friday 2|15 Under the Sea

ISLAND DANCE PARTY Ready for a little island fun? How about getting the underwater scoop on the mating games of some of Monterey Bay''s swinging sea life? This Valentine''s Day, dabble in a bit of both at the Monterey Bay Aquarium''s "Island Dance Party," produced in conjunction with Sandy Shore Productions and benefiting the aquarium''s education and conservation programs. Everything to tempt the palate will be on hand, including wine, appetizers, chocolates and colorful island drinks complete with mini-umbrellas, a must-have souvenir from any tropical getaway. To set the mood, DJ Sandy Shore will play "the feel-good sounds of the islands, from Hawaii to the Caribbean to the Bahamas," but says, "We also won''t be afraid to throw in a little Destiny''s Child." Between bumps and grinds, revelers can visit the aquarium exhibits, all of which will be open for the duration of the event. It''s a great opportunity to experience romance Little Mermaid-style.

8pm. Monterey Bay Aquarium, 886 Cannery Row, Monterey. $34.50/$28.50 members. 649-1223.

Matters of the Heart

SWEET HEART''S DANCE Gather up any leftover Valentine''s Day warm-fuzzy feelings, grab a loved one, a significant other, or just a pair of snazzy dance shoes and get ready to hear two of Monterey''s most popular blues bands rock the night away. Benefiting the Eagle''s Wing Children''s Sanctuary, a Monterey residential facility that provides homes for neglected and abused teenage girls, the "Sweet Hearts Dance & Gifts from the Heart Benefit" will feature local favorites The Blue Tones and Red Beans & Rice. The driving sound and tight arrangements of The Blue Tones (all of whom are barely old enough to get behind a wheel) recently won them a spot as one of five finalists nationwide in a Teen People contest. (The top three second-round finalists will eventually be flown to New York to compete in the Apollo Theater''s famous Battle of the Bands.) The progressive rhythm and blues sounds of Red Beans & Rice will follow, but this band is hardly a runner-up. In fact, the readers of this very newspaper voted them best local band for six years in a row. It''s a can''t-miss night.

7pm. Embassy Suites, Laguna Grande Ballroom, 1441 Canyon Del Rey, Seaside. $25. 645-9999

1,000 Points of Cool

JOHN GARCIA John Garcia is just plain cool. The wise guitar player who performed with legends such as John Lee Hooker will come swinging into town again tonight to perform straightahead blues at Sly McFly''s. Garcia has an album you can buy called To All My Heroes, and it represents only about half of the musical power this axeman can muster out of his instrument and out of his band. As with most blues masters, Garcia''s music and personality are better received in a live environment--and Sly McFly''s is the place to do that. Songs that may be performed include "Baby Please Don''t Go," "Aaron Django," and the title track off his record.

9pm. Sly McFly''s, Cannery Row, Monterey. Free. 649-8050.

saturday 2|16

All You Need Is Love

VALENTINE''S RED & WHITE BALL Break out the hot pink feather boas! The Pacific Grove Art Center ball celebrating Cupid''s favorite day will put the underdressed to shame. Semi-formal, eccentric clothing in keeping with Valentine''s color scheme will best suit the occasion. Singles and pairs alike are welcome to join energetic romancing and dancing with DJ Kool, Inc., who will be playing hits by Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and others. Participants will have a chance to refuel themselves with wine and hors d''oeuvres. Raffle prizes include a romantic night''s stay for two at The Martine Inn, The Inn at 213 Seventeen Mile Drive, dinner at Vivolo''s Chowderhouse, breakfast at Tillie Gort''s and more. And those unsure of their dance skills will be able to finesse their steps with dancing instruction. Based on costumes and flair, the king, queen, prince, princess of the ball will be chosen.

7pm. Pacific Grove Art Center, 568 Lighthouse, Pacific Grove. $12.50. Tickets are available in Pacific Grove at Book Works, Grove Nutrition, Alpha Stationers, Washington Mutual Bank and at the door. 375-2208.

Rock, Pencils, Paper

GRACE SLICK Way before the Riot Grrls and the contemporary folk divas were even born, Grace Slick fused a smartass attitude, brazen intelligence, pre-politicized sexiness and a powerful talent to become a nearly iconic sixties rock star with the Jefferson Airplane. For 20 years after that, she lived the rock lifestyle--touring, partying and making a lot of money with the Jefferson Starship. Now, she describes herself with characteristic panache as "a 60-year-old woman who draws because it is one of humanity''s most exquisite ways to communicate with color, confusion, reverence and blasphemy." This show features drawings and watercolors of fellow musicians and whimsical fantasies.

6-9pm, Fingerhut Gallery, San Carlos between 5th and 6th, Carmel-by-the-Sea. Free. 625-1811.

