and the Bay Area, in particular, that no one else does? I don’t think that I’ve brought anything unique, per se. It’s not like I’m curing cancer. I’ve brought myself, mostly. I’ve been uncensored and very exposed.

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so many porn directors who don’t have sex; it’s a quagmire I’ve never understood. Finish the following sentence: “When I watch porn, what I notice that’s missing is...” … reality. The models are automatons going through the motions without the slightest sliver of connection. It lacks passion, both in front of and behind the camera. This is what is causing amateur porn to do so well. It’s real. What are your clients’ commonalities ... and differences? My clients come from all walks of life, with different desires and fantasies that I instigate into reality. The commonality is that they are all successful, wealthy, and powerful people. The men and women who come to see me are of an exotic taste and they look for someone who is well-versed and not just playing dress-up. They are mostly return clients who come to me for something specific.

Let’s discuss your porn career. When, why and how did you decide to enter the adult film industry? Well it’s not a career. There are no 401K or stock options. I decided to do it because when I was a ‘baby gay. I would fawn over the men in the pages and the videos. I would see the reaction that others had to their beauty; I wanted that. I grew up feeling ugly, and being told I was ugly, so, I craved that validation. Rewind a few years back; I had just gotten out of the military and couldn’t find a job anywhere. No one would hire me, and I had no degree to prove I was good at my job. Bills piled up and Leo Forte at The Powehouse food was running short. What else did I have to lose? So, I made some calls, and I found myself in Florida filming my What’s the ratio of openly gay vs. first scene a month later. It’s been married and/or bisexual clients? five years since. Is there a ratio to openly gay/married/bisexual clients? I don’t know. I What do you now know about never bothered to ask. It’s not my the porn world that you wish you’d concern. I concern myself with the known before you started? individual and making them happy. I wish I had known it was just a Bottom line; what happens before passing fancy, and how quickly and or after my time with them is irreleasily one is replaced. I wish I had evant. known that it doesn’t matter how good of a performer you are, people What do you wish that the general will rip you apart and stuff the trash public understood about escorting? with you. I wish I had known it was What the general public should so racially biased. know about escorting is that we all pay for it, somewhere down the line. As you know, the director of any I simply cut the song and dance to film medium sets the tone for the a simple transaction. It’s the oldest entire production. What do you look profession in history and, like any for in a porn director? other profession, some are great and A good porn director is infinitely some are tragic at their work. difficult to find. They have to be mavericks; rebellious and edgy. Let’s discuss S&M a bit. There New ideas and situations will make have been serious discussions about them stand out from the typical, traditional, masculine-identified “two boys on a box.” They have to projections of sexuality vs. the more be kind. I have run into so many alternative forms, i.e. cosplay, puppy asshole directors who are mean and play and the mixing of the elements bitter. They don’t value the time of of gear. What are your thoughts? people around them. A director has My thoughts on “Contempoto be dedicated to the craft, finerary S&M” - I think that there is a tuning it so that it’s as great as posresurgence into what S&M truly is. sible. Most I have known are just in For so long now, we have been wora hurry to get it done or don’t bothshiping the image of what BDSM is er to correct a model who is doing supposed to be. I firmly believe that something bad or wrong. A director the magic/shamanism of BDSM has must be honest. If something isn’t been forgotten. The only thing that going to work, say so. Don’t expect matters now it the price tag on your that magic will happen on set; it’s leather. I can’t see one more demo not always perfect. A great director where someone is getting whacked in should be having great sex. I know the face with a flogger. It’s just dumb.

