September 18, 2014 Edition of the Bay Area Reporter

Happy Leather Pride Week The

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Serving the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender communities since 1971

Vol. 44 • No. 38 • September 18-24, 2014

Facebook meets with drag queens

Richmond officials curb hate speech

S

F

by Sean Piverger

an Francisco drag queens were expected to meet with Facebook executives this week as a war of words has intensified over the social media service’s policy on using real names instead of Rick Gerharter stage names on FaceSister Roma book pages.

The policy not only affects performers but others who use stage names, like drag queens, who are up in arms because in recent days they were locked out of their accounts. In order for the users to gain access to their accounts, they must provide their real names for identification.

Facebook, the world’s most popular social media service, has long had a policy of people using their legal names, unlike Twitter, where people can use whatever name they want.

By Monday, a protest scheduled for Facebook’s Menlo Park campus had been postponed after gay San Francisco Supervisor David Campos arranged a meeting with company executives and drag queens Sister Roma, whose real name is Michael Williams, and Heklina, whose real name is Stefan Grygelko.

Sister Roma, a member of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, was forced to make changes when Facebook locked her out of her account.

“This issue is way bigger than a bunch of drag queens complaining because we can’t use our stage names,” Roma said in a news release. “This policy is discriminatory and potentially dangerous to a variety of Facebook users, including abused and battered women, bullied teens, political activists, sex workers, and especially members of the transgender community; all examples of people who use pseudonyms to ensure their safety and privacy.”

In the same statement Campos said that Facebook agreed to meet with him and members of San Francisco’s drag community to discuss the policy. That meeting was scheduled for 11 a.m. Wednesday, after the print edition of the Bay Area Reporter went to press.

“I am glad that Facebook has accepted our invitation to engage in a meaningful public dialogue with the drag queens and members of the transgender community who have been affected by the profile name policy,” said Campos.

See page 13 >>

by Heather Cassell

SF Leather Week arrives D esmond Perrotto, front, carries the leather flag down Market Street during the annual LeatherWalk Sunday, September 14. He was joined by nearly 100 leatherfolk and their admirers on the walk, which

Rick Gerharter

started at Harvey Milk Plaza in the Castro and ended South of Market. The walk is a benefit for the AIDS and Breast Cancer Emergency Funds. For more on Leather Week and Sunday’s Folsom Street Fair, see the BARtab section.

ollowing years of anti-gay hate speech directed at Richmond’s only out city councilwoman, the City Council voted Tuesday to revise a report addressing rules and procedures for handling disruptions Jane Philomen Cleland during public meetings.

The 6-1 vote fol- Vice Mayor lowed nearly two hours Jovanka Beckles of discussion.

Vice Mayor Jovanka Beckles, 51, a black Latina lesbian, has been the target of ongoing anti-gay verbal attacks for the past four years – since she became Richmond’s first out LGBT elected city official in 2010.

She is running for re-election this November.

See page 14 >>

SF sizes up its free condom program

by Matthew S. Bajko

T

he number of free condoms distributed

by San Francisco’s health department has sizably increased over the years, with nearly 2.3 million given out to various community-based organizations and local businesses last year.

That is an increase from the 1.5 million condoms distributed in 2011.

“It appears there is an increased demand for condoms from what the data indicates. We know that condoms are an important tool in our HIV prevention toolkit,” said Tracey Packer, the director of community health equity and promotion at the San Francisco Department of Public Health. “There are other tools as well. Our job is to make sure people have as much access to as many tools as they can have so people can meet their own needs.”

The health department now spends roughly $270,000 a year on condoms – it does not receive any donated prophylactics – that are then handed out through three different programs.

“We get a good bulk rate; it is about 11 cents per condom,” said Packer.

Packer’s section provides condoms to entities that are not HIV-specific service providers, such as neighborhood stores and community groups. Merchants and others that participate in the program receive a monthly shipment of condoms. It also provides condoms to all of the agencies it funds directly, with a line item set

Rick Gerharter

Steve Kavanuagh, who’s advocating for more size selection of condoms, stands outside the 440 Castro bar, one of many San Francisco gay bars that distributes condoms.

aside for condoms written into each contract.

Within the city’s gay community, the department purchases the condoms given out through plastic canisters found in gay bars, clubs, and other entertainment venues. The Stop AIDS Project, which is now part of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, had long overseen the program. SFAF estimates it hands

out nearly 1.2 million condoms a year at 90 locations across the city and at special events, like Sunday’s Folsom Street Fair.

But Steve Kavanaugh, 56, a gay man and registered nurse, has long complained that the city’s free condom program does not hand out enough different-sized prophylactics. It is an issue he has raised since the launch of the program in 1998, when he evaluated it while earning a master’s degree in nursing.

“I found that effort well intended if very late but noticed only one size condoms were distributed,” he recalled. “One size does not fit all!”

Today, the city purchases a variety of condom sizes based on what is requested from the various distribution points. Most places request an assortment of condom sizes and types, said Packer.

“There is a variety of different condoms we purchase. At our branch, we ask each agency what kind of condoms they prefer,” she said.

“If their clients ask for a certain size, we will order that size. We provide different sizes, colors, types and brands, etc.”

Packer said there has been a recent uptick in requests for condoms sized extra large.

“The San Francisco AIDS Foundation, in particular, includes extra large in their distribution,” she said.

Kavanaugh, who continues to monitor the types of condoms the agency hands out, told the Bay Area Reporter that he often finds few conSee page 14 >>

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“THE BEST AIDS WALK IN YEARS!”

Congratulations to the 43 co-beneficiaries of this year’s AIDS Walk San Francisco and the thousands of people who count on them for life-sustaining services. Thanks to strong community support, the event’s new lead beneficiary, Project Inform, is able to provide a fully restored Grants Program to Bay Area AIDS service organizations – which means more money is going to more groups than ever before!

Because we walked: • Project Open Hand is able to provide 17,665 meals for people living with HIV/AIDS. • AIDS Emergency Fund will help 75 people with HIV/AIDS avoid eviction and homelessness.

• Huckleberry Youth Programs will offer over 2,000 HIV Prevention Education workshops each year for Bay Area Youth.

• AIDS Legal Referral Panel will ensure that people living with HIV have an attorney on their side who can fight to keep them in their homes.

• Bay Area Perinatal AIDS Center can give all infants in San Francisco the chance to be born HIV-free.

• Larkin Street Youth Services will help 58 HIV positive youth get housing, case management, and medical care.

• Project Inform will continue to fight effectively for increased government funding of HIV/AIDS services, including free HIV medications to more than 38,000 HIV-positive Californians who could not otherwise afford them.

This is just some of the work being done by the 2014 AIDS Walk San Francisco beneficiaries that brings us closer to ending AIDS in the Bay Area. Thank you.

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Community News>>

September 18-24, 2014 • Bay Area Reporter • 3

Nightclub planned for leather bar site

Rick Gerharter

The gutted second floor bar space at 1501 Folsom Street, the former home of Febe’s leather bar and the Paradise Lounge, is set to be remodeled for a nightclub.

by Seth Hemmelgarn

T

he building that once housed the historic leather bar Febe’s in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood will be transformed into a nightclub featuring salsa music and a restaurant with rooftop seating if a business owner with LGBT ties has her way.

Leticia Luna, who opened the former leather bar Line Up in 1979, is set to go before the city’s planning commission Thursday, September 18 to get permission to add another story to 1501 Folsom Street, which is currently two floors and is located at the intersection of Folsom and 11th streets. She plans to call the bar Calle Once, or “Eleventh Street.”

Once known as the Miracle Mile for its plethora of leather bars, the vicinity is now home to just a handful of gay bars. Febe’s was the first leather bar on Folsom when it

opened its doors in 1966. The bar closed 20 years later. The space most recently housed Paradise Lounge, which shut down several years ago.

Luna, 61, who’s straight, recalled going to Febe’s and similar bars decades ago and is open to including the leather community in her new business.

“The leather crowd put me on the map,” she said. “How can I ever forget them? I would love to have a leather night, with somebody that could help me promote it. It’s going to be a nice space.”

Thursday, the planning commission is expected to vote on a conditional use proposal “to expand the existing nighttime entertainment use” and “establish an outdoor activity area,” according to the agenda.

The results would include a third story and a roof deck.

Department records say, “Areas dedicated to dancing and perfor-

SF bids to host 2018 AIDS confab

by Matthew S. Bajko

S

an Francisco is a finalist to host the 22nd International AIDS Conference, set to take place in 2018.

According to Mayor Ed Lee, the final two cities competing to welcome AIDS researchers, patients, and activists from across the globe in four years are San Francisco and Amsterdam.

Lee acknowledged, however, that there is an “emotional attachment to Amsterdam” being granted the host status due to the deaths in July of several Dutch AIDS researchers when the Malaysian Airlines flight they were taking to attend this year’s AIDS conference in Melbourne, Australia was shot down by Ukrainian rebels near the Russia-Ukraine border.

Among the victims was renowned Dutch AIDS researcher Joep Lange, a leader at the Amsterdam Institute for Global Health and Development. Lange was also a former president of the International AIDS Society, which is the lead host for the biennial AIDS confabs and whose governing council will select the host city for 2018 this December.

Lynda Piper-Roche, a spokeswoman for the International AIDS Society, confirmed that “it’s down to these two cities and we’ll make a decision by the end of the year.”

A four-person selection committee arrived in town Monday for two days of meetings with local officials.

Over the last year the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, SF Travel, and Lee’s office have been working on the city’s bid to become host.

Rick Gerharter

Mayor Ed Lee

“I hope we are picked,” Lee told the Bay Area Reporter during an editorial board meeting last week.

“But I also understand if we are not picked it is because of the terrible tremendous loss of talent of Amsterdam.”

“We all will give the nod to Amsterdam if they are ultimately picked because we understand,” added Lee. “It is a worldwide thing. But we are aggressively saying we also have a great reason to host it.”

SFAF spokesman James Loduca noted that San Francisco was where AIDS first reached epidemic proportions and now, three decades later, is looking at eliminating transmission of HIV. “San Francisco has always been a leader when it comes to HIV and we See page 14 >>

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mances will be kept on the first and second floors.”

Planning staff has issued a preliminary recommendation that the commission approve the usage with conditions.

Luna, who hopes to open the new space in July, is currently the landlord for the Castro sports bar Hi-Tops and the restaurant Hecho.

“I’ve been approached by a couple people” to bring in drag acts to her new business, she said. “I’m very open to that. I love all that.”

Luna plans to make the first and second floors a nightclub, while the third floor would be for a rooftop restaurant. She’d like to bring salsa bands to the club, and she’s considering a fusion of Mexican and seafood dishes for the restaurant.

On the second floor, “I plan to have different types of entertainment,” she said.

“I’m very open,” Luna said. “It’s what the public wants, I will do, and I listen to the public.”

She said “a small portion” of the top floor would be for outdoor dining, dependent on “what the city’s going to allow.” She’d work to deaden sound coming from the area.

Department of Building Inspection data show that the agency issued a permit in May for the “soft” demolition of damaged sheetrock, floor finishes, and other materials, and “exploratory” demolition of the walls and ceiling “for future structural strengthening.”

Since then, the interior of the building has been gutted, and Luna invited the Bay Area Reporter to the space for a tour this week. About all that remains of the interior are cinderblock, exposed beams and studs, and barren floors.

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<< Open Forum

4 • Bay Area Reporter • September 18-24, 2014

Volume 44, Number 38 September 18-24, 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 BARTAB EDITOR & EVENTS LISTINGS EDITOR Jim Provenzano ASSISTANT EDITORS Matthew S. Bajko • Seth Hemmelgarn CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Ray Aguilera • Dan Aiello • Tavo Amador Race Bannon • Erin Blackwell Roger Brigham • Brian Bromberger Victoria A. Brownworth • Brent Calderwood Philip Campbell • Heather Cassell Belo Cipriani • Chuck Colbert • Richard Dodds Michael Flanagan • David Guarino Peter Hernandez • Liz Highleyman Brandon Judell • John F. Karr • Lisa Keen Matthew Kennedy • Joshua Klipp David Lamble • 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 Sean Timberlake • Andre Torrez • Ronn Vigh Ed Walsh • Cornelius Washington Sura Wood ART DIRECTION Jay Cribas PRODUCTION/DESIGN Max Leger PHOTOGRAPHERS Jane Philomen Cleland • Rick Gerharter Lydia Gonzales • Jose Guzman-Colon Rudy K. Lawidjaja • Georg Lester • Dan Lloyd Rich Stadtmiller • Steven Underhill Bill Wilson ILLUSTRATORS & CARTOONISTS Paul Berge • Christine Smith ADVERTISING/ADMINISTRATION Colleen Small VICE PRESIDENT OF ADVERTISING Scott Wazlowski – 415.861.5019 NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE Rivendell Media – 212.242.6863

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Bay Area Reporter 44 Gough Street, Suite 204 San Francisco, CA 94103 415.861.5019 • www.ebar.com A division of BAR Media, Inc. © 2014 President: Michael M. Yamashita Chairman: Thomas E. Horn VP and CFO: Patrick G. Brown Secretary: Todd A. Vogt

News Editor • news@ebar.com Arts Editor • arts@ebar.com Out & About listings • jim@ebar.com Advertising • scott@ebar.com Letters • letters@ebar.com Published weekly. Bay Area Reporter reserves the right to edit or reject any advertisement which the publisher believes is in poor taste or which advertises illegal items which might result in legal action against Bay Area Reporter. Ads will not be rejected solely on the basis of politics, philosophy, religion, race, age, or sexual orientation.

Advertising rates available upon request.

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Yes on SF transportation bond

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elow are the Bay Area Reporter’s recommendations for San Francisco propositions on the November 4 ballot.

Proposition A: San Francisco Transportation and Road Improvement Bond. YES. This proposition, sponsored and strongly supported by Mayor Ed Lee, would permit the city to borrow up to $500 million through the issuance of General Obligation bonds for necessary and long needed Muni upgrades. It represents the first major investment toward an estimated $10 billion in crucial infrastructure projects to be undertaken by the city over the next 15 years that seeks to improve Muni reliability and accessibility; improve the conditions of streets; and make the roads safer for pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists. Although these General Obligation bonds are repaid through property taxes, property taxes will not increase as there is sufficient debt already incurred (such as the library bonds) that will be retired shortly and will provide for debt service for the new Muni bonds. This is a no-brainer.

Vote YES on A. Proposition B: Adjusting Transportation Funding for Population Growth. NO. This measure is sponsored by Supervisor Scott Wiener for whom we have great respect and often agree. And we share his frustration about the slow pace of necessary Muni repairs and maintenance. But Prop B, a voter mandated set-aside of general fund monies, is not the answer. Muni is governed by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency and funded, in part, by a transfer of general fund revenue, the amount of which is set by the City Charter and referred to as “the base line,” which this year amounts to $247.9 million. This proposition would require the city to increase the base amount by a percentage equal to the city’s annual population increase, taking into account daytime and nighttime populations, as determined by the controllers office.

Calculations for 2015 would increase the base amount based on population increases over the previous 10 years and then annually thereafter. As the base amount is part of the city’s normal two-year budgeting process, any additional monies would come from other already budgeted items. It would leave a hole in the current city budget of some $22-$24 million.

We strongly support a measured, long term approach to improving Muni, such as is contained in Prop A, and we are always encouraging city elected officials and others involved in the budget process to give greater emphasis to Muni. We don’t like ballot box budgeting, however, and do not like quick fix set asides that are not part of a more global solution to Muni’s problems.

Proposition C: Children’s Fund; Public Education Enrichment Fund; Children and Families Council; Rainy Day Reserve. YES. This Charter Amendment would modify the way the city funds and administers services to children, youth, and their families. The Children’s Fund, established by the voters in 1991, is set to expire on June 30, 2016. This proposition would extend the Children’s Fund until 2041 and increase slightly the amount of the fund gradually over the next four years and also extend the age group served to include youth aged 18-24. The Public Education Enrichment Fund was established by the voters in 2004 and will expire on June 30, 2015. It helps pay for arts, music, sports, and library programs and general education in the San Francisco Unified School District. This proposition would extend the fund until 2041 and would extend funding for universal preschool to include 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds while still giving priority to 4-year-olds. This proposition also creates an Our Children, Our Families Council to advise the city and school district on the needs of children and families in San Francisco and work toward creating an Our Families Plan to create a more coordinated and efficient system of services. The city has a Rainy Day Reserve that builds up when times are good and allows for discretionary spending for the school district and other city operations. This proposition would now require that 25 percent of future rainy day deposits would go to the school reserve and provides a formula governing when the school district can withdraw from the reserve. These funds have all been successful. This non-controversial proposition preserves and refines the funds.

Proposition A will help make roads safer for pedestrians and bicyclists.

Proposition D: Retiree Health Benefits for Former Redevelopment Agency and Successor Agency Employees: YES. In January 2009, the City and County of San Francisco established the Retiree Health Care Trust Fund (Fund) to pay for the health care costs of retirees from city service and their spouses or domestic partners. In 2012, the state Legislature dissolved Redevelopment Agencies statewide, including the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency. A small number of Redevelopment Agency employees may become City of San Francisco employees. This proposition would bring their health care benefits in line with city employees of equal service similarly situated. It’s a simple matter of fairness.

Proposition E: Tax on SugarSweetened Beverages: YES. This is a public health measure to address the epidemic onslaught of diabetes and obesity in our American society. It imposes a 2-cent per ounce tax on all sugar-sweetened beverages.

While we tend toward the libertarian when it comes to government meddling in the personal lives of people, this wave of diabetes and obesity makes such a measure necessary. As of 2010, nearly a third (31.7 percent) of children and adolescents in San Francisco were either obese or overweight. Soda is the largest single source of added sugar in the American diet, accounting for more than half of all sugar in our diet. According to the San Francisco budget analyst, San Franciscans are spending as much as $62 million a year in health care costs that are directly attributable to sugar-sweetened beverages. The revenues generated by the tax, estimated from $35 million to $54 million, are ear-marked to fund health, nutrition, physical education, and active recreation programs. While the beverage industry will fiercely fight this proposition, as it has elsewhere, a review of those supporting Prop E shows broad-based support throughout numerous communities, particularly those involved in health services, education, labor, and environment. We recommend YES on E.

Proposition E will impose a 2-cent per ounce tax on sugar-sweetened beverages.

The money will fund health, nutrition, physical education, and active recreation programs to help reduce obesity.

Proposition F: Pier 70. YES. The city, through its Port Commission (Port) owns a 28-acre area of land roughly bounded by 20th Street, Michigan Street, 22nd Street, and the bay. After a three-year community planning process, the Port created a master plan to reuse Pier 70 and designated the 28acre portion for development. In 2011, after a competitive solicitation, the Port selected a development partner for the site. The developer proposes a mixed-use project with residential, office, retail, and arts spaces, and public open space and recreation areas. The current building height limit on the site is 40 feet. The historic buildings on the site, however, are more than 40 feet tall, one as tall as 90 feet. This proposition is an ordinance that would increase the height limit for buildings

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on the 28-acre development site in the Pier 70 area from 40 feet to 90 feet. Environmental and permitting rules are not affected. Thus all other aspects of the development are subject to all city approvals and public processes. This proposition makes it city policy that the final project contain nine acres of waterfront parks and recreation areas that would provide public access to the bay; that approximately 1,000 to 2,000 new residential units be constructed; most of these units would be rental units, and 30 percent would be below-market-rate and affordable for middle- and low-income households; that the project include space for arts and cultural activities, nonprofits, small-scale manufacturing, retail, and neighborhood services and that the existing artists community be preserved; it anticipates between 1 million and 2 million square feet of new commercial and office space. Additionally, the project will create a significant number of permanent jobs and revenue to support public housing facilities. This proposal has gone through extensive review and public and neighborhood forums.

Support appears to be across the board (unusual in San Francisco). We recommend YES on Prop F. Proposition G: Additional Transfer Tax on Residential Property Sold Within 5 Years of Purchase. NO. The city collects a transfer tax on sales of most real property in San Francisco, the exact amount depending on the sales price. This proposition would impose an additional tax on the total sale price of certain multi-unit residential properties that are sold within five years of purchase or transfer of as much as 24 percent, the exact percentage scaling down to 14 percent the fifth year. Prop G is a misguided attempt to address the skyrocketing rents and housing costs in San Francisco that casts its web too far and too wide. There are many legitimate reasons that an owner of a multi-unit property would need to sell his/ her property within five years of purchase that have nothing to do with the speculation it seeks to stop. Moving due to death or illness for example. Or an employment opportunity in another city. Additionally, this is not a tax just on the profit from a sale. It is a tax on the entire sales price. This makes no sense at all.

It would turn modest profits into devastating losses. Definitely a bad idea. Vote NO on G. Propositions H and I: Renovation of Beach Chalet playgrounds, walking trails and Athletic Fields: NO on H; YES on I. The city’s Recreation and Park Department operates and maintains Golden Gate Park.

The park includes athletic fields, the largest of which are the Polo Fields and the Beach Chalet Athletic Fields. These fields are all natural grass and do not have lights. Prop H mandates that the fields remain as they are: natural grass and no lights. The fields become unusable during periods of heavy rain (which we hope we’ll see a lot of this year) due to inadequate drainage. It often takes days for these muddy swamps to dry out. And no nighttime lighting seriously limits the fields use for students after school, particularly during the winter months.

Rec and Park would like to be able to install an artificial turf that would have an efficient drainage system as well as install lighting. It estimates that these renovations would more than double the public’s use. Prop I would amend the Park Code to permit these renovations. While everyone likes natural grass, modern artificial turf is nothing like the old green carpets used decades ago. They are grass-like with drainage systems so efficient the fields become usable again soon after the rain stops.

These are necessary improvements to public spaces that will greatly increase the number of people able to enjoy them. We recommend NO on H and YES on I. Proposition J: Minimum Wage Increase.

YES. This would gradually increase the minimum wage paid in San Francisco from its current $10.74 per hour to $15 in 2018. Like the current minimum wage, it would be adjusted annually for inflation. Living in San Francisco is very expensive, and income inequality has never been greater. Forcing low- and middleincome workers to relocate outside the city and commute in to work is not consistent with San Francisco values. Losing economic diversity among our residents harms everyone.

While this hike won’t solve the problems of cost of living and income inequality, it is a step in the right direction. Vote YES on J. Proposition K: Affordable Housing. YES. The mayor and the Board of Supervisors have See page 13 >>

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Letters >>

September 18-24, 2014 • Bay Area Reporter • 5

A ‘black eye’ of the community

As a community, shouldn’t LGBTs be protesting – and not producing – recreational events that center around the senseless abuse of those with no voice [“Animal rights activists complain about gay rodeo,” September 11]]? Surely some of the LGBT people who torment, wrestle, and rope helpless animals at rodeos were once themselves victims of bullying.

They, of all people, should know better. Thank you, Bay Area Reporter, for shining a much-needed spotlight on this black eye of the LGBT community.

Donny Moss New York, New York

Puzzled over rodeos

Call me puzzled, but twisting an animal’s neck and wrestling him to the ground doesn’t sound like “love.”

Riding and bucking on the back of an animal with a rope tightened around his groin, doesn’t sound like “love.” Yet, that’s exactly how Brian Helander of the International Gay Rodeo Association describes the treatment of the animals of the gay rodeo.

I admire the efforts of Andrew Zollman of LGBT Compassion, and can only hope that over time, with education, people will see that animal abuse is not entertainment, and simply choose not to attend or participate in any rodeo, gay-themed or otherwise.

Mickey Kramer New York, New York

Animal abuse at its worst

I’m outraged after seeing this gay rodeo story. How can people treat animals this way?

The oppressed oppressing the oppressed. Craziness.

A little peak at the horrors they do to the animals can be seen here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=v74ERkoaD1k.

Please do something about this. This is animal abuse at its worst.

Malta Mroz Lodz, Poland

SF Eagle says thanks

The San Francisco Eagle family would like to say thank you for all of your support and patronage during the year and a half we have been open. We are very proud to serve the LGBT and greater San Francisco Bay Area communities.

From the very beginning, we have hosted fundraisers for Bay Area nonprofits every weekend. These events have helped raise funds for a large variety of causes. We want to express our thanks to all those who have attended our beer busts. Your support enables us realize our objective of helping fund the nonprofits of our community.

We also would like to thank all of our promoters and our dedicated staff who help make new and exciting events materialize at the SF Eagle. Without them the SF Eagle would not be the exciting and lively place it has become. Additional thanks to all the talent that has performed at the SF Eagle. Every week our Thursday Nite Live Show is guaranteed to showcase new and established bands from all over the nation. Our newer Wednesday night Comedy Open Mic Showcase is quickly becoming a favorite happening for many in the comedy community.

The SF Eagle would also like to say a big thank you to our vendors for their support and commitment. With their assistance they make special events that benefit the entire SF Eagle community flourish. Companies like Matagrano Inc. are part of our family as well and we would thank them wholeheartedly.

For this year’s 2014 Folsom Street Fair the SF Eagle will be hosting its third annual Victory Party on Sunday, September 21. We are also organizing a new event called the Black and Blue Party on Saturday, September 20. Both parties will be held in the lot across from the SF Eagle and will feature a stage with live entertainment. The headliners are going to be amazing. The Black and Blue party takes place from 5 to 10 p.m. It will be followed by the Kontrol gear party at the SF Eagle till closing. On Folsom Sunday the Victory Party starts at 11 a.m. As in the past both events will only be for those 21 and over. Make sure and stop on by and grab a drink and enjoy the shows.

In conclusion the SF Eagle would like to say thank you to all our staff and patrons. You all have made the SF Eagle what it has grown into – a business that cares about its community. The mission of the SF Eagle is “For the community by the community.” Together we will strive to make the SF Eagle prosper, enabling us to continue our support of our community through events and fundraising.

Mike Leon, SF Eagle San Francisco

Milk’s legacy lies in Prop G

Way back in 1978 San Francisco was facing a real estate speculation problem, and gay people were right in the middle of it. A few of us gay lib types (including my partner Michael Ward, lesbian salsera Judy Graboyes and Paul, while he transitioned to Eartha) interviewed people in our neighborhoods and then published what we discovered in “Who’s Moving.”

Here’s how it went down then. House flippers would look for a property that had been bought at $29,000 during World War II, grab it at current value of, say, $70K (often from elderly African Americans who would then have to move out of the city), paint it and sell it for $150,000, all in one year. Then it would go for $300K in the next six

months, and soon to as high as $700K. Realtors were delighted. Rents went up accordingly. And it was those who had lived in SF longest, old folks on fixed incomes, AIDS patients who had lost their ability to double their earnings, who got removed. Eventually gays were replaced with more middle class tenants who’d keep up with the new owner’s higher mortgage payments. Sounding familiar?

Harvey Milk came to a fundraiser against real estate “flipping” at my Castro district apartment, and we began strategizing on legislation to stop the practice. The original plan was to lay a 100 percent transfer tax on the entire profit of houses turned over in less than a year. “Maybe a tad high,” Milk said, with that eye twinkle he had when he came up with a great idea that had popular appeal – and stuck it to the powersthat-be. So we reduced it to a more reasonable 80 percent tax for ownership of less than one year, 40 percent within the first five years, and zero if the house was held longer.

As part of our efforts to rally support for it on the board, I thought we should reach out to Supervisor Dan White, since real estate speculation was a threat to his workingclass district. Harvey was dubious about reaching White.

But I called him at home (I had gone to nursing school with his sister). It was the most frightening phone “conversation” I’ve ever had, a deep abyss at the other end, with only two words on his side of it: one “yeah” and one “huh,” and otherwise a horrible dark silence. A foreshadowing, as we would later find out, of what was soon to come.

Sadly that law never flew. But Proposition G can, and is directly in line with what turned out to be Milk’s last major issue. We now have another chance to support what is being called the Harvey Milk Memorial AntiSpeculation measure. It is not aimed at homeowners, those who have bought homes to live in. It is aimed squarely at house flippers. Thousands of San Francisco Association of Realtors mass mailings suggest its high fees will apply to all sales. Milk always had a simple twoletter response to such political trickery – BS. Mark Freeman San Francisco

Culture needs to address racial issues

In the wake of the killing of Mike Brown we are deeply saddened by losing yet another life to police brutality [“LGBT groups respond to Ferguson,” August 28]. At Community United Against Violence we work with LGBTQ survivors of domestic and hate violence.

Through our work we have come to understand police violence as an LGBTQ issue. We know that being a person of color, being LGBTQ, and/or being low-income continues to put people at a higher risk of police violence, including profiling, surveillance, zero-tolerance policies, and death, all over the nation.

Although we understand that all people of color are subjected to increased criminalization compared to white people, we know that black people continue to bear the brunt of systemic violence in our society. Collectively we must move away from a pervasive culture of anti-blackness that disproportionately leaves black people subjected to poverty, criminalization, and excess death in the name of “security.”

We want to move away from a culture that is dependent on punishment. We understand that it is not about just one officer. This is about a system that has the power to enforce a very narrow definition of safety. We need mechanisms that support us all to take responsibility for our impact, including law enforcement. Law enforcement should not be exempt from taking responsibility for violence, especially when deadly.

