8 Days a Week

May 14-21, 2003

SHAZIA MIRZA HAS the rare distinction being both a practicing Muslim and a practicing stand-up comic. What's more, the British comedian of Pakistani descent blends the two effortlessly in her routine, cleaving through stereotypes and catching her audience with their prejudices down. Her sly show opener – "My name is Shazia Mirza. At least, that's what it says on my pilot's license ..." – earned her headlines in New York and a reputation for political courage. And though she shrugs off the notoriety ("If I hadn't responded to September 11, that would have been a bit shit"), you can be sure San Francisco has never seen anything like her. She makes her U.S. debut tonight at the fifth annual 'Funny Girlz: A Smorgasbord of Women's Humor,' sharing the bill with María Elena Fernández, who's on tour with her show Confessions of a Cha Cha Feminist; Diane Amos, actor, comedian, and former Wheel of Fortune winner; performer and police officer Amy Boyd; local comedy luminary (and "Funny Girlz" creator) Lisa Geduldig; and Esther Weintraub, an 87-year-old "sit-down comedian." Sat/17, 8 p.m., Herbst Theatre, 401 Van Ness, S.F. $20-$25. (415) 392-4440, www.koshercomedy.com. (Amir Baghdachi)

May 14

Wednesday

Next of Kinman
Once upon a time, 25 years ago, Chip and Tony Kinman – S.F. radical punk O.G.s – formed the Dils, a p.c. band like you wouldn't believe, and they made sure people knew it, until even devoted fans hated them (but never missed their shows). After a few years of suffering fools, they flipped us off and lit out for the territories, reinventing themselves as enlightened cowpunks in a pretty terrific band, Rank and File. After that came Blackbird and, finally, Cowboy Nation – which brings us to the present. Rhino Records has just released Rank and File's two albums, so perhaps Cowboy Nation will take a long ride down memory lane. As far as the Dils material goes, I wouldn't hold my breath. However, I still remember the words ("a three dollar door, man, you know we wouldn't play"; "I don't listen to the cops / I wish they all were dead," and so on), and old fans are invited to stop by my table between sets for a Dils medley. Deke Dickerson also plays. 10 p.m., Parkside , 1600 17th St., S.F. $5. (415) 503-0393. (J.H. Tompkins)

May 15

Thursday

Storytelling
Warbling like a young Judy Collins, Dar Williams gets more polished with every album – her latest, The Beauty of the Rain (Razor and Tie), is sleek, sweet, and loaded with guest stars such as Alison Krauss, Bela Fleck, John Popper, and John Medeski. It's perfectly tricked out for pop radio, the natural, next step for the solar power activist, who has sold more than a half million records between her five albums. Ben Taylor Band opens. 8 p.m., Fillmore, 1805 Geary, S.F. $22.50. (415) 346-6000. (Kimberly Chun)

May 16

Friday

Safety dance
Muster up the guts to ask your fave crush to tonight's Sadie Rawkin's Dance. Four Bay Area bands provide the music: solid four-piece rock outfit Stay Gold Pony Boy, the glammed-out vixens of Shevel Knievel, fuzzy lo-fi rock quartet Century Schoolbook, and attitude-ridden "next-wave" garage act Boyjazz (which, technically, has one member living in Los Angeles). In between sets, Principal "Big Chris" hosts a slew of activities and games for those brave enough to participate. But don't sweat it, you probably won't have to slow dance, so loosen up your collar and rock out like your mama would never allow. 9 p.m., Stork Club, 2330 Telegraph, Berk. $5. (510) 444-7224. (Sarah Han)

Kid cheers
As a certain late-1970s television show once assured us, kids are people too – and Adolescent Sublime, a new film and online undertaking launching tonight with a gala benefit, aims to keep that message alive. The purpose of the project is to create an Internet community for creative and politically active young artists, journalists, and videographers; toward that goal, the Adolescent Sublime crew is setting off on a mission to research and document youth movements across the globe. The whole shebang kicks off with a party that features entertainment by young locals (Urban Royalty, Flo-Ology, the Shotgun Wedding Quintet, and others), a fashion show by Jacinta Designs, an exhibit of work by teen artists, and more. Plus, Adolescent Sublime's initial productions – interviews with local youth – are going to be shown throughout the night, as is an eight-minute promotional trailer about the project. 6:30 p.m.-midnight, ODC Theater, 3153 17th St., S.F. $15. (415) 863-9834, www.adolescentsublime.org. (Cheryl Eddy)

May 17

Saturday

Mountain high
Perfect for armchair travelers and anyone prone to high-altitude sickness, the 20th annual Himalayan Fair returns to North Berkeley to celebrate the mountain cultures of Tibet, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Mongolia, Mustang, Pakistan, and Bhutan. At this event you'll find a diverse array of people who've settled on an excellent way to spend a spring afternoon: tasting international cuisine and watching performers carrying on traditions – classical Indian dances like Bharatanatyam and Odissi, Mongolian throat singing, and more – from half a world away. The $5 admission fee benefits various projects within the Himalayan mountain cultures, including orphanages and small villages in need of medical supplies. Sat/17, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sun/18, 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m., Live Oak Park, 1300 Shattuck, Berk. $5. (510) 869-3995, www.himalayanfair.net. (Eddy)

