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Vol. 44 • No. 32 • August 7-13, 2014

Silicon Sisters, officials mull Pink Sat. changes Valley Pride faces C suit threat

by Seth Hemmelgarn

by Heather Cassell

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ilicon Valley Pride is just over a week away, but its festival director is threatening to sue the organization, and claims the festival might be locked out of its San Jose location due to its debt.

Jo-Lynn Otto Gary Walker, the SVP interim longtime contract board President festival director of Thaddeus the South Bay’s an- Campbell nual Pride celebration, formerly known as San Jose Pride, is threatening to sue the organization and its current and past board members. In a July 29 email, Walker claims the new board breached its contract with him and failed to remit a partial payment for producing the event this year that was due in June.

The Bay Area Reporter received Walker’s email last week.

Walker said he finally went public after a month of receiving concerned emails and phone calls from city officials, community leaders, and others.

The dispute between Gary Walker Productions and the SVP board has been ongoing since the spring and it isn’t the first time Walker has fought for his job. Previous Pride board president Nathan Svoboda also attempted to ditch Walker in 2012, only to have him return under his current three-year contract through 2015.

“I need to say my piece and let everybody know my side of the story from my standpoint that I can back up factually,” said Walker.

He said it’s not about the money, and said he has made $20,500 a year since 1998 producing the festival. Yet, he paid two full-time and five part-time assistants out of his earnings, he said.

Instead, it’s about how he was treated.

“No one from the board ever contacted me to tell me that I don’t have a job,” said Walker, who said he moved forward with planning this year’s event last fall. “The anger that I have and hurt I have is how they did this, this unconscionable way to treat someone who basically donated time for 16 years.”

Thaddeus Campbell, interim president of the SVP board, would neither confirm nor deny the B.A.R.’s questions about Walker’s allegations. At the board’s July 31 meeting he skipped over the financial report on the agenda.

“I’m not going to focus on this now, we are two weeks away from throwing the biggest festival that we’ve ever done and I’m not See page 9 >>

festival would happen in “a modified form next year,” but ity officials and organiz“that’s only if things come toers of San Francisco’s gether with the city and with annual Pink Saturday leadership within the order.” celebration, which brings thouSoul said, “The Sisters are sands of people to the streets of not making any decisions” unthe Castro the night before the til after the September meetLGBT Pride parade, are talking ing. She said the Sisters would about changes to the event after most likely vote at their genyears of violent incidents. eral membership meeting in This year, one of the Sisters of October on whether to have Perpetual Indulgence, the group Pink Saturday next year. of drag nuns that puts on the This year’s problems were street party, was attacked in an “typical” and included vioapparent hate crime. Other incilence, “overindulgence of aldents also were reported. cohol,” and “a lot of folks who So far, much of the focus is Pete Thoshinsky aren’t necessarily there to celon starting and ending the event Police officers detained a man at this year’s Pink Saturday in June ebrate Pride,” Soul said. earlier, but one Sister said shut- and responded to several other incidents.

Soul, whose real name is ting down the event is one of the James Bazydola, said many considerations. problems seem to happen latvening the meeting along with Supervisor Sister Selma Soul has been in er in the evening, and that the Scott Wiener, whose District 8 includes the charge of the evening’s plans for the last three Sisters are thinking about starting the party years and is stepping down since she’s fulfilled Castro. The San Francisco Police Department earlier and ending it at 8 p.m. her commitment. Soul said canceling the is expected to be represented at the gathering.

“That’s probably the biggest change that Concerns about safety have been especially party is “a possibility if we feel like we can’t we’re considering,” Soul said. “We would love strong since Stephen Powell, 19, was shot to manage it.” to work with a smaller footprint” and they’re death around the time the party ended in A community meeting to discuss Pink Satalso looking for increased police coverage, urday is tentatively set for September 10 at 6 2010.

Soul added.

“We’re definitely considering” calling off p.m. at the Eureka Valley Recreation Center, Soul said she didn’t know whether violence the party next year, Soul said. She said the 100 Collingwood Street. The Sisters are conSee page 10 >>

Syphilis cases stabilized in first half of 2014

by Matthew S. Bajko

635 such cases of syphilis recorded during the first half of 2013. uring the first six months In terms of early cases of of 2014, early syphilis syphilis, known as primary and cases in San Francisco secondary, there were 224 in the stabilized compared to the same first half of 2014, a 17.5 percent time period a year prior, accorddecrease from the 271 seen during to preliminary data released ing the first six months of 2013. in July.

“We are happy it is not higher, If the trend continues through but it still remains to be seen what December, it would mark the first happens throughout the rest of time since 2008 that early cases of the year,” said Philip. the sexually transmitted disease The city has yet to release its fihad not increased in the city comnal report on STD cases for 2013. pared to the previous year.

But based on preliminary numHowever, the public health debers, as the Bay Area Reporter repartment’s STD prevention chief ported in February, early syphilis cautioned that the number of casincreased last year by 13.9 percent es could swing upward in the fall, from 890 cases in 2012 to 1,014. a pattern seen in previous years.

Syphilis has been on the rise And cases of chlamydia and gonacross California and the country Courtesy SFDPH orrhea show no signs of ebbing. since 2001, according to federal In terms of syphilis cases, “it San Francisco health department data show an increase in sexually health officials. Last month the looks like, overall, some stabiliza- transmitted diseases between 2009-2013; the first half of this year Centers for Disease Control and tion,” said deputy health officer has shown a stabilization in early syphilis cases.

Prevention reported that in 2012 Dr. Susan Philip, the director of the national syphilis rate rose to 2014, she did say health officials “are encourdisease prevention and control 4.6 per 100,000 people after havaged” that early syphilis cases “are not higher at ing fallen to 4.5 in 2010. in the health department’s population health this point as it was last year.” division. “What we have to remember is we The California Department of Public Health According to the Department of Public Health’s reported that, in 2013, the Golden State saw more have been looking at several years of increases. monthly STD report released July 16, which inSometimes, in prior years, we see increases in than 3,500 cases of primary and secondary syphicluded data from January through the end of the fall or at the end of the year.” lis, almost 2,900 cases of early latent syphilis, and June, the city recorded 620 adult cases of syphilis. more than 3,600 cases of late latent syphilis.

While Philip stressed it is “too soon” to determine what the overall STD outlook will be for The number marked a slight decrease from the See page 12 >>

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2 • BAY AREA REPORTER • August 7-13, 2014

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Wiener won’t debate Petrelis

by Seth Hemmelgarn

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an Francisco Supervisor Scott Wiener’s campaign said this week that he wouldn’t participate “in any candidate forums” in which one of his opponents, blogger Michael Petrelis, is also taking part.

The gay District 8 supervisor’s statement came Monday, August 4, after Superior Court Judge Samuel Feng expressed openness to allow Petrelis, 55, to attend debates with Wiener, despite a restraining order Wiener obtained against Petrelis, after the blogger took his photo in a City Hall restroom in October 2012.

Petrelis, who cheered Feng’s decision Monday, is one of four minor candidates who is running to unseat Wiener in November.

In June 2013, Petrelis, who is gay, pleaded no contest, which is similar to a guilty plea, to a misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge, and he agreed to stay 150 feet away from the supervisor, among other terms. He also received three years of probation, which expires in June 2016. Despite the restraining order, Petrelis has been permitted to attend Board of Supervisors meetings, even when Wiener’s there, among other allowances.

Petrelis has been critical of Wiener on many issues, including his legislation to prohibit most public nudity.

According to a statement Wiener made not long after the restroom incident and an item Petrelis posted on his Petrelis Files blog, Wiener was at a urinal when Petrelis walked into the restroom.

On his blog, Petrelis indicated he wanted to get a photo of Wiener urinating, but his camera didn’t focus quickly enough, so he took a picture of the supervisor at the bathroom sink. He then posted the photo on his blog.

Monday, Feng declined to modify the stay away order ahead of the city’s Latino Democratic Club early endorsement meeting Wednesday, August 6. He noted that candidates would be interviewed individually, not together.

Feng told Petrelis, “You are entitled to debate the supervisor,” and he said he would “modify the stay away order depending on the venue,” for future endorsement meetings and debates. He asked Petrelis and his attorney, Derek St. Pierre, to submit a list of future events where the candi-

Bill Wilson

District 8 supervisor candidate Michael Petrelis, right, listened as his attorney, Derek St. Pierre addressed San Francisco Superior Court Judge Samuel Feng Monday and sought modifications to a stay away order from Supervisor Scott Wiener.

dates are asked to meet jointly.

The judge said he needs details on the venues, such as “is it a ballroom or is it a small office room?” He said, “As long as I get the floor plan” of each venue, he’d make his rulings “accordingly” to make sure the candidates can participate “effectively.”

Feng asked Petrelis to make his requests five days in advance but said he could request modifications to the stay away order for multiple events at one time.

Acknowledging that Petrelis may have short notice on when candidates are expected to appear, Assistant District Attorney Stephanie Lee said, “I can be flexible” with the timing of the requests.

Wiener did not appear in court.

In a statement emailed by spokeswoman Maggie Muir after Monday’s hearing, Wiener’s campaign said Petrelis had “stalked” Wiener in the restroom before trying to take his picture while he used the urinal. (In fact, Petrelis was charged with invasion of privacy, not stalking, the supervisor.)

“As a result of this behavior, Petrelis was charged with a crime, pled guilty, and has a restraining order against him,” Wiener’s campaign said. “Supervisor Wiener will not be participating in any candidate forums in which Petrelis is present.”

In response to a follow-up email, Muir said Wiener would “take part in endorsement meetings where candidates are interviewed individually.”

After Monday’s hearing, Petrelis, who was wearing his campaign T-

shirt, said, “It’s all good news.” He later added, “Do-it-yourself democracy, or DIY democracy ... is enhanced in San Francisco thanks to Judge Sam Feng.”

St. Pierre said outside court that since much of the process involves endorsement meetings where clubs interview candidates separately, Petrelis won’t have to return to court for many of the gatherings.

The next court date hasn’t been set. St. Pierre said he and Petrelis would review invitations to determine when they need to approach the court again.

Wiener’s campaign statement also said, “Unfortunately,” the kind of behavior Petrelis was charged with “isn’t isolated. Petrelis has a long history of threatening behavior toward public servants, HIV/AIDS advocates, and reporters. He has been convicted of making criminal threats, spent time in jail, and been the subject of various restraining orders.”

In 2001 public health officials and journalists received harassing phone calls from Petrelis and the late AIDS dissident David Pasquarelli. Police arrested the two men on charges of harassment, stalking, and making criminal threats, and in 2002 Petrelis and Pasquarelli pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges and were placed on three years’ probation, plus had restraining orders barring them from contacting those they had harassed.

Pasquarelli subsequently died, and Petrelis was released from the constraints of the orders in 2006.t

‘Struggle’ discussed in park death

by Seth Hemmelgarn

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s the murder trial of the man accused of fatally choking another man during a sexual encounter in Buena Vista Park in 2011 continued, San Francisco’s acting Chief Medical Examiner testified there had been injuries consistent with a “struggle,” but she couldn’t say what that struggle had entailed.

David Munoz Diaz, 25, is charged with murder, arson, mutilating human remains, and destroying evidence in the death of Freddy CanulArguello, 23, whose burned, mostly naked body was found in the park just before 5 a.m. June 10, 2011.

Deputy Public Defender Alex Lilien has said Canul-Arguello’s death was a “terrible accident” and Diaz is a “sweet kid” who unintentionally killed Canul-Arguello after he asked to be choked.

The medical examiner’s office listed the cause of death as asphyxia due to strangulation.

Acting Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Amy Hart testified Thursday, July 31 that the injuries to CanulArguello’s neck are “consistent with neck compression in a struggle” due to the hemorrhaging and other factors found on his body. She said the

Rick Gerharter

On Monday, members of the jury in the murder trial of David Munoz Diaz visited the scene of the crime, near the tennis court in Buena Vista Park in the Haight.

hemorrhaging would be caused by “significant pressure.” Citing information from Hart, Assistant District Attorney Danielle Douglas said last week that Canul-Arguello had suffered three fractures to his cricoid cartilage, which would have taken “a significant amount of force.”

After Hart had used the word “struggle” several times Thursday, Lilien said, “Struggle, struggle, struggle ... you’re talking about movement.” He said that movement could have come as the men switched from one type of chokehold to another, and eventually

asked Hart whether it wasn’t “the struggle that matters,” but “the movement back and forth.”

Hart said it would be “movement with moderate to significant force.”

Lilien told her that to him, “struggle” indicates there was intent, and he asked Hart whether she’d “made a determination regarding intent” in this case.

“My understanding is intent is a legal construct,” Hart said. “Struggle to me is a combative type force between two people.”

See page 12 >>

Community News>>

t AIDS Healthcare Foundation sues supervisor, city

by Seth Hemmelgarn

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IDS Healthcare Foundation, the Los Angeles-based nonprofit with operations in the Bay Area, is suing San Francisco Supervisor Scott Wiener, the city, and the Board of Supervisors over recentlypassed legislation meant to tighten formula retail rules.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles County has released an audit claiming AHF overcharged the county approximately $3.5 million for services over two years. The nonprofit disputes the claims.

AHF, which in 2012 had a budget of about $165 million, filed its lawsuit Friday, August 1 in U.S. District Court for Northern California. The agency claims Wiener is unfairly targeting it and that, at Wiener’s behest, the city has violated its equal protection, due process, and free speech rights.

The agency has been trying to move its medical office and pharmacy located at 100 Church Street and its pharmacy at 4071 18th Street to one location at 518 Castro Street.

AHF’s plans have become tied up in the city’s planning process. In what many said is an attempt to avoid local formula retail rules, the organization has proposed calling the new spot Castro Pharmacy instead of AHF Pharmacy.

Maitri Hospice, which owns the Church Street space, is working to evict AHF for nonpayment of rent.

AHF says Maitri wants too much money.

Wiener recently said the suggest-

ed name change highlighted what he calls a “loophole” in the city’s rules. Along with Supervisors David Campos and Eric Mar, Wiener cosponsored legislation meant to close that loophole. The full board passed the legislation in July, and Mayor Ed Lee signed it into law.

AHF points to Wiener for its troubles.

“AHF’s civil rights infringement claims here arose when, at the behest of San Francisco Supervisor Scott Wiener, the city rammed through, at lightning speed, an interim zoning law specifically targeting AIDS Healthcare Foundation,” Laura Boudreau, the agency’s chief of operations, said in a statement Monday, August 4. “The clear and sole purpose of that action was to discourage the organization from relocating and opening a nonprofit safety net clinic and pharmacy in the Castro. ... We believe the city’s actions constitute a gross abuse of government power.”

In December AHF approached the planning department about moving in its pharmacists and clinical staff. At first the nonprofit was granted its permits over the counter and began work on the space.

Yet after construction had commenced, city planners revisited their decision on the permits. In January, zoning administrator Scott Sanchez ruled that AHF had to seek a conditional use permit from the planning commission in order to change the allowable use from retail to medical because it was moving into a space

August 7-13, 2014 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 3

Rick Gerharter

Supervisor Scott Wiener

larger than 2,000 square feet.

He also determined that AHF needed to address if it fell under the city’s formula retail rules, which require any business with 11 or more locations in the U.S. to seek a conditional use permit.

AHF appealed to the city’s Board of Appeals, and in March, the oversight body ruled that it did not need to seek permits to turn the storefront into a medical use. But the board did determine that AHF, because it operates 28 pharmacies, triggered the formula retail rules and was required to seek approval from the planning commission.

Subsequent to the vote, AHF informed the planning department it would operate the new space under the name “Castro Pharmacy.” The de-

cision prompted Sanchez in April to request the appeals board to reverse its decision and grant AHF its permits.

The zoning administrator’s latest determination prompted the various community groups and AIDS agencies to appeal his decision.

The AHF issue is expected to be heard at the Board of Appeals August 20.

In Monday’s statement, AHF President Michael Weinstein cited a letter from Wiener to the appeals board, saying that Wiener had “used his position as a supervisor and chair of the land use committee to pressure the appellate body to postpone our appeal hearing in order to rewrite the rules before our appeal hearing could actually take place.”

Weinstein said the supervisor had acted “in a punitive and discriminatory manner specifically and solely targeting AHF – and in contravention to the guidance regarding the Building Permit application process given to AHF by the city’s own planning department.”

In an emailed statement Monday, Wiener called the nonprofit’s lawsuit “baseless.”

“AHF tried to game our formula retail law by tweaking its name and then claiming it wasn’t actually formula retail,” Wiener said. “Under AHF’s approach, any chain store could come into San Francisco, tweak its name, and claim that it isn’t formula retail.

A broad coalition of HIV service providers and neighborhood groups came together to oppose this tactic. ...

I stand by that action to preserve the

integrity of our neighborhood-based planning process.”

City Attorney Dennis Herrera stated AHF had “made superficial changes” to the Castro project to avoid formula retail rules. Herrera added the notion that the city’s “legislative action somehow violated AHF’s federal civil rights is absurd. Courts have long recognized the broad authority of local governments to regulate land uses in a variety of ways. AHF is now asking the court to find a constitutional right to build whatever it wants, wherever it wants, and that’s simply not what courts have done.”

AHF wants the Wiener-backed legislation declared invalid, declaratory and injunctive relief, damages, and attorney’s fees.

Los Angeles review

AHF is also facing another dilemma close to its headquarters.

The nonprofit overbilled the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health Division of HIV and STD Programs by about $3.5 million for the contract years 2011-12 and 2012-13, according to a contract compliance review issued Wednesday, July 30, by the county’s Department of the Auditor-Controller.

The extra charges are related to “expenditures that should have been allocated for non-Ryan White-responsible client services,” the audit says, referring to the Ryan White HIV/ AIDS Treatment Modernization Act. The auditor-controller recomSee page 10 >>

ACA access issues remain for LGBTs

by Heather Cassell

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ore than 30 million Americans have obtained access to health insurance since Affordable Care Act enrollment opened 10 months ago, yet access for LGBTs remains far from universal, a panel of experts said at a recent discussion in San Francisco.

Opening up access to health care last October, despite the problemplagued rollout of the federal ACA website, was a “major milestone,” but “we still have a lot of work to do in terms of access to our community,” said Elizabeth Sekera, a nurse and clinic director at Lyon-Martin Health Services, which largely serves lesbian and transgender patients.

Sekera was one of several experts who came together to discuss, “The Affordable Care Act and the LGBT Community,” at the Commonwealth Club last month.

Sekera was joined by Dr. Madeline Deutsch, clinical lead at the Center for Excellence for Transgender Health at UCSF, and Anand Kalra, program administrator at the Transgender Law Center.

Dr. Barry Zevin, clinical lead at the San Francisco Department of Public Health and Transgender Health Project, moderated the July 22 program, which was attended by about 30 people.

“The infrastructure hasn’t been built to provide quality access and culturally competent access for LGBTs,” said Sekera.

Deutsch agreed, adding, “The ACA is a lot of things, but also not a lot of things.”

Due to compromises made in Congress to get health care reform passed, the country didn’t quite get “universal health care or universal rules that apply everywhere,” said Deutsch. “We are still left with a patchwork of coverage in this country.”

The panelists describe the ACA, commonly referred to as Obamacare, as being in an embryonic stage. They agreed that due to the “patchwork” passage of the law, there are many more things that

Jane Philomen Cleland

Lyon-Martin Health Services clinic director Elizabeth Sekera, left, joined Transgender Law Center program administrator Anand Kalra, and UCSF Center for Excellence for Transgender Health clinical lead Dr. Madeline Deutsch at a recent discussion at the Commonwealth Club on the Affordable Care Act.

need to be completed to benefit LGBTs, such as establishing best practices of data collection, standard of care, and training; laws, policies, and mandates; including other types of health coverage, such as dental; equality in health care throughout the country.

Much of the discussion focused on transgender health care coverage, due to the unique situations trans people face when accessing health insurance.

Understanding LGBT health

Panelists dispelled some of the myths about LGBT access to health care.

For example, it has long been believed that LGBT people experience difficulty accessing health care for a variety of reasons, including fear of being discriminated against.

That may have been true 20 years ago, but it appears that most of the challenges to accessing quality health care affect transgender individuals, the panelists said.

Kalra, who worked for the Center for American Progress prior to joining TLC in 2013, explained that focus studies and research CAP conducted with the LGBT community leading up to and during the implementation of the ACA found a change in attitude.

The results showing that there wasn’t a significant difference between LGB people’s health care coverage concerns and heterosexual concerns. Both LGB and straight people asked similar questions regarding their quality of care in the focus groups, Kalra said.

The gap resided among transgender individuals. A majority of trans people expressed a “mistrust of the system,” said Kalra. Survey questions for trans people centered around coverage of their transitionrelated care, saving money in order to afford medical procedures, and if they were going to experience discrimination by providers and insurance companies under the ACA. There are four factors that continue to create barriers for transgender people seeking health care coverage and services, Kalra explained. They include economic marginalization, health insurance exclusions, lack of culturally competent medical professionals and staff at every level of a medical facility, and internalized oppression.

California is unique that it has the Insurance Gender Non-Discrimination Act that took effect in 2006, protecting against discrimination in health care coverage and treatment.

Currently, seven other states and the District of Columbia have similar

laws and more states are adopting these laws in the post-ACA era, Kalra pointed out.

Deutsch didn’t disagree with Kalra, but she pointed out that LGBTs living in California were in a protective “bubble” compared to LGBTs living elsewhere in the country.

“We live in a little bit of a bubble here in California,” said Deutsch. “I think that we have to remember that there are people who are in the middle of the country and who are in states where there are a different political and social landscape and they may have difficulty accessing services that are guaranteed to them by the ACA.” She also pointed out that doctors deal with areas of the body that are sensitive for many people, particularly genitals, whether it’s a transgender person or lesbian who is uncomfortable with Pap smears.

“This is not just transgender people. This is anybody on the LGBTQI spectrum who are marginalized,” said Deutsch, pointing out that the one barrier for everyone is the patient’s understanding of what health care coverage and services are and aren’t available and “having a realistic perspective” now that the ACA is in effect.

Advocacy and education

One of the issues medical providers face when attempting to be culturally sensitive is the insensitivity of the tools and insurance providers they work with.

The challenge for transgender patients under the new health care system is that they no longer are dealing with only the provider, but they are dealing with insurance companies and vendors who create the medical records.

Sekera explained the lengths Lyon-Martin providers and staff go through to be culturally sensitive to their clients, from obtaining proper coverage to billing with current insurance providers to electronic medical record programs.

There are “so many workarounds” in order to be “culturally competent for our clients because everything is

based on our gender,” said Sekera.

“The amount of workaround that we have to do because other systems aren’t created around this is really the bigger issue.”

Due to the current state of systems there is a disconnect between insurance and medical providers and the ACA that is causing some transgender patients to be denied hormonal treatments and surgeries, she said.

“The carriers just don’t have any due process yet to have it be familiar,” she explained.

Patients need to be their own advocates. Insurance providers from Medical and Medicaid to privately and publicly run HMOs and PPOs are experiencing an internal communication problem, they are telling patients that they don’t cover a procedure when legally, they do, said Kalra.

The panelists suggested a variety of ways to solve the problems, such as transgender health care training and research, educating patients, and having one big provider force vendors to implement a function to properly identify transgender individuals.

Currently, only an estimated 20-something percent of medical schools include transgender health care in their curriculum, Deutsch pointed out.

Due to funding being tied to research and students getting through all of the stages of medical school, LGBT health care has suffered from being pigeonholed: gay men equals HIV; lesbians equals obesity and smoking; bisexuals equals depression, and transgender equals a multitude of issues, she said.

“When we allow the funding landscape and the policy to be the ‘tail that wags the dog’ about practice and the way we interact with the health system we wind up with basically these perpetuated stereotypes in training,” said Deutsch, who advocated that medical researchers and students step back to view the bigger picture and push back against policies and funding.

Education works, but it needs to See page 10 >>

<< Open Forum

4 • BAY AREA REPORTER • August 7-13, 2014

Volume 44, Number 32 August 7-13, 2014 www.ebar.com PUBLISHER Michael M. Yamashita Thomas E. Horn, Publisher Emeritus (2013) Publisher (2003 – 2013) Bob Ross, Founder (1971 – 2003) NEWS EDITOR Cynthia Laird ARTS EDITOR Roberto Friedman ASSISTANT EDITORS Matthew S. Bajko Seth Hemmelgarn Jim Provenzano CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Dan Aiello • Tavo Amador • Erin Blackwell Roger Brigham • Brian Bromberger Victoria A. Brownworth • Brent Calderwood Philip Campbell • Heather Cassell Chuck Colbert • Richard Dodds David Guarino • Peter Hernandez Liz Highleyman • Brandon Judell • John F. Karr Lisa Keen • Matthew Kennedy • David Lamble Michael McAllister • Michael McDonagh David-Elijah Nahmod • Elliot Owen Paul Parish • Sean Piverger • Lois Pearlman Tim Pfaff • Jim Piechota • Bob Roehr Donna Sachet • Adam Sandel Khaled Sayed • Jason Serinus • Gregg Shapiro Gwendolyn Smith • Jim Stewart Andre Torrez • Ed Walsh • Sura Wood ART DIRECTION Jay Cribas PRODUCTION/DESIGN Max Leger PHOTOGRAPHERS Jane Philomen Cleland Rick Gerharter • Lydia Gonzales Rudy K. Lawidjaja • Steven Underhill Bill Wilson ILLUSTRATORS & CARTOONISTS Paul Berge Christine Smith ADVERTISING/ADMINISTRATION Colleen Small VICE PRESIDENT OF ADVERTISING Scott Wazlowski – 415.359.2612 NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE Rivendell Media – 212.242.6863

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Nonprofits and the minimum wage

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oters in Oakland will decide in November whether to raise the minimum wage in their city, but from early coverage of the issue, it seems that the nonprofit sector is sending mixed messages that threaten to cast income inequality aside in favor of protecting the status quo.

Voters should demand more accountability from these agencies to ensure that an honest dialogue emerges in the coming months.

Under Oakland’s proposal, which is backed by the Lift Up Oakland Coalition, the hourly base wage would increase by 36 percent, from $9 to $12.25 starting March 1. A recent article in the San Francisco Chronicle found that leaders of the Youth Employment Partnership said that they could be forced to cut the jobs they offer by 30 percent if voters approve the wage hike.

The partnership’s leaders blamed the potential cuts on the higher minimum wage and the fixed amount of grant money they receive. In other words, a boost to the minimum wage for those workers who need it the most would result in fewer jobs for them overall.

This is an example of nonprofit executives not being creative and unwilling to adapt to changing circumstances. If the pie is shrinking, they should try to make a bigger pie, not toss up their hands and surrender. (It’s interesting that these same leaders supported an alternative – and competing – plan that would have raised the minimum wage more gradually, and included so many exemptions that we won-

der whether many workers would even see an increase. Smartly, the Oakland City Council last week rejected that plan, so only Lift Up Oakland’s measure will be on the ballot.)