Investing our resources to create safety through law enforcement is not working. While it is commonly believed police create safety/intervene in violence, we understand the tactics and methods of law enforcement often escalate violence rather than end it. Furthermore, almost a quarter of the hate violence incidents committed by strangers against LGBTQ people came at the hands of police officers, according to a report by the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs published in 2013.

From our 35 years of doing anti-violence work we know that we need a culture where we address the systemic conditions that create and promote violence. What would it look like if we invested in collective support of impact-based responsibility and healing for all today?

Norio Umezu and Essex Lordes Community United Against Violence San Francisco

Imperial Coronation to mark 50 years

I am looking forward to the Imperial Council of San Francisco’s forthcoming 50th anniversary gala and Imperial Coronation 50 in February.

In the past, the Imperial Council has been most successful in charitable fundraising for worthy causes and certainly deserves recognition from the wide LGBT community.

Since its earliest beginnings, the council has been in the forefront as a diverse organization. Many of its empresses, emperors, and other titleholders have included persons of color.

Without question, the theme to define its upcoming two-day event should be: Generosity and Diversity.

I congratulate the Imperial Council’s past accomplishments and wish it the best to flourish and strive for the next 50 years.

Mel Domingo Honolulu, Hawaii

ebar.com

<< Community News

6 • Bay Area Reporter • September 18-24, 2014

Campos seeks better PrEP access in SF

by Liz Highleyman

T

he number of gay and bisexual men using pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, to prevent HIV infection has risen steeply over the past year, according to data presented at a community forum Tuesday, September 16.

The same day gay Supervisor David Campos introduced a resolution that aims to further expand PrEP use by providing access to all San Franciscans regardless of income.

“San Francisco has been at the forefront of efforts to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS through innovative measures and needs to continue that tradition,” Campos said.

“Embracing PrEP now will stop new infections and save lives.”

On Wednesday, gay Supervisor Scott Wiener announced in a Huffington Post article that he started taking PrEP this year.

“Given the challenges many gay men have with consistent condom use as well as the continued risk of HIV transmission even for those who use condoms, PrEP provides a powerful additional level of protection,” Wiener wrote.

“I hope that my being public about PrEP will raise awareness, give additional support to efforts to increase access to PrEP, and reduce stigma, which is a barrier to effec-

tive HIV prevention,” Wiener told the Bay Area Reporter.

He declined to say exactly when he started taking PrEP. The Food and Drug Administration approved Gilead Sciences’ Truvada (tenofovir plus emtricitabine) for PrEP in July 2012. In May the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that people at substantial risk should consider PrEP to prevent HIV infection.

The World Health Organization also recently recommended PrEP as an option for at-risk gay men.

Rising numbers

The September 16 community engagement forum, sponsored by the HIV Prevention Planning Council and the San Francisco Department of Public Health, brought together PrEP experts and community members to discuss its effectiveness and how to get access.

Jonathan Volk, a PrEP researcher and doctor at Kaiser Permanente, reviewed study data showing that the overall efficacy of Truvada PrEP ranged from approximately 40 to 75 percent in various populations.

Among people with blood drug levels showing they took PrEP consistently, effectiveness was closer to 80 to 90 percent, and it is “likely much higher with regular use,” he said.

Liz Highleyman

Kaiser physician and PrEP researcher Jonathan Volk, left, and Gilead’s Reuben Gamundi talked about PrEP at a community forum Tuesday.

Data from the iPrEx OLE study of gay and bisexual men, presented by Robert Grant of the Gladstone Institutes at this summer’s International AIDS Conference in Melbourne, showed that while overall efficacy was only about 50 percent, there were no new infections among men who took Truvada at least four times per week.

“Adherence does not need to be perfect,” Volk said. “If someone misses a dose, I’m not going to panic about it – they’re still probably getting very good protection.” Nevertheless, he stressed, people should “still aim for daily use.” Among Kaiser’s PrEP users, “adherence is really quite excel-

lent,” he added. In contrast to studies that provide Truvada for free, in the real world “most people who are not interested in taking [PrEP] anymore will stop paying for it.”

Volk reported that a total of 307 people seen at Kaiser in San Francisco had started PrEP as of July 2014, with numbers starting to rise steadily around September 2013. The number of PrEP referrals climbed even more steeply – especially after May of this year – but many of these did not lead to people actually starting Truvada.

In recent months, Volk noted, people seeking PrEP have shifted from advocates and other “early adopters” to people whose friends are on it. “We’re now getting 100 referrals a month,” he said. “We’ve seen a change in conversations about PrEP – now it’s ‘my roommates are all on it and I want it too.’”

To date there have been no new HIV infections among the Kaiser patients on PrEP, Volk reported.

However, there have been many cases of other sexually transmitted infections – most often gonorrhea and chlamydia, but also a few unusual cases of acute hepatitis C among HIVnegative men who do not inject drugs.

Reuben Gamundi, Gilead’s associate director of community medical affairs, said that the latest available data from a company survey of

t

about half of U.S. pharmacies indicate that approximately 2,500 people nationwide had been prescribed Truvada PrEP, with nearly half of them being women. He stressed that this number does not include participants in PrEP trials or demonstration projects or people who get their drugs through Medicaid, and does not reflect recent increases as seen in the Kaiser numbers.

Cost and other barriers

Among Kaiser participants who decided not to start PrEP after a referral, reasons cited included medical contraindications (such as pre-existing kidney problems), perception of being at low risk, changes in relationships, and cost.

With Truvada priced at $1,000 per month or more, cost is one of the major barriers to wider PrEP access.

While many private insurance plans will cover PrEP, some of them make people jump through extra hoops such as prior authorization or using a mail-order pharmacy, according to David Evans, Project Inform’s director of research advocacy.

In addition, some people who chose a cheaper Affordable Care Act plan with a high deductible, not expecting to go on PrEP, have been shocked by See page 13 >>

Ugandan MP’s support of LGBT rights questioned

by David-Elijah Nahmod

A

member of the Ugandan Parliament who claims to be LGBT-friendly has come under criticism from others who say she is actually in support of the country’s Anti-Homosexuality Act. MP Nabilah Naggayi Sempala was in San Francisco recently for a program at the LGBT Community Center that was sponsored in part by the San Francisco Africa Leadership Institute, run by Melanie Nathan and fiscally sponsored by the center.

A member of Forum for Social Change, Uganda’s opposition party, Sempala said at the September 4 forum that she opposes the AntiHomosexuality Act. That law, which called for harsh prison sentences for LGBTs, was ruled null and void on a technicality by Uganda’s constitutional court last month.

But according to Maria Burnett of Human Rights Watch, Sempala “has been outspoken in her support of Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act.”

Burnett provided the Bay Area Reporter with a video of Sempala speaking at a news conference in Uganda during an attempt by a number of Parliamentarians to have the AntiHomosexuality Act returned to the table for debate after it was declared null and void by the court.

“I’m very glad that this law has come back,” Sempala said in the video. “We are going to reassert our cultural values, not only on men sleeping with fellow men, but the unnatural processes of sex. Anal sex is not a cultural thing for Uganda nor is it an African culture.”

Sempala went on to speak for what she called the “silent victims” of anal sex. She claimed that when men are prohibited from indulging in homosexuality, they “impose” anal sex on their wives.

“This is closeting homosexuality under heterosexual relations,” Sempala said in the video.

At her community center appearance, Sempala attempted to explain her actions, which have included

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Melanie Nathan, left, interviews Ugandan Member of Parliament Naggayi Nabilah Sempala during a September 4 town hall forum in San Francisco.

signing a petition in support of the Anti-Homosexuality Act. “You cannot be an activist and a politician at the same time,” she said, speaking from the podium. “The antihomosexuality people are very clever, organized, and they have a lot of resources. The media asked me if I was going to sign the bill. So I signed it and that day I felt very bad being a politician. Many politicians have felt that they’ve had to do something political that they don’t believe in. I was not proud to be in parliament that day.”

Nathan, who was the moderator of Sempala’s LGBT center appearance, watched the video provided by HRW after the B.A.R. sent her a link to it.

“Hon. Sempala says that she is happy that if the bill must come back it should be to help women who are forced to have anal sex,” Nathan told the B.A.R. “She expresses her cynical attitude to the AntiHomosexuality Act. And is stating that she, as a condition precedent to her perceived support, requests the inclusion of so-called heterosexual men. Because she knows the patriarchal Parliament would never include such a caveat, she believes her so-called support of the AntiHomosexuality Act is nullified.”

Julie Dorf, senior adviser for the Council for Global Equality, an organization that seeks to promote LGBT activism worldwide, was critical of Sempala’s appearance at the LGBT center.

“She’s a smart politician,” Dorf told the B.A.R. “A wolf in sheep’s cloth-

ing. I don’t think any LGBT leaders in Uganda think she’s pro-LGBT. Now she can go back to Uganda and say she was welcomed by San Francisco’s LGBT community. If anyone did their research they wouldn’t give a platform to a leading homophobe.”

Rebecca Rolfe, executive director of the LGBT center, told the B.A.R. that the center did not extend its support to Sempala.

“My understanding is that she met with a variety of folks” while she was in San Francisco, Rolfe said, adding that Sempala was already in California at the time of her center appearance.

The B.A.R. contacted Frank Mugisha, a Ugandan gay rights activist and executive director of Sexual Minorities Uganda. He said that Sempala was one of the drivers to bring back the anti-gay law.

“She used to be supportive,” Mugisha said via email. “Don’t know what went wrong. I guess political capital.”

Yet at the LGBT center, Sempala insisted that she remains supportive of LGBT people. “Who covers my back?” she asked from the podium.

“How do I protect my kids?”

She said that she thinks it’s possible to gradually slide a pro-LGBT message into Uganda’s political discussions.

“Talk about schools first,” she suggested. “Then bring in the gay issue. People need to know who their enemies are. Someone is using the gay community as a shield. We need a media strategy.”

Change will come to Uganda via

the country’s youth population, Sempala said.

“Eighty percent of our population is under age 35,” she said. “So there is hope. How do we engage our youth? We expect change to just happen. We need to build roads to make it happen.”

Sempala said she was moved by a same-sex wedding she witnessed at City Hall. “Seeing is believing, it changes you,” she said. “If propaganda is all you hear, then what can you believe?”

Nathan said in an email this week that she took Sempala to City Hall to look around. While they were there they happened upon two justmarried same-sex couples. Sempala congratulated them. She watched one of the weddings with the permission of the couple, Nathan said, adding that she does not have the couple’s name.

Dorf, however, is unconvinced regarding Sempala’s position on LGBT issues.

“She was given a public platform that she can use in Uganda,” Dorf said of Sempala. “This is not responsible activism. Activists of good will make mistakes because they’re not officially in touch with the LGBT leaders of the country they’re trying to help.”

A June news release from the LGBT center stated that Nathan’s organization was funded in part by a grant from the Arcus Foundation.

A spokesman for the Arcus Foundation in June referred questions to Nathan and the community center, saying the foundation defers to the recipient. This week, a foundation spokesman said that an Arcus grant was made to the LGBT center, but it is not included in a list of grants on the foundation’s website.

Nathan declined to answer specific questions about the grant, “what does that have to do with Hon. Sempala’s visit?”

Rolfe told the B.A.R. this week that the grant is for $25,000 and that she is not sure what Nathan will use the funds for. Initially, Nathan had hoped to bring LGBT Ugandans to the city for June’s Pride parade, where she was a grand marshal. But the Ugandans could not obtain visas from the State Department, Rolfe explained.t

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<< Politics

8 • Bay Area Reporter • September 18-24, 2014

Hello BAR readers!

Out candidates seek Emeryville, Berkeley city council seats

by Matthew S. Bajko

Both the local Stonenot working in order to wall club and the nafocus on her campaign. n the East Bay, Emeryville has tional Gay and Lesbian John Bauters, 34, long had a lesbian city councilVictory Fund are supan affordable housing woman but no out gay men serving porting Droste. Counadvocate, is one of four on the elected body. The opposite cilman Moore and Ascandidates seeking two is true in Berkeley, where two gay semblywoman Nancy open citywide council men are on the city council but no Skinner (D-Berkeley) seats in Emeryville. lesbian has been elected to serve. have endorsed both He moved to the city That could change this NovemDroste and Beier, who from Chicago two years Courtesy John Bauters ber, as out candidates are seeking to also lists Councilwomago and moved into Emeryville City become the first gay and first lesbian an Susan Wengraf an apartment with his Council candidate council member in their respective and Councilman Jesse partner of seven years, John Bauters cities.

Arreguin among his Aaron Feeney, 33, who Educator Lori Droste, 41, a marsupporters. handles sales and caried mother of two, is one of four Berkeley uses an instant voter tering at the Andaz hotel in Napa, candidates running for runoff system in council races, so it and their 11-year-old the Berkeley council’s is likely it will take a few rounds beshepherd-mix, King, District 8 seat, which fore a winner is declared in the race. who Bauters rescued a includes the Elmwood At this point, Droste said she feels decade ago while at law district where she has good about her chances. school. lived for 17 years.

“I am ready to unite Berkeley,” “I knew I wanted to “When someone told she said. “The only way to aceventually enter into me that I couldn’t believe complish our goals is if we work local government leadit,” Droste told the Bay together.” ership,” said Bauters, Area Reporter about the who is engaged to fact an out lesbian has Student seeks to name Feeney and works as a Jane Philomen Cleland yet to win a seat on the school for Ammiano policy director at the Berkeley City famously liberal city’s Council candidate A high school student would like nonprofit agency Houscouncil. “It is surprising Lori Droste to honor outgoing gay state Asing California. “I wanted to say the least. I thought semblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San not to be part of a giant Berkeley might have Francisco) by renaming a public bureaucracy, so Embeen the first.” school after him. eryville is a great spot. People here Although it would “be very excitMichael Redmond, 15, is eyeing are invested and involved.” ing” to be the first lesbian councilMcKinley Elementary School on Two of his opponents – teacher woman, Droste said she was mo14th Street in the city’s gay Castro Scott Donahue and television tivated to run because the council district for the name change. producer Dianne Martinez – are lacks the perspective of someone “I picked that one running as a slate, while with a young family. Droste and because it is not only former councilman her wife, Carrie Gray, 43, have two in the Castro but also Ken Bukowski is children, 3-year-old Simon Graybecause McKinley the seeking to regain a seat Droste and 7-month-old Cora president was not so on the council. Bauters June Gray-Droste. great a guy when you read acknowledged his short “Even more of an issue is there up on him,” said Redtime living in the city is not a sitting council person who mond, who attended could be a negative has young children,” said Droste, the school. “And I with some voters. who taught a class last semester don’t personally believe “It is a question I at Mills College about the lack of he deserves to have a have to answer to evfemale politicians but is currently school named for him.” erybody,” he said.

William McKinley Lesbian Emeryville was elected the country’s 25th City Councilwoman Ruth Atkins president but was assassinated six and gay Berkeley City Councilman months into his second term. He Darryl Moore have endorsed his died September 14, 1901 at age 58. council bid. He is hopeful members of the LGBT-focused East Bay A sophomore at Gateway High Stonewall Democratic Club will School, a college-preparatory charendorse him in early October when ter school, Redmond is just beginthe group votes on a number of ning to seek support for his idea. local races.

He presented it to the Harvey Milk Should he win one of the fourLGBT Democratic Club this week year terms, Bauters said his top and plans to discuss it with the concerns will be affordable housing, PTA and other leaders at McKinley. particularly for city staff, housing The son of Tim Redmond, a for families, and the city’s schools. former longtime editor of the Bay “If we want to cultivate a famGuardian who became its pubily environment, we have got to lisher but left in 2013 due to disaddress the way we do developputes with the paper’s new owners, ment,” said Bauters, who grew up in Michael Redmond has long known Michigan.

Ammiano, who lives nearby him.

Droste’s campaign platform is “The thing about Tom is he was also concerned about housing afnot only very influential in local fordability issues in Berkeley as well and state politics, he fought for as safety issues, from safe streets for teachers’ rights, the rights of gay pedestrians to sexual assaults. teachers, and was always a big sup“I am concerned about the acaporter of education and did a lot demic achievement gap and what of work around that. That is what will happen to the next generation makes me want to name a school of Berkeley citizens,” added Droste, after him,” said Redmond, who is who grew up in Circleville, Ohio, straight. near Columbus. “What will BerkeDue to term limits, Ammiano ley look like when my kids are teenwill officially leave the Assembly agers? These issues helped propel this December. One of the first me to run.” teachers to come out publicly in She is facing off against three opCalifornia, Ammiano served on ponents: Mike Alvarez Cohen, Jacthe city’s school board in the early quelyn McCormick, and George 1990s prior to becoming an elected Beier, a gay man who twice before city supervisor in 1994. ran against gay Berkeley City CounHe helped lead the yearslong cilman Kriss Worthington but push to name one of the city’s elefound himself drawn into a differmentary schools after Harvey Milk, ent district this election cycle. the first out person to win elective Worthington, who is running for office in the city. The Harvey Milk re-election this November for the Civil Rights Academy is located in council’s District 7 seat against one the Castro across from Collingopponent, has not endorsed in the wood Park.

District 8 race.

Correction Outgoing District 8 Councilman Last week’s column misreported Gordon Wozniak has endorsed District 10 candidate Tony Kelly’s Cohen to succeed him, and Mayor age. He is 51. The online version has Tom Bates is also supporting been corrected.t Cohen.

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Community News>>

September 18-24, 2014 • Bay Area Reporter • 11

GLAAD promotes Spirit Day at SF gala

Meghan McCain, left, introduced David and Tina Long, who spoke at the San Francisco GLAAD gala about the death of their son and the importance of anti-bullying programs.

by Khaled Sayed

S

pirit Day is less than a month away and officials at GLAAD used the occasion of their San Francisco gala to bring attention to the national anti-bullying initiative.

“Bullying is out and compassion is what is cool now, but the change isn’t happening quickly enough,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, GLAAD’s president and CEO, at the September 13 gala held at the Hilton union Square. “So many of us know what it feels like to be an outsider. That is why we need you to get involved.”

The upcoming Spirit Day takes place October 16 when students, teachers, public figures, and corporations will join together to send a powerful message of support for LGBT youth. Those participating in the observance, held annually since 2010, are asked to wear purple and

change their social media avatars to purple. The color symbolizes “spirit” on the rainbow flag, GLAAD says in its description of the event.

Political commentator Meghan McCain, the host of Pivot TV’s Take Part Live, is a GLAAD board member and also the daughter of Republican Senator John McCain (Arizona).

“I’m very honored and proud to be on the board of GLAAD,” McCain said. “I’m also proud to be standing here tonight as a young feminist, and a little nervous to be saying this in this city, but I’m a Republican.” That line drew a chuckle from the audience.

McCain spoke of the impact Spirit Day could have across the country.

“It is the kind of campaign that might have saved the life of Tyler Long,” she said. “In 2009 Tyler took his own life after years of suffering from bullying. Tina and David Long

through tech and new media.

YouTube stars Tyler Oakley and Hannah Hart presented the award to Arjan Dijk the out vice president of marketing at Google. The search engine giant owns YouTube.

Other awards winners included Kris Perry and Sandy Stier, one of the plaintiff couples in the federal lawsuit to undo Proposition 8, California’s same-sex marriage ban that was tossed out on a technicality by the U.S. Su-

C

hurch bells clanged at a distance as I waited for Adrianos in a San Francisco cafe. Running my fingers over my guide dog Oslo’s soft ears, I attempted to push my first date jitters away. I had met Adrianos at a meet up for martial artists. And outside the basic facts – where he worked, lived, and the name of his dog – I didn’t know anything else, which made wonder how he would deal with my blindness.

“Here’s your iced latte,” a woman called to my right, placing a cardboard cup in my hand.

I thanked her in a chipper voice and shifted my attention back to my worrisome thoughts. Will Adrianos ask about surgeries that could restore my sight? Or will he limit his curiosity to how Oslo and I work together? The former often annoys me – especially when people continue to bring up procedures that are not even available to the public.

“How about a robotic eye?” they suggest, their voices full of hope.

“Or what about an eye transplant?”

The funny thing is, it’s not the fact that they assume I haven’t looked into medical treatments that irritates me. It’s that they continue with their uninformed suggestions after I share that I’m happy just the way things are. From time to time, it’s hard for the able-bodied people I meet to believe that a disabled person could be truly happy.

I felt Oslo’s wet tongue on my hand and I could not help but smile.

Oslo always knows when I need to chill out, I thought, petting his downy head.

I heard two young women discuss the warm weather as they settled into the table next to me. I pulled out my earphones and became disappointed when I heard my iPod tell me the battery was low.

Not wanting to look bored, I kept my headphones on and continued to wait for Adrianos.

“So what’s up with you and Kevin?” the woman closest to me asked. “Is it finally over?”

“We took a two-week break,” the other woman answered, her voice dry. “But I’m seeing him tonight.

It’s really tough for him to get away.”

“Oh, Ashley,” the concerned friend said. ‘He’s married.”

Ashley drew a big breath and said, “His wife is in a wheelchair.

She can’t give him what I can. If anything, I am helping her out.”

“Just because cripples don’t have sex doesn’t make it right, Ash,” the friend sighed.

I felt my face go hot.

How could she assume people in wheelchairs can’t have sex? Worst of all, how could the other girl use someone’s disability as a justification for an affair? The newly blind version of me would have said nothing. But now, eight years later, I sensed the need to speak up. I turned to face the women and felt my elbow knock my drink over. The cool liquid spilled on my shirt and down my pants, making me stand up. Unfamiliar voices swarmed around me, offering me napkins.

I padded my clothes dry and heard a guy ask, “Do you need me to take you to the bathroom?”

I shook my head and told the guy I was fine and that I was waiting for a friend. He replied, “It’s me, Adrianos.”

Being unable to recognize someone’s voice doesn’t happen often, but when it does, it’s pretty embarrassing. Wanting to put the cafe scene behind me, I asked Adrianos if we could take a walk down Valencia Street instead.

As we ambled away from the table, I heard a woman say, “You forgot his iPod.” I reached for the device on the table and heard the woman continue, “I gave the iPod to your brother.”

I was unsure if she was the same girl who was having the affair or not. Regardless, it took every ounce of strength not to say anything rude back to her. After all, I didn’t want to be that angry disabled person. I bit my lower lip, took the iPod from Adrianos, and continued making my way out of the coffee shop. Feeling Oslo guide me around a crowd, I wondered why people always assume my dates are my family.

Despite the sun’s warmth and tepid wind, I sensed a cold vibe coming from Adrianos. As he shared the details of his job as a graphic artist for a startup, I wondered if seeing me make a mess had changed his opinion about me. Maybe he thinks I will always spill drinks, I thought ruefully, walking between Oslo and Adrianos. But, I’ll never get the truth unless I ask.

So, as we approached a store that reeked of patchouli, I asked him if he was doing okay. His answer surprised me.

He shared he grew up in foster homes and that his brother, who had passed away two months prior, was the only family he had. Hearing that woman refer to me as his brother had stirred up a lot of memories about Jason.

“When I got to the cafe,” he began, “you looked upset. But it See page 14 >>

For more photos of the GLAAD gala, see this week’s Shooting Stars feature in BARtab.

CELEBRATION OF THE LIFE OF THOM WEYAND

Talking about death and disability

by Belo Cipriani

preme Court last year. They received the President’s Local Hero Award.

Jarron Collins, the twin brother of gay NBA player Jason Collins, presented the Davidson/Valentini Award to Rick Welts, the gay president and chief of operations for the Golden State Warriors.t

Courtesy Terry Huwe

Khaled Sayed

are here tonight to tell us about their son Tyler and what you can do to prevent this tragedy from happening to anyone else.”

David and Tina Long, founders of the nonprofit Everything Starts With 1, brought the audience to tears with their story.

“We are just normal parents, but we are honored and privileged to be here with you tonight,” Tina Long said. “Our son Tyler was a junior at Murray County High School, Murray County, Georgia. Tyler was bullied relentlessly for years. He had his head shoved into a locker, they called him geek, gay, and faggot. They took his belongings and spat in his food.

They told him he was worthless and he should go hang himself.”

Tina Long talked about the drastic changes in her son.

“Our fun sweet boy became a shell of his former self,” she said.

“We talked to the school and they told us boys will be boys. When Tyler didn’t get any help he shut down. He stopped telling us how bad it really was and what was happening.”

In October 2009 David Long found Tyler hanged in his bedroom.

“I would have done anything to save him but it was too late,” he said.

“We thought if we just loved him enough that he would be okay,” said Tina Long. “But as a parent you can only love your son so much. We can’t go to school with them and we can’t keep them safe every minute. We can love them in every part of our being, but when they walk into that building something else happens.”

GLAAD also recognized two tech titans as Google and YouTube received the inaugural Ric Weiland Award, which honors innovators who advance LGBT equality

MARCH 16, 1951 – AUGUST 12, 2014

The National AIDS Memorial Grove & Terry Huwe invite all to join together within the “Grove” in celebration of the remarkable life of Thom Weyand, who for decades gave so much to our community.

Saturday, September 27, 2014 11:OO AM National AIDS Memorial Grove, Golden Gate Park Light Lunch to follow.

Donations may be directed to the National AIDS Memorial Grove’s Thom Weyand Memorial Fund @aidsmemorial.org

DISPLAY OBITUARIES & IN MEMORIAMS

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<< Community News

12 • Bay Area Reporter • September 18-24, 2014

What’s in a name?

by Gwendolyn Ann Smith

W

hile not the first and certainly not the only one, Facebook has become a giant in the era of social networking. In only 10 years since its founding, the website boasted $7.87 billion in revenue last year, and 1.28 billion monthly active users.

Facebook has not been without controversy. From its creation – dramatized in the film The Social Network – to today, the site has had its critics and contention. In recent years the site has courted controversy over privacy issues and over recent revelations over deliberate manipulation of users’ feeds to elicit emotional reactions.

In Berlin in 2011, Douglas Rushkoff said, “We are not the customers of Facebook, we are the product.

Facebook is selling us to advertisers.” With that in mind, everything you write on Facebook, every photo you post, every “like” you click is data for Facebook’s advertisers. If there is one thing they need, therefore, it is clear and accurate data.

Every so often, Facebook has sought to purge its site of false accounts with claims of clearing out “bots” – or automated software – and cyberbullies. Yet when it does so, it ends up also culling the site from real people who follow Facebook’s rules, but may otherwise opt to use a name different from that on their birth certificate, driver’s license, or other official identification.

In the last month, Facebook has been even more draconian in enforcing this policy toward “real” names than in the past. Its most recent campaign has ended up netting a number of transgender individuals and drag queens, as well as others who may use a pseudonym for gaming, for personal safety, because of their celebrity, or any number of other reasons.

Sister Roma, of the drag nun group Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, has taken to Facebook to protest the name policy. She was locked out of her account until she provided her “legal name, like the one that appears on your driver’s license or credit card.” She did give in and provided her legal name, Michael Williams, because the connections she had outweighed the need to protect her name. Even then, postings she has put up that are critical of the policy have been pulled from Facebook, declared to be abusive or spam.

Sister Roma’s experience is not an outlier, with many others being forced from the site as Facebook claims it is somehow keeping its online community “safe” by doing this.

Over this last year there have been plenty of painful arguments between the drag and transgender communities, but I think we have ample room to agree here. We should all feel welcome to present ourselves as we choose to, and not be forced into an identity that is not ours.

There are a number of reasons to opt for a pseudonym. You may need to separate yourself from a birth name to avoid stalkers and others who may seek to do you harm. You might have such to protect your “regular” identity from employers or others, using a pseudonym to be in contact with the transgender or larger queer community. You may also use it as a form of exploration, opting for a name different from the gender you were assigned at birth in order to consider your gender identity.

While I have been using the name on my byline for longer than Facebook existed, I recall how important it was to be able to start to claim that name in virtual spaces before I was ready and willing to do the same in my day-to-day life. The ability to

FREELANCE NEWS REPORTERS

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adopt this identity was pivotal in allowing me to understand my own space as a transgender woman, and helped me prepare for facing the world at large.

Mine is not a “stage name,” but as much a part of my identity as anyone else’s preferred name. It may not have always been there, but it is what adorns my driver’s license and plenty of other official paperwork.

But so what if it was a stage name?

If I go to Facebook looking for the official, verified page for Whoopi Goldberg, I need only type facebook.com/whoopigoldberg. No one seems to be demanding her page be closed down because it does not read Caryn Johnson, her birth name. Former wrestling superstar Hulk Hogan is not forced to be Terry Jean Bollette, his real name.

No one is telling Portia De Rossi to present her birth certificate, which declares her to be Amanda Lee Rogers. Each of these celebrities, and many more, has no issue with their preferred name on Facebook.

Sister Roma and others may not be the same sort of household names as Goldberg or Hogan, even though she is much more likely to be mentioned in my household.

Nevertheless, her name is as seem-

Rick Gerharter

Drag queen BeBe Sweetbriar performs in San Francisco last year.

ingly valid as any of these celebrities.

