This weekend: A ‘Gremlins’ double feature, remembering Eric Garner and ‘Diego Rivera’s America’

The rules seem simple enough: Keep them away from direct sunlight; don’t allow them to get wet; and, whatever you do, don’t feed them after midnight. What could possibly go wrong? Come to the Castro Theatre on Saturday night for a Gremlins double-feature and director Q&A to find out.

Also on the docket this weekend: Texas indie rockers Khruangbin bring their worldly psychedelic sounds to The Greek in Berkeley; the Museum of the African Diaspora remembers the life and legacy of Eric Garner; get down like a fashionable Parisian at the Rickshaw Stop’s 24th annual Bardot A Go-Go party; and a highly anticipated exhibit focused on Diego Rivera comes to SFMOMA.

Black Cat, 400 Eddy St.
7 p.m. & 8:30 p.m. | $25+

While there are several north/south California rivalries when it comes to professional and collegiate sports dynasties, there's a friendlier sense of camaraderie between jazz musicians in the Bay Area and greater Los Angeles. That's being fostered in the Tenderloin by the Black Cat, which hosts Southland alto saxophonist Danny Janklow and his Elevation Band for a three-night residency, Thursday through Saturday. "I'm really honored to bring up a group of other bandleaders to smash my original music," Janklow said in a recent phone interview.  Janklow shares the front line with guitarist Andrew Renfroe for an atypical blend of reeds and electrified strings and splits his time between writing and performing his own music and doing studio work with the likes of keyboardist Larry Goldings (Scary Pockets, John Mayer, James Taylor) and producer-of-the-moment Terrace Martin (Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, Robert Glasper). Friday and Saturday night shows: 7 p.m., 8:30 p.m., 10:15 p.m.; $35+ (YK)  

Cowell Theatre at Fort Mason Arts & Culture Center, 2 Marina Blvd.  
7:30 p.m. | $20 - $45

In-demand Bay Area choreographer and founder of San Francisco’s Imagery, Amy Seiwert, brings the 12th edition of her boundary-pushing ballet series to Fort Mason’s Cowell Theater. First developed in 2011 at Z Space, “Sketch” was designed to bring choreographers together to work on the cutting edge of ballet choreography, nurture female dance-makers and choreographers of color, and encourage risk-taking in the art form. This latest chapter in the series presents three new works born out of a five-week choreographic laboratory, or “crit group,” with Imagery’s second Artistic Fellow Natasha Adorlee, Dark Circles Contemporary Dance’s Joshua Peugh and Seiwert. The choreographers take the theme “Dear Diary” to heart, exploring the bitter ache of nostalgia and “the before times” through their works. Seiwert will lead a pre-show talk to discuss the dances on Friday from 6:45 to 7:05 p.m. A second performance will be held Saturday at 7:30 p.m. (CJC) 

Minnesota Street Project, 1275 Minnesota St.
July 15 through July 17 | Free

The world of publishing can often feel distant, corporatized and mass-produced. But this weekend Cola Press, the Minnesota Street Project, and Park Life Store & Gallery host a three-day fair to bring bookmaking to the people. Over 100 publishers, antiquarian dealers, artists and galleries—many local, some global—will be participating in this cornucopia of printed goods. With readings, book signings, and drawing sessions, the event features many ways to engage your literary and creative sides. This year includes an inaugural Zine Tent, a space dedicated to DIY bookmaking, and will feature 38 publishers in an outdoor space on Tennessee Street. If you’re one of those people who just love the feel of an actual book in your hands, this is a chance to fan, leaf, and flip through printed media to your heart’s content. (BF)

The Independent, 628 Divisidero St.
9 p.m. | $40

July started with Femi Kuti—eldest son of the late Afrobeat pioneer, Fela Kuti—holding court at The Independent. The month comes full circle this Friday, with his youngest son, Seun Kuti, headlining the same venue. The saxophonist, percussionist and vocalist began opening his father's concerts when he was 9. He'd warm up both the audience and Egypt 80, his dad's band, before the elder Kuti hit the bandstand. Seun became an official member of Egypt 80 three years later and has led the group since Fela Kuti died in 1997. Seun's live sets include selections from Fela's songbook and his own material. His excellent 2011 album, From Africa with Fury: Rise, was co-produced by none other than Brian Eno. (YK)

SFMOMA, 151 3rd St.
Through Jan. 2, 2023 | Free - $37

SFMOMA is holding an exhibition of over 150 different paintings and drawings from the Guanajuato-born Diego Rivera. This exhibit will feature 10 thematic galleries related to Rivera’s works inspired by his travels all over the world, from the United States to Mexico to where he studied in Europe. Rivera is largely credited with encouraging the revival of fresco painting in Latin America and is seen as a revolutionary Mexican artist. Some of his most famous murals are located right here in San Francisco. The exhibit opens Saturday, July 16 and runs through Jan. 2 of next year. (XL)

