Bayareareporter september 3 2015

Bias suit filed against Delta

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Vol. 45 • No. 36 • September 3-9, 2015

Kentucky clerk remains defiant

SF LGBT center plans remodel

by Matthew S. Bajko

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by Lisa Keen

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n a significant blow to those who seek to use a free exercise of religion argument to discriminate against same-sex couples seeking to marry, the U.S. Supreme Court Monday evening denied an emergency request to stop Rowan County enforcement of a federal Clerk Kimberly district court order that Davis a Kentucky county clerk resume issuing marriage licenses.

The one-sentence order indicates Justice Elena Kagan, who oversees such requests for cases out of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, referred the matter to the full court. No justice indicated dissent to the denial of her request, suggesting the religious freedom argument may have a difficult challenge once it reaches the high court.

Attorneys for Rowan County Clerk Kimberly Davis filed their request Friday after being denied the stay by the 6th Circuit.

On Tuesday, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a contempt motion against Davis. A hearing was scheduled for Thursday.

Davis, an elected official, still has an appeal before the 6th Circuit. She is challenging a preliminary ruling in August by a federal district court judge. In a lawsuit filed by the ACLU, U.S. District Court Judge David Bunning (an appointee of President George W. Bush) issued a preliminary injunction ruling prohibiting Davis from continuing her “no marriage licenses” policy, saying it was also unconstitutional.

Davis had ordered her office to stop issuing marriage licenses to any couple – straight or gay – after the U.S. Supreme Court, in June, struck down state bans on marriage for same-sex couples. Davis said it was against her religion to acknowledge marriages between same-sex partners and noted that all marriage licenses issued by the county must carry her signature.

“Expressly to avoid disparate treatment of any couple and ensure that all individuals and couples were treated the same, Davis suspended the issuance of all marriage licenses in Rowan County,” stated the petition to the Supreme Court. “ ... She instructed all deputy clerks to stop issuing marriage licenses because licenses are issued on her authority, and because every license requires her name to appear on the license as the authorizing person.”

Davis describes herself as an Apostolic Christian. According to the denomination’s website, “The New Testament grants believers liberty. However, it also instructs us to not allow our liberty to become a stumbling block for a weaker brother. Since Apostolic See page 12 >>

Summer’s kiss at Silicon Valley Pride

Jo-Lynn Otto

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outh Bay residents Tina and Sabrina Hodges kissed as they marched in the Silicon Valley Pride parade Sunday, August 30. The parade returned to San Jose for the first time since 2008.

Thaddeus Campbell, board president and CEO of Silicon Valley Pride, told the Bay Area Reporter that he was pleased with the day’s events. He estimated that about 1,500 people took in the morning parade, but that attendance swelled to about 5,500-5,800 for the afternoon festival, which this

year was moved to its new location along Almaden Boulevard between West San Fernando Street and Park Avenue. “All in all, these are the largest numbers we have seen in a long time,” Campbell said. “Moving it to the streets, the entertainment line-up of live bands, tremendous support from our sponsors, such as Adobe, Google, Alaska Airlines, Ernst and Young, SAP, plus others, and the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling [extending same-sex marriage to all states] all contributed to the success.”

an Francisco LGBT Community Center officials have been quietly working for months with a local design firm to map out a remodel of the building, which opened its doors 13 years ago.

Rick Gerharter According to a request for proposal isLGBT community sued in February, the center Executive project is estimated to Director Rebecca cost more than $4 milRolfe. lion and would “substantially renovate the building.” Key changes listed in the document include increased office space for nonprofit tenants, a redesigned lobby area, and a cafe with independent street access.

The center’s staff has begun informing tenants who rent office space in the building about the proposed remodel. And groups or individuals looking to rent space at the facility in 2016 See page 13 >>

Mirkarimi faces tough re-election race

by Seth Hemmelgarn

authorities, a decision that came under blistering criticism from he hotly contested race for Lee and other officials.

San Francisco sheriff has Last month, the headlines seen a retired chief deputy focused on how Mirkarimi’s take on incumbent Sheriff Ross driver’s license was suspended Mirkarimi, who is fighting to hold earlier this year after he failed to onto his job in the wake of several properly report a fender bender scandals. he was involved in last October The former city supervisor while driving a city-issued veand district attorney staffer has hicle to the state Department of been the subject of controversy Motor Vehicles. since even before he took ofMirkarimi’s office said soon fice, adding to his re-election after he learned of the suspenchallenges. sion, he “contacted his insurance Mirkarimi, 54, who pleaded representatives to determine why guilty in 2011 to a false impristhe proper report was not subonment charge stemming from a mitted to the DMV.” The matter Jane Philomen Cleland fight with his wife, Eliana Lopez, has since been resolved, he said. escaped being officially removed Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi addressed the media at an April news Asked about the troubles that from office when four Board conference about allegations of a fight ring inside the jail. have plagued him, Mirkarimi of Supervisors members voted said in a Tuesday, September 1 in October 2012 not to sustain which is guarded by sheriff deputies; allegations interview, “It’s incumbent on me Mayor Ed Lee’s official misconduct charges of a fight ring in a county jail run by sheriff to get our message out about all the wonderagainst him. He won a judge’s order this spring deputies; and low morale among the rank and ful, positive, and significant accomplishments to expunge the conviction from his record. file of the safety agency. we’ve achieved that make us a national leader.”

Lee had appointed Mirkarimi’s main oppoMaking international headlines was the killing Among other achievements, the sheriff renent, Vicki Hennessy, to serve as interim sheriff in July of a woman on a city pier, allegedly by a cently announced that he plans to stop claswhile his case against Mirkarimi was pending. man in the country illegally who had been resifying transgender inmates who have not had Now, Hennessy wants the job, and has secured leased from custody by the sheriff’s department surgery according to their birth sex. That policy top endorsements. after a long ago drug possession charge against would mean that trans women would no lonOther issues Mirkarimi has had to confront him was dismissed. Due to the city’s sanctuary ger be housed with men. The same would be as sheriff include the death of a patient in a city policy, the sheriff’s department released the See page 12 >> stairwell at San Francisco General Hospital, individual without alerting federal immigration

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<< Community News

2 • BAY AREA REPORTER • September 3-9, 2015

Church benefit to help with meals program

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by David-Elijah Nahmod

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Whatever Jeans (or Genes) You Own

You Can Still Be Jewish (Even our Torah scrolls are dressed in jeans — thank you Levi Strauss.)

Please join us for the High Holidays.

At Congregation Sha’ar Zahav, you are encouraged to be your full self. No need for a new holiday outfit. No need to hide your ink.

Come pray with us, welcome the New Year and (re)connect.

Donations are appreciated, but not required.

However, you need to reserve a seat.

Just click on this link for details: http://shaarzahav.org/get-involved/ritual-life/ high-holidays-57742013-information/

ESCAPE TO PALM SPRINGS

San Francisco church that stood up to its denomination and ordained gay ministers decades ago will have a fundraiser later this month to help upgrade its kitchen, which is used to help feed the homeless and seniors.

St. Francis Lutheran Church has a long history of offering services to the surrounding community. During the earliest days of the AIDS crisis the congregation defied what was then Lutheran doctrine and reached out to the LGBT community.

Around 1990 the church ordained one gay man and two lesbian seminarians when the then-presiding bishop refused to ordain them.

St. Francis today is led by the Reverend Beate Chun, a lesbian, and operates as part of the larger Lutheran community, which now embraces LGBT pastors. Under Chun’s leadership, St. Francis continues to reach out to the community, offering help where needed.

On Sunday, September 13 a concert will be held at the church to benefit its meals program.

“The 3 Musical Impulses concert is a gift to our neighbors and community as well as a fundraiser to cover some of the costs of the recent kitchen upgrade,” said congregant Randy Thueme, explaining that the impulses refer to gospel, jazz, and food and how they relate to one another.

Upgrades included getting a new stove, and while a grant from the Castro Lions Club paid for that, other things need to be done in the kitchen that weren’t budgeted, Chun said.

For many years St. Francis has provided warm meals for seniors and the homeless.

“Hundreds of neighbors visit St. Francis each week for AA meetings and our food programs,” Thueme said, referring to Alcoholics Anonymous.

Thueme pointed out that these programs take place on the

Jane Philomen Cleland

St. Francis Lutheran Church pastor Beate Chun, left, and congregant Randy Thueme check out the new stove; a fundraiser is being held to help pay for other improvements.

building’s Parish Hall level.

“Fewer people come upstairs to the sanctuary and have never experienced the beauty of the space. The concert is a means of inviting people in to share our church space,” he added. “We hope the evening will be a rich experience with the musicians and their talent within the beautiful sanctuary.”

Aaron Joseph, who leads the local band Midtown Social, will be performing at the St. Francis fundraiser, along with Kisura Hendrix.

“I’m classically trained,” Joseph told the Bay Area Reporter. “I experimented with different musical forms and played in different bands, which took me in different directions.”

Joseph said that Midnight Social’s sounds are designed to support and uplift the community. The band will be doing both original tunes and covers at St. Francis.

“I really do love the cause,” he said. “I try to do fundraisers and benefits as often as I can. It’s my way of giving back to the community that’s been so good to me.”

The musician said that he identifies as LGBTQ, and recognizes the need to support this specific cause.

“There’s a huge homeless population,” Joseph said. “That population is exploding – on my way to my local coffee shop I usually pass five to six homeless people. St. Francis is helping thousands of people on a weekly basis.”

Joseph noted that many people were one paycheck away from homelessness.

“As a community we need to do whatever we can to support each other and recognize that these people are part of our community too,” he said.

Thueme said that the church is important to the community.

“We hope people will see St. Francis as a valuable community space,” said Thueme. “For self-help meetings, for food, groceries, and meals, and spiritual nourishment, via an offering such as this evening of music and song.”t 3 Musical Impulses takes place Sunday, September 13 from 5 to 7 p.m. at St. Francis Lutheran Church, 152 Church Street.

Tickets are $50-$100, general admission; $25 for those under 21 or over 65; and free for children under 15. For more information, visit http://sflcsf.org/.

No arrests in Fresno trans death

by Seth Hemmelgarn

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ore than a month after a transgender woman died after being stabbed on a Fresno street, law enforcement agencies are continuing to seek the person who attacked her.

K.C. Haggard, 66, of Fresno, who’s been recalled as a “sweet” person, was seen on the surveillance video from a tattoo shop walking down North Blackstone Avenue early in the morning of July 23.

In the video, an SUV drove toward Haggard and stopped near her.

Haggard walked over to the vehicle and appeared to talk for a few moments with someone inside. After someone jabbed at her throat, Haggard walked away and collapsed on the sidewalk.

An ambulance and a police car finally arrived several minutes after the attack, and she was pronounced dead at 2:52 a.m.

Fresno police Lieutenant Joe Gomez said in an email Tuesday, September 1 that no arrests have been made.

In a news release, police described the vehicle as “a light colored possible Saturn SUV with a moon roof and some kind of unidentified markings on the front passenger’s door.”

The suspect has been “described as a Hispanic man in his mid-to-late 30s,” according to the Fresno Bee. “He was around 5 feet 9 inches tall and 150-160 pounds with tattoos on both arms and short, dark hair.”

Since the Bay Area Reporter’s initial coverage of Haggard’s death, it has

Seth Hemmelgarn

A memorial was set up near where K.C. Haggard collapsed after being stabbed.

become increasingly clear that she identified as a woman. She was wearing women’s clothing when she was killed.

The Fresno group Trans-EMotion recently shared a photo of a sign-in sheet for a May support group bearing Haggard’s name. Haggard, whose legal name was Kenton, signed in as “Kenton (Casey) Haggard.”

Zoyer Zyndel, 28, a trans man who’s with the group, said Haggard “was planning to begin living as her authentic self. She wanted to go to meetings to meet other people and get support for the beginning of her transition.”

Jane Mayhew, 23, a lesbian transgender woman who sometimes facilitated the group and now lives in Washington, D.C., said Haggard “was a very kind, very sweet old woman. I can’t imagine anybody having any

sort of grudge against her.”

Mayhew said that in the support group Haggard used feminine pronouns.

“She often referred to herself as a cross dresser,” Mayhew said, adding, “She seemed like she identified as a trans woman, but I don’t think I ever heard her call herself that.”

Rebecca Rangel, 63, of Fresno, met Haggard, a former security guard, in a job search class last year, and she’d spoken with her regularly until her death.

Rangel, who declined to share her orientation, said Haggard had “a fabulous sense of humor,” and was “just adorable.” She said she’d known Haggard as a man who went by “Ken.” Haggard’s home in a quiet complex in the 6500 block of North Palm Avenue is about five and a half See page 14 >>

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Community News>>

September 3-9, 2015 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 3

Fake cop’s victim discusses impact

by Seth Hemmelgarn

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ne of the male victims of a San Francisco man accused of being a fake cop and convicted of sexual assault and other charges said in superior court this week that his life was upended by the experience.

“This criminal appeared in my life to destroy everything that was good,” said the man, identified only as Luis.

Jeffrey Bugai, 36, was convicted in February of 17 felony counts, including sexual assault, forcible oral copulation, unlawfully administering a drug, and other charges.

Prosecutors are asking that he be sentenced to life in prison, and the public defender’s office has calculated that the minimum sentence will be 45 years to life.

Jurors agreed that Bugai had attempted to orally copulate one victim “by threat of the use of official authority,” but found him not guilty of impersonating a public officer in at least one other count. The jury hung on a charge that Bugai had kidnapped one of his victims, all of whom were undocumented immigrants.

Bugai victimized five men between January 2008 and the end of March 2014. He was also convicted

Courtesy SFPD

Jeffrey Bugai

of extorting another man. He had met most of his victims at a bar where he worked as a security guard.

Luis, 30, spoke through a Spanish interpreter in court Monday, August 31 to describe the impact Bugai’s had on him.

He said Bugai had pretended to be a police officer, kidnapped, beaten, and “tried to sexually abuse” him. He said he’d feel the fear he’d experienced “until the last day I live.”

See page 13 >>

SF man with HIV sues Delta

by Seth Hemmelgarn

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n a recently filed lawsuit, a San Francisco man who’s living with HIV is accusing his employer, Delta Air Lines, of discrimination.

Among other claims, Jeffrey Walls, 53, who’s gay, says Delta has discriminated against him based on his medication, which includes a compound found in cannabis.

Walls has worked as a flight attendant for more than 26 years. He started with Northwest Airlines, which merged with Delta in 2008.

According to the complaint, which was filed August 14 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Walls was diagnosed with HIV in 1994.

He’s “always excelled at his job,” the filing says.

Since 1994, Walls has taken Marinol, which his physician prescribed “to alleviate HIV-related nausea and to combat weight loss,” the complaint says. The medication contains tetrahyrdocannabinol, which is commonly known as THC and is a compound “naturally found in cannabis.”

“At no time did [Walls] ever experience impaired judgment or loss of other cognitive motor abilities while taking prescription Marinol,” the filing says.

In 2012, however, he was “randomly selected for drug and alcohol testing” pursuant to Department of Transportation regulations, and because of the Marinol, he “tested positive for marijuana.”

After Walls provided DOT with documentation related to his prescription, the agency changed the test result from positive to negative, and he was allowed to return to work.

Walls continued with the airline until May 22, 2014 when he was informed that a new company policy prohibited flight attendants from using Marinol, even if it was prescribed. Walls was grounded and didn’t work his assigned shifts.

The complaint says that since May 29, 2014, Walls “has stopped all

FREELANCE NEWS REPORTERS A gay San Francisco man has filed a lawsuit against Delta Airlines.

use of Marinol, against his doctor’s advice, solely in order to continue working” as a Delta flight attendant.

He’s had “significant weight loss,” among other problems.

Walls says the prohibition of Marinol “is directed specifically” at people who have HIV, and he says the company has refused to work with him “to fashion an effective accommodation” for his disability.

He’s worked with his physician to try to find an alternative medication, he claims, but the medication he tried gave him migraine headaches and made him drowsy, among other “adverse side effects.”

Through the lawsuit, Walls is seeking compensatory damages as well as “exemplary damages in an amount sufficient to punish” the airline for its “invidious and discriminatory conduct and to set an example of defendants.”

Walls declined to be interviewed, but Angela Alioto, one of his attorneys, said, “to have a sophisticated company like Delta treat this young man like they did is reprehensible and mind boggling, and I’m going to enjoy litigating this case.”

In an emailed statement, Delta spokesman Michael Thomas said, “Delta does not discriminate against employees in any manner and remains committed to supporting our employees while ensuring compliance with health, safety, and security obligations. We cannot comment specifically on pending litigation.”t

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44 Gough Street, Suite 204, San Francisco, CA 94103 415-829-8749 • c.laird@ebar.com

<< Open Forum

4 • BAY AREA REPORTER • September 3-9, 2015

Volume 45, Number 36 September 3-9, 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 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 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 Jo-Lynn Otto • Rich Stadtmiller Steven Underhil • Dallis Willard • Bill Wilson ILLUSTRATORS & CARTOONISTS Paul Berge • Christine Smith ADVERTISING/ADMINISTRATION Colleen Small VICE PRESIDENT OF ADVERTISING Scott Wazlowski – 415.829.8937 NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE Rivendell Media – 212.242.6863

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Clerk should do her job – or quit

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owan County Clerk Kim Davis must do her job and issue marriage licenses to couples, or quit.

The Kentucky elected official appears to be one of a few lone holdouts across the country fighting marriage equality at every turn. After many legal appeals, including the U.S. Supreme Court’s denial to intervene in the case on Monday, Davis continues to deny marriage licenses to samesex and straight couples. She is citing her religious beliefs and the Associated Press reported Tuesday that she is denying marriage licenses “under God’s authority.”

The American Civil Liberties Union filed a contempt motion Tuesday, on behalf of April Miller and her partner, Karen Roberts, and a hearing is scheduled for Thursday. If Davis is found in contempt, she could face fines or jail time. And while many in the LGBT community don’t want Davis sent to jail, fearing that it would make her a martyr for the religious right’s cause, that’s where she belongs if she refuses to perform her duties as a government employee.

Because Davis is an elected official, she can’t simply be fired, so a contempt motion is the next legal step for same-sex couples to pursue.

A recall campaign could be mounted against Davis, but the outcome would be uncertain. It appears that Kentucky, and Rowan County in particular, aren’t vanguards for equal rights for LGBT people. She could also be impeached, but that seems unlikely as the Legislature isn’t in session now.

The New York Times reported that the Kentucky attorney general is determining whether Davis can be charged with official misconduct.

When the U.S. Supreme Court issued its same-sex marriage decision in Obergefell v.

Hodges in June, it was focused on civil marriage. There’s nothing in the court’s ruling about forcing church officials to perform same-sex weddings. The county clerk’s job is to follow the law, which now states that same-sex couples are entitled to receive marriage licenses. That’s Davis’ duty. She can’t take her own oath to God and unilaterally declare that she can act under God’s authority. The Lord doesn’t have a role in the administration of municipal government. When Davis was sworn in to the job, she took an oath to uphold the law, and that’s what is at issue here. She is violating her oath by not granting marriage licenses to

anyone. Apparently, Davis thought she could avoid charges of discrimination by refusing all couples. Davis is not above the law.

We have no doubt that Davis is sincere in her religious beliefs, and that is certainly her right. But when those beliefs impede her ability to do her secular job, it’s unacceptable. Her attorneys from the vehemently anti-gay Liberty Counsel are also urging her to stand firm; they want to see how far they can push their specious “religious freedom” argument.

It’s similar to all the cases claiming religious freedom by bakers, florists, and photographers, who are increasingly finding themselves running afoul of anti-discrimination laws.

These people have the right to their religious beliefs. The problem arises when they cite those beliefs to refuse their services to customers, which in many places is against the law.

That’s why they’re losing these lawsuits.

It’s interesting that the Davis case has spotlighted just how normal same-sex marriage is across the country. There are thousands of county clerks and the vast majority of them are doing their jobs, whether they personally believe in marriage equality or not. Davis and the few like her who are waging their own legal battles are outliers, which we should keep in perspective.

It’s also significant that straight couples in Rowan County are also being denied their freedom to marry. If nothing else, while this case plays out, maybe same-sex couples in this conservative area will meet some new allies. There’s nothing like being denied one’s rights to realize that gays and straights aren’t so different after all.t

Lots at stake in SF Pride board vote

by Gary Virginia

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s I complete my second year as volunteer president of San Francisco Pride, I want to share the remarkable improvements the organization has made and caution those who seek to undermine it.

The dramatic shift in improved governance, financial management, and mission-focused activities is a direct result of the change in board leadership in October 2013 and executive management in January 2014. Critical to these gains were proper hiring, and building the board to focus on competence, ethics, diversity, and a clear understanding of Pride’s charter to produce one of the largest LGBT parades and festivals in America.

Shortly after the 2013 board was seated, a national search for an executive director resulted in the hiring of George Ridgely in January 2014. In five months he assembled a top-notch team, created internal checks and balances, and managed a successful event with a fiscal year-end profit of $218,164. Immediately the board created a $100,000 operating reserve, and recently added $50,000, with a goal to build it to $300,000 by 2020. After a very successful 45th anniversary parade and celebration, another profit is forecast for 2015 in spite of unexpected costs such as a 29 percent rent increase and $70,000 insurance increase.

Also in 2013, the board created an ad hoc committee to address the 2010 San Francisco Controller’s Office Assessment – which evidenced numerous financial, management and governance flaws – and by January 2014, a comprehensive report detailing the implementation of recommendations was published.

Actions taken included rebuilding senior management, improving policy documentation and contracts, board training on financial oversight and implementing a $500 “give or get” fundraising policy, and more. Community confidence was enhanced by completing the 2013 audit, proper tax filings, and publicly posting IRS Form 990s.

Concerns over the grand marshal selection process, board elections, and transparency have dissipated after two years of proper actions. A diverse and qualified group of people and organizations have been honored, reflective of Pride’s mission “to educate the world,

in 2015, members of the Harvey commemorate our heritage, celMilk LGBT Democratic Club and ebrate our culture, and liberate our My Name Is campaign worked in people.” tandem to bloat Pride’s membership A 2009 CompassPoint study outfrom 250 in June to now 889 eligible lined many challenges facing the voting members. Accusations on organization and recommended social media of “whitewashing and diversifying revenue streams to recorporate grandstanding” are being duce dependence on event income. used to motivate members to vote To that end, I created the SF Pride Rick Gerharter for a new Pride board.

Society of Supporters donor club Ironically, those who decry corin 2014 and produced May’s Pride SF Pride board porate sponsors (providing 40 perkickoff benefit that doubled our President Gary cent of Pride’s $2 million budget), donor base and netted $24,000 Virginia offer little to no help in fundraising without tapping any of Pride’s exor supporting Pride’s other revenue streams. isting sponsors.

I concur with the Bay Area Reporter’s June With an eye to improve messaging and de2013 editorial that stated, “For the naysayers velop another revenue stream, the board chose who want to do away with corporate sponour theme art/logo strategically the last two sors: that’s just unrealistic. It’s a priority for years and partnered with Hard Rock Cafe to Pride to be a free event, and the only way that revamp our merchandise program, netting is possible is by finding funds to cover the costs $25,000 in proceeds. for 22 stages, entertainment, portable toilets, Other significant actions to stabilize and clean-up, security, medical services, etc., not improve the agency since 2013 included: creto mention paying the contractors who ating a two-year production consultant oversee every aspect of the festivities, position to support a smooth tranfrom managing the parade to lining sition for the new event director up the live acts. San Francisco is a and executive director; securing world-class city that deserves a free new and expanded pro bono legal world-class Pride, and that’s what counsel from Sheppard Mullin; the sponsorships provide.” upgrading office infrastructure; For 45 years, SF Pride has emdoubling insurance coverbraced a spirit of inclusion, diage; adding a deputy executive versity, and building alliances to director position this June to advance our movement. Banning support development, membercompany LGBT employee groups deship management, and succession fies that philosophy. And denying sponsorship planning for executive leadership; and creating is a last resort for companies intentionally causa Whistleblower Protection Policy and Coming harm to the LGBT community who are unmunity Advisory Board Policy. willing to work with SF Pride on improvements.

Under proper management, Pride dispersed If the community treasures SF Pride and $167,150 to 66 community partner organizawants it to be there for future generations, it tions in 2014 and $166,690 to 60 groups in needs to stop using it as a political football, 2015. Supporting the broader community, and get on the team as a volunteer, donor, or Pride participated in the SF Office of Eco“active” member. In the coming year we’ll be nomic Analysis of large, outdoor events, which developing a strategic plan to guide us through showed that SF Pride generates $357.1 million a successful 50th anniversary in 2020. The orfor the local economy. ganization deserves diverse, ethical, competent Fast forward to Pride’s upcoming annual directors with skills, without an ax to grind.t general member meeting on September 12, where the 2016 theme will be chosen and the election for seven board seats (three vacant) Gary Virginia is the president of the board will be held. Due to misunderstandings and of the San Francisco LGBT Pride Celebration Committee. discontent over two of Pride’s 60-plus sponsors

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Letters >>

September 3-9, 2015 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 5

Some ideas for City College

As a graduate and student of City College of San Francisco I think it’s time for some major changes. First, we should expand the board of trustees from seven to 11 (mirroring the supervisor district seats) with instant runoff voting. Have two seats for union representation, one for the administrative staff and one for the faculty, and three seats for the student body. We should do this through a ballot measure and put it before San Francisco voters in an upcoming election. Second, we should lower tuition to $15 per unit and expand the book loan program to all campuses. Third, we should expand the HIV and STD testing and counseling program and expand condom distribution to all campuses.

Then, we should add a leather history class to the LGBT Studies Department and offer the AIDS in America class every semester. Next, we should change the bathrooms to be unisex-friendly for transgender students or offer unisex bathrooms on every campus. Then, we should offer math, science, English as a second language, and English classes on every campus for those who can’t make it to the Phelan campus. The student council should hold meetings and elections on every campus like the board of trustees does. We should expand the Student Union on the Phelan campus. Offer peer counseling services through the peer counseling program and offer students to gain practice and student employment as peer counselors. We should install needle drop boxes in the Health and Wellness Center. We should make all campuses a smoke free zone and offer healthier nutritious meals in the cafeteria instead of junk food.

Finally, we should expand yoga, dance, and exercise classes to more campuses. Those are some of the changes I’d ask for from the board of trustees and the candidates running for the CCSF Board of Trustees.

Seth Watkins San Francisco

Pride board candidate seeks support

My Hurricane Katrina experience compels me to run for the San Francisco Pride Board.

I am John Weber, and I am running to serve on SF Pride’s board of directors. This year’s directors’ election holds the promise of a significant shift for Pride, with up to seven new people joining the board.

As a board member, I will work to ensure that this annual celebration of community keeps faith with its purpose and never forgets the struggle of those who established this community. We can honor them by never ceasing to reach out to every edge of the rainbow, and lift up those whom good fortune has not favored.

San Francisco in her boom times is a sight to behold, and I hope we all find something positive the city’s golden moment.

This past week we marked 10 years from a starkly different moment in time when, another great city – SF’s distant sister – nearly drowned and fought to survive.

Seeing my birthplace, New Orleans, suffer as the result of inadequately constructed levees and an indifferent government changed me forever.

The aftermath of Katrina ignited in me a commitment to serve, to fight despair and to hear and help the marginalized, which continues to this day.

If these are San Francisco’s boom times, and if we are truly the fortunate ones for this moment, then let us share this good fortune, and never sell short that which we should honor.

On the SF Pride board, I will: • Bring to bear my professional experience as an employment program site manager for two America’s Job Centers of California located in Santa Clara County, the epicenter of Silicon Valley, and the front lines in the battle for an inclusive economy.

• As a proud African American gay man, I will contribute perspective and diversity to the Pride board, along with my years of well-honed skills in fundraising, activism, governance, and community building.

• Understanding Pride’s desire to diversify funding and improve stability, I will champion a 10-year bond initiative to be put before the voters of the City and County of San Francisco. This will help SF Pride secure long-term funds to continue the tradition of an authentic, pioneering Pride parade and celebration for decades to come.

Active SF Pride members can vote for me on Saturday, September 12 at the LGBT Community Center, 1800 Market Street, from 1 to 4 p.m. I appreciate your support.

John Weber San Francisco

Gay shooter is not news

The tragic story of the two journalists who were recently murdered is unsettling, of course. Violence in America seems to be the norm and it saddens me greatly. But, that’s not my issue here. I don’t remember which news station said this but they indicated that the killer was gay. This may or may not be true, however, why is it that I’ve never heard any newscaster indicate a criminal to be “straight” or “bisexual”? A person’s sexual orientation has no bearing on his/her criminal activity and we all know that 99 percent of crime is committed by straights. It is prejudicial to assume or disclose, even if true, a person’s sexuality when announcing a criminal behavior. If the news media is going to state a crime committed by a gay person, then they need to indicate when a non-gay person commits a crime. And I don’t go for the argument of free speech or freedom of the press in this regard because the Federal Communications Commission doesn’t allow certain profane words be spoken on network television so they can certainly regulate the bias of indicating a criminal is gay. I have written President Barack Obama, the FCC, and the American Civil Liberties Union to fix this problem. And if I hear of another news station defaming gay people in any way, they can expect 1,000 picketers in front of their entrance.

Just because we now have same-sex marriage doesn’t mean we have to tolerate the continuing defamation of any group of people.

C

omedian Marga Gomez and drag queen BeBe Sweetbriar will perform at a benefit for DreamCatcher Youth Services during Oakland Pride weekend.

The Out for DreamCatcher reception takes place Saturday, September 12, from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Center21 Building, also known as the Pandora Building, 2101 Webster Street in downtown Oakland.

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf has signed on as an honorary host and will make brief remarks.

DreamCatcher is the only shelter for homeless youth ages 13-18 in Alameda County. About 40 percent of

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[Editor’s note: A man claiming to be the Virginia shooter, Bryce Williams (legal name Vester Lee Flanagan III), faxed a 23-page document to ABC News after the murders of the reporter and cameraman stating that he was gay.]

Unnecessary China bashing

Roger Brigham’s Jock Talk column [Visibility’s doubleedged sword, Aug 20] would be a better report had he not engaged in the unnecessary China bashing. The Chinese government is not anti-gay, it has not enacted law against gay people. The homophobia Chinese LGBTs experience is mainly from the Confucian culture and from the family structure. However, this social condition is improving, state and private media have been publishing gay parade photos and news for more than a decade now; there are numerous gay websites (one set up by a former policeman), some even have gotten married in cities and in villages dispite the fact Chinese marriage law is yet to include gay people, and having their wedding photos publicized in the mainstream media. I recently visited a gay couple who’s been living together for seven years in Xinjiang western China, one of the partners is a gay Muslim, and they have two poodles; upstairs from their apartment is a lesbian couple living with one of the partner’s mother. China is not the evil empire Mr. Brigham may think it is.