Facebook has had a real names policy since the get-go: its desire for data demands it. It has also told people that they can – like the aforementioned celebrities – have a “fan page” to host their pseudonym. And maybe that is an option for many with drag personas, but it is not so much an option for those with other, legitimate needs for pseudonymous identities in the world at large – in-

t

cluding many transgender people.

Some have accused Facebook of being homophobic or transphobic by targeting Sister Roma and others like BeBe Sweetbriar, another well-known local drag entertainer.

Many have also postulated that a third party has targeted queer and transgender people, turning Facebook’s policies against the LGBT community. I don’t know if this is true, or if Facebook was just doing a random sweep of names. So far, the company has not issued any comment. I have heard about people both in and outside the trans and drag communities being targeted, so this could simply be Facebook being Facebook, and nothing specifically aiming at our community.

Whether intentional or not, however, we are being hurt by this. Much like Google-Plus – which recently dropped its “wallet name” policy – I join with others in calling for Facebook to change. I may only be a data point to them, but perhaps if enough of their data points speak out, their real customers will take notice – and perhaps change may happen.t Gwen Smith does not wish to be called late for dinner. You’ll find her at www.gwensmith.com.

Bandidos eatery is now Hecho compiled by Cynthia Laird

T

he owners of Bandidos, the Mexican restaurant in San Francisco’s Castro district that had faced complaints from people who felt the name was offensive, have changed the eatery’s name to Hecho.

“As small business owners, we have been saddened that unknowingly the name of the restaurant we recently opened has offended people,” owners of the eatery, which is at 2200 Market Street, said in a Facebook post Thursday, September 11. “ ... We have always wanted to celebrate Mexican culture, food, and drinks, and never would want anyone to feel like they were being discriminated.”

Hecho “is Spanish for ‘made,’ as in Hecho en Mexico or Hecho en SF,” the owners said. “We take this to mean different things for different people, no matter where they are from.” The eatery’s menu “is inspired by Mexican cuisine but has a San Francisco twist,” so “we are ‘made’ everywhere,” the message said.

Local queer comedian Marga Gomez had been working with owners Jesse Woodward and Dana Gleim on a name change since around the time the restaurant opened September 2. Gomez said in an interview last week that “Bandidos” translates to ‘bandits,’” and “it has a lot to do with stereotypes of Mexican people,” such as “bushy beards, criminals,” and “untrustworthy” figures.

Woodward, who’s gay, has said, “Our inspiration was always the Mexican revolutionaries,” such as Emiliano Zapata and Pancho Villa.

He called the men “heroes for a lot of Mexican people. They were looked up to.”

Alfredo Pedroza, 42, a gay Latino

Correction The September 11 Business Briefs column item “Lesbian nails Handyman franchise in Oakland” should have specified that customers pay an hourly rate of $75 an hour, while the handymen earn anywhere from $20 to $30 an hour depending on the job. The online version has been updated.

Rick Gerharter

Hecho is now the name of the Mexican restaurant that used to be called Bandidos.

San Francisco man, was also among those who talked to Woodward and Gleim about changing the name.

“We’re really happy with the change,” Pedroza said. He said there “was no mal-intent” with the restaurant name.

“They just needed to understand the facts, basically, and once they understood that, they saw what they needed to do, and they didn’t do it reluctantly. They embraced it,” Pedroza said. He said Hecho was Woodward and Gleim’s suggestion, and they said it had originally been their second choice, behind Bandidos.

“They kind of laughed and said, ‘We should have chosen that to

begin with,’” Pedroza said.

Gleim and Woodward didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Castro Cares project launches Friday

The Castro/Upper Market Community Benefit District has announced that Castro Cares, a program to bring increased city services to the gay neighborhood to address quality of life issues, will launch Friday, September 19.

The initiative is the result of an effort by the CBD and a coalition of neighborhood organizations and businesses working with gay District 8 Supervisor Scott Wiener, who successfully championed $100,000 per year in city start-up funds for two years. CBD Executive Director See page 13 >>

Obituaries >> William Robert Gundel 1939 – 2014 William Robert Gundel passed away peacefully and with dignity on Friday, September 5, 2014.

Bill was born and raised in New York City where he majored in journalism at Queens College and studied playwriting at the New School. He was admitted to the prestigious Circle-in-theSquare workshop for his one-act play, Does Anybody Know I’m Here?

After moving to San Francisco in the early 1970s, Bill became active in the burgeoning cabaret-theatre movement, writing and/or producing musicals such as the well-received A Traveling Carnival Show and the Gershwin revue, By George, plus benefits and special entertainment events.

He also co-wrote the long-running, awardwinning Noel Coward revue, Champagne!

In a Cardboard Cup, and he produced a successful revival of Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris.

Bill was a founding member of the San Francisco Council on Entertainment and wrote scripts for the annual Cabaret Gold Awards. He executive-produced the awards at Bimbo’s in 1982.

Bill loved music above all the arts and subscribed to the saying “without music, life would be a mistake.” He was an ardent Tchaikovsky scholar, and gave talks on the Russian composer on both sides of the bay.

Beginning in 1988, he spent five years as a volunteer for Shanti, providing support services for persons with AIDS. He also was a tutor for the adult literacy program, Project Read.

In Bill’s non-theatrical life, he worked in the finance fields of banks and credit unions, most recently at Spectrum Federal Credit Union from which he retired in 2002. He spent the last years traveling to Mexico, Costa Rica, Italy, and Egypt, and expanding his interest in opera.

There will be no memorial service.

t <<

Community News>>

Editorial

From page 4

established goals for affordable housing production and preservation based on the housing needs for low- and moderate-income households. Programs have been put in place to build and improve affordable homes, provide down payment assistance to homebuyers, and to help families and individuals stay in affordable homes and prevent displacement. When the state eliminated redevelopment agencies, a major source of funding for these programs was eliminated as well. In

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Facebook

From page 1

Entertainer, actor, columnist, and activist BeBe Sweetbriar, whose real name is Kevin Junious, said in a phone interview that Facebook should respect the privacy of its users. “[This] should not be any of their business,” Sweetbriar said.

Facebook was created by Mark Zuckerberg in 2004, first as a way for college students to connect and later for people to interact with friends, family members, and others. This includes sharing photos and messages with friends, family, and total strangers. And while Facebook has gained over a billion users worldwide, the social network has had its share of challenges. In the past Facebook has taken on the National Security Agency, privacy advocates, and Google.

The kerfuffle between Facebook and drag queens reached the pages of the Wall Street Journal, which noted that the name policy “has

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PrEP

From page 6

how much they have to pay.

Gamundi explained that Gilead has both a medication assistance program for individuals without insurance coverage, who get Truvada for free, and a copay card to help people with insurance cover their out-of-pocket costs.

Advocates have asked Gilead to cover more people who are underinsured, not just uninsured, Evans replied.

“A lot of people have crappy coverage,” he said. “If people have very high

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News Briefs

From page 12

Andrea Aiello said that a private fundraising campaign begins in October with the goal of raising an additional $235,000 per year.

The initiative will begin this week with the placement in the Castro of a homeless outreach team case manager, funded by the Department of Public Health. The case manager’s goal is to connect those living on the streets with services.

When the full initiative rolls out over the coming year, Castro Cares will fund additional dedicated overtime San Francisco Police Department officers, plus Patrol Special Police officers and homeless outreach services, Aiello said in an email.

Castro Cares is a culmination of biweekly meetings that the coalition has held for nearly a year. Meetings were held with SFPD, the Police Commission, Housing Opportunities Partnerships and Engagement Director Bevan Dufty, the Patrol Special Police, and the homeless outreach team.

On the web Online content this week includes the Bay Area Reporter’s online columns, Political Notes and Wedding Bells Ring; the Jock Talk and Out in the World columns; and articles on the SF Pride meeting and a queer book launch in Oakland. www.ebar.com.

September 18-24, 2014 • Bay Area Reporter • 13

2012, the voters approved a measure establishing the Housing Trust Fund to set aside a portion of the city’s budget for affordable housing programs. Current levels of funding of the Housing Trust Fund are less than the revenue provided by the redevelopment agency and is likely not sufficient to fund these programs. This proposition mandates the mayor and the Board of Supervisors to create a funding strategy to build new affordable housing, to purchase land for affordable housing, to preserve existing rental units, and to fund public housing rehabilitation. Toward this end, the propo-

sition sets as goals that the city will help construct or rehabilitate at least 30,000 homes by 2020; that more than 50 percent of the housing will be affordable for middle-class households, with at least 33 percent affordable for low- and moderateincome households; and that the city will attempt to ensure that 33 percent of new housing in areas that are rezoned to provide more residential development is affordable to low- and moderate-income households. Like the minimum wage increase, this housing policy will not solve the problem of high rents and home costs. But it is an ambitious

goal that, if accomplished, will make a real difference. It is the right thing to do. Vote YES on K. Proposition L: Policy Regarding Transportation Priorities.

NO. This proposition was put on the ballot, in part, as a counter proposal to Supervisor Wiener’s Prop B. We don’t like Prop B as it is a voter mandate on what should be part of the normal political process with our elected and appointed officials doing what they are elected and appointed to do. We don’t like Prop L for the same reason. It seeks to mandate the Municipal Transportation Agency to take actions

that rightly should be part of the political and administrative process, such as setting hours and rates for parking meters; freezing fees charged at the parking garages, for parking tickets or for neighborhood parking permits; or installing additional parking meters. It is also a poorly disguised shill for motorists at the expense of cyclists and pedestrians. It mandates the creation of additional parking garages and the creation of a Motorists Citizen Advisory Committee. San Francisco needs fewer motorists and cars not more. This is bad policy all around.

Vote NO on L.t

come under fire before, notably when it has deleted pages of dissident political activists because they used pseudonyms. Some activists say Facebook has put dissidents in danger by pushing them to reveal their identities.”

Facebook is all about data collection, mainly for advertisers, and the Journal noted that “Maintaining the quality of that data is an ongoing struggle for Facebook, which says about 11.2 percent of its 1.32 billion user profiles actually represent alternate identities, misclassified accounts, or fake accounts used for spamming.”

In an e-mail, Facebook spokesman Andrew Souvall said that the company’s name policy has been around for a while and wants users to provide legal names in order to have “a safer, more open environment of accountability.”

“If people want to use an alternative name on Facebook, they have several different options available to them, including providing an alias under their name on their

profile, or creating a page specifically for that alternative persona,” Souvall said. “As part of our overall standards, we ask that people who use Facebook provide their real name on their profile. We only generally review profile pages when a member of the Facebook community reports it to us. In these instances, the profiles would have been reported to us.”

On Facebook’s Safety Center Page users can protect themselves by blocking other users, unfriending someone, or reporting abuse. However, that along with the name policy is not effective, said Sweetbriar.

“That doesn’t stop a spousal abuser from finding the abused, who may be trying to stay safe.

Facebook says [that] the real name policy is for safety reasons, but real name use for many may be unsafe,” said Sweetbriar in an e-mail. “The enforcement of a real name policy doesn’t match their recent expansion of personal profile gender identifiers. I am sure Facebook is using some kind of matrix to

search profiles to see if they fit their real name requirement. If I use a transgender female as a gender choice because I have been living as a female, but use my legal name as required by Facebook, which is male, the two don’t match. Is that going to raise a red flag with Facebook?”

Facebook said it understands those issues.

“We recognize that a person’s real identity is not necessarily the name that appears on a person’s legal documents, and that is why we accept a broad variety of different forms that can be used to confirm that a person’s profile name does reflect the name they use in everyday life,” said Souvall.

In the wake of these changes a petition has been started by Seattle drag performer Olivia LaGarce to demand reform of Facebook’s sweeping policy. That petition can be found at https://www.change. org/p/facebook-allow-performersto-use-their-stage-names-on-theirfacebook-accounts. As of this past

Monday, the petition has received 15,000 signatures.

“By preventing us from accessing our accounts under our chosen names, this hinders our ability to make a living and develop our performance careers,” wrote LaGarce.

Oakland resident Ava Ashley, who prefers to be called by her stage name rather than her real name, Allan Markert said in an e-mail that Facebook must focus their attention on the bigger issues rather than enforcing this policy.

“Facebook should take a set and spend more time on trying to stop people’s profile being hacked, being bullied, and anything and anyone that is out to hurt or harm someone,” Ashley said. “My stage drag name means a lot to me. It’s me. So I’m not the one with the problem, they are.”

Facebook name and safety information can be found at h t t p s : / / w w w. f a c e b o o k . c o m / help/112146705538576 and https:// www.facebook.com/safety/tools/.t

deductibles, you should treat them as uninsured rather than insured.”

But cost is not the only barrier to PrEP. Jae Sevilus, a psychologist who works with UCSF’s Center of Excellence for Transgender Health, stressed that even with financial assistance, a bigger concern for trans women is the dearth of relevant PrEP research and trans-friendly providers. (A small number of trans women were included in iPrEx, but they were lumped in with men who have sex with men.)

“Until we can say this is not going to interfere with your transition-related goals and until trans-friendly

doctors know more about PrEP, trans women are going to be pretty hesitant,” Sevilus said. “We know even less about trans men.”

Indeed, Volk estimated that at Kaiser fewer than 10 transgender women are on PrEP.

Specifically, the resolution states, “The Department of Public Health is urged to submit by December 1, 2014, a plan developed in conjunction with the HIV testing programs, public and private clinicians, HIV prevention agencies, support agencies, the manufacturer of Truvada, and health insurance providers to achieve an increase in the use of PrEP that addresses the educational and affordability issues.”

“I am committed to taking the steps necessary to ensure access to all individuals wanting PrEP regardless of income,” Campos said.

Contrary to some media reports,

Campos’s resolution does not call for “free PrEP for all” paid for by the city. Instead, the legislation is intended to help people access PrEP through existing financing mechanisms such as private insurance, Medicaid, and Gilead’s patient assistance program, HIV Prevention Planning Council member Laura Thomas told the B.A.R. The board’s Neighborhood Services and Safety Committee will hold a hearing to discuss expanded PrEP access Thursday, September 18 at 10am. Thursday’s hearing will be preceded by a rally on the steps of City Hall at 9 a.m.t

Members of the coalition include the CBD, Castro/Eureka Valley Neighborhood Association, Castro Community on Patrol, Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church, Duboce Triangle Neighborhood Association, Hartford Street Neighbors, Collingwood Street Neighbors, St. Francis Lutheran Church, Safeway, and Castro Merchants.

“The idea is to try to build relationships with people over time and get them engaged in the health and social service system,” said Greg Carey, chief of patrol for Castro Community on Patrol.

Horizons will also recognize AT&T with its Visionary Award.

Among the sponsors of the event is the Bob Ross Foundation, a nonprofit that is named after the B.A.R.’s founding publisher but is not affiliated with the newspaper, which is owned by BAR Media Inc. Tickets are $300 for the gala and casino party or $75 for the casino party only and can be purchased at http://www.horizonsfoundation. org. A preview of silent auction items will be available online beginning September 20.

Water conservation resource fair

much of the content written by cast members.

“We seek to develop a new troupe of performers of all kinds who will actively contribute to the writing of the show and be provided an opportunity to try original pieces, whether spoken, sung, acted, danced, or pantomimed,” Gagne said in an email.

Desirable acts include singers, dancers, poets, playing an instrument, impressionists, ventriloquists, mimes, magicians, dramatic actors, jugglers, stand-up comics, puppeteers, baton twirlers, and hulahoopers. The only prohibitions are no live babies and no fire (as in fire-breathing) unless organizers get clearance from the authorities.

Gagne said that all acts are nonpaying, as proceeds from ticket sales will go to the general fund for the holiday dinners that are served on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter.

“However, participants will be taken care of in other ways, and the experience of working on a semiprofessional show can go on a resume,” Gagne said.

Non-performing roles are also being solicited, including lighting, sound, stage management, wardrobe, concessions, tickets, ushering, and security.

For more information, including audition times and locations, email tenderlointessiedinners@yahoo.com or call Gagne at (415) 584-3252.t

Horizons gala to honor Sachet

The Horizons Foundation will honor drag personality and Bay Area Reporter society columnist Donna Sachet with its Leadership Award at its annual fall gala dinner and casino party Saturday, September 27 at the Fairmont Hotel, 950 Mason Street in San Francisco. The evening begins with a reception and silent auction at 5 p.m., followed by dinner and the program at 7 and dessert and a red-hot casino party in the Tonga Room at 8:30.

Sachet, a former Imperial Court empress (1995-96), has raised thousands of dollars over the years for a variety of LGBT and HIV/ AIDS nonprofit organizations. She has also promoted San Francisco through co-anchoring the television broadcast of the Pride parade and long been involved in civic activities.

Supe’s resolution and hearing The resolution Campos introduced at Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting calls on the Department of Public Health to inform the supervisors about efforts to educate the public and providers about PrEP, as well as steps related to access and cost.

Ammiano open house Saturday

Outgoing Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco) will have an open house Saturday, September 20 from 2 to 4:30 p.m. at Delancey Street Foundation, 600 The Embarcadero. American jazz singer Paula West will be the special guest.

The event will mark Ammiano’s six years in the Legislature. Term limits force the gay lawmaker to step down in December. Among his many accomplishments, Ammiano is the author of several bills designed to help the LGBT community, including the School Success and Opportunity Act, which helps ensure that transgender students can fully participate in all school activities, sports teams, programs, and facilities that match their gender identity.

The open house will feature hosted beverages and appetizers.

California is in the midst of a drought and the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission is inviting residents to its Water Works resource fair Saturday, September 20 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Southeast Treatment Plant, 750 Phelps Street (at Jerrold Avenue).

The event is free and will feature hands-on activities and workshops on water conservation, emergency preparedness, pollution prevention, a kid’s zone, and interactive walking tours. Those who attend will be entered into a raffle to win a low-flow toilet, worth $250.

To register, visit http://www.waterworks2014.eventbrite.com.

Auditions for Tessie’s new variety show

Tenderloin Tessie, the nonprofit that serves holiday dinners three times a year to those in need, is excited to announce open auditions for a new variety show, “The Tender Tessie Talent Show,” scheduled for an October 25 premiere.

Board President Michael Gagne said open auditions will be held on Wednesdays, starting September 24, for three weeks or Saturdays by appointment.

Under the direction of Gagne and cabaret pianist and Tenderloin Tessie board member Marc David Sanders, the show aims to be fresh, original, zany, irreverent, satiric, and sometimes politically incorrect with

Seth Hemmelgarn contributed to this report.

Serving the LGBT communities since 1971

14 • Bay Area Reporter • September 18-24, 2014

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AIDS confab

From page 3

CLEANING SERVICES

think the return of the conference in COUNSELING 2018 would be a wonderful opportunity to showcase the tremendous progress we are making here in San Francisco,” said Loduca.

Gay District 8 Supervisor Scott Wiener authored a resolution, which the Board of Supervisors unanimously passed Tuesday, September 9, in support of the city’s bid to host the conference. The resolution was co-sponsored by gay District 9 Supervisor David Campos and District 3 Supervisor David Chiu, the board’s president.

Wiener’s been talking to Lee’s office and SFAF about bringing the conference to the city in 2018, and he plans to meet with the conference selection committee “later this month.”

“San Francisco has always been on the cutting edge of HIV care and prevention,” Wiener said. “We’ve always been at the epicenter of this epidemic, both in terms of being incredibly hard hit by the epidemic, and in terms of our response to

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Seeing in the Dark

From page 11

didn’t seem like you were mad at me for being late. It was more like you were mad at something else.”

“I was mad at a conversation I overheard,” I started to say, “and then I made a mess. To top it off, that lady assumed you were my brother – as if only my relatives would hang out with me.”

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Condoms

HAULING From page 1

LEGAL SERVICES

doms other than regular sized ones in the agency’s buckets found in bars.

For guys to protect themselves during sex they need access to condoms that properly fit, said Kavanaugh.

“It is a bucket with holes in it,” he said. “If you are trying to carry water in a bucket with holes in it, it is not going to work.”

Kyriell Noon, SFAF’s director of prevention and client services who formerly was executive director of Stop AIDS, said the agency stocks a wide variety of condoms.

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Leather bar site

From page 3

According to the planning department, John A. and Linda Andreini purchased the site, including the land, in 2009 for a total of about $2.2 million.

Luna wouldn’t say how much she’s paying for the building, but she estimated the sale would be final by November.

John Andreini didn’t directly respond to an interview request, but Henry Chen, chief financial officer for

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Richmond

From page 1

During the meeting, council members expressed concern about who would be responsible for determining what hate speech versus free speech is and breaching community members’ civil rights while discussing the report.

Currently there are policies in place, but they are “murky,” and the report clarifies the rules of order, said Mayor Gayle McLaughlin.

Beckles described the purpose of the report as a way to codify proper behavior in the chamber.

She reminded opponents that when the Ku Klux Klan marched down MacDonald Street by Richmond’s civic center they had every legal right, but they never marched in Richmond again. “Why?” Beckles asked, because the community came out and told them they weren’t going to stand for the KKK

the epidemic. We’ve created models here that have been replicated around the world.”

He said having the gathering in San Francisco would also be “a reminder that the epidemic is still very much present in San Francisco. We still have a lot of people living with the disease,” many who “struggle to access health care and get their medications, and we still have new infections occurring here.”

The conference would “highlight our city’s unique role, and highlight the fact we have a lot of work left to do,” Wiener said.

Like Lee, Wiener expressed sympathy for the people of Amsterdam.

“I love Amsterdam,” he said. “San Francisco and Amsterdam are two of the best cities in the world, and what the Netherlands went through in terms of that crash and the loss, not just of lives but of significant leaders in the HIV community, was a horrible tragedy, so we all want to be very supportive of that comMOVERS munity. With that said, I also believe San Francisco would be a phenomenal site for the 2018 conference,

and I do believe San Francisco is the right choice.”

Asked whether the meeting would cost the city money, Wiener said, “I don’t think so. I believe it would all be privately funded.”

The city’s bid has elicited some opposition, with Zi Teng, a Hong Kong-based non-governmental organization that works with sex workers, calling for San Francisco not to be selected. It signed on to a letter submitted by the advocacy groups INPUD (International Network of People who Use Drugs) and NSWP (The Global Network of Sex Work Projects) asking the International AIDS Society not to pick a U.S. city to host the International AIDS Conference 2018.

“Though the U.S. government has done much on HIV prevention, more is the criticism on some of her discriminative policies and immigration measures against sex workers and drug-users, which are two social groups closely related to the risk of HIV/AIDS,” noted Zi Teng in its June newsletter. “For example, it imposes ban on the purchase of supplies in

the needle and syringe programs, it requires the groups and projects seeking for the U.S. funds to sign the ‘anti-prostitution pledge.’”

San Francisco last hosted the AIDS conference in 1990, when the theme was “AIDS in the Nineties: From Science to Policy” and 11,000 people participated in the sixth such confab, according to a history of the conferences posted online. It was the last time an American city hosted the conference until 2012, when Washington, D.C. served as the host city.

The decades-long boycott of the U.S. was due to a travel ban imposed on people living with HIV and AIDS from entering the country. While President George W. Bush supported ending the policy, it took until 2010 for President Barack Obama to officially repeal it.

The 21st International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2016) is set to take place July 17-22 in Durban, South Africa.t

“Well, I had a friend in college who was in a wheelchair. He was a total slut. That lady was way off,” Adrianos said.

“I know,” I replied, smiling.

We grabbed seats in an Indian restaurant where we continued our conversation about death and disability – two topics we felt people didn’t always know how to handle.

And even though the conversation was serious, we both laughed as we

shared the different dumb things people had said to us.

“I hate it when people ask me for his age,” he said. “I mean, why does anyone’s age matter once they are gone?”

I couldn’t see his face, but I could hear the relief in his voice. As we continued our chat, I was reminded that every person, disabled or not, has a part of their lives that’s hard to talk about. Maybe someday I’ll hear someone say something dumb about

disability and it won’t faze me. Until then, I will try hard to remember that, like death, not everyone knows how to handle the topic of disability.t

“I have a bucket right in front of me. It has different colors, shapes, sizes, different flavors, and different materials. Some are non-latex because some guys are allergic to latex,” said Noon. “I haven’t noticedPET a difference in what kind of SERVICES condoms guys are asking for.”

As for if the condoms the city hands out are in fact used, it remains unclear, said Packer, as the health department does not track that information. Instead, she pointed to the results of surveys that the Stop AIDS Project collects and are published in the city’s HIV/ AIDS Epidemiology Annual Report.

According to the recently released

2013 report, the percentage of HIVnegative gay and bisexual men who reported having condomless anal sex steadily declined from 42 percent in 2006 to 32 percent in 2010, but rose to a high of 51 percent in 2013.

Among HIV-positive men, the percentage who reported having condomless anal sex remained between 57 percent and 63 percent except for two lows, 45 percent in 2008 and 38 percent in 2012.

The report cautioned that the results “may fluctuate” due to the sample size, which varies year to year.

“What we do know is condom use in our population has gone

down. People are asking more for lube honestly,” said Noon. “They are asking for silicone-based lube as opposed to water-based lube.”

As for why the numbers of condoms handed out has gone up when usage has declined, Noon said there aremultiplereasonsforwhypeople do not use them.

“Itisagoodquestion.Wearetry✍ ingtofigureitout,”hesaid.“People takethemwiththeintentionof usingthemandwindupnotusing them.”

Nonetheless,NoonsaidSFAFis committedtokeepingitscondom distribution program going “as long aspeoplekeeptakingthem.”t

Andreini and Company, said the sale is in escrow, and “it will be complete in TECH SUPPORT the next couple months.”

He wouldn’t say how much Luna’s paying.

Asked whether she’d be tearing down the building, Luna said, “Of course not.” Planning records don’t include any mention of taking down the building, for which Luna would have to apply for a separate permit.

Talley thinks Luna will demolish the building because he said that’s what she tried to do to the former Rawhide bar on Seventh Street several years ago.

But Luna said, “I never had anything to do with the Rawhide,” and data from the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control’s

website don’t show Luna was ever involved with that business. The records show the liquor license expired in 2009 when the venue was known as Rawhide II. Talley never went to Febe’s himself. “It had already closed by the time I moved to San Francisco” in 1989, he said.

The planning commission meeting is at noon Thursday at City Hall, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, Room 400. For more information, visit http://www.sf-planning.org/ index.aspx?page=3916.t

The revised report is due sometime in October.

community back at every meeting.

“What we need is for the community to continue coming to these council meetings and let individuals know, ‘No that’s not tolerated here,’” said Beckles, adding that communities often enforce and shape individuals’ public behavior, sometimes better than laws.

Beckles said that she wasn’t so much concerned about the outpouring of the East Bay’s LGBT community in Richmond Tuesday night, but more about the people of Richmond, in particular the LGBT community.

“We have a big LGBTQ community in Richmond and they are the target, so it is not just me,” said Beckles. “It feels good to know that we are finally addressing something that’s hindering people from participating in the process.”t

Protest

According to the planning department, the project has received little opposition. But San Francisco resident Mike Talley, 57, staged a small protest outside the building Saturday, September 13 that he estimated drew 10 people. Talley, a self-described “gay leatherman,” believes Luna plans to demolish the site of the former Febe’s. marching in their streets.

There was a large contingent of LGBTs and allies at the meeting to support Beckles. The East Bay Stonewall Democratic Club had urged its members to attend.

“I’m delighted. I’m really delighted to see the community coming out to say, ‘Stop it,’” Beckles told the Bay Area Reporter after the meeting.

The revised report will further clarify and outline what is appropriate and inappropriate behavior and language in the council chamber and will be read publicly before each meeting. One of the rules makes the chambers a campaign-free zone.

Council members struck a clause about offering trainings to individuals on best practices for working with public officials.

Councilman Corky Booze, who has long been an opponent of Beckles, cast the lone no vote. He also voted against the proposal to conduct the report in July.

Praise for Beckles

Earlier in the evening, the city council chamber was packed with an estimated 150 people praising Beckles and applauding other supporters. Very few people who oppose Beckles were at the meeting or they remained quiet, except for Mark Wassman. Twice Wassman went on a homophobic rant, but the second time he was escorted out of the chamber by three police officers as he called McLaughlin a “bitch.”

Outside a handful of demonstrators supporting Beckles passed out red ribbons and spoke out against hate speech prior to the meeting.

Beckles, who was born and raised in Panama and graduated from Florida A&M University before moving to California, was heartened by the outpouring of community support. She told the B.AR. that she hopes to see the

Seth Hemmelgarn contributed to this report.

Belo Cipriani is the writer-in-residence at Holy Names University, a spokesman for Guide Dogs for the Blind, the Get to Work columnist for SFGate.com, and the author of Blind: A Memoir. Learn more at BeloCipriani.com.

To learn more about Beckles, visit www.jovankabeckles.net.

t

Legal Notices>> FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036026400

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: NEW FRENCH NAILS, 425 BATTERY ST #D, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94111. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed SON P. QUANG. 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 09/03/14.

SEPT 11, 18, 25, OCT 02, 2014 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035996500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: FREE HEART COUNSELING, 3516 GEARY BLVD #102, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed LEAH ANN COCHRANE. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/13/14.