Programs that provide job-training skills are sorely needed in Oakland, which lags behind San Francisco in economic growth. The programs help all sorts of people struggling to get back on their feet, including teens and parolees. But to cry foul over a wage hike that would help its clients is unsettling. Those nonprofit leaders should be looking for new revenue sources and the boards should get off their collective rear end and do some serious fundraising.

There’s nothing new about nonprofit budget woes. We cover them regularly. But the organizations that are successful quickly adapt.

That usually means recruiting board members who can raise money from the private sector.

While Oakland may not have the number of tech firms and other corporations as San Francisco, those that call the city home should be willing to step up to the plate to help the nonprofits. Relying on government grants alone is risky for any organization. We’ve seen more HIV/AIDS nonprofits reach out to the private sector because federal dollars have decreased year after year. Heck, Oakland nonprofits could think more regionally and approach San Francisco tech firms, since many of their employees live in the East Bay. Several have recently started giving back to the San Francisco community and could expand their giving to other locales. Income inequality is a regional issue that requires a regional response.

The nonprofits must also trim administrative fat on occasion. This can mean pay cuts for executive directors, streamlining administrative duties, or other cost-saving measures. We’ve said this before but it bears repeating: people who go into nonprofit work should not expect to become wealthy.

In short, Youth Employment Partnership and similar agencies should not accept that they would need to cut services if the minimum wage measure passes. If anything, they should increase capacity so that more young people can get a step up not a step down.

Helping at-risk young people is not easy, and these leaders should quit whining about how they will be affected by a higher minimum wage and adapt to the changes that must come with raising the minimum wage.t

A giant leap for LGBTs

by Rick Eisenlord

Y

ou know you’ve arrived when the White House calls. In the past year, it has twice summoned LGBT leaders from around the nation to discuss issues affecting our community and health care.

I had the honor of participating in both events, last September and this July. They were truly “pinch-me” moments, and remarkable because of the realization that we have finally achieved a place at the table. It was stunning to see over 100 LGBT leaders invited and welcomed at the White House.

Those who wield power are listening sincerely to our concerns.

The statistics for the LGBT community and health care are grim. Based on 2013 surveys by the Department of Health and Human Services, it is estimated that 1 in 3 lower- to middle-income LGBT adults don’t have health insurance. Twenty-six percent of LGBT youth leave home before the age of 26, resulting in loss of health care coverage from their parents’ plan. Transgender individuals continue to face challenges in securing affordable health care from qualified doctors.

When you take into consideration that 63 percent of new HIV infections involve the LGBT community, the need for affordable competent health care becomes even more crucial.

The latest event was an afternoon briefing on July 24 at the White House about the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, with officials from the West Wing and HHS. The objective was to “gear up” for open enrollment for the ACA on November 15. LGBT leaders came from states large and small, from the liberal North and West to the Midwest heartland to the conservative South. More than 30 states were represented.

What is so remarkable about all this is the support and involvement of the White House and HHS with the LGBT community. It’s reassuring to know that we not only have a friendly ear at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, but LGBT individuals are part and parcel of the Obama administration.

High on the list of concerns for me and others is ensuring that specialized treatment for HIV patients is accessible under HMOs that provide care to many Medi-Cal patients. This is especially important because of the rise in HIV infections among young gay men and minority populations.

Among other challenges is ensuring that

Courtesy Rev. Rick Eisenlord

The Reverend Rick Eisenlord attended a recent White House conference on LGBTs and health care.

coverage is available under the ACA for samesex couples. Currently, a patchwork of laws around the country creates barriers that keep some legally married same-sex couples from enrolling for family coverage.

The truly big news, however, isn’t what was being talked about.

It’s the fact that the dialogue with the LGBT community is even happening. Not only are we at the table, but LGBT leaders are assisting in shaping and developing policy and guidelines as it relates to the ACA and the LGBT community across the United States. LGBT individuals within the Obama administration are actively working with local organizations in securing health care coverage for those who have historically been underserved by the insurance industry.

Over the past 25 years, the shift has been nothing less than dramatic in public perception and acceptance of same-sex marriage and relations between consenting LGBT adults.

In chronological time, that may seem like a lot for those of us involved in the movement.

But in historical time, it’s the blink of an eye.

It’s also been far quicker than acceptance of blacks and women into the mainstream.

Let’s examine some of the numbers.

Major surveys conducted in the past two years by Pew and Gallup reached the same startling conclusion: Since 2001, the percent-

age of those supporting LGBT issues has risen by one-third to 55 percent, while those opposed has dwindled by one-third to 40 percent.

If you begin the comparison only a few years earlier in the mid-1990s, the numbers are even more stark: Those who accept same-sex relationships nearly doubled, while those opposed declined by half. That’s a stunning turnaround in less than 20 years.

As you’d expect, significant differences exist based on generation, politics, and religion (the younger, more liberal and less religiously affiliated, the more accepting). Women are slightly more accepting than men.

As those demographics continue to shift, acceptance of same-sex families should become even broader. The momentum seems irreversible.

Surveys are a great indicator of the underlying beliefs of a society. But the ultimate test is how those beliefs translate into action.

Look around you, and see how many others share the same beliefs. In some communities, the ratio is high, and you feel more accepted and safe.

But go outside those areas, and you are the outlier. Because you are different, you are treated differently.

Too often, that translates into being treated less well, less fairly, more suspect. These will be our battlegrounds of the future. Acceptance may be slower because resistance is deeper.

The danger now is slipping into complacency. If that happens, hard-fought gains can be lost quickly.

The next major test will come in the November midterm election. Will we continue to have friends in the Senate? Or will we lose control of it and hobble the White House?

Being invited to the White House conference wasn’t the first step for the LGBT community. Many preceded it. But it is a giant step.

The challenge is to keep up the momentum.t The Reverend Rick Eisenlord, M.Div, who is gay, is pastor of Good Shepherd Church Pasadena near Los Angeles. He also is cofounder of the San Gabriel Valley Gay and Lesbian Center. Since being ordained in the mid-1970s, he has advocated on behalf of helping the neediest in the LGBT community. For more information on Eisenlord and his ministry, visit the church website at www.GoodShepherdPasadena.com.

t

Letters >>

August 7-13, 2014 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 5

Keep leather fair intimate

The Dore Alley (Up Your Alley) street fair is the last of the primarily gay male events in the city, now that Folsom, Castro Street Fair, and Pride have been assimilated into the fabric of mainstream San Francisco. I hope that it is possible for organizers not to publicize Dore Alley to the non-gay press in future years. The San Francisco Chronicle’s coverage after the July 27 party was prurient and had an attitude of “you gotta see this to believe it.”

Just like we have banned busses in the Castro for tourists looking to be shocked by men holding hands, can we please try to avoid the kind of visibility that will attract voyeurs? The more exposure (pun intended) the event gets, the more diluted it becomes, and another great party goes away.

If Dore Alley is “the little brother of Folsom,” as organizers said in the quote in the Chronicle, you have to remember that little brothers grow up. You have given up Folsom to the mainstream but can we please keep Dore Alley an intimate party for our community?

Phil Siegel San Francisco

Number of nudists at street fair

At Up Your Alley 2014, at least 26 men and women danced naked on stage. But from reading the Bay Area Reporter and BARtab (July 31), some persons might not realize this. Still, I’m very grateful to Folsom Street Events, San Francisco Pride, Mr S, Gypsy, et. al., for nurturing freedom in the city.

Tortuga Bi Liberty San Francisco

Kaplan draws praise from SF

I was at Oakland mayoral candidate Rebecca Kaplan’s recent engagement party last month, a wonderful, joyfilled butch-femme soiree.

In recent weeks, Kaplan has helped secure a 10-year lease to keep the A’s in Oakland. She is working with local garbage companies.

I sat next to an old woman who had been evicted from her Oakland apartment of 22 years and living in transition housing.

As the landlords, speculators, and supply and demand drive up San Francisco rents, the rents around BART stations in Oakland-Berkeley have risen, too.

Kaplan is honest, kind, accessible, and very smart. I wish she lived in San Francisco.

Jon Sugar San Francisco

Putin is a man of peace

I strongly dissent from your editorial on Russian President Vladimir Putin [“Putin in the hot seat,” July 24]: “Ultimately, the downing of [Malaysian Airlines Flight 17] falls squarely on Putin’s shoulders.” False. As Jason Ditz of Antiwar.com writes, “After days of hysterical accusations against Russia [from the Obama] administration ... intelligence officials ... conceded ... there is ‘no evidence’ whatsoever linking Russia to the downing.”

Putin “used military action to annex the Crimea Peninsula from Ukraine.” False. Crimeans voted in a peaceful, monitored election to rejoin Russia, to which they had belonged for centuries before Khrushchev made Crimea part of Ukraine in 1954.

Putin is “a one-man wrecking crew against humanity.” False. Putin is a man of peace. He staved off the Syrian war Washington was plotting. He sheltered Edward Snowden after the whistleblower revealed NSA spying on Americans and the rest of the world.

The U.S., not Russia, started the violence in Ukraine.

Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland bragged to a Ukrainian group in D.C. that Washington had spent $5 billion on their country since 1991. The cue to unleash protests came last November when then-President Yukanovych refused a U.S.-European Union ultimatum. In February, a phone call was leaked in which Nuland tells the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine who should head the new government. Her pick was named prime minister.

When the new rulers, who included neo-Nazis, trashed statues from the Soviet period and banned Russian as an official language, Russians in the eastern parts of the country got scared and moved to secede. Putin called for negotiations. U.S.-backed forces set fire to a building in Odessa, burning dozens alive.

Few Americans recognize Washington’s drive to bait, weaken, and encircle Russia. In 1990 Soviet premier Gorbachev agreed to let Germany, divided since WWII, become one country. The U.S. promised in return that NATO would not expand to the east. The U.S. broke that promise. (Think of its treaties with the Indians.) Since 1990 Washington has surrounded Russia with bases. A pro-Western government in Ukraine could have cut Russia off from its crucial naval port in Crimea. When

On the web Online content this week includes the Bay Area Reporter’s online column, Wedding Bells Ring; the Out in the World column; and articles about an immersive coding school, an LGBT mental health symposium, and Tuesday’s SF Pride board meeting. www.ebar.com.

Crimea’s secession nixed that possibility, Washington encouraged the new rulers to trample Eastern Ukrainians wanting out of the regime.

Russia under Putin actually trumps the U.S. in important matters of free speech and human rights. Pussy Riot’s members were released after less than two years in jail. Chelsea Manning, by contrast, held for two years without charges, received a 35-year sentence for revealing U.S. war crimes. Russia ended the death penalty in 1996. A botched execution in Arizona last month took two hours, the victim gasping for air.

Yes, Russia’s anti-gay laws deserve condemnation. But nine U.S. states have similar laws. Alabama makes “homosexual conduct ... a criminal offense.” Utah forbids “the advocacy of homosexuality.” Arizona mandates that “[no] district shall include in its course of study instruction which [portrays] homosexuality as a positive alternative lifestyle.”

I ask LBGTQs to shun the campaign against Putin. Washington is using us in a propaganda war. As the war heats up and flames lick Russia’s border, Ukrainians are murdered.

Washington doesn’t care about human rights. Its script casts Putin as the latest embodiment of evil in order to break his country. If we follow the script, focusing our protests on Russia and grossly inflating its flaws, we destroy the chance of peace. We can fight for our rights everywhere without joining a hate campaign masking Washington’s drive to dominate.

Jay Lyon San Francisco

The hypocrisy of Gaza: Let us get real

We all sympathize for the civilian population caught in the crossfire in Gaza. However, the criticism of Israel in this conflict is driven by pure emotion and graphic imagery. It is lacking in any logic, clarity, historical precedent or perspective.

We all agree that every country in the world has a right to defend itself when under rocket or missile attack regardless of civilian casualties and that war is ugly under the best of circumstances. Yet so many cry “outrage” here.

Let us not let emotion blind us to the facts: Hamas started (and continues) to wage this war with firing of rockets and missiles (now 3,000) on Israeli civilians, launched from highly-concentrated civilian centers in Gaza, including schools, mosques, hospitals, etc. Israel has responded, in kind, trying to warn civilians via leaflets and telephone calls, but resulting in many civilian casualties nevertheless. Israel has said unequivocally it will stop responding when the rocket and tunnel attacks stop and peace is restored to Israel.

On July 15, the Israeli government voted to accept an Egyptian-proposed ceasefire, which was supported by the U.S., the Arab League, and others in the international community. Hamas in turn rejected the terms of the ceasefire, and continued to bombard Israel with at least 100 rockets during that period. Hamas has rejected or broken every ceasefire since then resulting in the death of Israelis and Palestinians. Yet the “world” blames Israel.

In every war since WWI, the civilian casualties have far outnumbered the military ones. But this does not make the response “disproportionate” or “immoral.” In Iraq and Afghanistan, wars in which the U.S. was not defending itself against direct attack like is Israel, but was trying to eliminate a potential terror threat, there were over 120,000 civilian casualties. Where was CNN or the U.N. then? In 1962, when Russia was trying to deliver missiles to Cuba, the world came to within minutes of WWIII before any of those missiles were near launch capability.

There are hundreds of other examples.

Hamas’ charter and current speeches in Arabic are committed to Israel’s destruction and a return of Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank to Jihadist Islamic rule. That is why the majority of the Arab world is not as supportive of Hamas as the Western world and media. They know Hamas’ true intentions.

When interviewed by the Western press, Hamas says it will “stop” when Israeli “occupation” and the “blockade” end. But Israel does not occupy Gaza. It left Gaza under world pressure in 2007 and was thanked with three wars initiated by Hamas and the smuggling of 50,000 rockets, and the importation into Gaza of concrete and steel from U.S., European Economic Community, and Israel – used for attack tunnels rather than the intended Humanitarian purposes.

Jews learned from WWII that when someone says they intend to destroy you, take them seriously. But the “world media” and the U.N. still do not blame Hamas, the instigator, who continues to fire rockets and missiles into Israel with the specific intent of killing civilians, they blame Israel for responding. I have heard from Israeli Jews and Arabs of the daily terror these rockets are inflicting. You just don’t see it because it is far more potent for CNN to focus on graphic pictures of dead Palestinians than people trembling in bomb shelters.

So I ask all of you judging Israel from the comfort of your living room: What do you think America would do if subjected to rocket attacks from over the border? You know the answer: Our government would eliminate the attacks and secure the peace at all costs, regardless of civilian casualties ... so let us get real.

Richard Korb Kensington, California

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New LGBT voter guide to debut in CA

by Matthew S. Bajko

L

GBT voters in California will find a new voters’ guide in their mailboxes this fall.

A trio of Los Angeles-based political operatives is aiming to send 350,000 LGBT and ally voters their nonpartisan California Pride Voters Guide ahead of the November election. It will include recommendations on statewide races and ballot measures, as well as endorsements in congressional and state legislative races targeted to specific areas of the state based on voters’ ZIP codes.

HIV activist and independent political fundraiser Chris Richey, who lives in Los Angeles, will serve as editor of the guide. West Hollywood resident Scott Schmidt, well known in gay Republican circles, will serve as publisher.

“This is really about giving a voice to those candidates and those issues that support our community, regardless of who they are or what letter is after their name,” said Schmidt, referring to a candidate’s political party affiliation.

Serving as the guide’s political consultant is Allan Hoffenblum, a former state Republican Party official who publishes the California Target Book, which tracks and analyzes all federal and state legislative races in the state.

“We saw a need in reaching LGBT

Are you in a same-sex relationship?

voters specifically,” said Schmidt.

“If you are a registered Democrat, you will get a Democratic slate card with whoever the state party has endorsed or the AFL-CIO thinks you should support. If you are a registered Republican, you will only get Republican Party slate cards.”

For those voters, said Schmidt, who “want to vote in their best interest, neither party is going to give you candidates or recommendations on initiatives that you want.”

The idea for the LGBT statewide slate card came to Schmidt after he voted in the June primary. His ballot was “all over the place,” he said, and did not skew to one party line.

“I may have been the only person to vote for Neel Kashkari and Sandra Fluke,” said Schmidt, referring to the GOP gubernatorial candidate and a Democratic activist seeking an L.A.-based state Senate seat. “I wanted candidates who believe in my philosophies of freedom and fairness and a free market.”

The three are just now beginning to review candidates and reach out to campaigns, which will be asked to pay to be included on the slate card.

Schmidt estimated they will need to raise at least $150,000 to mail out 340,000 of the voter guides.

“If a candidate pays to be on slate card, by law we will indicate they paid to be on the slate card. In that regard, it will be an open book,” he said. “At the same time, we want to maintain our integrity. If candidates flew in the face of our principles of freedom and fairness and LGBT rights, we wouldn’t take their money.”

In a press release announcing their slate card, the trio claimed it would be “the Golden State’s first nonpartisan slate mailer targeting LGBT voters.”

Equality California, however, has in the past sent out slate cards to voters in the state and intends to do so again this fall, said Steve Roth, a spokesman for the statewide LGBT advocacy group.

EQCA, though, predominately endorses Democrats. In fact, its endorsement this year of Glenn Miller, an Indio city councilman seeking a state Senate seat, marks the first time EQCA has endorsed a Republican.

“The short answer is EQCA does produce voter guides. We did do one for the primary that was statewide,” said Roth. “It was a digital one, so we distributed it electronically.”

Roth was referring to the list of 60 endorsed candidates EQCA’s political action committee listed on its website at http://tinyurl.com/kvd7fh3.

“We have a really comprehensive

Steven Underhill

Scott Schmidt is one of three people working on a statewide voter guide for LGBT voters.

Dan Choi has filed to run for a seat on the City College Board of Trustees

endorsement process in place for that,” said Roth. “For incumbents, we look at their voting record on EQCA-sponsored legislation. For non-incumbents, it is a whole evaluation process and questionnaire.”

Unlike with the new voter guide, EQCA does not ask candidates to pay to appear on its guide mailed to voters, said Roth. The group is still determining how many of its slate cards it will mail out this fall.

“For the general election, we will do both the digital again and then, in certain targeted areas, we will do an actual hard copy,” said Roth. “We haven’t determined how many yet or where it will be mailed.”

Schmidt stressed that the group behind the new LGBT voter guide isn’t out to make money but wants “to give a voice” to those candidates supportive of the LGBT community.

“Folks should be on the lookout in the mail for a slate card with the rainbow flag and take a look. Hopefully, they will find something that surprises them,” said Schmidt. “If people learn about a candidate they wouldn’t have otherwise known supported LGBT rights, I think that is a good thing.”

receive a $500 monthly stipend.

With August 8 the deadline for college board candidates to file with elections officials, the B.A.R. asked Wong if he intended to run. In an email last week he indicated he did not.

“I have been on the college board for 20 years and the Chinatown Campus is now built so I think it’s now time for me to move on,” wrote Wong.

The college board could see a new gay Asian American join it if voters elect Dan Choi, 33, to one of three seats on the November ballot.

As the B.A.R. first reported July 30 on its blog, Choi, who recently moved to San Francisco, pulled papers last week to enter the college board race.

In a Facebook message Monday, and a phone call Tuesday, Choi confirmed that he did file to run, but is keeping it “low-key” for now.

Choi is one of eight people who have indicated they intend to run, including incumbents John Rizzo, the board’s president, and Anita Grier, its vice president.

The Army lieutenant and Arabic linguist unsuccessfully fought his discharge after coming out publicly in 2009. He became a vocal critic of the military’s anti-gay policy known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” which was finally repealed in 2011.

Born to South Korean immigrants and raised near Los Angeles, Choi would join gay trustee Rafael Mandelman on the college board should he win a seat this fall.

Another declared candidate is Alex Randolph, according to the Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club’s recent newsletter. Randolph, who is gay, was once an aide to former Supervisor Bevan Dufty.

The board has not met in months, however, as City College was put under the control of a special trustee due to the termination of its accreditation by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges. The college remains open as city leaders and campus officials continue to fight the commission’s decision.t

Wong out, Choi in college board race

After two decades in political office, Lawrence Wong has indicated he is leaving the city’s elected family.

Wong, the sole LGBT Asian American serving in an elected city position in San Francisco, told the Bay Area Reporter last week that he does not plan to seek re-election to his seat on the Community College Board of Trustees, which oversees City College of San Francisco.

First elected in 1994 to a fouryear term, Wong’s current term expires in January and his seat is up for grabs on the ballot this November.

Over the years Wong served multiple times as president of the board, but more recently he garnered headlines in 2012 for missing multiple board meetings while continuing to

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Sports>>

t Smaller scale, but big excitement for Gay Games 9

by Roger Brigham

T

he ninth Gay Games open Saturday, August 9, with the march of athletes and artists into Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. Organizers are expecting this will be the smallest Gay Games since Gay Games III in Vancouver in 1990 but are hoping to create a lasting impact on the regional culture.

“Every Gay Games has its own character, its own vibe,” said Tom Nobbe, executive director of Gay Games 9. “These games will be different because the Federation of Gay Games took a departure in awarding the event to Cleveland and Akron instead of a typically larger metropolitan area with a bigger LGBT sports infrastructure. This led us to undertake a broader collaboration with local mainstream sports groups, which is the only way I believe we could pull it off. It reinforces the purpose of the games, of promoting diversity and allowing people from all sectors to participate.”

Rob Smitherman, the associate

<<

Silicon Valley Pride

From page 1

going to waste time dealing with Gary Walker or dealing with any of the questions at this point in time,” said Campbell.

“It’s not acceptable to have a festival that fails because the B.A.R. wants to know information,” said Campbell, who instructed board member Andre Mathurin not to speak when the B.A.R. approached him after the meeting. “I’m not going to do it.”

Campbell continued to refer the B.A.R. to a news release he sent to the newspaper at the beginning of the meeting that stated, “We will not be engaging publicly about Mr. Walker’s claims” until after the festival and in the “appropriate forums.”

Firing accusations

Walker accused the board of owing him a little more than $10,000 for event expenses he paid out of his pocket. Walker, who lives in Utah where he operates Gary Walker Productions, explained he’s personally loaned SVP the money necessary to secure venues and services leading up to the annual event.

Yet, during a phone interview with the B.A.R., Walker clarified that the balance due is $4,000 for this year and a little more than $6,000 for a 2013 balance for securing pre-event credentialing and other expenses.

Additionally, Walker has had medical problems since November, but he insists he’s been fulfilling his contractual obligations and organizing the South Bay’s Pride festival as he has for 16 years.

Tammy Turnipseed, who manages the city’s special events programs for the San Jose Office of Cultural

August 7-13, 2014 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 9

executive director, has been in charge of sports programming at the past three Gay Games. He said the latest registration figures indicate 7,000 total sports and cultural participants. That would put it on par with Gay Games III in 1990, which drew 7,300 to Vancouver; slightly behind the figures from Gay Games VIII, which drew about 9,000 to Cologne; and well behind the 10,000-plus that the games drew to New York City in 1994, to Amsterdam in 1998, to Sydney in 2002, or to Chicago in 2006.

“It’s interesting to ask, ‘Why do you come to a Gay Games?’” said Smitherman. “For people who want to go for an LGBT travel destination or a really sexy place – that’s not what this games is about.

This is about coming and performing and supporting the LGBT community in two great cities that are opening their arms in ways they normally don’t. It’s really an affirming act coming to Cleveland and Akron.”

The Games Games have had some ballyhooed competition the

Courtesy Gay Games Cleveland

Scoring some advance publicity, Gay Games 9 Executive Director Thomas Nobbe threw out the ceremonial first pitch at a recent Cleveland Indians game.

past decade from the creation of the rival World Outgames, but the tepid numbers that have gone to the Outgames suggest they are less of a challenge to Gay Games numbers than the declining global economy and the rise over the past few decades of robust global LGBT tournaments in

Affairs, confirmed in an August 5 email that Walker had been working with the office up until late June. At that time Campbell informed them the organizer changed and took over production of SVP with the city.

Walker also made other allegations against the Pride organization, which is celebrating its 39th festival, in the email. Those include SVP’s financial stability regarding debts to government agencies and vendors, and cited lawsuits being brought against it, bringing the already fragile organization’s stability into question.

Walker refused to disclose his attorney’s name and contact information or any documentation supporting his allegations when the B.A.R. asked.

The B.A.R.’s periodic legal searches for cases against the Gay Pride Celebration Committee of San Jose Inc., the parent organization of SVP, since the spring has yielded no results.

The organization has been operating with about $60,000 in debt that has accumulated in recent years, according to Campbell. The board members have been digging the organization out of the debt, which includes money owed to the Internal Revenue service and California’s Board of Equalization.

Turnipseed and Melina Iglesias, events coordinator for the city of San Jose, confirmed payment arrangements were made by Campbell to settle an estimated $3,700 balance owed to the city’s fire, police, and transportation departments for past services, and $4,000 due to the city parks department.

Iglesias wrote in an email that SVP is working on securing permits to host this year’s festival.

Turnipseed wouldn’t confirm

whether Discovery Meadow, site of the August 17 festival, would be open if the debt isn’t paid as Walker told the B.A.R. could happen Walker’s contract is just one of the debts the board has continued to uncover as members work to restore financial stability and repair the relationships, Mathurin told the B.A.R. the morning after the board meeting.

Payment arrangements also have been made with the IRS and the board cleared up its debt to the California Board of Equalization, Mathurin said.

to peace and security, and the Kouba Essay Prize is awarded each year to a U-M law student studying abroad.

He had a successful career as an attorney in private practice. Jon’s undergraduate major was political science and he continued his love for that subject as he actively served his community. Jon was president of the San Francisco Redevelopment Commission during the Jordan and Brown administrations and was instrumental in developing the Yerba Buena Center area.

He also served on the HIV Health Services Planning Council, which prioritizes the allocation of federal Ryan White Treatment Modernization Act funds.

Jon was an active member of the Bay Area Nonpartisan Political Alliance, which promoted LGBT rights. In addition, he was a stalwart of the Democratic Party, serving as a delegate for Gary Hart at the 1984 Democratic convention and then going on to be an active supporter

of the presidential campaigns for Al Gore, John Kerry, and Barack Obama.

Jon enjoyed a close political alliance with Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California) as he was co-chair of her Northern California gubernatorial election committee, and then went on to support her successful bid for the U.S. Senate.

Civil rights were always Jon’s passion as he actively supported the American Civil Liberties Union in its quest for social justice and particularly its LGBT cases.

Jon and his partner, Mark, were together for 14 years, and held their domestic partner ceremony on Valentine’s Day 2003.

In addition to Mark, Jon is survived by his brother, William Kouba, and his nephew, Eric Kouba, and extended family and friends.

There will be a memorial service for Jon at the Church of the Advent, 261 Fell Street (between Gough and Fell) Saturday, August 16 at 10:30 a.m.

numerous sports. No Gay Games, for instance, has been able to hold a successful rugby tournament since the creation of the biennial Bingham Cup in 2002.

“There’s so much competition for the games,” Smitherman said. “Volleyball, swimming, softball, and bowling have multiple sporting events to choose from in any calendar year. It’s not the same as the Gay Games experience, but during the year there’s a lot of opportunity to meet and interact with other athletes.”