May 18

Sunday

Doc talk
It's clearly the result of a complete freak of nature that at this exact moment San Francisco is not hosting a single film festival. Cineasts feeling withdrawal symptoms post-San Francisco International and pre-Jewish, -Black, and -Lesbian and Gay fests can – thank gawd! – ease their pain at the Asian American Documentary Showcase. Sponsored by the National Asian American Telecommunications Association (which produces the excellent International Asian American Film Festival), this daylong minifest in honor of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month includes four programs selected to highlight the diversity of Asian American experiences. Bend It like Beckham fans will want to make a note of "I'm British but...: The Early Films of Gurinder Chadha," a selection of nonfiction works about the U.K.'s Indian community. The other films focus on a Cambodian American musician's journey back to his native country; a daughter's spiritual quest after the death of her shaman father; and the large-and-in-charge history of sumo wrestling. Films at 2, 4, 6, and 8 p.m. (see Rep Clock for a schedule), AMC Kabuki 8 Theatres, 1880 Post, S.F. $6-$8 (four-film pass $20). (415) 863-7428, www.naatanet.org. (Eddy)

May 19

Monday

First look
Before L.A. author Lori Kaye landed what can only be described as a dream job – producer of Joe Millionaire – she wrote Girls Room, an extraordinary play about the crisis of coming out in middle age. With a protagonist bedeviled by fears of her 20th high school reunion on one side and a conservative Jewish mother on the other, the play has all the crackle of high drama and all the humor of stand-up comedy, and it just might provide entirely new insights into Joe Millionaire's "chateau." Girls Room gets the staged-reading treatment as the first play in the '3D: Dyke Drama Days' series, celebrating the 25th anniversary of Theatre Rhinoceros. It's totally free, refreshingly interactive, and each play is followed by a Q&A session. Through May 22. 6 p.m., Theatre Rhinoceros, 2926 16th St., S.F. Free. (415) 861-5079, www.therhino.org. (Amir Baghdachi)

May 20

Tuesday

Get the message
Jeremy Lin and Jamie Athertin, collectively known as the Jimmys and the masterminds behind the monthly El Rio film series 'AfterSchool Special,' again pay respectful homage to a pivotal cult film with their screening of the graffiti classic Wild Style. Judging by current looks, many of us youngsters secretly wish that in 1982 we'd been rolling out the linoleum for the breakin' Rock Steady Crew instead of grandmaster potty-training. Indulge your actual or wish-I-was-there nostalgia by watching Wild Style, which is packed with the founders of urban hip-hop culture (the Fantastic Freaks, Patti Astor, Futura, South Bronx, Zephyr, Dondi, the Lower East Side, Blondie, Double Trouble, Lady Pink, and of course, Grandmaster Flash). You can even test out that new old-school tag on the bathroom graffiti space El Rio's management have graciously set aside for the year. Get there early to catch the Jimmys DJ b-boy-style before the film. 8 p.m., El Rio, 3158 Mission, S.F. Free. www.elriosf.com. (Laurie Koh)

Quiet storm
The mysterious three-piece outfit known as Agalloch hail from Portland, Ore., but you can pretend they're from a far-off, snowy place like Norway or Finland. They never tour, and besides, their brand of black metal as gloomy, laid-back folk rock (and/or epic post-rock) has more in common with mid-'90s albums by Scandinavian bands like Ulver and Opeth than anything from this side of the Atlantic. Their first album wasn't so hot, but its follow-up, last year's The Mantle, was a quiet masterwork full of gently strummed acoustic guitars and regal symphonic percussion. Tonight's show is their first – and possibly last – in the Bay Area and comes as part of a package tour sponsored by their label, Salt Lake City's the End Records. Also on the bill are England's Antimatter, who sound like a metal-bred Portishead, and Australia's Virgin Black, whose operatic, cello-filled metal melodramas are, to be diplomatic, something you don't hear everyday. Ludicra opens. 9 p.m., Curve Bar, 747 Third St., $5. (415) 896-2286. (Will York)

May 21

Wednesday

Unknown pleasures
You wondered about the acronym when they were the VSS. You were fond of the thug-ugly grunt throb of Slaves. You adored their recent rockin' carnival-organ phase as Pleasure Forever. Now the many much-altered faces of Pleasure come to bear on a heavy yet elegant, effects-drenched, and menacingly jaunty brand of glam. Yeah, a megaphone-toting Bowie singing, "He's drunk again / It looks like rain," over and over, riding a mad carousel with fuzzed-out Smiths in the background, might describe some of the proceedings on P.F.'s new Sub Pop album, Alter. The Ritual de lo Habitual imagery and blast levels also have their goth-grunge charm. Steve Von Till, the Vanishing, and the Starvations also play. 10 p.m., Bottom of the Hill, 1233 17th St., S.F. $10. (415) 474-0365. (Chun)