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dammit, we dance.
“Beautiful rebels: a celebration of the fashion world of jean paul gaultier” see friday/6
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Wednesday 4/4
Wednesday 4/4
Nile
Cults
Death metal fans are eagerly awaiting At the Gate of Sethu, the newest album from South Carolina speeddemons Nile. Influenced, as always, by singer-guitarist Carl Sanders’ exhaustive study of Egyptian history and myth, the band’s new offering is sure to feature Nile’s distinctive traits: impossibly fast blastbeats (courtesy of drummer George Kollias), keening, Middle Eastern chords, and creepy, atmospheric interludes played on traditional instruments. Still, the chief delight for any Nile fan should be witnessing the band’s superhuman stamina and chops in person — despite a truncated opening set, few bands can play more individual notes in a single night.(Ben Richardson)
Cults sound like a ‘60s girl group (think the Shangri-Las/Ronettes) drenched in dreamy, lo-fi noise. New York-based couple and artistic collaborators Madeline Follin and Brian Oblivion began making music in their home as a hobby
With the Black Dahlia Murder, Skeletonwitch, Hour of Penance 7:30pm, $21 Slim’s 333 11th St., SF (415) 255-0333 www.slimspresents.com
Wednesday 4/4 Blank Tape Beloved featuring Brother Ali “Sometimes I don’t write a lot/ I know folks out there call that writer’s block/ I just call it my process/ It comes out when it’s ready to, I guess...” So explains Brother Ali in new single “Writer’s Block,” perhaps as a reply to fans asking about the lengthy stretches between releases.
bampfa.berkeley.edu
Thursday 4/5 Argentine Tango USA Festival not too long ago. Shortly after their hit single “Go Outside” went viral in the blogosphere, however, they landed a record deal and released their first album (Cults). Their vocals, which Follin belts out in a sweet, crooning manner, suggest foreboding themes like senseless depression, unalterable inadequacies, and uneven, entrapping love. You’ll most likely want to slowly sway to these songs — and reverently mimic Oblivion’s steady, controlled head banging. (Mia Sullivan) With Spectrals, Mrs. Magician 8pm, $21 Great American Music Hall 859 O’Farrell, SF
2170 Market, SF (415) 861-5016 www.cafedunord.com
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Thu/5, 8pm, $21 Slim’s 333 11th St., SF (415) 255-0333
As a costume designer in Hollywood, Deborah Nadoolman Landis has worked on a host of legendary films and created iconic looks such as the fedora and jacket of Harrison Ford (Indiana Jones) in Raiders of The Lost Ark (1981), the candy apple red leather jacket for Michael Jackson in Thriller, the “College” shirt worn by John Belushi in Animal House (1978), and many more. Landis will be appearing at PFA this week to discuss her work as part of “Behind The Scenes: The Art and Craft of Cinema,” a special two-night program — on Thursday she will be joined by her film listings
There are few cities more similar to San Francisco than Buenos Aires — leaving aside the vagaries of bistec versus burrito and geographic shaping (121 compared to 203 square kilometers). The two are major cities with world-class art scenes, passionate histories of social protest, and dammit, we dance. Be you a hippie-shaker or a vogue hand-waver, the motion in your ocean will most surely respond to the sultry allure of tango, brought to us this week in spades in a big-time competition authorized by the Buenos Aires city government. Spring to attend a milonga, which is like a tango jam session, or take a seat to watch the pros pivot it out. (Caitlin Donohue) Thu/5-Sun/8, $20 competition spectator admission Check website for competition times San Francisco Airport Marriott 1800 Old Bayshore Highway, Burlingame www.argentinetangousa.com
(415) 885-0750
“Behind The Scenes: The Art and Craft of Cinema”
Cafe Du Nord
Pacific Film Archive (510) 642-1412
Thursday 4/5
9pm, $10
Thu/4-Fri/5, 7pm, $5.50–$9.50 2575 Bancroft Way, Berk.
www.slimspresents.com
The Minneapolis-based emcee brings a big-picture perspective, striking a lyrical balance between brevity and bookishness. New (and free!) seven-song EP The Bite Marked Heart provides the appetizer for upcoming LP Mourning in America and Dreaming in Color. Ali brings in the band Blank Tape Beloved for what he describes as an impromptu and intimate performance. (Kevin Lee)
husband, director John Landis, for a screening of Three Amigos! (1986) — one of several projects they’ve worked on together over the years. On Friday she will join fellow costume designer Aggie Guerard Rodgers for a talk and screening of the classic American Graffiti (1973). (Sean McCourt)
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Thursday 4/5 Dark Star Orchestra Depending on how much secondhand pot you’ve smoked, if you close your eyes and listen up to Dark Star Orchestra, it’s possible to convince yourself you’ve transported back to 1969 for a Grateful
Dead show. Yes, DSO is a nationally recognized and acclaimed Dead tribute act (seriously, the band really sound like the Dead) that is coming to show us young whippersnappers what we missed CONTINUES ON PAGE 20 >>
APRIL 4 - 10, 2012 / SFBG.com
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