(Nicole McFeely)

Featured Event: Saturday, August 6th– Cabaret Cabernet

Bands, poets, burlesque—get all of that and more at this week’s featured event, Cabaret Cabernet, hosted by Dunce Apprentice [watch this (yes all of it)]. The talented artists over at Merchants of Reality sure as hell know how to pack a house. The huge studio space is incredible and seems to be constantly popping off with parties and quality events. If you’ve never been, you really should. This week’s lineup looks incredible. Check it out for yourself by visiting their facebook page or the above website where you can find videos of the upcoming performers and get a feel for what you’re in for (read: get totally stoked). See you there!

Also This Week:

If you’ve never been to the Conservatory of Flowers, the country’s first-ever greenhouse, now is the time! On Monday, August 1st, Quiet Lightning will become the first series ever inside this historic building by kicking off their 3-month series The Greenhouse Effect with a fantastic lineup of readers.

You’ll probably need a day to recover from Monday’s badassery, so skip Tuesday, August 2nd and head straight into Wednesday the 3rd. Who doesn’t need some mid-week laughter? If you read that and thought “me” then my guess is that you could use it more than the rest of us. A little LitUp Writers should do the trick. The series heads to 111 Minna Gallery this week where various humans will share their accepted stories about memorable madness inside of the concrete jungle. Want to laugh at other people’s stories but only find other people’s misfortunes funny? You’re in luck! (weirdo) Fireside Storytelling has your sadistic desires covered with their Spectacular Injuries show. I can’t imagine what kind of horrific tales we’ll hear, but I’m strangely all about it. Rather skip the blood and guts? Indulge in a unique brand of theater with CounterPULSE, which continuously hosts some fine solo acts.

This week’s features at Thursdays at Readers are Kareem James Abu-Zeid and Georges Long.

Bay Area rabble-rousers Meg Day & July Westhale are moving to Utah to shake shit up. Say goodbye, hear some great performances, and show your support by attending their benefit, Don’t Cry for Me, Oakland!, this Friday, August 5th. Make sure to check out the raffle and the silent auction as your contributions will help fund anti-cancer projects and promote radical healthcare in our community. If you can’t make it across the bridge, don’t miss Studio One. The series is back this week from summer break with a reading by Laura Sims and Claudia Keelan.

Seems like every time I step outside, someone is slashing education funding, leaving tons of students behind. Fortunately for the kids in San Francisco, The GED Program at the Precita Center has been helping kids stay on track to obtaining their GED’s for years. Now, they need your help. On Saturday, August 6th, the organization hosts Stories in the Making II, a benefit to keep the center up and running. The open mic portion of the evening begins at 7:30, and featured performances—including James Cagney [love this] and William Taylor Jr.—begin at 8.

With a subtitle like this: “How I worked for a speed dealer in Burlingame, CA,” how could you not be intrigued? Get the full story from Greg Proops, and hear some equally quality narratives from performers Joe Klocek [hilarious], and Dhaya Lakshminarayanan at Previously Secret Information on Sunday, August 7th.