The 9th Annual MadCat Women’s International Film Festival
Cutting-edge films from around the globe
at El Rio (6 pm) Film
MadCat is back with 85 films and videos by women directors from South Korea to Israel, Sweden to Portugal, and the Philippines to Australia. er 40 premieres highlighted at this, the Ninth Annual MadCat Women’s International Film Festival. Mining selections from the more than 1,300 filmmakers is a process that takes many months. MORE

Thistle featuring it leroy
at Red Devil Lounge (9 pm) Music
If you're the type that's musical taste isn't governed by others, isn't easily influenced by your peers, and doesn't rely on the help of the pop charts well welcome to the music environment that was created for your independent spirit. MORE

Living Colour
at The Independent (9 pm) Music
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During the 1980s, rock had become completely segregated and predictable; the opposite of the late '60s/early '70s, when such musically and ethnically varied artists as Jimi Hendrix, Sly & the Family Stone, and Santana ruled the Earth. But bands such as New York's Living Colour helped break down the doors by the end of the '80s. MORE

Blasthaus presents
Royksopp
at Mezzanine (9 pm) Clubs
One of the hallmarks of a great band is the consumate ease with which that group constantly strive to adapt, to evolve, to innovate; thereby ensuring that they never repeat themselves or do something tepid or commonplace. MORE

Especial
Soulful sounds from all corners of the universe
at Social Club (9 pm - 2 am) Clubs
Proof and jayv velasco bring you a new wednesday night jump-off dedicated to soulful music from all corners of the universe... come out and groove, or just chill to the sounds of deep house, soul, latin, nujazz and future classics... MORE

Phosphorescent
El Capitan, Dominic East
at Rickshaw Stop (8 pm) Music
Athens singer/songwriter and Phosphorescent leader Matthew Houck falls somewhere in the middle of Will Oldham, Jeff Mangum (Neutral Milk Hotel), and the young Bob Dylan. MORE

The Bravery with Maximo Park
at The Fillmore (8 pm) Music
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One thing that sometimes puzzles people about The Bravery is why they sound electronic when all the bands they like are punk guitar bands. Sam doesn't know why they sound like they do. He just wanted to do something different. MORE

Gris Gris, Human Eye, The Brian Glaze Band
at 12 Galaxies (9 pm) Music
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The place is Oaklandish, California and the medicine-fueled dream has ended. The waking moments of the young Greg Ashley, find the psychedelic troubadour and guitar hero creating a new, exciting sound quartet: The Gris Gris have arrived. MORE

Mumia
at Theatre of Yugen/Noh Space (8 pm) Performance Arts
Mumia, a one-man show performed by Marcus Hicks and directed by Drae Campbell, takes an intimate look at how Mumia Abu-Jamal, an award winning journalist convicted in 1982 of murdering a police officer in Pennsylvania, copes with prison isolation while momentum builds to reverse the judgment against him. MORE

Taisho Chic
Japanese Modernity, Nostalgia, and Deco
at Berkeley Art Museum (11 am - 7 pm) Museums
The Taisho era was a brief but dynamic period in Japan's modern development that is often described as a Japanese version of the Roaring Twenties. MORE

Spam All Stars
w/ DJ Rueben (Browntempo)
at Cafe du Nord (9 pm) Music
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The Miami-based Spam All Stars blend improvisational electronic elements and turntables with dub to create a sound that can only be described as "Future Cuban". MORE

Zion I
at The Fillmore (9 pm) Music
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Zion-I's new album, "True & Livin'," is the Oakland-based duo's third full length release. Organic soulful compositions, conscious and insightful vocal wordplay and lush strings, horns and bass lines comprise the fabric of their best album to date. MORE

Mighty Breaks
Hosted by: Evil Breaks and 13Moontribe
at Mighty (10 pm) Clubs
Featuing a live performance by: Future Funk Squad (Default, En:vision, Universal) London, UK. Evil Breaks: Aaron Jae, Bam with Origami, M.O.D. 13Moontribe: Mozaic, Little John, Alia, Boreta. MORE

LA 2 the Bay: Quality Edition
w/ Haul and Mason & DJ Zeph
at Social Club (9 pm - 2 am) Clubs
For hip-hop DJs, the choice is usually clear: rock the party (and deal with all those Fiddy Cent requests), or blow 'em away with your scratchtastic dexterity (and watch the tumbleweeds roll past the trainspotters). MORE

The Funkiest Man in Africa
Gritty, Ripping, Hard-Hitting, Africanized Funk
at Ashkenaz Music & Dance Community Center (9 pm) Music
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What do you get when you combine traditional African rhythms with the sexiness of Prince, soul of Otis Redding and a little James Brown funk? Come find out as Sila and the Afro-funk Experience spread the ultimate international vibe. MORE