Smitherman said some sports such as rowing, dancesport and wrestling have stepped up to produce what he believes will be exceptional events, and Nobbe said he believes the legacy of Gay Games 9 will live on in the interactive experience it has already engendered in the region as well as the improved visibility of and support for the local LGBT community.

“So far, we’re in the black,” Smitherman said. “We won’t know until a few months afterward, but we have been very careful to keep an eye on our expenses.”

Nobbe said organizers have raised more than $2.9 million. “That’s well beyond our goal of $2.1 mil-

lion,” he said. “It’s the a result of the huge local support we received. We have 200 small businesses as sponsors, foundation support from the Cleveland Foundation, plus major national sponsors such as Marriott and United Airlines.”

One of the tangible legacies of Gay Games 9 will be an LGBTfocused fund established within the Cleveland Foundation, a major sponsor of the Gay Games. Gay Games 9 is slated to give at least $10,000 in seed money to the fund.

“That’s a tangible example of the effect the games have already had,” said Nobbe. “Other ways include the way different people have come together to interact when they would not have had any reason not to. It’s a real mix of suburban and urban, black and white. Hopefully the friendships they make and the positive experience they created will continue. The LGBT community here has really stepped up to put on these games. Once you are out and you get that positive reinforcement for being part of the community, you want to keep doing that.

I don’t see people receding into the shadows once the games are gone.”

See page 10 >>

Cleaning house

To cut costs, the SVP board considered other festival directors, but the board ended up taking on much of Walker’s responsibilities, said Mathurin.

Production of this year’s festival is estimated to be $152,000, a $44,000 decrease from the previous year, not including paying down its deficit, wrote Mathurin in an email August 4.

Including Walker’s expenses, according to Walker’s 2013 report provided

by SVP, it’s a $74,869 difference.

The board projects the festival will earn roughly $165,000 this year, wrote Mathurin, who told the B.A.R. the SVP currently has an estimated $15,000 in the bank, but that money might be spent on bills leading up to the event.

“We are committed to restoring SV Pride’s financial responsibility to the community,” Campbell reiterated in the release.

In the release, Campbell referred to Walker as an “ex officio member of our board of directors,” pointing out that Walker’s responsibilities were “disbursements” and providing See page 10 >>

Obituaries >> Jon Henry Kouba November 18, 1940 – July 31, 2014 Jon Henry Kouba passed away peacefully on Thursday morning, July 31, in the comfort of his apartment with his partner, Mark Eriksson, at his side. He was 73 and died after a lengthy illness.

Jon had been a longtime resident of San Francisco, having arrived here in 1966 from Michigan. He had a strong allegiance to the University of Michigan, where he did his undergraduate work and then went on to attend its law school. Jon was in fact born at the university hospital and so his connection to the university was lifelong.

In recent years, Jon established an endowment fund for the university law school to promote international law studies relating

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10 • BAY AREA REPORTER • August 7-13, 2014

<<

ACA access

From page 3

be integrated and mandatory in the curriculum rather than on a volunteer level, the experts said.

Sekera pointed out that one of Lyon-Martin’s primary goals with its transgender health program is to educate new and established medical professionals to implement transgender health care into their regular primary practices.

The program has been successful, bringing providers closer to patients throughout the country.

“A lot of people who have gone through our clinical rotation have moved on and are now in clinics around the country and have started their own ‘trans clinics,’ but really what they are doing is that they are just starting to provide care to trans people,” said Sekera.

She added, “That’s really when it becomes a safe space because it’s not about you being trans, it’s about you getting health care.”

Gathering the facts

To counter the challenges related to LGBT health care coverage, the experts agreed that there is a necessity for more current and realistic

<<

Jock Talk

From page 9

The Gay Games scored advance coverage in the August edition of Cleveland magazine, which included features on LGBT families, a transgender teenager, a lesbian cyclist, an older gay runner, and inclusive workplaces.

“That’s unprecedented,” Nobbe said.

Smitherman said the best cooperation between regional and international communities heading into

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Pink Saturday

From page 1

has “escalated,” but “half the time we feel like we’re babysitting folks” instead of creating a space for celebration.

Wiener said that over the past few years, the party has tended to shift from a “community-focused” celebration to “more and more people who appear to be coming into the neighborhood not to celebrate Pride but to get drunk and to cause problems.” He said he’d be “open to supporting” the idea of ending the event earlier.

The supervisor recently met with the Sisters and police to talk about Pink Saturday, and said, “The Sisters deserve enormous credit for taking this event on year after year. It’s a huge amount of work for them.” He said he’s “hopeful” the group will manage the event again.

Asked whether he’d support can-

<<

Silicon Valley Pride

From page 9

“detailed accountings of revenues received and distributed,” and that the board had not yet received all accounts. The board “purposely assumed the debts incurred during Mr. Walker’s tenure as festival director for the organization,” the release stated.

Mathurin, who described himself as being a “pain in Gary Walker’s ass,” agreed, stating that getting financial records from Walker was like “pulling teeth” and what the board did receive he described as inaccurate.

<<

AHF

From page 3

mends that AHF repay the money.

In a July 25 letter to acting Auditor-Controller John Naimo, Boudreau, AHF’s operations chief, said, in part, “Any objective review of AHF’s history could only conclude that AHF has both provided the

information about the state of LGBT health in America and around the world through better data collecting and standardizing the information.

One of the systems that the panelists have currently seen work best is a two-tiered gender and sex question that identify not only an individual’s birth sex and current sex, but also their sexual orientation.

Deutsch pointed out that utilizing this system in a recent study conducted by a team at San Francisco State University identified twice as many transgender people than previously using the old system of gender and sexual orientation questions.

Deutsch would love to see major medical providers and government data systems gather information on gender identity and sexual orientation and allow public health experts and students access the data to analyze and study it.

Currently, data collection isn’t anywhere near that sophisticated, she said. The goal right now is to get LGBTs on the 2020 census.

There’s also a lack of standardization in how and what information is collected and stored, said Deutsch.

“We have a lot of work that has to be done in getting best practices out there and standardizing this,” said Deutsch.

Health care responding

In spite of the challenges, the panelists agreed that they are seeing positive changes now that the ACA is being implemented.

Deutsch and Kalra pointed out that they’ve observed state and municipal governments discovering the “patchwork” of the ACA and beginning to fill the gaps with their own mandates and policies.

“It’s an exciting horizon,” said Kalra, talking about friends in Michigan who set up the new Southeast Michigan Transgender Health Center. The center received a grant from the state to create a nursing curriculum for transgender health.

“Things are popping up in different places, but it’s piecemeal and it’s not comprehensive,” said Kalra, pointing out that there aren’t benchmarks or requirements for cultural competency yet.

Deutsch agreed.

“As we move through the postACA funding landscape more and more policies, state and local governments are ... beginning to end the patchwork way we do things in this country and start to mandate coverage for these services,” she said.t

the Gay Games have been in dancesport, rowing, and wrestling.

“Barbara Zoloth in dancesport is such a hands-on person,” he said.

“Dancesport is so hard to organize and produce, but she has done an amazing job and it is gong to be one of the premier sports in the games.

We have a great turnout with 180 registrants. That exceeded our projected numbers. It’s one of the sports that has more women than men.”

Numbers will be notably off in some sports such as flag football.

“There are some challenges, but

we understand these challenges,” Smitherman said. “Flag football has a really strong following but a major event of their own and we don’t want to detract from that event. Athletes have limited time off from work, so they have to choose between events.

We understand why it has becomes smaller. Softball has a great system and organization and they put on a fantastic event, the Gay Softball World Series. It’s different because nobody has to qualify for the Gay Games, but it is still competition for registrations.”t

celing the party, which raises thousands of dollars for charities every year, Wiener said, “I’m not prepared to go there. Pink Saturday has been such a terrific annual event for the community.”

He said if the Sisters decide not to run the festival again, having the city take over would be “one option,” but he didn’t want to speculate.

Police Captain Dan Perea, who oversees Mission Station, which includes the Castro, was event commander for Pink Saturday and several other facets of Pride weekend this year.

In response to emailed questions, Perea said police responded to “several fights” and “the biggest problem was created by individuals who came to the event who were not part of the community” and “came to create trouble, engage in crimes of opportunity, and partake in general lawlessness.”

Perea said the decision on wheth-

er to have Pink Saturday “belongs to the community who celebrate Pride,” the Sisters, “and the residents of the area where the event is held.

My personal opinion is the decision should not be made by outsiders and troublemakers who disrupt the celebration of Pride for those who gather to celebrate.”

For years, Castro streets had been shut down for Halloween, October 31, but the city canceled the annual party in 2007 after years of violence, including shootings.

“We want to get Pink Saturday under control and make sure it does not become another Halloween,” said Wiener, but the pre-Pride party “is not in the same category as what Halloween became by the end.”

Perea said the hate crime against Sister Maryin A Mann, 43, the drag nun who, along with his husband, was attacked at this year’s party is being investigated by the department’s Special Investigations Division.t

“We are committed to having a festival this year that recognizes and supports our community, is financially sustainable while keeping its flavor, and which is not designed to disproportionately financially enrich one person to the detriment of the broader community,” Campbell stated in the release.

This year’s festival theme is “Honoring Our Past and Securing Our Future,” and features gay rapper Cazwell along with dance divas Kristine W and Deepa Soul.

Mathurin pointed out that this is the first time he’s ever seen SVP have around 15 major sponsors,

including Whole Foods, Wal-Mart, and Symantic, according to Pride’s website. The Health Trust, another listed sponsor, said it is committed at the same level as last year Silicon Valley Pride will celebrate the South Bay’s LGBT community Sunday, August 17 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Discovery Meadow, 180 Woz Way in San Jose.

Tickets cost $10 in advance and can be purchased online at http:// w w w. s v p r i d e . c o m / v 1 / p r i d e festival-2014/tickets/, otherwise the cost is $15 at the gate.

For more information, visit www. svpride.com or www.facebook.t

contracted services and appropriately spent Ryan White funds.”

She added that the timing of the county’s financial claims “corresponds to the timing of AHF’s public criticism of the county on a number of critical public health issues, including the failure to take action to reduce the risk of sexually transmitted diseases in the

adult film industry and the county’s unlawful practice of awarding contracts without public bidding.”

The nonprofit has been backing Assembly Bill 1576 which would mandate the use of condoms in all porn produced in California.

The full review is available at http:// file.lacounty.gov/auditor/audit_ reports/latest/cms1_216709.pdf.t

t

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This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed MARAE ERIN INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/05/05. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/02/14.

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The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ALL SMILES DENTAL, 156 W. PORTAL AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94127. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed CUONG HO DDS, A PROFESSIONAL DENTAL CORP (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/11/14. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/11/14.

JULY 17, 24, 31, AUG 07, 2014 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035937300

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: TETER ENGINEERING, 1662 CLAY ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed DAVID TETER CONSULTING LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/11/14.

JULY 17, 24, 31, AUG 07, 2014 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035940800

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JULY 17, 24, 31, AUG 07, 2014 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-14-550457 In the matter of the application of: ZEBADYHA TREE LEE, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner ZEBADYHA TREE LEE,, is requesting that the name ZEBADYHA TREE LEE,, be changed to ZEE BOUDREAUX. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept.

514 on the 16th of September 2014 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

JULY 24, 31, AUG 07, 14, 2014 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035937100

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JULY 31, AUG 07, 14, 21, 2014 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035959400

August 7-13, 2014 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 11

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The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SENIOR CARE ASSISTANCE, 1354 POWELL ST #314, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94133. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed SENIOR CARE ASSISTANCE LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/29/14. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/29/14.

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JULY 31, AUG 07, 14, 21, 2014 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE A-033625400

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The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as: DELI 23, 2449 23RD ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business was conducted by an individual and signed by ISA J. MUHAWIEH. The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/13/11.

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<< Community News

12 • BAY AREA REPORTER • August 7-13, 2014

<<

Syphilis

From page 1

“Any sexually active person can get an STD through unprotected sex,” stated Dr. Ron Chapman, the department’s director. “They should talk with their health care provider and ask if testing for STDs is appropriate.”

Other STDs continue upward trend

As for gonorrhea, the city saw cases increase by 345 in the first half of the year compared to the number recorded during the same period in 2013. Between January and June there were 1,460 cases; in 2013 the number was 1,115. Male rectal gonorrhea cases also increased, from 343 cases in the first half of 2013 to 392 so far this year.

According to the preliminary yearly data for 2013, reported gonorrhea cases increased 1.6 percent last year to 2,521 cases compared to the 2,481 in 2012. Additionally, rectal gonorrhea among men also increased from 780 cases to 794 cases in 2013, marking a 1.8 percent year-over-year increase, based on the preliminary data.

Chlamydia cases also continue to increase, with 2,778 so far in 2014 compared to the 2,525 seen during the first half of 2013. Male rectal chlamydia cases also continue to

<<

Park death

From page 2

Another doctor had performed the autopsy on Canul-Arguello. Lilien asked Hart if the injuries in that doctor’s report are “consistent with the possibility that some type of carotid hold and arm bar hold were applied ... and there was movement with significant force.” Hart indicated that based on the report and photos she’d seen related to CanulArguello’s death, that was correct.

Lilien also questioned Hart’s familiarity with erotic partner asphyxiation. She said that her office

trend upwards, with 625 so far in 2014 compared to the 577 cases seen during the first half of 2013.

The city saw a 4.4 percent yearover-year increase in overall reported chlamydia cases last year, according to the preliminary data, for a total of 5,089 cases in 2013. Male rectal chlamydia also increased in 2013, according to the initial reports, from 1,081 to 1,167 cases for an 8 percent annual increase from 2012.

At the same time the city’s federal funding from the CDC to combat STDs has decreased over the years, from more than $2 million in 2007 to roughly $1.5 million in 2013.

“The good news is that the city and DPH Director Barbara Garcia are very committed to ensuring we have strong STD prevention and services,” said Philip.

As has been the case with past years, the majority of STD cases in San Francisco remain among sexually active gay and bisexual men. Health officials point to a variety of factors for why men who have sex with men are prone to contracting STDs. Many HIV-positive men forgo using condoms by choosing to only partner with other HIV-positive men, a practice known as sero-sorting, thus increasing their risks for contracting STDs from their sex partners.

Negative men using pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP for short, which may have reviewed at least one such case, but she didn’t have any specific recollection. She said she had had some training related to alternative sexual practices, but it hadn’t been focused on erotic asphyxiation.

Canul-Arguello and Diaz had met up in the Castro district just before Diaz killed him, walked to the park, then exchanged oral sex and other acts, Lilien said last week.

He said Diaz had declined to “fuck” Canul-Arguello because they didn’t have condoms.

Eventually, Canul-Arguello said he liked to be choked and showed Diaz how to do it, according to Lil-

t

entails taking a once-a-day pill, to protect themselves from contracting HIV who opt not to use condoms also put themselves at risk for STD transmission, warn health officials.

These new HIV prevention methods have led to a divergence between decreasing HIV rates in the city and rising STD rates. Health officials estimate there were 332 new HIV cases in the city in 2013, a drop from the 428 recorded in 2012.

Another contributing factor is health officials have made as a priority suppressing viral load in HIV-

positive people by urging them to begin anti-retroviral treatment, which helps to decrease the chances of HIV transmission but has no impact on STD transmission.

“People are very smartly and accurately interpreting my risk of HIV transmission to a partner is much less if I am on treatment. People may think that if on PrEP as well,” said Philip.

PrEP is “an effective tool,” stressed Philip, that should be used to prevent HIV transmission. But those who are sexually active must also take steps to protect themselves from contracting an STD, she added.

“My view, and the view of the health department, is that in no way is it helpful to set up opposition between PrEP and STD prevention,” said Philip. “My feeling is PrEP is good and we need to talk about overall sexual health, including PrEP and STD prevention.”

In Los Angeles the AIDS Healthcare Foundation last month mounted a billboard that reads “California: #2 in Syphilis.” Designed to replicate the state flag, it shows the grizzly bear holding its left front paw over its face in shame. It promotes the agency’s website http://www. freeSTDcheck.org.

“There is no pill to prevent syphilis, or gonorrhea or any other sexually transmitted infection besides HIV,” stated AHF President Michael

Weinstein. “These infections spread easily and can be detrimental to public health if they are not mitigated by responsible health practices like regular condom use, which is still required for Truvada as PrEP to be effective anyway.”

He added that the goal of the agency’s latest campaign is “that people will be driven to contribute to decreasing these rates by preventing transmission in their own lives, and also to remind people that syphilis is a serious health risk that they need to be tested for to catch it before it causes significant damage to their organs.”

In San Francisco Philip has floated convening a gay men’s health summit in conjunction with community-based groups to discuss how to reduce STD rates. No date has been set yet for such a town hall discussion, as Philip only recently suggested it.

“Yes, it is something we have been talking about in the department,” said Philip. “It is one of the things we have talked about to really get more data and feedback from the community given this potential divergence with HIV and STD prevention.”

Health officials recommend that sexually active people be screened for STDs every three to six months.

In terms of HIV, they recommend getting tested every six months.t

ien. Diaz choked him and CanulArguello continued touching him.

However, after a couple minutes, Diaz noticed that Canul-Arguello had stopped. When he let go, Canul-Arguello fell to the ground, Lilien said. Diaz had unsuccessfully tried to revive him, then lit a fire in a plastic recycling bin to signal for help, he said.

Douglas, the prosecutor, last week described Diaz as a liar who had pointed police toward other supposed leads in the weeks after Canul-Arguello’s death before he was arrested in July 2011.

Douglas didn’t present a clear

motive for the death during her opening statements last week. The case had originally included a robbery charge, along with the other counts, but a judge dismissed that charge after a preliminary hearing in November 2012, finding insufficient evidence for it. Prosecutors had added the robbery charge back at one point, but it’s no longer included among the charges.

Lilien has said that Canul-Arguello and Diaz had known each other prior to the night Canul-Arguello died, and they’d had sex before. Last Thursday, Henry Chirinos testified that he’d introduced the men at Esta

Noche, the former gay Mexican bar in the Mission neighborhood, some time before the death, and CanulArguello had performed oral sex on Diaz in the back of Chirinos’s car.

The mostly melted blue recycling bin that had been found with Canul-Arguello’s body was wheeled into court for a brief period Tuesday, August 5. Dirt and twigs were still stuck to the receptacle. Diaz, who’s been in custody since his arrest and wore a gray suit Tuesday, looked sadly at the container as it was placed near him.

Superior Court Judge Donald Sullivan is overseeing the case.t

Rick Gerharter

Deputy health officer Dr. Susan Philip

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8/4/14 1:23 PM

Decades dance

17

Kink biz

Handel untamed

20

Out &About

15

O&A

15

The

Vol. 44 • No. 32 • August 7-13, 2014

www.ebar.com/arts

How big is your

organ?

by Erin Blackwell

T

his is a San Francisco story, of gay men and the size of their organs. Of civic pride and tonal authenticity. Of reverb, ranks, and pipes. Windblown versus digital sample. Pockets of resistance notwithstanding, there is a way forward. That is the way of David Hegarty, senior organist at the Castro Theatre, who’s leading the effort to raise $700,000 to replace, enhance, and enlarge the vintage cinema’s mighty Wurlitzer to the equivalent of a $20 million, very, very big, state-of the art pipe organ.

See page 23 >>

Senior organist David Hegarty at the Castro Theatre’s mighty Wurlitzer.

Sean Havey

(Left to right:) Ben Brady, Robby Stafford, Samuel Faustine, Steve Goodman, Deborah Rosengaus in Lamplighters Music Theatre’s The Pirates of Penzance.

Hail, hail, the gang’s all here!

by Philip Campbell

L

amplighters Music Theatre, San Francisco and the Bay Area’s beloved Gilbert & Sullivan troupe, opened their 62nd season last week with a predictably entertaining and musically substantial production of The Pirates of Penzance, always a surefire crowd-pleaser.

See page 17 >> David Allen

{ SECOND OF THREE SECTIONS }

PREview

Out &About

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O&A

arts 2014 FALL

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OF TWO SECOND

} SECTIONS

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<< Out There

14 • BAY AREA REPORTER • August 7-13, 2014

Succumbing to the lures of poetry

Kent Taylor

Michael DeMartini as Neil, Justin Lucas as Stuart, and Donald Currie as Auden (left to right) in Theatre Rhinoceros’ return engagement of Alan Bennett’s The Habit of Art.

by Roberto Friedman

P

oetry distills language to its essence, finds music in words and in the spaces between words.

So reading poetry is a great palatecleanser between courses of fiction, or a necessary relief after wrestling with the horrors in the day’s newspaper.

Out There was drawn to the poetry collection After Lunch with Frank O’Hara by California poet Craig Cotter (Chelsea Station Editions)

Fundi’s

TROUBLE IN BLACK PARADISE: Catastrophic Legacy Worshiping the New World Politics of Saving Souls A Sizzling New Self-illustrated Novel: Standard Black Christian Anti Gay Rationale Debunked In A Daring Historical Exposé Available online: Amazon.com Books; Authorhouse.com Locally at: Books, Inc. (Upper Market St.), Crystal Way, Folio Books, Bound Together Books & The Green Arcade.

because its cover design so clearly recalls the famous City Lights edition of Lunch Poems by the late great gay poet Frank O’Hara. Once we began reading it, we found the same accessible, conversational, gay-as-abox-of-birds approach that O’Hara championed, though Cotter’s poetry is not at all an imitation or a parody of O’Hara’s style.

In an afterword, Cotter makes his artistic inspiration explicit. “Frank O’Hara’s mock-manifesto ‘Personism’ taught me that a poem doesn’t have to have a big-bang at the end where I’m going to change your life with my brilliance. A poem can simply be a message to a friend full of personal references.

People can figure it out or not. This idea gave my writing new freedom – blast away and ignore the old rules of the self-contained machine.”

Gay novelist Felice Picano, in an introduction, confirms the revolution O’Hara offered in 1964, when Lunch Poems was published.

“O’Hara’s book of poetry was the opposite of the accepted poets of his day, such as the confessional and anguished poems produced by the likes of Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton. Instead, O’Hara’s poems were fun, amusing, citified, arty, casual, urbanely referencing singers, painters, and even brand names that everyone did or should have known.

At all times, his book was intimate and confiding, letting the reader into the poet’s emotional and daily life, not recollected in tranquility but with wry amusement between sandwiches and martinis.”

Cotter is direct, even confrontational on the page. “You need me to have spiritual understanding/ you’re piss out of luck./That would be another poet./I give you flaming Kleenex.” We like the drift of Cotter’s understated expertise – in nature, automotive history, Thai culture, sex. “I pick a lavender hepatica blossom/stem thinner than a toothpick/lay it on the straight European porn magazine/you’d hid in the basement of the abandoned house.” His convictions are ours.

“Definitely be alone instead of with people/who fake smile/and talk/to fill space/Can you dig it?” His sex drive seems phenomenal. “i jacked off 6 times yesterday/between 4 p.m. and midnight/each time dreaming of a man/i don’t have/remembering a real guy, making/composites of guys,/creating imaginary guys./ here’s your art./is it satisfying/with no puffy clouds?”

In a word, yes. But here’s OT’s fussy caveat, and by no means is it confined to this volume. We wish books still had editors, still had copy-editing. A small sampling of boo-boos we could have bandaged: “trying to unbotton Alex’s jeans,” “Did Guillaume think his loves flowed down the Siene?” “19 Napa-

t

lese hostages.” Poets, we love you.

Editors can save you.

A self-published book of gay, accessible, conversational poetry also seduced us. High Summer in Endurance is by San Francisco poet Chuck Teixeira, another writer well-versed in nature, Buddhism, and male attraction. From “Epiphany on 26th Street (Mission District, San Francisco)”: “Patrolling the block, I steal a glance/At handsome men in the corridor/Between Valencia and Folsom – /Day laborers milling so far into the street/I could reach out and stroke them/If I had the courage, appetite and cash.

“Sunlight, eager hands, then suddenly,/Draped against a cyclone fence,/A crotch scratcher with a big smile/Gives me back my eyes.”

Pleasurable habit

Familiar music greets the audience to the Eureka Theatre before the start of the return Theatre Rhino engagement of Alan Bennett’s The Habit of Art, which brings Benjamin Britten and W.H. Auden boundingly back to life. It’s Britten’s Four Sea Interludes, which put us immediately in mind of San Francisco Symphony’s powerful Peter Grimes, closing the season just ended. Britten’s centennial year is right behind us, so he got lots of posthumous press, including in these pages. But Bennett’s wonderful play is really more about Auden, the great late gay poet. We’d quote him (“We must love one another or die!”) but know he hated having his own verse sung back to him.

This wonderful production was reviewed earlier this year in the B.A.R. (a rave!), so let it suffice to say, if you have any interest in either of these great artists, skip don’t walk. The cast is superb. Donald Currie disappears into his role as Fitz as Wystan; director John Fisher shows restraint as Benjy and hamminess as a fussy housekeeper; kudos all around. Through Aug. 23. Tickets: 1 (800) 838-3006 or therhino.org.

Fonda foul

With this week’s review of the new book Watching Them Be: Star Presence on the Screen from Garbo to Balthazar by James Harvey, we offer this upsetting anecdote from its pages: In 1954, Charles Laughton was directing Henry Fonda on Broadway in The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial. Fonda disliked the play and his role as the prosecuting attorney. Laughton made a comment to Fonda about military behavior. Fonda snapped, “What do you know about men, you fat, ugly faggot?” Laughton said nothing, but never spoke to Fonda again, even when they appeared together in the 1962 film Advise & Consent. Good for Chas.!t

t

Theatre>>

August 7-13, 2014 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 15

Twentieth-century gay life recalled

by Richard Dodds

T

he planners of the first Long Island Fringe Festival not only invited Decades Apart: Reflections of Three Gay Men to be part of the event, but also to be part of the opening ceremonies. As writerperformer Rick Pulos recalls it, his one-man show came on right after “a frickin’ marching band.” Neither the audience nor Pulos seemed to be prepared for one another, though Pulos persevered despite the homophobic insults and catcalls hurled toward the stage. When he returned the following night for his second scheduled performance, the festival producer said, “I’m really surprised that you came back.”

That was in 2009, and subsequent audiences in other locales have had a better idea of what they were buying into: a play about three gay men in three succeeding decades. While Pulos has performed Decades Apart twice in San Francisco for conference and convention groups, it will be having its first open-to-thepublic run at Exit Theatre on Aug. 14-16.

The piece had its debut in 2009 at Brooklyn’s Ryan Repertory Theatre, shortly before the Long Island Fringe Fest debacle, and Pulos most recently performed it at a well-received run in Santa Monica in 2011 at Highways Performance Space. Negotiations to perform Decades Apart in Miami, Provincetown, and Fire Island have fallen through for various reasons, leading Pulos and Barbara Parisi, his director and producer, to take matters in their own hands.

“I said, ‘I’m tired of this. Let’s rent a space,’ and I found Exit Theatre,” Pulos said in a recent telephone

Rick Pulos is a Bay Area native who now makes his creative home in Brooklyn, where Decades Apart premiered in 2009.

interview. “And since I’m from the Bay Area, I figured I could sell some tickets to family, friends, and friends of friends. And since part of the show takes place in San Francisco, it just seems like a really good fit.”

