thursday 9|18

Video Killed The Radio Star

THE MESSIAH COMPLEX Last time Ruben C. Gonzalez was in town, he was morphing into 11 different characters in Diary of a Mad Mexican. A similar conceit is at the heart of his newest show opening tonight, but this time Gonzalez decides to embody "the gods" and sends himself to Earth, where he is (understandably) appalled at the power of television and pop culture. Intent on saving humankind, he finds solace in the world of radio, where actual, live people have a voice in their society (he might have taken a look at alternative weeklies, but never mind). The LA Times called Gonzales "flat out funny," but the El Teatro folks also claim that His Holiness the Pope says the show is "the biggest hoot since The Last Temptation of Christ." At least one of those reviews must be valid. [SF]

8pm, continues Thursdays through Sundays until Oct. 12. El Teatro Campesino Playhouse, 705 Fourth St., San Juan Bautista. $16/adults, $14/students and seniors, $12/children. 623-2444.

Child's Play

KID OF KID N' PLAY In the early 1990s, Christopher "Kid" Reid was one of hip-hop's biggest stars. The kid with the towering 'do was a member of the hip-hop duo Kid N' Play and the star of the popular House Party movies. Kid even had his own Saturday morning cartoon series. Now, the entertainer is trying his luck as a stand-up comic. [ST]

9:15pm tonight, Friday and Saturday. Planet Gemini, 625 Cannery Row, Monterey. $12/Thursday, $15/Friday and Saturday. 373-1449.

friday 9|19

Jazzed Up

MONTEREY JAZZ FESTIVAL There's a lot going on at the 46th annual Monterey Jazz Festival. Over the course of three days, more than 500 jazz artists perform on six stages, from old-time jazz legends to some of the genre's most interesting up-and-coming musicians. Take young upstarts Soulive and jazz pioneer Herbie Hancock: Soulive, a Boston-based trio, is taking jazz in new directions by adding elements of hip-hop, while Hancock made this sort of experimentation possible with Headhunters, his album from 1973 that added elements of funk and rock to jazz. See story p. 15 [ST]

Tonight, Saturday and Sunday. Monterey County Fairgrounds, 2000 Fairgrounds Rd., Monterey. $25/Friday, $35/Saturday or Sunday, $80/three-day pass. 373-0244.

His Fifteen Minutes

ANDY WARHOL IN PG Three new exhibits open this evening at the Lisa Coscino Gallery. Santa Barbara painter Nicole Strasburg will show her recent work, along with the black-and-white prints of LA artist Artemio Rodriguez. Both of them will be at tonight's reception, along with noted art collector Richard Weisman, who will be bringing along a handful of his Andy Warhol paintings. The Warhols, painted in 1979, are of famous athletes including Pele, Dorothy Hamill, Muhammad Ali, and a young football great named OJ Simpson (see story pg. 40). The back gallery will be transformed into a version of the Warhol Factory for tonight, and the 2002 documentary Andy Warhol: The Complete Picture will be screened (catch interviews with Deborah Harry, Julian Schnabel, and the Factory crowd). [JL]

6-8pm. Lisa Coscino Gallery, 171 Central Ave., Pacific Grove. 646-1939.

saturday 9|20

This Land Is Your Land

PUBLIC LANDS DAY Say what you want, list your gripes, go and vote about it, but one of the greatest gifts Americans can enjoy is public land. We have abundant natural spaces that are free for everyone to use. One of the great treasures in this area is the vast trail system at the back end of Fort Ord. It's heaven for trail runners, mountain bikers, horseback riders and Sunday strollers. Come out and pitch in with trail maintenance, seed collection, invasive species removal and site improvement. There will be games and activities for the kids, a barbecue and picnic lunch, free T-shirts and live music from Jonah and the Whalewatchers. If you haven't spent much time on this wild corner of the fort, today is a good excuse, because you won't be alone. [AS]

9am-4pm. Use the CSUMB/Main Gate exit from Highway 1. Turn right on Gen. Jim Moore and left on Gigling. Stay on Gigling, passing the barricades until it turns into Watkins Gate Road. Follow to Barloy Canyon Road, left on Eucalyptus, right on Jacks Road, to Skyline Road. Follow signs. 394-8314.

Cleaning Up Our Act

CALIFORNIA COASTAL CLEANUP DAY Each year, thousands of tons of garbage end up on our magnificent shoreline, damaging wildlife, the marine environment, and people's health. Today you can get rid of a small part of this problem by helping out at the 19th annual Coastal Cleanup, an international event taking place nationwide and in more than 120 countries. At last year's event, more than 46,000 volunteers removed 861,000 pounds of debris from 2,500 miles of California coastline; 1,600 volunteers removed four tons of garbage and recyclables in Monterey County alone. Heck, you might get lucky and come across an abandoned Ferrari. [NP]

9am-noon. 24 different sites within Monterey County. Call 1-800-COAST4U for information and site locations.

