United States of Asian America arts festival presents
Full Circle
Prints and paintings by Betty Nobue Kano & Nancy Hom
at SomArts Cultural Center (Gallery) (7 pm) Galleries
Writings Inspired by the art of Nancy Hom and Betty Kano. Featuring Nancy Hom, Jeff Leong, Michelle Bautista and Andres Saito. "Full Circle," a major exhibition of prints and paintings by Bay Area artists Nancy Hom and Betty Nobue Kano, is part of the 8th annual United States of Asian America arts festival. MORE

Essentialism
New works by internationally acclaimed artist Krzysztofa Zwierz-ciok
at Newmark Gallery (11 am - 6 pm) Galleries
Krzysztofa’s painting has quickly transcended her classical artistic education. Her almost mathematically organized compositions and singular use of color and shape have brought her widespread international exposure and acclaim. MORE

Puppets From Around The World
at Museum of Craft & Folk Art (11 am - 5 pm) Museums
Whether they were marionettes, hand puppets, or something in-between, seeing them dance around telling jokes and tall tales created vivid, pleasant memories that still make us chuckle. MORE

San Francisco International Arts Festival
at Palace of Fine Arts (8 pm) Festivals/Fairs
SFIAF 2005 promotes San Francisco as a major center of creativity and exchange and invites artists and audiences from around the world to an international celebration, dedicated to exploring collaborative projects that push the boundaries of artistic excelence, genre, culture and human understanding. MORE

Red Pony Clock
The Brunettes (N.Z.)
at Hemlock Tavern (10 pm) Music
Likely to win a huge following given sufficient exposure. They combine the sheer melodicism of Swedish pop with cowpoke 'shroom fests and drunken, hazy strolls across rolling boat decks. MORE

Donald Traver
at Gregory Lind Gallery (10:30 am - 5:30 pm) Galleries
Donald Traver’s art hails from sources that are simultaneously primal and futuristic: family genealogical trees, Emerson’s transcendental eyeball, the surrealist backdrops of Yves Tanguy, cosmological diagrams, and the quirky landscapes of three-dimensional animation. MORE

Taku Aramasa
at Stephen Wirtz Gallery (9:30 am - 5:30 pm) Galleries
Presented in Sakura are black and white pinhole photographs of the glorious displays of blooming cherry trees at the time of Sakura Matsuri, the annual cherry blossom festival in Japan. MORE

Prefuse 73, Beans
Battle
at Great American Music Hall (9 pm) Music
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A set of electronica that's nearly as challenging as Autechre's relentlessly academic beat manipulation but just as funky and instantly gratifying as a Fatboy Slim flag-waver. MORE

Buddahead, AM, Proles
at Hotel Utah (9 pm) Music
For New York songwriter Raman Kia (aka Buddahead), who spent the first nine years of his life in war torn Iran, acts of violence and terror were so regular that they became as much a part of life as taking the subway to work is for New Yorkers. MORE

Goodword
at Studio Z (9 pm) Clubs
(Rap and Hip-Hop) Conscious hip-hop artist Goodword, with other acts to be announced. MORE

Step Up Your Style
at Top of the Mark (9 pm) Clubs/Fashion
The City's Fashion Elite Unite This Thursday to help build the "fashion community" of San Francisco. At the breathtaking Top Of The Mark, the best dressed person wins a $500 Shopping Spree at their favorite store! MORE

Bill Evans Soulgrass
With Very Special Guests Bela Fleck, Vinnie Colaiuta, Jimmy Haslip & Darol Anger
at Yoshi's (8 pm & 10 pm) Music
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Saxophonist and composer Bill Evans, not one to stay in the same place musically for any long period of time, once again pushes the boundaries of jazz. MORE

Scot Nery presents
// CrAsH COurSe //
Cooking, Juggling & Getting Hurt
at Climate Theater (8 pm) Performance Arts
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Crash Course is a unique modern theater experience. It's like walking into the studio of a cooking show where the chef / host has gone loopy. MORE

Aids Lifecycle Fundraiser
at Mr. Smiths (9 pm - 2 am) Clubs
Make Donation
Please come to the newly opened MR. Smiths (old Cloud 9) to hear house and hip hop. All Proceeds go to AIDS Lifecycle charities. Featuring DJ's Frenchy Le Freak and Henry Soul. MORE

True Skool presents Fresh
New Music from Emerging Artist
at Elbo Room (9 pm - 2 am) Clubs
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True Skool presents FRESH, a monthly showcase for up and coming independent artists from the Bay Area and beyond. Unlike the cookie cutter format of today's corporate hip hop, FRESH is a healthy alternative to your daily dose thugs, mysogyny, and materialism. FRESH provides a much needed platform for underground hip hop, follows in the hip hop tradition (focusing on originality and innovation) and captures the spirit of hip hop. MORE

A Moon for the Misbegotten
at A.C.T. (Geary Theater) (8 pm) Performance Arts
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The first American dramatist to receive the Nobel Prize for literature, Eugene O'Neill is widely considered our nation's greatest playwright. A Moon for the Misbegotten, O'Neill's clever and graceful sequel to A Long Day's Journey into Night, centers on Josie Hogan, a tough farm girl with a sharp tongue and a bad reputation. MORE

DeeCee's Soul Shakedown Presents
Enter The Dancehall vol. 10
at Club Six (9 pm - 4 am) Clubs
Once again we are bringing you the Bay Area's hottest 100% dancehall monthly. It keeps getting bigger and better every third Friday. Join in on the dance and let yourself go. MORE