In the solo show, Pulos plays a gay character of the 1970s in San Francisco, another gay character in New York of the 1980s, and finally a gay character in 1990s Los Angeles.

In addition to the characters’ spoken words to the audience, Pulos has created an elaborate multi-media backdrop including three projections screens with historic images, headlines, news clips, and original animation pertaining to each character’s place in time. “I’m performing in front of the screens, behind the screens, and in tandem with the screens,” he said. “The music has also been very carefully chosen for its relevance to the story.”

Courtesy Ryan Repertory Theatre

Rick Pulos employs multimedia techniques in his solo show Decades Apart: Reflections of Three Gay Men, coming to the Exit Theatre.

Bob, the 1970s San Francisco character, is carefree in sex and love, as well as in bathhouses. “Bob is celebrating the end of 1979, thinking that everything’s good and saying that the 1980s are going to be a great decade for my sisters and brothers,” Pulos said. “And, of course, it is not.”

The 1980s introduces a buttoneddown gay Republican named Patrick who feels lost amid his decade, which, of course, includes the onslaught of AIDS. “He actually uses a line from Larry Kramer’s The Normal Heart, that the fags in New York City are fucking each other to death.”

Danny is the 1990s character, described as a club kid who parties hard, cruises Santa Monica Boulevard, and pays a big price. “For a while, everyone was saying AIDS was a death sentence,” Pulos said, “and then came along the antiretroviral drugs and hooking up on the Internet, and in a lot of minds, it might seem that people were returning to a dangerous path.”

But it’s not HIV or AIDS that takes its toll on Danny, and Pulos said that Decades Apart is not an AIDS play. “I did kind of live in LA during the 1990s, and there are elements I pull from my own experi-

ences,” he said. “But the question I began asking myself was, who would I have been in these characters’ situations? A lot of these things have been tackled a thousand times before, but the way I do it with this piece, I think, is a little bit different.”

Pulos spent most his childhood growing up in Antioch, and after high school, headed straight for Yale. His parents now live in Reno, but his drama teacher from Antioch High School will be attending the SF performances, as well as some of his former neighbors, whose now-grown daughter called Pulos to check if her father needed to be warned of any nudity. I said, “It’s tastefully done, it’s not sexual, and it’s artistic. There’s really no reason to warn anyone.”

In fact, the show is specifically recommended for mature audiences, which somehow got lost in translation at the Long Island Fringe Fest. “They sat a boy and girl in their Sunday outfits, like 7- and 8-yearsold, right in the front row. And I’m doing the show, trying to edit myself because I do use curse words, and finally they let the girl stay but removed the boy, I guess because of the gay angle.”

Pulos has invited his parents to several performances when he has been on the West Coast, but so far they have declined. “My mom called me one night and asked, ‘Do you really get naked in this thing?’ And I said, yeah, but you can’t really see anything, and it’s not sexual.’ She said, ‘Well, I’m not comfortable with that.’ And I said, ‘You’ve seen everything I’ve got, but only now it’s bigger.’ She didn’t think that was funny at all.”t Decades Apart: Reflections of Three Gay Men will run Aug. 14-16 at Exit Theatre. Tickets are $25. Call (718) 996-4800 or go to decadesapart.org.

August highlights at the Roxie & Castro

by David Lamble

O

ur fabled rep houses, the palatial Castro Theatre and the feisty Roxie Theater, are programming their asses off for August, giving cinema junkies a lovely respite before the back-to-school blues.

Kink (2014) “There’s a way to step on a cock so as not to hurt it, hon.” If you’ve ever wondered what’s shaking inside the walls of the 14th St. San Francisco Armory, director Christina Voros gives us an 80-minute spin through the BDSM world of Kink.com, the folks who claim to be “the world’s largest producers of pornography” catering to devotees of bondage, discipline, dominance and submission, and sadomasochism. This soup-to-nuts tour takes us from the bowels of the BDSM biz, where scantily clad young women are being put through their paces, to the executive offices where porn bean-counters assess trends among the pain set. A male/female set of guides explain how they instruct the young porn stars-in-the-making as they report for work. “One of the first things we tell them when they come in the door is that we don’t want you to act, we want you to be yourself. So most all of their reactions are the person’s reactions, not the porn actor’s reactions. You can’t fake it. If you fake it, it comes across as false. And if you don’t enjoy it, it comes across as forced. Mainstream vanilla porn will have you ham it up, they’ll fake so many orgasms, and we don’t here. If you don’t cum, that’s fine, but we don’t fake anything when it comes to pain, because if we did, we would never be able to tell

Scene from director Christina Voros’ Kink, coming to the Roxie Theater.

the true distress of an actor.” Voros has assembled some nifty quotes.

Among my faves: “I like choking, but don’t call me bitch. It’s a world of rules.” (Roxie, 8/15-21) Brown Bread (2014) Director Sarah Gross gives us a 75-minute peek at an unusual Northern Californian family reunion: a large extended clan with family members representing black and white people from both middle and ghetto classes.

The members range from a member of the Stanford faculty to a struggling entrepreneur. (Roxie, 8/10) Do the Right Thing (1989) In this funny agit-prop slice of late-80s Brooklyn, Spike Lee turns up the

heat on some memorable characters on the hottest day in the hood.

Mookie (Lee) is a wisecracking pizza delivery guy who has a knack for catching the weak spots in the psyches of every soul on his block.

With a brilliant Gotham-based cast featuring the first lady and gentleman of black film, the late Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis, Lee delivers a menu of urban black grievances at the end of the Reagan era that even now manages to get under the white skin of Tinseltown liberals.

In the Heat of the Night (1967) Spike Lee gives a tip of his director’s cap to this slick but provocative late-60s melodrama featuring a

small-town Southern sheriff (Oscar win for a scene-stealing Rod Steiger) and a prickly big-city police detective (Sidney Poitier). It’s a captivating look at what it felt like to be a human being with principles in an era where there was no easy place to stand between minority rights and majority paranoia. Canadian-born director Norman Jewison delivers a socially conscious thriller that still packs a punch. (both Castro, 8/7) Sing-Along Wizard of Oz (1939) This queer-anthem warhorse gets a boost from the ability of paying customers to demonstrate their lungpower, on or off-pitch. (Castro, 8/8-10)

Only Lovers Left Alive (2013) Jim Jarmusch mines a venerable subgenre for all the entertainment value possible. The setup: Adam (Tim Hiddleston), a bored vampire living in Detroit, is beside himself with anxiety because he has to entertain an annoying female vampire, an over-the-top Mia Wasikowska; and her puppy-dog human boyfriend, Anton Yelchin. As two vampires dump a body into the effluentrich Detroit River, they watch it dissolved by acid. “That was visual.”

The Hunger (1983) Tony Scott’s feature debut was dismissed by some as “kinky trash,” but when he serves up a vampire couple played

by Catherine Deneuve and David Bowie, respect must be paid. (both Castro, 8/12) The Rover (2013) Aussie helmer David Michod follows his family gangster opera Animal Kingdom with a futuristic thrill-fest sprawling across a desolate slice of the Outback.

A Boy and His Dog (1975) L.Q. Jones sets his black-humor treatment of sci-fi author Harlan Ellison’s future-shock novella in a postWWIV piece of the West. This boy’s story benefits from a fresh-faced 18-year-old Don Johnson working with a telepathic canine (voiced by Tim McIntire). (both Castro, 8/13) The Castro pairs two modern directors, Frenchman Leos Carax (born Alexandre Oscar Dupont) and Texan Richard Linklater, for back-to-back-to-back Thursdays.

Mr. X (2014) Tessa Louise-Salome provides a 71-minute introduction to the films of Leos Carax.

See page 16 >>

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16 • BAY AREA REPORTER • August 7-13, 2014

Lebanese & proudly out

by Brian Bromberger

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an a film create opportunities for freedom of expression even in oppressive societies? This aspiration is the underlying question posed by Out Loud, the first movie from Lebanon to feature a gay theme and recently released on DVD by Ariztical Entertainment. Directed

by Samer Daboul, Out Loud seeks to act as a vessel for social change, though not following a linear plot. It employs musical sequences, dance numbers, and almost psychedelic montages to create its poetic and sardonic flavor, reminding one of surreal comedies such as Umbrellas of Cherbourg or Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie.

Jason, whose parents were killed in an auto accident when he was a boy, invites his four best friends, his created family, to stay at his house.

Elvis is a drug dealer working for his father’s business, though he would rather have a career as a guitarist.

Louis, who lost the woman he loved seven years ago when she eloped with a wealthy man, doesn’t feel he can ever love again. Rami is an artist whose family finds out he is gay, and kicks him out of the house. He confesses to his friends that he is gay and must leave the country with his partner Ziad (who acts as a bodyguard for this tribe) because his father and cousins are trying to kill him. Na-

thalie, a charming, vivacious woman they meet on the Internet, comes to the house running away from her family, because she doesn’t want to enter an arranged marriage. All these characters meet in Jason’s home to solve their problems, ultimately challenging traditional cultural morality with their postwar-generation beliefs. All the straight guys fall in love with Nathalie, and they decide to get married en masse, which will have serious consequences for everyone.

The film is a bittersweet tale of love, friendship, and younger adults dreaming of a different world, willing to defy the laws and taboos of their society, promoting basic freedoms, women’s equality, and LGBT rights. In Lebanon, one doesn’t come out as gay. Muslim preachers routinely recite texts from the Qu’ran saying homosexuals are corrupt and should be stoned to death.

Homosexuality is a crime, punishable by one to three years in prison, with anything that proves you are gay suitable as evidence, including hearsay, so you don’t even need to be caught in flagrante. The film argues that LGBT people should be free to live their lives the way they want. Out Loud culminates in the wedding scene, where the gay Rami presides in marrying Nathalie to his three other friends, all pledging undying support to each other. An orthodox band who dance and sing at

receptions crashes the wedding, but once they realize there is more than one groom, they flee. The tribe wants nothing more than to celebrate love, follow their hearts, and be free of any borders or social constrictions.

The film is a mixed bag with a meandering script which tends to clobber the audience with its overt symbolism. But the whimsical nature of their daily life and the appealing characters ultimately win over the viewer, even if the latter half takes on a darker hue. The DVD boasts what may be the best “making of ” documentary of any LGBT film. Featuring interviews with the cast and crew as well as academics and human rights proponents, the documentary uses raw footage and underground video images, proving Out Loud is guerilla filmmaking at its most literal level. The film had appalling production problems, with protesters shouting insults, honking horns, cursing, throwing

themselves into the middle of scenes as they were being filmed; stolen, damaged equipment; crew members coerced into quitting; physical injuries to the director; being kicked out of the house in which they were filming under false pretenses; and 22 days of shooting 18 hours every day. As much time had to be given

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to solving these upheavals as creating and producing the film.

With so many hindrances, Out Loud had to be completed in Los Angeles. The Lebanese government insisted on several cuts before distribution, though Daboul kept the censorship to a minimum, but even a brief kiss had to be excluded, as it could be used in a trial as evidence against any cast member. The terrifying conditions which marked filming from start to finish as well as the dedication to finish production, despite sacrifices and risks to every crew and cast member, are inspiring.

As Daboul comments, “Good art makes people think, as well as gives hope by letting people know there are other people like themselves. Be true to yourself, and everything else will fall into place.” The movie reminds us that freedom is costly, but there is no freedom unless it is announced and lived, out loud.t

Outfoxed on the witness stand

by Tavo Amador

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id anyone write classic murder mysteries, as opposed to thrillers, as well as Agatha Christie (1890-1976)? Most critics grudgingly admired her plotting, which they felt exceeded her literary skills.

Raymond Chandler and Edmund Wilson dismissed her. But readers made her the best-selling novelist of her era. She also wrote plays, notably the long-running The Mousetrap and Witness for the Prosecution. In 1957, Billy Wilder brilliantly filmed the latter, and it has just been released on Blu-Ray. London barrister Sir Wilfrid Robards (Charles Laughton), just home from a hospital following a heart attack, returns to his office prior to complying with doctor’s orders to take a restful cruise to Bermuda. With him is a nurse, Miss Plimsoll (Elsa Lanchester), whose job is to see that he follows a healthy regimen – no brandy, no cigars – although he surreptitiously continues indulging in both. “Sir Wilfred the Fox” is eager to return to work, but apprehensive about his health.

A solicitor, Mr. Mayhew (Henry Daniels), introduces him to his client, Leonard Vole (Tyrone Power), who’s facing a first-degree murder charge for killing a lonely, wealthy widow, Mrs. French (Norma Varden). She recently changed her will, leaving him most of her estate. He

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Castro Theatre

From page 15

Boy Meets Girl (1984) This debut feature from then-23-year-old Carax set the bar high, with a stylish romance combining silent and French New Wave touches.

Before Sunrise (1995) Richard Linklater introduces us to loversto-be: the charming American backpacker (Ethan Hawke) and the opinionated Paris student (Julie Delpy) who meet on a Viennabound train. The seeds of a trilogy whose success would amaze even its creators are sown in a lovely twohander that rides on the leads’ scin-

denies the accusation, insisting he was home when the murder took place. His wife can testify to that effect. Nonetheless, the police arrest him and take him to jail.

Believing Leonard, Sir Wilfred agrees to defend him, but worries about his German wife, Christine (Marlene Dietrich). To Sir Wilfred’s astonishment, the very cool, controlled Mrs. Vole, arriving unexpectedly at his office, assures him that she will do anything necessary to save her husband. Sir Wilfred cautions that the testimony of a loving wife won’t carry much weight with a jury. She observes that if women make up the majority of the jury, Leonard won’t be convicted.

He’s irresistible to the opposite sex, even if Christine seems immune to his magnetism. Her composure fascinates and confuses Sir Wilfred.

From this premise, Wilder, who co-authored the clever screenplay with Harry Kurnitz, builds a dazzling puzzle. Flashbacks show how Leonard, a British soldier, met Christine in post-war Berlin. She was scraping by as a cabaret singer and living in a tiny apartment in a building that was literally collapsing. He was smitten, and she seduced him easily enough. They married, and he brought her back to London, giving her a better life.

Leonard, an inventor, unable to find steady work, accidentally met Mrs. French, who was charmed by

him. She insisted on buying his latest creation, an eggbeater, even though her suspicious housekeeper/cook/companion, Janet MacKenzie (Una O’Connor), was unimpressed by it or him.

He soon began visiting Mrs. French regularly.

Leonard is frustrated because Christine hasn’t been to see him in jail. He cannot understand it.

Sir Wilfred and his legal team are more concerned about mounting a suitable defense. Miss Plimsoll is frantic to keep her charge from abusing his health, and their quarreling about it is very funny.

To everyone’s dismay, at the trial Christine betrays Leonard.

Then, just before final testimony is to be heard, Sir Wilfred gets a phone call from a cockney claiming she can prove Christine has perjured herself.

She will provide the evidence to Sir Wilfred if he agrees to her financial demands. Despite his doubts, Sir Wilfred meets her at Euston Station, and is stunned by what he learns.

This results in a mesmerizing courtroom confrontation between Christine and Sir Wilfred, which confuses and frightens Leonard. The ending is shocking yet plausible.

Laughton, a guilt-ridden homosexual, obsessed by his homeliness, was one of classic Hollywood’s finest actors and a star for nearly three

decades. He gives one of his most memorable performances as Sir Wilfred. Viewers cannot take their eyes off him. He spits out the crackerjack dialogue – much improved from the play – and creates an unforgettable character: acerbic, witty, intelligent, perplexed, and fiercely determined to save his client.

The bisexual Power, a star for 20 years, whose matinee-idol handsomeness obscured his talent, is perfectly cast and totally believable. This was his last completed movie. He died of a heart attack in 1958 while filming

Solomon and Sheba.

Dietrich, also bisexual, is a revelation. Her famously glamorous and enigmatically icy image rarely allowed her to be both passionate and sardonic. She’s riveting in Christine’s big confrontation with Sir Wilfred.

Her cool explanation for her actions still surprises viewers. (Contemporary moviegoers were asked not to discuss the ending.) Wilder consoled her when she failed to get an Oscar nomination by saying she had made fools of the audience, including Academy voters, something they didn’t like and wouldn’t reward.

Lanchester, Laughton’s real-life wife, is hilarious yet smart and sympathetic as Miss Plimsoll.

Although their marriage was platonic, they often worked together, and this was their best pairing. Daniels, O’Connor and the rest of the large cast are splendid.

Edith Head designed Dietrich’s costumes. Russell Harlan’s blackand-white cinematography is superb. The film earned five Oscar nominations: Picture, Director, Actor (Laughton), Supporting Actress (Lanchester), and Editing (Daniel Mandell).t

tillating chemistry. (Castro, 8/14) Mr. X (2014); Mauvais Sang (1986) Carax delivers the second episode of his unlikely trilogy bolstered by an incredible cast: Juliette Binoche, Denis Lavant, Julie Delpy, Michel Piccoli and Serge Reggiani.

Before Sunset (2004) The second film of Richard Linklater’s loverson-the-train trilogy unfolds along the Seine, based on a smart script co-authored by the actors and Linklater. (Castro, 8/21) The Lovers on the Bridge (1991) The conclusion of Carax’s Alex trilogy becomes, by French standards, an exercise in big-euro filmmaking, again pairing the incendiary

Binoche and Lavant.

Before Midnight (2013) A Greek vacation is the occasion for a 20thanniversary series of memories and recriminations as the trilogy wraps on a high that emboldens us to expect a fourth episode. This is a film whose durable duo is truly communing between parallel worlds.

(Castro, 8/28) Peaches Christ’s The NC-17th Annual Showgirls Hand it to Peaches to breathe fresh life into a one-time turkey turned improbable cult hit. (Castro, 8/23) The Leopard (1963) Luchino Visconti played his trump card, the casting of a regally aging Burt Lan-

caster as an aristocrat living outside his time who endures the birth pangs of the modern Italian state with the bitter knowledge that it means the end of his kind’s privileged lives. (Castro, 8/24) Paul Mazursky Double Feature: Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1968) Everything you want to know about how the sexual revolution impacted hip straight coupledom lies somewhere in Mazursky’s first hit, a pioneering look at how two couples collide in and out of bed. A fearsome cast: Natalie Wood, Robert Culp, Elliott Gould and Dyan Cannon.

The Tempest (1982) Mazursky reimagines Shakespeare’s classic com-

edy with another fabulous ensemble: John Cassavetes, Gena Rowlands, Susan Sarandon, Vittorio Gassman, Raul Julia, Molly Ringwald and Sam Robards. (Castro, 8/27) Lawrence of Arabia (1962) One can’t say enough about both the entertainment value and pertinent history lessons provided by David Lean’s ageless and intimate epic.

With its homo content deftly understated, Lawrence is still a must-see for anyone struggling to understand our most perilous foreign policy hot-spot. It’s also a human spectacle that plays to all the Castro’s assets.

Almost four hours with an intermission. (Castro, 8/30-9/1)t

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Music>>

August 7-13, 2014 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 17

Darkness falls

THE RICHMOND/ERMET AIDS FOUNDATION PRESENTS

by Tim Pfaff

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he astounding revival of Handel opera in the last half-century has been due less to “original instruments” and the recovery of 18th-century performance practices than to the discovery of how effective as dramas the probably gay composer’s 40-some operas are, however superficially preposterous their “plots.” You can still stumble on Handel opera performances that are little more than ariafests, but at least since Peter Sellars’ groundbreaking Giulio Cesare, you’re as likely to find a production set in some modern tyrannical state – or on a space station, or on the moon.

Given the pervasive grimness of Handel’s Tamerlano, you’d think today’s dark-seeking opera directors would be all over it. But despite the fact that it dates from Handel’s creative zenith, it’s been relatively slow to catch on.

Until now, the most successful recording of the opera has been an Opus Arte DVD set documenting a staged production in Madrid – with Placido Domingo, everyone’s favorite Handel tenor, as Bajazet.

That just changed. With no visual garnish at all, a new audio-only Tamerlano – not even recorded “live” – from emerging Baroque maestro Riccardo Minasi and his ace instrumental ensemble Il Pomo D’oro (Naïve) shows just how acute the drama can be in a musically fully realized Handel opera. With the double bar of the overture, darkness falls on a tale of intertribal hatred and the love relationships it contorts that ends in the saddest of Handel choruses. Unlike almost all the other “happy ending” choruses (in Handel’s terms, the solo characters singing in ensemble), the prima donna is in devastated silence after the suicide-by-poisoning of her father.

The Tatar Timur (Tamerlano), despot of Byzantium, has conquered the Ottoman ruler Bajazet, and the plot – notably lean and direct for a Handel opera – follows their rivalry and the treachery it occasions to its crushing denouement.

Along the way, the story offers situations it’s hard to imagine a modern enfant terrible director resisting. In Bajazet and Asteria there’s an intense father-daughter relationship fit for Verdi. Add Andronico and Tamerlano, and there’s a love knot worth of Sunday Bloody Sunday.

And any young Turk of the stage wishing to depict the horrors of rape as an instrument of war could hardly want more than Tamerlano’s plan for a gang-rape of Asteria – right there in the libretto – to dis-

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Pirates of Penzance

From page 13

We say predictably because quality and tradition embody the mission of the beloved company, and every revival of an operetta in the Savoyard’s extensive canon is fashioned with meticulous attention to detail and genuine affection for the material. We call Pirates surefire because it contains some of the best music and most memorable tunes ever penned by Arthur Sullivan, enlivening the witty lyrics and relatively sensible libretto by William S. Gilbert. The score includes all of the trademark tongue-twisting patter songs, stirring anthems and pretty ballads that have made the partner-

NorCal’s Largest Annual AIDS Benefit Concert & Gala

August 24, 7:30pm

Palace of Fine Arts Theater

grace her and her father. This is not a medley of pretty tunes, and the ornaments drip blood.

In fact, many a modern Handel production, particularly on the other side of the Atlantic, could be charged with over-egging the drama. But the keen musicians on this new recording have only the composer’s ax to grind, and the results are consistently compelling and often transfixing. The starkness of the music is felt in the unusually high number of arias sung by characters alone onstage.

Tamerlano’s deeply conflicted liege, Andronico, is as important a character as any in this opera, pulled in the usual ways, if to unusual degrees, between public honor and private (in this case hidden) love.

Is it too much to think that Handel lent such deep feeling to Andronico’s first-act aria, a lament, because it puts music to the words, “I could never change my love?”

Individually and in ensemble, Minasi’s brilliant cast is never out of character. The roles of Tamerlano and Andronico were written for the two most brilliant castrati (men with big, agile voice, if in the treble range) of Handel’s day. Countertenors Xavier Sabata and Max Emanuel Cencic are vocally exciting and dramatically acute in the roles, and their troubled interactions are deftly navigated. Yes, when the two have it out on the second act, a listener who came in blind and heard their singing “drop-the-needle”-style could be excused for thinking it was two elderly librarians quarreling about late fees. But overall they’re terrific, sometimes literally and appropriately so.

In that uncanny way of his, Domingo, in Madrid, is a credible, moving Bajazet – who’s no less apt in Baroque opera than Fritz Wunderlich was in the early days of the Handel revival. With a lighter, more stylish voice – but with impressive low notes, as this unique tenor role ship endure for more than a century, and the plot, while preposterous, is still filled with just enough biting social satire and sarcasm to make even the wacky and improbable final denouement marginally believable.

The story of a band of “poor wandering ones” (sort of a grown-up version of J.M. Barrie’s lost boys) and their inept and hilarious attempts at piracy includes a distaff chorus of pretty and strong-willed maidens whom they attempt to highjack and marry (of course). The central characters, including the Pirate King; Frederic, the pirate apprentice; Mabel, one of the numerous daughters

requires – John Mark Ainsley is a strong, masculine Bajazet who’s particularly moving in the broken bits of accompanied recitative and arioso that make up his prolonged death scene by honor-poisoning.

As Asteria, Karina Gauvin is her usual, vocally immaculate self – but with a difference. Even for Handel, Asteria is a woman of deep, complex emotion, and Gauvin gives the most dramatically invested performance I’ve heard from her. It’s startlingly uninhibited, spitfire at times, and Gauvin’s Asteria emerges one of the great Handel heroines on disc.

Minasi’s feel for orchestral color and dramatic pace is flexible but sure, and he leaves you breathless time and again with the astonishing expressive range of Handel’s music.

The instruments speak as the singers sing.t

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18 • BAY AREA REPORTER • August 7-13, 2014

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Pirates of Penzance

From page 17

of Major-General Stanley; and Ruth, pirate maid-of-all-work, and the one who got Frederic into the whole mess to begin with, invigorate a twisted plot that seems the very essence of the G&S franchise. The suitably oldfashioned sets of Peter Crompton, and the sumptuous costumes, executed in this production by Miriam Lewis and originally designed by Melissa Wortman, remain a visual delight. Joey Postil’s lighting design is unfussy and properly bright.

The moment veteran Music Director/Conductor Baker Peeples enters the pit, we can rest assured that the crack orchestra will fill the hall with a rich and full-bodied sound. His tempi can be a bit slow at times, but there is so much loving attention to detail we can excuse any sense of dawdling and simply revel in the beauty of Sullivan’s beautiful melodies. The chorus of Pirates, Police and General Stanley’s daughters blends with the richness of the Lamplighters Orchestra to make every big moment in the score sparkle and remind us of the strength of the company’s talent pool.

As the Pirate King, Charles Martin (Ben Brady is his alternate) looks and sounds suitably sardonic. He is at home in the part, and if he doesn’t become the center of attention, it is probably because of the excellence of his co-stars.

The Major-General of F. Lawrence Ewing is a scene-stealer whenever he appears, and his death-defying ease with the patter song of all G&S patter songs, “I am the very model of a modern Major-General” (aided in comprehension by the unobtrusive supertitles), remains peerless.

Two performers, new to the Lamplighters, fill the juvenile leads with aplomb. As Frederic, Samuel Faustine (alternate Robert Vann) is believable and likeable as the young man conflicted as a “slave to duty” by his allegiance to his criminal col-

David Allen

Ben Brady as the Pirate King (double cast with Charles Martin) in Lamplighters Music Theatre’s The Pirates of Penzance.

leagues and to lawful society. Faustine’s pleasant tenor voice is always audible and well-enunciated.

As his beloved Mabel, debutante Kaia Richards (alternate Elena Galvan) is a real find. Pretty as a picture, with just enough womanly wisdom to overcome the galumphing males, she pairs beautifully in the duets and displays a perfect coloratura that accomplishes all the high notes and rides effortlessly over the full orchestra and chorus.

Deborah Rosengaus (alternate Sonia Gariaeff) is way too young and attractive to play the middle-aged and “plain” Ruth, but she becomes more believable as the evening progresses because of her expert comic timing and full-throated vocalism. I found myself zeroing in on her presence at every opportunity.

The only minor weakness of the

production is the somewhat underpowered Sergeant of Police of Steve Goodman (alternate Robby Stafford), but his acting is good enough, and the supporting chorus of police is not only characterful, but also well-sung enough to compensate.

