We volunteered to meet and greet sell Noise Pop merchandise to festival attendees who often ended up spending all their money on band merch (as if) and/or beer (or more specifically in Cafe Du Nord's case -- Fernet Branca and Poppy Jaspers). It was quite a fun experience though, and we highly recommend it. Contact them about volunteering at next year's event! Tuesday: Our first Noise Pop night was on Opening Night at the Rickshaw......

*FILM: The 5th Annual San Francisco Irish Film Festival kicks things off with Garage by director Lenny Abrahamson and writer Mark O’Halloran. This is followed by a reception with the Consul General of Ireland, Emer Deane. According to LS, "other highlights include Speed Dating, a romantic comedy about a lovelorn amnesiac; the award winning Irish-language feature film Kings, and finally The Undertaking, a documentary about Irish American undertaker and poet Thomas Lynch, who is......

As if you needed further proof to confirm that Pisces are batshit insane, leap year babies cum serial killers Aileen Wuornos (who would have been 52) and Richard "the Night Stalker" Ramirez (who turns 48) both share a birthday today. Aw. Thanks, Tendernob, for the macabre fact finding.......

SF Late Night Coalition chairperson Terrance Alan (far left), Police Chief Heather Fong, and Newsom at yesterday's announcement With nightclubs like Jelly's, Whisper, and 715 Harrison playing host to fatal mischief over the past few months, yesterday Mayor Newsom and Police Chief Heather Fong went on the offense against SF nightlife. Four bits of legislation, co-sponsored by Supervisor Sophie Maxwell, will be put before the board of supes: - The first ordinance would require......

Shit. It's Valentine's Day this Thursday and by the looks of it most of you have already planned your perfect date. Three shows are already completely sold-out: The Kills at Rickshaw Stop, Slightly Stoopid at The Independent and Common at Mezzanine. While there are still several shows you can chance Thursday night, it might be wise to stay home and wait till the weekend to take your crush out. We are. Friday, the local music......

Just some random scribbling on a game that is still reverberating through our hungover, overstuffed brains.......

Rope Burn by Still Flyin' (directed by Isobel Knowles) Still Flyin': Not to knock (heh) its former incarnation, the Odeon, but we love the Knockout. From obscure DJ nights to live bands, this nightclub seems to pull it off minus any affectation -- a difficult feat for any artsy venue to accomplish. Tonight head over to the Outer Mission spot and catch beloved San Francisco-based supergroup Still Flyin', along with rock-ish outfits Yellow Fever......

Beatropolis: Oh joy! Beatropolis has returned! (Not that they really went anywhere, but it always feels like forever when they're not around.) Anyway, Beatropolis' special brand of dance rock, live drum 'n' bass, and futuristic space pop will have you up until the wee hours of the morning. The Toy Soldiers (a heady nu-electrorawk mix of Flaming Lips, Justin Timberlake, and Hot Chip) and the Buttercream Gang (a local indie/post-punk/afro-beat band) also perform starting......

RiffTrax Live at the Castro - Plan 9 from Outer Space: MST3K's Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy, and Bill Corbett provide live commentary on Ed Wood's cult classic, the abominable and beloved Plan 9 from Outer Space. Eeee! Like, we could just die! (Part of SF Sketchfest.) Starts at 9 p.m. at the Castro Theatre.Your Macworld Expo Parties: It's winding down, kids. Partake in the Macworld festivities while you can.Ships in the Night: San......

Before hitting the sundry of top-notch hilarity littering San Francisco during the 7th Annual SF Sketchfest - i.e., the sad clowns making funny - be sure to stop by tonight's opening party. No really, it's well worth the price of admission. And then some. They have Aimee Mann, Kristen Schaal (aka the girl from Flight of the Conchords), Paul F. Tompkins, Todd Barry, Rhys Darby, and DJs Skip & Shindog on-hand to perform. Plus,......

Here's todays sports news...

We apologize for the scant hockey writing lately, but this Fishmonger has been stuck in the Bermuda Triangle that lurks in the background of San Jose's logo, on a futile quest to find Patrick Marleau's game. The Sharks captain's season of misery continues apace, and we're halfway through the 2007-2008 season....

-- Unsilent Night: New York-based composer Phil Kline’s holiday concert creates "an outdoor ambient music piece for an infinite number of boomboxes. It’s like a Christmas caroling party except that [you] don’t sing, but rather carry the music, each [member] playing a separate track that is a "voice" in the piece. In effect, we become a city-block-long sound system" So ... there you have it. Tapes and CDs will be handed out to participants.......

-- The 2007 'Stache Bash: The regular world now knows what bears have known for a long time: mustaches are kinda cool. This even will show you just how cool they, in fact, are. Burlesque troupe Kitty Kitty Bang Bang and DJ Ross Hogg's hip hop, dancehall, roots reggae, and dub sounds intertwine with a night of 'stache championing. Tonight's bash will feature a mustache pageant, a beer foam retention test, a mustache haiku......

As the winners of Live 105's Local Band competition, Maldroid will be opening for Modest Mouse, Jimmy Eat World, Angels & Airwaves, Spoon, and Paramore tomorrow night at the "Not So Silent Night" bash at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium. Maldroid's sound is a mix between The Beatles and The Hives. They first became popular when their video, "He Said, She Said," won "The Youtube Underground" competition - Youtube's first ever music video competition. They......

