Mix to Download: 8ball of the Space Cowboys

Space Cowboy extraordinaire 8ball whips up a new mix of minimal/electro for your listening pleasure:

http://spacecowboys.org/pages/8ball-mixes

Your Friday Guide for June 1, 2007

Ah, something for everybody this Friday, whether you're a breaks freak, techno monster, or loungey house head.

Bar Nights and Weeklies

Charlie Horse at the Cinch
Best place to go out and have a cheap drink while being entertained by drag queen antics. Recently voted Best Drag Show in San Francisco by the SF Weekly! Music by DJ Dirty Knees and Bearzbub is more rock and new-wave oriented, but at least it won't interfere with your conversation. Check out my latest review of Charlie Horse at The Cinch.

Fag Fridays at The EndUp
Reliable, if not all that exciting, but it goes all night, expect to pay around $20 to get in and to dance to pretty typical San Francisco deep house.

FUK Werk Fridays Happy Hour at 111 Minna
A new minimal techno happy hour in downtown, yee-haa! Check out my review of Fuk Werk Fridays.

One-Offs and Monthlies

Get Freaky!
Names, darling, names! Cut Chemist, Bassnectar, the Space Cowboys, the whole world of San Francisco breaks. . . if only it wasn't at 1015. $15 Pre-sales. Check out my reveiw of Club 1015.

The Jaded Gay DJ Recommends: Ritchie Hawtin and Magda at Mighty
Okay, seriously, there's not much that can really compete with this event. I'll be there with my buds fer sure.
9PM - 4AM, $25 pre-sales.

Garth and Jeno Back2Back at Club 222
So maybe you're looking for something a bit more chill for your Friday evening - then go check out two of San Francisco's finest DJs spining "leftfield disco" in a very cool space.
10PM - 2AM, $10

Lucky Pierre at The Stud
I've been trying to make it out to this event for the past three months since it has great MySpace pics, and I'm down with any gay bar night that stretches out beyond the typical musical fare of disco and poptronica (looks like there's some overlap here with the kids from The Workout and Lights Down Low). Unfortunately, Hawtin trumps anything else for me this time out, but this is probably your best bet for a fun night of gay clubbing if that's what you're looking for.
10PM - 3AM

Marke B. on San Francisco Techno

A couple weeks ago Marke B. told me via email that he had been planning a big feature story on San Francisco techno, but the newspaper biz being what it is, he had to chop up his feature into a couple different installments of his SuperEgo column. This week he gets down into the meat of it and talks to all the folks I've been writing about here, snapping up some nice quotes (Greg Bird of Kontrol referring to minimal techno as "Windex music") and giving a very concise lay of the land. Check it out and put it in your bookmarks, he's got all the parties listed in one nice neat lil' space.

Ask Dr. Rock: So This Is What It Takes to Be a DJ?

Over at the SFBG they've started a new feature called Ask Dr. Rock, which this week features advice on how to be a DJ. Lotsa name dropping of bands, with the advice being primarily about having a good record collection and schmoozing: "Do you really think that Michael Mayer or DJ Kaos just played sick tracks and all of a sudden people started flying them everywhere?" Hmmmm . . . .

Further Fun with the Grim Reaper

There's nothing like coming home from a chill campout to hear your mother's voice on your answering maching saying that your step-father "is still hanging in there." After some frantic phone calls home, to her cell phone, and then finally to my sister, I found out that, while I had been drinking beer and lounging in hot tubs, my step-father had had a "massive" heart attack. It was one of those mere minutes situations, where if he hadn't been working with someone who was also an EMT, if the rescue squad hadn't been virtually across the street, if it hadn't been early Saturday morning when there was low traffic, and if the cardiac catheterization unit hadn't been standing by to shove a stent up his femoral artery and open up a blood route to the lower chamber of his heart, he would have been dead. At age 52 . As it was, he just suffered more pain than three shots of morphine could mitigate.

When I was finally able to talk with my Mom on Sunday evening she said that my step-father had made his choices, and now was suffering the consequences. Those choices, specifically, were smoking up to two packs of cigarettes a day for almost forty years, not quitting smoking two years ago when a doctor told him he had a leaky valve, and generally working himself to an early grave and not doing anything to improve his health. Like me, his diet was distinctly redneck, and I guess his fondness for bourbon and Coca-Cola probably didn't help much either. Fortunately, he's now been through the most effective aversion therapy ever for quitting smoking, to the point where even the thought of smoking a cigarette reminds him of the pain and makes him nauseated. Of course, now there's still the heart surgery to get through.

Of course this put me in mind of the many choices I've had to make, and the ones I've seen made by others. As my birthdays have progressed I've had more opportunity to see the consequences of some of those choices, and many have been as grim as those suffered by my stepfather. Funny thing is that a great majority of them seem to involve drugs, from nicotine to alcohol to speed. I've been contemplating many of my own choices lately, and trying to see them more as choices than as the playing out of fate. Too often in the club scene it seems that people are not being guided by the idea that they are making choices in what they do to themselves, how they spend their time, or even who they spend it with; rather, everything seems dictated by the flow of the currents around us. This weekend, in whatever you do, take a moment to think about your own choices, and whatever choice you make, please realize that it is a choice, and has the potential to impact not just yourself, but all your friends and those who love you as well.