Newman Lee San Francisco

Benefit for homeless youth ahead of Oakland Pride compiled by Cynthia Laird

Barry Schneider Attorney at Law

homeless youth in America a vital resource for these identify as LGBTQ. Schaaf vulnerable youth to save recently dedicated $500,000 them from falling through in one-time funds for the cracks of our society.”

DreamCatcher to renovate Gomez, a lesbian and a building that will allow it longtime advocate for to add six new beds. the community, will “Despite the significant emcee the event as well as gains our nation perform. She was named has seen in recent best LGBT female comemonths toward Comedian dian in this year’s Bay Marga Gomez acceptance of Area Reporter’s readers’ LGBTQ indipoll, the Besties. viduals, we still have a DreamCatcher officials said the long way to go,” Schaaf benefit will help raise awareness of said in a statement. the need in the East Bay. Since 2000, “Even here in Oakland 90 percent of the youth served by there continue to be the organization have moved diyoung people who are rectly into stable housing, further shunned because of their sexual orieducation, or employment. The entation or gender identity. DreamSee page 13 >> Catcher has been, and continues to be,

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Community News>>

September 3-9, 2015 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 7

SF Pride hands out checks

Surrogacy • Adoption • Prenuptial Agreements Divorce • Custody • Parentage Disputes

Bill Wilson

T

he San Francisco LGBT Pride Celebration Committee recognized its community partners at a volunteer appreciation party Saturday, August 29 at Madam Tussauds at Fisherman’s Wharf. A total of $166,690 was distributed to more than 60 community groups, representing LGBTQ sports,

leisure, musical, spiritual, health, and animal welfare nonprofits.

Other beneficiaries included Oakland Pride, the San Francisco Dyke March, Folsom Street Events, and the Friends of the Pink Triangle. Since 1997, SF Pride’s community partner program has generated over $2.5 million for local beneficiaries.

More Pride board nominees discuss election

by David-Elijah Nahmod

S

everal nominees for the board of the organization that oversees San Francisco Pride that weren’t reached or did not respond for last week’s story wanted community members to know they, too, are interested in serving the community.

As previously reported, the San Francisco LGBT Pride Celebration Committee is holding its annual general meeting Saturday, September 12. At that meeting, board elections and choosing next year’s Pride theme will be decided.

In the board race, there are 16 candidates running for seven seats.

Four are incumbents. The three open seats were created by resignations earlier this year.

Incumbent Marsha Levine won a seat on the board two years ago. She is SF Pride’s longtime contracted parade manager. Levine came out as a lesbian in 1980, at which time she began fighting for LGBT equality. A Bay Area resident since 1985, she’s been a member of Pride for 31 years, having served as both president and vice president. She was an overall co-chair in 1992-93, which was the organization’s top post prior to hiring an executive director.

“The current SF Pride board works together to maintain a vibrant grassroots orientation,” she said in an email, noting that Pride has around 60 nonprofit donation partners and has remained a free event, which is “rare today.” SF Pride does accept donations at the festival gates.

“In the last two years we have focused on women, transgender [people], youth, and people of color,” Levine added. “We have taken the forefront in spotlighting LGBTQI issues and supported staff producing a political destination event

CHEER (Community that welcomes everyone.

Helping Everyone EnI hope to continue that courage Restoration) and important work.” holds leadership positions New Orleans native with the Harvey Milk John Weber, an African LGBT Democratic Club American gay man, is and the San Francisco excited about his own Black Leadership Forum. candidacy. His heritage “I seek election to and identity are part of Courtesy SF Pride the San Francisco Pride what he hopes to bring to board as my way of the board.

John Weber giving back to the city “I want to add that where I was reborn, nurperspective and divertured, and empowered sity to the Pride board,” to express my authentic Weber told the Bay Area identity,” Clay told the Reporter. Weber, a former B.A.R. “I see SF Pride as a emperor, also said that he beautiful symphony and I had years of experience would not change a single in fundraising, activism, note, I simply want to add governance, and commumy unique voice to the nity building. chorus. And I might just “I’m committed to adCourtesy SF Pride spice things up a bit with vocacy for the voiceless,” Mahnani Clay some soulful harmonies.”

Weber said. “My pragClay said she thinks matic and collaborative social justice makes good business style will be a good fit for the cursense. rent Pride board as it enters strategic “Let’s ensure that we all have the planning leading to its 50th anniveropportunity to keep on singing out, sary.” Weber pointed to his recent loud, and proud,” she said. post as chair for the Imperial Court’s 50th anniversary celebration earlier Correction this year.

Last week’s story, “16 vie for seats “I understand Pride’s desire to dion SF Pride board,” included an versify funding and improve stabilerror with regard to Levine. The ity,” Weber concluded. “My goal is to story said she emailed Pride’s misput a 10-year bond initiative before sion statement. In fact, she read it voters of the City and County of aloud at a recent Pride board meetSan Francisco. This will help Pride ing, which one of the directors does secure long-term funds to continue at every meeting. The online version the tradition of an authentic and has been corrected.t pioneering Pride parade and celebration for decades to come.”

California native Mahnani Clay, Voting is open to all eligible who identifies as pansexual or queer, Pride members and will take place Saturday, September 12 at returned to California in 2011 after 1 p.m. at the LGBT Community more than a decade on the East Coast, Center, 1800 Market Street. Each where she became involved in issues candidate will be able to make a regarding incarcerated women. She statement and answer questions. is the director and founder of Project

NLGJA announces inductees, award winners

by Cynthia Laird

A

s the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association holds its annual convention and LGBT Media Summit in San Francisco this week, officials announced the inductees into the LGBT Journalist Hall of Fame and the winners of its Excellence in Journalism Awards.

NLGJA is celebrating its 25th anniversary at the convention.

Hall of Fame

This year’s Hall of Fame inductees are Randy Alfred, Alison Bechdel, Alan Bell, Lou Chibbaro Jr., Charles Kaiser, and Armistead Maupin.

Alfred may be best known for

his detailed 1980 probe on commercial radio in of the biased and unfair the U.S. portrayal of San FranAlfred is one of the cisco’s gay community founders of NLGJA. in CBS Reports’ “Gay Bechdel, who recently Power, Gay Politics,” an received a Tony Award for investigation that ultithe musical adaptation mately resulted in CBS of her graphic novel Fun making a rare public Home: A Family TragiJim Merithew/Wired apology for its failed comic, created the Bechdel coverage. In 1978, he co- NLGJA Hall of Test for gender bias in founded the San Fran- Fame inductee works of fiction. She cisco Bay Times, the first Randy Alfred has been writing for and community newspaper about the LGBT commuon the West Coast to be nity since 1983 when she produced equally by lesbians and began producing and self-syndicatgay men. A year later, he began proing Dykes to Watch Out For, a comic ducing and hosting The Gay Life chronicling the lives, romances, and on KSAN-FM, the first regularly See page 8 >> scheduled LGBT-oriented program

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<< Politics

8 • BAY AREA REPORTER • September 3-9, 2015

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AIDS funding sought from CA legal marijuana measures

by Matthew S. Bajko

A

San Francisco-based AIDS agency is calling on the proponents of legalizing marijuana use in California to direct a portion of the tax revenues generated by doing so toward HIV, hepatitis C, and other health needs.

Half a dozen groups have either filed paperwork with state elections officials or indicated they plan to do so in coming weeks to put a measure on the November 2016 ballot to allow for the personal use of marijuana in California. Medical use of cannabis in the Golden State was legalized with the passage of Proposition 215 in 1996.

Project Inform, which does education and advocacy work around HIV and AIDS at the local, state, and national levels, has reached out to a number of the marijuana legalization campaigns in recent weeks to ask them to designate for health care needs a certain percentage of the tax revenues collected from the sale of cannabis products.

The money could fund such things as HIV prevention, treatment for Hep C, substance use services, and mental health programs. Project Inform Executive Director Dana Van Gorder publicly disclosed the idea during a recent hearing in San Francisco held by state lawmakers working on a statewide plan to end HIV transmissions.

“Join us in asking the various campaigns to make sure this is addressed,” he said during his remarks at the August 21 hearing.

In an interview this week with the Bay Area Reporter, Van Gorder said he was “kind of doing it solo” when asked what other AIDS agencies had signed on to the funding request of the cannabis legalization campaigns.

“The context for this is HIV and AIDS funding, particularly prevention, was cut by $85 million in the middle of the recession,” said Van Gorder. “Advocates were able to get some of it restored. But we lag behind in terms of state funding so this seems like a reasonable opportunity to resolve that.”

Should state lawmakers adopt what they are calling “A California Plan to End AIDS,” it will cost money to implement the various recommendations included in the document, noted Van Gorder.

As the B.A.R. reported last week, HIV and AIDS advocates are pushing to see included in the state plan such strategies as access to a oncea-day pill that prevents a person from contracting HIV; treatment on demand for those people who test HIV positive; and access to drugs that can cure a person of Hep C. “There is this conversation of whether the state is in a position to develop a plan to really end the AIDS epidemic. To fund that, we need to look for new sources of revenue. This seemed like an ideal opportunity,” said Van Gorder. “It is not just HIV. We could designate it for a whole set of public health programs, including

Rick Gerharter

Project Inform’s Dana Van Gorder

HIV, viral hepatitis, STDs, mental health, and substance abuse programs.

“Given the historic connection between the normalization and legalization of cannabis for medical purposes, it seems to make sense that some of this revenue might be used for public health purposes,” he added.

ReformCA, a coalition of groups working on introducing a legalization measure this fall, is receptive to Van Gorder’s proposal. It is hosting a roundtable meeting with various interested parties Thursday to discuss its initiative and how any tax revenues collected would be distributed.

“It is one of the things we are drilling down on as we speak,” said Dale Sky Jones, chair of the Coalition for Cannabis Policy Reform and the executive chancellor at Oaksterdam University in Oakland.

Another ReformCA group, the Marijuana Policy Project based in Colorado, told the B.A.R. it was unaware of Van Gorder’s request to see tax revenues from legal cannabis sales be used for health care needs.

“I don’t think it’s really just a question of whether we or anyone else supports using funds in this fashion.

I think a bigger question is what the tax structure will look like (and) what types of licensing fees will be in place,” wrote Mason Tvert, the agency’s communications director, in an emailed reply. “First and foremost, revenue must cover the cost of establishing a regulatory system, implementing regulations, and enforcing them. Also, I’m sure there will be questions about how the funds would be allocated to ensure they are used on those particular public health matters (e.g. which department? a specific program within a department? etc.).”

One measure, the Marijuana Control, Legalization and Revenue Act of 2016, includes a number of 10 percent allocations in the tax revenues it would raise. Funding would be directed, for instance, to pre-K programs, public schools, community colleges and public universities, water conservation and environmental programs, law enforcement services, and drug abuse education and treatment.

John Lee, the director of Americans for Policy Reform, which filed the initiative, told the B.A.R. he had not been contacted by Van Gorder as of Tuesday morning this week.

“We are open to discussions on how we designate revenue generated

through our initiative. I would be glad to talk to this organization,” said Lee, adding that “time is of the essence,” as his group plans to file a revised initiative in the coming weeks.

Chad M. Hanes, one of the proponents behind the Safe Communities, Parks and Schools Act of 2016 initiative, told the B.A.R. that health care needs could be funded under the local sale taxes allowed for under the ballot measure. Voters in cities and counties would be able to approve a tax of up to 10 percent on the sale of cannabis for non-medical use.

“If voters, for example, approve a 5 percent local tax and want it to go to HIV programs, they can easily do that, no problem,” said Hanes.

One person supportive of Van Gorder’s funding proposal when asked about it by the B.A.R. was Jeff Sheehy, who served as an HIV policy adviser to former San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, now the state’s lieutenant governor and an advocate for legalization of marijuana.

“In my opinion I think a linkage between health care and marijuana has been there since Prop 215 in 1996. So I think that is a very positive frame in which to view marijuana. Prop. 215 has alleviated a lot of suffering for patients in California,” said Sheehy. “So if you legalize marijuana, to have marijuana continue to provide benefits to patients in California, it really seems logical to me. ... Having this money go to unmet medical needs is perfectly consistent with the decriminalization of marijuana in California.”t

A costume controversy

by Gwendolyn Ann Smith

O

ver the course of my lifetime, I’ve seen Halloween change dramatically. Sure, the shift was slow, but like water carving the Grand Canyon, it was seemingly inevitable.

In my youth, it was a holiday where kids ruled the night. The streets were ours. We’d trot out into the darkness wearing anything from store bought plastic masks and smocks to hastily assembled “hobo” costumes of tattered old clothing and ratted hair. It was a magical time, when we would be allowed more leeway than any other night, and explore our wild characters under the moon and stars.

As you can guess, I have a lot of fondness for that time.

Yet things changed. Fears – largely unfounded – of razor blades and other contaminants in the holiday candy haul led to more chaperoned Halloween events at local schools and community centers, sucking the life out of the night. Today, the ritual of trick or treating seems to be turning into a memory of my generation.

Something else changed since then, too. While costume parties for adults certainly existed, they were less common than one might imagine.

The holiday was relegated to the kids, and the adults were more likely to

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NLGJA

From page 7

political involvement of a group of lesbians in the U.S. She produced the strip for 25 years before ending its run in 2008. She received a MacArthur “Genius Grant” in 2014.

Bell is the founder of Gayweek, New York City’s first mainstream lesbian and gay newspaper, which started in 1977. He continued with BLK and Blackfire and places special focus on serving the black lesbian and gay community through BLK Publishing

be lurking behind their home’s door with a bucket of Smarties, Starbursts, and those awful circus peanuts.

Much like Cinco de Mayo has become “the day we mock Hispanic culture and get drunk” and St. Patrick’s Day has become “the day we mock Irish culture and get drunk,” Halloween has extended similarly.

It’s become a time when the adults don the costumes and hit the clubs.

I sound cranky, but I do have a point.

There is a big business in costumes, and the real money is not in kids’ costumes, but ones for adults. We’ll pay a premium for a cool costume that you will only wear once.

You’ll find them for sale at your local big box stores as well as a chain store that crops up each Halloween in otherwise derelict storefronts across the country.

They sell all sorts of Halloween gear that I would have given my eye teeth for back in the day. Not only super detailed costumes and accessories, but all the makings of an ersatz cemetery, dungeon, or haunted house. It’s amazing to see just how many different spooky things they pack into these hastily assembled storefronts.

Among these are celebrity costumes. They’ll sell you rubber masks of the president and his would-be

replacements. You can find the cast of Duck Dynasty shoehorned in.

Yet there’s another topical costume of note: that of Caitlyn Jenner.

Now it makes sense, in a way, that manufacturers would opt to make a Jenner costume. They are in the business to make money, and what better way than a costume that features a member of the Kardashian clan, particularly at a time when she is probably the most marketable.

The news initially broke via the New York Daily News, which called the idea “creepy.” Spirit Halloween store’s public relations folks disagreed, saying that Jenner “has proven to be the most important real-life superhero of the year,” and claimed the costume would be one that “celebrates her.”

Spirit Halloween has both a Jenner wig and corset, similar to what she wore for the now-famed Vanity Fair cover. It’s nicely done, all things considered.

Others have been less forgiving: another retailer – selling through a number of websites such as http:// www.wholesalehalloweencostumes. com – released its own. It, too, features the Vanity Fair look, but adds a parade sash emblazoned with “Call Me Caitlyn.” Here’s the big difference between the two: a stocky male with an arm tattoo and 5 o’clock shadow is modeling the latter.

While Spirit’s costume is presented in a much more attractive fashion

Company, which he founded in 1988. He is also the founder of Black Jack, a safer sex club for black gay men in Los Angeles.

Chibbaro is a prize-winning reporter for the Washington Blade, where he started writing in 1976 under the pseudonym Lou Romano. He has covered almost everything for the Blade, including political triumphs and protests, the rise of the AIDS epidemic, and federal efforts to fire gay employees. He made journalism history as the first LGBT inductee into the Society of

Professional Journalists’ Washington Pro Chapter Hall of Fame.

NLGJA founding board member Kaiser is a longtime reporter who has worked for the New York Times, Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and the Los Angeles Times. He’s also the author of The Gay Metropolis, which won a Lambda Literary Award.

Finally, Maupin is the wellknown author of the Tales of the City series, which were originally collected from the daily series he wrote in the San Francisco Chronicle in the 1970s.

Christine Smith

– and with a feminine-appearing model – both are problematic. The latter even much more so.

I mentioned earlier about how Halloween has increasingly become an adult holiday. With that in mind, the costumes have become far more over the top, reveling in far more adult themes than one might have seen in the past. Zombies are far more rotten and bloody, most gear for women are presented in a “sexy” version, and some costumes are meant to be mean-spirited and controversial.

The Jenner costume is not likely to be worn to “celebrate” Jenner, any more than a rubber Donald Trump mask is likely going to be used to support The Donald. While Spirit

Journalism awards

NLGJA’s Excellence in Journalism Awards include numerous categories.

Highlights are Journalist of the Year, and first place went to J. Lester Feder of BuzzFeed News. Second place went to Jason Parsley of the South Florida Gay News.

This year’s Sarah Pettit Memorial Award for Excellence in LGBT Media went to Trish Bendix, After Ellen, first place, and Lucas Grindley, Here Media, second place.

The Al Neuharth Award for

has attempted to show the costume worn in an “appropriate” fashion, it seems obvious to me that their audience is going to be the same sort of schlub shown by that other retailer.

We live in a year when transgender people are gaining visibly like we haven’t seen before. We’re also living in a time when our deaths are being reported in very high numbers, likely as a backlash to this visibility. Do we need to see this sort of mockery on Halloween?

We’re not talking about a lighthearted jest here – but with people’s real lives.

One might say that Jenner is a public figure, and this is simply what happens. There’s some truth to that. This isn’t about Jenner though; so much as it is about Jenner being a transgender woman. More than that, it’s about Jenner having presented as male in the past, and now being female – and trying to point out what the costume-wearer feels about Jenner’s gender.

Halloween when I was a kid was transformative, allowing us to share our desires and interests. With that in mind, I suggest this: A person who opts to mock Jenner with an ill-gendered costume says far more about themselves than they ever say about her.t Gwen Smith never had a Renee Richards costume. You can find her on Twitter at @gwenners.

Innovation in Investigative Journalism went to Steven Thrasher of BuzzFeed.com for “How College Wrestling Star ‘Tiger Mandingo’ Became an HIV Scapegoat.”

The Hall of Fame inductees will be honored at a silver anniversary reception Saturday, September 5 from 7:30 to 11:30 p.m. at the Westin St. Francis, 335 Powell Street, which is the convention site. Tickets cost $100, or the event is included in the full conference package. For more information, visit http://www.nljga. org/2015.t

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Obituaries>>

September 3-9, 2015 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 11

SF theater director Mark Rucker mourned

by Seth Hemmelgarn

A

widely praised director of San Francisco’s American Conservatory Theater is being mourned after he was found dead in his home.

It’s not clear how Mark Rucker, 56, an associate artistic director at the theater, died, but people who knew him have indicated his passing was unexpected.

Mr. Rucker, whose body was found Tuesday, August 25, recently directed ACT productions of Mr. Burns, a post-electric play; Maple and Vine, and other plays, as well as many of the theater’s Masters of Fine Arts program productions.

Among other posts, he was an associate artist at South Coast Repertory Theatre, where he directed more than 20 productions. He had also worked with companies such as California Shakespeare Theater and Berkeley Repertory Theatre.

Additionally, he directed the 2003 comedy film Die, Mommie, Die! ACT artistic director Carey Perloff called Mr. Rucker “a sweet and beautiful man.”

Perloff, 56, said the regard people held him in was clear from the tributes that have come in from around the world.

“He had more friends than anyone could imagine,” Perloff said. Mr. Rucker’s “rehearsal room was always such a joyful place of discovery.”

He taught and directed in ACT’s school for several years, and Perloff said “a whole generation of young artists bloomed under his direction.”

She said Mr. Rucker had directed two plays that she’d written, and had told her, “I’ll look after you, baby. I’ll make you look good.”

“He was a very, very generous, joyful man, really,” Perloff said.

According to Mindy Talmadge, a spokeswoman for the fire department, the dispatch center received a call at 4:26 p.m. last Tuesday about someone in the 600 block of 41st Avenue “who was not breathing and unresponsive.”

“The dispatcher made a note that someone was doing CPR and did not know how long the patient had been unconscious,” Talmadge said in an email.

When a fire engine arrived, “they reported that CPR was in progress,” she said. However, “the rescue captain reported at 4:47 that it was a medical examiner case” and requested police.

It will likely be months before the medical examiner’s office releases the cause and manner of death.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported that police are not investigating Mr. Rucker’s death “as a criminal matter.” Police didn’t respond to the Bay Area Reporter’s request to confirm that.

Michael Rucker, 39, of Glendale, Arizona, Mr. Rucker’s nephew, said his uncle was “a wonderful person” and “extremely brilliant,” which he said was evident from the outpouring from the theater community.

He said the family didn’t know how Mr. Rucker had died. They weren’t aware of him having any health problems, and Rucker said his uncle “absolutely” had “no drug problems.”

Mr. Rucker was close to his mother and sister, and he was in contact with them “probably on a daily basis,” his nephew said. There had been “no hint of any issues.”

“From my experience, he was always happy and loved life,” Rucker said. “... It’s a terrible tragedy, whatever happened.”

He added that the theater community’s “outpouring” of stories and emotions has brought comfort.

Courtesy ACT

Mark Rucker

“For me, personally, it’s been helpful to deal with this,” Rucker said. “It’s quite amazing.”

Vickie Wise, 68, of Post Falls, Idaho, Mr. Rucker’s aunt, said, “I think Mark touched the lives of every person he ever met. From the time he was a baby, he just grabbed your heart.”

One memory that stands out for Wise is that “from the time he was

a tiny, tiny boy, he used to tell me, ‘When I grow up and get famous, I’m going to buy you a house, and I’m going to buy my mom a silver tea set.’” Even as a child, he was also “very artistic,” she said.

The last time Wise spoke with Mr. Rucker was over the phone at Christmas.

She said she didn’t know what might have happened to her nephew. She didn’t know of him having health problems.

Wise said if Mr. Rucker had had any troubles, “he wouldn’t have said anything about it. Mark was all about everyone else, not himself.”

She said, “He was a social drinker,” but he never used drugs.

Wise said someone found Mr. Rucker last Tuesday after he didn’t show up for work.

Perloff, who said she didn’t have any idea what had happened to him, last spoke with Mr. Rucker a few days before he died.

Asked whether he’d been having trouble of any kind, she said, “I’m truly not interested in speculating. I just want to celebrate this man’s life.

That’s what’s important now.”t

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Presentations and speakers Beyond Estate Planning: Medi-Cal and Long-Term Care Planning Presented by Alma Soongi Beck, J.D., LL.M. Taxation, Certified Specialist, Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law, State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization, Lakin Spears, LLP This workshop will debunk myths about Medi-Cal and how planning documents can protect your family and assets. Learn about Medi-Cal Asset Protection planning and how to avoid common pitfalls when planning for long-term care.

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1141913ACMR0715

<< Sports

12 • BAY AREA REPORTER • September 3-9, 2015

t

Spikes get ready for Folsom soccer tournament

by Roger Brigham

T

hree weeks before the San Francisco Spikes host their third annual Folsom Weekend Soccer Tournament, first-year club president Trey Allen finds himself in a blur of activity finalizing last minute details for what promises to be the club’s most ambitious event to date.

“We’re expecting 15 teams this year,” Allen told the Bay Area Reporter. “Can you believe it? Last year we had eight. This year we did an ad campaign and a marketing photo shoot and got fliers out to tournaments around the country.

And in the first weekend in September we’ll be at the LGBT sports festival in Los Angeles getting the word out there.”

The tournament weekend will begin with a panel discussion on a “New Era of LGBT Openness in U.S.

Soccer,” which will cover the state of acceptance in soccer and other sports. The panel will be headlined

by Jaiyah Saelua of American Samoa, who was the first openly transgender player ever to appear in a men’s FIFA World Cup qualifier in 2011.

She told Vice magazine in an interview last year that she was accepted by her coach during that time.

Saelua, who in Samoan culture identifies as third-gender fa’afafine, has found strong acceptance on her team but been targeted by some opponents.

“This discussion is relevant to the issues of today,” Allen said. “Success for our community in sports is not in having a group of all gay and lesbian soccer players – it’s in building acceptance in our culture. We are making progress across the country, but we still have situations, for instance, where coaches are being fired for being gay.

Fortunately, our students today are forming gay-straight alliances and coming out earlier in sports.”

Kimberly Hadley, co-president of International Gay and Lesbian Football Association, will moderate the panel, which is sponsored by the Commonwealth Club, IGLFA, the Spikes, and the National Center for Lesbian Rights. Saelua will be joined on the panel by Helen Carroll, director of the NCLR Sports Project; myself; and possibly former San Jose Earthquakes player Matt Hatzke, who came out after retiring from Major League Soccer.

The discussion will probably be held at 5 p.m., Friday, September 25 at Eureka Valley Recreation Center, but the location has yet to be finalized. Up to date information will be posted at www.spikesfolsomtourney.strikingly.com.

Parties will be held later that Friday at Hi-Tops and the Cafe.

Tournament matches will be played Saturday afternoon, September 26, on indoor fields at Bladium in Alameda. An 11 a.m. awards brunch will be held Sunday, September 27, at El Capitan.

This is Allen’s third year with the Spikes, whom he said have provided

<<

Kentucky clerk

From page 1

Christians are an interconnected brotherhood, we are encouraged to curtail our individual freedoms to benefit the local and national church family.”

The conservative Liberty Counsel group is representing Davis in Miller v. Davis, the lawsuit the ACLU initiated on behalf of couples in Rowan County who were refused

<< San Francisco Columbarium A cemetery for cremated remains in the City.

Plan ahead!

Meet Your Neighbors

You’re invited to mix and mingle with the people who will one day share your permanent San Francisco address.

This week, SFOpen Columbarium Winethe & Cheese House Friday, July 19, 2013 2—5pm niches is featuring glass-front RSVP Required: (415) 752-8791 in the newer addition, 1 Loraine Court—San Francisco, CA 94118 starting at $4595.

Mirkarimi

From page 1

true for transgender men, but the jail population generally sees more trans women inmates.

A finalized policy dated Tuesday says that in “an unprecedented action,” Mirkarimi has directed that transgender people currently housed at County Jail 4, a men’s facility, will have opportunities to participate in programming at County Jail 2, which houses cis women.

Mirkarimi said he aims to start moving transgender women out of male housing before the end of the year.

During the interview Mirkarimi said the policy is “both the spirit and the tangible result of our joint cooperation” with community advocates, and he called it “a significant milestone.”

He said when he’s met with people during the campaign that have included “fence sitters” and people who oppose him, “they leave with a very different impression” than what they’ve received from the media. However, he acknowledged, the list of problems “portends for a challenging race.”

“We’re running on our record,” Mirkarimi said. “The significant advances we’re making are not just unique to San Francisco, but are now being replicated or mirrored” in other

Reserve your niche in history!

Visit us at 1 Loraine Court, in the Richmond District COA 534

Serving the LGBT Community with Pride!

marriage licenses under Davis’ “no marriage licenses” policy.

Miller v. Davis is believed to be the first lawsuit in the country to test the argument of some same-sex marriage opponents that their First Amendment right to freedom to exercise religion trumps the right of samesex couples to the 14th Amendment guarantees of equal protection and due process of the law.

In its plea for a stay, the Liberty Counsel stated that Davis “holds an

undisputed sincerely-held religious belief that marriage is a union between a man and a woman, only.

Thus, in her belief, SSM is not, in fact, marriage. If a SSM license is issued with Davis’ name, authorization, and approval, no one can unring that bell.

That searing act of validation would forever echo in her conscience. ... If Davis’ religious objection cannot be accommodated ... then elected officials have no real religious freedom when they take public office.”t

counties and across the country.

Besides his work on transgender housing in the jail, Mirkarimi pointed to several of his administration’s other achievements, including enrolling inmates in health care under the Affordable Care Act before they’re released, expanding educational opportunities, lowering the age of unaccompanied minors who are visiting their incarcerated parents or guardian from 18 to 16, increasing visiting hours, and cutting the cost of phone calls between inmates and their families.

Among the goals he has for the department is addressing practices that are “criminalizing poverty,” such as high bail amounts that keep people incarcerated.

“The San Francisco bail schedule is one of the highest in the state,” he said.

Many of his efforts have met with skepticism, though, including the transgender policy.

There’s been “resistance internally in our own department,” Mirkarimi said, including recent discussions with people who are “well meaning” but also “obsolete or arcane in their thinking.”

“We have to recognize this has been a population that’s been left behind” the advances other communities have seen in jail, the sheriff said.

It’s time to demonstrate “we’re sincere in bringing the transgender

population up to the same level of standards as everyone else,” he said.

Mirkarimi said of his efforts during his tenure, “It’s going to take a reformer” who is “independent of law enforcement unions” but willing to bring them along “to see the wisdom of how this will improve rehabilitation and ultimately public safety.”

He said Hennessy is “entirely about the status quo” and “an insider” who wouldn’t be “independent at all of Mayor Lee and the law enforcement union influence.”

“I’m an outsider who resists any attempt to consolidate the power of the elected office of the sheriff under the thumb of the mayor,” he said.

The sheriff indicated he’d defend the department from being “subordinate” to agencies including “the police department or to the whims of the chief executive of the city.”

“Our boss is the people,” he said.

In response to Mirkarimi’s comments, Hennessy, 62, said in an email, “Ross is desperately looking for a narrative to deflect from his shortcomings – his lack of personal accountability, poor judgment, lack of leadership, and lack of support within the department.”

She added, “I’m offended, though unfortunately not surprised, by his sexist comments that I cannot

a co-owner of the Roxie Cinema, introducing an innovative programming of art and independent film. During that period, 1976-1984, Tom also saved the Victoria Theater from destruction through persistent campaigning. He was always passionate about preserving the unique style and architectural character of the City of San Francisco, which he tenderly loved.

In 1997, Tom founded Friends of 1800 Market, to save the Fallon Building, one of the historical landmarks of San Francisco, where today the San

Francisco LGBT Community Center is.

Tom wrote film and theater reviews for several San Francisco newspapers, including the SF Odalisque, SF Call, New Mission News, SF Spectrum, Castro Star, East Bay Voice, BFI Monthly Film Bulletin, North Mission News, New Bernal Journal, and the Westside Observer.

