At first, chuckles Charlie Reid, he and his twin brother, Craig, thought it was a prank. But the phone call the Scottish duo — also known as folk rockers The Proclaimers — received in 2002 from playwright Stephen Greenhorn was on the level.
The writer told them he had a concept for a musical using The Proclaimers’ songs, including the enduring hit “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles).”
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The 1960s and ’70s were among San Francisco’s most exciting times. Photographer Phiz Mezey’s 82 photos in “We Live Here,” on view at the Main Library, document with feeling and perception some of the period’s defining events and prominent personalities.
Her photos of the lengthy 1968-69 San Francisco State University student strike — in which protesters demanded more minority representation — are filled with action and detail. They capture police marching with clubs, strikers being beaten and a demonstrator talking through a bullhorn.
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Like its undocumented protagonist struggling to find a place in the city of strangers, “Stuck Elevator,” a world premiere at American Conservatory Theater, resists easy categorization.
It is musical, but not really “a musical.” It is occasionally operatic, more than just a song cycle, and yet not wholly any of the above.
On the surface, it is 81 hours in the life of Guang, an undocumented Chinese immigrant who is trapped in the titular device.
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Members hail from Sweden, dress in hooded cloaks, are led by a skeleton-masked frontman named Papa Emeritus II and, on their new sophomore CD, “Infestissumam,” they offer goth-metal dirges such as “Idolatrime,” “Monstrance Clocks” and “Body in Blood.” What’s not to love about the theatrical juggernaut called Ghost B.C.? Bandmates are not atheists, insists one of the perpetually anonymous members known as Nameless Ghoul. “But aesthetically, the younger me wants there to be a physical devil because he’s cool!” he says.
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San Francisco musician, DJ and producer Dub Gabriel celebrates the release of his fourth solo album, “Raggabass Resistance,” with a party at the Elbo Room on Sunday.
Fusing electronic experimentalism and groovy reggae, “Raggabass Resistance” is the sound of a three-year global odyssey, with diverse guests such as Major Lazer and Snoop Dogg producer Blakkamoore and David J from Bauhaus and Love & Rockets.
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Jennifer Lopez reportedly left “American Idol” because they weren’t paying her enough, but now TMZ reports that the show execs are begging her to come back and are apparently willing to dish out major bucks for the privilege. Oh, did we mention that this would be after Mariah Carey allegedly gets the boot?
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Well here’s a doozy: RadarOnline reports that the self-described “born-again virgin” star of “The Bachelor,” Sean Lowe, actually had sex with his fiancée, Catherine Giudici, before the final rose.
The website quotes two sources who say that Giudici was not about to get engaged to a man with whom she had zero sexual chemistry, so she reportedly pressed the issue. These same “sources” say that the whole virgin thing was something he made up for the show.
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Hot on the heels of being voted “Most Hated” Hollywood celebrity by Star Magazine, Gwyneth Paltrow has now been dubbed the “World’s Most Beautiful Woman” by People magazine.
Damage control? Perhaps. The choice for “Sexiest Man Alive” or the “Most Beautiful Woman” is often a head-scratcher (Bradley Cooper?), so it stands to reason that there would be a big agency-led PR push behind such decisions.
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Labeling a band an institution — implying it is past its prime — is a dangerous game. But if any group is capable of wearing the tag without insult, it’s Built to Spill, playing a two-night stint at Slim’s this weekend.
Led by chief songwriter Doug Martsch, the Boise, Idaho, group’s devotion to all things guitar — from fuzzy, distorted riffs to angular and precise compositions — has created the template for indie rockers of the past two decades and is embraced by new groups such as California X and Cymbals Eat Guitars.
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One of this year’s best dance programs isn’t being presented by just one company.
“Dances From the Heart 2,” the second annual benefit for Bay Area AIDS organizations on Sunday at the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre, features 10 local troupes: Ballet San Jose, Chitresh Das Dance Company, Company C Contemporary Ballet, Diablo Ballet, ODC/Dance, Post: Ballet, Robert Moses’ Kin, Smuin Ballet, Salsamania and Te Mana O Te Ra.
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