After a slow, blue-balling week at work, Oxygen Bar, Sushi & Sake Lounge -- which, in the past, had featured only gimmicky oxygen inhalants and virgin elixirs for relaxation, in lieu of alcohol's sweet release -- wasn't the most logical place to blow your load. Now, after getting both a much-needed booze license and a makeover, the place is finally making its mark with regularly scheduled DJ nights, notably Sunday's "Real People" event, which features local poet and DJ Jamez showcasing his mellow eclectica (anything from ABC to Lena Horne to Siouxsie & the Banshees to Frank Zappa) to help ward off the melancholia of the week ahead. Drag performer and hostess Ivy Drip also makes an appearance to guide the night's festivities, which begin at 6 p.m. For more info, call 255-2102 or visit www.oxygensf.com.
-- Brock Keeling
Whether used to slap-box with Jesus on "Daytona 500," sing his mother's praises on "All That I Got Is You," or issue paeans to his favorite celestial being on "The Sun," Ghostface Killah's strained, throaty voice hints at an unspoken desperation, a creeping paranoia that each line he spits may be his last. Ignoring the rules of what you can and can't say in rap, his songs create a ghetto-surrealist, stream-of-consciousness collage that suggests equal parts Romare Bearden, Jack Kerouac, and Slick Rick. While other members of the Wu-Tang Clan have gradually lost their luster -- trading in their Shaolin swords for sticks of deodorant (Method Man hawks the stuff in TV spots) -- the recently released album Pretty Toney reasserts Ghostface Killah's status as one of hip hop's premier MCs. Expect a high-energy live show when he takes the stage on Tuesday, June 29, at the Fillmore; for info, call 346-6000 or go to www.thefillmore.com.
-- Sam Chennault