The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/13/14.

SEPT 11, 18, 25, OCT 02, 2014 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036017700

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: NEXTREX, 3099 MARKET ST #4, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed PHILIP DOBBS. 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 08/27/14.

SEPT 11, 18, 25, OCT 02, 2014 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036017600

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: NARA, 518 HAIGHT ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed SUNHEE NARA CORPORATION (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 08/27/14.

SEPT 11, 18, 25, OCT 02, 2014 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036025600

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SAN FRANCISCO SLEEP DIAGNOSTICS, 950 STOCKTON ST #200, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94108. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed APOLLO FAMILY MEDICINE AND SLEEP MEDICINE, INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/29/14. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/03/14.

SEPT 11, 18, 25, OCT 02, 2014 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036026300

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: CALIFORNIA HOLISTIC HEALTH ACADEMY & CALIFORNIAN MASSAGE, 1849 UNION ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94123. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed PARADISE HEALTH RESORTS INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/03/14. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/03/14.

SEPT 11, 18, 25, OCT 02, 2014 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035997200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: CAPRICORN FRAMING, 912 COLE ST #362, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117. This business is conducted by a limited liability company and is signed CAPRICORN FRAMING LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/06/14. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/14/14.

SEPT 11, 18, 25, OCT 02, 2014 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036030900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BAY EQUITY HOME LOANS THE PURCHASE LENDER GROUP, 100 CALIFORNIA ST #1100, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94111. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed BAY EQUITY LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/01/2009. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/08/14.

SEPT 11, 18, 25, OCT 02, 2014 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE A-033402800 The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as: CAPRICORN FRAMING, 1335 DIVISADERO ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business was conducted by a general partnership and signed

by LLOYD D. HADDAD & WAYNE D. HAND. The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 03/09/2011.

SEPT 11, 18, 25, OCT 02, 2014

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Legal Notices>> FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035917000

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: NEW HIVE DESIGNS, 642 WOODMONT ST, BERKELEY, CA 94708. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed DANIEL PATRICK BENNETT. 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 06/30/14.

AUG 21, 28, SEPT 04, 11, 2014 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035956800

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: KIKI THREADS, 1901-B 18TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94116. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed YAILIN MONTIEL. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/23/14. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/23/14.

AUG 21, 28, SEPT 04, 11, 2014 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036001300

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: TR CONCEPTS & CONSULTING, 444 WOODROW AVE, VALLEJO, CA 94591. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed TRACY ROGERS. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/18/14. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/18/14.

AUG 21, 28, SEPT 04, 11, 2014 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035978200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: APPLIED PERFORMANCE SOLUTIONS, INC, 1072 14TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed APPLIED PERFORMANCE SOLUTIONS, INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/20/08. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/04/14.

AUG 21, 28, SEPT 04, 11, 2014 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036002000

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: AGESONG AT UNIVERSITY, 350 UNIVERSITY ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94134. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed AGESONG GENESIS, LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/18/14. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/18/14.

AUG 21, 28, SEPT 04, 11, 2014 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-14-550528

In the matter of the application of: PETER MCDONAGH, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner PETER MCDONAGH, is requesting that the name ANGELICA MARIA COCA PEREZ be changed to ANGELICA MARIA MCDONAGH. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 514 on the 23rd of October 2014 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

AUG 28, SEPT 04, 11, 18, 2014 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035987300

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: DOMINANT ATHLETIX, 2755 25TH AVE, OAKLAND, CA 94601. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed CAREY RYAN ROCKLAND. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/01/14. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/08/14.

AUG 28, SEPT 04, 11, 18, 2014 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036006500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SASHA PRESS, 105 HANCOCK ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed SALLY SWOPE. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/19/14. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/19/14.

AUG 28, SEPT 04, 11, 18, 2014 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035973500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BEST CLEANERS, 1699 UNION ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed FENG YONG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/31/14. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/31/14.

AUG 28, SEPT 04, 11, 18, 2014 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036015300

Classifieds The

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-14-550500

In the matter of the application of: JOHN MARK ROLDAN RODRIQUEZ, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner JOHN MARK ROLDAN RODRIQUEZ, is requesting that the name JOHN MARK ROLDAN RODRIQUEZ aka JOHN MARK RODRIQUEZ aka JOHN RODRIQUEZ aka JOHN MARK RODRIGUEZ, be changed to BEN SALVADOR TREVINO. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Rm. 514 on the 21st of October 2014 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

AUG 21, 28, SEPT 04, 11, 2014 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036010400

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: NINE57 DESIGN, 957 HAYES ST #1, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117. This business is conducted by a general partnership, and is signed RICHARD LOUIS FITCH & ALEXANDER BUSTOS GARCIA. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/20/14. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/21/14.

AUG 28, SEPT 04, 11, 18, 2014 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035985400

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: VIRTUAL WIDE VISION, 564 GROVE ST #564, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by a general partnership, and is signed KEVORKOV ARTEM & YEFREMOV ALEXEY. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/02/14. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/08/14.

AUG 28, SEPT 04, 11, 18, 2014 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035998500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: WINGSPAN INSURANCE SOLUTIONS, LLC, 111 PINE ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94111.

This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed WINGSPAN INSURANCE GROUP, LLC (DE). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/03/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/14/14.

AUG 28, SEPT 04, 11, 18, 2014 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035998600

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MOTIVE; MOTIVE CYCLING; MOTIVE GOODS, 522 ASHBURY ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117.

This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed CHRISTOPHER PREST. 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 08/14/14.

SEPT 04, 11, 18, 25, 2014 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035011800

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: README RESEARCH, 135 VALENCIA ST., A103, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MICHELLE LAI. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/17/2014. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/22/14.

SEPT 04, 11, 18, 25, 2014 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036020900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: KAISHIN ED AND CULT CONSULTING, 1791 8TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MANAMI TANAKA. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 11/07/97.

The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/28/14.

SEPT 04, 11, 18, 25, 2014 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036025400

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SAN FRANCISCO BEVERAGES, 295 TERRY FRANCOIS ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94158. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JOHN VANLOO VALEER. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/01/14. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/02/14.

SEPT 04, 11, 18, 25, 2014 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036017200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SCHEMATIC MEDIA, 2120 24TH ST, #5, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed DOUGLAS WEIHNACHT. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/01/2011. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/26/14.

SEPT 04, 11, 18, 25, 2014 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036024400

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SHELFLIFE RECORDS, 672 TERESITA BLVD, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94127. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MATTHEW BICE. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/25/14. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/25/14.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: JACKALOPE, 1042 POST ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed REAL DRINKS INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/02/14. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/02/14.

AUG 28, SEPT 04, 11, 18, 2014

SEPT 04, 11, 18, 25, 2014

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-14-550562

In the matter of the application of: JACOB PHILIP LAFLAMME by and through his parents Michael S. Laflamme & Constance G. Laflamme, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner JACOB PHILIP LAFLAMME by and through his parents Michael S. Laflamme & Constance G. Laflamme, is requesting that the name JACOB PHILIP LAFLAMME, be changed to JACOB MCENTEE LAFLAMME. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Rm. 514 on the 13th of November 2014 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

SEPT 11, 18, 25, OCT 02, 2014 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036025500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MELISSA YU ACUPUNCTURE AND HERBAL MEDICINE, 3400 CALIFORNIA ST #100, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MELISSA YU. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/01/14. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/03/14.

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SEPT 11, 18, 25, OCT 02, 2014 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036029200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MAXIMUS PRODUCTIONS, 24 BONVIEW ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MAX STEIN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/05/14. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/05/14.

SEPT 11, 18, 25, OCT 02, 2014 SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA RAPID TRANSIT DISTRICT NOTICE TO PROPOSERS GENERAL INFORMATION EXTENSION OF TIME FOR RECEIPT OF PROPOSALS FOR THE SYSTEMWIDE PARKING LOT SWEEPING SERVICES REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS NO. 6M3258 NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the General Manager of the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid District has extended the time of receipt of proposals until the hour of 2:00 p.m., Tuesday, September 30, 2014, at the District Secretary’s Office, 23rd Floor, 300 Lakeside Drive, Oakland, California 94612 (mailing address: P.O. Box 12688, Oakland, California, 94604-2688) for the Request for Proposals No. 6M3258: Systemwide Parking Lot Sweeping Services.

Proposers should contact the District’s Contract Administrator Gary Leong, (510) 287-4717, Gleong1@BART.gov, for additional information. Dated at Oakland, California this 8th day of September, 2014. /s/ Richard Wieczorek, Procurement Manager 9/18/14 CNS-2666619# BAY AREA REPORTER

ESCROW # 04111986 NOTICE TO CREDITORS OF BULK SALE (Notice Pursuant to U.C.C. § 6105) NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT A BULK SALE IS ABOUT TO BE MADE The name(s) and business address of the Seller is/are: CHOPSTICK HOUSE LLC d/b/a CHOPSTICK HOUSE Simon Liang (member and agent of CHOPSTICK HOUSE LLC) 2401 Polk Street, San Francisco, CA 94109 Doing business as: (Business Name; Type of Business) CHOPSTICK HOUSE operating as a RESTAURANT All other business name(s) and address(es) used by the seller(s) within the past three years, as stated by the seller(s), are (if none, state so) NONE The location in California of the Chief Executive Office of the sellers is: 2401 Polk Street, San Francisco, CA 94109 The name(s) and address of the BUYER is/are: Jian Ho Ye 1131 College Avenue,Alameda, CA 94501 The assets being sold are generally described as: Furniture, equipment, inventory, commercial lease, goodwill and covenant not to compete And are located at: CHOPSTICK HOUSE, 2401 Polk Street, San Francisco, CA 94109 The bulk sale is intended to be consummated at the office of: Tsao-Wu, Chow & Yee LLP, 685 Market Street, Suite 460, San Francisco, CA 94105 and the anticipated sale date is: September 30, 2014 The Bulk sale is subject to the California UCC Section 6106.2. (Consideration is $2 million or less) NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that all claims must be presented at the location of the consummation of the bulk sale stated above NOT LATER THAN September 29, 2014 (last business day before consummation/anticipated sale date) Seller: Simon Liang 08/20/14 Member and Agent of CHOPSTICK HOUSE LLC Buyer: Jian Hao Ye 08/28/14

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The

Vol. 44 • No. 38 • September 18-24, 2014

www.ebar.com/arts





by Richard Dodds

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motions run high whenever Charles Busch returns to San Francisco.

And even though it was more than 40 years ago that he made his local debut at Valencia Rose, it was a transformative experience. “It was the first time both the public and the critics were taking me seriously,” said the playwright-performer. “My big dream had been to play San Francisco, and I worked very hard at somehow finding a way to perform there. It turned out to be so affirming.”

See page 23 >>

Charles Busch, coming to Feinstein’s on Sept. 25-26, describes his cabaret look as a cross between Arlene Dahl and Greer Garson.

Stephen Sorokoff

‘Standing O’ for ‘Susannah’

by Philip Campbell

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he San Francisco Opera opened the second production of the new season recently with a stunningly theatrical production of American composer Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah. Cast from strength and handsomely staged, I can see it making yearend “best of ” lists already.

See page 22 >>

Brandon Jovanovich (Sam Polk) in San Francisco Opera’s Susannah.

Cory Weaver/San Francisco Opera

{ SECOND OF THREE SECTIONS }

Patricia Racette (Susannah Polk) in San Francisco Opera’s Susannah.

Cory Weaver/San Francisco Opera

designing home jews and midcentury modernism FINAL WEEKS! On view through October 6, 2014 The Contemporary Jewish Museum | Plan your visit at thecjm.org

<< Out There

18 • Bay Area Reporter • September 18-24, 2014

Bah humbuggery in high heels

by Roberto Friedman

A

Bianca Del Rio, fresh from her victory on Ru Paul’s Drag Race, will be appearing at the Castro Theatre in December.

t the Out There desk, we have put away our white shoes. It’s after Labor Day, after all. But it’s beginning to look a lot like you-knowwhat, so it’s time to do a Dawn Davenport and unearth those cha-cha heels. So speaking of seasonal heels, OT is the first to report that hot off the heels of winning this year’s Ru Paul’s Drag Race, celebutante Bianca Del Rio will be bringing some hell-aday cheer to the Castro Theatre on Friday, Dec. 19, at 8 p.m.

The big show is billed as An Evening with Bianca Del Rio: The Rolodex of Hate Tour (The Christmas Edition). The beloved Bianca, recently seen on the last episode of In Bed with Joan Rivers, promises to put the ho back in ho, ho, ho – as if it has ever gone away. Some might like their Christmas sweet, but we’re told that Bianca prefers it sour and on the rocks. Bah humbuggery! The night of rio-tous comedy and festive fun will be femceed by the inimitable Peaches Christ, putting the Christ back in Christmas. Opening for Bianca will be the sin-sational Sasha Soprano, who is also producing the event in association with the Castro’s own little elf, impresario Marc Huestis. Tickets are on sale at comedyinthecastro.eventbrite. com, and a significant early-bird special is in effect until Sept. 30. Act now, the show should sell out in a snap and enliven the season at the Castro.

And just as a reminder, next Monday, Sept. 22, at 7:30 p.m., the Castro

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

Theatre is hosting A Celebration of Arturo Galster, a star-studded memorial for the beloved San Francisco performer and bon vivant. Admission is free, and folks are encouraged to arrive early. Arturo will be missed.

Guest list

The Paying Guests (Riverhead) is three-time Man Booker Prize finalist Sarah Waters’ just-released novel set in post-Edwardian Britain.

Out There dove right into Waters’ fictional world, and finished the book in just a few sittings.

Frances Wray lives with her mother in a big old house in a leafy London neighborhood. In debt after WWI, and with all the family’s menfolk lost, they resort to taking in boarders to make ends meet, members of the “clerk class,” young marrieds Leonard and Lilian Barber. Their staid household will never be the same.

The Barbers are all business up-front, but all party in the back.

Frances is not your typical spinster. She has an irregular past, having had a passionate same-sex affair with a bohemian woman that she’s long since put behind her. But soon her feelings for Lilian transcend their landlady/ tenant relationship; she makes a “Sapphic declaration”; and many illicit sexual encounters ensue, all furtive and under threat of discovery. Suspense builds – will the lesbian lovers be caught out? – until a climactic

t

act of violence up-ends everybody’s world. “Two months before, she had been ready to turn her back on her mother, to walk away from the house. But that had been for something, hadn’t it? That had been for Lilian, for love; not for this chaos of bad luck and blunder.”

Waters is one of Britain’s preeminent authors of modern Gothic fiction (The Night Watch, The Little Stranger). A domestic drama gives way to a crime of a passion, then a police procedural and a convincing recreation of the early-20th-century British criminal justice system, as embodied by the Old Bailey. On top of all this, the fact that the author is a lesbian is delicious icing on the literary cake. Once begun, this 566-page novel was hard to put down. It has the pacing of a thriller, and the atmosphere, period setting and class-consciousness of truly informed historical fiction.t

Cat nipped

Available online: Amazon.com Books; Authorhouse.com Locally at: Books, Inc. (Upper Market St.), Crystal Way, Folio Books, Bound Together Books & The Green Arcade.

kevinberne.com

An Audience with Meow Meow leaves the title performer in increasingly dire circumstances in this satiric cabaret show at Berkeley Rep.

by Richard Dodds

N

othing goes right in An Audience with Meow Meow, but in her world, everything that is wrong is right. The Australian entertainer (born Melissa Madden Gray) is a celebrated performer in realms afar, but has arrived at Berkeley Rep as, I suspect, an unknown entity to 99.9% of audiences here. “As a woman who needs no introduction, let me introduce myself,” she tells the audience at the top of the show.

What she then says, mostly delusional self-aggrandizement, is belied by what transpires in the next 90 minutes of increasingly dire wardrobe malfunctions, technical mishaps, injured dancers, fleeing musicians, and a producer who literally pulls the plug. But still the show must go on, happily for us, for,

as Meow Meow says, “I’m the Mother Courage of performance art.”

An Audience with Meow Meow is billed as a world premiere, but many of its components would be familiar to fans in the know, as evidenced by a post-show perusal of reviews from abroad. Even the most audaciously physical bit, rapturously received by the opening-night audience, has been a staple of her performances. But that doesn’t much matter if it’s new to you, as it was to me, and I will leave its discovery to incoming theatergoers.

What is new in An Evening with Meow Meow is its particular assemblage overseen by director Emma Rice, whose local reputation has been established by visits from UK’s Kneehigh Theatre, including Brief Encounter at ACT and The Wild See page 25 >>

t

Theatre>>

September 18-24, 2014 • Bay Area Reporter • 19

Bizarre love triangle

by Richard Dodds

W

Lois Tema

Todd Pivetti, left, and Stephen McFarland play lovers in Cock whose tenuous relationship becomes further complicated by an unexpected heterosexual affair.

hen Michael Bartlett’s play Cock was produced in New York in 2012, its title, by general mainstream media consensus, became The Cockfight Play. But the bowdlerized title actually is a more apt description of the play than its provocative official moniker. Staged arena-style around a sandpit in David Kasper’s design, Bartlett’s play is constructed as a series of face-off scenes in which a man and a woman alternately enter the ring to battle for possession of a third character. They are, in essence, in a fight for his cock.

New Conservatory Theatre Center is presenting the West Coast premiere of Bartlett’s concise and compelling play, which helped establish Bartlett as a playwright on the ascent when it debuted in London in 2009 – and where it was uncontroversially publicized as Cock. It also marks a high-street opening to NCTC’s new season in director Stephen Rupsch’s sharply staged production.

Bartlett has a background in radio plays (there are still such things in the UK), and that antecedent is recognizable in Cock. Costumes are street clothes that are never changed, props are nonexistent, and physical contact is indicated more in words than in realistic gesture. This austerity puts a premium on the words that Bartlett

so tautly employs, though body language also becomes a key element in communicating the story of an unusual love triangle.

A gong is sounded to announce the start of each scene, and in the first, we meet a gay couple in a relationship that has obviously been fraying for some time. “You’re a stream, and I want a river,” the more assertive of the pair tells John, his partner and the only character given a name. In his tremulous freedom after a breakup, John meets a woman who seems to appreciate aspects of his personality that his boyfriend disparaged. “Some people might think you were scrawny,” she says to him, “but I think you’re like a picture drawn with a pencil, waiting to be colored in.”

She knows he has recently left a gay relationship, and that John still thinks of himself as gay even as he finds growing comfort, both emotionally and physically, with this appreciative young woman. But before long, John is swinging his affections between his two lovers, culminating in a showdown where all three meet.

The play goes a bit wobbly here, as the playwright drops the metaphorical battle-pit structure for an extended, more theatrically traditional scene that unnecessarily adds the boyfriend’s father into the mix.

No answer to John’s dilemma is

provided, and while a case against sexual-identity labeling is suggested, this particular character’s own quivering personality doesn’t seem capable of withstanding any commitment that includes even occasional conflict. But in that weakness can still come an intriguing character, one that Stephen McFarland embodies in a vivid and ultimately heartbreaking performance.

As his boyfriend, Todd Pivetti effectively projects a sardonic steeliness against which John’s easily pierced armor will always suffer.

Radhika Rao, as the new woman in John’s life, captures the character’s seemingly naive seductiveness that disguises a steeliness of its own.

Matt Weimar is fine as the boyfriend’s father, a character whose purpose is perhaps to offer an older generation’s view on the proceedings.

With Rupsch’s incisive direction and a collection of confidently rendered characters, Bartlett’s dialogue can be beguiling, funny, and like a slap in the face. Cock signals a playwright ready to enter the ring with a rope-a-dope bravado that makes one eager for the next round.t

full-tilt, is a gorgeous, young, tall, willowy Cesare, a poetic, demonic imp enacting the murderous compulsions of his overlord, Caligari.

Are they a sideshow at a carnival?

Do they inhabit the state mental institution? Does Dr. Caligari run the nut house, or is he a nut? No reasonable person can entertain such questions and remain reasonable.

Caligari is the essence of a world gone mad. Be there or be in denial.

From the sublime to the ridiculous: Also on the day’s program, at 1 p.m., is Rudolph Valentino in The Son of the Sheik, a film made to cash in on the unprecedented fervor of the matinee idol’s fans. Books have also been written about Valentino, who died at the age of 31, soon after the film’s successful release in 1926.

There aren’t enough adjectives to describe the phenomenon of his fans’ mourning. Maybe Princess Diana’s death evoked a similar shock and magnitude.

The Son of the Sheik, although a commercial product of questionable taste and intelligence, an Arabian fantasia with a centerpiece rape, is no less aesthetic than Caligari.

Totally artificial claptrap, you might say, but Valentino’s genius, his sub-

mission to the demands of the art and business he was in the process of inventing, his desire to be desired, might still melt some hearts. Or you might sit there watching, wondering how this so-very-gay young Italian taxi-dancer managed to hypnotize half the world into wanting him with their secret hearts.

Such is the magic of the Silver Screen that was and is no more.

The San Francisco Silent Film Festival throws up these vestiges of the Golden Age of Hollywood, now no longer on silver nitrate, or even celluloid, merely digitized, just as we ourselves are on SnapChat. They loudly trumpet their live musical accompaniment, some of which is quite good but should never be mistaken for the reason we venture out at night or matinee. Sometimes the “new original scores” are too busy, too loud, too self-important, and actually distract from the mystical art of the image of the silent cinema.

You might want to bring earplugs.t

Cock will run through Oct. 12 at New Conservatory Theatre Center.

Tickets are $25-$45. Call 861-8972 or go to nctcsf.org.

Caligari is ever with us

Courtesy the San Francisco Silent Film Festival

Scene from director Robert Wiene’s The Cabinet of Caligari, part of Silent Autumn at the Castro Theatre.

by Erin Blackwell

T

he German Expressionist film masterpiece The Cabinet of Caligari is 94 years old, but the title character – that weird, old, bespectacled, troll-like doctor-showmanpsychopath, has been around since at least the Middle Ages. Originally an anatomist, alchemist and astrologer, he keeps a human doll called Cesare, one of the Undead, whom he calls a somnambulist because the guy can’t stay down at night, in a long, narrow coffin with handy double-doors opening out. Take strong meat and drink before watching this dynamic duo on Saturday, Sept. 20, at 9 p.m., at the Castro Theatre.

Books have been written about Caligari, which sums up the dark forces of European civilization post-World War I, when the Germans were at their wits’ end, preNazi, pre-Crash, but mired in debt and militaristic humiliation, in that brief bubble of enlightened Berlinbased humanity known as Weimar.

Caligari is a horror film expressing the psychic unease of a high culture brought low by its own overreach, about to be brought even lower by the kind of homicidal shenanigans

evoked onscreen.

Even if you care nothing for world history, or the obvious parallels between German militarism and our own, or the fact that our own dear, departed democracy has slipped into a similarly demonic decay, Caligari is one of the Seven Wonders of the Cinematic World. A pure aesthetic statement, somewhere between dance and dream, owing nothing to Reality or Realism or Objective Fact, Caligari defies logic, convention, and everything else the waking mind invents to stave off the monsters of its own making, come to swallow it whole. Hats off to director Robert Wiene.

Every set is painted, and every wall, window, and door askew.

Shadows are painted on staircases. The winding path through a meadow is painted, the trees are hammered together, and nothing is real except an occasional stool. The actors, wearing mostly recognizable clothes and shoes, have shadows painted around their eyes and perform in a high theatrical style the equal of Kabuki. The sustained tension of their performance suggests Butoh. Standing still, in seemingly relaxed posture, the perform-

ers’ limbic systems are ever at fever pitch.

Conrad Veidt, who went on to play exquisite Nazis when Hollywood’s World War II anti-German propaganda machine was running

Silent Autumn, five silent-film programs with live musical accompaniment, plays Sat., Sept. 20, from 11 a.m., at the Castro Theatre, SF. Info: silentfilm.org.

Courtesy the San Francisco Silent Film Festival

Rudolph Valentino in The Son of the Sheik, coming to the Castro Theatre.

<< Film

20 • Bay Area Reporter • September 18-24, 2014

Underground roots of authentic music

by David Lamble

T

he subject of Chris Simon and Maureen Gosling’s home-movie-like documentary This Ain’t No Mouse Music! is a true American original, 80-year-old musicologist Chris Strachwitz. He gives the filmmakers their ear-catching title while behind the wheel of his battered old van. “I don’t know why I like it – it’s got some guts to it. It ain’t wimpy, that’s for sure, it ain’t no mouse music!”

Born in a backwoods slice of East Germany that would be caught up in that little dustup between Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin WWII, Chris Strachwitz arrived in the U.S. just in time to grow up to be anything but a typical American teenager. Catching the bug for indigenous American music from the late-1940s movie New Orleans, starring the seminal jazz originals Billie Holiday and Louis Armstrong, Strachwitz pressed his first longplaying record, Texas Sharecropper and Songster, featuring the bluesguitar licks of Navasota, Texas native Mance Lipscomb, in November 1960.

Fans of Joel and Ethan Coen’s dark-comedy homage to the early60s Greenwich Village folkie scene Inside Llewyn Davis will recall the almost slapstick mishaps their title character endures as he desperately tries to secure a toehold in the preBob Dylan folk-music revival. In some ways, This Ain’t No Mouse Music! is a “Meanwhile, back at the

Chris Simon

Wilson Savoy of the Cajun band The Pine Leaf Boys plays accordion in This Ain’t No Mouse Music!

ranch,” real-life parallel musical history, with Strachwitz busy combing the back roads of rural Texas and Louisiana for authentic practitioners of American music, from blues to Cajun to white country “hillbilly

music” that, when pressed on those early Arhoolie platters, would give New York City-raised kids like me an itch for something beyond Beatlemania and the British rock invasion. Strachwitz is a kind of missing

link, the guy who, for more than a half-century, has connected the dots between an almost underground network of non-commercial grassroots musicians and urban consumers.

Watching for 92 minutes of film time as Strachwitz traverses the country searching for the songs that haven’t yet been recorded or “streamed,” I realized my own debt to Strachwitz. A kid raised on Oscar Brand’s WCBS Radio nightly folk show, I’d soon gravitate to the Village folk clubs, play the discs on college radio, and finally wind up, in the early 70s, witnessing the grand old men of the blues – Lipscomb, Mississippi Fred McDowell, and John Lee Hooker – as they played weekends at Houston’s Liberty Hall.

This Ain’t No Mouse Music! is a riveting film experience that’s almost impossible to describe because, like Strachwitz himself, the film cross-references every type of indigenous North American music, often performed by workingclass artists who’d never set foot in a recording studio, and had no idea what publishing rights mean, let alone the notion of an agent or business manager to protect their interests. Significantly, at least one quasi-disgruntled musician criticizes Strachwitz for snapping up the publishing rights to his music, but the filmmakers clearly demonstrate that this stream of money was and is essential to the still boyish and bubbly musicologist’s ongoing mission.

Otherwise, the field recordings,

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records and limited acclaim that have filtered down to these genuine American heroes would have dried up a long time ago.

Watching This Ain’t No Mouse Music! on disc for a second time, I found myself drifting back four decades to a time when Houston was still struggling to see that the residents of the Third Ward district around Liberty Hall had the right to vote, as well as access to jobs and education. It was a crazy, dangerous time, when the head of Houston’s Black Panther Party was assassinated by a police sniper, on the orders of a mayor and police chief not far removed politically from a still-thriving Ku Klux Klan. Amidst all that darkness, it’s wonderful to remember that the price of watching Lightning Hopkins, Mance Lipscomb, Willie Dixon, John Hammond and company on stage at Liberty Hall was seldom more than three or four bucks, and came with a plate of red beans over rice and a long-neck bottle of Lone Star beer.

While you won’t get the beans, rice and beer, This Ain’t No Mouse Music! is worth enduring highpriced gourmet popcorn and coffee in order to grasp why an older generation still needs to hear its music played back on actual phonograph records, or at least compact discs. I dare you to watch this movie and resist the itch to find a record store and discover your own particular musical roots.t Opens Friday at the Roxie Theater.

Rude, crude & brattily lewd

by David Lamble

W

hat I have for you today is not the meaning of life, but rather how to enjoy, as best you can, the gross and sometimes inexplicably vulgar humor of contemporary German comedies. Case in point: Wetlands, opening Friday at Landmark’s Embarcadero Cinemas, San Francisco; Shattuck Cinemas in Berkeley; and Camera 3 in San Jose. Director David Wendt’s sassy, prank-prone, skateboarding heroine Helen (Carla Juri) first pops into our view in a glorious ass shot that is very much in keeping with this 106-minute, extremely explicit comedy’s world view, which seldom strays far from the toilet.

Reacting or perhaps overreact-

ing to her uptight parents’ divorce, Helen is soon spinning madly out of control with an occasional assist from a shy companion, Corina (Marlen Kruse). Helen’s object is to nail as many cute boys as possible.

Paradoxically, her man-boning career gets a giant assist when she winds up in a hospital emergency room following a rather graphically depicted ass-shaving accident.