The Simple Life

CHOOSING SIMPLICITY As we Americans rush around, buying carloads of home decor or the latest fashions, and gobbling our daily rations of fast food, author Linda Breen Pierce is quietly admonishing us to sloooww down. She claims we are confusing standard of life with quality of living, and it makes life harder rather than easier. Hear her lecture today at Thunderbird Books and check out her newest book in the Choosing Simplicity series, Simplicity Lessons: A 12-Step Guide to Living Simply. [CC]

4:30pm. Thunderbird Books, The Barnyard Center, Highway 1 at Carmel Valley Road, Carmel. 626-8486.

Kids in the Kitchen

EARTHBOUND FARM CHEF WALK So many kids these days grow up thinking milk comes from cardboard boxes, hamburgers are all stamped with a big yellow M, and veggies are wrapped in plastic; it's refreshing to see someone trying to educate them about good nutrition. Chef Cal Stamenov of Bernardus Lodge in Carmel Valley, and Corkscrew Cafe owner Sylvia Georis present a special family day at Earthbound Farms, touring the organic produce fields with farmer Mark Marino. Stamenov will offer recipes for fresh meals and everyone gets to pick a box of produce straight from the ground. The walk is a fundraiser for Carmel Middle School's Hilton Bialek biological sciences project, which Georis is involved with to inspire students to appreciate the environment and foods. Reservations recommended. [CC]

10am-noon. Earthbound Farmstand, 7250 Carmel Valley Rd., Carmel Valley. $30/family. 625-6219.

Sweet Beats

AGUA DULCE AT SLY'S Agua Dulce is a San Diego-based group of Mexican Americans who have played their unique blend of Cuban, Puerto Rican and Jamaican music in Bosnia, Hungary and Iceland. These promoters of multiculturalism are ending a tour of the western states with tonight's show. Be ready to dance. [ST]

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

sunday 9|21

Remembering Fallen Angels

IRON ANGELS RUN Big-hearted bikers are invited on the fifth annual "Iron Angels' Run" in commemoration of fellow riders who have died in motorcycle accidents. Participants will ride en masse from Seaside on a tour of Marina, Highway 68 (stopping at Jacks Peak for a brief memorial service), and through Monterey to Ocean Thunder, where cold beer and tri-tip await. Entertainment includes solid rock n' roll music by The Blackouts, and a raffle. Proceeds benefit the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. Organizers emphasize that all makes of bikes and riders are welcome. [MB]

Noon, sign up for the ride at Bill's Monterey Custom Motorcycles, 2033 Del Monte Blvd., Seaside. $10 signup charge. Barbecue and fun at 4pm at Ocean Thunder, 214 Lighthouse Ave., Monterey. Donations appreciated. 643-9169.

Veggies and God

SACRED HEART PARISH FESTIVAL Salinas' Sacred Heart Parish, the oldest Catholic parish in the city (founded 1876), holds its annual international festival today, featuring food from different cultures, live music, folk dancers, a magic show, children's games, and a drawing to win a 2003 Mazda MVP. The biggest draw of the day, however-even bigger than the car-is the impromptu farmers' market they set up, where local growers donate their just-picked fruit and vegetables, all for sale at rock-bottom prices to benefit the parish. Fresh tomatoes, anyone? [SF]

10am-4pm. Free admission. Corner of West Market and Stone, Salinas. 424-1959.

monday 9|22

Mujeres On Film

HISPANIC FILM FESTIVAL As part of the school's Hispanic Heritage Month celebration, Hartnell College will present three short English-language films by Latina women. Each film is about 30 minutes long, and will be followed by a discussion. Monday's screening is Adelante Mujeres!, a history of Mexican-American Chicana women spanning five centuries, from the Spanish invasion to present. On Tuesday, Home Is Struggle will explore the lives of women who have come to the US from different Latin American countries for different reasons. The film, which won the best film award at the San Antonio Film Festival, shares stories about past, present, sexism and personal and political repression. Chicana, which will be shown on Wednesday, traces the history of Chicana and Mexican women from pre-colonial times to the present. It covers women's roles in Aztec society, their participation in the 1810 struggle for Mexican independence, their 1872 involvement in US labor strikes, as well as their contributions to the Mexican revolution and contemporary civil rights causes. [JL]

1-2pm today, Tuesday and Wednesday. Hartnell Performing Arts Building, Room 125, 156 Homestead Ave., Salinas. Free. 755-6825.