Tom is survived by his partner, Luiz Netto.

Memorial services were held for Tom Friday, August 21 at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church and the San Francisco Zen Center.

Jaiyah Saelua will speak at a panel during the San Francisco Spikes’ Folsom Weekend Soccer Tournament.

See page 14 >>

Obituaries >> Tom Mayer February 4, 1953 – July 22, 2015

Call Mary Regan (415) 336-2419

him with a comfortable sense of belonging.

Allen is 33, which means he was born in 1982, the same year the Spikes were formed to be the host team for the first Gay Games. He said he came out at the age of 18 but quickly went back into the closet for five years.

“I went through the ex-gay reparative therapy in Wichita, Kansas for more than a year,” he said. “Then in 2006, I looked in the mirror one

day and said, ‘Trey, it doesn’t matter if you’re gay or you’re straight – I love you.’ Now I realize all that garbage they had taught me before was psychobabble. Being queer is cool.”

Allen taught English in China and then in Spain. While in Spain he went to a soccer practice with the girlfriend of one of the players and was quickly invited to practice and scrimmage with the squad.

Now he’s a graduate student studying public administration.

“I was looking for a way to connect with people,” he said. “I had played tennis and softball. When I met the Spikes and I started participating in their indoor soccer, I felt it was a natural fit. The people were so welcoming. They welcome all genders, all identities, all skill levels regardless of income level.”

He said what he loves most about soccer with the Spikes are the travel opportunities. Last year they won a gold medal at the Gay Games in Ohio, and this year they played at the EuroGames in Sweden.

The tournament’s presenting sponsor is Mr. S Leather. More information about the San Francisco Spikes is available at www.sfspikes.com or by emailing info@spokes.com.t

Tom Mayer died suddenly of a heart attack on July 22, 2015.

Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Tom graduated from Boston University with a degree in filmmaking in 1974, and moved to San Francisco in 1976, when he became

t <<

Community News>>

SF LGBT Center

From page 1

are no longer able to do so, and instead, are being told center staff will follow up with them at a later date.

In interviews this week with the Bay Area Reporter, center officials stressed that they have yet to commit to moving forward with the project, as they have not lined up all of the necessary funding to pay for construction. They are targeting the New Markets Tax Credit program to provide the bulk of the money.

“We don’t yet have a final plan for construction and we are not yet committed to doing the project,” said center Executive Director Rebecca Rolfe. “Nor do we have a sense of what parts of the building will be usable during the project. We will work closely with our tenants to make sure our services and our tenants’ services can continue.”

The center’s board chair, Rafael Mandelman, added, “There are lots of moving parts to this, that is why we can’t be definitive about costs, the plan, and if we are going to move forward.”

Nonetheless, Mandelman said he is optimistic that the necessary pieces will fall into place for construction to commence. An official decision is expected in late October or early November.

“I believe we will get to a project,” he said. “I hope we do.”

After receiving two responses to its RFP, center officials opted to work with Equity Community Builders, a San Francisco architectural firm whose projects have included the new A.C.T. Strand Theater on Market Street, the SFJazz center, and the Cavallo Point Lodge at Fort Baker in Sausalito.

The Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development is funding the design phase. The budget for the design consultants is estimated at $650,000, according to the RFP, with an additional estimate of

<<

Fake cop

From page 3

He said he came to the U.S. from Guatemala “to financially support my family and to save money for my dreams,” which included continuing his university studies.

Luis said, “Out of fear of being deported, I decided not to say anything” after the 2008 incident.

He said he’d turned to drugs and alcohol, “trying to forget that dark night,” and he lost his job. His wife stopped him from taking his own life, he said.

He also said during the proceedings against Bugai that people from the public defender’s office had

<<

News Briefs

From page 5

reception will raise money to provide increased services to homeless youth, including food, shelter, clothing, and counseling.

“I want to ensure that all our kids, especially our LGBTQIA youth, have a place that enables them to bounce back from being on the street,” said DreamCatcher advisory committee member and event Co-Chair Erica Zepko, an Oakland native and real estate attorney.

Tickets for the reception are $100, although organizers said a limited number of $70 tickets are available. For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/ events/1612105569055357/.

To purchase tickets, visit http://outfordreamcatcher.brownpapertickets. com/.

Nigerian LGBT activist to speak at MCC-SF

Activist Davis Mac-Iyalla, who is based in London but is from Nigeria, will speak at Metropolitan Community Church-San Francisco Friday, September 5 from 6:30 to 8

September 3-9, 2015 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 13

$580,000 for assistance in securing the needed financing.

The project under discussion would not alter the exterior of the building. The focus is on the interior spaces of the center, which total 35,000 square feet.

“Some of the architectural choices resulted in spaces that made architectural sense but didn’t create usable space,” said Mandelman of the current design. “It is a big building. There is the potential for a great deal of space for meeting rooms and rentable office space. All sorts of uses that would generate value.”

Building’s design long an issue

Even before the building first opened to the public in the spring of 2002, the center’s design had been at issue. Initial plans had called for the demolition of the Fallon Building, a Queen Anne-style Victorian built in 1900 at the corner site, where Market Street and Octavia Boulevard intersect.

But preservationists successfully fought to save the historic structure, sending center boosters back to the drawing board to rework their plans.

Local architect S. Jane Cee led the design and construction team, which was a partnership between her Cee Architects and Pfau Architecture, now Pfau Long Architecture.

Their marriage of a new modern steel structure with the older wooden building was praised within architectural circles. It won the 2004 AIA SF Design Award for Excellence.

Cee did not respond to a request for comment for this story by deadline Wednesday. Dana Van Gorder, who helped select the center’s site and served on its board prior to its opening, told the B.A.R. he is not surprised the current board is looking at remodeling the building.

“We made the best guesses at the time on how to program the building. I think it should be flexible and responsive to what is going on in the

Rick Gerharter

People mill about in the lobby of the San Francisco LGBT Community Center.

community now and what the needs are,” he said. “I certainly would be interested in knowing what they are doing. I can’t imagine anybody who would object to the idea of making changes. We all make changes to our houses every once in awhile.”

Various issues with the layout of the community center and its two community rooms have cropped up over the years. Alterations to the interior have already been made, including a redesign of the lobby area and relocation of the cyber center to the ground floor to better activate the space.

“We have heard for years in the community the thought, the idea that the space could be used better in ways more beneficial for the community,” acknowledged Mandelman. “We actually did a survey of our founders, donors, and community partners a couple of years ago.

We heard that and concerns about

the sustainability of the building and the sustainability of the business model.”

One idea center officials had pursued was bringing in commercial tenants to bolster its bottom line.

For the 2013-2014 fiscal year, the center reported total revenues of more than $2,154,536. Its expenses totaled nearly $2.3 million, resulting in a shortfall of nearly $140,000.

For four years a gay-owned cafe operated out of a section of the ground floor, but it shuttered in 2008 after a sale of the business fell through over the terms of the lease with the center. Five years ago center officials engaged in talks with a local restaurateur about taking over the fourth-floor ceremonial room space and outdoor balcony to open a rooftop restaurant and bar.

While the city did rezone the building so it could house commercial tenants on the ground and

fourth floors, and center officials sought out proposals from business owners in early 2011, nothing came of those plans.

laughed at him when he saw them out in the city.

“This man should pay” by spending “the rest of his life in prison,” Luis said.

Luis’ wife broke down in tears as she spoke Monday. She said when she’d fallen in love with him, he had an “adventurous character” and was “responsible and hard working.”

After the incident with Bugai, she said, it was “the first time I had ever heard fear in his voice.”

They’re now separated, and she told Bugai, who didn’t look at her or her husband during their statements, “You have broken a family apart.” (The couple has a young daughter.)

She added, “I hope that justice is served by keeping you off the street for the rest of your life.”

Bugai made rambling statements Monday that went on for much of the afternoon.

Among other things, he suggested that Luis and the other victims in the case had made up their statements in exchange for being permitted to stay in the U.S. He asked retired Judge Jerome T. Benson to “look beyond the tears and the garbage and lies you heard this morning,” and he said, “I am absolutely and completely 100 percent innocent” of the counts he’d been convicted on.

Bugai also told Benson that he

wanted a new attorney, but Benson told him he’d given up that chance.

Finally, toward the end of the day, Benson told him, “I’m going to get off the bench in just a minute whether you’re done talking or not.”

He continued the hearing to Wednesday, September 9.

In response to emailed questions, Deputy Public Defender Phoenix Streets, who represented Bugai, said the delay between the verdict and the sentencing, which is expected next week, “was due to a number of factors such as [a] new trial motion.”

Bugai appeared in a wheelchair Monday. Streets said “medical privacy laws” prevented him from commenting on why.

As for Luis’ allegation that people from the public defender’s office had laughed at him and Bugai’s wanting a new attorney, Streets said, “The San Francisco Public Defender’s office put much effort, time, and resources in the defense of Mr. Bugai. I am grateful to everyone who assisted his defense. I am proud to be a part of this office of devoted defenders.”

Sharon Reardon, the assistant district attorney who had prosecuted the case, is now a judge. Assistant District Attorney Jason Peck appeared in court Monday.

According to court records, Bugai changed his name to Jeffrey Thomas in 2011.t

p.m. The church is now located at First Congregational Church, 1300 Polk Street.

Mac-Iyalla travels the world telling the story of the LGBT community in Africa, raising awareness of homophobia within the church and advocating for justice for the LGBTQ community worldwide.

The event is sponsored by MCC-SF and Sacred Cocktails.

For more information, contact the Reverend Diana Wheeler at mailto:dianarwheeler@gmail.com.

10 from 5:30 to 10 p.m. at SOMArts Cultural Center, 934 Brannan Street in San Francisco.

Under the tagline “Transforming Art Into Action – Reclaiming Our City,” the organization will be celebrating its success in garnering $4 million in housing subsidies for homeless people in the midst of a severe housing crisis and mass displacement. Organizers said the event has something for everyone – gorgeous art at a diversity of prices, lively music, great food, and an open wine and beer bar. This year’s celebrity guest auctioneer will be Carolyn Tyler of ABC7 News.

People can bid on art by over 120 local artists in live and silent auctions.

Tickets are $40 (no one turned away for lack of funds), and can be purchased at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/1642071.

October 15-17.

The summit, organized by the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religion and Ministry, will bring together religious activists, leaders, students, and practitioners from across a variety of faith traditions to explore intersectionalities of religion and trans identities. The threeday event will feature workshops, discussion groups, and academic presentations.

The sixth annual CLGS Georgia Harkness Lecture will kick off the summit with an address by Melissa M. Wilcox, an associate professor of religion and gender studies at Whitman College.

Early registration (until September 5) is $75 or $40 for students and seniors. To sign up, visit www.transsummit2015.eventbrite.com.

Workshop proposals are being accepted until September 7. For more information, visit http://clgs. org.

September 12-13, from noon to 5 p.m. at San Francisco’s historic Ghirardelli Square. The event, perfect for chocolate lovers, foodies, and festivalgoers, will feature unique samples by some of the finest local dessert companies, chef demonstrations from chocolatiers, ice-cream sundae eating contests, and of course, Ghirardelli Chocolate. Additionally, 100 percent of the profits from the festival benefit Project Open Hand, a nonprofit that provides groceries and meals to people living with HIV/AIDS and other homebound critically ill clients.

General chocolate tasting tickets are $20 for 15 tastes when purchased in advance, or $25 at the door. Wine and chocolate tasting tickets offer guests an additional 12 tastings in the wine and chocolate pavilion and a souvenir wine glass. Saturday tickets are $50 in advance or $60 at the door, while Sunday tickets are $40 in advance or $60 at the door. Guests must be 21 or older for the chocolate and wine pavilion tastings.

To purchase tickets, visit https:// www.eventbrite.com/e/20th-annual-ghirardelli-chocolate-festivaltickets-15674599148.t

Beer Bust for AEF, BCEF

Fundraiser Troy Brunet, Mr. Heart-Throb 2006, will hold the 10th Anniversary Fundraising Experience Sunday, September 6 from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Edge bar, 4149 18th Street in San Francisco’s Castro neighborhood. The event will feature food, surprises, and fun. It benefits the AIDS Emergency Fund and Breast Cancer Emergency Fund.

Art auction to benefit homeless organization

The Coalition on Homelessness will hold its 15th annual art auction benefit Thursday, September

Multi-faith trans summit coming up

Early-bird registration is now open for the eighth annual MultiFaith Transgender Summit that takes place at the Pacific School of Religion campus in Berkeley

SF chocolate fest benefits Project Open Hand

The 20th anniversary of the popular Ghirardelli Chocolate Festival takes place next weekend,

Current plans

The current focus with the remodel centers on adding more office space to house LGBT nonprofits and other agencies that serve disadvantaged communities. Due to the city’s expensive real estate market, many local nonprofits are being priced out of the city when their leases come up for renewal.

“We got together with our architect and started thinking about ways that building might become more useful for the LGBT community and how it might help address the needs for nonprofit office space, which is in short supply,” said Mandelman. “This is a really important asset and are See page 14 >>

Serving the LGBT communities since 1971

14 • BAY AREA REPORTER • September 3-9, 2015

<<

SF LGBT Center

From page 13

we using it as well as we should. The answer, I think, we have arrived at it is we could probably use that space better. We can get more out of it for the LGBT community and for the broader San Francisco community.”

At the same time, Rolfe said the center wants to ensure, following any remodel, it can continue to host

<<

Mirkarimi

From page 12

think and act for myself, but must be a tool of Mayor Lee. I served in the sheriff ’s department for over 30 years, [and] I have a long record of accomplishments, trust, leadership and accountability, as well as the support of the working men and women in the department.”

In response to emailed questions, PJ Johnston, the spokesman for Lee’s re-election campaign, said, “I don’t think Sheriff Mirkarimi has been a political threat to anyone since the day he pleaded guilty to false imprisonment.”

As for Hennessy, Johnston said she “is a former chief deputy and interim sheriff, who has earned the support of the rank-and-file in the Sheriff ’s Department. Mayor Lee agrees with the rank-and-file members of the Sheriff ’s Department who say they need stable, competent leadership. It’s as simple as that.”

Supporters

Mirkarimi does have some strong supporters.

Former Sheriff Mike Hennessey, 67, whose retirement opened the job for Mirkarimi, said he’s contributed $500 (the maximum allowed) to his successor’s campaign.

“With over 800 sworn officers and tens of thousands of prisoners every year, mistakes by staff are bound to happen, sometimes with tragic consequences, but those errors or misdeeds by staff should not be confused with the work of the policy maker which is the essential role of the Sheriff,” Hennessey, who’s not related to Vicki Hennessy, said in an email. “... Since the Sheriff’s Department does not have any civilian oversight, I believe it is imperative that the department leader be more aligned with the community than with the rank and file of the agency.”

Former Mayor Art Agnos, 77, said in an interview, “If people look at the job that he has done as sheriff, building on the legacy he inherited from Mike Hennessey, who also supports him, the issue is very clear.

He’s been an outstanding sheriff.”

Agnos, who’s contributed $500 to Mirkarimi’s campaign, said his achievements “have been unfortunately diminished because of the

<<

Fresno

From page 2

miles from where she was stabbed.

An American flag hung from the porch light of the home she’d shared with her roommates, and a red, white, and blue ribbon adorned the front door. No one came to the door when a reporter visited recently or responded to a note left at the home.

Haggard had reportedly started dressing in women’s clothing only recently.

Angie, the complex’s manager, who didn’t want her last name published, said she’d spoken with Haggard every day, but she’d only seen Haggard dressed as a woman once.

Haggard frequently took the bus to go to job interviews, but “a lot of times I would see him drunk,” Angie said, using male pronouns for Haggard. “I just used to tell him to be careful.”

She said Haggard’s phone and her remote control for the complex gate had been stolen a couple of times.

The FBI is working with local law enforcement officials and trying to

the hundreds of events and meetings each month it currently does.

Center officials also would like to see more services be housed on site for the 9,000 visitors per month who come to the building, added Rolfe.

“This is an opportunity to make the center an even stronger resource for the community and gives us the ability for creating a richer onsite suite of services provided by the center and our tenants,” said Rolfe.t

Legal Notices>>

outside, often politically motivated, issues that have gained so much attention.”

He said there’s “no question” Lee had seen Mirkarimi’s popularity in the 2011 election as a threat.

The sheriff was “a political threat for Ed Lee, and they wanted to diminish him, and they got an extraordinary opportunity with the domestic issue that has now been resolved.”

Retired gay San Francisco journalist Larry Bush, 70, said that Mirkarimi “has addressed the issue of the misdemeanor that he pled to, and I also think that entire episode was clearly selective enforcement by the mayor, and was wrong.”

Bush, who’s also contributed $500 to Mirkarimi’s campaign, said that through his efforts, the sheriff “has really recognized that simply putting people in a cell and locking the door isn’t going to address how we change criminal behavior.”

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: RACHEL LARK, 4010 FULTON ST #3, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed RACHEL ANTONY-LEVINE. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/06/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/06/15.

Claims

Also Tuesday, the family of Kate Steinle, the woman who was killed at the pier, filed claims against Mirkarimi and others, according to media reports.

Mirkarimi said he couldn’t comment specifically on the claim, but he said the “tragedy” has shown “a spotlight on the significant incongruity between local, state, and federal immigration policy as it intersects with the criminal justice system.”

He said there’s been much “misinformation” about the case, stating among other things, his agency “did not seek” Juan Francisco LopezSanchez, the man accused in the killing who has pleaded not guilty.

He wondered why U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement hadn’t deported Lopez-Sanchez before he was sent to San Francisco.

“How do we make sure violent criminals who are undocumented are properly transferred to the federal agency that is responsible for their detention or deportation?” he said.

The responsibility lies with local and federal officials, Mirkarimi said, but while his agency has tried to help with a solution, the feds “haven’t fixed the problem.”

John C. Robinson, a retired sheriff ’s deputy who now owns a private security company, is also in the sheriff ’s race.t determine whether Haggard’s death was a hate crime.

The surveillance video from July shows Haggard stumbling to the sign for Auto Citi, an empty shop at 3004 North Blackstone Avenue.

A week after her death, several candles, some flowers, and a small angel figurine marked the spot where she had slumped down in the dirt.

At Most Wanted Tattoo, 2940 North Blackstone, Ernesto Rubio, 37, the shop’s manager, said he and others placed some of the candles by the sign. It was Most Wanted’s cameras that captured Haggard being stabbed.

“It’s a sad situation,” Rubio said.

“We kind of feel connected” to Haggard.

“We’re trying to do anything and everything to help,” he said. The shop’s cameras have even been adjusted in order to capture better images of any future incidents.

Rubio, who said he’d never seen the suspect’s vehicle before watching the video, said, “I even thought about driving out and catching him myself.”t

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036618600

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MP ENTERPRISE; SF REEDS; 3917 18TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MARCUS PHILLIPS. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/07/15.

The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/07/15.

AUGUST 13, 20, 27, SEPT 03, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036617200

AUGUST 13, 20, 27, SEPT 03, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036582000

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: AUKAKE MOON, 1001 FRANKLIN ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JOHN ENG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/29/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/17/15.

AUGUST 13, 20, 27, SEPT 03, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036596700

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: LOCALGRID, PROPERTY OPTIONS, 829 LOMBARD ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed PHILIP L. MILLENBAH. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/17/08. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/27/15.

AUGUST 13, 20, 27, SEPT 03, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036624600

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: EYEBROW QUEEN SALON, 4792 MISSION ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business is conducted by a general partnership, and is signed SANGITA THAPA & SWASTI THAPA. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/11/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/11/15.

AUGUST 13, 20, 27, SEPT 03, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036622000

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: HEALTHY KANGEN WATER, 919 GENEVA AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business is conducted by a general partnership, and is signed CUONG HUY DO & CONG CHI VU. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/10/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/10/15.

AUGUST 13, 20, 27, SEPT 03, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036618900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BAY-LA EXPRESS MOVING; NIMBUS MOVING AND STORAGE; 950 BAY ST #15, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed SAPIEN ENTERPRISES INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/07/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/07/15.

AUGUST 13, 20, 27, SEPT 03, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036618500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SF SUPER CAB, 120 WILLOW ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed SF SUPER CAB CORP (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/01/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/07/15.

AUGUST 13, 20, 27, SEPT 03 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036609000

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: JUNIOR, 535 MISSION ST, 19TH FLOOR, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94105. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed ALL JUNIOR, INC (MI). 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 07/31/15.

AUGUST 13, 20, 27, SEPT 03, 2015 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-15-551369

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-15-551427

In the matter of the application of: YEE-TING SHIH, 463 NEVADA ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner YEE-TING SHIH, is requesting that the name YEE-TING SHIH, be changed to PETER SHIH. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept.

514 on the 27th of October 2015 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

AUGUST 20, 27, SEPT 03, 10, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036628100

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: PODESTO PROPERTIES, 431 VICENTE ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94116. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed GINA ENRIQUEZ. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/13/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/13/15.

AUGUST 20, 27, SEPT 03, 10, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036631200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: TIPWAREE OLIVE SPA, 38 BRYANT ST. SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94105. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed KARAKIT TIPWAREE. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/17/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/17/15.

AUGUST 20, 27, SEPT 03, 10, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036613900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ABC AQUATIC, 286 26TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94121. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ROBERT EMILIO LAU. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/20/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/04/15.

AUGUST 20, 27, SEPT 03, 10, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036629700

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BRONZE ORGANICS, 558 17TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94121. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed GERALDINE L. CAMP. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/14/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/14/15.

AUGUST 20, 27, SEPT 03, 10, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036628200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BSQUARED FITNESS, 900 POWELL ST #10, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94108. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed BENJAMIN A. GONZALES. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/01/14. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/13/15.

AUGUST 20, 27, SEPT 03, 10, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036633200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: THE GO WEST GROUP ENGEL AND VOELKERS, 582 CASTRO ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114.

This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed THE GO WEST REAL ESTATE GROUP (CA). 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 08/17/15.

AUGUST 20, 27, SEPT 03, 10, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036626301

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ENGEL & VOLKERS LAKE TAHOE; ENGEL & VOELKERS NEWPORT BEACH, 582 CASTRO ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed SAN FRANCISCO REAL ESTATE HOLDINGS, INC (UTAH). 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 08/12/15.

AUGUST 20, 27, SEPT 03, 10, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036612200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: AMNESIA, 853 VALENCIA ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed SOMA BOYS LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/01/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/03/15.

AUGUST 20, 27, SEPT 03, 10, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036632100

t

SUMMONS (FAMILY LAW) SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN MATEO, 400 COUNTY CENTER, REDWOOD CITY, CA 94063 NOTICE TO RESPONDENT: YEVGENIYA TSERNOH, YOU HAVE BEEN SUED. PETITIONER’S NAME IS LEONID TSERNOH CASE NO. FAM0127822

You have 30 CALENDAR DAYS after this Summons and Petition are served on you to file a Response (form FL-120) at the court and have a copy served on the petitioner. A letter, phone call, or court appearance will not protect you. If you do not file your Response on time, the court may make orders affecting your marriage or domestic partnership, your property, and custody of your children. You may be ordered to pay support and attorney fees and costs.

For legal advice, contact a lawyer immediately.

Get help finding a lawyer at the California Courts Online Self-Help Center (www.courts.ca.gov/selfhelp), at the California Legal Services website (www.lawhelpca.org), or by contacting your local county bar association.

NOTICE: RESTRAINING ORDERS ARE ON PAGE 2: These restraining orders are effective against both spouses or domestic partners until the petition is dismissed, a judgment entered, or the court makes further orders. They are enforceable anywhere in California by any law enforcement officer who has received or seen a copy of them.

FEE WAIVER: If you cannot pay the filing fee, ask the clerk for a fee waiver form. The court may order you to pay back all or part of the fees and costs that the court waived for you or the other party. The name and address of the court are SAN MATEO SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, 400 County Center, Redwood City, CA 94063 The name, address and telephone number of the petitioners attorney are: Constantine Zhukovsky, Esquire; SBN207181, The Law Offices of Constantine Zhukovsky, 450 Taraval Street, Unit 147, San Francisco, CA 94116 Telephone: 415-260-1045, facsimile: 415-704-3383, E-mail crass50@yahoo.com January 16, 2015 Clerk of the San Mateo Superior Court, John C. Fitton, Deputy E. Melas.

STANDARD FAMILY LAW RESTRAINING ORDERS: Starting immediately, you and your spouse or domestic partner are restrained from: 1. Removing the minor children of the parties, from the state or applying for a new or replacement passport for those minor children without the prior written consent of the other party or an order of the court; 2. Cashing borrowing against, canceling, transferring, disposing of, or changing the beneficiaries of any insurance or other coverage, including life, health, automobile, and disability, held for the benefit of the parties and their minor child or children; 3. Transferring, encumbering, hypothecating, concealing, or in any way disposing of any property, real or personal, whether community, quasi-community, or separate, without the written consent of the other party or an order of the court, except in the usual course of business or for the necessities of life; and 4. Creating a nonprobate transfer or modifying a nonprobate transfer in a manner that affects the disposition of property subject to the transfer, without the written consent of the other party or an order of the court. Before revocation of a nonprobate transfer can take effect or a right of survivorship to property can be eliminated, notice of the change must be filed and served on the other party.

You must notify each other of any proposed extraordinary expenditures at least five business days prior to incurring these extraordinary expenditures and account to the court for all extraordinary expenditures made after these restraining orders are effective. However, you may use community property, quasi-community property, or your own separate property to pay an attorney to help you or to pay court costs.

NOTICE – ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE HEALTH INSURANCE: Do you or someone in your household need affordable health insurance?

If so you should apply for Covered California.

Covered California can help reduce the cost you pay towards high quality affordable health care.

For more information, visit www.coveredca.com.

Or call Covered California at 1-800-300-1506.

WARNING – IMPORTANT INFORMATION California law provides that, for purposes of division of property upon dissolution of a marriage or domestic partnership or upon legal separation, property acquired by the parties during marriage or domestic partnership in joint form is presumed to be community property. If either party to this action should die before the jointly held community property is divided, the language in the deed that characterizes how title is held (i.e., joint tenancy, tenants in common, or community property) will be controlling, and not the community property presumption. You should consult your attorney if you want the community property presumption to be written into the recorded title to the property.

SEPTEMBER 03, 10, 17, 24, 2015 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE A-036534300 The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as: ORO, 1299 BUSH ST #401, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business was conducted by an individual and signed by JARRETT DOWNS. The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/01/15.

AUGUST 20, 27, SEPT 03, 10, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036638900

In the matter of the application of: JULIE TISHKOFF, 2837 FOLSOM ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner JULIE TISHKOFF, is requesting that the name JULIE TISHKOFF, be changed to JULIE COHEN. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept.

514 on the 1st of October 2015 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ORO, 305 GRANT AVE FL2, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94108. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed ORO SALON LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/17/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/17/15.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: PRESS ENGAGED, 1372 PINE ST #210, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JENNIFER LONA SALTZMAN PHILLIPS. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/20/15.

The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/20/15.

AUGUST 20, 27, SEPT 03, 10, 2015

AUGUST 20, 27, SEPT 03, 10, 2015

AUGUST 27, SEPT 03, 10, 17, 2015

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Legal Notices>> FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036641400

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: RIGSBEE LEGAL, 124 BURLWOOD DRIVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94127. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JOHN T. RIGSBEE. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/15/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/21/15.

AUGUST 27, SEPT 03, 10, 17, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036629000

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: 5TH AVENUE DELI & MARKET, FOUR EMBARCADERO CENTER, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94111. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed KHALAID AZAR. 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 08/14/15.

AUGUST 27, SEPT 03, 10, 17, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036640500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: NIMBUSSCALE CONSULTING, 8200 OCEANVIEW TER #216, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94132. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JOSEPH KEEGAN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/10/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/21/15.

AUGUST 27, SEPT 03, 10, 17, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036628000

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: UX CURIOUS, 584 CASTRO ST #655, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed UX CURIOUS, INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/03/15.

The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/13/15.

AUGUST 27, SEPT 03, 10, 17, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036640700

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: NOSTRA, 280 VALENCIA, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed PLIN LICENSE LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/21/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/21/15.

AUGUST 27, SEPT 03, 10, 17, 2015 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-15-551490

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-15-551488

In the matter of the application of: MARY L. LEIX, 1700 BROADWAY #506, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner MARY L. LEIX, is requesting that the name MARY L. LEIX, be changed to MARY LEIX NELSON. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept.

514 on the 24th of November 2015 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

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SEPTEMBER 03, 10, 17, 24, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036648300

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SWOOP COMMUNICATIONS, 269 BRADFORD ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed PAULA A. MURPHY. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/17/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/27/15.

SEPTEMBER 03, 10, 17, 24, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036648500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: CRUZITO’S JEWELRY & REPAIR, 2521 MISSION ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ANA K. SANCHEZ. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/27/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/27/15.

SEPTEMBER 03, 10, 17, 24, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036645800

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SAN FRANCISCO AUTO TOW & RECOVERY, 1 AVE OF THE PALMS SUITE 10B, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94130. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed DENNIS M. FALLON. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/25/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/25/15.

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In the matter of the application of: SUNG HEE HONG, 1650 OCTAVIA ST #310, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner SUNG HEE HONG, is requesting that the name SUNG HEE HONG, be changed to ARIANA HONG. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 514, Room 514 on the 19th of November 2015 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as: OASIS CONVENIENCE STORE, 4 EMBARCADERO LOBBY LEVEL, SAN FRANCISCO, CA, 94111. This business was conducted by a general partnership and signed by NAJEB M. DABIT & MICHAEL DABIT. The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/18/2014.

SEPTEMBER 03, 10, 17, 24, 2015

SEPTEMBER 03, 10, 17, 24, 2015

SEPTEMBER 03, 10, 17, 24, 2015 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE A-035949500

City and County of San Francisco Outreach Advertising September 2015 San Francisco Arts Commission CALLING ALL ARTISTS

The San Francisco Arts Commission (SFAC) has released its grant guidelines and applications for the FY2015-2016 grants cycle. The application deadline is Thursday, October 15, 2015 by 5 p.m. via email to sfac.grants@sfgov.org. The SFAC is also providing opportunities for individual artists and organizations to learn about guideline and application changes, eligibility requirements, and general tips for applying at its upcoming technical assistance workshops.

Visit www.sfartscommission.org/CAE/grants to learn more, download the applications and RSVP for our technical assistance workshops.

Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development (MOHCD) Notice of Availability of Draft 2014-2015 Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report

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SEPTEMBER 03, 10, 17, 24, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036651600

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: FEAST STUDIOS, 1366 MISSION ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed HERRGOTT ENTERPRISES (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/28/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/28/15.

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Deadline: NOON on MONDAY. Payment must accompany ad. No ads taken over the telephone.

If you have a question, call 415.861.5019. Display advertising rates available upon request.

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The Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development (MOHCD) and Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD) announce the availability of the Draft 20142015 Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER) for public review and comment from September 4, 2015 through September 18, 2015. The CAPER represents the annual report of the City and County of San Francisco’s implementation of the following four federal programs (CDBG, ESG, HOME and HOPWA) during program year 2014-2015.

For more information, please visit www.sfmohcd.org or call (415) 701-5500.

Assessment Appeals Board (AAB)

Notice is hereby given of 12 vacancies on the AAB. Applicants must have at least 5 years experience as one of the following: Certified Public Accountant or Public Accountant; licensed Real Estate Broker; Property Appraiser accredited by a nationally recognized organization, or Property Appraiser certified by the California Office of Real Estate Appraisers. For additional information or to obtain an application, please call 415-554-6778.

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!

Board of Supervisors Regularly Scheduled Board Meetings

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC –Tuesdays, 2:00pm, City Hall Chamber, Room 250.

• September 8 • September 15 • September 22 • September 29 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

RATES for Newspaper and website: First line, Regular 10.00 All subsequent lines 5.00 Web or e-mail hyperlink 5.00 CAPS double price BOLD double price X-BOLD triple price PAYMENT:

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Vol. 45 • No. 36 • September 3-9, 2015 Julianne Moore and Ellen Page are a couple in a landmark 21st-century civil rights case, in director Peter Sollett’s Freeheld.

Fall preview: Films

by David Lamble

Director Roland Emmerich tells the story of the tumultuous night that gave birth to a modern gay identity in Stonewall.

T

he fall film season is unusually promising for LGBTQ filmgoers. Here are at least two dozen reasons for making moviegoing a regular habit from now until Christmas.

See page 31 >>

Fall preview: Art museums “Palace of Fine Arts and the Lagoon” (ca.

1915), oil on canvas by Edwin Deakin. Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, longterm loan from the California Department of Finance.

Courtesy FAM-SF

by Sura Wood

“The Thirteenth Labor of Hercules: Official Poster for the Panama-Pacific International Exposition” (1913-14), color offset lithograph poster by Perham Wilhelm Nahl.

Collection of Donna Ewald Huggins.

F

all offerings at the museums may seem a little thin compared to years past, as we await 2016 and the arrival of the expanded and renovated SFMOMA and the reopening of the Berkeley Art Museum in its new digs. In the meantime, the South Bay continues to strengthen its presence, and major players in the city present shows worth checking out, as you’ll see below. de Young Museum: Between Life and Death:

Robert Motherwell’s Elegies in Bay Area Collections, a small exhibition by a giant of Abstract Expressionism, showcases “At Five in the Afternoon,” one of 13 works from Elegies to the Spanish Republic, a series inspired by a speech about the Spanish Civil War delivered by philosopher/ novelist Andre Malraux at a 1937 rally in San Francisco. The conflict and the moral issues it raised remained close to the artist’s heart for the rest of his life, and inspired some 250 paintings and works on paper. Sept. 5-March 6.

See page 20 >>

Courtesy FAM-SF

{ SECOND OF THREE SECTIONS }

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Pick up our special Oakland Pride edition on September 10.

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<< Out There

18 • BAY AREA REPORTER • September 3-9, 2015

Summer at the Cliff House

Fall forward, continued

t

by Roberto Friedman

Cliff House and Beyond!

Guided Historical Walks Spend a memorable Saturday morning exploring Lands End. Start at the historic Cliff House with a continental breakfast then walk through Adolph Sutro’s magical ‘kingdom by the sea’ with historian guide John A. Martini.

Regarded as the ultimate authority on this part of the City’s fabled past, John’s walks will be offered on September 5 and October 10.

For more information and to make reservations please visit www.cliffhouse.com/history/Johns_Walk.html

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 Valet parking every night after 5:00 pm. * Some restrictions apply. Promotions are not valid on holidays.

1090 Point Lobos

415-386-3330

www.CliffHouse.com

ebar.com CHANTICLEER

T

his week we offer our second round of fall preview pieces in Arts & Culture. In these pages you’ll find coming attractions in fall films, art museum shows, and the San Francisco Symphony and Opera seasons. Here are a few more highlights in classical music that caught our eye.

Bay Area audiences will be among the first in the U.S. ever to hear Scarlatti’s operatic masterpiece The Glory of Spring. Nicholas McGegan will lead Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra with guest artists Nicholas Phan and Diana Moore in a historically informed performance of La Gloria di Primavera, a newly-uncovered “lavish and complex serenata by Italy’s premier 18th-century opera composer, Alessandro Scarlatti.” Plays First Congregational Church in Berkeley, Sun., Oct. 4, at 7:30 p.m. & Sat., Oct. 10, at 8 p.m.; Bing Concert Hall in Palo Alto, Wed., Oct. 7, at 7:30 p.m.; and Herbst Theatre in SF, Fri., Oct. 9, at 8 p.m. Tickets start at $25: call (415) 392-4400 or go to cityboxoffice.com Bay Area Rainbow Symphony kicks off its eighth season with its opening concert on Sat., Sept.

5, 8 p.m. at SF Conservatory, 40 Oak St., SF. Music director Dawn Harms leads the orchestra in Shostakovich’s Festive Overture; Ravel’s Piano Concerto in D Major (for left hand), Keith Porter-Snell, piano; and Franck’s Symphony in D minor. Info & tickets: bars-sf.org.

California Symphony and music director Donato Cabrera open their 2015-16 season at Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek on Sun., Sept. 20, at 4 p.m., with Passport to the World, a smorgasbord of international offerings from composers including Sibelius (Karelia Suite, Finlandia), Dvorák (Slavonic Dances), Debussy (Girl with the Flaxen Hair, Clair de Lune), Falla (Ritual Fire Dance), Rimsky-Korsakov (Procession of the Nobles), Grieg (The Last Spring), Elgar (Pomp and Circumstance), Vaughan Williams (Fantasia on Greensleeves), and Glière (Dance of Russian Soldiers). Tickets ($42-$72) are found at californiasymphony.org.

Berkeley Symphony’s season opening concert is Wed., Oct. 14, at 7 p.m., with conductor Joana Carneiro leading Canadian soprano Simone Osborne and the orchestra in Berlioz’s Les nuits d’ete. The orchestra also performs the West Coast premiere of Kaija Saariaho’s Laterna magica, premiered in 2009 and inspired by Ingmar Bergman’s autobiography, and Ravel’s Bolero, at Zellerbach Hall. Berkeley Symphony will also give the US premiere of Fachwerk by Russian composer Sofia Gubaidulina on Thurs., Dec. 3, 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall. Nor-

Courtesy Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra

Music director Nicholas McGegan will lead the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra in a newly discovered 300-year-old serenata by composer Alessandro Scarlatti.

wegian bayan (classical accordion) innovator Geir Draugsvoll, for whom the work was written, makes his Bay Area debut as soloist.

Also on the program: Giovanni Gabrieli’s Canzon septimi et octavi toni and Sonata pian e forte, and Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. Tickets for both events are available at berkeleysymphony.org.

The Oakland Symphony opens its 22nd season with its new name and a West Coast premiere by Bay Area composer Mason Bates on Fri., Oct. 2, at 8 p.m. at the Paramount Theatre in Oakland. The program, with music director Michael Morgan on the podium, includes Bates’ Devil’s Radio, Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto with guest soloist Kenneth Renshaw, selections from Brahms’ Liebeslieder Waltzes with the Oakland Symphony Chorus conducted by Lynne Morrow, and Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances.

For info and tickets ($15-$75), visit oaklandsymphony.org.

The Jarvis Conservatory (1711 Main St., Napa) will present the renowned SF-based Cypress String Quartet (Cecily Ward, violin; Tom Stone, violin; Ethan Filner, viola; and Jennifer Kloetzel, cello) in the Beethoven String Quartet Concert Series, a two-year series featuring the complete string quartets of Ludwig van Beethoven on three Saturday evenings (Oct. 24, Jan. 27, May 14) at 7 p.m. The concert on Sat., Oct. 24, will feature Beethoven’s String Quartet in F, Op. 18, No. 1; String Quartet in F, Op. 135; and String Quartet in F, Op 59, No. 1. General admission $40, series

tickets $96, at jarvisconservatory. com/cypressquartet.

Pound cake

What’s up with our favorite Bay Area Latina lesbian comic this fall?

Writer/performer Marga Gomez’s Pound, a sexually-fueled tour de force, plays Brava Theater Center, Oct. 15Nov. 15, after a critically acclaimed run in NYC. Here’s the squib: “A ladies room fisting catapults a celibate celesbian through a vaginal portal to a cloud where notorious lesbian cinematic archetypes hook up in spectacularly meta ways.” We don’t know what any of that means, but wowza!

Info: brava.org.

Bowl us over

Future is now: Out There attended the media lunch preview for Eatsa, SF’s first automated cafe with no servers or cashiers, downtown at 121 Spear St. Eatsa offers a range of yummy quinoa bowls for an impressively low price point, $6.95. You punch in your order at a self-service kiosk, then pick up the food in an automated “cubby system” when it flashes your name. Everything comes in combinations of fresh, flavorful offerings that you can customize to taste.

We sampled a Bento Bowl, with stir-fry quinoa, edamame, wonton strips, teriyaki sauce, miso portobello, and apple-cabbage slaw. We’ll return to try out the Mediterranean (pita chips, arugula, feta, tomato, cucumber, artichoke hearts, dill yogurt sauce, Greek-style quinoa, kalamata olives, marinated chickpeas), and there are plenty of other variations to tempt us. It’s food that’s fast without being fast food. Two additional CA locations will open by the end of the year. It’s like a 21st-century take on the old Horn & Hardart Automats.

Check it out at www.eatsa.com.t

Sept 19 @ 8pm - Mission Santa Clara Sept 20 @ 5pm - St. Francis Church, Sacramento Sept 23 @ 8pm - St. Mark’s Episcopal, Berkeley Sept 25 & 26 @ 8pm - SF Conservatory of Music FOR TICKETS: www.chanticleer.org | 415-392-4400

Eatsa

Eatsa is a fully automated café now open in downtown San Francisco.

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<< Fine Art

20 • BAY AREA REPORTER • September 3-9, 2015

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Courtesy of Asian Art Museum of San Francisco

“Illumination Waqf” (2013) by Ahmed Mater. Gold leaf, tea pomegranate, Chinese ink and offset X-ray film print on paper, part of First Look at the Asian Art Museum.

<<

MFA, Boston

Fall museums

From page 17

Jewel City: Art from San Francisco’s Panama-Pacific International Exposition, with its strong local angle and exhaustively researched, well-written scholarship by curator Jim Ganz, promises to be a highlight of the season and a lot of fun. This year is the centennial of the ambitious exposition, which spanned 76 city blocks and celebrated the opening of the Panama Canal, reconstruction following the 1906 earthquake, industrial advancements and achievements in the arts. A century ago, 11,000 paintings, sculptures, prints, murals, monuments and photographs were shown there. Oct. 17-Jan. 10.

Legion of Honor: Breguet: Art

and Innovation in Watchmaking focuses on Abraham-Louis Breguet, the Parisian clockmaker par excellence whose company, beginning in the late 1700s, developed technical innovations that transformed the nature of timekeeping taken for granted today, such as the selfwinding watch and first wristwatch.

Known for their ingenuity, portability and reliability, the elegant timepieces, status symbols for the European elite, were worn by the likes of Napoleon, Tsar Alexander and Queen Victoria. Sept. 19-Jan. 10.

Asian Art Museum: The second of two exhibitions centered on modern art (the sterling 28 Chinese being the first), First Look: Collecting Contemporary at the Asian features the institution’s acquisitions over the last 15 years. This traveling

show, which originated at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, attempts to connect art-historical traditions and subject matter – landscape, nature, spirituality – to contemporary ideas expressed in mediums ranging from photography, animation, video and sculpture to Korean ceramics and Chinese ink paintings. Sept.

4-Oct. 11.

Looking East: How Japan Inspired Monet, Van Gogh, and other Western Artists In the 1850s, after years of isolation, Japan opened itself up to more than trade with the West, setting off a frenzy among European and American artists, designers and collectors.

That fascination is explored in this show, which consists of over 170 works, including Impressionist and Post-Impressionist masterpieces exemplifying the Japonisme phenom-

“Postman Joseph Roulin” (1888), oil on canvas by Vincent van Gogh.

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Gift of Robert Treat Paine.

enon that inspired Mary Cassatt, Monet, Degas, van Gogh, Gauguin and others. Oct. 30-Feb. 7.

Museum of the African Diaspora: Alison Saar: Bearing Utilizing found objects like suitcases, mops and buckets, glass and tar, and touching on burdens borne by the body and the weight of history, African-American artist Saar merges the legacy of slavery, womanhood and racial discrimination in installations such as Undone, where a black female figure seated on a chair hung from a wall seems to float overhead; her translucent white gown, its edges stained with blood, cascades 16 feet to the ground. Nov. 11-Apr. 3.

Oakland Museum of California: Don’t know what to do with that old pair of jeans, discarded toy or tattered strip of rug? Yo-Yos & Half Squares: Contemporary California Quilts supplies a potential answer in the form of 20 quilts, dating from the late 1980s through the early 2000s. Made of unconventional materials sewn into asymmetrical designs by five locally based women, the seemingly spontaneous creations of Angie Tobias, Arbie Williams, Mattie Pickett, Rosie Lee Tompkins, and Sherry Byrd reflect each crafter’s idiosyncratic taste and style. Sept. 12-Feb. 21.

Contemporary Jewish Museum: Trimpin, a German-American artist, was commissioned to create Pour Crever, a new lobby installation that marks the 75th anniversary of the mass deportation of Jews from the South German hamlet of Efringen-Kirchen to France, and then to their final destination, Auschwitz. Suspended water tanks release sheets of water spelling out the names of the town’s victims that

vaporize before they reach the pool below. Sept. 24-Ongoing. NEAT: New Experiments in Art and Technology looks at the Bay Area’s leading role in integrating digital tools with fine art. Oct. 15-Jan. 17.

A quartet of shows opens simultaneously at Stanford University on Sept. 9. The Anderson Collection’s Constructive Interference: Tauba Auerbach & Mark Fox showcases the work of a pair of Stanford grads who investigate process and an array of materials in their prints, drawings, paintings and sculpture. Sept.

9-March 21. Just across the way at the Cantor Arts Center, Artists at Work examines the nature of inspiration, creativity in the context of art history, the impact of technology, and the contribution of place in works by Edouard Manet, J.M.W. Turner, Edward Weston, Trevor Paglen and numerous others. Sept.

9-Jan. 18. A jumping-off point for the latter exhibition is the Cantor’s recent acquisition of 29 Richard Diebenkorn sketchbooks, which offer intriguing clues to this California artist’s practice, and are displayed along with “New York Corner” (1913), a painting by Edward Hopper, whose canon helped shape the budding psyche of Diebenkorn when he matriculated at Stanford.

Sept. 9-Feb. 8.

San Jose Museum of Art: In Artists Including Me, William Wegman, who made his bones on humorous photographs of his Weimaraners, waltzes through the annals of art history, cracking visual puns at the expense of the masters and major art movements, from the Renaissance to Pop Art. Those works share the stage with the irrepressible pups.

Oct. 3-Feb. 7.t

FINE ARTS MUSEUMS OF SAN FRANCISCO EXHIBITION SCHEDULE

de Young

Golden Gate Park • deyoungmuseum.org

Jewel City: Art from San Francisco’s Panama-Pacific International Exposition OCT 17, 2015–JAN 10, 2016

Royal Hawaiian Featherwork: Nā Hulu Ali’i AUG 29, 2015–FEB 28, 2016

Legion of Honor Lincoln Park • legionofhonor.org

Breguet: Art and Innovation in Watchmaking SEP 19, 2015–JAN 10, 2016

Ancient Luxury and the Roman Silver Treasure from Berthouville SEP 19, 2015–JAN 10, 2016

de Young: Top: Edwin Deakin, Palace of Fine Arts and the Lagoon, ca. 1915, Oil on canvas 32 3/8 x 48 3/8 in. (82.1 x 122.8 cm), Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, Long-term loan from the California Department of Finance, conserved with funds provided by Gerald D. Gordon, LOAN.2006.Deakin. Bottom: ëAhu ëula (cape), pre-1861, Yellow and black ëōëō (Moho nobilis) feathers, red ëiëiwi (Vestiaria coccinea) feathers, and olonā (Touchardia latifolia) fiber, Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Ethnology Collection, 09670/1909.007. Photograph by Hal Lum and Masayo Suzuki, 2014.

Legion of Honor: Top: Small (mÈdaillon) simple watch. Gold engine-turned case, silver engine-turned dial with phases of the moon and fast/slow regulator hand, barrel with pierced arbor wound with a male key, ruby cylinder escapement. Diameter: 1 ⁵⁄₁₆ in. (3.3 cm). Collection Montres Breguet S. A. B2784. Bottom: Cup with centaurs, Dedicated by Quintus Domitius Tutus, Roman, 1st century AD, Silver and gold, 4 5/8 in. (height) x 5 7/8 in. (diameter at rim) (11.7 x 15 cm). Inscribed: MERCVRIO AVGVSTO Q DOMITIVS TVTVS EX VOTO (To Augustan Mercury, Quintus Domitius Tutus, in fulfillment of a vow) BibliothËque nationale de France, DÈpartement des Monnaies, mÈdailles et antiques, Paris, 56.6

<< Theatre

22 • BAY AREA REPORTER • September 3-9, 2015

It came from beyond the fringe

by Richard Dodds

A

little gay girl dancing for Perry Como, a faux-queen’s variation on Dame Edna Everage, a queer Latina who thinks she’s the next Rita Hayworth, and God’s earthly visit to a prostitute are among the characters that show up in the 24th annual San Francisco Fringe Festival. Running Sept. 11-26 on the three stages at the Exit Theatre, the 2015 edition will feature 150 performances by 34 indie companies and performers.

The SF Fringe Fest has always been an unjuried affair, with selections made by a lottery system.

This means quality and content are going to be all over the place, but a fringe fest calls for an adventuresome audience. What follows is just a sampling of several intriguing offerings, based on subjective reactions to the presenters’ own descriptions of their works.

From Como to Homo If you’re old enough, or a nostalgia buff, you probably remember ubercasual singer Perry Como from his long-running music and television career. For one year, in 1957, his TV variety show featured six little dancing girls known as the Comoettes. Lynne Jassem was one of those girls, and she tells her story of being pushed into showbiz by her exRockette mother and her growing inner life convinced she is a boy. The Como-ettes were discharged after 10 weeks – the producers couldn’t abide the bickering mothers – but Jassem continued performing professionally for years, and offers tapdance interludes during From Como to Homo.

The Rita Hayworth of This Generation Tina D’Elia performs in her own solo show about Car-

melita Cristina Rivera, a Hayworthobsessed queer Latina who heads to Las Vegas in search of stardom. She’s in love with a transgender blackjack champion while her butch producer is in love with her, and then there’s an evil casino executive who seems to hold all the cards.

In Denial: A One-Woman Clown Show This is another solo show about an aspiring star, in this case with Broadway the destination, as a clown decides she deserves acclaim minus the big red nose. Rachel Resnick, who also wrote the show, plays Velma Patterson, in whose head her starry opening night takes place.

Bend the Rules, Eat the Head Barry Humphries is a man who pretends to be a woman in the guise of Dame Edna Everage.

In Bend the Rules, Micael Bogar is a real-life woman who pretends to be a man who pretends to be a woman in the guise of stage character Ms. Durdah Devil. Coiffed, costumed, and bespectacled in the style of Dame Edna, Ms. Durdah Devil is on her 50th-anniversary tour with her loyal assistant Rudolph (Sabrina Wenske), but a broken heart mars this supposedly triumphant victory lap. Clown-inspired characters, shadow play, and a touch of magic are promised in this show written

by Bogar.

My Name Is God, Motherf***er This is a dark comedy about a ticked-off God who arrives on Earth in human form to see if mankind is worth saving. Along the way he gets drunk, smokes crack, has sex with a prostitute, and discovers how the human soul really works. Matthew Close is the author and director, and is also featured in a cast that includes

Ana Sanchez

Antworks Studios

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Steve Robles

Lynne Jassem performs in front of her child-performer self in the autobiographical show From Como to Homo at the SF Fringe Fest.

A queer Latina with a Rita Hayworth obsession heads to Las Vegas to find stardom in The Rita Hayworth of This Generation.

In Schachner vs. Schachner, Abby Schachner uses boxing as a metaphor to dig in her own life and her parents’ messy divorce.

Bora Celebi, Ryan Hammond, Ron Elwell, and Anya Absten.

Schachner vs. Schachner A metaphorical boxing ring provides the setting for Abby Schachner’s solo play, in which she spars with herself, her past, and her parents’ tabloidworthy divorce that involved both a hit man and an undercover cop. Incorporating the footwork of a professional boxer, Schachner comes out swinging in search of the truth.

All productions will have several performances presented on a rotating schedule at the Exit. All the details are available at sffringe.org.

propriate home for a story of a love triangle that develops when two artists begin an uneasy collaboration.

Presented by 3Girls Theatre Company, the musical has songs

by Caroline Altman and a book by Patricia Milton. It features Bekka Finke as a foundering artist whose art dealer husband, played by Tyler McKenna, suggests she collaborate with a “shock photographer,” played

by Danielle Thys.

This collaboration involves using a lie detector to catch artists’ models in their “moments of truth.” When the artist suspects that her husband

and the photographer are becoming an item, she thinks perhaps the lie detector might find a better use at home.

Louis Parnell is directing the musical, which has spent the past two years being developed in workshops and readings. Scrumbly Koldewyn, the former member of the Cockettes, is the musical director. 3Girls Theater Company was founded in 2011 with a goal to increase female representation among playwrights being produced on stage. More information is available at 3girlstheatre.org.t

Musical ‘Moments’

Truth will out, but sometimes it needs a jolt. A lie detector becomes a central figure in Moments of Truth, a new musical comedy beginning its debut run on Sept. 16 at Royce Gallery. The converted Mission District warehouse, which features both visual and performing arts, is an ap-

Phantasmagoria

2015-2016 SEASON

EVENINGS SUNDAYS AT THE VENETIAN ROOM FAIRMONT SAN FRANCISCO

10/4 STEPHANIE BLYTHE

(star of SF Opera’s Sweeney Todd!)

The Songs of Kate Smith

11/8 JANE MONHEIT

Jazz diva sings Ella & her Greatest Hits

12/13 MARIN MAZZIE & JASON DANIELEY

“Broadway’s Golden Couple” in a brand new show

1/10 JOHN PIZZARELLI & JESSICA MOLASKEY

Growup Songs

3/6 EMILY SKINNER

Tony nominee - Side Show, ACT’s A Little Night Music

4/17 PATINA MILLER

Tony winner (Pippin), Madam Secretary, Sister Act

5/22 ANN HAMPTON CALLAWAY & LIZ CALLAWAY From West Side Story to Wicked!

TICKETS:

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Until 10/4: Subscribe to 6 shows - get the 7th for free!

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Matthew Murphy

Chris Mann has the title role in The Phantom of the Opera, who has been secretly mentoring protégée Christine Daae, played by Katie Travis in a newly conceived production now at the Orpheum Theatre.

by Richard Dodds

M

ost everyone I know has seen The Phantom of the Opera.

And most of them aren’t quite sure when they saw it. After all, its London, Broadway, and touring productions have spilled into four decades, and my own guess was off by years when I finally pinpointed 1995 as the year of my first encounter.

And for many, a single visit can be both satisfying and sating. So what to do when a new touring production promises a fundamentally different experience?

If you want to trade some of the gauzy magic for a little more efficiency, a concept devised, says director Laurence Connor, in the name of changing audience sensibilities (but also acknowledged by producer Cameron Mackintosh to be easier to tour), you might want to head to the Orpheum Theatre, where the production is in residence. Enough of the spectacle and high-stakes melodrama of director Hal Prince’s original production is present, and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s driving music can still thrust you forward. You can then add in the curiosity factor about the changes to the original production – if it indeed remains a

potent recollection.

But that curiosity can only carry you so far, as key images are erased and the replacements are generally inferior. The most obvious addition to the production is the large cylindrical drum in Paul Brown’s set design, looking dully like an industrial cistern until it revolves or opens to reveal different set pieces.

It’s interesting to watch how it unfolds, and the best new special effect is the downward spiral of treads that erupt from the cylinder just in time for the phantom and his protégée songbird to take their next steps. But gain one, lose another, as the waves of costumed revelers no longer have a grand staircase to descend in spectacular fashion to open the second act.

Of course, all the accoutrement is supposedly there to serve the content of the show. Granting a certain amount of inspirational credit to Puccini, Rossini, et al., Lloyd Webber’s music swoops and swirls and bores into your brain. The musical’s dullest stretch, and that stretch now seems longer than remembered, is when Lloyd Webber gives up his inspirations and composes in the See page 30 >>

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Music>>

September 3-9, 2015 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 23

Fall preview: SF Opera & SF Symphony

by Philip Campbell

S

ingle-ticket sales for the San Francisco Opera’s 93rd season have been available since June, and across the street on Grove the San Francisco Symphony’s box office has been helping music-lovers pick individual concerts since July. It might feel like summer, but it’s high time for music-lovers to make their choices for fall.

The SFO starts on Sept. 11 with a showcase for American soprano Leah Crocetto, singing the title role in Verdi’s passionate transitional opera Luisa Miller. She is an excellent choice, and expectations are running high. It may be a little intense for opening night, but with Music Director Nicola Luisotti likely to add Italianate fervor from the pit and exciting American tenor Michael Fabiano appearing as Luisa’s cruelly manipulated lover Rodolfo, the glitterati in the audience should be able to settle down long enough to appreciate a night of super-sized singing. Ubiquitous SFO director Francesca Zambello’s production from 15 years ago is staged by Laurie Feldman with Michael Yeargen’s designs. Verdi’s turning-point opera, which foreshadows his later masterworks, has five more performances scheduled throughout September.

The next night marks another big event. Stephen Sondheim’s magnum opus Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is filling the War Memorial with buckets of blood and putting the grand opera into Grand Guignol, for its Company premiere on Sept. 12.

Sweeney has been staged big and small, filmed by Tim Burton and performed in symphony concerts on both coasts (we still treasure Patti LuPone’s Mrs. Lovett with the SFS). It is fascinating to think of another incarnation of Sondheim’s Broadway thriller plumped up in an opera-house edition.

We were disappointed when originally scheduled Gerald Finley dropped out as Sweeney, but

his replacement, American tenor Brian Mulligan, was characterful in the title role in Nixon in China, and he should give another convincing portrayal as the tortured barber crazed with revenge. Mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe has a thrilling voice that might be just the ticket for an operatic interpretation of the cannibalistic cook. Judging from the publicity photos, she certainly looks game for the risky assignment. Director Lee Blakeley’s sumptuous production from the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris has Patrick Summers (SFO Principal Guest Conductor) leading the orchestra in Jonathan Tunick’s marvelous orchestrations. The show will continue in repertory until the end of September.

Michael Cavanagh’s (Nixon in China, Susannah) new production of Donizetti’s iconic bel canto masterpiece Lucia di Lammermoor is revealed Oct. 8, and runs through the rest of the month starring radiant soprano Diana Damrau. Acclaimed for her affecting role debut at the Met, La Damrau is partnered by tenor Piotr Beczala. They have worked together before at La Scala, where a controversial staging of La Traviata garnered him jeers from the peanut gallery but acclaim from the stalls, and roses for the prima donna. Beczala has already enjoyed successes at the SFO, and both of the leads in the new Lucia can probably expect some more respectful bouquets on this opening night. Brian Mulligan is Lucia’s interfering brother (he’s a busy boy this season), and Nicola Luisotti conducts.

SFO’s delightful production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute, designed with eye-popping imagination by visual artist Jun Kaneko, returns after only three years in General Director David Gockley’s Englishsinging translation, with additional English translation by Ruth and Thomas Martin. Luscious soprano Nadine Sierra is Pamina, and soprano Albina Shagimuratova returns as the Queen of the Night. Tenor

Courtesy SFS Cory Weaver/San Francisco Opera

Dario Acosta

American soprano Leah Crocetto will sing the title role in Verdi’s Luisa Miller.

Brian Mulligan will sing the title role in Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd.

Efraín Solís, making his role debut as Papageno, was a big hit in the Company’s revival of La Cenerentola, and it will be a treat to see him again. (Oct. 20-Nov. 20.)

Sir Mark Elder conducts Wagner’s glorious comedy Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg starting Nov. 18 with a cast that includes some SFO favorites. Sir David McVicar’s naturalistic staging features bass-baritone Greer Grimsley as Hans Sachs and tenor Brandon Jovanovich as Walther. But wait, there’s more. Mezzosoprano Sasha Cooke (brava, diva!) is Magdalena, and soprano Rachel Willis-Sørensen makes her SFO debut as Eva. I have never been able to fully digest the national pride sentiments expressed in the last act, but Wagner’s golden tribute to a mythic age is overflowing with some of his most beautiful music, and it is a truly warm and wise portrait of human nature. With Elder on the podium, I can hardly wait.

On Thanksgiving Eve, another comic masterpiece opens with the rapid revival of Spanish director

Emilio Sagi’s take on Rossini’s The Barber of Seville. Former San Francisco Opera Adler Fellow and Merola Opera Program alumna Daniela Mack is Rosina, American baritone Lucas Meachem returns as Figaro (2013’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia), and tenor René Barbera, who made his SFO debut as Don Ramiro in the fall 2014 production of La Cenerentola, is Count Almaviva.

Last on the roster is a double bill: The Fall of the House of Usher. Two one-act operas based on Poe’s mysterious story are presented in the U.S. production premiere of David Pountney’s generally well-received British staging, praised for its evocative video projections and chilling atmosphere. Conductor Lawrence Foster leads tenor Brian Mulligan (again!) in Robert Orledge’s completion of Claude Debussy’s La Chute de la Maison Usher and Usher House by Gordon Getty (yes, that Gordon Getty). Getty is serious about his composing, and his rather traditional music might prove a tonic to Debussy’s undisputed ge-

Soprano Alexandra Silber is one of the guest artists appearing at the San Francisco Symphony’s opening gala.

nius. We will reserve judgment until the limited run of four performances starts in December. We are undeniably intrigued.