Rude, crude and brattily lewd, Helen is like a humanoid sequel to the hetero version of The Joy of Sex, especially the chapters on the erotic pleasures of rolling around in as many bodily fluids as possible. Helen could be described as a female, fleshy version of the John Waters cinema sniff-card: in the film’s first hour, the girl demonstrates many

Steven Underhill

PHOTOGRAPHY

415 370 7152

WEDDINGS, HEADSHOTS, PORTRAITS

stevenunderhill.com · stevenunderhillphotos@gmail.com

variations on how to envelop yourself in all sorts of toxic fluids.

If you survive the first hour, there is a kind of dark-comedy reward.

Deep in the third act, in bed after an operation on her behind, Helen shares a pizza with her hyper-cute male nurse, Robin (Christoph Letkowski), a young blonde hunk who is much put-upon by a gal who has no boundaries.

“Do you know my pizza story?”

“No.” “That’s why I was so rude to the delivery boy. Because I want sex, with lots of different men, all at the same time.”

“Sounds logical.”

“At first – this story has been around – two girls order a pizza.”

“Mm-hm.”

“But the pizza doesn’t come. So the girls call back over and over to complain. Finally the pizza arrives.

But somehow the pizza tastes funny.

So they bring it to their father, who

just happens to be a food chemist. At first they think the pizza has gone off. But analysis reveals quite a different story. The pizza is covered in sperm from four men. So I imagine it going down like this: The pizza guys are pissed. Since it’s two girls who are calling, they get this rape fantasy going. So they unpack their dicks and jerk off into the pizza. I would love to eat a pizza like that. It would be like five men jizzing right into my mouth. When would I get the same opportunity?”

“It’s pretty seldom.”

“It’s tasty.”

Whether Wetlands is for you – the title alludes to those moist netherregions of her torso which Helen is constantly revisiting – depends on a number of tricky points. If you happen to go for that contemporary brand of art-house comedy that traffics in the forbidden without having anything original to say about anything in particular,

then rush out, this Bud’s for you.

If you’ve ever wanted to unlock the primal mysteries behind the German sense of humor, Wetlands is an excellent primer. Just before credits roll, you indeed get it, although the utter banality of your discovery may make it seem like a bad bargain.

While Carla Juri is going to get the majority of the award-season buff from this one – she is, in fact, a good candidate for German cinema “itgirl” – the real treasure is her uberpatient co-star Christoph Letkowski.

Had this story featured this glam boy with one day’s growth of stubble, my objections to the film’s gross preliminaries might entirely evaporate.

In the end, all the nasty-liquids foreplay is a red herring for a classic blonde-meet-cute-and-bond romcom. I’ll be curious to see if Hollywood figures out a way to detoxify the more extreme elements of the setup and to give us their literally watereddown version.t

Helen (Carla Juri) makes the moves on Robin (Christoph Letkowski) in director David Wendt’s Wetlands.

t

Books>>

September 18-24, 2014 • Bay Area Reporter • 21

Smooth storytellers

CHANTICLEER AN ORCHESTRA OF VOICES PRESENTS

by Jim Piechota

GYPSY IN MY SOUL THE

Next to Nothing by Keith Banner; Lethe Press, paperback, $15 True Stories Too by Felice Picano; Chelsea Station Editions, paperback, $20 “ he Smallest People Alive,” the brilliant title story in Cincinnati author Keith Banner’s 2004 debut collection of stories, won him a distinguished O. Henry Prize and additional accolades. Preceding that, his debut novel, 1999’s The Life I Lead, was equally well-received.

This year, Banner returns with a follow-up collection that is just as compelling and impressive.

A champion of the gay “outsider,” Banner, a co-founder of Visionaries + Voices, a studio for artists with disabilities, creates characters who often stray from the superficial norm seen too often in gay fiction. His men are sometimes downtrodden, often lonely, overweight, and emotionally deficient, all qualities which make them painfully human. There are a dozen stories in the collection, bookended by yarns with “sleep” in the title. The stunning opener, “Winners Never Sleep!,” follows an obese former Dayton, Ohio drag queen and laundromat manager who finally receives health insurance from his employer, and, through it, the opportunity to undergo a desperately needed stomach-bypass surgery. His poignant vulnerability at story’s end is unforgettable.

The closing piece, “Princess is Sleeping,” follows a video-store employee who reunites with his wife after a lengthy separation and a tentative dalliance with another man who becomes smitten with him. There is jealousy and wisdom as the narrator ponders “about how every single thing human beings do is a big act, like everybody is in a big-budget serious movie and everybody is guessing what the director wants.”

Other stories are just as resonant.

“God Knows Where” is set at Christmastime, as a blue-collar family struggles with the imminent death of their father. Life in a cheap studio apartment above a Christian book-

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store is a reality for the gay character in the stark short “Queers Can’t Hear.” The same theme applies for the lesbian mom in the expressive “Just Let Me Have This.”

Everyone drinks too much, eats fast food, has a slew of ex-spouses, and calls each other homophobic slurs in the heat of the moment.

And that’s just fine for this wordsmith who spares no detail in the lives of his hardened characters. For them, life can often suck, and rarely does anything come easy. Yet they all realize that there is a certain joy to be found in the mundane.

Banner is a relative newcomer to gay lit when compared to seasoned scribe Felice Picano, whose career spans decades with award-winning novels and story compilations. Picano’s latest is a brilliant sequel to his 2011 memoir, True Stories. In True Stories Too, he again transports readers to the unique places in his past peopled with men and women who made their mark on him.

In the prologue, he writes eloquently about his relationship with his older brother Robert Picano, who perished from non-Hodgkins lymphoma “which may or may not have been a result of having acquired the HIV virus.” Picano then moves forward in time, from his heyday in New York City in the 1960s and 70s through more contemporary times in Los Angeles in the 90s and

SEPT 19-28

2000s. His time in the West Village in the 60s is written with a wry nod toward the secretive, closeted, bohemian culture flourishing there, and its inherent excitement. Recollections of bars like the Mine Shaft, newly opened bathhouses, and the meat trucks parked overnight where sex abounded lift from these pages like juicy gossip shared among best friends. Picano’s personal interactions have been greatly tinged by HIV and AIDS, and he expounds upon that in memories of men such as famed gay activist Vito Russo.

Most enticing, however, are several sections that trace the folly of his personal life. Diary entries about his friendship and seeming obsession with a heterosexual man named Nick in Los Angeles are fascinating, as is a piece on his persistent attempts at scoring acting work in Hollywood. Picano presents engaging and personal anecdotes of his long and enthralling life. This book examines gay history, past and present, through the lens of a man who has seen and done what many of us can only imagine.t

9/19 9/20 9/21 9/27 9/28

& 26 - San Francisco Conservatory - Lafayette-Orinda Presbyterian - St. Francis Church, Sacramento - Mission Santa Clara - Osher Marin JCC, San Rafael

Tickets available through City Box Office: 415-392-4400 or www.chanticleer.org

ebar.com

Autumn dance party

by Gregg Shapiro

T

he dance music world was dealt a tragic blow when legendary producer and songwriter Frankie Knuckles passed away in March. An artist of epic proportions, openly gay Frankie Knuckles singlehandedly made Chicago’s house music genre a household word. His signing to a major label (Virgin) in the 1990s brought a formerly underground music to the fore. Both of his albums for that label, 1991’s Beyond the Mix and 95’s Welcome to the Real World, have been reissued “straight from the crates on heavyweight vinyl” by Virgin/UMe. Beyond the Mix opens with the dated hip-hop/house hybrid “Godfather,” which bellows 1991. Things improve on “Rain Falls,” which could have used a little more thunder, and the airy treat of Eric Kupper’s “The Whistle Song.” Side two is more consistent, with the “Party at My House,” “Right Thing” and “Workout” triple play. Welcome to the Real World, featuring vocalist Adeva on 10 tracks (as well as prominently on the cover alongside Knuckles), contains the huge dance hit “Too Many Fish,” as well as the club sensation “Whadda U Want (from Me)?” On the whole, the album sounds like the corporate idea

of what house music ought to sound like for the masses, rather than the foundation on which Knuckles built his own house.

If Knuckles had lived, the concept of Amy Grant’s dance remix album In Motion: The Remixes (A&M) probably would have had him clutching his chest. Amy Grant, disco diva? Act of desperation or genius? Nowhere near as offensive as the recent Disney remix disc (that was just dumb-o!), this confusing collection attempts to elevate the CCM slinger to disco singer. The thing is, as often happens with remixes, the final product says less about the artist than it does about the egotistical remixers, including Tony Moran, Hex Hector, Dave Audé and Ralphi Rosario, who think that everySee page 22 >>

CELEBRITY AUTOBIOGRAPHY September 20 -21

CHARLES BUSCH September 25 - 26

VARLA JEAN MERMAN October 3 - 5

For tickets:www.feinsteinssf.com Feinstein’s | Hotel Nikko San Francisco 222 Mason Street 855-MF-NIKKO | 855-636-4556

093787.01_HNSF_2014_Week_9_8_BAR ROUND #: MECH Trim: 5.75in x 7.625in

Bleed: none

Live: 5.75in x 7.625in

Color Space: CMYK

Fonts: Futura

<< Music

22 • Bay Area Reporter • September 18-24, 2014

<<

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Susannah

From page 17

The Biblical Apocrypha story of a young woman wrongly accused and crushed by religious hypocrisy resonated again in modern times when Floyd wrote his powerful first opera during the peak of the McCarthy era, and its themes unfortunately still ring true today.

Setting the tale in the Appalachian Mountains of Tennessee and dropping the “happy ending” for a much darker and more ambiguous moral revealed an innate sense of showmanship, relevant story-telling (he wrote the libretto, too) and selfconfidence that have continued to serve the author throughout a long and prolific career. SFO General Director David Gockley has also been a longtime champion, and he has fulfilled a personal commitment and goal in giving the composer’s most successful work an official Company premiere. It has been 50 years since Susannah was first staged at the War Memorial Opera House by the old affiliate Spring Opera, and SFO has made the new production a triumph on every level.

With urgently fluid direction by Michael Cavanagh and visually arresting sets and projections by Erhard Rom (remember their notable Company debuts in 2012 with Nixon in China), effective lighting by Company resident designer Gary Marder, and simple but evocative costumes by Michael Yeargan, the big stage is vividly set for the searing drama of innocence betrayed.

The production marks another important milestone as soprano Patricia Racette celebrates her 25th anniversary with SFO. The beloved singer is no stranger to the works of Carlisle Floyd. She created the role of Love Simpson in his Cold Sassy Tree (which Gockley originally commissioned), and the composer’s all-American tunefulness and strong vocal line, so reminiscent of Puccini heroines, are mother’s milk to her. The sweetness and gleam we remember of Racette’s young voice is not so easy on the ears now, but her legendary ability to slip chameleon-like into every part remains, and once again there is little need for suspension of disbelief as she becomes a 19-year-old girl.

Racette introduces herself as an endearing young woman, probably too pretty for her own good, who is forced through a horrific series of experiences into a final state of frozen and bitter exile. As an audience we are with her every step of her woeful way.

As Susannah’s drunken but goodhearted brother Sam, tenor Brandon Jovanovich is reunited with Racette after their highly-praised appearances in Madama Butterfly in 2007. I remember him best as the remarkable rising star of SFO’s Lohengrin in 2012. His portrayal of

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Dance party

From page 21

thing can be made better with more BPM, synths and such. Some of these songs, such as “Every Heartbeat,” are better suited to this kind of treatment. Ultimately, it begs the question WWJD: Where Would Jesus Dance?

Paradise Garage?

With its debut album New Eyes (Atlantic), UK dance music quartet Clean Bandit has made a record as irresistible as Disclosure’s Settle or Goldfish’s Three Second Memory.

High-kicking things off with the tasteful “Mozart’s House,” Clean Bandit makes a powerful opening statement. “Extraordinary” comes close to living up to its title, “Rather Be” is rather exciting, “A&E” adds a pleasing island breeze to the disc, and “Telephone Banking” cashes in on electronic experimentation.

Don’t listen to Junto (Atlantic Jaxx/PIAS) by groundbreaking Basement Jaxx and expect the Basement

Cory Weaver/San Francisco Opera

Raymond Aceto (Rev. Olin Blitch) and San Francisco Opera Chorus in San Francisco Opera’s Susannah.

the impulsive Sam Polk is believable and very well-sung, only lacking the last degree of credibility because he is just too likeable and sympathetic to appear capable of murder.

In his role debut as the fearsomely conflicted traveling preacher Reverend Olin Blitch, bass Raymond Aceto returns to the SFO with another ominously convincing performance.

I will never forget his standout Hunding in the Company’s Die Walkure, but here he rightfully assumes star status with his perfectly sounded and disturbingly realistic performance.

The libretto allows the villain some recognizably human moments of remorse and even a failed attempt at redemption. Aceto is up to the complicated challenge, and his deepest notes are superbly accurate.

The rest of the cast really couldn’t be bettered, with Catherine Cook suitably nasty as the meanest of New Hope Valley’s church ladies, and American tenor James Kryshak making his SFO debut and indelible mark as the smarmy Little Bat McLean. When Susannah claws at his face in cat-like fury at the conclusion, we only wish she could have drawn blood.

The large SFO Chorus directed

by Ian Robertson also deserves highest praise for their thoroughly

committed ensemble throughout the swift but arduous performance.

They are called upon to sing and dance at a church social (shout-out to choreographer Lawrence Pech), testify at a revival meeting, and surge through the night landscape in blind fury before the final curtain, and there is never a distracting moment of un-idiomatic participation.

Conductor Karen Kamensek also makes her SFO debut, and the presence of a woman on the podium for this opera seemed wonderfully apt.

Of course, her control and shaping of Floyd’s gorgeously melodic and potently dramatic score got her the job in the first place, and she managed to savor the lyrical pages without ever slowing the theatrical drive.

Susannah is, without question, a great piece of musical theatre. Gockley puts it in the roster of American operas close to Porgy and Bess, and I agree with him. How fantastic was it to see the composer himself accepting the standing ovation of an admiring audience on the stage of the War Memorial? A genuine reason to rise and cheer.

There will be undoubtedly be another “standing O” on the final day of the run on Sept. 21, when Patricia Racette is honored on her remarkable 25th anniversary with SFO.t

Jaxx of their Astralwerks days. Those first three albums, especially Remedy and Rooty, were unique unto themselves. Fifteen years later, the groundwork Basement Jaxx helped to lay has benefited countless deserving (and undeserving) electronic music acts.

That said, Junto is an improvement on prior releases, and offers an array of danceable tunes including “Power to the People” (not to be confused with the John Lennon song of the same name), “Never Say Never,” the spacey “We Are Not Alone,” the I-came-to-party-anthem “What’s the News?” and the fishtail-wagging “Mermaid of Salinas.”

Sometimes dance music comes from unexpected sources. Take brainy pop band Bishop Allen, for example. In a little over 10 years, the band, led by Justin Rice and Christian Rudder, has perfected its distinctive

style of sophisticated but accessible pop. On its latest full-length Lights Out (Dead Oceans), Bishop Allen amps up the dance factor on “Hammer and Nail,” “Bread Crumbs” and “Good Talk,” and unlocks the funk on “Skeleton Key.” Bishop Allen even pays a visit to Vampire Weekend territory on “Crows,” and tips its hat to the Ting Tings on “Give It Back.”t

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Theatre>>

September 18-24, 2014 • Bay Area Reporter • 23

Charles Busch

Are you in a same-sex relationship?

From page 17

When Busch returns to the city on Sept. 25-26, he’ll find himself in the plusher surroundings of Feinstein’s at the Nikko, and now as a performer already held in high regard by critics and audiences. That esteem flows from a succession of his plays, often movie-genre spoofs in which he is the leading lady as well as the author, a list that includes Vampire Lesbians of Sodom, Psycho Beach Party, The Divine Sister, and Die, Mommie, Die! (Busch will also be visiting New Conservatory Theatre Center on Sept. 23, where Die, Mommie, Die! is in rehearsals, for an onstage conversation with Artistic Director Ed Decker.)

The cabaret show that Busch is bringing to Feinstein’s is “an odd act,” he conceded. “I really don’t understand it myself because I’m introduced as Charles Busch, and then come out looking rather like Arlene Dahl crossed with Greer Garson, lots of flowing chiffon, and then I proceed to be very honest, telling stories about my career and observations on life, and then singing these beautiful songs from the American songbook with as much honesty as I can. Sometimes I think I shouldn’t be in drag, but oddly enough, I think I’m more myself with a little bit of disguise.”

The show also contains several set-pieces, such as a point-counterpoint conversation between Joan Crawford and Bette Davis in which Busch alternates between separate interviews that the two stars gave about their one and only collaboration on What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? And Busch also returns to his favorite alter ego, the middleaged wannabe cabaret star Miriam Passman, whose banter with the audience grows increasingly personal and emotional.

“My Miriam Passman piece is my more naturalistic contemporary comedy-writing, and in a way it’s in the same vein as The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife,” said Busch of his Broadway hit that did not include him, in drag or out, in the cast.

“People congratulated me on going ‘mainstream,’ and it rankled a bit, like they were saying, ‘Thank goodness you escaped that downtown milieu.’ I never considered what I was doing wasn’t mainstream.”

But when Busch got his first big break in New York’s downtown theater scene, it would be hard to

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Charles Busch found a receptive audience when he first played San Francisco more than 40 years ago.

categorize the venue and the show as mainstream. Vampire Lesbians of Sodom began as a hastily written sketch presented for one weekend at the Limbo Lounge in 1984, when the Lower East Side was a dicey, druggy zone known as Alphabet City. “When I was a solo performer, a lot of the male characters didn’t really interest me, but I had to play them to tell my narrative,” he said.

“When I finally played just one female character that interested me, and I had an ensemble that could play the other roles, things sort of took off from there.”

Busch recently turned 60, and that approaching birthday put him into a bit of a funk. “Turning 60 is supposed to be full of re-evaluations and assessments of where you’ve been and what you’ve done, and that can be kind of grim,” he said. “So I had a kind of rough year, but I’ve kind of gotten out of it. I do tend to see the bleak side of things. If something gives me joy, I immediately

start pondering it.”

Returning to the world of a solo cabaret act “has been a lovely surprise these last couple of years, and I try to keep it in the right perspective or the fun goes out of it, “ Busch said. “It all came about out of the blue when I was asked to perform on an RSVP gay cruise on very short notice, and I thought who would be a good musical director who would also be fun to be on a cruise with, and I remembered this friend Tom Judson. Now it just pops up here and there, and off we go. Tom is a former porn star, which I think is marvelous. It gives a kind of gravitas to the act. I had another musical director come up to me and say, ‘I’d love to work with you.’ And I said, ‘Unless you’ve had a contract with Chi Chi LaRue, forget it.’”t Charles Busch will perform Sept.

25-26 at Feinstein’s at the Nikko.

Tickets are $35-$50. Go to hotelnikkosf.com/feinsteins.

Opera’s new love couple

by Jason Victor Serinus

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plus ma main” scene from Manon, Pérez is very fine.

Her high notes are produced with impressive control and beauty of tone, and some of the soft singing approaches ravishing.

True, she wants for more lightness in “Un di felice” from La Traviata, and is short on the winning simplicity we expect from Mimi (La Bohème) and Adina (L’elisir d’amore).

Nonetheless, her singing is both beautiful and emotionally convincing until the end of the CD, when she joins Costello in four duets from the Broadway stage. Then, unexpectedly, her lack of tonal freshness in two chestnuts, “If I Loved You” from Carousel and “And This Is My Beloved” from Kismet, leaves Costello sounding the more idiomatic and winning of the pair.

In the end, the CD leaves us wanting, not only for more consistent artistry, but also for English translations of the first seven opera duets.

Their absence, in a joint production between BBC Radio 3, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and Warner Classics, is inexcusable.t CY

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ince their winning appearances in San Francisco Opera’s La Traviata last July, opera’s newest heterosexual love couple, soprano Ailyn Pérez and tenor Stephen Costello, have taken their duet show on the road. This CD, by the two winners of the coveted Richard Tucker Award, not only confirms the mostly positive impression the couple left on Bay Area operagoers, but also begs further assessment of their strengths and weaknesses.

Yes, that last sentence is a give-away. Despite their fine voices and incontrovertible ardor, Costello and Pérez are still maturing as artists. Costello’s production is the most troubling.

While his voice is admirably strong and solid from top to bottom, with nice heft and ring on top, he seems so intent on getting his sound out there that he rarely softens. The honeyed sweetness we long for in the Cherry Duet from L’amico Fritz, and the teasing lightness and humor that make for a winning “Caro elisir!

Esulti pur la Barbara” duet from the

You and your partner will each receive $40 for your time and participation!

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comedic L’elisir d’amore are lacking.

Instead, Costello provides onesize-fits-all passion that ultimately feels more from the mind and gut than from the heart. Perhaps if the voice didn’t tend to whiten in the upper-middle range, there would be more of a sense of personality to his singing. As it is, we have a strange case of love duets from a man who really seems to be in love, yet rarely sounds it.

In the opera duets, especially the extended “Toi! Vous n’est-ce

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Toll Free: 855-837-4840 sfinfo@youandmestudy.com www.youandmestudy.com

<< DVD

24 • Bay Area Reporter • September 18-24, 2014

Gothic horror for grown-ups

by Tavo Amador

H

enry James’ 1898 novella The Turn of the Screw seems like unlikely material for stage or screen, but in 1950 William Archibald adapted it for the theatre, and in 1959, James Costigan’s live television version with Ingrid Bergman, directed by John Frankenheimer, earned her great acclaim. Two years later, gay novelist Truman Capote reworked Archibald’s script, and that screenplay was the basis for Jack Clayton’s brilliant film, now titled The Innocents. It starred Deborah Kerr and has just been released in DVD.

Despite having no relevant experience, Miss Giddons (Kerr) applies for a position as a governess. She’s interviewed by a wealthy, unmarried gentleman (Michael Redgrave), who is the guardian of his orphaned nephew and niece. Their previous governess died unexpectedly, and he has no interest at all in the children, who live at Bly, his country estate.

Spending time with young Miles and his sister Flora interferes with his social life and traveling. “I have no room, mentally or emotionally,” for them, he states. His coldness is unnerving. His only concern is to get her to accept the position, which means never involving him in any

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decisions affecting his charges. With mixed feelings, she agrees.

Miss Giddons is warmly welcomed at Bly by the housekeeper, Mrs. Grose (Meg Jenkins), and meets Flora (Pamela Franklin), a lovely girl who immediately charms the governess. Miles (Martin Stephens) is away at school. Even though the academic term is far from over, Flora is certain her brother will be home soon. To Miss Giddons’ surprise, Flora is correct. Miles arrives, having been sent home for misbehaving. How did Flora know this?

The children have exquisite manners, and Miles is so delightful that initially, Miss Giddons is certain the school’s headmaster must have been exaggerating his transgressions. Soon, however, they begin perplexing her. Miles and Flora whisper together, then stop as she approaches. Miles behaves in a way with her that almost seems flirtatious, inappropriately familiar.

Then Miss Giddons sees the ghost of a woman. Mrs. Grose reveals that it must be that of the previous governess, Miss Jessel. Another ghost, that of the late caretaker Peter Quint (Peter Wyngarde), appears. The children seem comfortable with these apparitions. Do they truly exist? Yes. Miss Giddons senses they are present, although she doesn’t know how or why they manifest themselves.

She questions Mrs. Grose, who reluctantly reveals shocking details about Miss Jessel and Quint. Miss Giddons realizes that their morally corrupt spirits are trying to possess Miles and Flora. She is determined to free the children from them, but Miles and Flora resist.

Intuitively, Miss Giddons understands that if she can get the chil-

dren to verbalize what is going on, to name who is controlling them, then they will be free. Her intuition is matched by her courage and determination. Can she prevail?

The struggle is extraordinary.

Flora becomes hysterical and is sent to her room, cared for by Mrs. Grose, who cannot imagine where the girl learnt such dreadful language. Miss Giddons orders Mrs. Grose to take the girl away. She thinks she will have success with Miles, because she believes that he wants to break free of Quint. But Quint won’t release his hold on the boy without a horrifying battle.

Miss Giddons brings all her resources to this confrontation, certain that she can liberate Miles. But the possessed Miles is equally set on defying her. Who will win? The final moments are terrifying, yet not graphic. This is a psychological thriller of the first order.

Clayton’s direction inexorably raises the tension until the shattering climax. He gets exceptional performances from his gifted cast.

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From 1949-60, Kerr earned six Best Actress Oscar nominations, but failed ever to win. She also collected three New York Film Critics Awards.

Although she was not recognized for her Miss Giddons, it may be her best performance: fierce, passionate, disturbed by the feelings she arouses and are aroused in her.

Stephens is uncanny as Miles. He conveys naivete and sexual knowingness simultaneously.

There is nothing cute or self-conscious about his characterization. The exquisite Franklin is flawless as Flora. She suggests her pleasure in being subjected to her brother.

The gay Redgrave, father of Vanessa, Lynn, and Corin, one of the era’s most acclaimed British actors, is chilling as the unnamed uncle. He refuses to make him sympathetic. Jenkins is wonderful as the frightened Mrs. Grose.

Capote’s screenplay is masterful – the trenchant dialogue deepens the mystery as it reveals details. Freddie Francis’ mesmerizing black-and-white cinematography, with its deep focus and inky black shadows, enhances the suspense.

So does the haunting score by Georges Auric.

The story may reflect James’ fear of sexual passion – it is likely his desires were directed at handsome young male acolytes, but no one knows for certain whether they were ever consummated, although Gore Vidal believed they were. Regardless, the fear of the consequences of physical intimacy is a subtle current throughout The Innocents. It seems James was a frightened man.t The DVD release is available on Sept. 23.

September soul

by Gregg Shapiro

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evonte Hynes didn’t need the extra publicity. He was already having a pretty good year. His Cupid Deluxe (Domino) disc, released in late 2013 under his Blood Orange moniker, made several best-of lists and caught attention well into 2014.

He made the cover of Out magazine, like so many of our straight allies, and received props from his LGBT fans. Then he was propelled into the national spotlight following a purported assault by security during the 2014 Lollapalooza music fest, magnifying a racially tense summer culminating in the murder of Michael Brown by police in Ferguson, MO. If you haven’t heard the Blood Orange disc yet, now’s the time. A buffet of beats and bold experimentation, Cupid Deluxe is a seductive statement on 21st-century soul. “You’re Not Good Enough” makes good with a lightly funky approach, while “Uncle Ace” revisits vintage disco. “Always Let U Down” and “Time Will Tell” make the 80s sound better than they did the first time around.

The posthumously released deluxe edition (CD+DVD) of Michael Jackson’s Xscape (Epic/MJJ) is worth having for different reasons. Mainly, it’s refreshing to hear Michael singing on some of the tracks that go back about 30 years, instead of hiccupping and grunting as he did on later albums. “Love Never Felt So Good,” a timeless retro track co-written with Paul Anka, is a reminder of what Michael

could do as a singer. The same can also be said for “Loving You.” But the excitement of hearing the Michael of old runs thin by “A Place with No Name,” a lazy rewrite of America’s “A Horse with No Name” on which Michael gasps and coughs. The loss of originality continues on the whooping “Slave to the Rhythm.” Michael would have been better off just covering the superior Grace Jones tune of the same name. There’s more of that silly howling on the ironic “Do You Know Where Your Children Are?,” which suffers from Jackson’s latecareer weakness. The real reward surfaces in the original, strippeddown versions of the album’s eight songs, where Jackson is the focus, as opposed to the production. The DVD includes the Xscape documentary.

The Brits sure do love their blue-eyed soul singers. That kind of love extends to the States, where Sam Smith has been elevated to superstar status via his vocals on the Disclosure single “Latch” and his fulllength debut album In the Lonely Hour (Capitol). An acoustic ver-

sion of “Latch” can be found on the Lonely Hour deluxe edition, which expands the original album by four songs, including the irresistible Naughty Boy single “La La La.” “Money on My Mind,” “Life SupSee page 25 >>

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Fine Art>>

September 18-24, 2014 • Bay Area Reporter • 25

Stranger in a strange land

by Sura Wood

I

n the swirl of hoopla attending the much-anticipated opening of the Anderson Collection in its sleek new facility at Stanford University, the Cantor Arts Center, the eminence grise of the projected “arts district” for the campus, should not be overlooked. Since Connie Wolf, the dynamic former director of the Contemporary Jewish Museum, took the helm in 2012, she’s amped up the Cantor’s programming and presence. It’s worth noting that the museum has an endowment and collections – it boasts the largest holdings of Rodin bronzes outside of Paris, for instance – that would be the envy of institutions in many mid-size American cities. This fall they’re hosting at least five new shows, but the undisputed headliner is Robert Frank in America, which went on view last week. It consists of 23 black & white photographs from Frank’s influential landmark book, The Americans (1959), and 100 or so unfamiliar, largely forgotten pictures from the mid- and late-1950s shot during roughly the same time period before he turned his attention to filmmaking.

