*MUSIC: We've got two tastes for you tonight. First, aging rockers Queensrÿche perform at the Fillmore. They use an umlaut in their name, so you know they're hardcore. Too much? Then, how about award winning R&B songstress Veronica Klaus over at Enrico's? She's blusey and cabaret-y -- a stellar combo. FILM: Richard Kelly's disastrous follow up to college campus favorite Donnie Darko, Southland Tales -- a sprawling SoCal tale set over the course of......

Rickie Lee Jones: Easy listening-ish jazz and pop/R&B songstress ("Chuck E.'s in Love") sings tonight at 8:30 p.m. at Cafe Du Nord; $30. SOLD OUTThe Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007): "An action western surrounding the private life and public exploits of America''s most notorious outlaw, Jesse James," starring pretty boys Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck, and the best actress in the entire stratosphere, Mary-Louise Parker. Screens at 8 p.m.......

-- 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.......

-- Colors of Christmas: Oh yeah. You know you want to hear this KOIT-ish night of soulful holiday tunes live at Davies, right? Well, we sure do. Peabo Bryson, Oleta Adams, Ben Vereen, and Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis Jr. croon R&B-tinged holiday classics and modern hits starting at 8 p.m. at Davies Symphony Hall; $20-$80. -- The SantaLand Diaries & Season's Greetings: David Sedaris' famous dysfunctional and wry Christmastime tales hit the stage.......

-- hey willpower at Glitterbox: At this "funk punk thrash electro discotheque" (what, no show tunes? Bah), local pop/R&B/dance band performs. DJs Javier Natureboy and Junkyard spin funk, punk, and electro well into the morning hours. At least until 3 a.m., anyway. Starts at 9 p.m. at Cat Club, 1190 Folsom (at Eighth Street). -- Darrell Hammond: SNL comic comes to SF. He goes on at 8 p.m. and 10:15 p.m. at Cobb's Comedy......

If you still haven't checked out any of the awesome exhibits at the Asian Art Museum, swing by around 5 for Matcha, their monthly mixer with live performances, gallery tours, drinks and more. DJ Tonk, a top Japanese hip-hop producer will be spinning till 9pm. $5 after 5pm, 200 Larkin St., SF. David Lyle's solo show opens today at the Heather Marx gallery. Taking inspiration from vintage photographs found at thrift stores and flea......

As part of the National Queer Arts Festival, graphic artist and memoirist Alison Bechdel is speaking at Michelle Tea's Radar Reading Series at the SF Public Library tonight! We've been huge fans of Bechdel's Dykes to Watch Out For for, like 10 years now (we're latecomers -- she's been drawing the strip since 1987), and her first graphic novel, Fun Home, about her relationship with her closeted gay father totally blew our mind with......

Like the ant and the grasshopper, you can either fold t-shirts now to see Frameline films for free; or you can wait until June and pay to get in. We vote for folding t-shirts, of course. Or you can staff the press table if you prefer. Ryan Jones, the Volunteer Coordinator at the queer film fest, would like you to know that there's tons of opportunities for Frameline volunteers, in exchange for which you'll......

Tonight at Biscuits and Blues (401 Mason St.), legendary New Orleans pianist, Henry Butler performs solo piano, combining the classical and jazz elements he absorbed at Louisiana School for the Blind and Southern University with the gospel, blues and R&B sounds he heard growing up in New Orleans. (8pm & 10pm shows) Saturday Grab a boombox and head on over to Mission Dolores Park (18th and Dolores) for Unsilent Night 2006, composer Phil Kline’s annual......

The first time we saw U2 it was 1984 at the Spectrum in Philadelphia. Obviously, that was a long time ago: pre-Apple commercials, pre-hanging out with politicians, pre-heavy-handed attempts at irony, pre-blues co-opting, pre-rock n’ roll Messiah complex. Hell, it was even before Bono leapt into the crowd at Wembley at Live Aid. It was and still is the best show we’ve ever seen. We loved U2. We bought everything they sold, put posters up......

So many of our favorite artists are coming to town this week, including John Vanderslice, Feist, Orenda Fink and Metric. There are also some strange celebrity bands coming through, the SF Jazz Festival is happening, and giveaways are back! San Francisco's own pride and joy John Vanderslice [read the SFist interview] recently released his fifth full length record in as many years -- let's hear it for that indie rock work ethic! He's also working......

Our concert picks for the week of 6/2-6/8. Are you feeling festive? Lucky for you, the Mission Creek Music Festival takes over several fine San Francisco venues starting this week. They've curated some of the best bands this city has to offer while throwing in a national act or two to satisfy your wanderlust. Chances are one of your friends is playing MCMF at some point, so there's no excuse not to go. Start tonight......

You know the organizing principle at team SFist is always: what about the children? So yeah, bummer for Julie Lee about getting indicted for grand theft over the tattered remains of Kevin Shelley's career, huh, as ably reported by the Chron. But -- what about Julie's son? Andrew Lee! A.k.a. Drew Nasty! How will he cope? What will he do? Drew's had a tough go of things since all the smack came down on his mother. He lost his job with Kevin Shelley (he blew his back out lifting "very heavy voter information guides"). He dropped out of law school. The Inc. doesn't seem very interested in picking up his Fiona Ma-produced R&B single. His band C-Quence isn't playing gigs anymore. Sure, he sang "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" at a fundraiser last week, but how many more gigs like that is our crooner going to have now that Mom's fighting to stay out of the slammer? And was there a rap interlude in the middle? Julie Lee's refusing to comment on any of this, calling it all "Westerner gossip" (Gourmet de l'Ouest, watch that mouth!), but we're worried sick about Andrew! How's your neck holding up, guy? Chronicle photo by Paul Chinn...

On Friday Noise Pop presented a matinee show with Ringside, Von Iva and Robbers on High Street at Cafe Du Nord. It's quite strange to head to a rock show at a time of day that's more appropriate for happy hour, but having the evening wrap up by 9pm was a bit of a treat. It leaves you feeling like you have extra time on your hands, Daylight Savings Time-style. We missed Ringside's set but......

SFist is thankful that San Francisco has the greatest live music venues in the country, despite the bad news SFist Isaac gave us about the closure of seminal Lower Haight club The Top. If you're looking for an excuse to get away from visiting relatives, or a fantastic place to take them for some entertainment, read on for our suggestions. Tonight you can get your punk rock served up stadium-style with hometown boys Green Day......

For those of you not fasting this weekend, you goyim, can 20% of the population in San Francisco suggest Zhong Chiu Jie instead? Those of you who don't feel the Mandarin Chinese (or who use Wade-Giles transliterations) may recognize this better by its English name, the Chinese autumn moon festival. The actual date of the moon festival is September 28, but San Francisco will be holding its annual autumn moonfest street party this weekend....