When the strains of “With catlike tread” filled the auditorium in the second act (you may recognize it as “Hail, Hail, the Gang’s All Here”), the opening-night audience chuckled and hummed along with real appreciation. That’s what Gilbert and Sullivan and the tradition of the Lamplighters are all about.t Lamplighters Music Theatre’s The Pirates of Penzance continues in Mountain View, San Francisco, and Livermore, through August 24. Schedule and info: lamplighters.org.

David Allen

Chris Uzelac as Samuel in Lamplighters Music Theatre’s The Pirates of Penzance.

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Music>>

August 7-13, 2014 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 19

Working hard for the money

by Gregg Shapiro

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onna Summer had pretty much lost her LGBT following by the time she released 1983’s She Works Hard for the Money (Culture Factory/Island), newly reissued in a beautifully packaged limited-edition remastered audiophile recording version. Aggressively pursuing her dream of becoming a Christian artist, she teamed up with fellowfollower Michael Omartian for a set of nine tunes, couching feminism in subservience. The hot disco dish of the title cut has all the markings of a feminist anthem and the closest Summer came to celebrating the power of women since “Bad Girls.”

The pulsing electro of “Stop Look and Listen” sounds remarkably current for a song that’s more than 30 years old, and the island gospel vibe of “Unconditional Love,” a duet with one-and-a-half hit wonders Musical Youth, provided Summer with another hit. “Love Has a Mind of Its Own” qualifies as one of Summer’s best (higher) power ballads.

There seems to be some question about whether queer icon Mor-

rissey is actually working hard for his money. The new king (or is that queen?) of cancellations, the former Smiths stud postponed yet another North American concert tour (something like five cancellations in as many years), leaving his devoted (obsessive?) fan base at their collective wit’s end. What could possibly remedy that? How about the double-disc 20th anniversary definitive remastered reissue of Moz’s 1994 masterwork Vauxhall and I (Sire/Rhino)? The second of Morrissey’s two 90s masterpieces (including Your Arsenal), Vauxhall and I shows the man of misery at the peak of his songwriting skills. The timeless “The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get” (the line “beware, I bear more grudges/than lonely high court judges” is genius) ranks among Morrissey’s most brilliant creations. “Spring-Heeled Jim,” “I Am Hated for Loving,” “Speedway,” “Billy Budd” and “Now My Heart Is Full” are among the other essential cuts on the album. The second disc is a heretofore unavailable live recording from a 1995 concert at London’s Theatre Royal.

Dave Matthews is the anti-Morrissey. A relentlessly touring artist, Matthews was at the forefront of the jam band movement that began in the 90s and (unfortunately) continues to this day. Dave Matthews Band’s debut album, the live (of course!) Remember Two Things (Bama Rags/RCA/Legacy), has been reissued in an expanded edition that includes a pair of studio outtakes, “Pay for What You Get” and “Typical Situation,” as well as lyrics and previously unpublished rare pix. A few of these songs, including “Ants Marching” and “Satellite,” would eventually appear on DMB’s studio debut Under the Table and Dreaming, but jam master Matthews knows that what his fans really want is the kind of endless noodling a live setting can provide.

Speaking of noodling, the late bass-playing “punk jazz” genius Jaco Pastorius was doing it when Dave Matthews was still a wee lad.

Pastorius’ innovative, improvisational musicianship made him an in-demand artist, performing as a member of Weather Report and Joni Mitchell’s band, among others.

He only released a handful of studio discs, including his eponymous 1976 tour de force, before his tragic death at 35 in 1987. Timed for the release of Jaco, a doc about his life, Modern American Music – Period!: The Criteria Sessions (Omnivore) features 11 unreleased tracks, some from “original Criteria acetate,” presented in their full, unedited form, including “Donna Lee” and “Continuum.”

Named for a Dave Brubeck number, the short-lived British band Blue Rondo a la Turk released its debut album Chewing the Fat (Cherry Red), now available as a double-disc import reissue, in 1982. It sounds very much like the era. in which some UK bands, including The Style Council,

Erotic plus odd

by David Lamble

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rOddity(s), the new soft-core porn anthology from TLA, presents problems for a non-porn critic until you simply suspend the old rules and let this “humorously twisted Twinkapalooza,” in the words of its creator Steven Vasquez, play out on its own terms. That is, a kind of sexy TV variety show in search of a network. Imagine if the folks at NBC’s venerable Saturday Night Live franchise decided to invite 10 Valley

Boy-speaking Southland-raised kids – in this case, eight boys and two girls – to put on their idea of a standard network variety show: 70 minutes of show in a 90-minute slot, minus the commercials, which in this case, dear viewer, you have to supply yourself.

In short, ErOddity(s) is the product of a new generation raised on squeaky-clean values in the cultural shadow of daytime soaps, The Los Angeles Times, Dodger announcer Vin Scully, and the ubiquitous Shopping Channel.

The result, while a mixed blessing, does have some real virtues in an age that increasingly relies on getting its entertainment from download streaming sources. In other words, here’s twink porn in the age of Netflix. The four episodes are hard to review as separate standalone entities, because they really do sort of melt into each other, as things do on SNL. But here goes: “Forever Mine” The first episode begins with two twinks watching porn-boy mirror images of them-

selves on a flat-screen TV. This least satisfying of the quartet of stories ends rather abruptly, in murder by pistol.

“A Mind of Their Own” starts to display what director Steven Vasquez has in mind by spinning a quasi-Twilight Zone conceit of boys creating their own fantasy playmates through a mix-tape device with shape-shifting powers.

“Unsolved Christmas” begins the anthology’s drift into darker waters See page 22 >>

Dexy’s Midnight Runners, ABC and Everything But the Girl, were looking to the music of the past for inspiration. Blue Rondo a la Turk’s musical influences included Latin (heard in its minor hit single “Me and Mr. Sanchez”), ska and African.

Joy Mining (Omnivore) from 2008 and In the Now (Omnivore) from 2012, by Iain Matthews & Egbert Derix and Iain Matthews & Searing Quartet respectively, are making their official US domestic debut. Matthews, a co-founder of legendary British folk outfit Fairport Convention, and Dutch jazz pianist Derix (also a member of Searing Quartet), teamed up for this pair of collaborations, with unanticipated results.t

<< Out&About

20 • BAY AREA REPORTER • August 7-13, 2014

San Francisco Jewish Film Festival @ Castro Theatre

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Thu 7

The annual festival of Jewish-themed features, shorts and documentaries continues through Aug. 10. (www. sfjff.org). $10-festival passes. 429 Castro St. www.castrotheatre.com

Post: Ballet

Out &About

O&A

San Francisco Mime Troupe @ Various Venues

Fri 8 Into the Woods

Curtains Call

by Jim Provenzano

D

o you like playing conversational musical theatre trivia with friends?

Perhaps you’d like to see a live stage production of Into the Woods before the film version ruins it, and pre-judging by the rumored and confirmed changes Disney made, you’ll want to.

How about a three-character gay solo show that’ll tug at your nostalgic heartstrings? Wanna hear about what it’s like to be a Black cop? A gay artist? Or perhaps you want some pure fun, a cinematic trip back in time to one of the best rock concerts of the late-20th-century? Go see a show.

Support show biz.

Thu 7 Dance Concerts @ The Garage Aug. 6 & 7: Heidi Carlson’s immigration-themed work, BLNKT THRY. Aug. 8 & 9: Emote Dance Theater’s works focus on stories of abuse, HIV and cancer, and Marlena E. Zahm & Dancers. All shows 8pm. $10-$20. 715 Bryant St. 518-1517.

715bryant.org

From Red to Black @ A.C.T. Costume Shop Rhett Rossi’s New York-set drama about a subway death explores racism. $15-$20. Wed & Thu 7pm. Fri & Sat 8pm. Thru Aug. 30. 1119 Market St. at 7th. Thru Aug. 30. 677-9596. www.sfplayhouse.org

Leslie Smith @ Books Inc. The author of Sally Field Can Play The Transexual, Or I Was Cursed By Polly Holliday discusses his new novel.

7:30pm. 2275 Market St. 864-6777. www.booksinc.net Also Aug. 9, 2pm, at Copperfield Books in Napa Valley. www.sallynovel.com

LGBT Talks @ Commonwealth Club The political lecture hall’s gay-themed events continue: Aug. 7: The Quest For An HIV/AIDS Vaccine, with Dr. Donald P. Francis (6pm). Aug 8: What Is The Arts Mainstream?, with playwright Brad Erickson, New Conservatory Theatre Center Artistic Director Ed Decker, author Jewelle Gomez and others (12pm). Aug. 11: Josie Lehrer, Founder/Director, Men’s Story Project (6pm). Aug. 13: Closing The Gap: Crucial Transgender Issues Today, with Cecilia Chung, SF Health Commissioner. Aug. 15: Steve Pinetti, Senior Vice President, Inspiration & Creativity, Kimpton Hotel and Restaurant Group, on their successful LGBT marketing campaigns (12pm).

Each $7-$20. 595 Market St. at 2nd.

597-6712. commonwealthclub.org

Music Moves Festival @ ODC Theater The impressive month-long dance festival continues with Dance Heginbotham (Aug. 7-9, 8pm), Pearl Marill/Modern On Command (Aug 10 & 11 7pm & 9pm); Keith Terry & Corposonic (Aug 12, 8pm); ODC Dance (Aug. 14-16, 8pm). Other works thru Aug. 24. www.odcdance.org

National Poetry Slam @ Various Venues, Oakland 25th annual festval of spoken work poetry read by hundreds of contestants on 72 teams in a five-day competition. $15-$125 (VIP pass).

Various times, Thru Aug. 9. Venue Oakland, New Parkway Theatre and other spaces. www.PoetrySlam.com

Pleiades @ Phoenix Theatre World premiere of Marissa Skudlarek’s play, based on the Greek myth of the seven sisters, reset in a Baby Boomer era of the 1970s, at the height of the feminist movement. $25. Thu-Sat 8pm. Thru Aug. 30. 414 Mason St. #601. www.pleiadessf.wordpress.com

Post: Ballet @ YBCA Theater The energetic modern ballet company premieres Five High, their fifth season, including dances by director Robert Dekkers, with music by Nils Frahm, design by Enrique Quintero. Thu-Sat 8pm. Thru Aug. 9. (Also Aug. 11-15 workshops at Joe Goode Annex.)

Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 701 Mission St. 978-2700. postballet.org ybca.org

Ripple Effect, the newest play produced by the politically-themed satirical theatre company, now celebrating its 55th season, takes on eviction, Google Glass-sporting hipster techies, and economic disparity in the Bay Area. Half-hour music set pre-show. Aug. 6 & 7: Lakeside Park, Oakland, 6:30pm/7pm.

Indoor and outdoor locales thru Sept.

1. 285-1717. www.sfmt.org

Unusual Shorts @ Oddball Films Enjoy wacky offbeat vintage short films. Aug. 7: An Existence of Nonsense - Surreal and Absurd Cinema. Aug. 8: Learn Your Lesson... about your Private Parts: A Pelvic Shockucation. Thu & Fri, each $10, 8pm. 275 Capp St. 558-8117. www.oddballfilms.blogspot.com

Tough @ Z Below Chris Black’s one-woman show about hard-drinking boxer John L. Sullivan, and the nature of athleticism and ending a career. $20-$25. Thu-Sat 8pm. Thru Aug. 9. 470 Florida St. www.chrisblackdance.wix.com/dance

Yerba Buena Gardens Festival @ Esplanade The months-long free performance series continues, with weekend outdoor dance, music and theatre concerts, on various days and evenings. Aug. 7: Tiffany Austin Quintet, 12:30pm. Aug. 9 & 10: Pishtahan, 11am. Aug. 14: Son Jarocho, 12:30pm. Shows thru Oct. Mission St. at 3rd. 543-1718. ybgfestival.org

Fri 8 Andrew Ogus @ Magnet Exhibit of the artist’s many works on paper, each interpreting a homoerotic take on ancient myths and characters.

8pm-10pm. Exhibit thru August. 4122 18th St. 581-1600. andrew-ogus.artistwebsites.com www.magnetsf.org

Bay Area Now 7 @ YBCA Seventh annual exhibit of local and regional artists’ visual, performing, film and video art works. $12-$15 (free for members). Performances Aug. 7-10 in various areas of the museum include works by Antique Naked Soul, Sheldon Brown, Gregory Dawson, Katie Faulkner/little seismic dance company, Fog Beast, Christy Funsch, Lenora Lee Dance, Eddie Madril/Sewam American Indian Dance, Kompiang Metri Davies, Rico Pabón, RAWdance, Tania Santiago, sfSound, Latanya d. Tigner, Marvin K. White, and ZOFO. Exhibit thru Oct. 5. Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 701 Mission St. 978-2787. www.ybca.org

Catch Me If You Can @ Woodminster Amphitheater, Oakland Bay Area premiere of the stage musical of Catch Me If You Can, based on the hit Dreamworks motion picture, about the real-life adventurous con man. $18-$58.

Fri-Sun 8pm. Thru Aug. 17. Joaquin Miller Park, 3300 Joaquin Miller Road, Oakland. (510) 531-9597. www.woodminster.com

Cops and Robbers @ The Marsh, Berkeley Jinho “The Piper” Ferreira’s compelling multi-character solo show about his life in the worlds of hip hop (he’s toured with Snoop Dogg Busta Rhymes and others) and law enforcement. $20-$100. Fri 8pm, Sat 8:30pm, thru Sept 13. 2120 Allston Way, Berkeley.

282-3055. themarsh.org

Derek Jarman, Visionary @ BAM/Pacific Film Archive Screenings of the works of the late gay filmmaker who defied trends and created his own unique cinematic style, most often with explicitly gay themes. Aug. 8: Wittgenstein (7pm). $4-$6.50. 8:40pm. Screenings Thru Aug. 28. 2626 Bancroft Way, Berkeley.

(510) 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu

Grace Askew @ 50 Mason Social House The cool Memphis-styled popcountry singer performs music from her new CD Scaredy Cat. Andrea Stray also performs. 7pm. 50 Mason St. www.graceaskew.com www.50masonsocialhouse.com

Local production of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s acclaimed musical that takes an ‘after Happily Ever After’ look at fairy tales. $20-$120. Tue-Thu 7pm. Fri & Sat 8pm. Also Sat 3pm & Sun 2pm. Thru Sept. 6. 450 Post St., 2nd floor of Kensington Park Hotel.

677-9596. www.sfplayhouse.org

Monsieur Chopin @ Berkeley Repertory Hershey Felder, whose solo biographical-music shows about George Gershwin and Leonard Bernstein wowed audiences, returns with his show about -and performed as- composer Fryderyk Chopin. $29$53. Tue, Thu-Sat 8pm. Wed & Sun 7pm. Sat & Sun 2pm.Thru Aug. 10.

Thrust Stage, 2025 Addison St. (510) 647-2949. www.berkeleyrep.org

Over the River and Through the Woods @ Chanticleers Theatre, Castro Valley Joe DiPietro’s new comic play about family, faith and food. $13-$18. Fri & Sat 8pm. Sun 6pm. Thru Aug. 24.

3683 Quail Ave., Castro Valley. (510) 733-5483. www.chanticleers.org

Sing-Along The Wizard of Oz @ Castro Theatre Well, bust my buttons! Have a jolly old time in the land of Oz, with host Laurie Bushman, subtitled lyrics, a costume contest, and kid-friendly fun. $12-$15. 7pm. Also Aug. 9, at 2:30 and 7pm. 429 Castro St. www.castrotheatre.com

The Taming of the Shrew @ Memorial Park Ampitheater, Cupertino San Francisco Shakespeare Festival’s summer outdoor shows commence, with shows in Pleasanton, Redwood City, San Francisco and Cupertino Free. Mostly Sat & Sun 7:30pm, Sun 2pm. Thru Sept 21. www.sfshakes.org

Tofu Art @ Glama-Rama Salon Collage + Landscape = Collagescape, the local artist’s new exhibit of works in mixed media, collage and paintings, and a second group exhibit of mixed media work by a dozen artists from California, New Mexico, New York, Sweden, and Germany. Sept. 28. www.tofuart.com glamarama.com

New & Classic Films @ Castro Theatre Aug. 7: Do the Right Thing (7pm) and In the Heat of the Night (9:15). Aug. 8-10: Sing-Along The Wizard of Oz (see Fri.). Aug. 11: InForum with NBA gay basketball player Jason Collins; 6:30pm. Aug. 12: Only Lovers Left Alive (7pm) and The Hunger (9:15).

Aug. 13: The Rover (7pm) and A Boy and his Dog (9pm). Aug. 14: TMR X, a Vision of Leos Carax (6pm), Boy Meets Girl (7:25), and Before Sunrise (9:20). $12. 429 Castro St. 621-6120. www.castrotheatre.com

Into the Woods @ San Francisco Playhouse

Twelfth Night @ Ashby Stage, Berkeley Shotgun Players’ production of William Shakespeare’s romantic classic includes live music and a jaunty-sexy staging. $20-$35. Thru Aug. 17. 1901 Ashby Ave., Berkeley. (510) 841-6500. www.shotgunplayers.org

Thu 7 Music Moves Festival, featuring Pearl Marill’s Modern On Command

Steve DiBartolomeo

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Out&About>>

Sat 9 As You Like It, Romeo and Juliet @ Forest Meadows Ampitheatre, San Rafael Marin Shakespeare Company kicks off its 25th anniversary summer series with William Shakespeare’s gender-bending romantic comedy, in repertory with The Bard’s classic underage teen romantic tragedy.

Ampitheatre open one hour prior to showtime for picnicking; Bring overwear; it gets chilly. $12-$240 (season pass) and ‘pay as you like.’

Fri & Sat 8pm. Sun 4pm. Thru Aug. 10. 499-4488. Forest Meadows Amphitheatre, 890 Belle Avenue, Dominican University of California, San Rafael. marinshakespeare.org

Beach Blanket Babylon @ Club Fugazi The musical comedy revue celebrates its 40th year with an ever-changing lineup of political and pop culture icons, all in gigantic wigs. $25-$160.

Beer/wine served; cash only; 21+, except where noted. 678 Beach Blanket Babylon Blvd (Green St.).

421-4222. www.beachblanketbabylon.com

Carving Through Borders @ Galeria de la Raza Exhibit of wood carving prints by undocumented artists in the Bay Area, LA, New York and Florida.

Also Blooming in the Midst of Gentrification. Both thru Sept. 19.

Wed-Sat 12pm-6pm. Sun 12pm-5pm.

2857 24th St. 826-8009. www.galeriadelaraza.org

Dan Hoyle @ The Marsh The award-winning solo performer premieres his new show, Each and Every Thing, a multi-character play about the search for real community in a hyper-connected world. $20-$50.

Thu & Fri 8pm, Sat 8:30pm. Extended thru Oct. 4. 1062 Valencia St. at 21st.

282-3055. www.themarsh.org

August 7-13, 2014 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 21

Joffrey Ballet @ McKenna Theatre, SF State Students age 10-25 in the NY ballet company’s two-week intensive perform works-in-progress. $15-$25.

2:30pm. Creative Arts Building, San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Ave. at 19th Ave. 338-2467. www.creativestate.sfsu.edu

Matisse from SF MOMA @ Legion of Honor Matisse from SFMOMA traces four decades of the artist’s career, from his early, Cézanne-inspired still lifes to his richly patterned and brightly colored figural paintings made in the 1920s and 1930s, with 23 paintings, drawings, and bronzes; thru Sept. 7. Also, Matisse and the Artist Book (thru Oct. 12), and The Poetry of Parmigianino’s “Schiava Turca.” Thru Oct. 5. Lincoln Park, 100 34th Ave. 750-3600. famsf.org

Mugwumpin @ Costume Shop The innovative experimental theatre company celebrates ten years with several revivals; This Is All I Need and other plays in repertory with the new Blockbuster Season, also later this summer. other shows thru August and Sept. $20-$40. 1117 Market St. www.mugwumpin.org

The Pirates of Penzance @ Mountain View Center for the Arts Lamplighters’ production of the classic Gilbert & Sullivan operetta. $20-$59.

8pm. Aug. 9 & 10 at Mountain View Center for the Arts, Aug. 14-17 at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in SF; and Aug. 23 & 24 at the Bankhead Theater in Livermore. 227-4797. lamplighters.org

The Scion @ The Marsh Solo performer Brian Copeland returns with his unusual play about privilege, murder and sausage in his retelling of the triple murder crime at the Santos Linguisa Factory. $30-$100. Sat 5pm.

Thru Aug. 23. 1062 Valencia St. 2823055. www.themarsh.org

Sun 10

Mon 11

Chomp! @ Conservatory of Flowers

Jason Collins

They Came From the Swamp, a new floral exhibit of carnivorous plants, includes exhibits, docent talks, and a giant replica model so you can feel like a bug about to be eaten. Thru Oct. 19. Reg. hours, 10am-4pm. Free-$7.

Tue-Sun 10am-4:30pm. Thru Oct. 19.

100 JFK Drive, Golden Gate Park. 8312090. conservatoryofflowers.org

God Fights the Plague @ The Marsh 18-year-old playwright Dezi Gallegos (who made a splash at 14 with Prop 8 Love Stories) performs a solo show with multiple gay and straight characters of different faiths, each searching for God. $15-$100. Sat 8:30pm. Sun 7pm. Thru Aug. 10. 1062 Valencia St. at 21st. 2823055. themarsh.org

Project Mah Jongg @ Contemporary Jewish Museum New exhibit about the popular Chinese game and Jewish culture’s affection for it. Thru Oct. 28.

Also, Designing Homes : Jews and Midcentury Modernism, an exhibit of architectural, furniture, dinnerware, photos, and interior design in post-WWII. Other exhibits, lectures and gallery talks as well. Free (members)-$12. Fri-Tue 11am-5pm, Thu 11am-8pm (closed Wed). 736 Mission St. 655-7800. thecjm.org

Ukrainian Independence Day Picnic @ McKenzie Park, Los Altos Bay Area Ukrainian-Americans celebrate 23rd anniversary of Ukraine’s independence with barbecue, games, and entertainment by local Ukrainian performers, incl. a Ukrainian-style XMA exhibition by Kane Kozaks &. Kozachka.

Adults $15 / Students $7 (ages 12-18).

11am. 707 Fremont Ave., Los Altos. stmichaeluocsf.org/Pages/Picnic.aspx

Skulls @ California Academy of Sciences Exhibits and planetarium shows with various live, interactive and installed exhibits about animals, plants and the earth, including the new popular exhibit of animal and human skulls (thru Nov. 30). Special events each week, with adult nightlife parties most Thursday nights. $20-$30. MonSat 9:30am-5pm. Sun 11am-5pm. 55 Music Concourse Drive, Golden Gate Park. 379-8000. calacademy.org

Tue 12 Anthony Friedkin: The Gay Essay @ de Young Museum Exhibit of photos, and an audiovisual installation, by the Los Angeles artist who focused on gay underground culture of the late 1960s and early ‘70s in SF and LA. Thru Jan. 11, 2015.

Lines on the Horizon : Native American Art from the Weisel Family Collection, thru Jan. 4, 2015. Free/$10. Tue-Sun 9:30am-5:15pm. Golden Gate Park, 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive. www.deyoungmuseum.org

Circle of Life Cabaret @ Martuni’s A C.O.L.T. Following, the disability and LGBT-inclusive theatre company’s music and variety show. No cover.

6:30pm-9pm. 4 Valencia St. www.circleoflifetheatre.org

Meditation Group @ LGBT Center

Thu 14

Weekly non-sectarian meditation group; part of the Let’s Kick ASS AIDS Survivor Syndrome support group.

Tuesdays, 5pm, 1800 Market St. www.letskickASS.org www.sfcenter.org

Stop Making Sense

Dracula Inquest @ Berkeley City Club Central Works performs Gary Graves’ new dramatic take on Bram Stoker’s classic vampire tale. $15-$28. Thu-Sat 8pm. Sun 5pm. Thru Aug. 17. 2315 Durant Ave., Berkeley. (510) 558-1381. www.centralworks.org

Frank Pietronigro @ Johnston Gallery Exhibit of gay-themed paintings (“Great American Patriots”) and “Documents,” an unusual installation that uses anti-gay words. Thru Sept.

2327 Market St. www.pietronigro.com www.johnstontaxgroup.com/art

The Habit of Art @ Eureka Theatre Theatre Rhinoceros presents Alan Bennet’s “very British Comedy” about theatre, poetry and life itself. $15-$25. Wed-Sat 8pm. Also Sat 3pm.

Thru Aug. 23. 215 Jackson St. (800) 838-3006. www.TheRhino.org

Wed 13 Semi-Famous @ The Marsh, Berkeley Don Reed’s new solo show, SemiFamous: Hollywood Hell Tales From the Middle, includes tales of panicridden auditions and almost being shot by the Secret Service. $20-$100.

Sat 5pm, Sun 7pm. Thru Sept. 7. 2120 Allston Way, Berkeley. 282-3055. www.themarsh.org

SF Hiking Club @ China Camp Join GLBT hikers for a 12-mile hike to see shore birds, bay views, and a restored fishing village. There will be a beach for swimming. Bring water, lunch, hat, sunscreen, good hiking shoes, swimsuit (if desired), towel, binoculars for birding. 740-9888. www.sfhiking.com

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Mon 11 1964: The Year San Francisco Came Out @ GLBT History Museum New exhibit focusing on San Francisco’s emerging gay culture at the time of the pivotal LIFE magazine feature “Homosexuality in America.” Also, Biconic Flashpoints: Four Decades of Bay Area Bisexual Politics, and History Is Now, an intergenerational celebration; thru Aug. 15. Reg. hours Mon-Sat 11am-7pm. Sun 12pm-5pm. ($5/free for members). 4127 18th St. 621-1107. www.glbthistory.org

Jason Collins @ Castro Theatre The first publicly gay athlete to play in any of the four major American pro sports leagues discusses his career and challenges. $5-$20. 6:30pm. 429 Castro St. commonwealthclub.org www.castrotheatre.com

Thu 14 Debra Tate @ Books Inc. The sister of murdered actress Sharon Tate reads from and discusses her book Sharon Tate: Recollection.

7:30pm. 2275 Market St. 864-6777. www.booksinc.net

Decades Apart @ Exit Theatre Decades Apart: Reflections of Three Gay Men, Rick Pulos’ one-man, multimedia theatrical performance, captures significant moments in the lives of three gay American men from different eras and cities: a 1970s San Fransican, an ‘80s New York gay Republican, and an LA ‘90s club kid. $25. 8pm. Also Aug. 15 & 16, 8pm.

156 Eddy St. (718) 996-4800. www.decadesapart.org decadesapart.brownpapertickets.com

Godzilla @ Century 9 Cinema Riff Traxx (cast members from Mystery Science Theatre 3000 ) poke fun at the not-so good Godzilla remake, where the creature trashes Manhattan. $12-$15. 7pm. 835 Market St. Also at various Bay Area cinemas. www.fathomevents.com

Gorgeous @ Asian Art Museum New exhibit about 2,000 years of unconventional visualizations of beauty at the contemporary and historical museum. Thru Sept.14. Also, Enter the Mandala: Cosmic Centers and Mental Maps of Himalayan Buddhism (thru Oct. 26); Dual Natures in Ceramics: Eight Contemporary Artists from Korea (thru Feb 22, 2015). Permanent exhibits as well. $15. Thru Sept. 14. 200 Larkin St. www.asianart.org

I ♥ the 80s @ Feinstein’s at the Nikko

Conrad Frank and Joe Wicht return with the show tune trivia night, featuring Jessica Coker and Heather Orth. $15.