Bass Case

THE DAVID FRIESEN QUARTET The 1977 Monterey Jazz Festival opened with one man alone on a stage, sitting on a drummer''s stool, playing an acoustic bass. According to the story that is still told in jazz circles, the audience was transfixed. David Friesen had been playing since he was a teenager in Seattle, where he came up with Larry Coryell and Randy Brecker. He''d gone on to extended gigs and albums with Joe Henderson, Stan Getz and George Adams. After Monterey, his music moved in a more introspective direction--he toured and recorded with the likes of Paul Horn and Mal Waldron. He has spent much of the past two decades teaching and playing in Portland, and will be joined for this show by three other Portland pros--John Gross on saxes, Dan Balmer on guitar and William Thomas on drums--all of whom share Friesen''s love of the powerful and the sublime.

7:30pm, Jazz and Blues Company, the Crossroads, Highway 1 at Rio Road. $30; students under 18, $15. B.Y.O.B. 624-6431.

Boys and Girls Together

SONGS OF VENUS AND MARS Celebrate Valentine''s Day with "Songs of Venus and Mars," a delightful evening of musical sparring between the sexes presented by the Carmel Bach Festival''s Bravissima series. In the men''s corner, there are all the composers--Brahms, Schumann, Bernstein, Gershwin and Strauss--and the burnished-copper sound of Canadian bass-baritone Daniel Lichti. Standing alone in the women''s corner is mezzo-soprano Catherine Robbin, also Canadian, whose rich, caramel voice just might KO the competition. This concert, a rare occasion to hear two beloved Bach Festival performers in an intimate setting, promises to be a lighthearted and tuneful treat.

8pm. Church in the Forest, Pebble Beach. $25. 626-2046.

Blues Ink

TATTOO BLUE It''s time to boogie. Kathleen Cairns and Tattoo Blue return to Sly McFly''s with their swinging, sexy blend of blues that''s infected with enough second-line backbeat to make this damn-near the perfect gig to segue between Valentine''s Day and Mardi Gras. With Cairns'' bourbon-rough vocals smoldering between skin-tingling intimacies and booty-motivating belters, and with a top-notch band providing driving the music home, this should be a must-shake-it dance party.

9pm. Sly McFly''s, 700 Cannery Row, Monterey. 649-8050.

The Hoochie Coochie

THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES This is the second V-Day of the week, but it has less to do with hearts than it does with a body part located considerably south of the chest. Nationwide, there will be about 800 celebrations of this V-Day, an event that raises money for organizations and programs working to end violence against women and girls. At the heart of many of these celebrations is a performance of Eve Ensler''s The Vagina Monologues, a collection of stories, some heartbreaking and some hilarious, about the effect of their genitalia on their lives. While some riffs deal with the problems of pubic hair, others explore the horrors of female genital mutilation and sexual abuse. Proceeds from tonight''s performance, by 20 women associated with Big Sur''s Esalen Institute, will benefit the Monterey Rape Crisis Center. Mary Anne Will, one of the cast members, describes herself as one of the older players and says she wanted to be involved not only to give a more mature perspective to the event but also "because sexuality is for me a difficult and sensitive subject, and I support the more-open talking about it as a healing venue for me." Among other things, Will is doing pieces from a monologue titled "Coochie Snorchers" (Southern slang for vaginas). "It''s about a Southern woman who was abused sexually and some of her life experience and how she healed herself." For anyone who still has a tough time publicly saying the word "vagina," The Vagina Monologues may go a long way toward de-mystifying and de-stigmatizing the word.

8:30pm. Big Sur Grange Hall, Highway 1, Big Sur (call for directions). $15/Advance, $20/door. 667-2530.

Skin Schtick

EROTIC ART SHOW Back for its eighth annual incarnation is the Erotic Art Show, courtesy of Uncle Jam Presents. The show, which originated at the old Three Spirits Art Center in Sand City, brings together a variety of local art work ranging from photographs to sculptures and everything in between, with the public voting for their favorite pieces. (A few years ago, one of the best and most intriguing pieces was done on an Etch-a-Sketch.) Some of the works are downright salacious, while others are as subtly sensuous as the skin of a new-peeled orange. But ogling the art work is not the only appeal--there''s also music (provided this year by the Dharma Bums, Blind Curve and Slate Canyon), dancing (your job), food (courtesy of Freestyle Foodservice) and belly dancing (by Jamaica). It''s a sexy, slightly sinful and definitely sultry sort of an event--and we''re just talking about the way the attendees dress. It''s a good way to keep the Valentine''s Day spirit going on into the weekend.

7-8pm, reception; dancing/music begins at 8pm. Turf Club at the Monterey Fairgrounds, Monterey. $10/advance; $13/door. 899-1007, 372-5863.

This week''s Hot Picks were hugged and kissed by Aaron S. Birk, Rachel Boyes, Jennifer Flowers, Alex Gilrane, C. Kevin Smith and Chuck Thurman.