Symphonic season

The opening gala for the San Francisco Symphony’s 2015-16 season comes a little later this year, on Sept. 24, as the band and Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas take a well-deserved breather after their high-profile European Festivals Tour. It will be hard to top concerts at the Edinburgh International Festival and at the famous BBC Proms, but when you see what they have lined up at home, the best is yet to come.

Always savvy about openingnight crowds and their attention spans, MTT has developed a typically sophisticated strategy for party planning. There is nothing too serious but also nothing mediocre on the gala concert bills, and this year’s playlist is really a corker.

See page 31 >>

Between mirth & seriousness

by Tim Pfaff

W

hat would Milton think?”

I found myself wondering 10 minutes into the stunning new video of Mark Morris’ L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato (BelAir Classiques), taped live at Madrid’s Teatro Real in July 2014 (and a few months ago had its 90 minutes of fame on PBS). It’s hard to square that this is the first visual record of a piece that had its premiere a quarter-century ago, has been revived in festival settings ever since, and is the work dance historians are likely to deem Morris’ greatest, or nearly so, anyway. But that’s part and parcel of the package of this improbable Gesamtkunstwerk – “total” in the sense that, against successive odds, a series of philosophical poems by the young John Milton became a one-of-a-kind ode by a mature George Frideric Handel and was transformed, around the time of the Handel tercentenary, into one of the most lyrical dances of our time.

For reasons irrelevant to this review, I’ve lately been knee-deep in Milton’s Paradise Lost (which colleagues tried to get Handel to turn into an oratorio, a project he adroitly side-stepped). So I’m steeped in the milieu of one of those high-minded moral philosophers whose mindset seems even more remote from 2015 than Gould’s Book of Fish is from Moby-Dick. As to what Milton would think of Morris’ masterpiece, I’m guessing that he would have

“

responded to accurate reports of it with another paean to his blindness, its revelry in the natural movements and beauties of the human body perhaps a bit much. Handel, on the other hand – with allowances for the cultural whiplash of a three-century Rip Van Winkle awakening – would, I think, have wept with pleasure.

Milton’s poems portray one of those Enlightenment “disputes” between mirth (L’Allegro) and seriousness (Il Penseroso), with the mitigating sentiments of the arbitrator (Il Moderato) added by Handel’s “librettists” (including his friend Charles Jennens, who put together the “book” for Messiah). The resulting text was ready-made for Handel, who already had a comparable argument between Truth and Time under his belt, and who had long since proved himself one of music’s

most ingenious word-setters. Barely has the poet mentioned birds than a sublime flute obbligato representing birdsong alights from Handel’s score.

Angry letters to the editor will soon enough prove how many other choreographers have set not just music but words, but still I ask, who but Morris would be inclined to set music with words to dance, and do it with the brilliance and brio of Handel? Keen observers will note that Morris is so attuned to the score that he occasionally lets good stretches of that piping flute-bird solo go un-choreographed, on a bare stage. That’s tribute.

In the longish segment “Mirth admit me of thy crew,” which makes up nearly half of Part I, Morris seizes the first bird reference and puts two of his dancers beak to beak, tilting their heads in that jerky-birdy way, then expands the visual metaphor until it takes in the entire company and more evocations of bird life than in the complete Audubon. If that doesn’t put you into mirth’s crew,

well. At the segment’s hot core is an episode with a male solo dancer who birds it up with every cliche of the effeminate gay you can imagine, jubilant, unapologetic, and did I mention?, heart-breakingly beautiful. It’s precisely Morris’ genius at taking everything right up to the cliff’s edge of camp and the music hall at its booziest, without plunging into bathos or self-hatred, that makes his L’Allegro that thing art so craves yet so seldom achieves: celebration.

As mirth would have it, at almost exactly the same time, Handel’s ode, which has had a happy enough life on disc and been something of a staple in the repertoire of SF’s Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra (Morris’ pit band at the premiere), has been treated to its finest outing yet on disc, from Paul McCreesh and his Gabrieli Consort and Players (Signum/Winged Lion). It’s the first recording that re-creates the work’s premiere in 1740. But if that sounds like yet another exercise in musty historical recreation, listen up.

As is his wont, McCreesh recorded the work only after he had performed and toured it with these musicians for more than a year, so it sounds “lived in,” confident, comfortable, flexible and out to entertain in the deepest sense. One of the lagniappes is that the astounding male treble (a part usually taken by a second soprano) is sung by Laurence Trilby, caught in the weeks before his voice began to “break,” at age 15. When he sings, “Mirth,

admit me of thy crew,” you hear not some white-voiced boy soprano, but a singer of wild imagination.

The music-making throughout is ripe and affecting, its perfection of execution in constant service to the music and text. The segues from solo voices to chorus and back are so seamless you’ve usually made the transition before noticing you have.

The solo singing is uniformly frontrank, with celebrity vocalists Gillian Webster, Peter Harvey, and Ashley Riches regularly surpassing themselves. Yet first among these equals is tenor Jeremy Ovenden, a singer of unflagging imagination. A fair description of his voice might pass over the customary beauties of tone and the like. But he grabs you by the ears with his first appearance, in “Haste thee, nymph, and bring with thee,” whose rollicking coloratura (though that’s not quite the word for it) and almost yodeled ho-hoho-ho-ho on the onomatopoetic first syllable of “holding” in “And Laughter, holding both his sides” – which the chorus picks up as nimbly – will make you hold yours.

These people do the “serious” music with the same penetration, and McCreesh adds fine touches such as the Concerto Grosso, Op. 6, Nos. 1 and 3, and the Organ Concerto, Op. 7, No. 1, used as transitional music, rather like scene changes that let the longer work breathe. But what you’re more likely to take away is the smile smeared all over your face.t

<< Out&About

24 • BAY AREA REPORTER • September 3-9, 2015

O&A

Club Inferno @ Hypnodrome

Fri 4 For the Love of Comrades @ New Conservatory Theatre Center

Underscore

Lois Tema

f you never see art you haven’t enjoyed before, how do you know if you like it? If a great event slipped under your radar last time, but was a few miles away, would you give it a second chance? Classic musicals and dramas are being restaged, from amateur to professional touring shows.

Although some are out of town, they’re worth a road trip.

Thu 3 Barbary Coast Revue @ Balancoire The third season of the popular cabaret show returns, with Danny Kennedy as Mark Twain, a cast of diverse performers, and guest performer Connie Champagne.

Thursdays weekly thru September. $14-$64. 8pm. 2565 Mission St. at 22nd. www.BarbaryCoastRevue.com

Between Riverside and Crazy @ Geary Theatre

Ryan Berg, D.A. Powell @ Books Inc. The author/editors of No House to Call My Home discuss their new book about LGBT homeless youth. 7pm.

2275 Market St. www.booksinc.net

Scott Capurro @ Punchline The wickedly funny gay comic performs for three nights at the downtown club. $22.50 (2-drink min.). 8pm. Also Sept. 4 (8pm & 10pm), Sept. 5 (7:30, 9:30pm). 444 Battery St. 397-7573. www.punchlinecomedyclub.com scottcapurro.com

Fri 4

American Conservatory Theatre’s production of Stephen Adly Guirgis’ Pulitzer Prize-winning dark comedy about an elderly man trying to hold on to his rent-controlled New York apartment. $20-$70. Wed-Sat 8pm.

Sat 2pm. Sun 7pm. Thru Sept. 27. 415 Geary St. www.act-sf.org

Echo Brown’s comic solo show follows a young women’s impending sexual encounter, and its political implications. $20-$35. Thu 8pm. Sat 8:30pm. Extended thru Oct. 29. 1062 Valencia St. at 22nd. 282-3055. www.themarsh.org

D’Arcy Drollinger’s sequel to the hilarious hit comedy Shit & Champagne, with a women’s prisonthemed parody and suspense-filled action-comedy show. $25-$200 (fourperson VIP table). Thu-Sat 7pm. Thru Sept 12. 298 11th St. www.sfoasis.com

Company @ SF Playhouse Local production of the classic 1970s Stephen Sondheim musical about a perpetually single Robert and his notso-happily married friends. $35-$12.

Wed & Thu 7pm. Fri & Sat 8pm. Sun 2pm. Thru Sept. 12. 450 Post St. 6779596. www.sfplayhouse.org

The Country House @ Theatreworks Silicon Valley West Coast premiere of Pulitzer Prizewinning playwright Donald Margulies’ dramedy about a revered stage and film actress who summons her family for a summer stock gathering. $19$80. Tue-Wed 7:30pm. Thu-Sat 8pm.

Wed & Sun 2pm. Sun 7pm. Thru Sept.

20. 500 Castro St., Mountain View. www.TheatreWorks.org

Bill Cooper, with pianist Barry Lloyd, hosts the cabaret singers’ open mic. $10. 7pm-10pm. 562 Sutter St. www.societycabaret.com

Elton John’s Aida @ Woodminster Ampitheatre, Oakland

Jukebox musical by Janet Yates and Mark Friedman follows the life of the popular singer, with songs that she made famous. $37-$63. Tue & Wed 7:30pm. Thu-Sat 8pm. Sun 3pm. Thru Oct. 10. 1601 Civic Drive, Walnut Creek. (925) 943-7469. www.centerrep.org

Wizard World Comic Con @ San Jose Convention Center Large-scale three-day convention of science ficiton, fantasy and pop culture, with panels, exhibits galore, and celebrities (Bruce Campbell (Army of Darkness) Brett Dalton ( Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD ), Billy Boyd ( The Lord of the Rings) and more. $35-$85.

Thru Sept. 6. 150 W. San Carlos St., San Jose. www.wizardworld.com

Art & Wine Festival @ Downtown Millbrae 45th annual two-day festival of crafts, live music, performance, food and wine. 10am-5pm & Sept 6.Broadway at Victoria Ave., Millbrae. (650) 6977324. www.miramarevents.com

Billy Joel @ AT&T Park The veteran pop singer-composer performs at the baseball stadium. $50-$130. 8pm. 24 Willie Mays Plaza at Embarcadero. www.ticketmaster.com

Cabaret Showcase @ Hotel Rex Emily Blossom, Everardo Leon and Tom Signore perform at the singer showcase, with accompanist/MC G. Scott Lacy. $25-$45. 8pm. 562 Sutter St. www.societycabaret.com

The Broadway musical –about a love triangle between a Nubian princess an Egyptian princess, and the soldier they love– gets a local outdoor production. $18-$59. Fri & Sat 8pm. Thu & Sun 7pm. Thru Sept. 13. 3300 Joaquin Miller Road, Oakland. (510) 531-9597. www.woodminster.com

I L

For the Love of Comrades @ New Conservatory Theatre Center U.S. premiere of Micheál Kerrigan play about the 1980s British group of gay rights activists who joined striking mine workers in a rural town. Previews; opens Sept 12. $20- Wed-Sat 8pm. Sun 2pm. Thru Oct. 11. www.nctcsf.org

In Plain Sight @ Metal Shop Theater, Berkeley

Mud Blue Sky @ Aurora Theatre, Berkeley

A Streetcar Named Desire @ Village Theatre, Danville

Shipwreck @ The Booksmith Literary erotic reading where local authors rewrite famous fictional characters. This time, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, with Kitty Stryker, Giselle Cheung, Lily Miller, Evan Burton, Molly Sanchez, and Joe Wadlington, and MC Baruch PorrasHernandez. $10-$12. 7pm. 1644 Haight St. 863-8688. booksmith.com

Tender Bears/Osos Amorosos @ Oasis The new night of bilingual drag, music, poetry and performance, with Baruch Porras-Hernandez, Kevin Seaman, Chilean gay singer Sebastián, Sue Veneer, Kay Nilsson, DJ Cholula Caliente and more. $15. 9:30pm. 298 11th St. www.sfoasis.com

Fri 4 Amelie @ Berkeley Repertory Theatre

Sarah Ruhl’s update on the Orpheus myth, from the viewpoint of his love, who is lost in the Underworld. $20$30. Wed-Sun. Thru Sept. 27. 1901 Ashby Ave., Berkeley. (510) 841-6500. www.shotgunplayers.org

World premiere of Craig Lucas and Daniel Messé’s new musical based on the popular French film about an enchanting young woman who creates magic and joy in Montmartre. $29-$97. Tue, Thu-Sat 8pm. Wed & Sun 7pm. Also Sat & Sun 2pm. Thru Oct. 4. 2025 Addison St. (510) 6472949. www.berkeleyrep.org

New & Classic Films @ Castro Theatre

Beach Blanket Babylon @ Club Fugazi

Sept. 3: Nightfall & The Burglar. Sept 4-7: Hitchcock’s Vertigo in 70mm.

Sept. 9: The Third Man (new 4K restoration). Sept. 10: Bullitt and The Seven-Ups. $10-$15. 429 Castro St. www.castrotheatre.com

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

Eurydice @ Ashby Stage, Berkeley

Valeria Branch’s weekly comedy night, where she embodies her faux queen character Pia Messing for some offbeat wit, with guest comics. $5. 8pm-10pm.

2565 Mission St. balancoiresf.com

Tenderly: The Rosemary Clooney Musical @ Center Rep, Walnut Creek

Those Women Productions’ staging of a collection of modern feminist takes on classic stories ranging from Cinderella to the Trojan War. Paywhat-you-can-$30. Fri & Sat 8pm.

Sun 2pm. thru Sept. 20. 2702 Regent St., Berkeley. www.thosewomen. brownpapertickets.com

Black Virgins are Not for Hipsters @ The Marsh

Champagne White and the Temple of Poon @ Oasis

Comedy Noir @ Balancoire

Curtain Call @ Hotel Rex

by Jim Provenzano

I

Thrillpeddlers’ hilarious rockin’ production of Kelly Kittell and Peter Fogel’s glam rock musical spin on Dante’s The Divine Comedy, where the road to fame can be hell, literally! $30-$35. Thu-Sat 8pm. Thru Sept.

12. 575 10th St. at Bryant. 377-4202. www.hypnodrome.org

t

Bay Area premiere of Marisa Wegrzyn’s edgy comic play about the early days of air travel. $32-$60. Teu & sun 7pm.

Wed-Sat 8pm. Also Sun 2pm. Thru Sept. 27. 2081 Addison St., Berkeley.

(510) 843-4822. auroratheatre.org

The Mystery of Irma Vep @ California Shakespeare Theatre, Orinda Charles Ludlam’s comic satire of gothic mysteries, with werewolves, ghosts, ex-wives and a mansion full of fun, gets an East Bay production. $15$84. Tue-Thu 7:30pm. Fri & Sat 8pm.

Sun 4pm. Thru Sept. 6. 100 California Shakespeare Theatre, Orinda. (510) 548-9666. www.calshakes.org

The Phantom of the Opera @ Orpheum Theatre The new lavish touring production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Tony-winning hit musical based on Gaston Leroux’s 1910 book, about a mysterious man who haunts a Paris opera house and kidnaps a beautiful singer. $40-$225.

Tue-Sat 8pm. Wed, Sat 2pm. Sun 2pm & 7:30pm. Thru Oct. 4. 1192 Market St. (888) 746-1799. www.shnsf.com

Richard III @ Forest Meadows Ampitheatre, San Rafael Marin Shakespeare Company’s production of the Bard’s classic drama about an ambitious king. $10-$35. Fri & Sat 8pm. Sun 4pm. Thru Sept 27.

890 Belle Ave, Dominican University, San Rafael. 499-4488. www.marinshakespeare.org

The person depicte

Sat 5 Bay Area Rainbow Symphony @ SF Conservatory of Music Music Director Dawn Harms conducts Ravel’s Piano Concerto in D minor with pianist Keith Porter-Snell; also, works by Shostakovitch and Franck. $15-$35. 8pm. 50 Oak St. (800) 5954TIX. www.bars-sf.org

Cops and Robbers @ The Marsh Berkeley Jinho Ferreira returns with his autobiographical solo show about being a hip hop star, law enforcement officer and Oakland resident. $20$55. Saturdays, 5pm. Thru Sept. 26.

2120 Allston Way, Berkeley. 282-3055. www.themarsh.org

A Streetcar Named Desire @ Village Theatre, Danville The East Bay theatre company stages Tennessee Williams’ classic drama about a troubled yet passionate New Orleans couple whose lives are disrupted when the eccentric Blanche DuBois visits. $20-$28. Thu-Sat 8pm.

Sun 2pm. Thru Sept. 19. 233 Front St., Danville. (925) 314-3400. www.roleplayersensemble.com

Thu 3 The Country House @ Theatreworks Silicon Valley

t

Out&About>>

Erika Sanada, Henry Schreiber @ Modern Eden Gallery Exhibit of the Tokyo-based artist’s unusual canine ceramic sculptures, and Here, Hold This, Schreiber’s cute yet strange groundhog portraits. Thru Sept. 5. 801 Greenwich Ave. www.moderneden.com

First Look @ Asian Art Museum First Look: Collecting Contemporary at the Asian, the museum’s first largescale exhibit of modern works by artists in Asia and the U.S.; thru Oct. 11. Exquisite Nature: 20 Masterpieces of Chinese Paintings, and Woven Luxuries: Indian, Persian and Turkish Textiles; both thru Nov 1. Free (members, kids 12 and under)-$15.

Tue-Sun 10am-5pm. 200 Larkin St. www.asianart.org

Radical Presence @ YBCA Subtitled Black Performance in Contemporary Art, this new exhibit explores identity in a variety of media; video, installations, sculpture and photography. Thru Oct. 11. Also, the multimedia installation Won Ju Lim: Raycraft is Dead, thru Dec. 6. Also, Earth Machines : Exploring the environmental impact of our high-tech world, thru Dec. 6. $5-$12.

Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 701 Mission St. www.ybca.org

SF Hiking Club @ Various Parks Join LGBT hikers on one or more of these scenic hikes. Sept 5: SF 5-mile urban cemetery walk, including Laurel Village, and Mission Dolores.

Sept. 7: El Corte de Madera Preserve (10-mile hike). Sept 9: sutro Forest, Sutro Tower and Kite Hill to the Castro (5:15pm). Different meeting places.

Info: www.sfhiking.com

September 3-9, 2015 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 25

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

J.M.W. Turner @ de Young Museum

Anthony Mordechai Tzvi Russell @ Contemporary Jewish Museum The African American Jewish gay opera singer performs a concert of Yiddish folk music. $15. 3pm. 736 Mission St. at 3rd. 655-7800. www.thecjm.org

OutLook Video @ Channel 29

I am the future of the LGBT community.

I’m gay.

I’m 22 years old and I’m an exchange student from Spain.

Going to college here means a fun time, lots of hard work and getting to see new things.

It also means a chance to really be myself. My parents are supportive of my sexuality, and my host family here is a couple with two teenage boys. Nobody cares if they’re gay or straight.

I’m excited to be part of a world where that can be true.

I am the future of the LGBT community. And I read about that future every day on my Android tablet. Because that’s where I want it to be.

The weekly LGBT TV show, with updates on current events. 9:30pm. www.outlookvideo.org

Pacific Worlds @ Oakland Museum New exhibit focuses on the contemporary lives of and historic cultures of Pacific Islanders and California; thru Jan. 3. Also, Yo-Yos & Half Squares: Contemporary California Quilts (five women artists), thru Feb 21. Also, Bees: Tiny Insect, Big Impact thru Sept 20. Free/$15. Reg. hours Wed-Sat 11am-5pm (Fri til 9pm). 1000 Oak St., Oakland. (510) 318-8400. www.museumca.org

Wild Flowers @ SF Botanical Gardens See blooming floral displays, trees and plants in various beautiful gardens specific to region, plus Fotanicals: the Secret Language of Flowers, an exhibition of photographs by artist joSon. Daily walking tours and more.

Free-$15. Daily. Golden Gate Park.

661-1316. www.sfbotanicalgarden.org

Mon 7 30 Years of Collecting Art That Tells Our Stories @ GLBT History Museum Exhibit of collected drawings, paintings and sculptures from three decades of queer donations, guestcurated by Elisabeth Cornu. Free (members)-$5. 4127 18th St. www.glbthistory.org

Amy Winehouse @ Contemporary Jewish Museum

ed here is a model. Their image is being used for illustrative purposes only.

Karen Ripley @ The Marsh Berkeley The veteran lesbian comic returns with her solo show, Oh No, There’s Men on the Land, her stories of self-discovery and life in 1970s Berkeley. $15-$100.

Saturdays, 5pm. Thru Oct. 3. 2120 Allston way, Berkeley. 282-3055. www.themarsh.org

Live in the Castro @ Jane Warner Plaza Outdoor free concerts and shows, weekends noon. Castro St. at Market. www.castrocbd.org

Other Cinema @ ATA Gallery Weekly screenings of unusual, rare and strange short films and videos. $7. 8:30pm. 992 Valencia St. 6480654. www.othercinema.com

Romeo and Juliet @ Various Venues San Francisco Shakespeare Festival’s annual summer outdoor performances begin with the classic tragic romance.

Fri-Sun 7:30pm. Various venues thru Sept. www.sfshakes.org

Stranded! @ Conservatory of Flowers Tropical Island Survival, a new interactive exhibit of tropical plants, with castaway kitch, island survival displays and more. Thru Oct. 18. Also, permanent floral displays, plants for sale, and docent tours. Tue-Sun 10am4pm. $2-$8. Free for SF residents.

100 JFK Drive, Golden Gate Park, 8312090. conservatoryofflowers.org

Sun 6 Disney & Dali @ Walt Disney Family Museum New exhibit documenting the unlikely collaborations between Salvador Dali, the Surrealist artist and Walt Disney, the cartoon icon; curated

by Ted Nicolaou. Thru Jan. 3. Also, Tomorrowland and other exhibits. 104 Montgomery St, The Presidio. 3456800. www.waltdisney.org

Wed 9

Paintings by the landscape master.

Thru Sept 20. Other exhibits of modern art as well. Free/$25. Thru Sept. 20 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive. www.famsf.org

A Family Portrait features images of and ephemera from the estate of the deceased soul singer; Thru Nov. 1. Also, Night Begins the Day : Rethinking Space, Time, and Beauty, which focuses on 25 contemporary thinkers, scientists and designers; curated by Renny Pritikin; thru Sept.

20. Also, Tzedakah Box, Bound to be Held: A Book Show, Lamp of the Covenant ; lectures and gallery talks as well. Free (members)-$12. Fri-Tue 11am-5pm, Thu 11am-8pm (closed Wed). 736 Mission St. 655-7800. www.thecjm.org

Carol Cunningham, Dave Fox @ Lost Art Salon Dual exhibit of the Northern and Southern California artists, along with many vintage prints and art work.

Mon-Sat 10am-5pm. 245 South Van Ness Ave. 861-1530. www.lostartsalon.com

Color of Life @ California Academy of Sciences Exhibits and planetarium shows with various live, interactive and installed exhibits about animals, plants and the earth; new exhibit focuses on vibrantly colored species of octopus, snake fish and other live creatures.

Special events each week, with adult nightlife parties most Thursday nights. $20-$35. Mon-Sat 9:30am-5pm. Sun 11am-5pm. 55 Music Concourse Drive, Golden Gate Park. 379-8000. www.calacademy.org

The Lion King @ San Jose Center for the Performing Arts

Tue 8 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.” Also Wed, Thu, 7pm-10pm. Sat afternoon sessions 1pm-2:30pm and 3pm-5:30pm. $10.

Kids 12 and under $5. Skate rentals $5. 554 Fillmore St at Fell. www. churchof8wheels.com

Jok Church @ Magnet Be My Porn Star Tonight, an exhibit of photo illustration collages on canvas by the local gay artist. 100% of art sales benefit Magnet. Thru Sept. 30 (reception Sept. 25, 8pm). 4122 18th St. www.makemagic.org magnetsf.org

OUTspoken @ City Hall Outspoken: Portraits of LGBTQ Luminaries, an exhibit of photographs

by Roger Erickson. Ground floor, North Light Court. Thru Sept. 11. 1 Carlton B. Goodlet Place. sfgov.org

Queer Ancestors Project @ LGBT Center Exhibition of prints of iconic LGBTQ people, made by queer artists aged 18 to 26 (Corey Brown, daveron, Roxana Dhada, Hanna Kelly, Holly McHugh, Onyinye Alheri, Roxy Schoenfeld, Sasha Solomonov, madhvi trivedipathak, Weyam) and artistic director Katie Gilmartin. Thru Sept. 23. 1800 Market St. www.katiegilmartin.com/ queer-ancestors www.sfcenter.org

Portraits and Other Likenesses @ Museum of the African Diaspora Exhibit of contemporary works and historic exhibits of African cultures, with a shared group of works from SF MOMA. Thru Oct. 11. Free/$10. 685 Mission St. www.moadsf.org

Rainbow Skate @ Redwood Roller Rink Weekly LGBT and friends skate night, with groovy disco music and themed events. $9. 8pm-10:30pm. 1303 Main Street, Redwood City. www.rainbowskate.net www.facebook.com/rainbowskating

Thu 10 10 Percent @ Comcast David Perry’s online interviews with notable local and visiting LGBT people, broadcast through the week. Check for times on Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/10Percent/66629477326 www.ComcastHometown.com

Fri 4

Sampson McCormick @ The Punch Line The award-winning gay comic and storyteller performs My Spirit Animal is a Butch Lesbian, his witty take on homophobia, racism and cultural oddities. Ash Fisher and Karen Ripley also perform. $15 (2-drink min.). 8pm.

444 Battery St. 397-7573. www.sampsoncomedy.com www.punchlinecomedyclub.com

Wed 9 Jim Ambler & Pierce Brandt @ Feinstein’s at the Nikko The accomplished pair of musicians, Broadway veterans each, and Bay Area natives, perform their cabaret show, Two on the Boards, full of classic and recent show tune favorites. $25-$40 ($20 food/drink min.). 7pm.

Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. (866) 7778932. amblerandbrandt.com www.ticketweb.com

The Lion King @ San Jose Center for the Performing Arts The touring production of the Disney megahit Broadway musical, based on the animated film about African wildlife, with amazing puppetry, music, choreography and costumes, returns. $33-$138. Tue-Thu 7:30pm.

Fri & Sat 8pm. Sat 2pm, Sun 1pm & 6:30pm. 255 S. Almaden Blvd. Thru Oct. 4. (800) 982-2787. www.lionking.com www.broadwaysanjose.com

The Mystery of Irma Vep @ California Shakespeare Theatre, Orinda Kevin Berne

Cary Perloff @ Presidio Officer’s’ Club American Conservatory Theatre’s artistic director reads from and discusses her memoir, Beautiful Chaos: A Life in the Tehatre. 7pm.

50 Moraga Ave. www.booksinc.net

Jack Mosbacher @ Feinstein’s at the Nikko The Bay Area native athleteturned-opera singer performs his autobiographical cabaret show Without a Song. $25-$40 ($20 food/drink min.).

8pm. Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. (866) 777-8932. www.ticketweb.com

Project 24 San Francisco @ Dryansky Gallery Group exhibit of unusual local images set at different times in a day by 24 local photographers. 7pm. Thru Sept.

10. 2120 Union St. at Webster. 9329302. www.thedryansky.com

San Francisco Magic Parlor @ Chancellor Hotel Theatre David Facer’s solo magic show, The World of Paradox, entertains and beguiles. $40. Thu-Sat 8pm. Openended run. 433 Powell St. at Post. www.MagicParlor.blogspot.com

Man Francisco @ Oasis New all-male striptease revue with a storyline of San Francisco’s history, from the Gold Rush to the tech boom.

Weekly thru Sept. $20. 9pm. 298 11th St. at Folsom. www.sfoasis.com

To submit events listings for arts, nightlife and LGBTQ-themed events, send an email at least two weeks in advance to events@ebar.com. Full information (addresses, dates, etc) is required. Photos welcome.

<< Books

26 • BAY AREA REPORTER • September 3-9, 2015

Brothers’ keepers

by Brian Bromberger

What Color Is Your Hoodie?

Essays on Black Gay Identity

by Jarrett Neal; Chelsea Station Editions, $18 ith the revelation last week that Vester Lee Flanagan, the newsman who shot and killed a reporter and cameraman on-air at his former television station in Roanoke, Virginia, was a black gay man who felt insulted and demeaned by white females and other black men, this week’s publication of Jarrett Neal’s book seems auspicious and opportune. It’s always a big literary event when a book on black gay people appears, because its occurrence is exceedingly rare. There was a brief renaissance of interest in the mid 1980s-early 90s with the late editor Joseph Beam’s landmark anthology In the Life followed by a similar collection, Brother to Brother, co-edited by the late black poet Essex Hemphill after Beam’s death; then Keith Boykin’s memoir/history One More River to Cross in 1997, and later his book on the down low phenomenon; but there’s been little else through the years. Neal’s essays update Beam’s and Boykin’s work by reporting on the status of black gay men in the new millennium.

After the election of Barack Obama as president in 2008, there was much talk that the U.S. had now entered a post-racist period. Certainly since the death of Michael Brown a year ago in Ferguson, Missouri, we have been disabused of such an optimistic appraisal. But in the LGBTQ community, there has long been the assumption that gay and lesbian people aren’t as racist as the overall population. Yet a quick visit to any

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gay dating or hookup site such as Grindr or Adam4Adam can provide evidence to the contrary, and reading Neal’s book (or Beam and Boykin, for that matter) should also erase the veracity of such a claim. While it is true that gay people have adopted aspects of black culture, especially music, it is equally true that, generally, LGBTQs remain silent politically on issues that oppress African-Americans, evidenced by the overall lack of outrage from the gay white male community on recent police violence against blacks.

In 13 candid and provocative essays Neal critiques narrow concepts of race and sexual identity, summarizing the dilemma as follows: “Despite the demand for the big black dick being the Holy Grail for many sexually active gay men, black men themselves are personae non gratae in the mainstream of contemporary gay life. The men who inhabit the core of gay culture, bourgeois metropolitan white men, may desire our cocks, asses, chests, biceps, yet a wholly integrated black man with a heart, mind, and soul, a black man who is intellectual, self-supporting, articulate, and culturally and politically engaged, seldom gains entry into their elite circle.” Neal is particularly damning in noting that beauty standards are white color-coded, even in pornography: “Men of color are only privileged with beauty insofar as our appearance mimics that of white men, with light-skinned and white-skinned black men granted freedom to move beyond Western culture’s racist proscriptions while their brown-skinned and darkskinned brothers remain captive to fetishization and segregation.”