MoAD, 685 Mission St.
3 p.m. | $6 - $12; Free with museum admission

For the first time outside New York City, artist Yashua Klos will present Gardener, an activation of 16 cardboard protest signs and a recitation of poetry honoring the life of Eric Garner, whose haunting last words “I can’t breathe” helped spur the Black Lives Matter movement. Local poets and audience members will gather at the Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) to collectively read Ross Gay’s poem “A Small Needful Fact” written across the protest signs and commemorating Garner’s life as a Parks & Rec employee. The poem imagines Garner’s work as a gardener in this horticultural department. The activation will be followed by a conversation with Klos and actor-art collector, Michael Ealy. (CJC)

Castro Theatre, 429 Castro St.
6 p.m. | $34.95

This Saturday, it won’t just be the Gremlins reaching for their popcorn. Midnites for Maniacs founder Jesse Hawthorne Ficks has secured an appearance from director Joe Dante as part of a double-feature Gremlins tribute set to take over the Castro. Wisely scheduled to finish before the clock strikes midnight, the event will start with a screening of Dante’s own, “one-of-a-kind” 35mm print of Gremlins. This preview version, according to the event listing, “differs in numerous ways from the original release.” The screening will be immediately followed by a Q&A with Dante, and franchise stalwarts are invited to stick around for Gremlins 2: A New Batch, which Ficks said is “on par with Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane.” The special event serves as a chance to revisit the Gremlins franchise ahead of the new HBO prequel series, Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai, slated for release later this year. (ZR)

Great American Music Hall, 859 O'Farrell Street
8 p.m. | $19

This Sacramento punk band got an early boost into national prominence when a Rolling Stone feature on Green Day included a favorable mention. But they’ve built a dedicated fan base on their own merits; they were the fan-selected act to play the 2018 Noise Pop Festival. The trio’s timely, topical and terrific music blurs the lines between the personal and political, and they do it economically: “Muzzle” clocks in at one minute. And the track is but one of many highlights on Destroy Boys’ most recent release, 2021’s Open Mouth, Open Heart. Can’t make Saturday’s show? Destroy Boys are playing the GAMH on Sunday night as well. Also on the bill: Scowl and Slaughterhouse. (BK)

The Mellow Haight, 1401 Haight St.
8:30 p.m. | $30 - $40

Discover new music and chill out among the houseplants of The Mellow Haight. This semi-regular sonic experience invites you to enjoy new music from a lineup of secret artists in a laidback setting. Bring your own drinks or snacks, and if your green thumb is yearning to add to your collection of leafy children, you can get 15% off items in the store. Sit back, relax, enjoy the greenery and the tunes! (XL)

Rickshaw Stop, 155 Fell St.
9 p.m. | $10+

Sure, Bastille Day was technically on Thursday, but being a bit late is fashionable—and very French. Rickshaw Stop hosts the 24th annual Bardot A-Go-Go this Saturday, with DJs Brother Grimm and Pink Frankenstein spinning French pop, disco and bon vivant rock all night. If you like to pretend that you’re a character in a Wes Anderson movie while dancing ever so quaintly to Brigitte Bardot’s delicious ’60s pop; if you fawn over Serge Gainsbourg and his many romantic escapades; or if you enjoy listening to Françoise Hardy’s Mon Amor Adieu in the evenings (raises hand), then Bardot-A-Go-Go is for you. It’s unclear whether they’ll be serving Burgundy or Pernod, but you can surely count on some kind of delicious drink specials. The Rickshaw Stop makes a point of coming up with at least one themed cocktail for every show it throws. Très bien! (AS)

The Greek Theatre, 2001 Gayley Rd, Berkeley
7:30 p.m. | $57.50

Khruangbin’s worldly psychedelic rock is phenomenal in every sense. The Texas trio’s Thai, Latin and Middle Eastern-inspired funk yields perennially chilled-out vibes that everyone seems to be latching onto. Their convivial tunes have made them a quintessential festival band. They’ve played Outside Lands twice—once on the tiny Panhandle stage in 2017, and again on the Main Land’s End stage when their career blossomed in 2021. Now you’ll get an opportunity to see them headline the open-air Greek Theater in Berkeley, on the heels of recent releases like Mordecai and the likewise excellent Texas Moon and Texas Sun EPs with Leon Bridges. While the first night of their two-night stint at the Greek is sold out, tickets are still available for Sunday. Opening act Men I Trust, a mood-leveling band out of Montreal, are not to be missed. (AS)

Golden Gate Park Bandshell
4:20 p.m. | Free

Originally built in 1900, the Golden Gate Park bandshell on Music Concourse Drive is an iconic reminder to the history of the city’s outdoor concerts. The San Francisco Recreation & Parks department still hosts over 100 live performances there each year—and that includes the Reggae Sundays programming. Many of these events are put in association with local non-profit Value Culture. This Sunday, Value Culture brings British reggae artist Pato Banton (who has been toasting on the mic since the 1980s) for an afternoon of all-inclusive good vibrations. San Francisco selectors Irie Dole and Guid8nce share the bill. This family- and dog-friendly show is free. (AS)