Boom Bip, Scarling, Madelia
at Bottom of the Hill (10 pm) Music
A nu-symphony of near-masterful arrangement through acoustic guitars, processed drones, pastoral expansion. a rainsoaked, naturalistic vibe that is both intriguing and immediate. MORE

MTT and Midori
at SF Symphony (8 pm) Performance Arts
Superstar Midori “plays like an angel,” raves The Times of London. Here she performs a concerto as lyrical as it is flashy. MORE

Banyan: Mike Watt, Stephen Perkins, Nels Cline, Willie Waldman
with guests Sistas in the Pit
at 12 Galaxies (9 pm) Music
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The term "SuperGroup" is thrown around quite a bit, and usually, despite the pedigree of the superstars themselves, the whole seldom outweighs the sum of its parts. But then there’s Banyan, a punk/funk outfit whose collective music may actually be more electrifying than that of any of its band-members primary projects. MORE

The Fucking Champs, Zombi, Boyjazz
at Bottom of the Hill (10 pm) Music
Have you heard of them? This two guitar, one drummer, instrumental band is insane. The Champs are heirs to a long lineage beginning with Thin Lizzy and ending on the divergent ground of Carcass, Pussy Galore and Kraftwerk. MORE

2nd Annual Peace Corps Cultural Festival
at Peacock Meadows, Golden Gate Park (10 am - 4 pm) Festivals/Fairs
Come enjoy a fun day in the park and learn about different cultures! Returned Volunteers will share the wealth of cultural experience they have collected during the last 43 years of serving the cause of peace around the world. MORE

Best Buck in the Bay
San Francisco Bay Area 14th Annual Gay Rodeo & Festival
at Driscoll Ranches (9 am - 5 pm) Festivals/Fairs
You'll be treated to a full weekend of hot rodeo action as men and women compete in 13 different rodeo events including Bull Riding, Bareback Bronc Riding, Breakaway Roping, and Barrel Racing. MORE

ODC Theater presents "The Adventures of Cunning and Guile"
Chris Black and Ken James
at Cartoon Art Museum (8 pm) Performance Arts
Chris Black/ POTRZEBIE Dance Project and Ken James/Fellow Travelers Performance Group have created an evening of charming, witty and often times hysterical cartoon inspired duets choreographed specifically for the space at the Cartoon Art Museum. MORE

The Crucible
at California Theatre (8 pm) Performance Arts
The Pulitzer Prize-winning opera, based on the play by Arthur Miller, is set in Puritan Massachusetts during the Salem witch trials in the late 1600s. MORE

BATS Improv: Improvised Shakespeare
at Bayfront Theatre (8 pm) Performance Arts
The Bard of Avon is brought to life in this improvised "Elizabethan" play. MORE

The Arcade Fire
With Bell Orchestre , Wolf Parade
at SF Weekly's Warfield (8 pm) Music
The band employs a vast array of instruments—mainly guitar, drums, and bass guitar—but also piano, violin, viola, cello, xylophone, keyboard, accordion, and harp. With several able musicians, the Arcade Fire takes most of its instrumental diversity on tour, with band members switching instrumental duties between songs. The number of instruments, along with a wide set of musical influences has provided a substantial number of resources on which to draw from during the recording process. MORE

Costa del Sol
A New Era in Day Parties
at Park Chalet Garden Restaurant (2 pm - 10 pm) Clubs
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Anybody and everybody who has come out to one of our past "Costa del Sol" events is now a "Believer"... After two absolutely incredible parties, we have laid the groundwork to what is quickly blowing up into the next San Francisco day party phenomenon. MORE

Mundane Journeys Bus Tours
hosted by Kate Pocrass
at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (12 pm - 4 pm) Performance Arts
Forty-five seats are available for each tour date. To make a reservation, email [email protected], call 415-364-1465, or visit www.mundanejourneys.com for further details. MORE

Funk n' Trunk Show
at Levende Lounge (4 pm - 7 pm) Fashion
Funky fashion, brunch and beats! SF's hottest talents with wears for men & women at special discounted prices! MORE

Toshi Reagon and Gail Muldrow
with Mokai
at Cafe du Nord (9 pm) Music
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Whether playing solo or with her band, Toshi Reagon’s fusion of styles draws listeners in. The New Yorker has said of her music, "…showers retro funk, urban blues, and folk…with evangelical fervor." MORE

Independent Exposure
Autumnal Edition 2005
at 111 Minna Street Gallery (8 pm) Film
A collection of international short films contemplating the social, political, personal, romantic and artistic changes brought on by the changing winds of Autumn. MORE