Latest in Calendar

• Latest in Calendar

  • 
    Social Free Events

    Recommended

    An Evening of Ghost Stories with William T. Vollmann

    William T. Vollmann reads from his new collection of ghost stories, Last Stories and Other Stories, in a historic SF location to be revealed. This is Vollmann's first fiction since Europe Central, which won the 2005 National Book Award. He's a fascinating writer who works as a journalist in his fiction and nonfiction, which includes such topics as life in a California/Mexico border town and Japanese Noh Theater. Vollmann has published 10 novels, four short story collections, and nine works of nonfiction, as well as several special collector's editions. His rare appearance tonight is memorable, especially for its ghost stories; long investigated by the FBI as a Unabomber suspect, and author of a 3,300-page treatise on violence and war based on his own reporting from Cambodia, Somalia, and Iraq, Vollmann has a way about him. The event is free and open to the public, but to attend one must pick up an envelope from City Lights' front desk, which will have coordinates for the reading. More
    Jul. 24
    City Lights Books
    Evan Karp
  • 
    Literary Literary Events

    Recommended

    Less Than Zero: An Homage to '80s Lit, Big Hair, and Distressed Denim

    Litquake likes to throw a themed party every now and then, and when it does it's always an all-out affair. This homage to '80s lit stars features local writers reading some of the signature literary works of the time: Joshua Mohr reading Bret Easton Ellis, Alia Volz reading Tama Janowitz, Andrew Dugas reading Jay McInerney, Michelle Tea reading from The Official Preppy Handbook, and Hollie Hardy reading from Carrie Fisher's Postcards from the Edge. True to form, there's a full-service makeup bar, a channeling of the Solid Gold Dancers, and DJ Toph One spinning records. But that's not all! A costume bin awaits you, and vintage films are projected on the walls. Litquake's Jack Boulware is emcee for the evening. Glow sticks optional. Less than Zero: Litquake's Homage to '80s Lit starts at 8 p.m. at Verdi Club, 2424 Mariposa St., S.F. Admission is $15; call 440-4177 or visit litquake.org. More
    Jul. 24
    Verdi Club
    Evan Karp
  • Music Music

    Recommended Club

    Main Attrakionz

    The sky clearly isn't the limit for Oakland hip-hop duo Main Attrakionz, that seems to thrive in its current residence of outer space. Bursting from the nascent "cloud rap" scene of five years ago — think lo-fi SoundCloud mixtapes and internet-only debuts — the combo of Mondre M.A.N. and Squadda B has since headlined a museum show in New York City, appeared on a track with A$AP Rocky, and released an album on the experimental noise label Type Records. Fueled by limitless creativity as much as weed, vodka, and cough syrup, Main Attrakionz could still be seen as a curious oddity were it not for the recent fire behind their live shows. Where the two once lazily loped their way through razor-thin productions on stage, there's a fresh determination that's crept into the group's delivery, bursting the cloud and rocking the crowd. In the close confines of the Milk Bar, and for the dirt-cheap cover price of five bucks, your Thursday night couldn't get much better. More
    Jul. 24
    Milk Bar
  • Music Music

    Recommended Club

    Jon Hopkins

    Immunity, the latest album by East London sound designer Jon Hopkins, opens with the sound of someone unlocking a reverberant space. Whether it's a field recording of Hopkins entering his Hackney home studio or a more figurative entrance, the feeling is the same: access has been given to an environment of harmonic ghosts and crisp sequencing. Occupying expansive grooves sitting comfortably between the organic noise of Apparat and the massive riffs of Underworld, Hopkins melds analog synthesis and digital manipulation to produce warm, saturated, meditative textures for fans of Four Tet and Boards of Canada. Expect both bangers and studies in bliss when Hopkins filters his pitch-bent bass and glitch-laden rhythms through Mezzanine this week. More
    Jul. 24
    Mezzanine
•