Neal observes how many gay white

men love to watch black porn actors (always as aggressive tops) and are fascinated by the homo-thug image, a 21st-century symbol of reckless and raw masculine sexual energy, but purposely distance themselves from genuine relationships with African-American men. Neal’s dissection of education and class distinctions among gay black men is eye-opening, placing them in two general categories: [James] Baldwin boys (middle-class, date outside their race, use proper English, read lofty books, listen to jazz and classical music), and [E. Lynn] Harris homies (working-class, date only black men, use ghetto language, like hip hop and R&B, adopt thug attire). Despite facing similar anger, longing, racism, and heterosexism, the two groups distrust each other.

Although Neal’s book was completed prior to the recent police violence episodes, he does offer an excellent meditation on the injustices of the Trayvon Martin shooting incident. He also explores subjects like bodybuilding, teaching creative writing to minorities without disclosing his own sexual orientation, an astute analysis of Noah’s Arc (the only television series, two seasons on Logo, that dealt exclusively with the lives of black gay men) and the inspiration of gay football player Michael Sam, always embracing personal intimate issues with a racial/political connection.

Neal is clearly a gifted writer and is well-versed in the issues facing gay black men, quoting Cornel West and bell hooks. Yet perhaps because he teaches creative writing at Aurora University, his essays have an academic tone, even though he is attempting to combine memoir with cultural-sociological criticism. While

he is addressing provocative, sometimes inflammatory issues, the writing can sometimes seem dispassionate, lacking the fire of one of his heroes, James Baldwin. Still a calm voice in such racially charged controversies may enable him to reach the broader LGBTQ community.

Neal wants to promote dialogue, for gay people to listen to each other, to

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share stories and memorialize our victories and injustices. Homophobia, misogyny, and racism are all intertwined, so if we want to combat them, we must truly embrace diversity, which can only be accomplished if, as Neal strongly urges, all LGBTQ people learn to work together, and hopefully prevent another Flanagan tragedy.t

What we should expect in the end

by Tavo Amador

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ld age isn’t for sissies,” said Bette Davis, and she was right. The very topic makes people uncomfortable. American society is obsessed with youth. Countless products and procedures are marketed promising to keep us young or at least appearing young. But, unless we die young or prematurely, we will be facing the inexorable afflictions associated with aging. As we live longer, we will be dealing with those afflictions for more years than was the case even in the recent past.

Up until the early part of the last century, most people died at home, cared for by their family. During the last eight or nine decades, however, most people have died in hospitals or nursing homes, often having

“

been kept alive by doctors focused on “curing” their illness, regardless of the suffering the treatment causes. How we got to this stage and how the situation needs to change are the topics of Atul Gawande’s disturbing yet illuminating Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End (Metropolitan Books, Henry Holt and Co., $26).

The extraordinary inroads modern medicine has made in curing illnesses, dramatically improved infant mortality rates, better nutrition, greater focus on preventive care, and affordable health insurance have all contributed to ever longer life spans in First World countries.

Dr. Gawande finds this to be, for the most part, admirable. But there are consequences – notably the loss of individual autonomy because of the

focus on safety in caring for the elderly.

The modern nursing home evolved from the 19th and early 20th century almshouse, where those who were alone, poor, elderly, and suffering from physical or mental deterioration (or both) went to die. The development of the modern welfare state resulted in those same people being sent to hospitals.

Hospital staff realized that these were not patients admitted for a specific procedure, then discharged to return to their regular lives. Rather, they needed ongoing care. Thus the idea of a nursing home developed.

With the exception of certain recently arrived immigrant groups, modern American households are seldom multigenerational. The older members of the family don’t want to be a “burden” on the younger ones and prefer to live apart. Many couples are raising their children while also dealing with aging parents. As parents become more debilitated, whether from a specific illness or simply because their bodies are wearing out, their children become concerned for their safety. They worry they will fall or lose control of their car or forget to take their medicines or even to eat. Institutionalizing them solves many problems: their lives are regulated and they are safe. Overlooked is the fundamental fact that life is, by definition, risky.

The risks may increase as a person ages – hence the focus on safety.

But the price paid for safety – loss of autonomy – often causes depression and passivity: people exist, but they don’t live. Length of life is substituted for quality of life.

What is “autonomy?” Gawande cites Ronald Dworkin. “[Autono-

my] allows us to lead our own lives, rather than be led along them.” Gawande adds, “All we ask is to be allowed to remain the writers of our own stories.” Thus “the betrayals of body and mind that threaten to erase our character and memory remain among the most awful tortures.”

Gawande admits that no fully effective or universal solution to the autonomy vs. safety question has been developed. But there are hopeful changes taking place, such as the rapidly growing use of palliative care. Palliative care does not preclude curative treatments, but it balances them with the patient’s comfort. The patient, not the doctor, remains in control.

He has, however, concerns about the growing movement for physician-assisted suicide. He admits it’s a logical extension of complying with a patient’s wishes to be taken off life support or to refuse any

more food or water. It took considerable time for doctors to accept those decisions. “At root, the debate is about what mistakes we fear most, the mistake of prolonging suffering or the mistake of shortening valued life.” He is less concerned “about abuse [of physicianassisted suicide]” than about dependence on it. The goal, he insists, “is not a good death, but a good life to the very end.”

He concedes that palliative care has its limits. Sometimes “suffering at the very end of life is unavoidable and unbearable,” and physician-assisted suicide to help people end their misery may be appropriate. Using data from the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Oregon, Washington, and Vermont, where the practice is legal, he writes that about half the people who have been given prescriptions for drugs to end their lives don’t use them.

Having the option may reassure those who don’t take that route that they have retained their autonomy.

His point, however, is that “assisted living is far harder than assisted death, but its possibilities are far greater as well.” Perhaps.

Gawande, an experienced and empathetic physician, offers no easy solutions in Being Mortal. None exist. The questions are universal, but the answers aren’t. Hence, it’s critical to have our wishes in writing and to have discussed them with those we have entrusted to act for us if we are not able to do so ourselves. Because each of us defines “autonomy” differently, we should be given all the options available from which to choose. In the end, the decision should be ours, not the government’s or the medical establishment’s.t

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Books>>

September 3-9, 2015 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 27

Men Down Under

by Ernie Alderete

Outback: Dusk; Outback (both Paul Freeman Publishing) he Outback series from photographer Paul Freeman takes a refreshing look at naked men from Down Under posed in realistic, natural, and man-made settings.

One of my favorite pictures in the series shows a blondish guy cleaning up at a decrepit old laundry sink in a rural sheep station. He’s apparently come in from a long day’s work and pulled off his clothes, which are sloppily strewn on the edge of the sink, on the adjoining old-style wringer-washing machine, and down on the floor. He’s facing a window behind the sink, so his face is bathed in natural light as he turns on the faucet. His body from about the knees up is fully exposed for us to enjoy. Full thighs, choice buns, narrow waist, broad shoulders, muscular arms, the whole package.

Another plate shows the same blonde, this time in a frontal view, sitting naked on his flimsy, heavily stained, single-twin mattress. It’s a miserable bed but typical migrantworker accommodations and a superb setting for this picture. His firm, solid flesh gives sharp contrast to his sagging old mattress.

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Paul Freeman

Man with lamb, from Outback.

The Outback books are remarkably consistent. But there are minor ups and downs. Their least believable picture, which I call “Silly Guys,” features two guys with obviously purposely shredded clothing. Most of the men feature naturally distressed under- and/or outerwear, but this couple appear to be wrestling while wearing nothing but cowboy hats and shirts, with the

bottoms of their shirts cut into dangling shreds. No pants! Just exposed buns, legs and feet. Who wrestles atop a rock outcrop wearing just that? This picture carries suspension of disbelief just a bit too far. Fortunately, these two silly guys are the exception to the rule, out of place in a collection of superlatives, and always good for comic relief!

I call my favorite picture in the first Outback book “Man with Lamb,” a gorgeous blonde guy with his snug Levis pulled down so low that it’s amazing his cock and balls aren’t swinging in the breeze. Maybe he taped his family jewels between his legs. I like the many layers to this composition. Of course, the stunningly beautiful model with tousled hair is the foundation, but the lamb wrapped around his neck makes the black-and-white picture infinitely more interesting. A broken-down farmhouse, wood siding falling away from battered exterior walls, and a yard overgrown with weeds form the perfect backdrop. There isn’t the slightest hint that this guy isn’t the real thing, a sheep rancher. Of course, we know this is a gay male photo book, so he’s obviously a model who has never been this close to a lamb before, except for his fine virgin wool cardigan at home in winter storage.

If Aussie tourism ran this photo in

Paul Freeman

Man at sink, from Outback: Dusk.

every gay magazine in America, they could double LGBT tourism to Australia. Might even boost exports of grass-fed organic lamb chops.

Another choice picture, this time in living color, presents another blonde guy, this time depicted entirely from behind. He’s wearing a cowboy hat, tank-top undershirt, and criminally sagging brown workpants exposing much more than just

his crack. I would describe it more like the Grand Canyon! Your eyes are inexorably drawn to his posterior, the main focus of this picture. I dare you to look at the picture and not stare at his deep continental divide.

Outback is the introduction to the series of that name that was so good it spawned its sequels. Since this limited edition is out of print, prices vary widely.t

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<< Film

28 • BAY AREA REPORTER • September 3-9, 2015

The nanny from Brazil

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by Erin Blackwell

8th Season Opening Concert Dawn Harms, Music Director & Conductor Tickets & Info: http://BARS-SF.ORG

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Shostakovitch Festive Overture Ravel Piano Concerto in D (for left hand) Keith Porter-Snell, piano Franck Symphony in D minor Save 20 % with a season subscription The Bay Area Rainbow Symphony (BARS) is a 501(c)(3) organization that provides a safe and supportive environment for musicians of all sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions. BARS makes cultural, social, and educational contributions to the San Francisco Bay Area by performing ambitious repertoire to a high standard.

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he Second Mother is an awkward title that doesn’t quite make sense even after you’ve seen the movie. That might be because it’s an English-language title for a Brazilian film. Foreign films often suffer in U.S. distribution through the unattractive or nonsensical titles slapped on them by careless or clueless translators. The title does, however, situate the film as a melodrama in the purest sense of the word: both happy and sad, realistic and idealistic, worried about a social issue in an upbeat way, appealing to popular sentiment. You can catch this harmless bit of maternalistic demagoguery starting Friday at Landmark Theatres.

If you’ve watched too many Chabrol movies, as I have, and loved every minute of them, you will have developed a taste for the brand of melodrama that only drags the upper-class family onscreen in order to skewer it. This fetishistic act of disembowelment is central also to Buñuel and other filmmakers working in French, including Passolini. The sensibility might be considered Noir but predates Noir, which is thought to have infected U.S. cinema during World War II. Anyway, it’s an old trend, and by now “the family” has been skewered so many times in so many ways that only an original sensibility can arrest so jaded a viewer as myself.

Spoiler alert. Writer-director Anna Muylaert’s originality consists in setting up the classic situation known as “the uninvited guest” and teasing the audience with tantalizing possibilities of con artistry, only to retract them one by one until the viewer is left with a rather disappointing, syrupy fairy tale about a young woman from the sticks who passes a tough entrance exam for an exclusive architecture school in São Paulo, thus besting the boy who stole her mom. That’s it. A happy ending with populist pretensions.

Hey, it won the 2015 Berlinale Audi-

Oscilloscope Laboratories

Regina Casé plays a very noble nanny in director Anna Muylaert’s The Second Mother.

ence Award. Everyone loves a happy ending, except possibly a film reviewer for whom Chabrol was as a second mother.

The title character is a live-in housekeeper hired to raise a motherless young rich boy in the big city, thus paying for her own daughter’s upbringing back home. Regina Casé as the nanny is a less erotic, less tragic, goonier Anna Magnani. I wish Muylaert had made this a slapstick comedy and simply let Casé loose, because although she makes a fine maudlin maidservant, she has it in her to make a truly great anarchic housewrecker along the lines of Harpo and/or Chico Marx. Ahem.

Melodrama takes itself too seriously for that. After a slow start, the intrigue finally kicks in at minute 25, when the lithe yet pig-headed daughter arrives to blur the unspoken class boundaries in the home.

I kept thinking of Passolini’s Théorème (1969), in which uninvited guest Terence Stamp destroys a wealthy family from within simply by lounging around in tight pants with a volume of Baudelaire.

Passolini was a metaphysician, and Muylaert is, well, in her own words, “I’m a woman, I’m Brazilian, I’m a

mother who is trying to do cinema that I believe in.” In her director’s statement in the press notes mailed to me by the publicist along with a copy of the DVD, she says, “I started writing this script 20 years ago, when I had my first child and realized how noble a job it is to bring up a child.” Italics mine.

That word noble is a melodramatic word. Muylaert goes on to decry the tradition of child-rearing by live-in nanny, something her mother did to her, without clarifying whether she herself employed outside help when the time came.

Either way, this film feels like the product of a guilty conscience. Either way, we know why Muylaert films Casé nobly walking through a room full of party guests who take or refuse hors d’oeuvres from her platter without meeting her noble eyes. Nobility, like self-pity, is not very interesting dramatically, but fuels the sort of sentimental hogwash Hollywood films specialize in when they’re not touting the nobility of revenge-killing. If you do go see The Second Mother, I suggest Chabrol’s pitiless La Cérémonie (1996) as a palate-cleanser. Epatez la bourgeoisie, baby!t

Making art from unlikely bedfellows C

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by Jason Victor Serinus

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nthony Mordechai Tzvi Russell is an amalgam of improbabilities. First, there is his identity as a gay, African-American, Jewish, operatically trained bass who has chosen, as his musical specialty, Jewish/ Yiddish art song. Then there is his even more unlikely melding of Yiddish folk song and African-American spirituals into a piece called Convergence, which he and klezmer consort Veretski Pass bring to the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco on the afternoon of Sunday, Sept. 6.

“My husband was one catalyst for my conversion,” Oakland resident Russell told the Bay Area Reporter about his relationship with the Director of Youth and Family Education at Temple Beth El in Berkeley, Rabbi Mike Rothbaum. “But my entire life and way of viewing the world up until when I met him had been informed by beliefs, by narratives, and by Jewish Biblical texts from what people call the Old Testament.

“By the time I met Mike, I had a working knowledge of the Torah, and knew the texts of the Hebrew Bible inside and out. It led to some very interesting questions. It’s good that I became a Jew, because it is all about asking questions.”

A different set of questions led Russell, who was raised in Vallejo,

from his former goal of becoming an operatic bass to his calling as a stunningly authentic, beautifully voiced singer of Yiddish art song.

First was the issue of how to express himself with sensitivity via the standard operatic bass repertoire, which emphasizes stereotypical masculinity over vulnerability.

Russell sang in a few notable productions, including the West Coast premiere of The Life and Times of Malcolm X and San Francisco Opera’s production of Philip Glass’ Appomattox. But by the time he had moved to New York City and participated in a prestigious summer training program led by retired Metropolitan Opera diva Martina Arroyo, he discovered that not only did his West Coast experience mean nothing to New Yorkers, but that they also valued singers more for their “excessive volume” than for the emotional content of their art.

Courtesy the artist Literally one month after Russell encountered multiple Operatically trained bass Anthony career obstacles, he discov- Mordechai Tzvi Russell.

See page 29 >>

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Music>>

Russell

From page 28

ered Yiddish art song. “I wanted to develop something that was closer to who I was and how I felt myself to be,” he reports. “The first person I found singing Jewish art song was this amazing, dark, deep bass of the Russian School, Sidor Belarsky, who lived 1898-1975. His vocal production matches mine very closely.

“The first time I heard Belarsky on recording was in the Coen Brothers movie A Serious Man, where someone puts on one of his records.

I thought I was hearing myself.”

The language turned out to be Yiddish. In the middle of learning Belarsky’s repertoire, Russell began to hear within it echoes of Negro Spirituals, which most AfricanAmerican singers learn with the expectation that they will, at the very least, perform them as encores. In short order, he realized that Jewish music and Negro Spirituals were composed at almost the same time and under similar circumstances, and that both derive from cultures that converted their folk music into something that could be savored in the concert hall.

Soon thereafter, Russell began composing vocal amalgams that combined both genres. He might start with a folk song about a child who was in Hebrew School, reciting the Talmud and crying because they missed their parent. Then he’d segue into “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child.”

“It was really interesting,” he says, “because the texts scanned very closely to each other, to the point of lining up. They even shared the exact same words, like mother and home. Initially, I took one line from one and one from the other, and sang them all the way through a cappella. People kind of went insane, because they’d never heard anything like it whatsoever.

“I did a lot of work in order to sound authentic in both Yiddish song and spirituals. I switched back and forth between the two, so that sometimes the lines were blurred to the point where people couldn’t tell when the switch was happening. It’s in the blurring that Convergence emerged.”

Eventually Russell found collaborators. Two years ago, he participated with famed jazz keyboardist Anthony Coleman and klezmer clarinetist Michael Winograd in a Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration at Symphony Space in Manhattan. He has since developed Convergence even further, and is now collaborating with Veretski Pass, musicians who specialize in Jewish music and music of the cultures that thrived around the Jews of Hungary.

Some of Russell’s songs are preceded by short video animation.

“The animation enables me to alternate readings from AfricanAmerican works such as The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Dubois with excerpts from Jewish literature by, amongst others, Israel Zangwill, a Jewish writer from the turn of the century,” he says.

When not performing Convergence, Russell sings Yiddish repertoire. Next March, he and two other basses perform European Jewish Art Song at the Kennedy Center. He is also part of a “Boychick Band,” collaborating with three Canadian vocalists who sing four-part harmony arrangements of Yiddish music from the 1920s and 30s.

Given all the boundaries he breaks, Russell is well aware that he is often viewed as a kind of curiosity.

“I was in a Yiddish Vaudeville event, and announced as an up-andcoming singer on the Yiddish song scene. When I jogged out, people started to laugh because it was this black guy who was going to sing in Yiddish. Once I started singing, they stopped laughing.”

Russell is not the only AfricanAmerican singer to have such an

September 3-9, 2015 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 29

experience. In 1924, when pioneering African-American tenor Roland Hayes dared to sing German art song (lieder) in Berlin’s BeethovenSaal, he faced 1,000 indignant music-lovers who began to hiss quietly, and then upped their opposition for close to 10 minutes. Hayes stood silently, his eyes closed in prayer until the audience grew still. Then he began with “Du bist die ruh” (“You are calm, you are the peace”) by Franz Schubert. Shortly after song’s end, the audience erupted in cheers and took to its collective feet.

Will Russell’s audience do the same in San Francisco? This is but one of many questions that Jews

and others will ponder as his show date approaches. What no one will need to question, once they hear him, is the depth of his sincerity, the authenticity of his delivery, and the beauty of his voice.t Anthony Mordechai Tzvi Russell and Veretski Pass, with visual artist Meredith Leichnew, explore Jewish and African-American music of exile, spirituality, hope and redemption on Sun., Sept. 6, 3 p.m., at the Contemporary Jewish Museum, 763 Mission St., SF. Tickets are included with museum admission. For more information, see thecjm.org or call (415) 655-7800.

Courtesy the artist

Anthony Mordechai Tzvi Russell melds Yiddish folk song with African-American spirituals.

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<< Music

30 • BAY AREA REPORTER • September 3-9, 2015

Electronic diva music

by Gregg Shapiro

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iercely forelocked electro goddess Elly Jackson of La Roux took a risk waiting almost five years to release her second album Trouble in Paradise (Cherry Tree/ Interscope). Few second albums have been worth the wait, and the payoff with this one is substantial.

“Upright Downtown” is the hottest 1980s Bowie homage ever recorded.

“Kiss and Not Tell” is so infectious it may as well be the flu. “Cruel Sexuality” makes being cruel to be kind an inviting option. “Sexotheque” is the soundtrack to horizontal dance instruction, and “The Feeling” feels good all over.

The female version of Owl City, electro evangelist Lights (aka Canadian-born Valerie Poxleitner) is about as subtle as Pat Robertson.

On “Portal,” the opening track of Little Machines (WB), she rhymes “immortal” with “your portal.” Can you guess whose portal she’s singing about? The daughter of missionaries, Lights doesn’t hesitate to preach to both the converted and unconverted on songs “Don’t Go Home Without Me,” “Slow Down” and “How We Do It.” Queer heathens may also dig “Running with the Boys” and “Muscle Memory.”

Kiesza wails and belts like an oldschool house-music diva on her fulllength debut Sound of a Woman (Island/4th & Broadway). “Hideaway” is the kind of house-music jam that has been missing from DJ booths and airwaves for years, and we have Kiesza to thank for bringing it out of hiding.

“No Enemiesz” is another direct-tothe-dance-club cut that qualifies Kiesza for instant disco-diva status. But instead of maintaining the momentum, Kiesza takes a few detours that lack firepower. Surprisingly effective, however, is her reinvention of Haddaway’s “What Is Love” as a dramatic ballad. She gets back to the business at hand on “Giant in My Heart” and “Over Myself.”

Charli XCX has been perfecting her trademark brat-pop on her own records (her 2013 full-length debut True Romance) and her collaborations with others, including Iggy Azalea and Icona Pop. Kicking things up while not losing her

sneering edge on Sucker (Atlantic), Charli collaborated with Rostam Batmanglij, the gay member of Vampire Weekend, on the solid album-closer “Need Ur Love,” and with Rivers Cuomo of Weezer on “Hanging Around.” The Charli we’ve come to know and love can be heard loud and clear on slamming dance number “Break the Rules,” the bombastic “Boom Clap” and the new wavy “London Queen.”

You don’t have to speak French to understand that Yelle wants you to dance on her new album Compléte-

ment fou (Kemosabe). Collaborating with the overextended Dr. Luke on the title track and “Coco Sans Bulles,” Yelle (aka Julie Budet) may be making an effort to expand her reach.

As Swedish dance divas go, Tove Lo is no Robyn. But those are some big and funky shoes to fill. Tove Lo holds her own on her full-length debut album Queen of the Clouds (Island). Some of the songs are too repetitive, but “Timebomb,” “Not on Drugs” and “Run on Love” manage to hover over the rest.

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Paloma Faith takes a more organic approach to her sound and style on A Perfect Contradiction (Epic).

Belting in a retro fashion like a sober Amy Winehouse, Faith is as comfortable at the disco “Impossible Heart,” the dazzling Pharrell tune “Can’t Rely on You” and the soulful “Mouth to Mouth” (which she co-wrote with Raphael Saadiq) as she is spinning out like a vintage jukebox angel on Diane Warren’s “Only Love Can Hurt Like This” and “Taste of My Own Tears,” co-written with Stuart Matthewman of Sade fame. Faith deserves to be better-known than she is and this album is a good place to get acquainted.

The Sia of 1000 Forms of Fear (RCA) is about a million miles away from the same inventive queer woman who released the amazing albums Some People Have Real Problems, We Are Born and Color the Small One. There’s nothing on 1000 Forms of Fear that can compare to “Breathe Me” from Color the Small One; “Little Black Sandals,” “Day Too Soon,” “You Have Been Loved,” “The Girl You Lost to Cocaine,” from Some People Have Real Problems; or “Stop Trying,” “Clap Your Hands” and “You’ve Changed,” from We Are Born. To be fair, artists must evolve, but 1000 Forms of Fear sounds like a step backwards for Sia. It’s as if she intentionally chose to record an album of songs rejected by Rihanna, Xtina, Britney and Celine.

There are a few exceptions, such as “Hostage,” “Straight for the Knife,” and “Free the Animal,” but on the whole listeners are better off seeking out the Sia of old.t

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Phantom

From page 22

mediocre voice of the phantom himself, who has forced the opera company to produce his work, and a lot of mediocrity is served up without much spin on it.

The current cast is generally a capable lot but can’t quite put its own stamp on the outsized material. The title character has relatively little actual stage time, but the performer must still somehow establish dominion. Chris Mann is fairly underwhelming in the role, although he does throw off more sparks as the musical reaches its climax. (Three actors will sub for Mann for various stretches during the SF run.) Katie Travis does what is needed as Christine Daae, the virginal innocent the phantom has under his spell. As the heroic Raoul, Storm Lineberger is missing some dash in his dashing.

Even imperious opera choreographer Madame Giry, a role that can effectively be played just by painting by numbers, is missing heft in this production.

Finally, attention must be paid to the iconic chandelier that usually disappoints in its leisurely descent to a crash-landing on the stage. The current chandelier drops faster, seems to be equipped with Roman candles, but then stops midway down its fall. Tragedy has been averted, even though we are told at the start of the show that its crash was a tragedy. It’s easy to see the chandelier as a gimmick, and add fireworks if you must, but at least let the darn thing actually land.t The Phantom of the Opera will run at the Orpheum Theatre through Oct. 4. Tickets are $50-$225. Call (888) 746-1799 or go to shnsf.com.

t <<

Film>>

Fall films

From page 17

Freeheld Laurel Hester probably never imagined that her wish to leave her government pension, earned as an openly lesbian police officer, to her female lover would result in a landmark 21st-century civil rights case. The story opens with an eloquent declaration of love and a desire to nest by a couple (Julianne Moore and Ellen Page) who discover that their dreams can be blocked by a cadre of small-minded male judges. “If you could have anything, what would it be?” “A house, a dog, a woman I love who loves me.”

The proceedings, from director Peter Sollett with a screenplay by Ron Nyswaner, are enlivened by a rare non-comic turn from Steve Carell as the couple’s feisty Jewish (with his own issues) attorney. (October) The Danish Girl “Do me a small favor?” In novelist David Ebershoff ’s 2002 modern masterpiece, a wife’s offhand request for her husband, Einar, to try on a pair of woman’s shoes leads to a life-altering transformation for her spouse.

Einar takes on the drag identity of Lily, and the couple embark on a tour of European Jazz Era hotspots. In the highly anticipated film version, Oscar-winning English star Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything) is reportedly breathtaking as the cross-dressing diva Lily Elbe. With a career spanning his mother-slaying turn opposite Julianne Moore in Savage Grace to an insolent teen painter’s helper on Broadway opposite Alfred Molina, the freckle-faced redhead has said that during his sojourn at elite British schools (Eton, Cambridge), he was continually razzed for looking like his mother. (December.)

Stonewall Openly gay newcomer Jonny Beachamp is getting advance raves for his bravado turn as a homeless queer-boy runaway who turns up on a fateful night at the world’s most famous LGBTQ drinking hole.

German-born filmmaker Roland Emmerich’s fictional retelling of the tumultuous night that gave birth to a modern gay identity has already proved controversial before it’s been widely viewed, due to allegations that it downplays or slights the role of some of the groups that make up our Lavender Nation. (September) Crimson Peak Mexican-born

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SFO/SFS

From page 23

None other than Sir Patrick Stewart and baritone Nathan Gunn are appearing as guest vocalists, performing Broadway favorites from My Fair Lady to Carousel. Soprano Alexandra Silber joins them, presumably as Eliza Doolittle and Julie Jordan, but the last time she worked with MTT she was Maria in the SFS concert performances of the full score from West Side Story. I won-

September 3-9, 2015 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 31

fantasist Guillermo del Toro’s big breakout hit was a chilling tale set in a Spanish Civil War-era orphanage. The Devil’s Backbone frightened audiences and a cast of teenboy orphans with the specter of a ghostly boy who nightly roamed the corridors seeking revenge for dark transgressions. In Crimson Peak, the ghost story is domesticated, with the haunted home shared by three young adults: Mia Wasikowska as a young married woman, and siblings Tom Hiddleston and Jessica Chastain. Reports are that the film’s authentic period costumes and lavish sets make it a must-see fall film. (October) Sicario French-Canadian director Denis Villeneuve, who wowed us with the 2013 high-voltage childkidnapping melodrama Prisoners, returns with another top-flight cast (Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin, Benicio Del Toro) in a drug-cartel-themed thriller. An FBI agent (Blunt) is enmeshed in the testosterone-fueled world of murderous drug lords and American cowboy lawmen.

The Intern In a film season that’s producing a slight uptick in women directors, Nancy Meyers delivers a platonic office comedy where Anne Hathaway strikes up an unlikely cubicle bond with Robert De Niro’s retiree. De Niro’s older guy becomes an unusually agile human asset in a two-character vehicle set dab-smack in the middle of a very hip Brooklyn.

Mississippi Grid The writing/ directing team of Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, creators of the 2006 Ryan Gosling drug-addicted teacher drama Half Nelson, return with a riverboat gambling tale. Ryan Reynolds and Ben Mendelsohn are two dudes astride the mighty Mississippi with bad luck at the shipboard gambling tables. (September) Sleeping with Other People Leslye Headland revives the classic romantic-triangle comedy, with Alison Brie as a single woman caught between a boring if successful doctor (Adam Scott) and the guy who gives her the chills (Jason Sudeikis). (September) Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials Dylan O’Brien, the 23-year-old star of MTV’s hit series Teen Wolf, takes on the lead in the second part of a three-part film treatment of the scifi novel The Maze Runner. O’Brien co-stars with Patricia Clarkson and Kaya Scodelario in a film whose first installment topped $340 million in world box-office. (September) der who will get to sing “I Feel Pretty.” If it isn’t already sold out, I can guarantee SFS galas are worth every penny, chic and tasteful and abundant with California champagne.

There is more excitement through the end of the month, with pianist Danil Trifonov playing Chopin on a bill that reprises the Respighi Roman Festivals from opening night.

Starting Sept. 30 through Oct. 3, soprano Susanna Phillips sings Samuel Barber’s beautifully nostalgic Knoxville: Summer of 1915, and MTT

Courtesy SFS

Pianist Danil Trifonov will play Chopin with the San Francisco Symphony.

Black Mass Former heartthrob Johnny Depp pulls a radical physical makeover for his take on Boston star hoodlum James “Whitey” Bulger.

(September) The Perfect Guy Director David M. Rosenthal offers a romantic thriller where Sanaa Lathan is a lobbyist caught between two guys, Michael Elay and Morris Chestnut.

A high-powered African American cast aces a compelling American political drama. (September) Everest Iceland-born director Baltasar Kormakur would appear an excellent choice to lead a top-flight cast (Jake Gyllenhaal, Josh Brolin, Jason Clarke) in a fictional reenactment of the tragic 1996 climb when eight climbers died assaulting this most famous mountain peak. (September) The Walk The nimble indie actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt does yeoman work demonstrating the thrills experienced by brave Frenchman Philippe Petit on a chilly morning in 1974 when he walked across a tightrope stretched between the twin towers of Manhattan’s World Trade Center. The actor says a part of his motivation for this unusual reenactment (directed

by Robert Zemeckis) was to recall a happier time when the towers were a beloved landmark. (September) The Visit We haven’t heard from M. Night Shyamalan in a while, and the Indian-born filmmaker has reserved a special treat for his fans.

