WED 22
According to the Museum of the San Ramon Valley, the Bay Miwok-speaking Tatcan tribe lived in the watershed of San Ramon Creek in what is now San Ramon, Danville, and Alamo. Meanwhile, the Ohlone-speaking Seunen tribe lived near South San Ramon and Alamo creeks in today’s Dublin and San Ramon. The museum remembers the East Bay’s Native American heritage, as its new Indian Exhibit demonstrates. See a replicated deer-hunting costume, obsidian arrowheads, and a Yokuts rattlesnake basket, among other artifacts, and view videos on California Indians. The exhibit runs through November 30 at the museum, in Danville Depot, 205 Railroad Ave., Danville. MuseumSRV.org — Kelly Vance
THU 23
Pierre G. Khoury‘s two-dimensional sculpture Matador depicts a matador with unfurled cape at the moment when the charging bull reaches him. It’s dramatic enough, if seemingly a little trite, but on closer inspection the work takes on an extra layer of interest. Everything in the tableau, from the matador’s suit of lights to the bull’s tail, is made of metal machine parts, including the face of a watch adorning the back of the bull. Khoury specializes in creating pictures using found art — from buttons and shoelaces to dishes and watch parts — and his work has an intricacy to it that transcends the rather mundane subjects. Found Art, a show of his art now at the Tri-Valley SPCA Adoption Center in Dublin (4671 Gleason Dr.), is worth a look, even if you’re not there to pick up a new cat or dog. But that couldn’t hurt, either. 925-479-9670. — Kelly Vance
FRI 24
If you experienced adolescence in the 1980s, you’re probably either delighted or repulsed by the Reagan Era Redux that the haute set’s been going through. Whichever emotional reaction the sight of shoulder pads and fashion mullets inspires in you, that’s probably close to the way you’ll feel about the Lovemakers. The trio of Scott Blonde (vocals, guitar, sleazy boy-posing), Lisa Light (vocals, violin, bass, slinky girl-posing), and Jason Proctor (electronics, possible Svengali duty) bring an earthy East Bay horniness to their 20,000 Human Leagues Under the Dance Floor shtick. Get saucy with three of the SF Bay Guardian’s top ten sexiest people of 2002 (or do they all count as one person?) at 924 Gilman Street, Berkeley, tonight. The all-ages show starts at 8 p.m., cover is $5, and Boyskout and Ned open. — Stefanie Kalem
SAT 25
A live performance of the Billy Nayer Show should be a requisite stop for any new Bay Area-ite, as much so as Alcatraz, the Tonga Room, or People’s Park. Part world-weary lounge show, part psychosis-made-flesh, Cory McAbee and his cohorts have been astonishing audiences from here to Sundance to Manhattan and back with their multimedia cabaret, a full-fledged cult phenom with a heart of pure, sarcastic poetry. He originally conceived of the BNS as a quartet to score his films, and 2001’s not-quite-ready-for-MST3K sci-fi Western, The American Astronaut, is still showing at film fests and college campuses around the globe, now with a selection of McAbee’s other films in tow. See the beast live tonight at the Oakland Metro, 201 Broadway at 2nd St., with Ralph Carney (Tom Waits’ main horn man) bringing along some friends to open the show. Admission costs $10, and this is a 21-and-up show. — Stefanie Kalem
SUN 26
In the early 20th century, the book Dogs in China and Japan quoted a servant who bred and worked with the dogs of the emperor’s Imperial Palace for most of his life as saying that the Chinese looked in pugs’ foreheads for wrinkles whose pattern corresponded to Chinese letter characters. You can do a little weekend reading today at the East Bay Pugs Sunday between 10 a.m. and noon. On the last Sunday of every month, the East Bay Pugs group gets their so-ugly-they’re-adorable babies together at Cesar Chavez Park in the Berkeley Marina. (Pugs aren’t the most athletic of dogs, so the early, cooler time of day is essential.) All pug-friendly folks and dogs welcome. — Stefanie Kalem
MON 27
The Islamic holy month of Ramadan is known to non-Muslims mostly as a time of fasting, but there is more to the solemn religious observance than just refraining from food during daylight hours. Tonight beginning at 5:30 p.m., the Muslim Student Association of Contra Costa College holds a Muslim Iftar Celebration. According to the association, “the Iftar ceremony is a traditional breaking of the fast after sundown” during Ramadan, and the students invite the public to join in this evening of Islamic ritual, interfaith prayer, food, and discussion. Admission is free and all are welcome. The Iftar takes place at the Fireside Room in the ASU building on the CCC campus, near the entrance at El Portal Drive and Castro Street, San Pablo. — Kelly Vance
TUE 28
When the UniverSoul Circus debuted in 1994, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution called it “Cirque du Soul.” Currently, there are two versions of Cedric Walker’s hip-hop-inspired circus criss-crossing the country, Soul in the City and Poppin’ Soul, and we get the latter through November 2. Ringmaster “Casual Cal” Dupree joins acrobats, aerialists, showgirls, trapeze artists, contortionists, motorcycle daredevils, and animal acts from all over the world under the big top in the vacant lot at 66th Ave. and Oakport, on the Bay side of Highway 880 in Oakland. Showtimes are Tuesday-Friday, 10:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.; Saturday noon, 4:30 p.m., and 8 p.m.; and Sunday 1 and 4 p.m. All tickets for the Tuesday morning show cost $10, tickets for Tuesday evening run $16.50 to $25, and the costliest ticket for the rest of the run is $30. Visit Ticketmaster.com for tickets, and UniverSoulCircus.com for more on the event. — Stefanie Kalem