This is why I don’t frequent leather bars anymore, even though I’ve always thought of myself as a lifestyle player. BDSM should be fun and creative; it should challenge and inspire, confuse and scare you. I’m not scared of Tom of Finland. I’m not inspired by your bike chain on your neck. I am confused why everyone at the Eagle looks exactly the same. I don’t think that anything you are seeing now is progressive, by any means. I think that the new generations are breaking away from the status quo and accidentally finding the whimsical, dare I say, gay side of BDSM. Many people in the gay community are ashamed of the fact that gay porn stars are seen as role models and icons. What’s your opinion? People should not be ashamed of porn stars being icons or celebrities; they have been for our whole history. They are the physical personifications of our culture during their time. So, if gays don’t want to have porn star icons and celebrities, they should do something that’s interesting and novel. In a hundred years, your bitching will get you nowhere. I know that you’ve also become a porn director. What do you see is the difference between sexuality and sensuality? I have been a director of porn now for a long time. I first started with Kink.com years ago. Even with my last position with NakedSword, I was a director. However, I’ve always done the work underneath another director’s umbrella, which, unfortunately, to my naiveté, meant I got zero credit for it. It’s unfortunate that only one title ever had my name as the director: NakedSword’s Hotel HookUp. The troubling thing about that, and everything I did after, was how difficult it was for the director of photography to admit that I FBFE was capable of doing a good job. I was even handed over my own production line, and when I asked in a playful manner, “Now can my business card say Director?” I was shot down and told, no. I realized that as long as I remained under the shadow of another, my ideas, concepts and scripts, would always have someone else’s name on it. So, I left. What is the difference between erotica and pornography? Sexuality is just a person’s proclivities, orientation and preference. Living in San Francisco sexuality is a kaleidoscope of possibilities, most of which confuse me, but, I support them. Sensuality is deep. It’s the person’s sexual essence. It’s that ‘thing’ that makes them sexy or, as Dida Ritz says, “cheesecake.” This, you can’t fake. You can have a body, face, and cock, but you aren’t guaranteed to be sexy. It’s the way you move, look, feel, taste and smell. It’s how you speak. The things you say and more importantly, what you don’t say at all. Swagger. Erotica is the pleasure delay. Erotica is what you don’t see. Erotica is a well-painted suggestion. Pornography is cock in hole, the full monty; no subtlety, simply fucking. If you’re lucky, it might even be hot.t Read more with Leo Forte in our complete interview, on www.ebar.com. Follow Leo Forte at https://twitter.com/leofortexxx

Read more online at www.ebar.com

April 2-8, 2015 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 69

Besties: Sex in the City by John F. Karr

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’m sorry, but the Sexo category for the fifth annual Besties will not be reader-nominated. So don’t claim lese majesté as I single-handedly sift the possibilities. What with too many stars, too many movies, and too many companies, even narrowing things down to a category is nearly impossible. Will the Bestie go to a local porn star? A local company? Or will it be awarded to the Best Sexo Made in the City? Who could possibly name that? I throw up my hands. But wait. How about, The Best Locally Made Sexo Prominently Featuring the City? I’m talking about the City as a co-star, a quantifiable part of the movie. That’s a much more easily negotiated category than The Best Bay Area Sexo Star. I did have a lot of fun checking out that category before dropping it. Certainly, Al Parker is the crowned king of local Porn Stars Past. I remember his sexiness, his big dick, his nutso efforts to stretch the skin on his cockshaft forward to replace his circumcised foreskin. And I remembered how pretty he was. But perhaps more pertinent is stars who are currently alive. Like Max Cameron, who just last month was crowned Mr. San Francisco 2015 at the Hookies preliminary awards. A little research revealed that living in near proximity to me are a host of heartthrobs, including Trenton Ducati, Blake Daniels, Mitch Branson, and, heaven

help me, Brian Bonds, and heaven help me again as my heart shudders, Brock Rustin, and have some mercy, please, I found as a San Francisco resident a blast from the past whose movies still regularly get me off, Andy Hunter. I’ve coveted his cock for years. Ditto that constantly cock-ringed beauty belonging to local artist, Rusty Samuels. But it was thinking about Al Parker that took me to a movie I could nominate for its prominent, and historically important footage of San Francisco. Games was directed by Steve Scott and starred Parker and glam blond Leo Ford (as well as tasty Johnny Dawes). Its plot revolved around the first Gay Games, held in 1982. Said to have been surreptitiously filmed is the movie’s footage of the Games’ events, most particularly a portion I found emotionally overwhelming, the entry to the arena of flag-waving gay and lesbian athletes from all around the globe. Drummer magazine listed Games among the Best Videos of 1983. I think I made that listing. And what about the two feature films made by the city’s second most noted (and still surviving) star, Peter Berlin. They serve his fans well, and their immersion in local color also services historians. I’ve always gotten a kick out of the definitive cruise that Peter put into That Boy in 1975. What a staredown. It starts in front of the Silver Crest donut shop on Bay Shore Blvd. (It’s still there; I had a sorry breakfast in the joint not too long ago). Peter picks up a mid-day cow-

Top: While Peter Berlin works Polk Street, he’s beatin’ around Bush, in a screengrab from That Boy. Middle: The Gay Games roar inside Kezar Stadium, while Al Parker (center) meets his next sex partner, Giorgio Canali, in a screengrab from Games. Bottom: The cops arrest the nudists at Harvey Milk Plaza, in a screengrab from a riff on local politics, Golden Gate Season 5—The Cover Up.

