Real Estate plays the Hemlock tonight

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The holidays are gonna suck all our wallets dry in due time, but luckily the weekends still offer plenty of cheap options. This week we take the list up to 11 (picks, that is).

Art in Storefronts @ the Mission (Fri.)The San Francisco Arts Commission moves its inventive "art in storefronts" program to the Mission, where vacant shops get transformed with cool installations. (Check out the stretch of Market storefronts near the Warfield at night for a taste of how this project went down in another hood). Head down to lower 24th St. tonight, where the party starts at Triple Base gallery at 7p.m. with live jazz. (Free).

(500) Days of Summer @ Red Vic (Fri.-Sat.) Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt star in a romantic comedy that actually doesn't give you sugar poisoning. The film, which plays this weekend at the Red Vic, looks at all the fucked up things that can happen when two people crush out on one another -- it's not all sweet nothings and happy endings here. How can it all be positive when you start the movie with the couple breaking up and jump around in time from there? (500) Days of Summer's biggest selling point, however, are the moments it turns into a musical with a Hall and Oates soundtrack. Seriously, romcoms don't get better than that scene. (Times vary, $7-$9)

Barn Owl, Eternal Tapestry, Moon Duo, Real Estate @ the Hemlock (Fri.)
We're not sure if we could be any more excited about this Hemlock show. Real Estate is the latest bit of ebullient, folksy pop out on Woods' Woodsist label. The group's record is damn near perfect, sounding loose and live and full of upbeat melodies (try out this tune, "Beach Comber," for starters). Once your spirits rise, you can get higher on the droning sounds of Barn Owl and Wooden Shjips offshoot Moon Duo, both of whom could put your noggin in a heavy trance. (9:30 p.m., $8)

(Indoor) Street Party @ Baobab Village (Sat.) Bollyhood Café and Little Baobab present a night of street food, street artists, and (um, street?) music this Saturday. Their "Outside In: A Street Party" takes the idea of a street party and puts it behind weather-protective walls. Grab grub from one of a dozen street food carts (Wholesome Bakery, Magic Curry Cart, Creme Brulee Cart, Gumbo Man, Brazilian Bites, Bacon Potato Chips, Chile Lindo, Smitten Ice Cream, That Guy's Fries, Soul Cocina) and dance to DJs and bands performing Afro-Caribbean and Latin music. (7 p.m., $5)

 Ultra-Slow Dancing Competition @ Kaleidoscope (Sat.) Last weekend there were two big dance competitions. This week, we're down to one -- but it's another creative twist on the concept. The newish Kaleidoscope is sponsoring an evening of "Very slow dancing. People who dance the slowest best will be winning terrific prizes." From 9 p.m. until midnight, pretend you're a jaded indie rocker and see how little you can move -- and yet still show your enthusiasm in this battle of the art of stillness. Live music from So Awesome,  Delivery Is Possible, and Grand Lake will flood the room with downtempo electronica and other slow mood music. ($5, but if you don't have the cash they won't turn you away).

EpiscoDisco @ Grace Cathedral (Sat.) How often can you say you went to a dance party in a famous old cathedral? EpiscoDisco has to be one of those "only in S.F." parties.  Tonight it's presenting visual artist Kamau Amu Patton (to move your mind and eyeballs) and Bronze (to move your ass) at the beautiful Grace Cathedral. Sounds pretty damn amazing. (7 p.m., free)

Pumpkin Cooking Contest @ Omnivore Books (Sat.) "According to the produce wheel at Whole Foods, pumpkins are in season. Not many people know what to do with pumpkins, though. Once a year, people carve holes in them and light them on fire. Some make them into incredible, low-cost meals, snapping up the season's overstock and whipping up stuff like pumpkin polenta, pumpkin fritters, pumpkin bisque, and pumpkin cheesecake. At Omnivore Books' Pumpkin Cooking Contest, just bring your best anything made with pumpkin -- or the seeds -- then put your fate in the pumpkin eaters." -- Michael Leaverton (4 p.m., $5)

Ooh La La! @ Paradise Lounge (Sat.) Time to get the vintage outta the closet, as San Francisco's swank oldies dance party, Oh La La! hits both stories of the Paradise. Cozy up by the second floor fireplace or dance down below to '60s classics, old soul, and live garage rock from the Flakes. (10 p.m., $7)

Fanfarlo @ Amoeba (Sun.) The U.K.'s Fanfarlo is just starting to build a buzz in the States. The happy little indie-pop quartet sounds like a more conventional Beirut (with dashes of Arcade Fire and Wolf Parade), with fey, theatrical vocals and soaring horns. The band plays at Rickshaw Sunday night, but warms up with a free in-store at Amoeba at 2 p.m.

Karl Blau and LAKE @ The Hemlock (Sun.) "On his third album for K Records, quirky Pacific Northwest troubadour Karl Blau further feels out the African-inspired sounds he has flirted with in the past. Zebra is full of languid guitar sprawl, entrenched basslines, and stuttered drums, and Blau's voice manifests itself as a heavy sigh. He has also produced several K releases in the past year. Those credits include LAKE's new album, Let's Build a Roof, on which the all-caps Olympia six-piece (and sometimes more) refines the dreamy, ramshackle pop introduced on last year's Oh, the Places We'll Go. Touring together will only deepen the connection between Blau and LAKE's color-smeared palettes, which begin to swirl into one after a few listens to each." -- Doug Wallen (9 p.m., $8)

Nickodemus and the Spy from Cairo @ Elbo Room (Sun.) "DJ Sep's weekly Elbo Room reggae club night, Dub Mission, continues to rack up impressive special line-ups. On Sunday, she showcases New York producers Nick 'Nickodemus' DeSimone and Moreno Visini, aka the Spy from Cairo, who previously recorded as Zeb. DeSimone and Visini fuse dub and international sounds, heavy on the traditional Middle Eastern percussion and instruments: souk sounds meet King Tubby uptown. The two have rocked NYC's Turntables on the Hudson and Giant Step parties for years, as well as remixing and collaborating with Omar Faruk Tekbilek, Baaba Maal, and Astor Piazzolla. The night is also a double record release party for Nickodemus' Sun People Remixed and the Spy's Secretly Famous." -- Tomas Palermo (9 p.m., $8-$10)

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cheap thrills