7pm. Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. (866) 663-1063. ticketweb.com

Turn back time as an ensemble of talented singers, including Tony Vincent (American Idiot, The Voice ) and Jessica Phillips ( Leap of Faith ), perform classic songs from the 1980s. $35-$50. Thu-Sat 8pm. Sun 7pm. Aug. 14-17 and 21-24. Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. (866) 663-1063. www.ticketweb.com

Killing My Lobster @ Z Below

Stop Making Sense @ Balboa Cinema

Broadway Bingo @ Feinstein’s at the Nikko

The improv comic ensemble performs a live radio show, with sound effects, for an audience; with music opening acts. $10-$50. Wed-Sat 8pm. Thru Aug. 23. www.KillingMyLobster.com

Patterns @ New Stage Patterns: For Some Reason, It Really Tickled Me, Amy Munz’ solo performance, with innovative multiple projections, about young adult romance quandaries. $30. Wed-Sat 8pm. Thru Aug. 16. Dennis Gallagher Arts Pavilion, French American International High School, 66 Page St. (800) 838-3006. TheNewStage.com

Jonathan Demme’s film of Talking Heads’ amazing concert tour from 1984 returns to theatres in celebration of its 30th anniversary. $7.50-$10.

7:30pm. 3630 Balboa St. 221-8184. www.cinemasf.com/balboa To submit event listings, email jim@ebar.com. Deadline is each Thursday, a week before publication. For more bar and nightlife events, go to On the Tab in our BARtab section, online at www.ebar.com/bartab

<< Books

22 • BAY AREA REPORTER • August 7-13, 2014

Celebrating Charles Warren Stoddard

by Peter Garland

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uthor Robert Louis Stevenson [RLS] gets a lot of credit for coming to the defense of the late Father Damien (1840-89), Belgian priest to the lepers on the island of Molokai. In 1890, Stevenson published an open letter to the Reverend Dr. Hyde, a Presbyterian minister stationed in a fine mansion in Honolulu, who had attacked the deceased Belgian priest in print after the latter had caught leprosy from his parishioners on the island and died of it in 1889. Hyde said he could not understand the adulation awarded the deceased priest, and wrote such charges as this, reported

by Stevenson: “Damien was dirty. He was. Think of the poor lepers annoyed with this dirty comrade!”

Rev. Hyde had even written that Fr. Damien slept with the lepers.

RLS, who visited Molokai after the priest’s death, jumped to Damien’s defense with his widely-published open letter, berating the critical minister for living in luxury and safety while Damien had been a true Christian martyr. RLS’ defense created a stir, but the minister never responded to it. Fr. Damien was proclaimed a Catholic saint in 2009.

But it was Charles Warren Stoddard (1843-1909) who told RLS about

Fr. Damien in the first place. Stoddard might be called the George Washington of the gay movement in San Francisco, for he published the first relatively open homosexual novel, For the Pleasure of His Company, in 1903.

Stoddard was a poet and newspaperman, and he and Stevenson met in San Francisco in 1880 through mutual acquaintances. Both frequented the Bohemian Club here, and Stoddard was a friend of Stevenson’s stepsonin-law, the artist Joseph Strong.

Stoddard had visited the island of Molokai in 1868 when both he and Fr. Damien were in their 20s. He shook Damien’s hand, and stayed in touch with the priest until the Belgian died. In 1903 he published the book Father Damien, A Sketch.

Stoddard was a Catholic convert and sometimes fantasized about becoming a monk, but he was far too worldly for that. Strong painted an oil portrait of Stoddard holding a skull in a Capuchin outfit. At his “eyrie” on Rincon Hill south of Market in San Francisco, Stoddard displayed many souvenirs of his travels in the South Seas, as well as the manciple and stole that Fr. Damien wore when he said mass.

RLS described his meeting with Stoddard in San Francisco, and the fascination of the American’s refuge

Gay American travel journalist and novelist Charles Warren Stoddard.

in an old mansion perched on Rincon Hill. It was Stoddard who urged RLS to visit the South Pacific islands. RLS left with Stoddard’s book South Sea Idylls, as well as Herman Melville’s Omoo, under his arm. RLS had had some childhood experiences that pointed him towards exploration in those southern seas, but Stoddard was there to give him a further push and information at just the right moment in Stevenson’s life and career.

Stoddard was also very close to Stevenson’s stepdaughter, Belle

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Strong (wife of the artist), and to his wife, Fanny. As one studies the biographies of RLS, one comes to know Belle Strong somewhat, but it is in Stoddard’s books and biography that she steps into the limelight and becomes a far more interesting person. She and Stoddard competed for the attention of visiting naval officers in Hawaii, according to Roger Austen’s excellent biography of Stoddard, The Gentile Pagan.

Stoddard told Stevenson about Fr. Damien, and had quite an influence on the author of Treasure Island and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Stevenson went on to settle in Samoa and become important in Samoan politics (involving the Samoans and the superpowers of those days, the English, French, Germans and Americans). He became a great friend of the islands’ people. There he built an impressive home that became a focus of island as well as European life. He died in 1894, and was buried atop a hill in Samoa.

Stevenson’s wife Fanny came back to San Francisco after his death, and built a house on Hyde (!) Street at Lombard, just across the road from the Crookedest Street. (Hyde is the name of the evil one in Stevenson’s 1886 novel, and the name of the minister who attacked Fr. Damien.)

Willis Polk designed her house with her. Spared by the Great Fire, it is still there today.

Stoddard wrote for the Chronicle and many other publications of his day. His books are very readable: For the Pleasure of His Company is called the first overtly homosexual American novel, and there is the fine biography of him by Roger Austen. In general, Stoddard is much more highly regarded by European critics than by American. His family was well-connected historically; in the 17th century, Stoddards graduating from Harvard became doctors and ministers.

He was celebrated by the Bohemian Club, which is often mentioned in his novel, whose title was suggested to him by Rudyard Kipling. In April 1903, when Stoddard returned to San Francisco after years teaching back east, the Bohemians threw a gala evening in honor of him. Henry James and Enrico Caruso attended.

In fact, it is said that James thought the party was for him!

Charles Warren Stoddard is a lot of fun to learn about. He was a man comfortable in his sexuality.

He lived in a time of absolute hushhush, yet he found a great deal of kindness. He was a vigorous writer and truly one of the founders of literary San Francisco.t

but her authority is evident on screen. Harvey discusses how, as the marriage ended, she returned to Hollywood and acclaim, her radiance undiminished, winning a second Oscar as Anastasia (1956), but doesn’t mention her bravura work in her final film, Ingmar Bergman’s stunning Autumn Sonata (1978).

His discussion of Bette Davis (1908-89) and William Wyler is overly sympathetic to her. Wyler helmed her brilliantly in her second Oscar-winning performance, Jezebel (1938), and she’s astonishing in his The Letter (1940). They fought, but he generally prevailed, to her benefit. She had her way in their final collaboration, The Little Foxes (1941), resulting in her mistaken interpretation of Regina. Harvey concedes its shortcomings, but tries to justify her approach, which immediately revealed Regina’s heartlessness. Had Davis listened to Wyler, she might have had another triumph – proof that stars need guidance.

His section on Charles Laughton (1899-1962), a guilt-ridden homo-

sexual who felt physically repulsive, is extremely sensitive and insightful. A welcome surprise is his inclusion of Pam Grier (b.1949), a star of 1970s blaxploitation pictures.

Harvey skips Marlon Brando to discuss Robert De Niro (b. 1943) and Martin Scorcese’s impact on his career.

De Niro is essentially a character actor. He has played romantic leads, but that isn’t his forte.

He’s riveting in Scorcese’s Taxi Driver (1976), which made him a star, but Harvey focuses on the director’s disappointing musical drama New York, New York (1977). In it, De Niro plays a jazz musician who meets, marries, and abandons Liza Minnelli, terrific as a singer who becomes a movie star. De Niro’s Jimmy is tiresome, selfinvolved, and on screen much too long. He either lacked the charisma to make a self-centered antihero appealing or didn’t try. Harvey picked the wrong film to make his case for De Niro belonging in this book.

The final chapters, covering Carl Dreyer’s heroines and Robert Bresson’s movies, belong in another volume. Dreyer’s landmark The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) features Maria Falconetti, a well-known Paris stage actress and dancer who never made another movie – hardly a star like Garbo, Dietrich, or Bergman. As for Bresson, he famously used non-actors, and told them not to act. Au Hasard Balthazar (1966) is haunting, and Harvey cites it as the greatest movie he’s ever seen.

But the title character is a donkey – and unlike Lassie, Rin Tin Tin, Bullet and other Hollywood animal stars, never made another picture.

Harvey’s enthusiasm makes for stimulating reading, but enthusiasm isn’t a substitute for solid critical thinking. Readers who keep that in mind will welcome this book.t

Indelible images

by Tavo Amador

D

efining what makes a movie star is tough. Perhaps that’s why James Harvey doesn’t attempt it in his fascinating, flawed Watching Them Be: Star Presence on the Screen from Garbo to Balthazar (Faber & Faber, $27). Humphrey Bogart’s definition, citing Clark Gable, Gary Cooper, and Joan Crawford, is too restrictive for Harvey. “To be a star you have to drag your weight into the box-office and be recognized wherever you go.” Bogart had a point.

Stars may be born, but they need proper casting, direction, lighting, and publicity. Harvey knows this, but refers to it inconsistently.

“In her time, [the bisexual Greta Garbo, 1905-90] evoked more widely felt and declared awe than any star ever has, before her or since.” True.

Harvey summarizes her major films but focuses on Rouben Mamoulian’s Queen Christina (1933) and openly gay George Cukor’s Camille (1937). The former exploited her androgyny and ended with a legendary close-up. But as Harvey acknowledges, the movie doesn’t hold up. Camille, however, is superb, containing her richest performance.

She’s relaxed playing the doomed Marguerite, and acts with unprec-

edented gallantry, humor, and fatalistic romanticism. Yet Harvey barely credits Cukor for revealing those traits. He implies that because Garbo often overcame poor material, she didn’t need direction in a good film. Nonsense.

He errs differently with the bisexual Marlene Dietrich (1901-92).

She had been in nearly 20 German films, appeared on stage in her native Berlin, studied with Max Reinhardt, without making an impression. Then Joseph von Sternberg, photographing her properly, made her a star as the wanton Lola Lola in The Blue Angel (1930). Six films for Paramount followed, all visual masterpieces in which she’s incandescent. The best are Morocco (1930) and Shanghai Express (1932), but Harvey focuses on Blonde Venus (1932). When the public grew bored with the von Sternberg pictures, Dietrich worked with other directors, rigorously applying everything he had taught her. For the most part, Harvey doesn’t think much of her in those movies, except for Frank Borzage’s Desire (1937) and Orson Welles’ Touch of Evil (1958). He grudgingly acknowledges her remarkable comeback in George Marshall’s Destry Rides Again (1939), but fails to appreciate her brilliant

performances in Alfred Hitchcock’s Stage Fright (1950) and Billy Wilder’s Witness for the Prosecution (1957).

He’s very good assessing the importance of John Ford in John Wayne’s (1907-79) career. Like Dietrich, Wayne had been in movies nearly a decade before becoming a star in Ford’s Stagecoach (1939).

Wayne was also effective for Howard Hawks in Red River (1948). Yet his often brutal, macho screen persona, his flag-waving boosterism, his failure to serve in the military during WWII while portraying heroes in pictures like The Sands of Iwo Jima (1949), his misogyny in The Quiet Man (1952), and his obsessive, cruel racist in The Searchers (1956) limit his appeal to his original audiences.

Harvey has two sections on Ingrid Bergman (1915-82): one covering her years under contract to producer David O. Selznick, the other on her movies for second husband Roberto Rossellini. Selznick was heavily involved in her star-making Intermezzo (1939), ordering that she be photographed to look more beautiful as the movie progressed. But he had little to do with Michael Curtiz’s Casablanca (1942), her first Oscar-winning performance in Cukor’s Gaslight (1944), or her sexy characterization in Hitchcock’s Notorious (1946).

That she dazzled for such different directors confirms her stardom, but they all helped her triumph. Her affair with Rossellini shattered her wholesome image. and for six years Hollywood banned her. Harvey seems puzzled by her in Rossellini’s Stromboli (1950), Europa 51 (1951) and Journey to Italy (1954), all commercial failures. The films are mesmerizing, but require great suspension of disbelief from audiences.

Undoubtedly, they challenged her,

<<

ErOddity(s)

From page 19

by blending motifs of murder and revenge into the story mix.

“The Way to a Man’s Heart” completes the show with slasher/food

kink combined with a low-rent Halloween graveyard setting.

ErOddity(s) is ultimately a slick, sexy, surprisingly original format for stretching the dramatic sea legs of a cute gaggle of barely legal porn stars-in-the-making. This is

definitely a case where the whole exceeds the sum of its parts.

Features: chapter headings, trailers, color, stereo sound.t TLAReleasing.com

t

Music>>

August 7-13, 2014 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 23

Steven Underhill

PHOTOGRAPHY

Jason Hensley

Artist’s rendering of the new console that’s being built to replace the Castro’s Wurlitzer.

<<

415 370 7152

WEDDINGS, HEADSHOTS, PORTRAITS

stevenunderhill.com · stevenunderhillphotos@gmail.com Castro organ

From page 13

Organs do wear out and are costly to repair. There are so many moving parts, visible and invisible. The console – where the organist sits and manipulates keys and stops and pedals – is the tip of the iceberg. Hidden behind louvers, masked by fancy plasterwork and painting, are hundreds of pipes and thousands of leather parts, the instrument itself, generator of sound. The current Wurlitzer, patched together by Richard Taylor from various organs and installed in the early 1980s, needs to be refurbished or replaced. That’s the crux.

Enter Allen Harrah, a renowned organ builder from Hurricane, West Virginia, and a friend to Hegarty for 20 years. Hurrah, Harrah! In the Castro Wurlitzer’s woes Harrah sees a once-in-a-lifetime chance to create a magnum opus, and is therefore offering to erect his organ masterpiece pro bono. Also blowing in to San Francisco from Hurricane is the anonymous donation of a fine set of pipes, vintage 1920s, the heyday of these instruments designed to accompany silent film.

All this I know because the Great Hegarty ushered me into the manager’s office upstairs behind a curtain on the mezzanine lounge in the Castro, where we settled ourselves on a loveseat under a poster for Pasolini’s Mamma Roma. His youthful looks belie his age, which I won’t

reveal, because it gives a false sense of the man. Hegarty, like the 1920s standards he knows backwards and forwards, is ageless. Flecks of gray in strawberry blonde hair, pink skin, blood-red shirt dramatically opennecked, large gold watch, invisibilizing black slacks, socks, loafers, and horn rims, which he waves as his clear blue eyes twinkle.

Hegarty has played the organs of the Castro Theatre since 1978, when he inherited the tradition of ending every set with the hand-clapping “San Francisco.” In 1983, he was promoted from assistant to the guy responsible for sounds issuing from pipes seven days a week, of which he personally covers five. He now has three assistants: Warren Lubich, Harry Garland, and Mark Putterbaugh.

On off-nights Hegarty hits the Stanford Theater in Palo Alto. The first full weekend of every month, he plays popular favorites on the Palace of the Legion of Honor’s 63-rank classical symphonic organ, at 4 p.m.

He’s also a church organist, private teacher, and composer.

This human whirlwind recently created SF Coda (Castro Organ Devotees Association), a non-profit that will purchase, own, and maintain Harrah’s chef d’oeuvre. This Great Castro Organ will comprise 30 ranks, or groups of pipes, against the current 21. Half will be theatrical and half, classical. These terms proper to the organ trade can only befuddle the uninitiated. Suffice to say, size mat-

ters, as does variety. But the scheme’s bombshell is the 400 ranks of digitally sampled pipes, enlarging the theatrical end of the spectrum to match or surpass San Francisco’s late, great Fox Theater’s. It was a sad, sad day when that civic treasure relocated to Los Angeles’ El Capitan cinema. Municipal ego is at stake.

“There’s some resistance to the new technology,” Hegarty says in his breathy, skittering conversational style, nervously checking the time in the lead-up to his 6:45 p.m. shift.

“Pipe organ purists cannot abide the idea that sound’s coming out of anything not a pipe.”

I admit to being amongst these purists. I also admit the San Francisco Silent Film Festival now shows digital transfers. This is where we are now. The maniacs who once lectured me on the sanctity of celluloid now deride my feeble attempts to hold them to their own erstwhile standards.

Hegarty acknowledges the badness of early attempts to digitally reproduce musical tone. All that’s changed, he promises. And there’s another benefit. “A pipe organ constantly goes off-tune. Digital stays the way you tune it. You can even tune it to be a bit off.”t C

For more information, go to sfM coda.org. To donate to the project, Y go to indiegogo.com/projects/ the-castro-symphonic-theatreCM organ/x/7355900.

MY

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CMY

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Sean Havey

David Hegarty at the Castro Theatre Wurlitzer: “There’s some resistance to the new technology.”

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PERSONALS Vol. 44 • No. 32 • August 7-13, 2014

Aunt Charlie’s Lounge The Tenderloin Treasure’s still Ticking

by Michael Flanagan

A

Sheena Rose works the crowd at the annual Christmas in July benefit at Aunt Charlie’s Lounge.

Hard Ton’s Max in sultry glam

Georg Lester

unt Charlie’s has always been kind of an iconic bar for me. I’ve been coming here since the late 1990s, and it has always functioned as something of a litmus test: if I bring my out-of-town guests here and they have a good time, then I know they’re my kind of people.

One night early last decade, I took a friend from Minnesota to Aunt Charlie’s. After a fun show, we were leaving, and this being the Tenderloin a guy approached us with steaks that look like they had “fallen off a truck.” He asked us if we wanted to buy some.

From then on, it was our joke that we knew where the name of the Tenderloin came from.

This has been something of a banner year for the bar. On June 26, the block the bar sits on was renamed “Vicki Mar Lane” in honor of the longtime performer Vicki Marlane, who ended her 50-year performance career at Aunt Charlie’s. See page 26 >>

the big

house ’

Hard Ton s Beats and Beauty Are too

much for America ...for now)

by Ray Aguilera Remember when dance music was underground?

Formerly the province of the weirdos and outcasts, the sounds of disco and house have morphed into pop music tropes that propel Billboard chart-toppers and car commercials alike. Thankfully, there are plenty of artists taking the genre seriously, and taking it back to those underground roots.

Sounding and looking like the bastard love child of Divine and Sylvester (with a high-style dollop of Leigh Bowery realness thrown in for good, glittery measure), Italy’s Hard Ton was scheduled to stomp through town this week to celebrate the impending release of their latest EP We Got Luv. See page 29 >>

{ THIRD OF THREE SECTIONS }

Follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/lgbtsf.nightlife

Serving the LGBT communities since 1971

26 • BAY AREA REPORTER • August 7-13, 2014

Georg Lester

Ruby Slippers and her smiling fans.

<<

bars in the neighborhood before Aunt Charlie’s: The Frolic Room at 171 Mason (which closed in the 1970s), The Peter Pan on 45 Turk Street (closed in 1994) and the 181 Club on 181 Eddy (closed in 1999).

I asked Collette LeGrande what her favorite memory of Vicki was and she replied, “When she was at the 181, she used to swing out into the audience on a swing. The crowd loved it!”

Regarding the neighborhood, Collette said, “The Tenderloin was hopping in those days.”

Aunt Charlie’s has its own history as well, of course. There has been a gay bar on the spot for 35 years now; the Queen Mary’s Pub opened at 133 Turk in 1979.

thing’s Come Up Roses” and Bobby Ashton followed that with a version of “Feelin’ Good.”

Bobby performs in a style which Joe calls “gender drag” but I prefer to think of as a male drag king – that is he is a man performing a stylized performance as a man.

The emcee for the evening, Ruby Slippers, found some lively members of the audience which she designated as her future ex-husbands and entertained them (and us) throughout the show. The audience was from places as far flung as Rhode Island, Texas and Canada – and seemed to be having a wonderful time.

As the evening progressed, Sophilya Leggz performed St. Vincent’s

t

Georg Lester

Aunt Charlie’s Lounge manager Joe Mattheisen.

Aunt Charlie’s

From page 25

Earlier this year, the GLBT Historical Museum hosted the exhibition Vicki Marlane: I’m Your Lady, which celebrated Vicki’s life and performance career. Both the street naming and the exhibit were due in large part to the work of Felicia Elizondo, who performed with Vicki at Aunt Charlie’s as Felicia Flames.

Aunt Charlie’s hosted parties both in celebration of the street naming and the exhibition, and Felicia’s work is readily noticeable as you walk in the bar, with the Transgender flag flying proudly at the door.

It’s no surprise that Aunt Charlie’s would be involved in these sort of community events and would be interested in preserving history, because the bar has been active in community work, and was part of a larger gay community in the Tenderloin which has become much smaller in the last decade.

The roots of this community go very far back, at least to 1935 when the Old Crow (at 962 Market Street) opened two blocks from where Aunt Charlie’s is today. Author Dr. Jack Fritscher pointed out to me that the Old Crow was a “hustler dive” where David R. Hurles (aka Old Reliable) picked up hustlers for his photogra-

Collette LeGrande hits a high (lip-synch) note.

phy (you can read more about this at his site www.jackfritscher.com).

The Old Crow was just the beginning of a string of gay and trans haunts in the neighborhood, including the Club Turk Baths and Bulldog Baths at 130 Turk Street, the Blue and Gold, a piano bar which was next door to Aunt Charlie’s at 136 Turk Street, the Sound of Music at 162 Turk (which started as a drag bar and became a punk club) and Gene Compton’s Cafeteria (where the transgender riots occurred in 1966) at the corner of Turk and Taylor.

Vicki Marlane performed at three

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Georg Lester

Neon over the bar.

Prior to that it had been Mitch’s Cocktail Lounge since the 1940s and was purportedly straight (or as straight as any bar could be when it was across the street from the baths).

Absolute Empress XXV Marlena worked at Queen Mary’s Pub before opening Marlena’s and said of the time, “it was an era when gay bars were gay bars and there was a freedom to explore making friends and buddies.”

In 1987, Robert Hall, who owned the Gangway as well as Queen Mary’s Pub, sold the bar to the current owner Bill Erklens. Erklens named the bar Aunt Charlie’s after Charles ‘Chuck’ Hemphling, who had worked for Erklens several years at the time.

Hempling had worked at the Railway Express on Taylor and the PS on Polk Street, as well as Queen Mary’s Pub. He managed Aunt Charlie’s before the current manager Joe Mattheisen.

Regarding Chuck, Collette LeGrande said, “My fondest memory of Chuck was that he loved his girls.

If he liked you, you became one of his girls and he protected you.”

When I asked Joe how the shows came about, he explained that the owner likes to cross-dress occasionally. After his kids left for college in 1998, he decided he wanted to be able to do it in the bar – but didn’t want to be the only guy in a dress.

Thus were born the shows which would eventually become the Hot Boxxx Girls and the Dream Queens Revue. The initial lineup included Grizzella Presley, Daffney Deluxe, Vicki Marlane and Gypsy Calabres.

There have been a number of hosts for the shows over the years including Kristy Cruise, Gina La Divina, Tiger Lily, Aurora Styles and Victoria Secret.

All of the history and the descriptions, however, cannot prepare you in any way for the wonder that is Aunt Charlie’s. I went to three events in the week I was preparing this article: The Dream Queens Revue, Tubesteak Connection and the Christmas In July benefit.

The Dream Queens Revue (which happens every second and fourth Wednesday) was all decked out for Christmas with tinsel, trees and blinking lights in preparation for that weekend’s benefit as Collette opened the show with “Every-

Georg Lester

Sophilya Leggz.

“Bring Me Your Loves” and the Vandals “My First Xmas As A Woman” and Bobby gave us OneRepublic’s “Love Runs Out” and Kelly Clarkson’s “Catch My Breath.”

By the time Collette performed “Maybe This Time” by Norma Lewis, she was dropping soto voce lines like “I’m burning up” as she performed and Ruby Slippers admitted “I’ve lost control – as usual.”

I think she may protest too much.

As usual Aunt Charlie’s stood up to its usual standard of hilarity and performance.

I visited Tubesteak Connection because Joe had mentioned how lively the bar got on Thursday evenings. Where once had been tinsel and trees were now porn stars and vinyl. DJ Bus Station John brings his own décor with him when he performs, and there were posters from the films of Scorpio and photo spreads from Blueboy and Inches adorning the walls and vinyl like Georgio Moroder’s “From Here to Eternity” hanging from the bar.

Some of the music I hadn’t heard in quite some time, like Suzy Q’s “Get On Up and Do It Again” and Metropole’s “Miss Manhattan.”

Others I was just glad to hear in a club again, like Grace Jones’ “La Vie En Rose” and “Private Life.”

The crowd, which clearly wasn’t born when most of this music was made, danced up a storm and kept our bartender Mini Minerva quite busy. About the only things that seemed out of place for the 1970s was that there was no sense that anyone was policing fashion in the bar and that there were no icy bar glares

Bobby Ashton in glorious black and white.

– only smiles! And was that Kip Noll on the video?

The Christmas in July benefit was, however, the busiest of all three events I visited. It may have been due in part to the Dore Alley fair, but the bar was packed. Food was provided

by Joe and it was quite a spread – meatballs, chicken and ham with potato salad and rolls. This reminded me of some of the other spreads I’ve seen in bars like The Cinch and I mentioned that to Joe. He reminisced, “All of the bars used to do food. You could go out and eat every night.”

Collette clearly loves to do these benefits. “It’s one of the best things about working here – Night Ministry, Magnet, Christmas in July for Mama Reinhardt are some of my favorite events,” she said.

The show was fun as well, hosted

by Alexis Miranda with Collette doing Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” Prince Aja of the Ducal Court doing “Back Door Santa,” Sophilya Leggz performing “Frosty the Pervert” and Bobby Ashton (in his semi-annual drag performance as Lucy the Slut) doing “I Want A Boob Job for Christmas.” It no wonder gentlemen in the audience were getting hot enough to do what they referred to as the ‘Dore Alley Flash.’ It was a great success, raising $2000 for the Sunburst Camps.

Aunt Charlie’s has been around for 27 years and it obviously fills a niche. Aside from the performances I mentioned, the Hot Boxxx Girls are every Friday and Saturday night and are always crowded. If you’re going, a reservation is a good idea.

One of the interesting things about the neighborhood is that it feels safer these days. Joe puts this off to an added police presence after a shooting that occurred around the corner in March, and I did notice patrol cars on two of the nights I was there.