RagingStallion

The Bay Bridge juts between Shane Rollins and Michael Brandon in A Porn Star is Born.

boy, and sexes him up behind some still existent warehouses. Also in 1975, Peter’s Nights in Black Leather especially captured the feel of the times, most notably when a crowd of ex-Cockettes and other befringed fringe elements throw themselves at him as he poses on the street corners of a very recognizable Polk Street. Now we jump from Peter to Pam. I’ve enjoyed how mr. Pam has infused many of her movies with a local feel. But boy, Pam took her town to the mat when she made Golden Gate Season 5: The Cover Up. It features a rally for nudist’s rights taking place in Harvey Milk Plaza, with Supervisor Coxx (ahem) making a campaign speech for re-election while cops arrest nude demonstrators. That’s not merely local color. This riffing on (then) current events made local politics the crux of the plot. And although I have no memory of observing the filming, I sure think that’s me, seen for a second leaning on the railing above the plaza. Totally eclipsing that movie for local color (and expanding my screen time from one second to three), is my favorite among today’s candidates, the Raging Stallion feature, A Porn Star is Born, directed by Chris Ward (who also appears on screen as an inebriated street bum). Of course it’s my fave—I make my porn debut in it! (That’s not counting that excruciatingly sleazy scene of myself at some backroom melee in the late ‘70s, which I hope is forever lost). Golden Gate Season 5 may depict the Golden Gate Bridge on its box cover, but the stars of A Porn Star is Born have sex beneath the Golden Gate Bridge. It looms overhead while Michael Brandon plows Shane Rollins aboard a boat that plows the waves. You’ve got to congratulate videographer David Hempling for keeping the camera steady while filming this maritime mating as the craft navigates the Bay. As the boat returns from its foray under the Golden Gate, and makes it way back toward the Bay Bridge (which also provides a canopy for the cavorting co-stars). Hempling expertly frames behind –and exceptionally between the guys– with every landmark they pass. There’s the Transamerica Pyramid towering alongside Brandon’s towering cock, and then there’s Coit Tower, impressively parallel to the onboard prickapalooza. Even Sutro Tower puts in an appearance. Credit the high temperature of the guy’s make-out session for keeping the travelogue secondary to the sex. But no other movie has so definitely equated the sexuality of San Francisco with its local monuments. It’s my personal Bestie.t

70 • BAY AREA REPORTER • April 2-8, 2015

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Leather

From page 66

the Code event and its success. “Code, I think, has helped us keep The Edge’s leather history alive. Since we are now a more ‘all around’ kind of bar, the owners made it a point to not lose the leather crowd it always had. When I first took over the bar’s leather contest, the owners were so happy with the outcome they offered me a monthly leather event. Hence Code was born.” Lopez encourages everyone to be themselves, and that’s one of the things I love about Erick, and I’m sure it’s obvious to his other customers as well. It’s evident when you observe him work that he is always himself and doesn’t care what others think. Stop by and get a drink from Erick. You’ll be happy you did.

Steam heat

Whether you are at an event at the SF Eagle, such as Pound Puppy, or at the Powerhouse for Daddy, or stopping by to see Erick Lopez’s smiling face at The Edge, for many of us the goal for some nights is to meet someone and perhaps get laid. Where do you do that, especially in San Francisco, where many guys can’t always entertain at home easily because of roommates or other living situations? If you want a hot and comfortable place to have sex, this year’s winner of Best Sex Venue, Steamworks in Berkeley, is a great destination. Serving the Bay Area for nearly 40 years, Steamworks has cemented itself into the sexual ethos of the area as one of only two remaining local traditional bathhouses (meaning they have private rooms with doors that close). The General Manager of Steamworks, Brian Short, told me what he thinks what makes Steamworks