The Visit involves two kids spending

time at their grandparents’ house, a stopover that becomes memorable for reasons we will leave to your imagination. (September) Suffragette Oscar nominees Carey Mulligan and Helena Bonham Carter, and three-time Oscar winner Meryl Streep, head a timely drama about the pioneers who risked everything to gain equality for women in early-20th-century Britain. The story centers on Maud (Mulligan), juggling the roles of working wife and mother, whose life is up-ended when she is recruited to join Britain’s growing suffragette movement. Led by feminist fugitive Emmeline Pankhurst (Streep), Maud joins the cause alongside a cross-section of women from every sector of British society. When a brutal police response forces Maud and company underground they play a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse with a government whose leaders are shocked as the women’s civil disobedience escalates, igniting debate and protests across the nation. Directed

by Sarah Gavron (Brick Lane) from a script by Abi Morgan (The Iron Lady). (October) About Ray features a trio of top female leads (Naomi Watts, Susan Sarandon and Elle Fanning) in a drama that’s likely to really stir the gender-transitioning pot. UK helmer Gaby Dellal directs Nikole Beckwith’s script. Fanning plays NYC teen Ray, who’s just come out as a lesbian to his female family and

plans to up the stakes by transitioning from female to male. Watts is the mother coming to terms with raising her only daughter as a son.

Sarandon is Watts’ character’s mom, a music-world figure who shares a brownstone with a longtime lesbian spouse. (September) The New Girlfriend French badboy director Francois Ozon, who’s upset critical apple carts even in trendsetting French precincts with such outré classics as Criminal Lovers, here confronts the gender wars.

Claire (breakout star Anais Demoustier) thinks she’s being kind when she attempts to comfort the newly widowed hubby of her best friend. But to her surprise, hubby David (Romain Duris) reveals himself to be a secret crossdresser.

Ozon tests the limits of those who thought themselves incapable of being shocked. (September) Rosenwald Featuring chats with Civil Rights-era notables Maya Angelou, Julian Bond, Rep. John Lewis, Clarence Page and NPR reporter Cokie Roberts, this history doc traces the life of Jewish philanthropist Julius Rosenwald, whose charitable donations helped create a network of schools for poor African American kids in the early 20th century.

Rosenwald’s gifts are estimated to have aided the education of over 660,000 black students. (September) Spectre The latest chapter in the Daniel Craig era of the James Bond franchise provides a co-starring platform to openly queer actor Ben Whishaw, along with hottie newcomer Andrew Scott. (November) James White This 2015 Sundance entry features a feckless 20-something (Christopher Abbott) trying to care for his sick mom (Cynthia Nixon) with the aide of his gay best friend (Scott Mescudi). (October) The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution promises to reveal just how much human rights were at risk during the rollercoaster upheavals of the 1960s into the 70s. (October) Drunk, Stoned, Brilliant, Dead: The Story of the National Lampoon A freewheeling look at one of the country’s scary funny publications.

(October) Tab Hunter Confidential The surviving longtime pretty-boy cheesecake star is featured in a biodoc that lays bare how the closet affected the lives of film stars. (November)t

conducts Ted Hearne’s SFS co-commission Dispatches and Tchaikovsky’s moving Symphony No. 6, Pathetique.

András Schiff, conductor and piano, will perform Mozart and Schubert, and lead vocal soloists, backed by Ragnar Bohlin’s SFS Chorus, in Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass in early October.

In mid-October, Finnish conductor Susanna Mälkki returns to interpret Russian masterpieces featuring violinist Christian Tetzlaff playing the wonderful Shostakovich Concerto No. 1.

The month closes with another violin virtuoso, Gidon Kremer (wow, I wouldn’t want to miss him) in the Bartok Concerto No. 1. Making his SFS debut, conductor Andre Boreyko leads Prokofiev’s charming Lieutenant Kije Suite.

Admired French conductor Yan Pascal Tortelier, who forever endeared himself to us as the maestro who so sympathetically managed his podium duties on the night beloved late SFS Principal Oboist William Bennett collapsed onstage, returns in early November with an all-French program.

The majestic Saint-Saens Symphony No. 3, Organ, anchors the bill, and pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet essays Ravel’s Piano Concerto in D Major, for the Left Hand.

MTT is back mid-month with some Sibelius and Schumann’s Symphony No. 3, Rhenish. The orchestra is embarking on a season-

long Schumann cycle that will be recorded for their SFS Media label.

The month ends with the next Schumann on the schedule, the Symphony No. 1, Spring, and music of Richard Strauss, featuring one of MTT’s favorite sopranos, Laura Claycomb, singing the Brentano Lieder.

December is all about the holidays, and Davies Symphony Hall will glow again with seasonal finery. It is a lovely refuge from the madding

winter crowd. Most of the programs are suitably fanciful, but more serious-minded listeners should note: Ragnar Bohlin conducts the annual Messiah on Dec. 17, 18 & 19.

That’s just the first third of a season that stretches through to June.

We’ll talk later about that semistaged event in May with MTT conducting Bernstein’s On the Town, but you might want to consider adding it to your list now.t

Director Guillermo del Toro returns with the haunted house tale Crimson Peak, opening in October.

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36

37

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43

On the Tab

NIGHTLIFE

SPIRITS

DINING

Shooting Stars

SOCIETY

ROMANCE

LEATHER

PERSONALS Vol. 45 • No. 36 • September 3-9, 2015

www.ebar.com ✶ www.bartabsf.com

Queer comics navigate political jokes in the straight-dominated stand-up scene

by Andre Torrez

N

o matter how many pussy jokes he told on stage during the early days of his standup comedy act, Sampson McCormick’s fabricated material didn’t make him any less gay.

Black and closeted, the truth was he was living a lie. Beyond the typical down-low discretion for sexual encounters and rather than engaging in potentially painful dates with beards, he chose to cater to hetero-male humor in a very public way.

See page 34 >>

Sampson McCormick onstage.

Impulse Media

Sounds of sober & sexy

DJ Robbie Martin at the Up Your Alley Street Fair in 2012.

DJ Robbie Martin on "The13th Step"

by Cornelius Washington

S

teamworks bathhouse rocks with a new event that addresses sexuality on the level of what it means to be a gay man among gay men. This means rocking with just your physicality, sensuality, and sexuality on nothing but natural testosterone. And few could provide the key musical element for the magic that takes you to the core of what it means to be a human animal other than DJ Robbie Martin.

See page 34 >>

{ THIRD OF THREE SECTIONS }

Steamworks

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Pick up our special Oakland Pride edition on September 10.

For advertising rates and information, call 415-829-8937 or email advertising@ebar.com

Serving the LGBT communities since 1971

34 • BAY AREA REPORTER • September 3-9, 2015

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Karen Ripley onstage.

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What’s so funny?

From page 33

He’s been in the industry roughly 15 years, and while his personal evolution has finally allowed him the courage to accept himself; over the phone he says he mostly plays to “mainstream” rooms where women, people of color and those who identify as LGBTQ still remain grossly underrepresented.

“Socially, gay may seem to be in, but you’d never believe how many doors still get slammed in our faces,” he wrote in a press release. He’ll be tackling the diversity issue head on, September 8 when he joins forces with Karen Ripley and Ash Fisher, two of his allies to round out an all-queer, predominantly female bill with him being at least one person of color. He organized the show for San Francisco’s Punch Line called, My Spirit Animal Is a Butch Lesbian.

“Coming out is different for

LEATHERWALK.ORG

Sampson McCormick at an event with Cambridge, Massachusetts high school students.

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Robbie Martin

From page 33

The 13th Step event described as “a bathhouse night for sober fuckers,” celebrates gay male sexuality without drugs, filters, borders, or shame. Go to the event and express what’s really going on inside you with hot men and hot music. Go and get laid, the right way.

Martin discussed the Steamworks event, DJing and his own life transitions.

Ash Fisher doing stand-up.

people. I had several doors to walk out of. You have to come out for yourself,” he says, referring to his closet as a “serious walk-in.” He was initially outed to his mother who, despite this news, would say things like, “When are you going to bring a little lady home?” He was committed to praying his gayness away.

The fact that her son wasn’t straight didn’t seem to sink in until she overheard him say, “I love you” to his boyfriend at the time over the phone. This was about ten years ago when he was living in Washington D.C. The boyfriend ended up not working out when he found religion and in scandalous fashion began sleeping with the pastor. For McCormick, this only “reiterated the hypocrisy of the church.”

Now based out of Oakland, his personal trials prefaced a time of increasing visibility for LGBTQ people in media, perhaps most noticeably in TV shows like Transparent and Orange Is The New Black that deal with transgender issues. Additionally, Caitlyn Jenner’s sudden thrust into the limelight as a default (arguCornelius Washington: I’ve known you since you were 14 years old in New Orleans. I cannot tell you how much you mean to me. I am so very happy that you are back in the Bay Area.

Why did you feel that you had to go in the first place, and why have you returned?

Robbie Martin: Well, I adore you as well, Cornelius! And yes, it has been quite a bit of time since we See page 35 >>

Steamworks

The cruisy atmosphere at Steamworks Berkeley.

t <<

Read more online at www.ebar.com

What’s so funny?

From page 34

ably unqualified) spokesperson for trans awareness –whether she wants it or not– are bellwether signs that things are improving.

During the Obama administration, we’ve seen the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, the Defense of Marriage Act, and the subsequent federal legalization of gay marriage with a motion to allow trans people to openly serve in the military on the horizon. The president has given shoutouts to the community in more than a few high-profile speeches.

In an observation true to comedic form, McCormick compares America’s treatment of gay people throughout history to “the crazy family member who lives up in the attic” but has now been let out.

“Uncle Pete is pretty cool after all,” he jokes.

For all the progress that’s been made on that front in a relatively short span of time, the reality of police shootings against unarmed black men, instances of law enforcement brutalizing or harassing people of color like Sandra Bland, and polar-

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September 3-9, 2015 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 35

izing politicians including leading Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, whose campaign for the upcoming election includes racist concepts of immigration reform, rears its ugly head.

“It’s a political time right now with Black Lives Matter. I’m sounding more preachy on stage,” says McCormick. “In between writing and doing admin work, I’m reading the news. Sometimes it does sound like a sermon.”

He adds, “If you’re on the margins, you need to be an activist. I use anything I have. Use art for activism.”

Meanwhile, on the small screen, black men have found prominent time slots on networks like Comedy Central with The Nightly Show With Larry Wilmore, and Trevor Noah is set to take Jon Stewart’s empty seat on The Daily Show in September.

However, in mainstream standup comedy, those types of opportunities for minority groups seem virtually non-existent.

“I’m not one to throw out the race card,” McCormick says. “My family said you can defy the odds and succeed no matter who you are.”

Hella gay funny

Ash Fisher, a relative newcomer on the scene who produced the 2014 Hella Gay Comedy Festival in Oakland, says social justice and the queer movement are becoming more mainstream, but that unfortunately, the unwritten rule seems to be that comedy shows need at least one woman or one token person of color on the bill.

“I prioritize booking people of color, people who are trans and women, says Fisher. “Being a woman is my biggest obstacle. By just being queer you’re an automatic representative of the community.

It’s an opportunity to talk about my queerness.”

Fisher went on to tell a story of a male emcee introducing her to the audience, but he forgot her name completely. She talked about the pressure to laugh it off because she didn’t want to be labeled the “angry dyke comic.” In any event, she came out on stage to do her act, nameless, queer and marginalized.

Karen Ripley, who’s been in the game longer than the other two combined, emerged in San Francisco in 1977. She described a

different era.

“I came on the scene when more and more events wanted to include people of color,” she said. “I was turned down for several gigs because of that. The ‘90s was about leveling the playing field. The main obstacle was getting enough gigs that paid well. I did not pursue straight comedy clubs,” she said.

So what is straight humor, and can a generalization like this be as dangerous as the same stereotypes used against those victims of marginalization –and often times the same stereotypes– comedians rely on in their stand-up acts?

Ripley mentions a straight male comedian who tells an abortion joke that he describes as insensitive.

“He works every weekend,” she said. “Gay comics? There aren’t that many that are out there working the circuit and we get told, ‘You can’t talk about that.’”

Ash touches on similar misogynistic themes, saying she hates when men make rape jokes.

“Generally, I don’t think men should. Women could work through it with comedy. I agree with Joan [Rivers]; comedy can be healing.”

Robbie Martin

met. Leaving… I left because I had grown discontent with San Francisco. Something wasn’t clicking for me after eight years here, and out of the blue I was presented with a great business opportunity close to my mom and dad in New Orleans, so I followed that path. As for returning, well, it was rather unexpected. Recently, I helped my best friend move into Castro Valley and organically it worked out for me to move in with him again.

CW: When you create the music for this event, you create the mood, which is so very important. It’s the soundtrack to the sexual experience. What is your game plan or intent going in?

The sound at Steamworks has always been tailored by in-house DJs, and nailing the format isn’t something that happens overnight, nor is it easy. Think about it. I’m in

Sampson McCormick performs ‘My Spirit Animal is a Butch Lesbian,’ his witty take on homophobia, racism and cultural oddities.

Karen Ripley and Ash Fisher also perform. Tuesday, September 8 at 8pm. The Punch Line Comedy Club, 444 Battery St. 397-7573. $15. www.sampsoncomedy.com www.karenripley.com www.ashfisherhaha.com www.punchlinecomedyclub.com

of the loop! Nowadays in the music industry, the lines between roles have become so blurred, it’s difficult to categorize any artist or group. I have soft spots for Rod Thomas aka Bright Light Bright Light (songwriter, producer, DJ), Jay Brannon (songwriter, vocalist, and musician), Nicole Moudaber (DJ, producer), Rubicon 7 (band, producers, DJs), Ruby Rose (DJ, producer, actress), and Big Freedia (vocalist, producer, and the Queen of Bounce Music).

From page 34

CW: Who was the mastermind behind the 13th Step event?

RM: Brian Short came up with it. He’s the manager of Steamworks Berkeley. He called me when I lived in New Orleans to ping the idea off of me. I guess with all of the stuff you see on the hookup apps and the number of relapses that begin with an online hookup, I think he wanted to create a safer space for sober men to meet up and hook up. Going to a bathhouse can be triggering for sober people, so I think the idea here is to create a space where men with mutual interests can feel safe in expressing their sober sexuality.

The late Rivers, legendary for being unapologetic and not at all PC, once explained in her documentary film, A Piece of Work, how even her husband’s suicide was not off limits as far as stage fodder goes, and that we need laughter to work through these types of sensitive situations.

In most cases, what makes comedy work is that there’s a truth to what’s being said. There wasn’t a ring of truth to McCormick’s imagined intimacies with the female vagina, but I’m sure he’s much better off advising the Saturday Night Live writers, who recently reached out to him to pick his brain about sensitive ways to write jokes that relate to the gay and transgender community.t

Cornelius Washington

Courtesy Robbie Martin

Robbie Martin at Corona Heights in San Francisco.

Robbie Martin DJing in Civic Center at a recent SF Pride.

Robbie Martin in New Orleans with Big Freedia.

a booth in a building where at any given time numerous sexual experiences could be happening, at different points in the experience. So the key here is overall mood, and the ability to be present but not call attention to the music. I wouldn’t want someone mid-romp to be distracted from his experience. I’d rather have someone exit their bathhouse experience with an overall glow, because each puzzle piece of the bathhouse experience fits snugly and seamlessly, and the music is just one piece of the puzzle.

let’s be clear. I don’t think the majority of gay sex is happening while intoxicated. Culturally, nothing has changed except the flavors. Some people enhance their sexual experiences with intoxicants. That’s just the way it is. The reasons are that we are all seeking love and connection and getting over our insecurities; breaking the ice is a point of discomfort. Some people take the edge off, and others break all the edges off and fall into a hole.

be integrated to assist a cultural shift, but I do know they would be both causes of and results.

CW: Sex is the most personal, dynamic and intimate function of the human condition. We express who we really are from our spirit through our bodies, so why do we in the gay community culturally feel that we have to be fucked up out of our minds to do it?

RM: Oh Cornelius, leave it to you to dig into a hot topic! First,

CW: I think, in the 21st century, the LGBTQ community must reaffirm sobriety if it is to survive and thrive. How do you think music and sex will be integrated to help with that?

RM: This is a challenging question. Sobriety comes with consequences, called feelings. And I think feelings are both the causes and results of both music and sex. So I’m not sure how music and sex would

CW: You’ve been voted Best DJ of the year for two years by this newspaper’s Besties readers poll.

What do you do as a DJ that others can’t, or won’t?

RM: Nothing. I’m not doing anything differently. I got lucky and that’s all there is to it. There are several Bay Area DJs who deserved those awards more than me, DJs who put a lot of time into production and traveling and have accomplished things that I could only dream of doing as a DJ and a producer.

I’m inconsistent, I don’t have a “sound,” and the farthest I’ve ever gone into the production world is rearranging stuff that other people made. Also, I’m retired. I don’t play clubs anymore, because I suck at keeping a crowd dancing until 5 A.M. When I was playing them, I rarely went home fulfilled. Most of the time, I left feeling like I didn’t do a good enough job, and that I was trying to fit into a crowd where I didn’t really belong. At this point in my life, I like being the background soundtrack, not the focal point center-stage.

CW: Who do you think is underrated in the DJ, producing and music worlds?

RM: The question implies that I stay in the loop, and I’m so out

Steamworks

The cruisy atmosphere at Steamworks Berkeley.

CW: How do you feel when you see the beautiful LGBT community dance to your music?

RM: Occasionally, I would cry onstage because I felt very connected, like I was on point and providing a service and an emotional experience, and was really feeling the music. Then I would go home and feel extremely lonely. I don’t know how traveling DJs do it, because the high of a dancing crowd followed by being alone in a hotel room was brutal to me.

CW: What event locally, and internationally, would you like to headline, and what song would you play particularly to make me lose control?

RM: I’m doing what I want to do DJ-wise these days. My interests aren’t so much into playing a high profile event, but rather, I’d like to have a chunk of time to get into a studio with friends and make something from scratch. That’s next on my music bucket list.

And to make you lose control?

“If ” by Janet Jackson, the Brothers In Rhythm remix. If that didn’t work, I would default to Sylvester.t The 13th Step is each first Friday at Steamworks, including Sept. 4, 9pm to 2am. Entry/membership ranges from $5 to $150. 2107 4th Street, Berkeley. (510) 845-8992. www.steamworksbaths.com/ berkeley You can listen to Robbie Martin spinning live at Steamworks at www.soundcloud.com/ streamworksbaths.

To view Cornelius Washington’s photography, visit CuirPhoto.net.

Serving the LGBT communities since 1971

36 • BAY AREA REPORTER • September 3-9, 2015

Women Are Doing It For Themselves

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San Francisco girls of Leather

Members of the San Francisco girls of Leather gather at Debauchery, one of their social events.

Race Bannon

Rio Spooner, Co-Coordinator of the Exiles, and this year’s Woman Leather Marshal for the leather contingent in San Francisco’s Pride Parade.

by Race Bannon

O

ne thing that’s quite clear to anyone paying attention is that within the leather and kink LGBT realm, gay men get most of the attention. It’s just how it shakes out much of the time. But I think it’s important that the other segments of the scene get their fair share of attention, including in this column where I’d like to discuss kinky women.

The San Francisco Bay Area is luckier than most metropolitan areas. We have an abundance of options for local kinksters. Leather culture has historically valued the deep connections and networking that clubs can provide its members and those who frequent the club’s events.

Two important women’s clubs in

the Bay Area are The Exiles (www. theexiles.org) and the San Francisco girls of Leather (www.sfgol.org).

By far, The Exiles, which was recently honored with the Pantheon of Leather’s 2015 Award for Small Club of the Year, is the older of the two clubs. The Exiles was founded in 1997 as a successor organization to The Outcasts, which was founded as a successor to Samois, which was founded in 1978 as one of the first women’s leather organizations in the country.

Rio Spooner, one of the co-coordinators for The Exiles, described the club this way.

“We offer educational programs for women who have a positive personal interest in BDSM. Some years ago we broadened our definition of ‘women’ to include anyone who does

Logos for The Exiles and San Francisco girls of Leather.

San Francisco girls of Leather

Heidi (left) and Zed Zeinz (right), president of the San Francisco girls of Leather.

history of the club’s founding.

“The first San Francisco girls of Leather was created in 2004 and ended in early 2007. The current San Francisco girls of Leather club started in 2010. We created a new logo, a new mission statement, and new bylaws. Though there was much support from former girls, this is a new club with new girls and a new life. We strive for a balance of community service and social activities. SFgoL is proud to be celebrating our five-year anniversary.”

Zeinz went on to explain what she sees as the unique aspects of her club.

“Our club is a magical mixture of community service, silliness, and sisterhood,” she said. “We work hard, play hard, and try to not take ourselves too seriously. All self-identified

not self-identify as male, so as to welcome genderqueer, genderfluid, and non-binary people to our programs and events as well. We also go out of our way to welcome transwomen. We are a predominantly lesbian group, but we have many straight and bisexual members as well. Our current membership is over 100 people. We are an all-volunteer organization, from the officers to the presenters to the event planners.”

The Exiles maintains a focus on education rather than fundraising or service. They hold monthly educational programs, usually on the third Friday of every month, at the Center for Sex and Culture in San

Francisco. They also hold a monthly social gathering in Oakland.

Their programs might be handson BDSM technique classes, presentations or discussions on a wide range of related topics. They consider it important to offer classes just for women where they can feel safe, empowered, and have their voices heard.

In addition to the educational aspect, The Exiles tries to be a group where women can comfortably hang out together, socialize, cruise, and explore their identities as women in BDSM. A newer local club is the San Francisco girls of Leather. Zed Zeinz, the current President, told me about the

Thu 10

Mon 14

Sat 19

Red Hanky Nite @ Powerhouse

Ride Mondays @ Eros

Alden Spafford Progressive Dinner @ SOMA

See page 37 >>

Leather Events, September 4-20, 2015 >>

Bar night for men into fisting. 1347 Folsom St., 7pm. www.hellholesf.com

CineKink Oakland Encore Screening @ The New Parkway Following the sold-out screening in August, this event is back for a special encore. 474 24th St., Oakland, 9pm. www.cinekink.com

Fri 11 Rich Stadtmiller

Women enjoying last year’s Folsom Street Fair.

L

eather and other kink events continue through September, leading up to the annual Folsom Street Fair (Sept. 27); but more on that in upcoming columns.

Fri 4 SCCLA Bar Schmooz @ Renegades Bar, San Jose Informal social where friends, prospective members and anyone else who wants to relax, laugh, talk and hang out with like-minded people, 501 W. Taylor St., San Jose, 9pm. www.renegadesbar.com

Sober Kink Together @ Castro Country Club Officially a CMA meeting, but open to all Anonymous 12-step Fellowship members, 4058 18th St., 9:30pm. www.castrocountry.club.org

Gear Party @ 442 Natoma Gear play party (leather, rubber, harnesses, etc.) for gay men.

442 Natoma St., $15 (requires $5 membership), 10pm. www.442parties.com

Mon 7 Ride Mondays @ Eros A motorcycle rider and leathermen night at Eros, bring your helmet, AMA card, MC club card or club colors and get $3 off entry or massage. 2051 Market St. www.erossf.com

Wed 9 Golden Shower Buddies @ Blow Buddies A men’s water sports night, Golden Shower Buddies, $15 with membership, 933 Harrison St., 8pm. www.blowbuddies.com

Cigar Play Party @ Blow Buddies Cigar guys will once again take over the back patio of Blow Buddies for some sexy cigar fun. Please invite your fellow stogie buddies. 933 Harrison St., 9pm. www.blowbuddies.com

Sober Kink Together @ Castro Country Club Officially a CMA meeting, but open to all Anonymous 12-step Fellowship members, 4058 18th St., 9:30pm. www.castrocountry.club.org

Gear Party @ 442 Natoma Gear play party (leather, rubber, harnesses, etc.) for gay men.

442 Natoma St., $15 (requires $5 membership), 10pm. www.442parties.com/

Sun 13 15 Association Beer Bust @ SF Eagle Join the men of The 15 Association at their beer bust. 398 12th St., 3pm. www.the15sf.org

A motorcycle rider and leathermen night at Eros, bring your helmet, AMA card, MC club card or club colors and get $3 off entry or massage. 2051 Market St. www.erossf.com

Wed 16 Handball Academy Program @ Center for Sex & Culture Two medical doctors are on hand to answer your questions. 349 Mission St., 7pm. www.handballacademy.org

Fri 18 City of Wounded Boys & Sexual Warriors @ Center for Sex & Culture A 38-year retrospective of the photographs of San Francisco gay radical sex photographer Mark I Chester (also showing during the entire month of September). 1349 Mission St., 7pm. www.sexandculture.org

Sober Kink Together @ Castro Country Club Officially a CMA meeting, but open to all Anonymous 12-step Fellowship members, 4058 18th St., 9:30pm. www.castrocountry.club.org

Gear Party @ 442 Natoma Gear play party (leather, rubber, harnesses, etc.) for gay men.

442 Natoma St., $15 (requires $5 membership), 10pm. www.442parties.com

Progressive dinner held annually in memory of Alden Spafford, $15 ($20 at door), 4-9pm. See www. leatheralliance.org for details.

The Leather Social San Francisco Edition! @ SF Eagle Gear up, get out of the house and hang out with other leathermen in a cigar-friendly space. The intended focus is just to meet up. 398 12th St., 9pm. www.sf-eagle.com

BLUF Invasion @ SF Eagle Bar night for all gear men. Mingle with the men of BLUF, HOTBOOTS and Bay Area Cigar Buddies. 398 12th St., 9pm. www.bluf.com

Sun 20 LeatherWalk 2014 @ Harvey Milk Plaza LeatherWalk is the official kick-off of San Francisco Leather Week which culminates one week later at Folsom Street Fair. LeatherWalk raises awareness and visibility and helps to build community. 2401 Market St., 10am. www.leatherwalk.org

Kinky Coders @ Wicked Grounds Join us for an afternoon of working on programming projects, networking, picking up new languages, and making new friends at the Kinky Coder munch. 289 8th St., 1pm. www.wickedgrounds.com

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Read more online at www.ebar.com

September 3-9, 2015 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 37

My So-Called Night @ Beaux

On the Tab

Carnie Asada hosts a new weekly '90s-themed video, dancin', drinkin' night, with VJs Jorge Terez. Get down with your funky bunch, and enjoy 90cent drinks. '90s-themed attire and costume contest. No cover. 9pm-2am.

2344 Market St. www.beauxsf.com

Nap's Karaoke @ Virgil's Sea Room

Sept.

3-10, 2015

Sing out loud at the weekly least judgmental karaoke in town, hosted by the former owner of the bar. No cover. 9pm. 3152 Mission St. 8292233. www.virgilssf.com

Nightlife @ California Academy of Sciences Themed event nights at the fascinating nature museum, with DJed dancing, cocktails, fish, frogs, food and fun. $10-$12. 6pm-10pm, 55 Music Concourse Drive, Golden Gate Park. 379-8000. www.calacademy.org

Persia at El Mundo @ Empire Ballroom

FBFE

Fri 3

P

repare to be amazed. Wickedly funny comics, spintastic DJs, sensationally sexy gogos, daring drag shows, and … okay, we admit it, a few over-the-top queens, but we’re not naming names. At least they get out there and work… er, werk.

Thu 3 After Dark @ Exploratoium The monthly cocktail party at the hands-on museum includes special demos and exhibits on math, patterns and the structure of objects. $10-$15.

6pm-10pm. Pier 15 at Embarcadero. www.exploratorium.edu

Bulge @ Powerhouse Grace Towers hosts the weekly gogotastic night of sexy dudes shakin' their bulges and getting wet in their undies for $100 prize (contest at midnight), and dance beats spun by DJ DAMnation. 10pm-2am. 1347 Folsom St. www.powerhousebar.com

Champagne White and the Temple of Poon @ Oasis D'Arcy Drollinger's sequel to the hilarious hit comedy Shit & Champagne, with a women's prisonthemed parody and suspense-filled action-comedy show. $25-$200 (fourperson VIP table). Thu-Sat 7pm. Thru Sept 12. 298 11th St. sfoasis.com

Fuego @ The Watergarden, San Jose Weekly event, with Latin music, halfoff locker fees and Latin men, at the South Bay private men's bath house. $8-$39. Reg hours 24/7. 18+. 1010 The Alameda. (408) 275-1215. www.thewatergarden.com

Funny Fun @ Club 21, Oakland LGBT comedy night hosted by Dan Mires. $10. 8pm. 2111 Franklin St. Oakland. (510) 268-9425. www. club21oakland.com

<<

Leather

From page 36

leathergirls are welcome, no matter sex, gender, orientation, BDSM role, relationship status or anything else. If you identify as a leathergirl, check us out. If you don’t know what a leathergirl is, but you think you may be one, check us out. We’ve also been having more ‘SFgoL and Friends’ events, where everyone is welcome, and they are great gatherings at which to ask questions.”

Kink space: separate or together?

These days, when you talk about men’s or women’s clubs or events, the issue of inclusion versus exclusion inevitably arises. Spooner gave me her take on this.

“There’s a lot of talk lately about various organizations – men, women, queer, and so on – having their own spaces,” she said. “On the one hand, I think it’s crucial for all marginalized peoples to have space where they can be themselves, with people who understand and share their journey. I think we have a lot of that in the Bay Area, and we all respect each other’s individual needs

Gym Class @ Hi Tops Enjoy cheap/free whiskey shots from jock-strapped hotties and sexy sports videos at the popular sports bar.

10pm-2am. 2247 Market St. 551-2500. www.HiTopsSF.com

Homo Thursdays @ Qbar Franko DJs the weekly mash-up/pop music night. No cover. 2 for 1 well drinks, 9pm-2am. 456 Castro St. qbarsf.com

Karaoke Night @ Club BnB, Oakland Sing your heart out at the free lively night. 8pm-2am. 2120 Broadway.

(510) 759-7340. www.club-bnb.com

Karaoke Night @ The Stud "Sing Til It Hurts" the new weekly night with hostess Sister Flora (Floozy) Goodthyme. 8pm; happy hour drinks til 10pm. 10pm-2am. 399 9th St. www.studsf.com

Mary Go Round @ Lookout Mercedez Munro and Holotta Tymes weekly drag show does a Grace Jones tribute night, with Honey Mahogany, Kendra Munroe, Bridget Weslet and Camille Tow. $5. 10:30pm show. 3600 16th St. www.lookoutsf.com

Mazel Top @ Oasis The social night for Jewish gay guys and their admirers. $3-$5. 9pm. 298 11th St. at Folsom. www.sfoasis.com

The Monster Show @ The Edge The weekly drag show continues, with gogo guys and hilarious fun. $5. 9pm2am. 4149 18th St. at Collingwood. www.edgesf.com

and spaces. On the other hand, it can sometimes keep us from focusing on the things that truly bind us together. And it holds us back from solidarity across the lines of gender and sexual identity.”