Guest curator Peter Galassi, former chief curator of photography at NY MoMA, did extensive research, assessing Frank’s body of work from the 1950s as a whole, and examining the artist’s rhythms, lesser-known subject matter and “pictorial strategies.” Apart from Frank aficionados and students, who represent a small subset of the likely audience for the exhibition, however, the show offers less in the way of fresh insight into the work of one of its accomplished practitioners than a chance to see more of the stark, deceptively simple photographs he produced.

After arriving in New York City in 1947 at the age of 22, and having failed to achieve the success and freedom he sought at magazines like Life and Esquire, the Swiss photographer was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1955. Like a latter-day Alexis de Toqueville equipped with a camera instead of a pen, he hit the road, traveling the U.S., recording the everyday realities and aspirations of its inhabitants, scoping out cities, towns and highways, observing our way of life with a detached, sober foreigner’s eye. Standing on a street corner in Charleston, dressed in crisp church-going white, an African-American woman holds a white baby in a white blanket; elsewhere, in a famous image, a leather barber’s chair sits empty in a deserted local

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Meow Meow

From page 18

Bride at Berkeley Rep. The production also comes equipped with new sets and costumes by illustrious British designer Neil Murray that play perfectly into the alternately over-the-top and barebones atmosphere of the show within a show.

While many of the musical numbers are outright comedic – an avant-garde Eastern European ver-

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September soul

From page 24

port” and “Lay Me Down” confirm that Smith’s time has come.

Smith wasn’t the year’s only soul stud. Booty-obsessed Jason Derulo earns his “Parental Advisory” label on Talk Dirty (Warner Bros.) A triumph of production over content, the title cut featuring 2 Chainz, and “Wiggle” featuring Snoop Dogg, contain memorable effects that give the songs a lifespan. The same can be said for the brassy “Trumpets,” the kinky “Kama Sutra,” the zip of “Zipper” and the

Robert Frank, Courtesy Cantor Arts Center Robert Frank, Courtesy Cantor Arts Center

Robert Frank, “New York City, 1951.” Gelatin silver print.

shop in a lazy South Carolina town (“Barbershop through screen door – McClellanville”). Both photographs were shot in 1955 and speak to the mood of time and place.

In addition to race, religion, class, politics – he caught young, openfaced Bobby Kennedy being advised by a confidante at the 1956 Democratic convention – and dashing the romantic fantasy of being on the open road evangelized by Jack Kerouac, who wrote the introduction to The Americans, Frank explored the culture’s obsession with cars. In “Motorama – Los Angeles” (1956), for example, two boys are in the luxurious backseat of a big car at an auto show; its interior is illuminated, like a scene out of a movie.

Exposing the disparity between the myths Americans believed about themselves and the harsher reality obvious to a stranger in strange land, Frank’s cool, exquisitely composed images reflect the dispassionate, unsentimental perspective of an

outsider. He strips away the fake patina of Hollywood glamour in photographs taken at movie premieres, such as one of a fetching blond in white fur stole who’s seated in a gilded movie palace, and he demystified the dream factory by shooting the “H” in the iconic Hollywood sign from the back, revealing it as a façade like any other.

His minimalist pictures do occasionally capture collegial high spirits, like the group of elated young men crammed into the backseat of a sports-car convertible, cruising Times Square at night (1961), enthused by the glare of city lights and sexual possibility. Tough customers size up an intruder in “Bar – Gallup, New Mexico,” (1955), where hostile dudes in cowboy hats have gathered after-hours in a smoke-filled watering hole, lit by an overhead fluorescent fixture, a scene skewed to one side and shot from a low vantage point.

But with few exceptions, we look

sion of “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka-Dot Bikini” comes to mind – some begin with a humorous veneer that may then reveal a deeper meaning. And even amidst the well-choreographed mayhem on stage, Meow Meow can smoothly turn around emotions with an unexpectedly sincere interpretation of a particular song. Meow Meow is indeed accomplished as a physical comedian, an edgy monologist, and a sensitive song stylist.

There may come a time when audiences do throw roses at Meow Meow’s feet. At this point, however, she must equip the front rows to enact this ritual of adoration.

“Sorry about the thorns,” she tells them, “but you bloody well deserve them.”t An Evening with Meow Meow will run at Berkeley Rep through Oct. 19. Tickets are $29-$89. Call (510) 647-2949 or go to berkeleyrep.org.

flickering “With the Lights On.” Leela James has spent the last few years perfecting her retro soul style, even going as far as paying homage to Etta James (no relation!). With Fall for You (J&T), James has her mind on the present and the future.

“Who’s Gonna Love You More” retains the spirit of the vintage R&B that James has made her goto sound, but it also feels current.

That’s also the case with “Say That” (a duet with modern soul man Anthony Hamilton) and the bootybumping cover track “Save Me.” On a mission to make soul and R&B too cool for school,

Cold Specks, aka Al Spx, returns with Neuroplasticity (Mute). Cold Specks’ trademark “doom soul” takes on a bruised-blues quality on “Old Knives” and “A Formal Invitation.” Cold Specks is at her most accessible on “A Quiet Chill” and the subtle funk of “Living Signs.”

SoMo is one of the best arguments for avoiding YouTube sensations. SoMo (aka Joseph SomersMorales) would like nothing more than to be the American Sam Smith.

To achieve that he’d need to be less generic and derivative than he is on his eponymous Republic Records debut.t

Robert Frank, “Detroit, 1955.” Gelatin silver print.

like a pretty grim lot, unsmiling, determined rather than joyful, eating, walking or traveling life alone even when we’re in the company of others, our faces nearly lost in the madding crowd. A number of images are of solitary figures, imprisoned by circumstance or by choice, perhaps isolated by the much-vaunted American individualism. They’re tightly framed – one might say metaphorically confined inside the image, whether it’s a dapper man in black

doffing a derby on a snowy Staten Island street; an older woman peering out of the window of a passing bus in Iowa; a hustler leaning against his vehicle, smoking a cigarette in Times Square; or a fellow sitting by himself in a New York City diner, reading at a booth in the wee hours, the only customer in the joint, the jukebox behind him resting in stoic silence.t Through Jan. 5, 2015. For more info: museum.stanford.edu

<< Out&About Out &About

O&A

26 • Bay Area Reporter • September 18-24, 2014

State of the City @ Modern Times Bookstore

Fri 19

Vanilla sky

Chesire Isaacs

by Jim Provenzano

T

he largest leather SM festival in the world takes place Sunday, and if you didn’t know that, you do now. You can read Race Bannon’s sumptuous feature in our BARtab section. For those who want a scoop of vanilla entertainments (with a lot more online at www.ebar.com), here ya go.

Thu 18 Butch @ Austin Gallery Opening reception and book signing for Butch: Not like other girls, the local installation of Los Angelesbased SD Holman’s touring photo exhibit of butch women. 6pm-9pm. By appointment thru Nov. 18. 799 Castro St. 282-4511. austinlawgroup.com

Capacitor @ YBCA The innovative dance company that blends science and technology into performance presents Synaptic Motion, a study in the brain science of creativity. $20-$35. Thu-Sat 8pm. Sat & Sun 5pm, and Sun 2pm. Thru Sept.

21. Science talks and demos each night at 7pm. Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 701 Mission St. 978-2787. www.ybca.org

Comedy Returns @ El Rio Maureen Langan, Dan St Paul, Matt Gubser, Anthony Durante, and Lisa Geduldig play it for laughs and the monthly comedy night. $7-$20. 8pm.

3158 Mission St. (800) 838-3006. www.elriosf.com

Garret + Moulton @ YBCA Janice Garrett and Charles Moulton’s new evening-length dance work, The Luminous Edge, includes 24 dancers and eight musicians performing a new score by Jonathan Russell. $25-$36.

Benefit reception Sept. 20, 8pm ($75$500). Thu-Sat 8pm. Thru Sept. 21.

Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 701 Mission st. 978-2787. garrettmoulton.org www.ybca.org

José James @ The New Parish, Oakland Hip hop and modern jazz singersongwriter performs with his band; also, Gizmo and DJ HeyLove. $22-$25.

9pm. Also Sept. 19. 579 18th St., Oakland. www.thenewparish.com

New & Classic Films @ Castro Theatre Sept. 18: Experiment in Terror (7pm) and Petulia (9:20). Sept. 19: Inside Llewyn Davis (7:20) and Coal Miner’s Daughter (9:30). Sept. 20: Silent Film Festival presents Silent Autumn, a day-long mini-fest featuring Laurel & Hardy shorts, The Son of the Sheik, The General and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. $15 each/ $60 full pass. (www.silentfilm.org). Sept. 21: Frozen sing-along (1pm). Los Angeles Plays Itself (4pm) and Model Shop (9pm).

Sept 23: Robin Williams tribute continues with The World According to Garp (7pm) and The Birdcage (4:45, 9:30). Sept. 24: Red Desert (7pm) and Mickey One (9:10). Sept.

25: Mood Indigo (7pm) and Eternal Sunshine of the Sportless Mind (8:50). $12. 429 Castro St. 621-6120. www.castrotheatre.com

Linda Lavin @ Feinstein’s at the Nikko The Broadway and TV actress-singer (Alice ) performs Possibilities, her show of classic musical theatre and cabaret songs, with musical director Billy Stritch. $45-$60. 8pm. Also Sept.

19. Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. (866) 663-1063. www.ticketweb.com

Monsieur Chopin @ Berkeley Repertory Hershey Felder returns with one of his popular and informative pianoplaying biographical solo shows, this one about Fryderyk Chopin. $29-$89.

Tue & Sun 7pm. Wed-Sat 8pm. Also Wed, Thu, Sat Sun 2pm. Thru Sept.

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

Celebrity Waiter Gala @ Yoshi’s Paula West, D’wayne Wiggins and host Liam Mayclem perform at the 18th annual fundraiser for Music in Schools Today, the kids music cause, with local TV, politics and cultural celebrities serving dinner and drinks! $85-$170. 6:30pm. 1330 Fillmore St. 655-5600. yoshis.com

The New Electric Ballroom @ Ashby Stage, Berkeley Shotgun Players’ production of Tony Award-winning playwright Enda Walsh’s drama about the fantasy of youth between sisters determined to live in the past. $20-$30. Wed-Sat 8pm (some Wed & Thu 7pm). Sun 5pm. 1901 Ashby Ave., Berkeley. (510) 841-6500. www.shotgunplayers.org

Noises Off @ Shelton Theater Michael Frayns’ hilarious theatre comedy of onstage and backstage pratfalls returns. $20-$48. Thu-Sat 8pm. Thru Oct. 25. 533 Sutter St. at Powell. (800) 838-3008. www.sheltontheater.org

We Players, the innovative sitespecific theatre ensemble, presents a two-actor multi-venue updated version of Shakespeare’s King Lear. $30-$50. Locations TBA. Fri-Sun. Thru Sept. 28. 547-0189. WePlayers.org

The Late Wedding @ Thick House

Wait Until Dark @ Victoria Theatre

Yerba Buena Gardens Festival @ Esplanade

The Late Wedding

King Fool @ Various Locales

Salon.com founder and author David Talbot leads a discussion about gentrification in San Francisco, with Karen and Gregory Johnson (Marcus Bookstore), Joseph Talbot and Tiye Shepard. 7pm. 2919 24th St. 2829246. www.mtbs.com

Circle of Life Theatre, the new disability-inclusive theatre company, presents a new and updated production of Frederick Knott’s taut thriller, with a blind actress playing the lead role. $20-$35. Season tickets $60. Thu-Sat 8pm. Sun 2pm. Thru Sept. 21. 2961 16th St. 392-4400. www.circleoflifetheatre.org

The months-long free performance series continues, with weekend outdoor dance, music and theatre concerts, on various days and evenings. Sept. 18: Sambada, 12:30pm. Shows thru Oct. 773 Mission St. at 3rd. 543-1718. www.ybgfestival.org

Fri 19 The Anastasio Project @ Eastside Arts Alliance NAKA Dance Theatre, José Navarette and Debby Kajiyama’s multimedia dance, theatre, video and music project focuses on race relations and police violence in Oakland, Ferguson, Missouri and elsewhere. $10-$40.

Fri-Sun 8pm, thru Sept 21. 2277 International Blvd. (800) 838-3008. www.nkdancetheater.com

An Audience With Meow Meow @ Berkeley Repertory Theatre Musical comedy features songs, sequins, satire and star Meow Meow. $29-$89. Tue, Thu-Sat 8pm. Wed & Sun 7pm. Sat & Sun 2pm. Thru Oct. 19. Roda Theatre, 2015 Addison St., Berkeley. (510) 647-2949. www.BerkeleyRep.org

Bell, Book and Candle @ Spreckels Performing Arts Center The 1950s comedy about witches in love, with a gay subtext and McCarthy era paranoia, is performed by the East Bay theatre company. $22-$26. Fri-Sat 8pm. Thu 7:30pm. Sun 2pm. Thru Oct. 12. Bette Condiotti Theater, 5409 Snyder Lane, Rohnert Park. (707) 5883400. www.spreckelsonline.com

Big Fish @ Lucie Stern Theater, Palo Alto John August and Andrew Lippa’s heartwarming musical adaptation of the Tim Burton film and Daniel Wallace’s novel. $34-$48. Thu-7pm.

Fri & Sat 8pm. Sun 2pm. Thru Sept.

28. 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto.

(650) 329-0891. www.paplayers.org

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof @ Village Theatre, Danville Role Players Ensemble’s production of Tennessee Williams’ classic Southern family drama. $20-$28. Thu-Sat 8pm.

Sun 2pm. Thru Sept. 20. 233 Front St., Danville. (925) 314-3400. www.RolePlayersEnsemble.com

Mon 22 Arturo Galster celebration

Chanticleer @ SF Conservatory of Music The grammy-winning men’s a cappella vocal ensemble begins its new season with Gypsy in My Soul, a concert of Renaissance and European folk music. $20-$50. 8pm. Also at other NorCal venues thru Sept. 28. chanticleer.org

Classic Films @ BAM/PFA Screening of cinematic classics, including James Dean films, Stanley Kubrick films thru Oct. 31, avantegarde cinema (Wed thru Oct. 29), Activate Yourself: Free Speech Movement (Tue & Thu thru Oct. 30). $7. Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive, 2575 Bancroft Way. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu

Cock @ New Conservatory Theatre Center Michael Bartlett’s highly acclaimed play about a gay couple, one of whom falls in love with a woman, gets a West Coast premiere. $25-$45. WedSat 8pm. Sun 2pm. Thru Oct. 12. 25 Van Ness Ave., lower level. 861-8972. www.nctcsf.org

Company @ Town Hall Theatre, Lafayette Town Hall Theatre Company’s production of Stephen Sondheim’s classic 1960s urban musical about a single man facing pressures from his married friends on the brink of his 35th birthday. $15-$29. Thu-Sat 8pm.

Sun 2pm. Thru Oct. 12. 3535 School St., Lafayette. (925) 283-1557. www.townhalltheatre.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. Extended thru Oct. 19. 2120 Allston Way, Berkeley. 282-3055. www.themarsh.org

Fiddler on the Roof @ Cinnabar Theater, Petaluma The classic musical about a Jewish family’s trials and tribulations in preRevolutionary Russia gets a Sonoma County production. $25-$35. Fri & Sat 8pm. Thus & Sun 2pm. Extended thru Sept. 28. 3333 Petaluma Blvd. North, Petaluma. (707) 763-8920. www.cinnabartheater.org

Flyaway Productions @ UC Hastings College of Law Jo Kreiter and her dancers premiere another astonishing outdoor aerial dance, mounted on an 80-foot wall in the Tenderloin; Multiple Mary and Invisible Jane, about the lives of homeless women. Free. Fri & Sat 8pm & 9pm. Sept. 17 & 18, 12pm & 8pm.

Sept 19 & 20, 8pm & 9pm. 333 Golden Gate Ave. FlyawayProductions.com

Funny Girl @ Hillbarn Theatre, Foster City

Thu 18 Butch

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The Jule Styne/Bob Merrill/Isobel Lennart musical about Vaudeville legend Fanny Brice (which made Barbra Streisand famous), gets a South Bay production. $23-$42. ThuSat 8pm. Sun 2pm. Extended thru Sept. 28. 1285 East Hillsdale Blvd., Foster City. (650) 349-6411. www.hillbarntheatre.org

Crowded Fire Theater’s world premiere production of Christopher Chen’s theatrical rumination on multiple ritualistic interpretations of weddings (gay, straight, etc.), inspired by the writings of Italian fabulist Italo Calvino. $15-$35. Wed-Sat 8pm. Thru Oct. 11. 1695 18th St. at Carolina.

746-9238. www.crowdedfire.org

Life Could Be a Dream @ Center Rep, Walnut Creek Song-filled musical about a doo-wop band that undergoes problems when a woman manager changes their lives. $37-$66. Tue & Wed 7:30pm. Fri-Sat 8pm. Sun 2:30pm. Thru Oct. 5. 1601 Civic Drive, Walnut Creek. (925) 9437469. www.CenterRep.org

Lovebirds @ The Marsh, Berkeley Marga Gomez’ hit solo show, about the various lives of nightclub patrons as told by an ageless photographer, returns, now at the Marsh’s Berkeley stage. $20-$100. Fridays 8pm; Saturday 8:30pm. 2120 Alston Way, Berkeley. www.themarsh.org

Macy Gray @ Yoshi’s The amazing soulful vocalist returns for two shows, performing songs from her new CD The Way ; tonight in Oakland and Sept. 20 at Yoshi’s SF. www.yoshis.com

Mark Foehringer’s Dance Project @ Cowell Theatre Fullbright fellow and local choreographer presents his company performing Dances of the Sacred and Profane, in collaboration with media artist Camille Utterback, in the justreopened renovated theatre. $18.50$28.50. Sat & Sun 8pm. Sept 19 & 20, 8pm. Sept 21, 6pm. Fort Mason Center, Marina Blvd. and Buchanan St. www.mfdpsf.org

Motown the Musical @ Orpheum Theatre Clifton Oliver and Allison Semmes costar in the first national tour of the musical treasure about the life and career of Berry Gordy, featuring dozens of performers singing and dancing to Motown classic hits. $45-$210. Tue-Sat 8pm. Sun 2pm & 7:30pm. Also Sat 2pm. Thru Sept.

28. 1192 Market St. (888) 746-1799. www.motownthemusical.com www.shnsf.com

Old Hats @ Geary Theatre American Conservatory Theatre presents Bill Irwin and David Shiner’s clownish two-man comedy, with music written and performed by Shaina Taub. $20-$120. Tue-Sat 8pm (some Tue 7pm). Sat & Sun 2pm. Sun 7pm. Thru Oct. 12. Geary Theatre, 415 Geary St. 749-2228. www.act-sf.org

PUSHfest @ ODC Theater PUSH dance and ODC present two programs feature 14 emerging and mid-career choreographers from around the U.S. $25-$50 (festival pass). Fri 8pm. Sun 4pm. 3153 17th St. www.odcdance.org

Rapture, Blister, Burn @ Aurora Theatre, Berkeley Gina Gionfriddo’s Pulitzer-finalist drama compares the lives of two women –a mother with a family, and an accomplished academic– with a comic feminist flair. $32-$60. Tue & Sun 7pm. Wed-Sat 8pm. Also Sun 2pm. Extended thru Oct 5. 2081 Addison St., Berkeley. (510) 843-4822. www.auroratheatre.org

SF Latino Film Festival @ Various Venues 6th annual Cine+Mas festival screens films from around the world’s Latin countries. Sept 19, opening Cry Now at Brava Theater; after-party at Brick and Mortar. Thru Sept. 27. www.sflatinofilmfestival.com

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Out&About>>

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

Theory of Survival: Fabrications @ Southern Exposure Group exhibit and pop-up bazaar of art works inspired by traditional Persian marketplaces, made by a dozen California-based Iranian artists.

Saturday events include daytime workshops and panel talks; night events include music, readings and storytelling. Tue-Sat 12pm-6pm. Thru Oct. 25. 3030 20th St. 863-2141. www.soex.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. Thru Sept. 28. www.tofuart.com glamarama.com

Sat 20 Among Dreams @ LGBT Center Opening reception for Chelsea Rae Klein’s multimedia exhibit of works that interpret the once-closeted lives of LGBT military members, and the anniversary of the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. An online archive of the exhibit includes bios, photos and multimedia. 6pm-9pm. Thru Nov. 11.

1800 Market St. www.sfcenter.org www.amongdreams.com

Mascara @ MCC The monthly drag show produced by the LGBT sober space is themed Burning Desire ; hosted by Frida K-Hole. $10-$20. 8pm. 150 Eureka St. www.castrocountryclub.org

Northern California Renaissance Faire @ Casa de Fruta, Hollister The annual weekend festival of Olde English entertainments, feasts, music and other festivities returns. $25-$35.

Weekends, 10am-6pm thru Oct. 12.

10031 Pacheco Pass Hwy 152, Gate 6, Hollister. (408) 847-FAIR. www.norcalrenfaire.com

Perverts Put Out @ Center for Sex & Culture Enjoy sexy, bawdy and naughty readings from Sherilyn Connelly, Greta Christina, Philip Huang, Lori Selke, horehound stillpoint, and Xan West, with coMCs Simon Sheppard and Dr. Carol Queen. $10-$25. 8pm. 1349 Mission St. www.sexandculture.org

Semi-Famous @ The Marsh Don Reed’s new solo show, SemiFamous: Hollywood Hell Tales From the Middle, includes tales of panic-ridden auditions and almost being shot by the Secret Service. $20-$100. Sat 8:30pm, Sun 7pm. Thru Oct. 19. 1062 Valencia St. 282-3055. themarsh.org

Silent Autumn @ Castro Theatre The Silent Film Festival presents a day-long mini-fest featuring Laurel & Hardy shorts, The Son of the Sheik, The General and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. $15 each/ $60 full pass. 429 Castro St. www.silentfilm.org

September 18-24, 2014 • Bay Area Reporter • 27

Mon 22 10 Percent @ Comcast David Perry interviews local and visiting community members of note; this week, the annual Celebrity Pool Toss, Donna Sachet, the host, and Neil Figurelli of the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation 11:30am & 10:30pm.

Also Sat & Sun, 10:30pm.

Channel 104.

New exhibit focusing on San Francisco’s emerging gay culture at the time of the pivotal LIFE magazine feature “Homosexuality in America.”

Reg. hours Mon-Sat 11am-7pm. Sun 12pm-5pm. ($5/free for members).

4127 18th St. 621-1107. www.glbthistory.org

Arturo Galster Celebration @ Castro Theatre The beloved actor-singer and multitalent, who died tragically a few weeks back, will be celebrated in a loving show with videos and an image slideshow of his life and many gifted performances, including his shows as Patsy Cline and the lead in the local production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Free. (Donations to the project can be made at https:// www.indiegogo.com/projects/acelebration-of-arturo-galster).

7:30pm. 429 Castro St. www.castrotheatre.com

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.). 4214222. beachblanketbabylon.com

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

An Ideal Husband, Romeo and Juliet @ Forest Meadows Ampitheatre, San Rafael Marin Shakespeare Company continues its 25th anniversary summer series with William Shakespeare’s classic underage teen romantic tragedy; in repertory with Oscar Wilde’s witty comedy, An Ideal Husband. 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 Sept 28. 499-4488. Forest Meadows Amphitheatre, 890 Belle Avenue, Dominican University of California, San Rafael. marinshakespeare.org

A Midsummer Night’s Dream @ Bruns Ampitheatre, Orinda California Shakespeare Festival’s production of The Bard’s fairy-filled nature romantic romp. $20-$60.

Tue-Thu 7:30pm. Fri & Sat 8pm. Sun 4pm. Thru Sept 28. 100 California Shakespeare Theatre Way, Orinda.

(510) 548-9666. www.CalShakes.org

Among Dreams

Circle of Life Cabaret @ Martuni’s A C.O.L.T. Following, the disability and LGBT-inclusive theatre company’s music and variety show, includes raffles and tickets to their upcoming shows. No cover. 6:30pm-8:30pm. 4 Valencia St. circleoflifetheatre.org

David Johnson @ Harvey Milk Photo Center Retrospective exhibit of the accomplished local photographer, who was Ansel Adams’ first African American student. Tue-Thu 4pm-8pm.

Sat & Sun 12pm-4:30pm. Thru Oct. 19. 50 Scott St. www.harveymilkphotocenter.org

Pippin @ Golden Gate Theatre The touring company of the awardwinning Broadway revival of Stephen Schwarz’s classic musical about a young prince’s death-defying quest to find meaning in his life, stars Matthew James Thomas (original Pippin in the revival), Lucie Arnaz (as Berthe) and a talented cast of singers, dancers and acrobats. $45-$210. Tue-Sat 8pm.

Wed, Sat & Sun 2pm. Thru Oct. 19. 1 Taylor St. at Market. (888) 746-1799. www.shnsf.com

Wed 24 Big Book Sale @ Festival Pavilion

Fri 19

Brent Calderwood @ Modern Times Bookstore The local gay author reads from his new book of poems, The God of Longing (Sibling Rivalry Press), with special guest author Kevin Killian, and host Baruch PorrasHernandez. 6:30pm. 2919 24th St. brentcalderwood.com mtbs.com

Sat 20

1964: The Year San Francisco Came Out @ GLBT History Museum

Anastasio Project Steven Sanchez

Year of the Rooster @ La Val’s Subterranean, Berkeley Impact Theatre’s West Coast premiere of Eric Dufault’s acclaimed comedy about a fighting rooster (played by Caleb Cabrera) and his troubled owner. Beer and pizza available. $10-$20. Thu-Sat 8pm. Sun 7pm. Thru Sept. 21. 1834 Euclid Ave., Berkeley.

(510) 224-5744. impacttheatre.com

Sun 21 Arts in Nature Festival @ Redwood Regional Park, Oakland The annual multidisciplinary arts festival includes music, performance, kids crafts, and more, all in the beautiful state park. Free. 11am-5pm.

Buses run to and from the parking lot at Merritt College, 12500 Campus Drive, Oakland. www.samavesha.org

Cheesecake & Demerol @ Stage Werx Theatre Gene Gore’s one-woman autobiographical show about pregnancy, women’s health issues, all told from her true-life experiences. $15. Sundays, 3pm. Thru Oct. 19. 446 Valencia St. www.genegore.com

Dolores DeLuce @ Green Arcade The author of Blow Jobs: A Guide to Making it in Show Business, or Not! reads from and discusses her followup book to Counter Culture Diva’s Confessions in My Life, a Four Letter Word. 5pm. 1680 Market St. 4316800. www.thegreenarcade.com

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-$35. MonSat 9:30am-5pm. Sun 11am-5pm. 55 Music Concourse Drive, Golden Gate Park. 379-8000. calacademy.org

Tue 23 20th Century Salon Photography: A Tribute @ Robert Tat Gallery Group exhibit of vintage photography by famous artists like Ansel Adams, Imogen Cunningham, Edward Weston and others. Thru Nov. 29. 49 Geary St. 781-1122. www.roberttat.com

SF Public Library’s annual huge book (and DVD) sale, where every item is $1-$3. Free (member preview Sept 23, 4pm-8pm) 10am-6pm. Thru Sept.

28. Fort Mason Center, Marina at Buchanon. www.friendssfpl.org

Latino Arts Night @ Brava Theatre Center KQED and Brava Theatre present a showcase of local heroes and performers in the Latino community; Sandra Garcia Rivera, Gabriel Cortez, Lydia Popovich, La Misa Negra and others. Free/RSVP online. 6:30pm.

2781 24th St. lhmsf.eventbrite.com www.brava.org

Thu 25 Beyond Bullying @ SF State Professor of Sociology Jessica Fields discusses the Beyond Bullying Project, and her studies on hostility toward LGBTQ students. 12:30pm-2pm. Room 108, Humanities Bldg., SF State, 1600 Holloway Ave. https://lca.sfsu.edu/

Charles Busch @ Feinstein’s at the Nikko Acclaimed actor, playwright and drag legend performs his witty cabaret act with pianist-singer Tom Judson. $35-$50 ($20 food/drink minimum).

8pm. Also Sept. 26. Hotel Nikko, lobby level, 222 Mason St. (866) 663-1063. www.ticketweb.com

Joe Goode Performance Group @ Z Space Performances of two acclaimed dance-theatre works: Wonderboy (with master puppeteer Basil Twist) and the brilliant solo, 29 Effeminate Gestures. $15-$100. Thu-Sat 8pm.

Sun 3pm. Thru Oct. 4. 450 Florida St. (866) 811-4111. www.zspace.org www.joegoode.org

Randy L. Schmidt @ Books Inc. Author of Judy Garland on Judy Garland: Interviews and Encounters, will read from and discuss his book about the legendary singer, which features Garland’s interviews, transcripts, comments and writings about the star. 7:30pm. 2275 Market St. www.booksinc.net 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

Z SPACE Joe Goode Performance Group returns to Z Space for encore performances of two signature pieces.

Wonderboy An enchanting search for love and belonging, created in collaboration with avant-garde puppeteer Basil Twist.

