cheesebikini?

I love the dark postmodern vaudeville/caberet/circus/sideshow performances that are becoming popular on the West Coast. I thought that San Francisco and Black Rock City lead the way for this genre, but I was wrong. A Seattle troupe called Circus Contraption blows the polka-dotted pants off the other twisted circus shows that I’ve seen, they’ve been doing it for many years, and this week they’re coming to San Francisco.

Circus Contraption serves up clever and astounding performances set to an entrancing live soundtrack. Each member of the troupe excels in a circus/erotic/dance specialty or two, and each doubles as a talented musician in a freakish, unforgettable band. The music doesn’t take a back seat; I’d still rush to see these people if they were just a band, and I happily bought one of their CDs.

If you haven’t seen this nonprofit troupe, don’t miss them. I loved their Seattle performance on a recent Sunday night, but Bunny Lamonte told me afterwards that Friday midnight shows are best. On Fridays the performers and the crowd are at their peak energy levels and things get wild and raunchy.

Circus Contraption’s latest show, “Grand American Traveling Dime Museum,” is coming to San Francisco starting this Friday, August 6. They’re playing at CELLspace in the Mission; tickets are $15 (or “pay what you can” on opening night.) Take it from a grad student — it’s worth the $15. But show up on a Friday night. And buy tickets early. (They kept selling out in Seattle — that’s why I went on a Sunday).

Urban photologger Mike from satanslaundromat just visited San Francisco; have a look at the city through his eyes:

Tonight you’re in for a good show at the Hemlock Tavern in San Francisco. Elbow your way through the smarmy clots of hipsters in the front room and pay $10 to enter the grittier back room, where you’ll see old-school French electronica punks Metal Urbain. I checked out last night’s show and I loved their unique sound: angry punk anthems screamed in French, backed by dirty guitars, a laptop and what seems to be a weird old drum machine.

I didn’t know a thing about this band until I heard one of their tracks on KUSF a couple of days ago. A little Web and liner-note research reveals that they started out in 1976. They were big influences on the Jesus & Mary Chain and on Big Black (including Steve Albini who later produced the Pixies and Nirvana).

Hypnotic lead singer Eric Debris cites Oscar Wilde (!) and “anti-naturalistic” philosophy as major inspirations. The liner notes say they were the first punk band to use synth percussion, and they were the sole punk band to adopt Brian Eno’s approach to electronica (that is, using electronics for unique sonic potential, rather than just to replicate real instrument sounds).

I wish I could find the lyrics and figure out what Debris was shouting about… It definitely involved sex and Fascism.

UPDATE 5/31/04:Jason Harlan reports that Metal Urbain played a set on kickass indy radio station WFMU; you can listen to a RealAudio-format recording of it here.

A new Reclaim The Streets movement is underway in San Francisco. Participants hope to replace the usual glut of automobiles near the intersection of Haight and Stanyan Streets with a flood of pirate-attired, partying pedestrians on Valentine’s Day 2004 from noon until 9 pm.

The original Reclaim The Streets groups coalesced to form massive London street disruptions in the 1990s, including a 1996 event in which thousands reappopriated a 3/4 mile stretch of highway to form a giant street party.

See details of the San Francisco RTS movement, and plans for the February 14 event, at http://www.rts-sf.org. And spread the word.

(PARANOID WARNING: The RTS-SF Web site includes a mysterious sign-up form that requests your e-mail address. I’m not saying the people behind this site aren’t who they claim to be, but it’s best to assume the worst — that spammers and/or John Ashcroft are on the receiving end of that form. Use a junk e-mail account, or just don’t register.)

UPDATE 2/14/04: See phonecam shots of the event on cheesebikini cam.

Brace yourself for breathtakingly belated coverage from San Francisco SantaCon 2003. Yet another conference hits the City by the Bay.

Who’s Trudy?

Who will pay you $300 to find her?

Nobody will pay you, if this is a hoax.

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