It's got a lot of singing, funky costumes and a dramatic set, all staged by the sure hand of Robert Lepage. No, it's not the Metropolitan Opera production of the Ring Cycle, it's Totem, the latest show of the Cirque du Soleil, in town through December 18th. That Lepage got involved is not surprising, as both he and the Cirque are Quebecois, worked together already on Ka, and Montreal ain't so big that they would never collide again. And if the reviews to Lepage's Ring were lukewarm and his heavy machinery somewhat underwhelmed the audience, Totem is on the other hand quite exhilarating and --outside of a sophisticated piece of equipment which turns into a bridge or a powerboat and some nifty video projections-- quite streamlined. more ›

Can you have circus without the tent? Cirque du Soleil answered heck yeah to the question with the awe-inspiring premiere of its Quidam revival last night at the Cow Palace. We're not that into gun shows and tatoo conventions, so we had never been to that venue. We only needed the excuse of wholesome family fun to check the place out, and it turns out we missed out a lot: pictures of previous shows hang in the hallways, from the Grateful Dead to Neil Diamond, Hulk Hogan, Elton John, John McEnroe and monster trucks and the inaugural games of the Sharks hockey team. And now the transposition of the Quidam show from the big top into the arena. more ›

Ovo, the Cirque du Soleil show which just opened in the big blue and yellow tent in the parking lot of the Giants stadium, gets its name from the Latin for egg. But the Canadian circus does anything but lay an egg. We were skeptical and cynical; circus is for kids, which was when we last saw a show, and how many clowns can you pack in a car anyway? We came out with -- ha! -- egg on our face. This show was pure magic: impossible feats of strength and acrobatics presented with effortless, poetic grace. more ›

This weekend's Muni news spans both ends of the Kinsey scale: for straight people, football; for the gays, Cirque du Soleil. Of course, gays are also allowed to like sports. (All those bulging uniforms! And the cheerleaders! Mmmmm.) And if the Republican party has taught us anything, it's that straight married men secretly adore, and aspire to be, limber fags in spandex. The Cirque will be performing in the parking lot of AT&T park, which... more ›

No winner last week, so we're going in random order. First up: the SJ Metro. Gary Singh had a crazy South Bay weekend. Is Palo Alto really as crime-ridden as they say? Cover article: The South Bay Best Of. Wow, this font is hard to read. It's broken down by city, with a readers' choice section. We didn't win their Best Blog award, which is only fair since we almost never talk about the South Bay. Also, scantily clad women throughout the pages. Barbecue in Santa Clara. More Twilight Zone love. Hey, we heard Metro music writer Todd Inoue is leaving -- we'll miss you, Todd! Where will we find out about quirky South Bay rappers now? Also, Cirque du Soleil is playing the HP Pavilion. more ›

Greg's already put it better than we could, but in case you haven't heard, District-Eight Supe candidate Alix Rosenthal is throwing a party this weekend that may or may not reflect well upon her. The event is entitled "Get in B.E.D. with Alix," (the B.E.D. stands for, um, actually, nothing at all) and it's described as "Burning Man meets Cirque du Soleil," with "art ... tarot readings ... fire dancing." All of which sounds very nice, if that's your scene, but it doesn't really evoke Board-of-Supervisorial imagery. more ›

Last week's winner, the San Jose Metro. Phil Angelides made all his money in real estate. The Merc News gets in a screamy match with Baron Davis of the GSWarriors -- literally! Yay. Cover article: Muslim comedians (including this guy). Cirque du Soleil goes South Bay. Picture of Gillian Anderson looking like Madonna. And Straight Dope: can moms really lift cars off their children? Maybe. more ›

The theater season is in full swing, and here are some shows to catch. more ›