special and keeps it thriving as a sex bear parties are legendary. Our varivenue destination. ous kink parties are well attended. “Steamworks has kept progressAnd we have a lot of guys taking ing over the decades to stay relevant advantage of our student discounts. and contemporary, while remainAs a business open 24/7/365, there ing grounded in its heritage as a is never a time where there is just a sex positive playground for men certain type of customer.” who have sex with men,” said Short. Since this column is read by lots “While technology, style, fashion of leathermen and kinksters, it’s and attitudes keep churning –and worth noting that Steamworks has Steamworks is actively part of all always been supportive of such men. that– what makes a venue fun and This club has always been unique in affirming remains at its core consisbeing both a mainstream bathhouse tent: the details. A spotlessly clean and a venue for more serious playclub, modern upscale facilities, and ers. They offer full douche facilities, great customer service are key. We slings, and other necessities for serilike to think we know what a bathous play, as well as the typical whirlhouse should be in 2015, and we strive to be that club.” Steamworks hosts a wide variety of events targeting different demographics. Short explains how this has worked out for the club. “One of the most obvious things a visitor to Steamworks notices right away is the sheer diversity of our clientele,” he said. “There isn’t really an average Steamworks guy - they’re all ages, colors, sizes, and types. When you talk to them you realize they are rural, urban, suburban, single, married to men, married to women, poor, rich, multicultural…a total cross section of men. That is one of the things most fun and unique about the baths. We do successfully target certain A lesbian couple shops at Good Vibrations. demographics. Our

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Toyland, toyland…

Finally, after you’ve visited the SF Eagle, Pound Puppy, Daddy or Erick at the The Edge, and maybe decided to head over to Steamworks for some play, you might want to supplement your play with some sex toys. You should definitely check out this year’s winner of Best Place to Buy Sex Toys, Good Vibrations. One of the people to best comment on why Good Vibrations continues to be so successful is Dr. Carol Queen, the resident Staff Sexologist and Curator of the Antique Vibrator Museum. Queen, one of many staffers who carry on the work of founder Joani Blank and early staffers such as Susie Bright, offers this about the store’s continued success. “Good Vibrations focuses on quality products, comfortable communication about them, and the information that helps people choose and use them optimally,” said Queen. “We’ve changed somewhat with the decades, but from that formula we have not faltered.” Both kinky and more mainstream folks can find something at Good Vibrations to add to their sex life. When founded in 1977, there was less effort on the part of the initial staff to get products relevant

to kinky players. But if there’s any group of people who can think of creative things to do with a sex toy, it’s kinksters. Over time, more products became available as people who were engaged with kink got involved with the store. Their kinky play section has grown and morphed accordingly. Queen noted, “We’ve always been kind of an entry venue for people who want to add some kink to their lives. We can’t compete with an emporium like Mr. S, but I’m sure that plenty of people who got their first cuffs or little suede flogger from us have moved on to do many pervy things.” So kinksters, don’t hesitate to visit this store to see what wonderful items you can add to your toy chest. Since Queen is one of my favorite sexuality writers and speakers also, let me plug her upcoming book (available May 2015) that she co-wrote with Shar Rednour, Good Vibes: The Sex & Pleasure Book Good Vibrations Guide to Great Sex for Everyone. While Good Vibrations serves everyone regardless of gender or orientation, they have absolutely contributed to changing the landscape of sexuality for women. They continue to support a sex-positive culture for everyone and that’s without a doubt a major reason for their well-deserved success. Congratulations to all of these winners. They are a huge part of the reason why the San Francisco Bay Area continues to be one of the nation’s hottest spots for a vibrant bar, nightlife and sex culture. I’m so glad I live here.t Race Bannon is a local author, blogger and activist. Reach him on his website www.bannon.com You can find the leather events listings for the next two weeks online at www.ebar.com

Read more online at www.ebar.com

April 2-8, 2015 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 71

Shooting Stars

Photos by Steven Underhill The Center’s Soiree

he SF LGBT Center hosted its annual gala fundraiser at Metreon’s City View on March 28. While most were in stylish business attire, the space age theme inspired a few to don futuristic gear. But none were outdone by Miss Rahni as Diva Plavalaguna from The Fifth Element! Look for more coverage in Donna Sachet’s “On the Town” column next week! More event photo albums are on BARtab’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/lgbtsf.nightlife. See more of Steven Underhill’s photos at www.StevenUnderhill.com.