It’s nice to feel more comfortable, but I hope the neighborhood doesn’t change too much. Let’s hope that with OMG opening in the neighborhood on Sixth Street that we will see a resurgence of the gay and trans communities in the Tenderloin, with Aunt Charlie’s leading the way.t Aunt Charlie’s Lounge; 133 Turk Street at Taylor. 441-2922. www.auntcharlieslounge.com www.dreamqueensrevue.com

t

Read more online at www.ebar.com

August 7-13, 2014 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 27

Summer Sounds Northern California’s best outdoor music festivals

by Brent Calderwood

S

ummer in San Francisco is only just getting started. Meteorologists, travel agents, and longtime residents all seem to agree that September and October are the warmest months in The City, with fog at its lightest and the sun at its most, well, visible. So even though a few outdoor music festivals start in late June and early July (we mean you, Stern Grove and Fillmore Jazz festivals), the summer music festival season hits its full stride beginning in August.

As the city’s longstanding tradition of free outdoor festivals and LGBT-themed local events makes room for big-ticket indie rock and hip-hop extravaganzas, it’s worth noting that categories aren’t as black-and-white as they might seem. After all, some big events, like Outside Lands, are refreshingly diverse and queer-friendly; while some events that were once predominantly gay, such as Folsom, now attract huge international crowds of all stripes who go for the international DJs as much as for the leather—well almost as much, anyway.

This summer, we’ve got the skinny on the best fests, to help you decide for yourself which big-ticket events that are worth the price of admission—and which of the free ones aren’t.

Stern Grove Festival Saturdays, August 10, 17, and 24 Only three Saturdays remain for San Francisco’s longest-running outdoor music festival. If you missed Rufus Wainwright last weekend, don’t worry—the festival, now in its 77th (!) season, has more fabulousness ahead. This weekend, that means the legendary Darlene Love, the standout star of last year’s Oscar-winning documentary 20 Feet from Stardom. After being the uncredited lead singer on the 1962 hit “He’s a Rebel” and singing backup on dozens of hits for Elvis, the Righteous Brothers, and others, Love is finally having her day on the sun—

Springs for the LGBTQ community to enjoy and raise funds [for LGBT asylum organizations]. It’s the perfect location for a music festival and the dance parties we will have Friday and Saturday nights.” www. lusciousqueermusicfestival.org 20th Street Block Party Saturday, August 23; 20th Street, between Harrison and Bryant, 12pm-6pm From hipster-fest veterans Noise Pop, the second annual 20th Street Block Party transforms the 20th Street corridor between Harrison and Bryant into a free summer feast and dance party featuring some of the city’s best indie bands and DJs along with offerings from local restaurants, businesses, and artisans.

Main attractions will be Rogue Wave, Cayucas, Melted Toys, Ray

chy, and MNDR—the initialism of synth-pop artist Amanda Waner, who boasts writing credits on Kylie Minogue’s latest album. Local acts include three from Oakland—the Younger Lovers, Double Duchess, and MicahTron—and San Francisco band Zbörnak.

Zbörnak (yes, that’s Bea Arthur’s surname from The Golden Girls, but with a Motörhead umlaut) offers up bona fide rock with a soupcon of camp.

“It makes me super happy when queers are actually into rock ‘n’ roll,” said lead singer-guitarist Greg Der Ananian. “I like loud guitars and a good pop sensibility and song structure. You definitely do not have to be queer to dig Zbörnak, and we certainly don’t want that to be a prerequisite. You just have to like rock.” www.folsomstreetevents.org

TBD Fest in Sacramento; Friday, October 3-Sunday, October 5 Launched in 2007 as a one-day celebration of Sacramento’s creative community, the unassumingly named TBD Fest has grown into a three-day crowd-pleaser, attracting thousands to Riverside Street in the state capital. This year’s festival has plenty of attractions, including Blondie and Moby, and a band we’d like to see just because of its name, Com Truise. www.tbdfest.com

Blondie performs in Sacramento at TBD Fest.

BARtab

Crowd-surfing at Outside Lands.

Greg Der Ananian of Zbörnak will play the Folsom Street Fair.

Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival in Golden Gate Park; Friday, August 8-Sunday, August 10 Entering its seventh year, Outside Lands is an outsized embarrassment of riches, with more famous names and hipster heroes than you can shake a stick at. With way-above-average food and wine vendors, there’s something at Outside Lands for everyone. And with Kanye West as the lead attraction this year, “everyone” will mean huger crowds than ever. Among the scores of other performers will be Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, the Killers, Death Cab for Cutie, the Flaming Lips, and Arctic Monkeys, as well as the acerbically astute comedian Lewis Black and comedy-folk duo/YouTube sensation Garfunkel and Oates.

Two other twosomes we’re especially excited to see are Tegan and Sara—the queer Canadian identical twins known as much for their hilarious onstage banter as for their chunky indie-pop axe riffs and pixyish vocals—and hip-hop duo Macklemore and Lewis, whose song and viral video “Same Love” ponder homophobia, religion, and marriage (“And a certificate on paper isn’t gonna solve it all / But it’s a damn good place to start”). It’s a good bet that Tegan and Sara will join Macklemore and Lewis onstage for that number, as they did last year at the Osheaga Festival in Montreal. www.sfoutsidelands.com

harmonies and punk rock trumpet that bills itself as “part shoegazingfreakout and part introspectivedance-party.”

About Fabulosa, the band’s lead singer, Lauren Wooley said, “We love playing outdoors! It brings an energy that can’t be found or replicated in clubs or bars. Most of that energy comes from the interactions we have with our audience.”

Shelley Doty, who fronts the Shelley Doty X-tet, said, “At Fabulosa I will be playing solo electric, but I’ll get some special guests up there with me.”

Doty, a virtuosic singer-guitarist who plays “rock with a jazz attitude” and who’ll also be performing in August at Luscious along with Skip the Needle, added, “I’ve participated in Fabulosa since the beginning, and I’ve always had a blast. I completely support the fest, and I love watching it continue to grow and thrive.” www.fabulosa.org

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass in Golden Gate Park; Friday, October 3-Sunday, October 5 This ginormous behemoth of a free festival attracts nearly a million visitors to Golden Gate Park each fall and hardly needs a plug from us, but we’ve got the inside scoop on some of the reliably amazing acts who will be gracing its six stages. Although the lineup hasn’t been officially announced, the website annually “leaks” a guess-who audio teaser mix—from which we’ve detected the following performers: Shawn Colvin, Emmylou Harris, Ryan Adams, Yo La Tengo, Cibo Matto, and alt hip-hop Afrofuturist supergroup Deltron 3030.

including this weekend, we hope, fog permitting. Notwithstanding indie pleasers in the coming weeks such as freak-folk outfit Vetiver, August in the Grove will be dominated by two more giants, Sergio Mendez on Augusut 17 and the Zombies on the 24th. It’s the time of the season, indeed. http://www.sterngrove.org Luscious Queer Music Festival at Saratoga Springs; Friday, August 22-Sunday, August 24 The first-ever LGBT-focused music festival in Northern California, Luscious looks to be at once both the most specifically queer of all the summer festivals and the most diverse. The eclectic three-day lineup includes pop, rock, funk, jazz, soul, folk, electronica, hip-hop, and house—as well as a little stand-up comedy courtesy of Marga Gomez.

Musicians include women’s music legend Cris Williamson, adorably sassy pop diva Mary Lambert, hunky romantic Matt Alber, Jon Ginoli of the groundbreaking queer punk band Pansy Division, and rock/soul/ funk supergroup Skip the Needle, made up of Katie Colpitts, Shelley Doty, Kofy Brown, and Vicki Randle (see our feature from last week).

Luscious is located at Saratoga Springs, a rustic retreat center tucked into a gorgeous forested valley in Lake County, a few hours north of San Francisco. Co-assistant producer DJ Justime says, “The location is at Saratoga Springs because it is an event produced by Saratoga

Shelley Doty (left) and The Galloping Sea will perform at Fabulosa Fest.

Barbee and the Mattson 2 featuring Tommy Guerrero, and the Bilinda Butchers. www.20thstreetblockparty. com/2014 Folsom Street Fair; Sunday, September 21 11am-6pm A San Francisco institution since 1984 and bastion of all things kink, the Folsom Street Fair has also grown into a coveted music showcase for local and international rock, electronic, and DJ acts—most of them LGBTI and all of them queer. Two separate dance areas along the 13-block walk will showcase home-grown and international DJs, including circuit legends Tony Moran and Tracy Young.

This year’s main stage headliners include Toronto-based band Austra, Coachella performers Monar-

Fabulosa, Spinning Wheel, Yosemite; Thursday, September 25-Sunday, September 28 Fabulosa bills itself as “an inclusive, feminist fundraising gathering for women, their families, and friends of all genders.” Started seven years ago by El Rio owner Dawn Huston and musicians Judea Eden and Jenny Hoston, Fabulosa has become an annual community tradition. Held this year at Spinning Wheel, a spectacular 18-acre parcel of land that backs into Yosemite National Park, in addition to camping, a pool, watering holes, waterfalls and hiking trails, Fabulosa boasts a full lineup of bands and DJs including Hearts of Animals, Bad Ass Boots, Average Dyke Band, DJ Chelsea Star, and The Galloping Sea, a four-woman rock quartet featuring

If our ears (and our iPhone’s Shazam app) are to be trusted, this year’s bluegrass festival will be the most hardly strictly yet. www.hardlystrictlybluegrass.com Treasure Island Music Festival Saturday, October 18-Sunday, October 19 Headliners this year include Outkast, Massive Attack, Zedd, Alt-J, TV on the Radio, Janelle Monae, and The New Pornographers. Since 2007, the festival has consisted of two conveniently organized days— first day of the festival consists of hip-hop and rap performers, while the second day consists of indie rock performers. (Perhaps we should have said too conveniently.) www. treasureislandfestival.com/2014/t

Serving the LGBT communities since 1971

28 • BAY AREA REPORTER • August 7-13, 2014

Leather and Kink: Alive and Well

by Race Bannon

A

nother busy Up Your Alley week has come and gone.

What a good time. Congratulations to Folsom Street Events and all of the volunteers for creating yet another great street fair and dance. For all of the people, venues, clubs and organizations who organized events surrounding the weekend, a big hug and thanks as well. We indeed do have an abundance of kinky things to do here in the Bay Area.

As I was attending the various events last week, as well as strolling down the street during Up Your Alley itself, I was struck by something.

and other leather institutions at the time documented, but people have been kinky a lot longer than those institutions were around.

Younger guys are no longer feeling constrained by a narrow set of choices in terms of how they dress, act, socialize, play or identify when expressing their kinky selves. Rather than create exact copies of previous manifestations of what it means to be kinky, they are creating and adapting themselves to be authentic and happy as they pursue their erotic and sexual adventures.

And it’s not just younger guys doing this. I’ve noticed a lot of older guys like myself doing the same thing. No longer burdened by hav-

Now that we have rubbermen, pups, BDSMers, power dynamic players, fisters, sports gear aficionados and a range of erotic fetishists and explorers all under the umbrella of leather or kink, I still hear from some rigid guys exclaiming that those guys really don’t belong in our scene.

Well, all I have to say is, get over it. They are part of our scene and I think our scene is richer for it. I also have no doubt that a few years from now some other kinky subset of players will emerge that will garner the same negative comments because they dare to express their sexuality and erotic identity in ways that are true to who they really are in terms of kink. I will likely be among the first to embrace them.

Change is a universal principle.

It is one of those principles that permeates everything in our lives.

We change professional interests.

Social interests. Circles of friends.

Topics we like to study. Hobbies.

All sorts of things. Over time as we grow as human beings, we evolve, we change. And if we change in all those ways, why should we not also change as kinksters. And if we

Rich Stadtmiller

Pre-hipster beards for these dudes.

Our scene is alive and well. Not just alive and well, but thriving and growing. This observation flies in the face of many of the gloom and doom comments I often hear about the leather and kink scene, particularly the gay men’s scene. I think we need a reality check.

(Please note my comments are primarily about the gay men’s scene since Up Your Alley tends to have a preponderance of gay men in attendance.)

Since I travel often in kink circles, both locally and nationally, I tend to hear a lot of the common comments, the good and the bad, about the leather scene. Unfortunately, I hear far too many negative comments that tend to fall into a few main categories. There is the “Leather just isn’t what it used to be” category. Then there’s the “I wish these younger guys would respect the traditions” category. Finally, there’s the “those guys aren’t really part of our scene” category. Well, here’s what I think.

The leather scene isn’t what it used to be. Yes, true, but nothing remains exactly the same over time.

You can say the same thing about the overall gay men’s community itself. It isn’t what it used to be either, and most of us think that’s a good thing because it’s now generally better. When I gazed upon the Up Your Alley revelers, as well the guys who attended the many other events that week, what I saw was a lot of guys having a great time being their unique, kinky selves. Our scene is now more welcoming of individuality and variation than it was years ago, and frankly I think that’s a healthy development. So no, the scene isn’t what it used to be. Good.

It’s now even better.

As for younger guys not respecting traditions, I always wonder what traditions they’re referencing.

Typically they’re the past norms that have been cherry-picked by the person doing the complaining. How we dress, act, socialize, play and identify has never actually been a static thing. Perhaps it seemed that way for that relatively briefly snippet of history that Drummer magazine

Steven Underhill

Twink kink

t

Rich Stadtmiller

Sunday, furry Sunday

change as kinksters, should not the scene we manifest around us change also? If we’re not changing, we’re stagnating.

Barring any acts that are lacking in respect for others or the safety of others, if anyone ever says for you to do or be something that does not sync with your own way of being a leatherman or kinkster, especially if they preface it by saying, “Well, that’s tradition” or “That’s just how it’s done,” don’t accept it at face value. Challenge that notion. Be your own person. Embrace the growth and change in yourself and the scene that you and countless others like you manifest around you. The scene is just as much yours as anyone else’s, no matter what someone might say.

I encourage you to embrace, not resist, change.

Finally, for those who might be experiencing event drop after the Up Your Alley whirlwind week, check out the calendar that accompanies this column for some fun things to do. The Rubber Men of San Francisco are looking for your input for their RubbDown event.

The Powerhouse and SF Eagle bars continue to host wonderful events for us kinksters. The San Francisco Leathermen’s Discussion Group has an entire weekend of things planned.

There are a couple of fun events at Renegades Bar in San Jose. The acclaimed CineKink film festival comes to the Bay Area in Oakland.

Have fun!t Race Bannon is a local author, blogger and activist. You can reach him through the contact page on his www.bannon.com site.

Leather Events August 7 – 20, 2014 Thu 7 RubbDown 2015 Volunteer Committee Meet @ Bulldog Tattoo Rubber is for everyone and that’s why we are inviting anyone, male or female, who loves it to be part of the RubbDown event, 2275 Market St., 7:30pm. www.rmsf.org Rich Stadtmiller

Leather aprons, the hottest trend in kinkwear.

ing to tow the party line regarding what it means to be a leatherman, they are now exploring in ways more readily allowed by the wider diversity that populates the modern scene today.

When I hear comments about how some guys aren’t really part of our scene because they don’t fit some artificial construct of what it means to be a leatherman, I tend to laugh. I remember a time when the hardcore BDSM guys were shunned by many in the biker and leather bar crowd. I remember when fisters were a marginalized subset of the leather scene. I remember when many American leathermen would look upon a rubberman in a bar with scorn as if he was somehow violating a sacred code of dress to which every “real” kinky gay man should have adhered.

Fri 8 SF LDG Meet & Greet @ Powerhouse Kickoff for the SF Leathermen’s Discussion Group Fetish Fair 2014 weekend, hosted by the Bay Area boys of Leather, 1347 Folsom St., 9pm. www.sfldg.org/fetishfair2014

Lick It @ Powerhouse Ready to get dirty and have a taste of some nasty fun? Benefiting Breast Cancer Emergency Fund, $5, 1347 Folsom St., 10pm.

Sat 9 SF LDG Whips in the Park @ Powerhouse For men who want to throw whips together, part of the SF Leathermen’s Discussion Group Fetish Fair 2014 weekend, hosted by SFLDG and Daddy Robert, Duboce Park (listen for the sound of whips cracking), 11am. www.sfldg.org/fetishfair2014

SF LDG Fetish Fair @ SF Citadel Annual BDSM demonstration and kinky fun fair, part of the SF Leathermen’s Discussion Group Fetish Fair 2014 weekend, 181 Eddy St., 7pm. www.sfldg.org/fetishfair2014

SF LDG Men’s Play Party @ SF Citadel Men’s Play Party with The Men of GearUp Weekend, part of the SF Leathermen’s Discussion Group Fetish Fair 2014 weekend, 181 Eddy St., 9:15pm. www.sfldg.org/ fetishfair2014

Sun 10 Food Truck Lunch @ SOMA StrEATFood Park Casual, no-host lunch at the food trucks, part of the SF Leathermen’s Discussion Group Fetish Fair 2014 weekend, 428 11th St., 12pm. www.sfldg.org/fetishfair2014

SCCLA and Master Scott Cigar Social @ Renegades Bar For the kinky cigar aficionado including a Cigar 101 presentation, 501 W. Taylor St., San Jose, 2pm.

Thu 14 – Fri 15 CineKink: Oakland @ The New Parkway Theatre Films that celebrate and explore a wide diversity of sexuality, 474 24th St., Oakland, Friday, 9:15pm, Saturday 9:30pm. www.cinekink.com

Sun 17 9th Annual LeatherWalk Fundraiser beer bust @ SF Eagle Benefiting the annual LeatherWalk, 398 12th St., 3pm. www.leatherwalk.org

Tue 19 Screening of Original Pride: The Satyrs Motorcycle Run @ Renegades Bar Screening of this heralded documentary, 501 W. Taylor St., San Jose, 7:30pm.

Wed 20 Red Hanky Nite by Hell Hole @ Powerhouse Social night for gay men who fist, 1347 Folsom St., 9:30pm. www.hellholesf.com

t <<

Read more online at www.ebar.com

August 7-13, 2014 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 29

Hard Ton

From page 25

Unfortunately Hard Ton’s appearance is on hold for now, after the duo were detained trying to enter the US to start their tour. After an eight-hour ordeal in Seattle, producer DJ Wawashi and singer Max were sent packing, along with their big disco house beats and outsized outer-space glamor. Too much glitter for us to handle, perhaps?

But as they say, the party doesn’t stop. David Sternesky of San Francisco label Friends With Benefits (FWB) assured us that the show will go on.

Sternesky and his partner Mat hew Dos Santos are the local wunderkinds behind The Music of His Dance, the two-volume dance version of James Broughton poems, as well as collaborations with Jinkx Monsoon, Trevor Sigler and other artists.

Sigler and FWB will spin, along with guest DJs Carlos Souffront, Gay Marvine, and Robin Simmons.

So, Hard Ton might not be here (yet), but FWB is promising a discohouse-vinyl blast, and fierce interpretations of Hard Ton’s music. Details were still getting ironed out at press time, but if Hard Ton’s videos are any indication, this is a party not to be missed.

In anticipation, we asked Hard Ton about their music, their inspiration, and what we can expect at a Hard Ton show once they do land on our shores.

Hard Ton’s Max (left) and Wawashi.

Hard Ton reminds me of great vintage house jams. How would you describe your sound?

Max: It’s a kind of hyper-caloric Chic-à-go-go disco. Because there’s a bit of Chicago house, a little bit of disco soulness, and a hint of glamour.

I’d say a pretty big hint. Especially here in San Francisco, it’s hard not to think of Sylvester when listening to Hard Ton. If you were to cover a Sylvester song, what would it be?

Max: Sylvester is a huge influence, and a unique voice, but my falsetto is also inspired by some heavy metal singers.

DJ Carlos Souffront

Hard Ton performing in Rome in 2013.

of bondage, or the Cupcake costume—some people actually see as a big vagina, which is nice.

Max, do you still play with metal bands?

Max: Yes, I’m still part of two heavy metal bands. I released fulllength albums last year with both of them. I can understand that it can sound weird, but to me it feels absolutely natural, because heavy metal has been one of my favorite genres since I was a teen, beside pop and disco music.

Wawashi: And then, think about bands like KISS. They are as camp as a fat disco queen wearing sequin dresses, aren’t they?

As dance music has splintered into different genres and subgenres, does that make it easier or harder to find a place as musicians and producers?

Max: Well, we just try to stick to our concept. That consists of music, image, live show. If you start following trends, it’s over for your personality. And that is true for life in general—and for music.

Wawashi: If we covered a Sylvester’s track, it would be “Do You Wanna Funk?” It’s a classic masterpiece written by one of the biggest dance music geniuses that the world ever had, Mr. Patrick Cowley.

Cowley was another hometown hero. Can you describe a bit about Hard Ton’s creative process?

Wawashi: There are no strict rules, but usually it’s me messing around with my vintage machines and sending Max some sketches. And then he turns most of them down.

I’d probably go to the gym more often if it looked like the “Work That Body” video. Where do you get the visual inspirations?

Max: Well, we always think through images when we refer to our tracks. It feels natural, because in a way each track has got a concept for us. The same applies to our costumes. All of them have a name and a concept, like the Salomé costume, which is our interpretation

Wawashi: Once in Belgium, a guy kissed Max deeeeeply in front of his girlfriend, while he was singing.

She [had to] clean the lipstick off her boyfriend’s face. It may be not strange, but I think it was really cute.

So sorry to hear that you guys got turned back in Seattle, but in a way it makes your return even more exciting. Plus we’re going to need more time to put looks together anyway. What can we expect to see and hear at a Hard Ton gig?

Max: Well I can tell you what I expect… to be touched by thousands of sweating bodies.

Max, you don’t fit the mold of the traditional disco diva— thankfully! How does that affect Hard Ton’s style?

Max: Think of Martha Wash, and you’ll see that I’m not the only fat ass out there. But sure, I’m definitely not fitting to the mainstream obsession for a perfect body and perfect life and being always successful. How does this make us feel? Happy. t Hard Ton release party featuring DJs Carlos Souffront, Gay Marvine, Trevor Sigler, Robin Simmons and Two Dudes in Love. Saturday, August 9. 10pm-4am at F8, 1192 Folsom Street. www.feightsf. com Tickets $12 ($25 includes presale of limited vinyl edition of “We Got Luv”): www.hardtonsf.eventbrite.com www.fwbrecords.com www.djrobinsimmons.com www.soundcloud.com/tsigler3441

Two Dudes in Love, aka DJs Mathew Dos Santos (left) and David Sternesky

As working artists, do you have much time to get out to other parties? What are some of your favorites?

Wawashi: Not as much as we wish.

Let’s say Vogue Fabrics in London, Berghain and Cocktail D’Amore in Berlin, Social Club in Paris.

What’s the strangest thing that’s happened at a Hard Ton show?

Shot in the City

DJs Trevor Sigler (left) and Robin Simmons

<< On the Tab

30 â&#x20AC;˘ BAY AREA REPORTER â&#x20AC;˘ August 7-13, 2014

Tubesteak Connection @ Aunt Charlie's Lounge

eON THE7-1T4AB f August

The intimate groovy retro disco night with tunes spun by DJ Bus Station John. $4. 10pm-2am. 133 Turk St. at Taylor. www.auntcharlieslounge.com

Beer only $8 until you bust. 4pm8pm. 1369 Folsom St. 431-4695. www.hitws.com

Thursday Night Live @ SF Eagle

The classic leather bar's most popular Sunday daytime event now also takes place on Saturdays! 3pm-6pm. 398 12th St. at Harrison. www.sf-eagle.com

The weekly live rock shows feature local and touring bands. 9pm-ish. 398 12th St. at Harrison. www.sf-eagle.com

VIP @ Club 21, Oakland Hip Hop, Top 40, and sexy Latin music; gogo dancers, appetizers, and special guest DJs. No cover before 11pm and just $5 after all night.

Dancing 9pm-3am. Happy hour 4pm8:30pm 2111 Franklin St. (510) 2689425. www.club21oakland.com

Sat 9

DJ Aron @ Evolution

A

ugustian days and nights can either fog you over or blast some sun, but the bright lights of nightlife continue, with hunky and furry DJs, classy drag shows, and relaxed bar afternoon beer busts.

Thu 7

Mary Go Round @ Lookout

Beats Reality @ Trax Resident DJs Jim Hopkins and Justime welcome guest DJs and play groovy tunes. Weekly, 9pm-2am. 1437 Haight St. 864-4213.

Bulge @ Powerhouse Grace Towers hosts the gogo-tastic night of sexy dudes shakin' their bulges and getting wet in their undies for $100 prize (contest at midnight), and dance beats spun by DJ DAMnation. 10pm-2am. 1347 Folsom St. www.powerhousebar.com

The Crib @ 715 Dance night for the younger guys and gals. 9:30pm-2am. 715 Harrison St. www.thecribsf.com

Dirty Talk @ Truck Nick Capra and Damien Stone talk about sex and porn (the day before their Nob Hill Theatre gigs; see Friday) with hosts Mr. Pam and Michael Brandon. 9:30pm. 1900 Folsom St. 252-0306. www.trucksf.com

Diva! @ Longboard Margarita Bar, Pacifica The monthly (first Thursdays) night turns the laidback surfer bar upsidequeer-down with a multi-perofrmer drag show; Ana Mae Coxxx hosts. No cover. 9pm-1am. 180 Eureka Square, Pacifica. (650) 738-5905. www.thelongboardbar.com

La Femme @ Beaux

Magic Parlor @ Chancellor Hotel Whimsical Belle Epoque-style sketch and magic show that also includes historical San Francisco stories; hosted

by Walt Anthony; optional pre-show light dinner and desserts. $40. ThuSat 8pm. 433 Powell St. www.SFMagicParlor.com

Fuego @ The Watergarden, San Jose

Heklina hosts a new weekly '90s-themed video, dancing', drinkin' night, with VJs Jorge Terez and Becky Knox. Get down with your funky bunch, and enjoy 90-cent drinks!

'90s-themed attire and costume conest. 2344 Market St. www.beauxsf.com

Get groovin' at the weekly hip hop and R&B night. $8-$15. 9pm to 4am.

510 17th St. www.bench-and-bar.com

Monthly dance/social event (Second Saturdays) by and for HIV+ guys and allies. This month is a fundraiser benefiting AIDS Emergency Fund, Positive Resource Center and the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. Come dance under the dome to beats by DJ Hawthorne. $5 suggested donation.

Donations are not required to attend.

5pm-9pm. 43 Sixth St. www.facebook.com/RESILIENTSF

Stallion Saturdays @ Beaux The gogo-tastic night returns, with hunky dancers offering lap dances upstairs in the lounge, hosted by Sister Roma. $4. Free before 10pm.

9pm-2am. 2344 Market St. www.beauxsf.com

Bad Girl Cocktail Hour @ The Lexington Club Every Friday night, bad girls can get $1 dollar margaritas between 9pm and 10pm. 3464 19th St. between Mission and Valencia. 863-2052. www.lexingtonclub.com

Funkatory @ Club OMG DJs Tweaka Turner and Shawn Perry spin groovy funky sounds, local drag performers offer soulful numbers, and Raquela hosts the Funky Chicken gogo contest ($50 cash prize). 9pm-2am.