Act 1, Scene 2 @ 580 Hayes Second (and last) larger group exhibit of varied-media works by local artists.

Tue-Sun 10am-6pm. Thru Sept 28. 580 Hayes St. hayesvalleyartcoalition.org

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

29 Effeminate Gestures Joe Goode's legendary work: a funny, illuminating look at the stereotypes of masculinity.

Sept 25 - Oct 5, 2014 at Z Space, 450 Florida Street, San Francisco Tickets and Info at www.zspace.org Photos by RJ Muna

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36

Silly Celebs

On the Tab

NIGHTLIFE FOOD

SPIRITS

SEX

Casey Williams

SOCIETY

ROMANCE

www.ebar.com ✶ www.bartabsf.com Rich Stadtmiller

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LEATHER

PERSONALS Vol. 44 • No. 38 • September 18-24, 2014

e r i a n i d

r o a ’s r r i a t F t x E ree

Fair

by Race Bannon

he highest of holy t y S r days for San Frano m leather and Folsoinating hist kink crowd is uponcisco’s us.

On Sunday, September 21, from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., the folks fasc

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at Folsom Street Events, along with countless volunteers, will mount the granddaddy of all leather events, Folsom Street Fair, now in its 31st year. The fair spans many blocks in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood on Folsom Street from 8th to 13th Streets, spilling over onto side streets to accommodate the hundreds of thousands of people who attend each year.

Unlike its small and more local brother, the Up Your Alley street fair, Folsom Street Fair caters to and welcomes a broad range of men and women of all orientations and kinky persuasions. People travel from around the world to attend the Fair. If you have any kinky sexual interests, and you’ve never been to Folsom Street Fair before, treat yourself. There’s nothing else in the world quite like it.

See page 30 >>

A leatherman flags with the official leather colors at 2012’s Folsom Street Fair.

BoundGods

Beauty in Bondage

by John F. Karr

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he Folsom Street Fair has gotten really big. This year, on the (usually) sun-scorched playa of Folsom Street, the Fair’s presenters promise 400,000 burning men and women, leather and fetish enthusiasts spread out over 13 city blocks. That’s big.

But not too big that we can’t zero in on the one thing that is perhaps the Fair’s most visible representation. That would be the kink.com stage, on which the Van Darkholme troupe of strolling players display their repertoire of rigors in performances of B&D tinged with S&M. It’s a keystone of the fair.

Darkholme is the creator and mastermind of BoundGods, which in 2008 inaugurated kinkmen.com’s gay wing. More than specifically gay, it is specifically BDSM, and pretty intense at that.

See page 41 >>

{ THIRD OF THREE SECTIONS }

Connor Maguire presides as Jessie Colter’s winged god of bondage is paraded into the 2013 Folsom Street Fair.

Serving the LGBT communities since 1971

30 • BAY AREA REPORTER • September 18-24, 2014

Rich Stadtmiller

Two men smooch at 2013’s Folsom Street Fair.

Rich Stadtmiller

Men in an array of minimal clothes.

Rich Stadtmiller

Straps, singlets, and mesh fashions at the Folsom Fair.

you can expect at the Fair while your support also contributes to Rich Stadtmiller raising money for some A stylish dom in rubber with her sub. worthwhile charities.

Many assume that Folsom Street Fair began as a gay leather event.

Fair Extraordinaire That’s not quite accurate. Yes, leathFrom page 29 erfolk were certainly at the first Fair and some were integral to its orgaI asked Demetri Moshoyannis, nization, but the Fair was birthed Executive Director of Folsom Street by a much more wide cross section Events, if his organization is guided of people and not necessarily as the by any particular mission or objeccelebration of leather and kink that tive when producing the Fair. it’s become today.

He said, “Our mission statement The first Folsom Street Fair was is to unite the adult alternative lifeactually an attempt by two commustyle communities with safe spaces nity activists and organizers, Kathfor self-expression and exciting enleen Connell and Michael Valerio, to tertainment. We raise funds to help preserve the South of Market neighsustain San Francisco-based and naborhood that was being threatened tional charities.” by aggressive gentrification and I think that sums up nicely the fun commercial development. Devel-

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Posters for the first and fifth Folsom Street Fair.

opers had their sights set on a large section of South of Market from which they intended to displace many businesses and residents.

Amid the background of aggressive South of Market gentrification that was displacing an entire community, Connell and Valerio started to work under an umbrella of the activist organizations in place at the time that were attempting to resist and mitigate such gentrification.

Their collaborative communityorganization work eventually led to the first Folsom Street Fair in 1984 and they named it “Megahood.”

In Gayle Rubin’s superb essay, “Elegy for the Valley of the Kings: AIDS and the Leather Community in San Francisco, 1981-1996,” Rubin gives a beautiful accounting of the Fair’s start.

“In 1984 a group of community

organizers and housing activists decided to start a South of Market street fair. The Folsom Street Fair was intended to make a political statement that South of Market, far from being an empty slum in need of urban renewal, was already occupied. The fair, it was thought, would bring together and display all the disparate elements of a vital and viable neighborhood. Thus the fair has never been an exclusively gay event or leather event. Nonetheless, the founders included leathermen, and given the strong presence of leather in the area, it has always had substantial participation.”

For a thorough and detailed history of the origins of the Fair, I highly recommend you check out an article on the Folsom Street Events website titled “The Power of Broken Hearts: The Origin and Evolution of the Folsom Street” by Kathleen Connell and Paul Gabriel (folsomstreetevents.org/heritage).

Since its initial community activist origins, Folsom Street Fair has morphed over time from a celebration of the South of Market neighborhood and its inhabitants to one that has come to be known as perhaps the world’s most famous celebration of the many manifestations of leather and kink.

For those reading this column who have never attended Folsom Street Fair, I think Moshoyannis can give you a glimpse into what to expect. He hopes that the main thing Fair attendees come away with is “...a sense of community and a safe space for BDSM exploration.

Each year, I’m always amazed by the feeling of a little fetish village being erected in the streets. There are vendors, stages, food and liquor stands and so much more. But everyone is there for the same reason. I hope that each time someone comes to the fair they can experience or see something new and interesting and entertaining.”

Of course, the main attraction at Folsom Street Fair is the people. People from all walks of the leather and kink realms, as well as the curious and potential kink newcomers, meander down the street, often dressed (or in some cases, undressed) in their finest fetish gear. The

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sights and spectacles are truly something to behold.

One of the things that makes the Fair a unique event is the intense focus on providing those attending with some of the finest entertainment anywhere. This year there is an exciting lineup of DJs and live performances. Many of the acts are queer-identified or speak to our community’s varied sexual identities.

The main stage features Zbornak, MicahTron, The Younger Lovers, Double Duchess, Bright Light Bright Light, MNDR, Monarchy and Austra. If you are attending the Magnitude dance party, headliners on that dance stage are Tracy Young and Tony Moran. If you’re attending the Deviants dance party, headliners are Stereogamous from Australia, DJs Pareja from Argentina, and The Cucarachas from London, UK. To see the full lineup of entertainment, go to the Folsom Street Fair section on the Folsom Street Events website for times, bios and much more.

While the Fair is an event for the world, drawing people from a multitude of cities and countries, us locals are lucky that we get to enjoy it too. After all, the Fair did start out as a celebration of our South of Market neighborhood, and in many ways it still pays homage to that neighborhood.

One of our esteemed locals, Deborah Hoffman-Wade, a well-known community leader and this year’s female Leather Marshal in the Pride Parade, said this about her favorite aspect of the Fair.

“My favorite part of Folsom is participating with the entire local community in providing a fun, safe, wild, sexy party for the world. As the Bootblack concierge (pimp), I meet people from all over the world. I look forward to it every year!”

Another well-known local, Beatrice Stonebanks, Coordinator for the Society of Janus, offered this about why the Fair is so important to her.

“Folsom Street Fair is the biggest day of the year for me,” she said. “I start early, end late, and ride the afterglow for days. Who I am privately is See page 33 >>

Serving the LGBT communities since 1971

32 • BAY AREA REPORTER • September 18-24, 2014

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Leather Events September 18 – October 5, 2014 Thu 18

Fri 19

Leather & Feathers @ Temple SF

Beers, Boys & Bondage: Folsom Edition @ Mr. S Leather

AIDS Emergency Fund’s annual gala paying tribute to their supporters in the kink and drag communities. 540 Howard St., 7pm. www.aef-sf.org

BLUF San Francisco Folsom Dinner @ Don Ramon’s Mexican Restaurant Dinner for men into leather, gear and uniforms. 225 11th St., 6pm no host bar, 7:30pm buffet, $30 cash at door, reserve seats by emailing to blufsf@yahoo.com.

Play Party @ Blow Buddies Official play space for Folsom Street Fair, gear and nudity welcome. $15 with membership, 933 Harrison St., 8pm. www.blowbuddies.com

Join Mr. S Leather Friday and Saturday for their balls to the wall Folsom party. 385 8th St., 11am. www.mr-s-leather.com

Annual PAWS UP Folsom Dinner @ SOMA StrEat Food Truck Park Dinner for pups, handlers, and friends. Dutch treat in “The School Bus,” 11th St. near Bryant St, 7pm. www.sfk9unit.org

Bay Area boys of Leather: Boy Friday @ SF Eagle Bay Area boys of Leather monthly cocktail social. 398 12th St., 7pm. www.bayareaboysofleather.org

Gear Buddies @ Blow Buddies

Recon’s Full Fetish San Francisco @ Factory

Play Party @ Blow Buddies

Official play space for Folsom Street Fair, gear and nudity welcome. $15 with membership, 933 Harrison St., 8pm. www.blowbuddies.com

Recon returns to San Francisco to host this men-only Friday night play party. 525 Harrison St., 10pm.

Tickets at www.eventbrite.com

Official play space for Folsom Street Fair, gear and nudity welcome. $15 with membership, 933 Harrison St., 8pm. www.blowbuddies.com

This Ain’t No Disco @ SF Citadel

Haus of Stiel @ Beatbox

Deviants @ Mezzanine

A men’s BDSM play party. 181 Eddy St., 8pm, request invitation at www.the15sf.org

Folsom Fetish Friday @ Powerhouse Kick off your Folsom weekend with a night of fetish, beats and sweat.

1347 Folsom St., 9pm. www.powerhousebar.com

Sober Kink Together @ Castro Country Club Officially a CMA meeting, but open to all Anonymous 12-step Fellowship members. 4058 18th St., 9:30pm. www.castrocountryclub.org

SF EAGLE’S MASSIVE ENTERTAINMENT LINEUP 2014 FOLSOM ST. FAIR WEEKEND!

SAT SEPT. 20TH DOORS AT 5PM THE BLACK AND BLUE ROCKIN’ BALL HOSTED BY: LANCE HOLEMAN & MICHAEL BRANDON WITH DJ DONIMO 8:45 - ! ! ! (CHK CHK CHK) 7:00 - JELLO BIAFRA & THE GSM 5:45 – ZBÖRNAK!

SUNDAY SEPT 21ST SF EAGLE’S 3RD ANNUAL VICTORY PARTY STAGE 6:30 PM: MY LIFE WITH THE THRILL KILL KULT 6:00 PM: HEKLINA 4:45 PM: FRIGHTWIG 4:15 PM: DJ DANO ETHE MERMAN EXPERIENCE 3:30 PM: ETHEL 3:00 PM: ANNA CONDA 2:15 PM: HOT LUNCH 1:45 PM: DJ WAGZ 1:00 PM: PINS OF LIGHT 11:45 PM: MUNECAS 11:00 PM: DJ FRANKLES

LOCATION: THE SF EAGLE LOT 12TH @ HARRISON ST. WWW.SF-EAGLE.COM

Folsom weekend dance party. 314 11th St., 10pm. www.beatboxsf.com

Sat 20 Kink Salon @ Powerhouse Erotic open mic and show benefiting LeatherWalk 2015, AIDS Emergency Fund and Breast Cancer Emergency Fund. 1347 Folsom St., 2pm. www.powerhousebar.com

Cigarmen, Pipemen and Bootmen Gathering @ SF Eagle Bay Area Cigar Buddies and HotBoots get together at the SF Eagle for a free no-agenda gathering. 398 12th St., 3pm. www.sf-eagle.com

4th Annual Leather Cruise @ Pier 40 The Embarcadero Golden Gate Guards and BLUF host the Fourth Annual Leather Cruise on San Francisco Bay. Note the new location of South Beach Harbor, The Embarcadero at Pier 40 near AT&T Park. $75, 4:30pm. www.ggguards.org

VICE: Folsom 2014 Rubber Party @ Powerhouse Rubber Men of San Francisco host your chance to let the rubber pig inside loose. 1347 Folsom St., 5pm. www.rmsf.org

Golden Shower Buddies @ Blow Buddies A men’s water sports night at the Official Play Space for Folsom Street Fair, gear and nudity welcome. $15 with membership, 933 Harrison St., 8pm. www.blowbuddies.com

Magnitude @ Treasure Island Official Saturday night dance event for Folsom Street Fair, see website for ticket information, 9pm. www.folsomstreetevents.org

Sun 21 After Shock @ City Nights Dance your ass off all night until the sun comes up on Folsom Street Fair, see website for ticket information, 715 Harrison St., 4am. www.thediscosf.com

ONYX California Meet and Greet @ Wicked Grounds Informal meet and greet during Folsom Street Fair for those wishing to help launch chapters of ONYX in both Northern and Southern California. 289 8th St., 10am. www.onyxmen.com

Folsom Street Fair @ SOMA The world’s largest leather and fetish event. Folsom Street between 8th and 13th, 11am. www.folsomstreetevents.org

Open Studio @ Mark I. Chester Radical sex photographer Mark I Chester will have his studio open during the fair as he has for the last 28 years. 1229 Folsom St., 11am. www.markichester.com

Stompers Annual Folsom Boot Party @ Stompers Boots Annual party for boot lovers. 323 10th St., Noon. www.stompersboots.com

Official Sunday night dance event for Folsom Street Fair, see website for ticket information, 6pm. www.folsomstreetevents.org

Mon 22 Play Party @ Blow Buddies Official play space for Folsom Street Fair, gear and nudity welcome. $15 with membership, 933 Harrison St., 8pm. www.blowbuddies.com

Wed 24 Underwear/ Leather Buddies @ Blow Buddies Official play space for Folsom Street Fair, dress code enforced. $15 with membership, 933 Harrison St., 8pm. www.blowbuddies.com

Fri 26 Sober Kink Together @ Castro Country Club Officially a CMA meeting, but open to all Anonymous 12-step Fellowship members. 4058 18th St., 9:30pm. www.castrocountryclub.org

Fri 3 Peter Berlin – A Solo Exhibition of Photographs @ Magnet Opening reception for one of Magnet’s monthly art installations.

4122 18th St., 8pm. www.magnetsf.org

SCCLA Bar Schmooz @ Renegades Bar Informal social where friends, prospective members and anyone else who wants to relax, laugh, talk and hang out with like minded people. 501 W. Taylor St., San Jose, 9pm. www.renegadesbar.com

Sober Kink Together @ Castro Country Club Officially a CMA meeting, but open to all Anonymous 12-step Fellowship members. 4058 18th St., 9:30pm. www.castrocountryclub.org

Sat 4 Flagging in the Park @ AIDS Memorial Grove Not specifically a leather/kink event, but lots of kinky folks attend.

Golden Gate Park, 1pm. www.flaggercentral.com/ tag/flagging-in-the-park

Ms. SF Leather Contest @ Hotel Whitcomb The Ms. San Francisco Leather contest is back for another great year. 1231 Market St., 6:30pm. www.mssfleather.org!

Sun 5 Real Bad presents Recovery @ The Public Works SF Dance party immediately following Castro Street Fair. 161 Erie St., 6pm. www.recoverytdance.com

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Read more online at www.ebar.com

Rich Stadtmiller

Cheers to a pair of men in full leather garb.

<<

Fair Extraordinaire

From page 30

publicly welcomed into the sunlight; where being a Femdom is an intimate feeling I get to share with hundreds of thousands of other kinky people.

Powerful enough to bring tears to my eyes, kinky enough to take my breath away and lewd enough to be a cause for pause, while enjoying an appreciation of the myriad kinky archetypes around me.”

If I were to ask each local, or out of town visitor, who has attended the Fair in the past, I’m sure I would get a vast assortment of impressions and memories that are as unique as the people who attend. I hope you attend and create your own memories.

So what might we see at future Folsom Street Fairs? It’s hard to say.

Over the years Folsom Street Fair has certainly changed. The most striking changes have been the demographic shifts and the growing expressions of kink and fetish.

Demographically, the event is much more diverse than it ever has been and I see no sign of that diversity abating. It’s more diverse with respect to gender expression, sexuality/sexual orientation, race/ ethnicity, and place of origin. With respect to fetish expression, the Fair is now seeing some kink and fetishes that weren’t very present even a few years ago. As an example, puppy play is huge now. You probably wouldn’t have seen that at the Fair back in the ‘90s.

Leading up to the street fair itself is what has become known as Leather Pride Week. Leather Pride Week is comprised of a number of events, dances, bar happenings and other fun things for kinky locals, and visitors who come to town for the Fair, to do as the day of the fair approaches. But Leather Pride Week wasn’t part of the original Folsom Street Fair plan. Here’s how Rubin explains in her same essay the origins of Leather Pride Week.

“Leather Pride Week began almost accidentally, when Drummer publisher Tony DeBlase decided to upgrade the Mr. Drummer title.

Previously the Mr. Drummer contest had been considerably less prestigious than the International Mr. Leather Contest in Chicago. In 1988 DeBlase decided to move the date of the Mr. Drummer contest to coincide with the Folsom Street Fair, held on the last Sunday of

September 18-24, 2014 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 33

September.”

Rubin includes DeBlase’s recounting of how he came to create what’s now called Leather Pride Week.

“I decided to move the contest.

I looked around for where else to put the contest, to put it with another event, so that people would have more than just the contest to come to San Francisco for.

You know, IML has made its name, not because it’s a Chicago contest, but because it attracts people from all over the world.

I wanted to be able to try and do the same thing, to make a major event to bring people in for. It seemed to me the other thing I could tie to was the Folsom Street Fair. Since the contestants arrived on Wednesday night, and they had things

going Wednesday night, Thursday night, and Friday night, I started calling it Leather Pride Week in San Francisco. At that time it consisted of the Mr. Drummer events, Alan Selby’s Fetish and Fantasy and the Folsom Street Fair. People saw the name, and people said, ‘Well, I’m going to do something for Leather Pride Week too.’”

And do something they most certainly have. Leather Pride Week now has a packed calendar with many days containing so many events, one can’t possibly do them all. You have to pick and choose.

With that said, please check out the calendar entries that accompany this column. Each year the selection of events grows. You really do need to plan your week in advance if you’re not to become overwhelmed with the sheer volume of decisions you need to make about where to be, and when.

To everyone who resides in the Bay Area, as well as to everyone who comes to San Francisco for Folsom Street Fair and Leather Pride Week, let me welcome you to our wonderful city. Have a great – and kinky– time!t www.folsomstreetevents.org Race Bannon is a local author, blogger and activist. You can reach him through his website www.bannon.com

THE GAY VIBE IN THE HAIGHT

VOTED BEST DIVE BAR IN SF CHEAP DRINKS! • GREAT CROWD!

Serving the LGBT communities since 1971

34 • BAY AREA REPORTER • September 18-24, 2014

BARchive: Folsom Street Leather

by Jim Stewart

He held out a beautifully stitched and grommeted black leather straightjacket. “I need help.”

Luc and Larry obliged while I recorded all with my Nikon. I then shot Camille.

When the shoot was finished Camille, Larry, and Luc left for salooning on Folsom Street.

I led Tom to my playroom, eyed his bare butt in leather chaps, fired up a Corona, and softly closed the door.

“

What happened to the other leather restraint?” Joe Taylor said.

“You had four.”

“One of my BD buddies must have wanted a souvenir,” I said. “I noticed it missing during a session last night.”

“Yeah,” Joe said. “I can make a replacement.”

Joe was a leather worker billed as “Taylor of San Francisco,” lived in the flat below me, and had a shop in a Folsom bar. It was 1979.

Long before the Folsom Street Fair, leather paraded along Folsom, most often after dark. Leather chaps and vests, jackets and belts, harnesses and codpieces were made and marketed in venues such as A Taste of Leather at 960 Folsom Street, Hard-OnLeathers at 1133 Polk Street, Leatherworld at 735 Larkin Street, and later Faust Leder at 1227A Folsom. There were leather and toy shops in SOMA bars. Upstairs at the Ambush, 1351 Harrison.

And Taylor of San Francisco at the Brig, 1347 Folsom.

Men ferreted out clothing and accouterment at thrift stores, hardware stores, drug stores, the HarleyDavidson dealer at 66 Page Street, Herb’s Uniform Company at 724 Geary, and the great Kaplan Army Surplus and Sporting Goods store, 1055 Market.

Jim Stewart

Tom Hinde, 1979 Jim Stewart

The work of leather artists included anything from duplicating a restraint-cuff to creating a hooded helmet any Greek warrior would have been proud to wear, or producing a black leather straightjacket seldom seen in a hospital.

Camille O’Grady, Leather Queen of Folsom, was coming for a photo shoot. I had meet Camille through Luc at the Mineshaft in New York.

She followed dancer Larry Hunt to San Francisco and crashed with Robert Opel, Academy Awards streaker and Fey-Way Studio art gallery owner.

“Come in!” I said as Camille and Larry came in. “You look fabulous!”

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Larry Hunt and Tom Hinde in 1979

She was dragged out in black leather with a Celtic gypsy’s fortune of bracelets and necklaces jingling as she mounted the stairs to my flat.

“Thank you, kind sir.” She smiled coyly as she draped her beautiful black silk-fringed shawl over her shoulder.

“And you’re looking damn hot, too,” I said to Mapplethorpe model Hunt. Larry was there to shoot my set-ups with his camera for Camille’s personal publicity kit.

Thanks to BARtab and Editor Jim Provenzano, I have shared through 25 consecutive Jim Stewart BARchive columns my throwback photos and Camille O’Grady and Tom Hinde in 1979 adventures around San Francisco’s gay bar culThe unlocked door at the bottom ture of the 1970s. My of the staircase opened. Somebody column is on hiatus while I work mounted the stairs. on a series of gay short fiction sto“It’s Tom Hinde,” Luc said. ries. Thanks to all my readers. If you “Hey Tom,” I said. Tom Hinde haven’t already, be sure to check out was a great artist whose SMBD selfmy book Folsom Street Blues.t portraits of bondage, butt-burns, and razor-cuts had been hung at the © 2014 writerJimStewart@hotmail.

Ambush Gallery as well as Fey Way com Jim Stewart authored the Studios. We’d had sessions before in award-winning Folsom Street my playroom.

Blues: A Memoir of 1970s SoMa and “Look what I brought,” Tom said.

Leatherfolk in Gay San Francisco.

Celebrating Silly Celebs ‘Celebrity Autobiography’ pokes fun at bad bios

by David-Elijah Nahmod

W

hen Celebrity Autobiography performs at Feinstein’s At the Nikko on September 20 and 21, audiences will have a chance to laugh at, and with, all those “shocking” tell-all autobiographies that Hollywood stars are so fond of writing, often during the waning days of

their careers.

The concept of the show is simple.

A group of well-known performers, many with strong backgrounds in comedy, will perform dramatic, or perhaps tongue in cheek, readings from actual celebrity autobiographies. Audiences will hear the stars’ (or their ghost writers) own words, in all their campy glory.

Laraine Newman, one of Saturday Night Live’s original Not Ready For Prime Time Players, will be among those who spill the “secrets” of other stars.

“I would say that Celebrity Autobiography is a show where actors, singers, musicians, and other ‘celebrities’ read from the autobiographies of other actors, singers, musicians and celebrities,” Newman said in a phone interview. “The catch is that the creators of the show, after culling through over 300 celebrity autobiographies, have selected ones that really need to be heard to be believed. From people listing the contents of their refrigerators to three noted stars’ different accounts of the same incident. This show is unique each time because of the variety of performers doing it and the rotation of material.”

Newman explained why audiences-show biz buffs will enjoy Celebrity Autobiography, and why she enjoys doing it.

“The casts are always terrific and it might be the first time the audience has seen some of these actors live onstage,” she said. “I think what’s also appealing to audiences is seeing actors performing in a way they’ve never seen them before. I love doing the show because I get to meet a lot of great people I’ve admired, and there’s a lot of fun to be had in getting laughs from the material.”

One can only imagine what we can expect. Many Titanic fans were shocked when Gloria Stuart (Old Rose) published her 1999 autobiography I Just Kept Hoping. 89 years old at the time, Stuart admitted to her fondness for masturbation. But these are the kinds of hilarious tidbits which fuels Celebrity Autobiography.

Newman will be joined on stage

by Tim Bagley, who’s best known for his recurring role as Larry (one half of the gay couple Larry and Joe) on Will and Grace. The openly gay Bagley currently appears on Showtime’s Web Therapy.

“It’s a wonderful show,” Bagley said of Celebrity Autobiography.

Actor Tim Bagley will perform at Celebrity Autobiography.

SNL fave Laraine Newman reads at a recent Celebrity Autobiography show.

Comic wit Fred Willard reads from David Hasselhoff’s autobiography.

“When I first saw it with Laraine and Fred Willard, they took real autobiographies by Elizabeth Taylor, Cher, and Debbie Reynolds. They found little snippets and you hear how ridiculous they sound. You can’t believe what they’re writing.

It’s not mean-spirited, just funny.”

Bagley assures us that the ce-

lebs are okay with these readings, or they’ve at least remained silent about it.

“There’s been no backlash, ever,” he said. “These are their words. They wrote these words. And I’m not afraid of people being upset with me; in comedy you can’t be afraid.

And we’re selling these books!”

Bagley still wasn’t sure what he’d be reading from at the upcoming Feinstein’s show.

“They let us know a week before,” he said. “We work on stuff at home and then get together to rehearse.

Last time I read from Cher! Anything they put in front of me will be fine: David Hasselhoff, Ricky Martin, Britney Spears. It crosses gender and is hilarious!”

Bagley and Newman will be joined on the Feinstein’s stage by comic legend Fred Willard, and by the cocreators of Celebrity Autobiography, Dayle Reyfel and Eugene Pack.t The laughs commence September 20 and 21 at 7pm at Feinstein’s at Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. $35-50. www.ticketweb.com www.celebrityautobiography.com

<< On the Tab

36 • BAY AREA REPORTER • September 18-24, 2014

September 18 2

★

Paula West, D'wayne Wiggins and host Liam Mayclem perform at the 18th annual fundraiser for the kids music cause, with local TV, politics and cultural celebrities serving dinner and drinks! $85-$170. 6:30pm. 1330 Fillmore St. 655-5600. www.yoshis.com

My So-Called Night @ Beaux

Cockteaufest @ Cat Club

Joped

eON THE T–A5B f

Music in Schools Today's Celebrity Waiter Gala @ Yoshi's

Heklina hosts a new weekly '90s-themed video, dancin', 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 contest. No cover. 9pm-2am. 2344 Market St. www.beauxsf.com

Fri 19 Trannyshack @ DNA Lounge

Nightlife @ California Academy of Sciences

Macy Gray @ Yoshi’s

Fri 19

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his leathery week brings planet of kinky options for your nightlife pleasure. You also have plenty of other options that don’t include a harness.

Thu 18 15th Anniversary @ Foreign Cinema The stylish Mission restaurant and bar celebrates with host Heklina, RoxyCotten Candy, Kim Burly, Matthew Martin, The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence and others. Proceeds benefit Lyric and the Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy. $100. 7pm-11pm. 2534 Mission St. www.foreigncinema.com

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 weekly gogotastic 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

Comedy Returns @ El Rio Maureen Langan, Dan St Paul, Matt Gubser, Anthony Durante, and Lisa Geduldig play it for laughs and the monthly comedy night. $7-$20. 8pm.

3158 Mission St. (800) 838-3006. www.elriosf.com

La Femme @ Beaux

Enjoy cheap/free whiskey shots from jock-strapped hotties and sexy sports videos at the popular sports bar. 10pm-2am.

2247 Market St. 5512500. www.HiTopsSF.com

José James @ The New Parish, Oakland

José James @ The New Parish

Circle Jerk @ Nob Hill Theatre Aleks Buldocek is the latest porn stud to partake in this very interactive sexy night at the premiere male strip club's arcade playroom (see his stage shows Sept 19 & 20). $10. 729 Bush St. at Powell. 397-6758. www.thenobhilltheatre.com

Clairy Browne & The Bangin' Rackettes @ Bimbo's The Australian pop singer and her back-up singers perform their entertaining retro '60s style original songs. Slim Jenkins opens. $18-$20.

8pm. 1025 Columbus Ave. 474-0365. www.bimbos365club.com

Club Yass @ City Nights Frisco Robbie presents a new 18+ LGBT weekly night, with live sets by guest performers, DJ TwistMix, with a Latin room up front, gogo guys and gals. $10. 9:30-3am. 546-7938. www.sfclubs.com

Hip hop and modern jazz singer-songwriter performs with his band; also, Gizmo and DJ HeyLove. $22-$25. 9pm.