Speaking of Joan Van Ark, what on earth? Oh honestly. What happened to her visage? The former "Knots Landing" thespian and awkwardly spinning "Night of a 100 Stars" model has unveiled a new, um, model of her face. Well then. Whatever. Her body, her choice, right? People should be allowed to do whatever the hell they want to their bodies, even if it's done in the name of vanity. But still -- yikes. Sent......

Kids, it's time to get rocking. (Especially before the "Private Party" dry spell that is coming on. Yikes.) This week, the San Francisco music gods are offering a vast array of newbies and veterans - something that we will graciously partake of any day of the week. Now that the bets are in (okay, so no one really cast any bets - how boring is that?), you can go to Cafe du Nord, tonight,......

Perfectly paired with Scissor Sisters' "Filthy/Gorgeous," these iconic ladies of the '80s look that much more amazing/insane during this "Night of a 100 Stars" high fashion bit. Our favorite? Susan Lucci in Karl Lagerfeld. Because: wow.......

Hey, a local 12 year old from Foster City just won the world chess championship for the boys 12 and under age bracket. Champ Daniel Naroditsky won 9 games, lost 1, and played to a draw with the previous number 1 ranked preteen male. The Chron was unable to talk to him because of the time difference in Turkey (where the championships were held), but Daniel's proud father reports that Daniel's first question after......

We had twenty but it's down to the last five. Live 105, a big supporter of local music scene (see popscene) is at it again. Each December, Live 105 hosts the "Not So Silent Night" event which brings a host of great bands - this year it's Modest Mouse, Jimmy Eat World, Angels & Airwaves, Spoon and Paramore - to San Francisco. (Seems like a great line-up to us.) To make it even more......

-- Cinema Soundscapes: This evening of "voice, music and cinematic exploration" features mezzo-soprano vocalist Silvie Jensen and woodwind musician Bodhan Hilas headlining a night of sound oddities and Stephen Parr film such as "A Dream of Wild Horses," (1971) and "“Symphonies in Stone" (1942). Starts at 8:30 p.m. at Oddball Films; $10 (RSVP) -- Ingmar Bergman Tribute Night: The Castro Theatre seems to have an Ingmar Tribute Night every week. And we love it!......

Those wacky comedic troupe kids over at SPF7 honor two-time Oscar-winning Yalie and secretly Sapphic actress/director Jodie Foster with "poetic poetry poems" as performed by a spot-on Foster look-alike. (Good Lord, that was a lot of hyphening. Whew.) She's no Meg Tilly or Jewel, but then again, who is? Anyway, check them out. (One more after le jump!)......

Too real, if you ask us. Election night will soon fall upon the city like a blanket of darkness. But that doesn't mean you should celebrate or grieve alone. Ripping off Inspired by SFBG's Election Night Parties, we present to you SFist's...election night parties. Ta-da. -- Gavin Newsom's (Victory) Party: Pros: at the Ferry Building, the thrill of victory, Gavin's form Cons: at some point you will be snubbed by someone in the society......

-- The Virgin Spring and Through a Glass Darkly: Ingmar Bergman's rape/revenge flick (oh, we know that it's much more complicated than that, we're sure) The Virgin Spring inspired Wes Craven's Last House on the Left. And Through a Glass Darkly was described by Bergman as a "chamber film" for its allusions to "both to the chamber plays of Strindberg, and to chamber music in general." They screen tonight at 7 p.m (TVS) and......

And how might you observe Guy Fawkes Night here in San Francisco? Here are our suggestions:...

Here's todays sports news...

-- Salute Day of the Dead: Before tomorrow's Dia de los Muertos celebration and march, be sure to check out this pre-party featuring music from Steve Taylor-Ramírez, Theresa Perez, and Drew Harrison. Begins tonight at 9:30 p.m. at RetoxSF; $7. -- Poor White Trash II (AKA Scum of the Earth -- 1974): This Southern Gothic drama is also described as a "claustrophobic sweaty tale of a lost woman trapped by an incestuous, murderous backwoods......

Well, this is interesting. Today we received a (rightfully) irritated press release from Tom Radulovich, District 9 BART Director (co-signed by Chris Daly). It seems that he wasn't involved in the decision to go ahead and close BART on Halloween night. Which? Is bizarre and inappropriate considering, well, he's an elected District 9 BART Director. The missive, which is long and available for your viewing pleasure below (and continues on after the jump), reads......

-- Carmen Jones: Based off of Georges Bizet's famous French opera Carmen, the adaptation was made into a successful Broadway musical, and then a '50s film staring Dorothy Dandridge, Harry Belafonte, and Pearl Bailey. Now, see it again on stage right here in SF. The curtain goes up tonight at the African-American Art & Culture Complex (762 Fulton); $15. -- The Halloween Friday Night Skate: Rollerskate (or blade) in your Halloween costume without breaking......

Behold! "VideoGate" Officer Andrew Cohen's addictive blog that goes deep -- deep! -- inside the San Francisco Police Department and its many machinations. What's it called? Why, Inside the SFPD, of course. Today's feature: a delightful Santos/'Twas the Night Before X-Mas parody. But the entire site seems to be coming along swimmingly, and we invite you to read and comment at your leisure. Note to chicken-shit trolls: you can comment anonymously. (God help you,......