Ambi-sonic Presents
Organik
at Rx (9 pm - 2 am) Clubs
A night of downtempo grooves and visuals featuring: Jonah Sharp of Spacetime Continuum , The Soundcapsule, Rena Jones, and The Future BC. Visuals by Ty. MORE

A-Frames
at Hemlock Tavern (10 pm) Music
Keeping in the Wolf Eyes/Comets on Fire vein of unmarketable, high-quality noise-rock that Sub Pop snatches up from other labels for no apparent reason, A Frames traffic in a style of weird, retro-futurist racket that's part Pussy Galore, part Plastic Bertrand and part Pailhead. MORE

Captured! By Robots
at Bottom of the Hill (8:30 pm) Music
Captured! By Robots return to the Bottom of the Hill after finishing a successful National Spring tour. This is the official CD release for "The Ten Commandments/Get Fit with…" double CD. MORE

The Dharma of Dollars
at The Marsh (8 pm) Performance Arts
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Is Mark Kenward betraying his working class roots when he unknowingly stumbles upon a fortune? This question haunts him into pursuing a most unusual spiritual path. The path of business. MORE

Healing & Spirituality Festival
at Sonoma Community Center (10 am - 5 pm) Festivals/Fairs
The festival this spring will be held outside under the shade of beautiful trees and the parking lot of the Sonoma Community Center. Come meet local healers, psychics, body workers, craft folks and more! MORE

SMA Productions & Poetic Asylum Present
Zion l
at Club Six (9 pm - 4 am) Clubs
The Oakland based duo by the name we are all familiar with Zion I. On tour this month promoting their new CD True & Livin. Featuring Talib Kweli, DEL, Aesop Rock and Gift of Gab. MORE

FlirtyFlirty Presents
The Official Grand Opening of SIP Bar & Lounge
Featuring DJ M3 and Rooz, drink specials, and many surprises!
at Sip Bar & Lounge (9 pm - 2 am) Clubs
Join FlirtyFlirty at the Official Grand Opening of the new SIP Bar & Lounge in North Beach! Come check out the newest upscale hot spot in North Beach! Early arrival is strongly recommended to ensure entry. MORE

Stymie & the PJLO w/The Get Down
at Tongue and Groove (8 pm) Music
Stymie & the PJLO's instrumentation an d presentation recalls classic funk groups like Funkadelic and Sly and The Famil y Stone, yet the music is 100% original, blending all the musical influences, mo dern cultural craziness, and cartoon humor that affect our lives. MORE

"MI CASA" CD Release Party & Charity Event
at Mark Hopkins Inter-Continental (9 pm - 2 am) Clubs
Two of San Francisco's biggest promoters join forces at the luxurious Mark Hopkins Hotel Grand Ballroom to provide an all-new sophisticated level of city nightlife entertainment celebrating Donovan's Official "Mi Casa" CD Release. MORE

Sound Palette
JT Donaldson, Sharon Buck, MJ Gamez, J Boogie, and More!
at Sno-Drift (10 pm - 4 am) Clubs
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Sound Palette is a musical medium that brings together the diverse and colorful sounds of the City. MORE

Sam Prekop (of Sea and Cake)
at Great American Music Hall (8 pm) Music
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A longtime pillar in the Chicago underground community and architect of the post-rock sound, Sam Prekop first gained notoriety at the helm of Shrimp Boat before becoming the leader of the Sea and Cake. MORE

Asian Heritage Street Celebration
A Festival of Today's Asian American Culture
at Japan Center (11 am - 6 pm) Festivals/Fairs
The 1st Annual Asian Heritage Street Celebration will feature live entertainment, guest DJs in the mix on 2 stages, fabulous food, vendors, arts & crafts, community booths, martial arts, anime, otaku, asian pop culture, J cars, and more! MORE

10th Annual
Comedy Night
Event to Benefit the ACT One Scholarship Fund Featuring Bay Area Sketch Comedy Powerhouse Killing My Lobster
at A.C.T. (Geary Theater) (8 pm) Performance Arts
Now in its 10th hysterical year, Comedy Night at the Geary has become one of the most popular comedy events in San Francisco. Held at the historic Geary Theater in Union Square, Comedy Night brings out a brilliant "who's who" of the funniest entertainers around. MORE

Emerge Media Films to screen Documentary Film
Hip-Hop Colony
The African Hip-hop Explosion
at Delancey Street Foundation (5 pm) Film
"Hip-Hop Colony" is a documentary film about the hip hop movement in Kenya, East Africa, a former British colony, where Hip-hop has firmly established its roots amongst the local citizens. MORE

VNV Nation
With Imperative Reaction and Soman
at The Fillmore (8 pm) Music
VNV Nation has emerged in the past few years to become a powerhouse performer in the electronic dance scene. The name VNV Nation stands for "Victory Not Vengeance;" a motto that means that one should strive to achieve, not just sit in bitter regret. MORE

Blue Floyd
at 12 Galaxies (9 pm) Music
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Blue Floyd is a conglomeration of former/current members of the Allman Bros, Gov't Mule and the Black Crowes doing blues interpretations of Pink Floyd songs. MORE

Independent Exposure X
Spring Edition 2005
at 111 Minna Street Gallery (8 pm) Film
An international collection of short films and videos from animation to documentary and experimental to dramatic narrative. MORE

Paramount Pictures and Columbia Pictures invite you to an advance screening of
The Longest Yard
Directed by Peter Segal
at Metreon (7:30 pm) Film Screening
Win Tickets
“The Longest Yard” is the story of pro quarterback Paul Crewe (Adam Sandler) and former college champion and coach Nate Scarborough (Burt Reynolds), who are doing time in the same prison. MORE