Also Sept. 19. 579 18th St., Oakland. www.thenewparish.com

Linda Lavin @ Feinstein's at the Nikko The Broadway and TV actress-singer (Alice ) performs Possibilities, her show of classic musical theatre and cabaret songs, with musical director Billy Stritch. $45-$60. 8pm. Also Sept.

19. Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. (866) 663-1063. www.ticketweb.com

Mary Go Round @ Lookout

Enjoy hard rock and punk music from DJ Don Baird at the wonderfully divey SoMa bar. 12pm-2am. 1369 Folsom St. 431-4695. www.hitws.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 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

Thursday Night Live @ SF Eagle 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

Fri 19 Aleks Buldocek, Nick Sterling @ Nob Hill Theatre

Bad Girl Cocktail Hour @ The Lexington Club

The hung tattooed porn stud and the muscular cutie perform live sex shows twice a night. $25. 8pm & 10pm. Also Sept. 20. 729 Bush St. at Powell. 3976758. www.thenobhilltheatre.com

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

Fri 19

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

Barry Lloyd @ Hotel Rex The local cabaret singer performs The Songs of Murray Grand, a little known composer who wrote comic music for Phyllis Diller, Joanne Worley, Paul Lynde and others. $25-$45. 8pm. Also Sept. 20. 562 Sutter St. 857-1896. www.societycabaret.com

Bearracuda @ Public Works

The Monster Show @ The Edge Cookie Dough's weekly drag show with gogo guys and hilarious fun.

Sept. 18 is a special Pink-themed tribute night. $5. 9pm-2am. 4149 18th St. at Collingwood. www.edgesf.com

The Beatles tribute band plays a special 50th anniversary concert, playing notable hits. $50-$100. 8pm & 10pm.

1330 Fillmore St. 6555600. www.yoshis.com

Pussy Party @ Beaux

Rock Fag @ Hole in the Wall

New weekly LGBT and straight comedy night hosted by Dan Mires. $10. 8pm.

2111 Franklin St. Oakland. (510) 2689425. www.club21oakland.com

The Fab Faux @ Yoshi's

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

Fuego @ The Watergarden, San Jose

Funny Fun @ Club 21, Oakland

The goth music night goes all out for 11th annual The Cocteau Twins fan gathering, with DJs Xander, Sage playing music by the 4AD band, and Joe Radio and Nako playing similar dark wave music. $5-$8.

9:30pm-2:30am. 1190 Folsom St. www.SFcatclub.com

Pan Dulce @ The Cafe

Women's happy hour, with all-women music and live performances, 2 for 1 drinks, and no cover. 5pm-9am. 2344 Market St. www.beauxsf.com

Gym Class @ Hi Tops

Thu 18

Themed event nights at the fascinating nature museum, with DJed dancing, cocktails, fish, frogs, food and fun. Sept. 18: cat-themed events, including feline docent talks, cat toy craft session, DJ Eric Sharp, Cat Man of West Oakland. $10-$12.

6pm-10pm, 55 Music Concourse Drive, Golden Gate Park. 379-8000. www.calacademy.org

Weekly ladies' happy hour at the Castro nightclub, with drink specials, no cover, and women gogos. 4pm-9pm. 2344 Market St. www.beauxsf.com

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

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Barry Lloyd @ Hotel Rex

The Folsom edition of the very beary dance night features DJs Louis Lennon (London) and Paul Goodyear (Syndey), plus locals Jackie House, Trevor Sigler, and the gogo bears of San Diego. $20. 9pm-4am. 161 Erie St. at Mission. www.bearracuda.com

Folsom Fetish @ Powerhouse Gehno Aviance and Robert Jeffrey DJ a kink-themed night, with host mr.

Pam, demos, prizes, gogo studs. 9pm2am. 1347 Folsom st. www.powerhousebar.com

Full Fetish @ Factory Recon and Folsom Street Events present a leather kink dance event, with all sorts of kink gear encouraged; DJ Frank Wild, and a cruisy play space, too. $40-$50. 10pm-3am. 525 Harrison St. www.eventbrite.com

Funkatory @ Club OMG Tweaka Turner and pals' funky fun dance night is now monthly (3rd Fridays), with DJed disco and funk, drag acts, and specialty drinks. $3-$5.

43 6th St. 896-6473. www.ClubOMGsf.com

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On the Tab>>

September 18-24, 2014 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 37

Happy Friday @ Midnight Sun

Trannyshack @ DNA Lounge

The popular video bar ends each work 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

Heklina and her crew of outrageous drag performers (Roxy-Cotten Candy, Becky Motorlodge, Cookie Dough, Sue Casa, Heklina, Landa Lakes, Miss Trannyshack 2014 Chaka Corn, Skid Marks, Pollo Del Mar, and more) bring forth a Katy Perry vs. Kylie Minogue night, with special guest Pandora Boxx. $15-$20. 9:30pm-3am. Show at 11:30pm. 375 11th St. www. trannyshack.com www.DNAlounge. com

Latin Explosion @ Club 21, Oakland The Oakland nightclub continues its 22nd-year anniversary with 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 4pm-8:30pm 2111 Franklin St. (510) 268-9425. www.club21oakland.com

Sat 20 Beatpig @ Powerhouse

Macy Gray @ Yoshi's The amazing soulful vocalist returns for two shows, performing songs from her new CD The Way ; tonight in Oakland (510 Embarcadero West) and Sept. 20 at Yoshi's SF (1330 Fillmore St.). 655-5600. www.yoshis.com

Walter, Juanita and Side Kick's monthly event gets leathery with grit and glamour. $5 benefits the Transgender Law Center. 9pm-2am.

1347 Folsom St. www.powerhousebar.com

Beer Bust @ Hole in the Wall Saloon

Magnitude @ Treasure Island

Beer Bust @ The Mix The popular Castro bar hosts its weekly softball team beer bust fundraiser. 3pm-7pm. 4086 18th St. 431-8616. www.sfmixbar.com

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 annual large-scale gay dance party with a leather them and sexy play spaces moves to the dramatically scenic Treasure Island, with DJs Tom Stephen and Tony Moran, gogo guys and porn guys getting naughty onstage, too. Food trucks and ATMs outside; Free valet (for cars), clothes check, and shuttle buses to and from SF leave regularly. $100-$125. 9pm4am. www.folsomstreetevents.org

Black n Blue Rockin' Ball @ Eagle

Meshell Ndegeocello @ Great American Music Hall

Katya Presents @ Martuni's

Beer only $8 until you bust. 4pm-8pm.

1369 Folsom St. 431-4695. www.hitws.com

Beer Bust @ SF Eagle

Enjoy live sets by Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine, Chk Chk Chk, and Zbornak. $20 includes 4 drink tix. Shows 5:30pm-10pm.

Outdoor lot at the corner of 12th St. at Harrison. www.sfeagle.com

The acclaimed and uniquely diverse genre-defying vocalist performs music from her 11th album Comet, Come To Me, and favorite songs; Bells Atlas opens. $26-$51. (with dinner). 9pm.

859 O'Farrell St. 885-0750. www.gamh.com

Big Top @ Beaux Joshua J.'s homo disco circus night returns, now weekly, with guest DJs and performers, hotty gogo guys and drink specials. 9pm-2am. 2344 Market St. www.BeauxSF.com Katya Smirnoff-Skyy wlecomes Sheelagh Murphy, with Tom Show on piano, for anight of song and cocktails. $11. 7pm. 4 Valencia St.

Deviants @ Mezzanine The offical closing party of Folsom Street Fair features Paul Parker live, the local DJ teams of Hard French and Honey Soundsystem, plus Pareja and Black Madonna, fetish-leather-themed stage acts, a kinky ambiance, outdoor fun on Stephenson Street, and a giant sheep! $30-$65. 6pm-2am. 444 Jessie St. www.folsomstreetevents.org

Girlstock @ Leo's Music Club, Oakland

Sat 20 Meshell Ndegeocello @ Great American Music Hall

Bootie SF @ DNA Lounge Sept. 20: The Monster Drag Show, with MC Cookie Dough, and a special pre-Folsom leather-fetish theme.

Celebrate eleven years of the weekly mash-up dance night, with resident DJs Adrian & Mysterious D. No matter the theme, a mixed fun good time's assured. $8-$15. 9pm-3am. 21+. 375 11th St. at Harrison. www.BootieSF. com www.DNAlounge.com

La Bota Loca @ Club 21, Oakland DJed tunes, gogo hotties, drag shows, drink specials, all at Oakland's premiere Latin nightclub and weekly cowboy night. $10-$15. Dancing 9pm-4am. 2111 Franklin St. (510) 268-9425. www.club21oakland.com

Pound Puppy @ F8 The monthly doggy-fun night gets an extra Folsom weekend edition, with DJs Harry + Jpeg, Jeffrey Sfire, Robot Hustle, and residents Chipmint and Taco Tuesday. 10pm-4am. 1192 Folsom St. www.facebook.com/ oscarblake.jorgekevin

Sing-Along Saturdays @ Martuni's Join Joe Wicht for a new weekly night of top 40 rock and pop sing-alongs.

9pm-1am. 4 Valencia St.

Dance, music and art parties that celebrate women in the arts, with proceeds benefitting Bay Area Girls Rock Camp, with music and spoken word performances by Nomy Lamm, Bones of a Feather, Mental 99, and many others. $10, 3pm-8pm., 5447 Telegraph Ave, Oakland. www.girlstock.com

Folsom Street Fair @ South of Market The annual fetish fair, the largest of its kind in the world, with DJed and live stages, food, beer and sodas, bondage and BDSM demonstrations, and SM product sales booths galore.

Related events listed on other days.

Gate donations $5-$10. 11am-6pm.

Folsom St. between 8th and 13th streets (expanded south to be right next to the Eagle Tavern). www.folsomstreetevents.org

Jock @ The Lookout The weekly jock-ular fun continues, with special sports team fundraisers.

3pm-7pm. 3600 16th St. www.lookoutsf.com

Celebrity Autobiography @ Feinstein's at the Nikko The hit comedy comes to SF: Comic celebrities (Laraine Newman, Fred Willard, Roger Bart, Eugene Pack and Dayle Reyfel) read hilarious sections from other celebrities' unintentionally embarrassing autobiographies, and even act out a few choice passages. $35-$50. 7pm. Also Sept. 21, 7pm.

Hotel Nikko lobby, 222 Mason St. (866) 663-1063. www.ticketweb.com

Code @ The Edge Folsom edition of the monthly ‘leather in the Castro’ party, with DJ Bill Dupp, cute gogos. 9pm-2am. 4149 18th St. www.edgesf.com

Gameboi @ Richshaw Stop Manimal @ Beaux

Gay Asian dance party and fundraiser for GAPA Foundation $5-$12.

9:30pm-2am. 155 Fell St. www.gameboisf.eventbrite.com www.rickshawstop.com

Gogo-tastic night starts off your weekend. 9pm2am. 2344 Market St. www.beauxsf.com

Industry @ Beatbox

Pop Up Gay Bar @ Tonga Room

Leather-themed dance party, with DJs Danny Verde and Jamie J Sanchez. $30-$40. 10pm-3am. 314 11th St. at Folsom. www.beatboxsf.com

Guerrilla Queer Bar and Pop Up Gay Bar present the second latest bar invasion, a leather-themed event at the fabled tiki bar and restaurant, with other destinations afterward.

6pm. Fairmont Hotel, 950 Mason St. 772-5278. www.tongaroom.com www.popupgaybar.com

Leather Cruise @ Pier 40 The Golden Gate Guards and BLUF host the 4th annual leather-uniform cruise around the bay aboard a Ferry; no-host bar, dance music. $75.

5:30pm departure; 8:30pm return.

Pier 40 at Embarcadero, near ATT&T Park. www.ggguards.org

Some Thing @ The Stud Mica Sigourney and pals' weekly offbeat drag performance night.

10pm-2am. 399 9th St. www.studsf.com

Leatherrr Squrrrl @ The Stud

Sat 20

Magnitude @ Treasure Island

Trevor Sigler, Joe Pickett and Jake Brower DJ the leathery drag fun night. $5. 9pm-2am. www.squrrrl.com www.studsf.com

Sat 20 Uniform Party @ Lexington Club

Uniform Party @ Lexington Club

Open Studio @ Mark I. Chester

The popular lesbian bar celebrates Folsom fair weekend with a uniform, leather fetish gear party (dress up and get a free Mai Tai shot before 11pm).

9pm-2am. 3464 19th St. www.LexingtonClub.com

28th annual viewing new and classic kink and sexually-themed photo portraits and art by the SoMa photographer. Get your own Fair pics taken. 11am-6pm. Also by appointment Sept 19 & 20. 1229 Folsom st. 621-6294. www.markichester.com

Sun 21 Aftershock @ City Nights DJ Abel spins at the popular afterparty for Folsom weekend. $25-$45.

4am-10am. 715 Harrison St. www.sfclubs.com

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

Sundance Saloon @ Space 550 The popular country western LGBT dance night; enjoy fun foot-stomping 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

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

See page 38 >>

Serving the LGBT communities since 1971

38 • BAY AREA REPORTER • September 18-24, 2014

<<

On the Tab

From page 37

Mon 22 Alice Boman @ Rickshaw Stop Swedish singer with an ethereal voice performs; Ghost Town Jenny and Kelly McFarling open. $10-$12. 8pm. 155 Fell St. www.richshawstop.com

Arturo Galster Celebration @ Castro Theatre The beloved actor-singer and multi-talent, who died tragically a few weeks back, will be celebrated with a loving show with videos and an image slideshow of his life and many gifted performances, including his shows as Patsy Cline and the lead in the local production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Free.

(Donations to the project can be made at https://www.indiegogo. com/projects/a-celebration-ofarturo-galster).

7:30pm. 429 Castro St. www.castrotheatre.com

Climaxx @ Beatbox Tristan Jaxx's Folsom after-hours dance party. $20. 3am-8am. 314 11th St. www.beatboxsf.com

Drag Mondays @ The Cafe Mahlae Balenciaga and DJ Kidd Sysko's weekly drag and dance night. 9pm-1am. 2369 Market St. www.cafesf.com

Epic Karaoke @ White Horse, Oakland

Monday Musicals @ The Edge

Funny Tuesdays @ Harvey's

Mondays and Tuesdays popular weekly sing-along night. No cover. 8:30pm1am. 6551 Telegraph Ave, (510) 6523820. www.whitehorsebar.com

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

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

Mahogany Mondays @ Midnight Sun Honey Mahogany's weekly drag and musical talent show starts around 10pm, 4067 18th St. 861-4186. www.midnightsunsf.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

Mon 22 Arturo Galster Celebration @ Castro Theatre

Sing-along night with talented locals, and charming accompanist Joe Wicht (aka Trauma Flintstone). 9pm. 4 Valencia St. at Market. www.dragatmartunis.com

Underwear Night @ 440 Strip down to your skivvies at popular men's night. 9pm-2am.

440 Castro St. 621-8732. www.the440.com

Tue 23 Bombshell Betty’s 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

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. 6:30pm8:30pm. 4 Valencia St. www.circleoflifetheatre.org

t

Wed 24

Gay Skate Night @ Church on 8 Wheels 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 3pm-5:30pm. $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 while onstage strippers entertain. $20 includes refreshments. 8pm. 729 Bush St. at Powell. 397-6758. www.thenobhilltheatre.com

Piano Bar @ Beaux Singer extraordinaire Jason Brock hosts the weekly night, with your talented host –and even you– singing.

9pm-2am. 2344 Market St. www.beauxsf.com

Switch @ Q Bar Weekly women's night at the stylish intimate bar. 9pm-2am. 456 Castro St. www.QbarSF.com

Trivia Night @ Hi Tops Play the trivia game at the popular new sports bar. 9pm. 2247 Market St. 551-2500. www.HiTopsSF.com

Wed 24 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

Nick Jonas @ Great American Music Hall

Good Times @ Bench and Bar, Oakland Olga T and Shugga Shay's weekly queer women and men's R&B hip hop and soul night. No cover. 8pm-2am.

510 17th St. www.bench-and-bar.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

Nick Jonas @ Great American Music Hall The hunky young singer (who tweeted "I love my gay fans") performs music from his first solo album since the teen-fave brother trio broke up. $29.50-$54.45 (with dinner). 8pm. 859 O'Farrell St. 885-0750. www.gamh.com

Open Mic/Comedy @ SF Eagle Kollin Holts hosts the new weekly comedy and open mic talent night.

6pm-8pm. 398 12th St. www.sf-eagle.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

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 BeBe Sweetbriar hosts a weekly night of trivia quizzes and fun and prizes; no cover. 8pm-1pm. 500 Castro St. 4314278. www.harveyssf.com

Wooden Nickel Wednesday @ 440 Buy a drink and get a wooden nickle good for another. 12pm-2am. 440 Castro St. 621-8732. www.the440.com

Wed 24 Clairdee @ Feinstein’s at the Nikko

Clairdee @ Feinstein's at the Nikko The stellar vocalist performs R&B and jazz classics with her three-piece band. $15. 7pm. Hotel Nikko, lobby level, 222 Mason St. (866) 663-1063. clairdee.com www.ticketweb.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 The classic drag show includes Collette LeGrande, Ruby Slippers, Sophilya Leggz, Bobby Ashton, Sheena Rose, Kipper, and Joie de Vivre. No cover. 9:30-11:30pm. 133 Turk St. 441-2922. www.dreamqueensrevue.com

Thu 25 Charles Busch @ Feinstein's at the Nikko Acclaimed actor, playwright and drag legend performs his witty cabaret act with pianist-singer Tom Judson. $35-$50 ($20 food/drink minimum).

8pm. Also Sept. 26. Hotel Nikko, lobby level, 222 Mason St. (866) 663-1063. www.ticketweb.com

Fabulosa Festival @ Yosemite The four-day women's music festival (open to all genders) features Average Dyke Band, Tru Bloo & Wanda Kruda, Anita Lofton, and others, plus DJed dance areas, workshops, kid-friendly activities and more. $20-$200. Thru Sept. 28. Spinning Wheel Retreat, Forest Route 1S30, Yosemite National Park. www.Fabulosa.org 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

40 • BAY AREA REPORTER • September 18-24, 2014

Magnitude Man: Casey Williams

by Cornelius Washington

“

If Casey Williams is performing anywhere during Folsom Street Festival, do an article on him,” my editor suggested, after seeing the images Casey and I created for our Dore Alley article a few weeks ago, entitled, “Get Laid Now!” My editor, a very clever man, knows quality when he see it, as do the producers of the official Folsom Saturday night dance party for planet Earth’s largest leather fetish celebration: Magnitude.

As one of the party’s featured dancing studs, Casey brings a refined physicality and effortless sensuality that made him a star in the erotic film world.

So, I dragged Casey back to the scene of the crime, The Nob Hill Theater, where we had conducted our previous photo session. The results speak for themselves.

describe Magnitude, for those of our readers who have never been there.

Casey Williams: Magnitude is one of the biggest dance parties San Francisco has to offer. I love it because the production is amazing. The laser lights and music are unbeatable. Dancing on stage with thousands of hot guys in the crowd to the lasers and music is indescribable.

What are your stats?

I’m 5’ 7” tall; blond hair; blue eyes; 185 pounds.

Is dancing nude a more sensual or sexual experience for you?

The experience of dancing nude depends upon the environment and crowd. If I’m on stage in front of a big crowd, and they are dancing and clothed, I don’t get anything sexual from it at all. If it’s on a smaller scale and the crowd is able to interact,

Cornelius Washington: Please

then, it can be hot.

What music really gets you pumping?

My favorite genre of music changes with my moods. If I’m at the gym and want strength, I tend to listen to old school rock. If I need energy, I love dance music. On stage, I like something that had a great beat, with some soul.

Were you nervous the first time you danced nude?

I was nervous the first time dancing nude and every time after that, as well. I’m even a little nervous when I dance on stage clothed. Every time, the experience is different.

It adds to the excitement, and that’s part of what I like about it.

You’re very symmetrical. Have you ever competed in bodybuilding contests?

I’ve never competed in bodybuilding, because I just don’t have the discipline to do it. I love to eat junk food way too much.

Please describe your fitness regime.

My regime is extremely basic. I break the body up into four days.

Day 1: Chest and biceps. Day 2: Back and triceps. Day 3: Shoulders and traps. 4: Legs. I do four days in a row, then take one or two days off. I try to do abs with every other workout.

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What’s your favorite body part on your body? On other men’s?

On me, it used to be abs, but these days, I think that it’s my chest. On other men, it can be anything. I can usually find something I like on just about anyone. Chest, arms, legs, ass, face, smile, eyes... everyone has something exceptional.

Cornelius Washington

Casey Williams

things that I could never imagine!

How do you do it?

I think, at Nob Hill, most of the guys in the crowd want to be sexual and have a good time. I try to let them know that it is okay to do that.

I do that by being comfortable with myself and encouraging them. I feel them out for their comfort level. I don’t think it’s cute to make anyone uncomfortable. If I don’t get the vibe, I don’t push anything, but, you’d be surprised how little coaxing it takes.

What do you do while dancing that drives men to want to touch you, tip you and sex you up?

I’m not sure I have anything specifically. When I dance, I think my personality comes through and I tend to be playful, approachable and sexual.

Let’s discuss your porn career a bit. If Chi Chi LaRue were to cast you in her next leather fetish porn video, who would be your fantasy scene partner?

It’s so hard to pick just one, so I will mention one that I think is hot.

I recently saw his photo on Twitter, so he is fresh in my memory: Sean Duran.

When you perform at The Nob Hill Theater, you get men to do

Who’s your celebrity sex partner, and what would you do with him?

Chris Pratt, definitely. With him, I’d do everything in the book.

What leather fetish gear have you not worn that you’d kill to wear?

I think I’ve worn just about every kind of fetish great there is to wear, at one point or another. Right now, Ft. Grunt is making some of my very favorite stuff, and I have a few things I want. Jock straps and harnesses.

Your internet presence is very strong. What’s you most interesting online experience?

I would say my most interesting experience is when you meet people in person that you have followed, only to discover that they have followed you, too. It’s great to see how the reality compares to the online fantasy, and I’m sure it’s just as interesting to them.

How do you feel when, while on the gogo box, you see nothing but masses of hot leather men?

Well, this is might not be the answer you were expecting or looking for, but, probably my first thought would be, “Thank God I’m not down there.” I hate to be in the middle of big crowds, so being on the gogo box is the perfect spot for me. I can see everything going on, yet I have my space to dance, without bumping into anyone.

Do you have any particular fetishes?

I think most of my fetishes are pretty run-of-the-mill, but then, maybe everyone else thinks the same of their fetishes. I guess my favorite thing to do that might be considered a fetish is to edge for a minimum of hours, occasionally dragging it on (with rest periods of course) for days.

What is your leather fetish fantasy for this weekend?

I usually don’t set certain goals for myself. I’m a go-with-the-flow kind of guy, which can lead me into the most wonderful situations.

Having an open mind and agenda is what has gotten me into the hottest circumstances, most of which I could have never imagined... until I found myself in them!t

Casey Williams

Cornelius Washington

Follow Casey Williams at https:// twitter.com/CaseyWilliamsSF For more info on Magnitude and Folsom Street Fair, visit www.folsomstreetevents.org

t <<

Read more online at www.ebar.com

September 18-24, 2014 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 41

Beauty in Bondage

From page 29

And while what Darkholme delivers on the Folsom Fair stage differs from the way the activities are presented online (the Fair’s open air, for one thing, and without the other-worldly environment of the foreboding Armory’s dungeons and most of its torture installations), they share the traits that have made me a Darkholme fan—certainly, his intense and endlessly creative domination, but, more appreciable, his superbly realized visual compositions and theatrical flair.

For instance, at last year’s Fair, Sebastian Keys was dominated and BoundGods abused for public consumption.

With a human pyramid as support, Sebastian Keys But rather than lashing him to a withstands Van Darkholme’s blows.

St. Anthony’s cross, which would have been immovable within the stage area as those of Bound Gods are well as cumbersome to perpetrated in public spactransport there, Keys was es, with an invited public to splayed across the back observe and take part; Men of a guy who was in turn on Edge, where practices spreadeagled across two similar to those of Bound other fellows. A human Gods are focused on a parpyramid to hold Keys up ticipant’s cock which is agwhile Darkholme beat onizingly prohibited from him down. cumming for longer than The performance beyou would think humanly gan with all due pomp possible; and, finally, the and great theatrical flair, newest addition to Darkwith a ritual procession holmianna, the scabrous along Folsom Street to 30 Minutes of Torment, the stage of doms and where all of the above are their subjugates. Leadcondensed into three chaling off was Master Conlenges a sub must survive if nor Maguire, in proud he wants to cum. leather and sleek latex So, who is this Van array. Behind him came Darkholme? I’ve gathered a welded pipe chariot, conflicting stories of his BoundGods flanked by those who birthplace and year, but would be tested, and Within the Armory, Sebastian Keys (l) and Van Dark- here’s the most current. pulled by acolytes in holme (r) get a sub trussed for action.

Of Vietnamese descent, full length leather skirts. the 42-year-old native San Lashed securely to the Franciscan was a fashion with five other sites: NakedKombat, conveyance was—what?—a god of and photographic model during where increasingly naked wrestlers bondage, The Blind Angel of Pleathe 1990s. I don’t know how he segstruggle for sexual domination sure in Pain: naked Jessie Colter, his ued into filmmaking, but it seems over he who will get fucked; Buttcock bound upward against his belly a likely outcome of his interest in MachineBoys, where tirelessly efin the shibari style roping that also bondage and photography—check ficient contraptions automatically twined around his body, and sportout his beautiful and erotic work plunge dildos in and out of butts ing soaring wings that looked half in the collection of his bondage (“Look Ma! No hands!”); Bound the width of the street. photographs, Male Bondage; Art in Public, where practices similar to Deserves a Witness (I reDarkholme presides viewed it in BAR Vol. 40, over the men on stage, issue 38, 9/23/2010). For sternly administrating the record, the handsome spanking, flogging, cock dude is six well-muscled and ball abuse. It’s the sort feet with a 46” chest over of stuff you never expecta 32” waist (measurements ed to see on city streets— taken circa 2010). “And, a progressive spectacle for a couple of freaks out for which we can thank there,” he says, “I wear a the folks behind the fair. size ten shoe.”

More than a spectacle, it’s One other thing I do politics, which in a more know, because it’s such a intimately personal way, delectable part of his film is what B&D is all about. work. He has a stage direcSo, what’s going on in tor’s eye for the composithe formidable fortress that tion of his scenes and their is home to BoundGods? theatricality. You could say There’s the sophistihe’s the Max Reinhardt of cated bondage of DarkRopery. He attained a near holme’s BoundGods epitome of these skills with site, with severe SM and the live scene he filmed hardcore sex delivered in in celebration of BoundDarkholme’s trademark God’s fifth birthday. He vehement style. In the six BoundGods pilloried, suspended and years since the creation otherwise bound six naked Bound Gods, the direc- In the bowels of the Armory, Connor Maguire gets men across the expanse tor has complemented it tough with major hunk Seven Dixon. of a large room, creating a breathtaking tableau that could only be called Beauty in Bondage. To watch the online film of this cunning panorama being created is fascinating; Darkholme’s final photo of the creation is almost otherworldly, with unexpected repose within the tension of its suspensions.

I doubt you’ve seen anything like it. It’s too hot to print in this paper, but you can see it at my archive at www.KarrnalKnowledge.com.

I’m longing to go into detail about Darkholme’s latest site, 30 Minutes of Torment, and my favorite, Men On Edge. I promise I’ll get to them. And for a backstage look at the Armory, tours of its bowels are being given all this weekend.t BoundGods Another view of the BoundGods stage show at 2013’s Folsom Street Fair.

www.KinkMen.com

Serving the LGBT communities since 1971

42 • BAY AREA REPORTER • September 18-24, 2014

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September 18-24, 2014 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 43

Shooting Stars

photos by Steven underhill

Cinematic Celebs

C

elebrites shown brightly at movie premieres and feshion fetes last week.

At the Castro Theatre, actress Julie Newmar was honored at a screening of To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything Julie Newmar as part of the California Independent Film festival.

At the 16 Candles reunion screening, some of the film’s stars were among those at the anniversary celebration of the classic John Hughes film. And handsome lead actors from the new gay-themed features 10 Year Plan and John Apple Jack attended screenings of their films.

Above: Over at the Orpheum Theatre, Macy’s Glamorama showcased new fashions, and some gorgeous models, with a festive after-party at The Warfield. Proceeds benefitted local AIDS nonprofts.

Below: GLAAD’s gala held at the Hilton Union Square last Saturday, offered a new variation on its annual fete, where honors going to Google, YouTube, Rick Welts of the Golden Gate Warriors, and other tech and media innovators. Attending celebs included two of our thespian faves: Wilson Cruz (Rent, My So-Called Life) and as host, the wonderful Taryn Manning (Orange is the New Black).

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