WED 8
Pat MacDonald is alive and well and living in Spain. The former male half of Timbuk 3 (yes, he’s still a male, smarty-britches) is now a prolific solo artist, releasing five albums since 1997, including a live one and, last year, a tribute to Depeche Mode titled Strange Love — PM Does DM. The stripped-down reworkings of Martin Gore’s gloomy pop arsenal — including “Master and Servant,” “Personal Jesus,” and “Fly on the Windscreen” — prove Gore to be a surprisingly fine songwriter, and MacDonald a gifted interpreter with a voice of his own. He plays the Ivy Room, 858 San Pablo Ave. in Albany, tonight, with guests Liam Carey (of Mandrake) and Paul Panamarenko. The show starts at 9 p.m. or so, costs $5, and the Ivy is always 21 and up. Info: 510-823-6927. — Stefanie Kalem
THU 9
When Sara Boardman was thirteen, she went to see Prince with her best friend Carol and Carol’s mother, who was known far and wide in their seventh-grade class as a “cool mom.” When it came time for His Purpleness to bring out his then-protégée, Sheila E, he did so by calling her onstage, then pointing at her silvery hot pants and exclaiming, “Now that’s a damn fine pussy.” Carol’s mother was so horrified by this little bit of concert patter that, inexplicably, Sara and Carol were not permitted to be friends again for a while. But Prince is now a Jehovah’s Witness and will probably keep that kind of salaciousness to a minimum when he plays the Oakland Arena tonight. So feel free to bring out your daughters. Tickets cost $50-$85 and are available at Tickco.com — Stefanie Kalem
FRI 10
Giclée is defined by NovaSpace.com as “An individually produced, high-resolution, high-fidelity reproduction done on a special large-format printer.” Thus, color giclée photographic prints are prints made from digital scans of photos — and in the case of photographer Rob Reiter and his show, Eyes Opened Wider: Recent Panoramic Landscapes, the entire process is digital since he shoots his outdoor studies digitally. Reiter, owner of the Lightroom (2231 Fifth St., Berkeley), has been working digitally since 1985, and his nature photos of the High Sierra and other scenic spots tend to take an aerial point of view, with wide vistas. Reiter’s large-size images (19″x40″ framed) are on display at Photolab Gallery through October 16. Free. Photolab is nearby, at 2235 Fifth St. — Kelly Vance
SAT 11
Once again, La Peña is here to remind you that September 11, 2001 wasn’t the first 9/11 ever. Learn about the violent military coup of the Chilean socialist government in The Battle of Chile (Parts 1 and 2), Patricio Guzmán’s 1976 documentary about the 1973 overthrow. This chronicle of Chile’s peaceful path to socialist rule, and Augusto Pinochet’s bloody revolution against it, includes original footage of the coup. The film will be introduced by Roger Burbach, director of the Center for the Study of the Americas (CENSA) and author of the new book, The Pinochet Affair: State Terrorism and Global Justice, on sale at the event. Things start rolling at 7:30 p.m., and admission is on a voluntary-donation basis. 3105 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. Info: www.lapena.org, 510-849-2568. — Stefanie Kalem
SUN 12
Is your name Pearl? Doing anything today? Feel like leading a parade? The Solano Stroll is looking for a Grand Marshal to preside over this year’s festivities, titled A Pearl of a Stroll. The thirtieth annual event — a day-long extravaganza of pancake scarfing, accordion music, a monkey-calling contest, dunk tanks, valet bicycle parking, clowns, potato knishes, punk rock, stilt walkers, morris dancers, the Warrior Girls, aikido demos, rickshaws, yo-yos, Szechwan prawns, and the unavoidable ukes — happens today along the above-named thoroughfare in Berkeley and Albany. Experts agree: It’s the best street fair going. And they really are offering the Grand Marshal job (no pay, scant benefits) to anyone named Pearl. Just report to the parade registration table at 10 a.m. today with a photo ID. And act cultured. Parade starts at 11 a.m. SolanoStroll.org or 510-527-5358. — Kelly Vance
MON 13
“Shakespeare is the happy hunting ground of all minds that have lost their balance,” wrote James Joyce in his landmark literary mindfuck, Ulysses. If your voyage of self-discovery leads you along more Joycean roads, there’s a crew forming to keep you company: the Ulysses Book Group. Starting tonight at 7 p.m. at the Long Haul Infoshop, you can discuss the snotgreen sea and the scrotumtightening sea to your dirty little heart’s content, and again every Monday night from now on, finishing up, they hope, by the next Bloomsday (May 1, 2005). The Long Haul can be found at 3124 Shattuck Ave. in Berkeley, two blocks from the Ashby BART station. Call 510-540-0751 or visit TheLongHaul.org for venue deets. — Stefanie Kalem
TUE 14
The women of the market town of Madhubani in the Mithila region of the state of Bihar in northeast India, near Nepal, have been painting the walls of their houses and local open spaces with mythological scenes for centuries. For a variety of reasons, the traditional paintings — created in gouache on handmade paper — are now becoming popular in places like downtown Berkeley, where Addison Street Windows is presenting Times of India: The Woman and the Goddess, a show of mixed-media paintings in the Madhubani style. The paintings, by Indian women artists from Madhubani as well as by American-based artist Shiraaz Bhabha, combine centuries-old narrative motifs and technique with elements of pop culture in their portraits of Hindu goddesses. “Times of India” is open for viewing 24 hours a day every day, and runs through October 12 at Addison Street Windows Gallery, 2018 Addison St. in downtown Berkeley. Info: 510-981-7546. — Kelly Vance