Besties Bars

From page 51

Best Place to Meet Transgender People

Divas

Divas is a bit of a throwback to an earlier version of San Francisco. Before the Castro was the Castro, Polk Street was the center of SF’s gay universe, and Divas (along with a shrinking number of other bars) is proudly still waving its queer flag in Polk Gulch. Divas is definitely the spot to meet transgender people, as long as the people you’re looking for are transgender women. The vibe is equal parts neighborhood dive and sleazy pickup joint. Inside you’ll find lots trans women, and the (mostly straight) men that love them. It’s got a reputation as a pick-up joint, and the environs definitely lend Divas a bit of a gritty edge. Sunday night karaoke and weekend drag acts are famous for showstopping numbers, and the rest of the week is packed with performances, dance nights, and talent contests. Divas, 1081 Post St. 474-3482. www.divassf.com

row morning, to worked out muscle bears and the men who love to press up against them at the packed monthly Bearracuda. The mezzanine level is a primo perch from which to keep an eye on the festivities, but the real fun happens down on the dance floor. The music and vibe varies widely by event, so make sure you check the calendar before you go. Beatbox, 314 11th St. 500-2675. www.beatboxsf.com Runners up: EndUp 1015 Folsom

Best Neighborhood Bar

El Rio

Even if you don’t live in the neighborhood, El Rio feels like your neighborhood bar. It’s a queer space

that welcomes everyone with a smile (and a mean margarita), and hosts to some of the best parties in town. See a local band in the back room, stomp to Northern Soul classics at Hard French (also a Besties winner this year), or party for a good cause at one of the many benefits that El Rio is known for. On warm days, the back patio is an ideal hangout, and even dogs get treated well at El Rio. El Rio is active in the community, and it’s one of the few places where you’re just as likely to find a hot date as you are to have a conversation about social justice. So get down to the Mission, and party with purpose. It’s equal parts divey and fabulous, and always a great time. El Rio, 3158 Mission St. 282-3325. www.elriosf.com Runners up: Pilsner Inn The Stud

Best Sports Bar

Runners up: Aunt Charlie’s Lounge Asia SF

Best Dance Floor

Beatbox

Walking into the converted warehouse feels reminiscent of a ‘90s illegal rave, what with all the high ceilings, exposed brick and metal, and the industrial feel. But unlike those days, Beatbox is clean, well-run, and has a killer sound system. Beatbox brings in all sorts of crowds, from circuit partiers twirling to house until well into tomor-

Georg Lester

49ers fans at Hi Tops.

A wild night on the dance floor at The EndUp.

Hi Tops

Best Stray (Straight/Gay) Bar

Once again, Hi Tops is the champ when it comes to sports bars. The TVs are always tuned to a game, and the locker-room decor will either fuel your jock fantasies, or remind you of how much you hated gym class. Either way, the bar is packed with both actual sporty folks and… athletic supporters. In keeping with the sports theme, the bar menu offers dressed-up versions of stadium classics. If you like your food deep-fried or on a stick, you’re in the right place. The housemade corn dog is worth putting in your mouth, and if sports really isn’t your game, the Tuesday night pub quiz is a fun and interactive option in the Castro. Hi Tops, 2247 Market St. www.hitopssf.com

Everybody loves the EndUp. It’s been going strong (and late!) for more than four decades. If you’ve never stumbled out of the EndUp onto 6th Street in the harsh light of day, you’re San Franciscoing wrong. Everyone plays the EndUp, from touring international DJs, to local San Francisco legends. Music varies by night, but in general, expect serious beats for serious clubbers, gay and gay-friendly. Watch your drinks, be prepared to wait for the bathrooms, and wear comfortable shoes; EndUp is all about the dancing. Be ready to call in sick on Monday morning, because the party at the EndUp seems to never stop. EndUp, 401 6th St. www.theendup.com

Runners up: Pilsner Inn 440 Castro

EndUp

Runners up: Blackbird Wild Side West t

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