43 6th St. www.clubomgsf.com

Happy Friday @ Midnight Sun The popular video bar ends each week with gogo guys (starting at 9pm) and drink specials. Check out the new expanded front lounge, with a window view. 4067 18th St. 8614186. www.midnightsunsf.com

As the summer heats up, EDGE gets hotter! Check out all the LGBT News, Entertainment and Hot photos today!

Sat 9

Nap's Karaoke @ Virgil's Sea Room

Enjoy non-electro non-disco tunes from Don Baird at the wonderfully divey SoMa bar. 12pm-2am. 1369 Folsom St. 431-4695. www.hitws.com

Thu 7

Latin Explosion @ Club 21, Oakland Hip Hop, Top 40, and Latin music; gogo dancers and special guest DJs. No cover before 11pm and just $6 afterward.

Dancing 9pm-3am. Happy hour 4pm8:30pm 2111 Franklin St. (510) 2689425. www.club21oakland.com

Manimal @ Beaux Gogo-tastic night starts off your weekend. 9pm-2am. 2344 Market St. www.beauxsf.com

Nick Capra, Damian Stone @ Nob Hill Theatre See (and touch!) hot stripping and sex shows from the two muscle porn studs. $25. 8pm & 10pm. Also Sat., Aug. 9. 729 Bush St. at Powell. 3976758. www.thenobhilltheatre.com

Some Thing @ The Stud Mica Sigourney and pals' weekly offbeat drag performance night. 10pm2am. 399 9th St. www.studsf.com

The cool Memphis-styled pop-country singer performs music from her new CD Scaredy Cat. Andrea Stray also performs. 7pm. 50 Mason St. www.graceaskew.com www.50masonsocialhouse.com

Sat 9 Beach Blanket Babylon @ Club Fugazi

Gym Class @ Hi Tops Enjoy cheap/free whiskey shots from jock-strapped hotties and sexy sports videos at the popular sports bar. 10pm-2am.

2247 Market St. 551-2500. www.HiTopsSF.com

Club Rimshot @ Bench and Bar, Oakland

La Bota Loca @ Club 21

Rock Fag @ Hole in the Wall

New LGBT comedy night hosted by Dan Mires. $10. 8pm. 2111 Franklin St. Oakland. (510) 268-9425. www.club21oakland.com

DJed tunes, gogo hotties, drag shows, drink specials, all at Oakland's premiere Latin nightclub. $10-$15. Dancing 9pm4am. 2111 Franklin St. (510) 268-9425. www.club21oakland.com

My So-Called Night @ Beaux

Amazingly hot Papi gogo guys, cheap drinks and fun DJed dance music. Free before 10pm. $5 til 2am. 2369 Market St. www.clubpapi.com www.cafesf.com

Funny Fun @ Club 21, Oakland

La Bota Loca @ Club 21, Oakland

Cookie Dough's weekly drag show with gogo guys and hilarious fun. $5.

9pm-2am. 4149 18th St. at Collingwood. www.edgesf.com

Pan Dulce @ The Cafe

Weekly event, with Latin music, halfoff locker fees and Latin men, at the South Bay private men's bath house. $8-$39. Reg hours 24/7. 18+. 1010 The Alameda. (408) 275-1215. www.thewatergarden.com

Fri 8

Beer Bust @ SF Eagle

Resilient @ OMG

The Monster Show @ The Edge

Sing out loud at the weekly least judgmental karaoke in town, hosted by the former owner of the bar. No cover. 9pm. 3152 Mission St. 8292233. www.virgilssf.com

Ladies' happy hour at the Castro nightclub, with drink specials, no cover, and women gogos. 4pm-9pm.

2344 Market St. www.beauxsf.com

Grace Askew @ 50 Mason Social House

Suppositori Spelling, Mercedez Munro and Holotta Tymes host the weekly night with DJ Philip Grasso, gogo guys, drink specials, and drag acts.

10pm-2am. 3600 16th St. www.lookoutsf.com

Beer Bust @ Hole in the Wall Saloon

t

Grace Askew

The musical comedy revue celebrates its 40th year with an ever-changing lineup of political and pop culture icons, all in gigantic wigs. $25-$160.

678 Beach Blanket Babylon Blvd (Green St.). 421-4222. www.beachblanketbabylon.com

Evolution @ Beatbox DJ Aron Abikzer (WE Party) and Christopher B spin dance grooves at the hi-nergy event, with open bar until 11pm, ticket giveaways for Folsom and circuit events, gogo studs and more. $10-$50. 10pm-4am. 314 11th St. www.beatboxsf.com

Frolic @ The Stud Neonbunny Lapine DJs the furryfestive dance night, with guest DJs Cosmo Coyoye, Switchblade, and Colors. $7. 8pm-2am. 399 9th St. www.studsf.com

Pink Party @ J Vineyards & Winery J Vineyards & Winery celebrate summer wines, including Brut Rose and Vin Gris; oysters, appetizers, plus live music by blues-swing band Slim Jenkins. $95-$110. 6:30pm-8:30pm.

11447 Old Redwood Highway, Healdsburg. www.jwine.com

We Got Luv @ F8 Friends With Benefits Records present an electro-DJed music night, celebrating Italian disco diva Hard Ton (unable to appear due to customs border problems) and his new EP, featuring Two Dudes in Love, Trevor Sigler, and others. $12. 10pm-4am.

1192 Folsom St. www.hardtonsf.eventbrite.com

Sun 10 Beer Bust @ Lone Star Saloon The ursine crowd converges for beer and fun. 4pm-8pm. 1354 Harrison St. www.lonestarsf.com

Beer Bust @ SF Eagle The classic leather bar's most popular Sunday daytime event in town draws the menfolk. 3pm-6pm. Now also on Saturdays! 398 12th St. at Harrison. www.sf-eagle.com

t

On the Tab>>

Beer Bust @ SF Mix The popular Castro bar hosts its weekly softball team beer bust fundraiser. 3pm-7pm. 4086 18th St. 431-8616. www.sfmixbar.com

Brunch @ Hi Tops Enjoy crunchy sandwiches and mimosas, among other menu items.

2247 Market St. 551-2500. www.HiTopsSF.com

Brunch Sundays @ Balancoire Weekly live music shows with various acts, along with brunch, at the stylish nightclub and restaurant. 2565 Mission St. at 21st. 920-0577. www.balancoiresf.com

Drag Revue @ The White Horse, Oakland Mahlae Balenciaga hosts the twicemonthly drag show (2nd and 4th Sundays). $6. Show at 9:30pm. 6551 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. (510) 6523820. www.whitehorsebar.com

August 7-13, 2014 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 31

Sundance Saloon @ Space 550 The popular country western LGBT dance night; enjoy fun footstomping two-stepping and line-dancing. $5.

5pm-10:30pm with lessons from 5:30-7:15 pm. Also Thursdays.

550 Barneveld Ave., and Tuesdays at Beatbox, $6. 6:30-11pm.

314 11th St. www. sundancesaloon.org

Piano Bar @ Beaux Singer extraordinaire Jason Brock hosts the new weekly night, with your talented host –and even you– singing.

9pm-2am. 2344 Market St. www.beauxsf.com

Sat 9 DJ Neonbunny Lapine @ Frolic

Sunday's a Drag @ Starlight Room Donna Sachet hosts the weekly fabulous brunch and drag show. $45.

11am, show at noon; 1:30pm, show at 2:30pm. 450 Powell St. in Union Square. 395-8595. www.starlightroomsf.com

Monday Musicals @ The Edge The casts of local and visiting musicals often pop in to perform at the popular Castro bar's musical theatre night.

7pm-2am. 2 for 1 cocktail, 5pmclosing. 18th St. at Collingwood. www.edgesf.com

Name That Beat @ Toad Hall BeBe Sweetbriar hosts a weekly musical trivia challenge and drag show. 8:30-11:30pm. 4146 18th St. at Castro. www.toadhallbar.com

No No Bingo @ Virgil's Sea Room Mica Sigourney and Tom Temprano cohost the wacky weekly game night at the cool Mission bar. 8pm. 3152 Mission St. www.virgilssf.com

Piano Bar 101 @ Martuni's Sing-along night with talented locals, and charming accompanist Joe Wicht (aka Trauma Flintstone).

9pm. 4 Valencia St. at Market. www. dragatmartunis.com

Tue 12 Bingo Night @ Club OMG Michael Brandon hosts the game night and fundraiser for The Community Initiatiuve. 7pm-10pm. 43 6th St. www.clubomgsf.com

Block Party @ Midnight Sun Weekly screenings of music videos, concert footage, interviews and more, of popular pop stars. 9pm-2am. 4067 18th St. 861-4186. www.midnightsunsf.com

Bombshell Betty & Her Burlesqueteers @ Elbo Room The weekly burlesque show of women dancers shaking their bonbons includes live music. $10. 9pm. 647 Valencia St. 552-7788. www.elbo.com

Wed 13

9pm). Show at 9pm. 4146 18th St. www.toadhallbar.com

Sony Holland @ Level III The acclaimed jazz vocalist performs with guitarist Jerry Holland. Weekly 5pm-8pm. Also Thursdays & Fridays.

JW Marriott, 515 Mason St. at Post. www.sonyholland.com

Trivia Night @ Harvey's

Bottoms Up Bingo @ Hi Tops Play board games and win offbeat prizes at the popular sports bar. 9pm.

2247 Market St. 551-2500. www.HiTopsSF.com

Broadway Bingo @ Feinstein's at the Nikko Conrad Frank and Joe Wicht return with the show tune trivia night, featuring Jessica Coker and Heather Orth. $15. 7pm. Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. (866) 663-1063. www.ticketweb.com

Bromance @ Beaux DJ Kidd Sysko spins tunes for the bro-tastic midweek night, with $2 beer pitchers, beer pong, $1 shots served by undie-clad guys. It's like a frat house without the closet cases.

8:30-10pm. 2344 Market St. www.beauxsf.com

Dare 2 Bare @ Club OMG New weekly underwear night includes free clothes check, no cover, and drink specials. 9pm-2am. 43 6th St. www.clubomgsf.com

Dream Queens Revue @ Aunt Charlie's Lounge Classic drag show at the intimate bar, featuring Collette LeGrande, Ruby Slippers, Sophilya Leggz, Bobby Ashton, Sheena Rose, Kipper, and Joie de Vivre. No cover. 9:30pm-11:30pm.

133 Turk St. 441-2922. www.dreamqueensrevue.com

Follies and Dollies @ White Horse Tavern, Oakland Ana Mae Coxxx and Cemora Valentino-Devine cohost a night of drag acts and fun, with Honey Daniels, Chico Suave, Acquoria Victoria, and others. Show at 9:30pm. $5. 6551 Telegraph Ave, (510) 6523820. www.whitehorsebar.com

Miss Kitty's Trivia Night @ Wild Side West The weekly fun night at the Bernal Heights bar includes prizes, hosted by Kitty Tapata. No cover. 7pm-10pm.

424 Cortland St. 647-3099. www.wildsidewest.com

BeBe Sweetbriar hosts a weekly night of trivia quizzes and fun and prizes; no cover. 8pm-1pm. 500 Castro St. 4314278. www.harveyssf.com

Underwear After Dark @ SF Eagle Strip down to your skivvies at the popular leather bar, with music by DJ Mystic Ray, host Michael Brandon; strip down to undies and get free coat check and entry! 9pm-2am. 398 12th St. at Harrison. www.sf-eagle.com

Wrangler Wednesday @ Rainbow Cattle Company, Guerneville The Russian River bar's country music night attracts cowboys and those who like to ride 'em. 8pm-1am. 16220 Main St., Guerneville. (707) 869-0206. www.queersteer.com

Thu 14 La Femme @ Beaux Ladies' happy hour at the Castro nightclub, with drink specials, no cover, and women gogos. 4pm-9pm.

2344 Market St. www.beauxsf.com

Funny Fun @ Club 21, Oakland New LGBT comedy night hosted by Dan Mires. $10. 8pm. 2111 Franklin St. Oakland. (510) 268-9425. www.club21oakland.com

Gym Class @ Hi Tops Enjoy cheap whiskey shots from jock-strapped hotties and sexy sports videos at the popular new sports bar.

10pm-2am. 2247 Market St. 551-2500. www.HiTopsSF.com

I ♥ the 80s @ Feinstein's at the Nikko Turn back time as an ensemble of talented singers, including Tony Vincent (American Idiot, The Voice ) and Jessica Phillips ( Leap of Faith ), perform classic songs from the 1980s. $35-$50. Thu-Sat 8pm. Sun 7pm. Aug. 14-17 and 21-24. Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. (866) 663-1063. www.ticketweb.com

Circle of Life Cabaret @ Martuni's A C.O.L.T. Following, the disability and LGBT-inclusive theatre company's music and variety show. No cover.

6:30pm-9pm. 4 Valencia St. www.circleoflifetheatre.org

Funny Tuesdays @ Harvey's

Pink Party @ J Vineyards and Winery

Ronn Vigh hosts the weekly LGBT and gay-friendly comedy night. One-drink or menu item minimum. 9pm. 500 Castro St. at 18th. 431-HARV. www.harveyssf.com

Gay Skate Night @ Church on 8 Wheels

Full of Grace @ Beaux Weekly night with hostess Grace Towers, different local and visiting DJs, and pop-up drag performances.

No cover. 9pm-2am. 2344 Market St. www.beauxsf.com

Mon 11

Jock @ The Lookout

Mahlae Balenciaga and DJ Kidd Sysko's weekly drag and dance night.

9pm-1am. 2369 Market St. www.cafesf.com

The weekly jock-ular fun continues, with special sports team fundraisers.

3pm-7pm. 3600 16th St. www.lookoutsf.com

Liquid Brunch @ Beaux No cover, no food, just drinks (Mimosas, Bloody Marys, etc.) and music. 2pm-9pm. 2344 Market St. www.beauxsf.com

Studalicious @ Club 21, Oakland Special women's night with YB & Dionnes, Badd Bitch, contests for baddest bitch and most swagged out male (drag king) and female, with several performers. 9pm-3am. 2111 Franklin St. (510) 268-9425. www.club21oakland.com

Drag Mondays @ The Cafe

Epic Karaoke @ White Horse, Oakland Mondays and Tuesdays popular weekly sing-along night. No cover. 8:30pm1am. 6551 Telegraph Ave, (510) 6523820. www.whitehorsebar.com

Mahogany Mondays @ Midnight Sun Honey Mahogany's weekly drag and musical talent show starts around 10pm, 4067 18th St. 861-4186. www.midnightsunsf.com

LGBT night at the former Sacred Heart Church-turned disco roller skate party space, hosted by John D. Miles, the "Godfather of Skate."

Actually every night is gay-friendly, including Saturday's Black Rock night (Burning Man garb encouraged). Also Wed, Thu, 7pm-10pm. Sat afternoon sessions 1pm-2:30pm and 3pm5:30pm. $10. Kids 12 and under $5.

Skate rentals $5. 554 Fillmore St at Fell. www.churchof8wheels.com

Meow Mix @ The Stud The weekly themed wild variety cabaret showcases new and unusual talents; MC Ferosha Titties. $3-$7.

Show at 11pm. 9pm-2am. 399 9th St. at Harrison. www.studsf.com

Naked Night @ Nob Hill Theatre Strip down at the strip joint. $20 includes refreshments. 8pm. 729 Bush St. at Powell. 397-6758. www.thenobhilltheatre.com

Sat 9 Rainbow Skate @ Redwood Roller Rink Weekly LGBT and friends skate night, with groovy disco music and themed events. $9. 8pm-10:30pm.

1303 Main Street, Redwood City. www.rainbowskate.net www.facebook.com/rainbowskating/

Red Hots Burlesque @ El Rio Women's burlesque show performs each Wed & Fri. Karaoke follows. $5$10. 7pm. 3158 Mission St. 282-3325. www.elriosf.com

Rookies Night @ Nob Hill Theatre Watch newbies get nude, or compete yourself for a $200 prize. Audience picks the winner. $20. 9pm. 729 Bush St. at Powell. 397-6758. www.thenobhilltheatre.com

So You Think You Can Gogo? @ Toad Hall The weekly dancing competition for gogo wannabes. 9pm. cash prizes, $2 well drinks (2 for 1 happy hour til

Pan Dulce @ The Cafe Enjoy amazingly hot Papi gogo guys, cheap drinks and fun DJed dance music. Free before 10pm. $5 til 2am.

2369 Market St. www.clubpapi.com www.cafesf.com

Thump @ White Horse, Oakland Weekly electro music night with DJ Matthew Baker and guests. 9pm-2am.

6551 Telegraph Ave, (510) 652-3820. www.whitehorsebar.com

Tubesteak Connection @ Aunt Charlie's Lounge Retro disco tunes and a fun diverse crowd, each Thursday; now in its tenth year! $4. 10pm-2am. 133 Turk St. at Taylor. www.auntcharlieslounge.com Want your nightlife event listed?

Email events@ebar.com, at least two weeks before your event.

Event photos welcome.

Serving the LGBT communities since 1971

32 • BAY AREA REPORTER • August 7-13, 2014

Capra-esque Nick Capra wants to get nasty

by Cornelius Washington

T

he minute I saw Nick Capra’s 16”x20” framed photograph (in luscious color) as an upcoming featured attraction at the Nob Hill Theater several week ago, I was already formulating questions for him. I had no doubt I’d get a noholds-barred interview from him.

I’ve always admired his many scene performances, in the best that gay erotic cinema has to offer.

This weekend at The Nob Hill Theater, this veteran film sexualist will give you a taste of how it’s really done, live and in the adorable flesh.

Cornelius Washington: How does it feel, performing at the legendary Nob Hill Theater, and

have you appeared there before?

Nick Capra: This will be my first appearance Nob Hill. It’s such an iconic venue. I can’t wait to do something really nasty and fun for the fans attending.

Do you have any idea how many videos you’ve done?

Feature DVDs? I’d guess around 80.

Among those, what is your favorite?

My favorite was French Kiss. I mean, come on! We shot on location in Paris. How many American porn stars get the opportunity to do their first bottoming film in Paris?

Have you ever fallen for one of your scene partners?

I fall for many of my scene part-

t

ners in different ways. Sometimes it’s just this mad affair that lasts from the beginning to end of the scene we are filming. Then there are the few that have gone further than just the scene. Some have been very special. I know you probably want names. I’ll talk more about them in the memoir I’m writing.

Is there anyone with whom you wanted to work, but, never did?

The late Wilfried Knight. He was so beautiful.

What do you see in porn now that’s missing?

I don’t see a ton of “connection.”

I see great performance, and that’s always hot. But, I’m Italian. So, I’m more drawn to real passion. You can’t cheat that for the camera. It will read, or it won’t.

When you watch porn, what arouses you?

The foreplay. Hot foreplay. And a good rim job always blows my dick up.

What do you see as gay porn’s next big trend?

I’m happy to see that the cam phenom is huge again. Its real. It’s fun. You can get to know your favorite performer on a more personal level that way. I’ll be doing live cam shows solo and with other models quite soon for Real Boys Online.

Nick Capra in underwear

What have you not done in films that you wish you had?

I haven’t done dom stuff for Bound in Public for Kink.com I love that site. They really push their models on a very primal level. Coming Soon.

18-year-old German kid.

Which sex act took a moment for you to embrace, but now you love?

Getting pissed on. I do love it.

Porn vs. private sexuality: What do you do in films that you don’t do privately, and vice-versa?

Barebacking; pro or con?

I would be a liar if I said I didn’t watch it and jerk off to it. However, you will not be seeing me in a barebacking video, ever. My responsibilities as a porn star are few. I don’t need to say politically correct things.

I don’t need to babysit other people’s children. However, I personally feel obliged to advocate safe sex in my work.

Nick Capra: selfie in boxer shorts

I’m really loud on cam. Verbal.

People would be surprised to see that I’m more quietly aggressive in private.

What traits do you find attractive in a man?

Physically, I need a handsome face. Gays either like Face, Body, or Dick/Ass. I’m a face guy. Good kisser is necessary. And he’s gotta be self-assured, intelligent, and humorous (Yes, my checklist is long).

Any particular sexual fantasies?

Tying up a straight guy and edging him, making him really want it.

Isn’t that every gay man’s fantasy?

Who’s your fantasy celebrity sex partner?

Channing Tatum.

What is your current relationship status?

Single.

What’s your favorite sexual position?

Missionary. Guys feet on my hairy pecs while I fuck him and jerk his dick at the same time. I love making guys cum while I’m fucking them.

What’s your wildest sexual experience?

Park bench in Milan with an

What’s the most important thing you’ve learned from porn?

I’ve learned so much. I shot my first video for Chi Chi LaRue twelve years ago. I guess I’ve learned to not take any of it for granted. You can be the “darling” one minute and forgotten the next. I love my fans and I’m honored every day to connect with them through social media, my writing, etc.

What stereotypes about the porn world have you found to be true and/or false?

Most porn stars are a bit cray. I’m definitely an odd one. I don’t like the “drug” stereotype. I’m in recovery and my sobriety is my greatest accomplishment.

Any advice for prospective porn models or producers?

Don’t do dope. Show up. Brand yourself. Be more than a sex star. Do your own product.

If you had the power to change any aspect of your career, which would it be?

I do have the power to change an aspect of my career. I want to be published. Therefore, I’m currently writing my memoir.t Nick Capra performs solo strips and sex shows with Damian Stone at the Nob Hill Theatre. $25. 8pm & 10pm. Also Sat., Aug. 9. 729 Bush St. at Powell. 397-6758. www.thenobhilltheatre.com Follow Nick Capra on Twitter at https://twitter.com/nickcapra

t

Read more online at www.ebar.com

August 7-13, 2014 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 33

Gage Unengaged

by John F. Karr

It just isn’t right to hold any master who has produced exceptional work early in his career to that standard for the rest of his life. Impetus can only rarely be sustained. And so it is with Joe Gage. Can he be blamed in the 40th year of his career for simply stating and not working out too fully the premise in each of his two recent movies?

One of them, TitanMen’s Chain Reaction, is acceptable porn, while the second, DragonMedia’s Joe Gage’s Sex Files Vol. #16: Faculty Night— though it has markedly reduced production values and is less technically accomplished then the Titan title—is considerably better. I’ll tell you about it soon.

We’re told that in Chain Reaction, “Joe Gage examines authority and arousal.” Gage really only nods at this theme; his standard issue porn set-ups transpire with more comic tones than with the sexual tension and intriguing byplay of Gage-of-yore. If you’re in a benevolent mood, you won’t mind much.

After all, the ensuing sex is okay.

But I miss the days when a more engaged Gage more carefully developed sexually explosive situations.

The first scene concerns beefy

Ce sucks the big thing well, it was delivers the deluxe version of rimonly passively that I watched. The ming; there’s good oral, and good scene lacks pace, and the guys don’t fucking. And then, well, touch my exhibit much involvement; I didn’t banana, Ares produces a doubleget into it. ended dildo and plugs both their The final scene of the near twobutts. It makes Marx shoot, and hour movie presents a flip fuck of Ares beats off onto Marx’ genitals. hot dude Adam Russo as the boss The scene as a whole: once past the of shiny employee Casey Williams. preliminaries, it’s acceptable.

Both are lookin’ snappy, Russo in In a situation even less credible than the first, photographer George Ce is equipped with only a cell phone camera and in a space as empty and bland as a waiting room when he pays urban cowboy Josh West to pose for photos. They’re having sex before West can say “Cheese!” Yet with neither plot nor atmosphere to drive the scene forward, my mind wandered to thoughts of whether I should buy the new Bluray of Ichabod and Mr. Toad.

I can go gaga for George Ce; he sure is an attractive fellow, with a sunny personality and a fat, uncut cock. West pas- Hunter Marx, Casey Williams and George sively accepts having his Ce adorn the box for Chain Reaction. cock sucked, and though

TitanMen

Hunter Marx gives in to Jessy Ares mighty easily, in Chain Reaction.

Hunter Marx as a cop checking out the studio of erotic artist Jessy Ares.

Ares plays nonchalant as the cop questions the erotic nature of his work. Seeing a photo of ass cheeks, the cop asks if butt photos are legal.

He’s a cop with no knowledge of pornography standards?

For some reason, Ares defends himself, saying, “I’m an established fine artist.” So, his success is what makes the photos legal? What a muddled issue this is. Wouldn’t ya know, the cop is aroused. A little too quickly, methinks. Like, he’s on duty, but shucks his uniform in a flash, doesn’t protest having his butt fondled, and pops a boner before you can shout, “butt fuck!”

I dissect the scene at length because Gage’s films were traditionally built on a carefully constructed verisimilitude. Yet this stale porn fantasy is about as real as the Enchanted Tiki Room at Disneyland.

Which doesn’t mean that the sex the guys have is without heat. Ares

a suit, and Williams in crisp white shirt, with tie and suspenders. I’ve loved watching Williams grow up in porn, from a boy to thick-bodied, furry-chested man. His cock has remained the same as always—steely, rosy pink, so carefully sculpted and so delicious-looking.

Most appreciable about the scene is that the dialogue leads to sex in a terse four sentences. So much for examining authority and arousal. The boss says Suck, and his staff sucks. I love Williams’ technique—he holds Russo’s cock in his mouth, savors it.

But I hated a dialogue intrusion.

“Is this what you think of when you’re banging your wife?” Russo asks. Sorry, but all the suspension of disbelief in the world can’t get me through this. If imputed heterosexuality, with closeted gay longings makes you hot, well, then, this scene’s got it.

They swap BJs and they swap effective butt fucks. Russo’s always a rouser, and Casey shoots far and plenty. Yet there’s no real heat here.

Only proficient performances.

There’s just too much porn out there for me to recommend this noncommittal effort.t www.TitanMen.com

TitanMen

Jessy Ares throws his authority into Hunter Marx, in Chain Reaction.

TitanMen

In Chain Reaction, George Ce has everything the other porn stars have—and discernible personality, too.

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Serving the LGBT communities since 1971

34 • BAY AREA REPORTER • August 7-13, 2014

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SHOOTING STARS

August 7-13, 2014 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 35

PHOTOS BY STEVEN UNDERHILL GAPA RUNWAY XXVI photos by Steven Underhill

T

he Gay Asian Pacific Alliance’s 26th annual Runway pageant brought out creative and comic performances from competitors. The Femme Fatales and Villains theme let contestants in the Miss and Mr. categories unleash their inner heros and anti-heroes.

Outgoing Ms. Gapa 2013 Khmera Rouge and Mr. Gapa 2013 Nguyen “Sir Whitney Queers” Pham performed as well in adventurous numbers, and for Rouge, an amazing set of gowns.

By evenings’ end, host Tita Aida announced the winners; Brenda Dong is the new Ms. Gapa 2014, and Franz Vincent Lacanlale is Mr. Gapa 2014.

For more information, visit www.gapa.org See more event photo albums on BARtab’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/lgbtsf.nightlife and on www.StevenUnderhill.com See this and other issues in full page-view format at www.issuu.com/bayareareporter

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For headshots, portraits or to arrange your wedding photos

call (415) 370-7152 or visit www.StevenUnderhill.com or email stevenunderhillphotos@gmail.com