Focus Features has released the preview for Milk, the highly-anticipated Harvey Milk biopic directed by Gus Van Sant and starring Sean Penn. We still have to wait until it opens in S.F. on November 26, but this short taste is definitely something to spark early excitement. View the trailer in high quality here or enjoy the video below. —Tamara Palmer
What ever happened to Maxwell? We haven't heard much from the ultra-talented soul singer since the beginning of the decade, but that's all about to change as he is set to drop a trilogy of new albums, right after his recently announced tour. In his first tour in six years, Maxwell visits the Paramount Theatre Oct. 28. Tickets go on sale this Fri., Sept. 5, at 10 a.m. --Oscar Pascual
Apparently two nights of sexy music just isn't enough for SF. Chris Isaak's two nights at the Fillmore just turned into four, adding newly announced shows on Oct. 10 and 11. Tickets go on sale Sun., Sept 7 at 10 a.m., and tickets for the Oct. 8 and 9 shows are still available. --Oscar Pascual
Hold It
SF Underground
Friday: August 29, 2008
Notes and Photos by Crystal Akins
Recurring club night? That's up in the air right now.
Better than: Depend adult diapers.
Want to know what kind of sick mind games Parker Day and Nate Always played last week? On Friday at SF Underground the duo's party had all the beer you can drink for free -- but only until someone urinated. Free beer duration: One hour.
"It's an old '70s frat boy thing my mom told me about," said Always. "So I was like f---k, let's do that."
A taped off bathroom door, no ins and outs, and Parker's sharp eye forced the crowd to stay within the confines of the bar's red walls and drink to their heart's content. The crowd slammed down as many beers as possible, and at approximately 11:10 p.m., Parker emerged from the bar with a montage of photos on her camera of a girl, a dark alley and a puddle on the ground, promptly ending the game.
If forcing the crowd to "hold it" wasn't enough, Parker intended on printing copies and posting the fliers of the peeing perpetrator so we knew who to blame. After the game was over, lines for the bathroom backed up across the petite dance floor with ladies squirming to keep their bladders from exploding.
For those who couldn't get enough of the Deal sisters when the Breeders came through town in April, there's a second and third chance to see the band this fall. The Breeders will hit Slim's on Friday, Nov. 14 and Saturday, Nov. 15, offering another last splash (heh) for their fans. -- Jennifer Maerz
So this week it finally feels like summer around here. It's warm enough to reach for a hot little number about block parties, halter tops, super soakers, water sports, and the like: I'm talking about the new song from East Bay rapper Keyd, who recently posted his ode to the season of sweat, "Summertime Function," on his MySpace page. The song ticks off all the summer priorities -- drinkin, dressing skimpy, hosting a big ol' "party in my lap," ya know. While you're at Keyd's page, though, also check out the bilingual track "Today" featuring Seilaesencia -- a smoldering he said/she said dance track that would also do well blasting out from a block party. -- Jennifer Maerz
San Francisco Symphony's Opening Gala
Davies Symphony Hall
September 3, 2008
Words and Photos by Jennifer Maerz
Better than: Watching Dynasty reruns
The most recent entry on the hilarious honky-riffing blog, Stuff White People Like, was "Appearing to Enjoy Classical Music." The essay claimed that "though white people do not actually listen to classical music, they like to believe that they are the type of people who would enjoy it" and "After leaving the concert hall, white people will immediately begin telling everyone ... how they plan to 'go more often.' This is because white people see little to no value enjoying classical music without recognition from other white people."
At the Opening Gala for the San Francisco Symphony, all I could think about was the idea that White People Like the Symphony. Ironically I hadn't seen the new blog entry until I got home and started typing this up, but last night there were a lot of white folks with pouffy dresses and pouffy hair displaying for various photographers how much they loved classical music. And for the price of the grand gala tickets, I'm sure a lot of them really did like the stuff. But the scene surrounding the music was impossible to ignore: it was like Dynasty meets Cirque du Soleil, and the people watching was just as entertaining as the music itself.