The same attitude seems to be reflected in Zeinz’s perspective on this topic.

“I think separate spaces where folk can celebrate with others like them is a great and needed thing. I also believe that only spending time with others like you robs you of all the amazing people and experiences there are to see and do. Find a balance that works for you.”

In smaller communities that don’t have the diverse set of leather and kink social and networking options that the Bay Area does, the various genders and orientations tend to join forces with combined organizations and events. It’s sometimes difficult for them to maintain both combined and separate spaces to allow both types of experiences. This is, yet again, why the kinksters of our area are so lucky. We do, indeed, have it all. And these two great women’s organizations are an important part of the larger set of local options.

Fri 4 Allie X @ Rickshaw Stop Young pop singer performs at the Hayes Valley nightclub's PopScene night with St Tropez, Genius and DJ Omar. $12. 9pm. 155 Fell St. www.rickshawstop.com

Beach Blanket Babylon @ Club Fugazi The musical comedy revue celebrates its 40th year with an ever-changing lineup of political and pop culture icons, all in gigantic wigs. $25-$160.

678 Beach Blanket Babylon Blvd (Green St.). 421-4222. www.beachblanketbabylon.com

Boy Bar @ The Cafe Gus Presents' weekly dance night, with DJ Kid Sysko, cute gogos and $2 beer (before 10pm). 2369 Market St. www.cafesf.com

Scott Capurro @ Punchline The wickedly funny gay comic performs for three nights at the downtown club. $22.50 (2-drink min.). 8pm. Also Sept. 4 (8pm & 10pm), Sept. 5 (7:30, 9:30pm). 444 Battery St. 397-7573. www.scottcapurro.com www.punchlinecomedyclub.com

Tender Bears/ Osos Amorosos @ Oasis The new night of bilingual drag, music, poetry and performance, with Baruch Porras-Hernandez, Kevin Seaman, Chilean gay singer Sebastián, Sue Veneer, Kay Nilsson, DJ Cholula Caliente and more. $15. 9:30pm. 298 11th St. www.sfoasis.com

Brian Bonds @ Nob Hill Theatre The hardy porn performer performs solo (8pm) and duo sex shows (10pm) at the famed strip club. $25. 729 Bush St. at Powell. 397-6758. thenobhilltheatre.com

Comedy Noir @ Balancoire Valeria Branch's weekly comedy night, where she embodies her faux queen character Pia Messing for some offbeat wit, along with guest performers. $5. 8pm-10pm. 2565 Mission St. www.balancoiresf.com

Curtain Call @ Hotel Rex Bill Cooper, with pianist Barry Lloyd, hosts the cabaret singers' open mic. $10. 7pm-10pm. 562 Sutter St. www.societycabaret.com

Happy Friday @ Midnight Sun The popular video bar ends each work week with gogo guys (starting at 9pm) and drink specials. 4067 18th St. 861-4186. www.midnightsunsf.com

Hard Fridays @ Qbar DH Haute Toddy's weekly electro-pop night with hotty gogos. $3. 9pm-2am (happy hour 4pm-9pm). 456 Castro St. www.QbarSF.com

Fri 4 Allie X @ Rickshaw Stop

Manimal @ Beaux Gogo-tastic dance night starts off your weekend. $5. 9pm-2am. 2344 Market St. www.beauxsf.com

See page 38 >>

Thirsty Thursdays @ The Cafe Drink specials, Top 40, gogo studs and no cover. 9pm-2am. 2369 Market St. www.cafesf.com

Throwback Thursdays @ Qbar Enjoy retro 80s soul, dance and pop classics with DJ Jorge Terez. No cover.

9pm-2am. 456 Castro St. www.

QbarSF.com

Thursday Night Live @ SF Eagle Music with local and touring bands.

398 12th St. at Harrison. sf-eagle.com

Tubesteak Connection @ Aunt Charlie's Lounge Disco guru DJ Bus Station John spins grooves at the intimate retro music night. $4. 10pm-2am. 133 Turk St. at Taylor. www.auntcharlieslounge.com

Xcess Thursdays @ The Café Frisco Robbie and Persia's dance and pop music night gets the weekend started, with gogo guys and gals, plus drink specials and guest DJs. No cover.

9pm-2am. 2369 Market St. www.cafesf.com

You can find out more about both organizations by visiting their websites. Each site also has a calendar of the club’s events. They both have events coming up at which you can mingle with club members and friends and find out more about them.

The Exiles is hosting a Folsom “Meat and Greet” social on September 25 from 7-10pm at the Center for Sex and Culture, 1349 Mission Street in San Francisco. All genders and identities are welcome at this event.

The San Francisco girls of Leather is hosting a social for its members and friends on September 15 from 7:30-9:30pm at the SF Eagle, 398 12th Street in San Francisco. All genders and identities are also welcome at this event.

Both clubs also maintain a presence on Facebook and FetLife. You can connect with them there also.

If you’re a kinky woman in the Bay Area, definitely check out these two wonderful clubs. I know many of their members and they’re friendly and welcoming people.t Race Bannon is a local author, blogger and activist.

You can reach him on his website, www.bannon.com.

FREE TO LISTEN AND REPLY TO ADS Free Code: Reporter

FIND REAL GAY MEN NEAR YOU San Francisco:

(415) 430-1199 Oakland:

San Jose:

(510) 343-1122 (408) 514-1111 www.megamates.com 18+

Serving the LGBT communities since 1971

38 â&#x20AC;˘ BAY AREA REPORTER â&#x20AC;˘ September 3-9, 2015

<<

t

On the Tab

From page 37

Latin Explosion @ Club 21, Oakland Lulu, Jacki, and Vicki cohost the festive gogo-filled dance club that features Latin pop dance hits with DJs Speedy Douglas Romero and Fabricio; Sept 4 Hot Body amateur strip contest with $150 cash prize; no cover before 10pm. $6-$12.

9pm-4am. 2111 Franklin St., Oakland.

(510) 268-9425. club21oakland.com

Midnight Show @ Divas Weekly drag shows at the last transgender-friendly bar in the Polk; with hosts Victoria Secret, Alexis Miranda and several performers. Also Saturdays. $10. 11pm. 1081 Polk St. www.divassf.com

El Mundo @ Empire Ballroom The new Latin night at the Civic Center renovated nightclub features drag shows, gogo guys and gals, and DJed grooves. 9pm-3am. 555 Golden Gate. www.theempireroomsf.com

Party Nights @ Club BnB, Oakland Different events each week; 1st Fri: Taboo with DJ Harness. 2nd: Menage with DJ Rapture. 3rd: Seduction Feroce, a burlesque cabaret show (9pm). 4th: Bleu Sugar shows with hotess Miss Lady Lana. July 30: eightyear anniversary party. 8pm-2am.

2120 Broadway. (510) 759-7340. www.club-bnb.com

Polyglamorous @ Oasis Celebrate Juanita More's birthday at the cool monthly (1st Fridays) dance night, with DJs Mark O'Brien and M*J*R, and Ms. More! herself, with a performance by Dulce De Leche. $7$10. 9pm-3am. 298 11th St. www.sfoasis.com

ebar.com

Fri 4

Latin Explosion @ Club 21, Oakland

Rock Fag @ Hole in the Wall

Billy Joel @ AT&T Park

Enjoy hard rock and punk music from DJ Don Baird at the wonderfully divey SoMa bar. 12pm-2am. 1369 Folsom St. 431-4695. www.hitws.com

The veteran pop singer-composer performs at the baseball stadium. $50-$130. 8pm. 24 Willie Mays Plaza at Embarcadero. ticketmaster.com

Some Thing @ The Stud

La Bota Loca @ Club 21, Oakland

Mica Sigourney and pals' weekly offbeat drag performance night.

10pm-2am. 399 9th St. studsf.com

Sat 5

DJed tunes, gogo hotties, drag shows, drink specials, all at Oakland's premiere Latin nightclub and weekly cowboy night. $10-$15. Dancing 9pm-4am. 2111 Franklin St. (510) 268-9425. www.club21oakland.com

Beer Bust @ Hole in the Wall Saloon

Cabaret Showcase @ Hotel Rex

Red Hots Burlesque @ Beatbox

Beer only $8 until you bust. 4pm-8pm.

1369 Folsom St. 431-4695. hitws.com

The saucy women's burlesque revue's weekend show; different musical guests each week. Also Wednesday nights. $10-$20. 7:30pm. 314 11th St. www.redhotsburlesque.com www.beatboxsf.com

Beer Bust @ SF Eagle

Emily Blossom, Everardo Leon and Tom Signore perform at the singer showcase, with accompanist/MC G. Scott Lacy. $25-$45. 8pm. 562 Sutter St. www.societycabaret.com

The classic leather bar's most popular Sunday daytime event now also takes place on Saturdays. 3pm-6pm. 398 12th St. at Harrison. sf-eagle.com

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Read more online at www.ebar.com

September 3-9, 2015 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 39

Sat 5

Steven Underhill

PHOTOGRAPHY

415 370 7152

WEDDINGS, HEADSHOTS, PORTRAITS

stevenunderhill.com · stevenunderhillphotos@gmail.com

Prowl @ The Edge

Club Rimshot @ Club BNB, Oakland

Sex, Drags & Rock n Roll @ Midnight Sun

Domingo De Escandal @ Club OMG

Get groovin' at the weekly hip hop and R&B night at their new location. $8-$15. 9pm to 4am. 2120 Broadway.

(510) 759-7340. www.club-bnb.com

Mutha Chucka's monthly drag show (1st Fridays) includes Pristine Condition, Bearonce Growles, Cruzin D'Loo, Gem N'Aye in a Back to School themed show. 10:30pm. 4067 18th St. www.midnightsunsf.com

Weekly Latin night with drag shows hosted by Vicky Jimenez and DJ Tejeda.

7pm-2am. 43 6th St. clubomgsf.com

Go Bang! @ The Stud Sylvestor, the disco icon, gets a special birthday tribute with guest DJ Paul Goodyear, and residents Sergio Fedasz and Steve Fabus. $10 (free before 10pm). 9pm-3am. 399 9th St. at Harrison. www.studsf.com

DJs Lucky, Paul, and Phengren Osward spin 60s soul 45s. $5-$10 ($5 off in semi-formal attire). 10pm-2am. 647 Valencia St. 552-7788. www.elbo.com

Hard French @ El Rio

Sugar @ The Cafe

Tyrel Williams gust-DJs at the fun all-vinyl soul music patio party in the Mission, plus DJs Carnita and Brown Amy, BBQ while it lasts. $10. 3pm8pm. 3158 Mission St. www.hardfrench.com www.elriosf.com

Dance, drink, cruise at the Castro club.

9pm-2am. 2369 Market St. cafesf.com

Mother @ Oasis Heklina's weekly drag show night with different themes, always outrageously hilarious. Sept 5: a Rihanna tribute. $15-$25. 10pm-2am. 298 11th St. at Folsom. 795-3180. www.sfoasis.com

Prowl @ The Edge Saturday night's alright for cruising at the neighborhood bar. 9pm-2am. 4149 18th St. at Collingwood. edgesf.com

Saturgay @ Qbar Stanley Frank spins house dance remixes at the intimate Castro dance bar. $3. 9pm-2am (weekly beer bust 2pm-9pm). 456 Castro St. QbarSF.com

Soul Party @ Elbo Room

Sun 6

GlamaZone @ The Cafe Pollo del Mar's weekly drag show takes on different themes with a comic edge. 8:30-11:30pm. 2369 Market St. www.cafesf.com

Hella Gay Comedy @ Club OMG Nasty Ass Bitch (the drag persona of Charlie Ballard) performs raunchy comedy with Jesus YouBettaWerk and other guests. $10. 7pm. 43 6th St. www.clubomgsf.com

Jock @ The Lookout

The ursine crowd converges for beer and fun. 4pm-8pm. 1354 Harrison St. www.lonestarsf.com

Enjoy the weekly jock-ular fun, with DJed dance music at sports team fundraisers. 12pm-1am. 3600 16th St. www.lookoutsf.com

Beer Bust @ SF Eagle

Liquid Brunch @ Beaux

Beer Bust @ Lone Star Saloon

The classic leather bar's most popular Sunday daytime event in town draws the menfolk. Beer bust donations benefit local nonprofits. 3pm-6pm.

Now also on Saturdays! 398 12th St. at Harrison. www.sf-eagle.com

Big Top @ Beaux The fun Castro nightclub, with hot local DJs and sexy gogo guys and gals. $5. 9pm-2am. 2344 Market St. www.Beauxsf.com

Brunch @ Hi Tops Enjoy crunchy sandwiches and mimosas, among other menu items, at the popular sports bar. 2247 Market St. 551-2500. www.HiTopsSF.com

No cover, no food, just drinks (Mimosas, Bloody Marys, etc.) and music. 2pm9pm. 2344 Market St. beauxsf.com

Morning After BBQ @ Oasis The weekly barbeque brunch on the newly opened rooftop deck, with Mimosas and Bloody Mary cocktails.

11am-3pm. Followed by Sunsation Sundays 3pm-9pm ($7), and Pulse, a hi-energy T-dance with DJs Philip Grasso and Dan De Leon. at 6pm ($15, 6pm2am). 298 11th St. at Folsom. 795-3180. www.sfoasis.com

ebar.com

OscarUnmasked.BAR-Ad_Layout 1 8/27/15 10:07 AM Page 1

THE RICHMOND/ERMET AID FOUNDATION PRESENTS

Sunday Brunch, Xtravaganza @ Balancoire Weekly live music shows with various acts, along with brunch, mimosas, champagne and more, at the stylish nightclub and restaurant; shows at 12:30pm, 1:30pm and 2:45pm. After that, T-Dance drag shows at 7pm, 10pm and 11pm. 2565 Mission St. at 21st. 920-0577. balancoiresf.com

Sunday Brunch @ Thee Parkside Enjoy $12 bottomless mimosas from 10am-3pm at the fun punk rock bar. 1600 17th St. 252-1330. theeparkside.com

Sunday's a Drag @ Starlight Room Donna Sachet hosts the weekly fabulous brunch and drag show, now celebrating its tenth anniversary. $45.

11am, show at noon; 1:30pm, show at 2:30pm. 450 Powell St. in Union Square.

395-8595. www.starlightroomsf.com

Mon 7 Cock and Bull Mondays @ Hole in the Wall Saloon

Thu 3 Scott Capurro @ Punchline

Specials on drinks made with Cock and Bull ginger ale (Jack and Cock, Russian Mule, and more). 8pmclosing. 1369 Folsom St. 431-4695. www.hitws.com

See page 40 >>

A One Night Only Benefit Cabaret for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and REAF Featuring the Company of the New Production of

The Phantom of the Opera An Evening of Academy Award Winning Music

Sep. 21, 2015, 7:30 pm

Marines’ Memorial Theater Tickets: 415-273-1620 or www.reaf.org

Serving the LGBT communities since 1971

40 • BAY AREA REPORTER • September 3-9, 2015

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Mon 7 Opulence @ Beaux

<<

Steven Underhill

On the Tab

From page 39

Beat It @ Oasis 80s music party, with black light, cheap beer and acid-wash jeans welcome. No cover. 8pm-2am. 298 11th St. at Folsom. www.sfoasis.com

Drag Mondays @ The Cafe Mahlae Balenciaga and DJ Kidd Sysko's weekly drag and dance night, 2014's last of the year. 9pm-1am.

2369 Market St. www.cafesf.com

Epic Karaoke @ White Horse, Oakland Mondays and Tuesdays popular weekly sing-along night. No cover.

8:30pm-1am. 6551 Telegraph Ave, (510) 652-3820. www.whitehorsebar.com

Gaymer Meetup @ Brewcade The weekly LGBT video game enthusiast night include big-screen games and signature beers, with a new remodeled layout, including an outdoor patio. No cover. 7pm-11pm.

2200 Market St. brewcadesf.com

Hysteria @ Oasis

Nob Hill Theatre BRIAN BONDS HUGH HUNTER SEPTEMBER 4th & 5th

Irene Tu and Jessica Sele cohost the comedy open mic night for women and queers. No cover. 6pm. 298 11th St. at Folsom. www.sfoasis.com

Irish Dance Night @ Starry Plough, Berkeley Weekly dance lessons and live music at the pub-restaurant, hosted by John Slaymaker. $5. 7pm. 3101 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. www.thestarryplough.com

Karaoke @ The Lookout Paul K hosts the amateur singing night. 8pm-2am. 3600 16th St. at Market. www.lookoutsf.com

Mahogany Mondays @ Midnight Sun

brian bonds hugh hunter

Honey Mahogany's weekly drag and musical talent show starts around 10pm. 4067 18th St. 861-4186. www.midnightsunsf.com

Labor day weekend Sept. 4th & 5th

solo shows with brian @ 8pm

Hugh joins brian fo 10pm sex shows! r

Wed 9 Jim Ambler & Pierce Brandt @ Feinstein’s at the Nikko

Mash Up Mondays @ Club BnB, Oakland Weekly Karaoke and open mic night.

9pm-2am. 2120 Broadway. (510) 7597340. www.club-bnb.com

Monday Musicals @ The Edge Sing along at the popular musical theatre night; also Wednesdays. 7pm2am. 2 for 1 cocktail, 5pm-closing.

4149 18th St. at Collingwood. www.edgesf.com

No No Bingo @ Virgil's Sea Room Mica Sigourney and Tom Temprano cohost the wacky weekly game night at the cool Mission bar. 8pm. 3152 Mission St. www.virgilssf.com

Opulence @ Beaux Weekly dance night, with Jocques, DJs Tori, Twistmix and Andre. 9pm-2am.

2344 Market St. www.beauxsf.com

Piano Bar 101 @ Martuni's Sing-along night with talented locals, and charming accompanist Joe Wicht (aka Trauma Flintstone). 9pm. 4 Valencia St. at Market. www.dragatmartunis.com

Underwear Night @ 440 Strip down to your skivvies at the popular men's night. 9pm-2am. 440 Castro St. 621-8732. www.the440.com

Bombshell Betty & Her Burlesqueteers @ Elbo Room The weekly burlesque show of women dancers shaking their bonbons includes live music. $10. 9pm. 647 Valencia St. 552-7788. www.elbo.com

Cock Shot @ Beaux Shot specials and adult Bingo games, with DJs Chad Bays and Riley Patrick, at the new weekly night. No cover.

9pm-2am. 2344 Market St. www. beauxsf.com

Funny Tuesdays @ Harvey's Ronn Vigh hosts the weekly LGBT and gay-friendly comedy night. One-drink or menu item minimum. 9pm. 500 Castro St. at 18th. 431-HARV. www.harveyssf.com

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

Gaymer Night @ Eagle

Tue 8

Gay gaming fun on the bar's big screen TVs. Have a nerdgasm and a beer with your pals. 8pm. 398 12th St. www.sf-eagle.com

13 Licks @ Qbar

Ink & Metal @ Powerhouse

The "lezzie queer dance party" brings out the femmes and butches. 9pm2am. 456 Castro St. 864-2877. www.qbarsf.com

Block Party @ Midnight Sun Weekly screenings of music videos, concert footage, interviews and more, of popular pop stars. 9pm-2am. 4067 18th St. 861-4186. www.midnightsunsf.com

Show off your tattoos and piercings at the weekly cruisy SoMa bar night.

10pm-2am. 1347 Folsom St. www.powerhousebar.com

Meow Mix @ The Stud The weekly themed variety cabaret showcases new and unusual talents; MC Ferosha Titties. $3-$7. Show at 11pm. 9pm-2am. 399 9th St. at Harrison. www.studsf.com

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September 3-9, 2015 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 41

Wed 9

The Ohio Players @ Yoshi’s Oakland

Naked Night @ Nob Hill Theatre

Una Noche @ Club BnB, Oakland

Strip down at the famous strip club for dancer shows and refreshments. $20.

9pm. 729 Bush St. at Powell. 3976758. www.thenobhilltheatre.com

Vicky Jimenez' drag show and contest; Latin music all night. 9pm-2am. 2120 Broadway. (510) 759-7340. www.club-bnb.com

Retro Night @ 440 Castro

Underwear Night @ Club OMG

Jim Hopkins plays classic pop oldies, with vintage music videos. 9pm-2am.

44 Castro St. www.the440.com

Sampson McCormick @ The Punchline The award-winning gay comic and storyteller performs My Spirit Animal is a Butch Lesbian, his witty take on homophobia, racism and cultural oddities. Ash Fisher and Karen Ripley also perform. $15 (2-drink min.). 8pm.

444 Battery St. 397-7573. www.sampsoncomedy.com www.punchlinecomedyclub.com

Showdown @ Folsom Foundry Weekly game night for board and electronic gamers at the warehouse multipurpose nightclub. 21+. 6pm-12am. 1425 Folsom St. showdownesports.com

Switch @ Q Bar Weekly women's night at the stylish intimate bar. 9pm-2am. 456 Castro St. www.QbarSF.com

Trivia Night @ Hi Tops Play the trivia game at the popular new sports bar. 9pm. 2247 Market St. 551-2500. www.HiTopsSF.com

Weekly underwear night includes free clothes check, and drink specials; different hosts each week. $4. 10pm2am. Preceded by Open Mic Comedy, 7pm, no cover. 43 6th St. www.clubomgsf.com

Wed 9 Booty Call @ QBar Juanita More! and her weekly intimate –yet packed– dance party. $10-$15. 9pm-2am. 456 Castro St. www.qbarsf.com

Bondage a GoGo @ Cat Club The (mostly straight) kinky weekly dance night, where fetish gear is welcome; DJs Damon and Tomas Diablo play electro, goth, industrial, etc. 9:30pm-2:30am. 1190 Folsom St. www.bondage-a-go-go.com

Bottoms Up Bingo @ Hi Tops Play board games and win offbeat prizes at the popular sports bar. 9pm.

2247 Market St. 551-2500. www.HiTopsSF.com

B.P.M. @ Club BnB, Oakland Olga T and Shugga Shay's weekly queer women and men's R&B hip hop and soul night, at the club's new location. No cover. 8pm-2am. 2120 Broadway, Oakland. www.bench-and-bar.com

Dream Queens Revue @ Aunt Charlie's Lounge Classic drag show at the intimate historic gay bar, with Collette LeGrande, Ruby Slippers, Sophilya Leggz, Bobby Ashton, Sheena Rose, Kipper, and Joie de Vivre. No cover.

9:30-11:30pm. 133 Turk St. www.dreamqueensrevue.com

Follies @ Oasis Holotta Tymes hosts the new weekly variety show with female impersonation acts, and barbeque in the front Fez Room. Also, Yuri Kagan's comedy set. $20. 7pm. 298 11th St. at Folsom. www.sfoasis.com

Homo Hump Day @ Various Bars The weekly roving pop-up gayvasion of notable and welcoming straight bars. www.popupgaybar.com

Latin Drag Night @ Club OMG Weekly Latin night with drag shows hosted by Vicky Jimenez. 9pm-2am.

43 6th St. www.clubomgsf.com

Miss Kitty's Trivia Night @ Wild Side West The weekly fun night at the Bernal Heights bar includes prizes, hosted by Kitty Tapata. No cover. 7pm-10pm.

424 Cortland St. 647-3099. www.wildsidewest.com

Jim Ambler & Pierce Brandt @ Feinstein’s at the Nikko The accomplished pair of musicians, Broadway veterans each, and Bay Area natives, perform their cabaret show, Two on the Boards, full of classic and recent show tune favorites. $25-$40 ($20 food/drink min.).

7pm. Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. (866) 777-8932. www.amblerandbrandt.com www.ticketweb.com

Man Francisco @ Oasis The weekly all-male striptease revue with a storyline of San Francisco's history, from the Gold Rush to the tech boom, performed by sexy local hunks. $20 (plus optional $30 lap dances!). 9:30pm. Thru September.

298 11th St. at Folsom. www.sfoasis.com

The Ohio Players @ Yoshi's Oakland The legendary funk band ("Love Roller Coaster," "Fire,") performs classic songs from their 14 gold and platinum albums. $29-$69. 8pm. Also Sept.

10. 510 Embarcadero West, Oakland.

(510) 238-9200. www.loverollercoaster.com www.yoshis.com

Sun 6 Nasty Ass Bitch at Hella Gay Comedy @ Club OMG

Open Mic/Comedy @ SF Eagle Kollin Holts hosts the weekly comedy and open mic talent night. 6pm-8pm.

398 12th St. www.sf-eagle.com

See page 42 >>

Serving the LGBT communities since 1971

42 • BAY AREA REPORTER • September 3-9, 2015

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From page 41

Pussy Party @ Beaux Weekly women's happy hour, with allwomen music and live performances, 2 for 1 drinks, and no cover. 5pm9am. 2344 Market St. beauxsf.com

Rainbow Skate @ Redwood Roller Rink Weekly LGBT and friends skate night, with groovy disco music and themed events. $9. 8pm-10:30pm. 1303 Main Street, Redwood City. www.rainbowskate.net www.facebook.com/rainbowskating

So You Think You Can Gogo? @ Toad Hall The weekly dancing competition for gogo wannabes. 9pm. cash prizes, $2 well drinks (2 for 1 happy hour til 9pm). Show at 9pm. 4146 18th St. www.toadhallbar.com

Way Back @ Midnight Sun Weekly screenings of vintage music videos and retro drink prices. Check out the new expanded front window lounge. 9pm-2am. 4067 18th St. 8614186. www.midnightsunsf.com

Wooden Nickel Wednesday @ 440 Buy a drink and get a wooden nickle good for another. 12pm-2am. 440 Castro St. 621-8732. www.the440.com

Wrangler Wednesday @ Rainbow Cattle Company, Guerneville The Russian River bar's country music night attracts cowboys and those who like to ride 'em. 8pm-1am. 16220 Main St., Guerneville. (707) 869-0206. www.queersteer.com

Thu 10 Bulge @ Powerhouse Grace Towers hosts the weekly gogotastic night of sexy dudes shakin' their bulges and getting wet in their undies for $100 prize (with a contest at midnight), and dance beats spun

by DJ DAMnation. 10pm-2am. 1347 Folsom St. www.powerhousebar.com

FCKD @ Oasis Vivvyanne Forevermore and Honey Mahogany's drag show with Dottie Lux, Dulce De Leche and Miss Rahni. $10. 10pm-2am. 298 11th St. at Folsom. 795-3180. www.sfoasis.com

Funny Fun @ Club 21, Oakland Weekly LGBT and straight comedy night hosted by Dan Mires. $10. 8pm.

2111 Franklin St. Oakland. (510) 2689425. www.club21oakland.com

FIND REAL GAY MEN NEAR YOU San Francisco:

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(510) 343-1122 (408) 514-1111 www.megamates.com 18+

Gym Class @ Hi Tops Enjoy whiskey shots from jockstrapped hotties and sexy sports videos at the popular new sports bar.

10pm-2am. 2247 Market St. 551-2500. www.HiTopsSF.com

Jack Mosbacher @ Feinstein's at the Nikko The Bay Area native athleteturned-opera singer performs his autobiographical cabaret show Without a Song. $25-$40 ($20 food/ drink min.). 8pm. Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. (866) 777-8932. www.ticketweb.com

Karaoke Night @ Club BnB, Oakland Sing your heart out at the free lively night. 8pm-2am. 2120 Broadway.

(510) 759-7340. www.club-bnb.com

Karaoke Night @ Club OMG Dana leads the weekly amateur singing night. 8pm. No cover. 43 6th St. 896-6473. www.clubomgsf.com

Mary Go Round @ Lookout Mercedez Munro and Holotta Tymes' weekly drag show. $5. 10:30pm show.

DJ Philip Grasso. 3600 16th St. www.lookoutsf.com

The Monster Show @ The Edge The dearly missed Cookie Dough's weekly drag show continues, with themed events and cute gogo guys. $5. 9pm-2am. 4149 18th St. at Collingwood. www.edgesf.com

Nightlife @ California Academy of Sciences Themed event nights at the fascinating nature museum, with DJed dancing, cocktails, fish, frogs, food and fun. $10-$12. 6pm-10pm, 55 Music Concourse Drive, Golden Gate Park. 379-8000. www.calacademy.org

Thu 10 Zepparella @ Guerneville Plaza

San Jose:

Queer Karaoke @ Club OMG Dana hosts the weekly singing night; unleash your inner American Idol.

8pm. 43 6th St. www.clubomgsf.com

Thirsty Thursdays @ The Cafe Drink specials, Top 40, gogo studs and no cover, 2 for 1 cocktails until 10:30pm. 2369 Market St. www.cafesf.com

Thump @ White Horse, Oakland Weekly electro music night with DJ Matthew Baker and guests. 9pm-2am.

6551 Telegraph Ave, (510) 652-3820. www.whitehorsebar.com

Thursday Night Live @ Eagle Live bands- usually, rock, punk and always good- perform at the famed leather bar. 8:30pm first band. 398 12th St. www.sf-eagle.com

Tubesteak Connection @ Aunt Charlie's Lounge Eleventh anniversary year of the retro disco night with a fun diverse crowd, and disco master DJ Bus Station John. $4. 10pm-2am. 133 Turk St. at Taylor. www.auntcharlieslounge.com

Zepparella @ Guerneville Plaza The all-women Led Zeppelin tribute band rocks the Russian River outdoor concert series. No alcohol or pets; folding chairs and picnics welcome.

Free. 6:30pm. Armstrong & River roads. www.zepparella.com www.rockintheriver.org Want your nightlife event listed?

Email events@ebar.com, at least two weeks before your event.

Event photos welcome.

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Shooting Stars

September 3-9, 2015 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 43

photos by

Steven Underhill Big Fat Dick @ Oasis

T

hose saucy sexy Los Angeles guys, led my impresario Mario Diaz, returned to Oasis for their second night of gogo-tastic debauchery. The extra friendly dancers shook their money-makers to vibrant grooves, and some patrons showed off their goods in an X-rated photo wiener contest.

When you’re in LA, see more of these studs at Fubar: www. fubarla.com For more Oasis events, go to www.sfoasis.com More event photo albums are on BARtab’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/lgbtsf.nightlife.

See more of Steven Underhill’s mnightlife photos at www.StevenUnderhill.com.

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For headshots, portraits or to arrange your wedding photos

call (415) 370-7152 or visit www.StevenUnderhill.com or email stevenunderhillphotos@gmail.com