Upcoming Event: Ritchie Hawtin at Mighty, Friday June 1

The master of minimal techno, the man with the rockinest' asymmetrical haircut since, well, ever, will be laying down the tracks with Magda of BPitch Control at Mighty, this Friday, June 1. Get your tickets now, because I can guarantee that everbody who didn't go to Michael Mayer last week will be going to hear Ritchie. $25 is steep, but you'll definitely get your money's worth from a man who usually plays venues twice the size in Europe.

Upcoming Event: Koinonea's 10th "2012" Party, Yellow Cosmic Sun, Saturday June 2

It doesn't get much more old-skool than this: Koinonea, a collective that was founded by Lorin Ashton (Bassnectar) and others, is celebrating the 10th anniversary of their annual Koinonea party this Saturday, June 2. That's right, they've been at it since 1997. I've had some great times at this event in the past, and though psytrance is not my thing these days, I've got my two tickets already ordered because this is one of THOSE events. One room, starting off with some lush dowtempo and then accelerating into uplifting psytrance for your journey into the cosmic realms. The location is strictly underground (though I think I can guess where it will be) and will be emailed to ticket-holders in advance of the event. These folks know how to put on an excellent underground, so if you want something that will really have the flava of the old-skool, hit the link below and get your tickets now because they will sell out.

Update: Just got the word at 10.00AM Friday morning that tickets are SOLD OUT. Sorry if you didn't get yours, keep your eyes open same time next year for the 11th installment.

Event Review: Fools at C and S

Three hours north of the city there is a man-made paradise that has been planted on the side of mountain that, thirty-five years ago, was a clear-cut ecological disaster. Founded by a self-described “hippy draft dodger,” this off-the-grid, sustainable farm also includes a private campground that, from Memorial Day to Columbus Day, hosts events with names like Kamp Kink, Fortuna, Queen Acres, Friends and Family, and Sweet. This past weekend the boyfriend and I wrangled guest spots (and DJ slots) at an event called Fool’s. Though it was not the weekend we expected when we left the city, it was nonetheless an opportunity to clear the head of the constant city buzz, play some music, and take in some much needed chill time.

I’ve been to several events at this space over the past years, and any invitation is one that should certainly be accepted. This one came courtesy of our friends DJ Mermaid and Jovino, and arrived at a time when the boyfriend and I definitely needed time away from the city together. Traveling to this space, which I will refer to as C&S, is always an undertaking, and this particular trip was a veritable comedy of errors that included forgetting “something” I had been saving for an event like this for several months (as well as the usual Altoids tin that I take along for such occasions), getting onto 80 and going across the Bay Bridge instead of the Golden Gate, and neglecting to lay in any food for ourselves, since we were expecting more of a communal kitchen arrangement. That we had to scavange for a few basic necessities and accessories was not particularly onerous, however, since, like Burning Man, C&S usually provides. We arrived on Friday night in the kind of irritable mood that arises when you’ve had to endure single-lane highway traffic for a while, but C&S functions in many ways like a decompression chamber, so that after you’ve been there for a while, all those nasty bubbles begin to percolate out of your system.

Fool’s was different than other events that I’ve attended at C&S in that it was very family-oriented – I’m not used to seeing so many strollers, or breast-feedings, or naked children running around. Though we met other gay boys through the course of the weekend, the boyfriend and I felt a little odd in this environment, as though we were the couple exhibiting the most sexual novelty. In looking at the various photos that folks have posted of the event so far I’ve noticed a predominant number of “mother with child in nature” photos, and the veritable celebration of the fertile feminine is a bit challenging to those of us who think of children as things that should be neither seen nor heard. On Saturday afternoon a notebook was being passed in which you were asked to respond to questions like “What have you not done that you would like to try?” I responded, without much consideration, “Underage youth.” In retrospect perhaps this was not the best response for this group.

The boyfriend (in his guise as Lord Kook) and I each got prime DJ spots on Saturday night, though the timing worked out so that, at 8PM, I was playing techno to a line of people queued up for dinner. There was booty-shaking in the line, but I also knew there were people there who hate techno and would have preferred not to have been so much of a captive audience. It was a challenging situation, including having a woman with a crying child seated behind me at a table who then asked me to turn it down because my techno was what was making the child so unhappy. That’s right, kids, I play music that makes babies cry. Lord Kook’s set was much better, and better received, and then Jovino played out the night with a really great downtempo set. Lord Kook and I both came away wishing we had more of different kinds of music we could have played, and if we are able to swing the invites to Queen Acres in August (a queer event), I think we will have worked out some sets that are more attuned to playing an outdoor space than the clubs and warehouses (and their particular audiences) that we have grown used to.

This space has camping events all through the summer, and if you’re a regular reader of this blog, know a couple Burners, or have found yourself at an underground party or two over the years, you probably know someone who could swing an invite to this special place for you. Start asking, because you’ll be very happy when you get to experience it for yourself. As for the boyfriend and I, this weekend was enough to convince us to skip Burning Man this year, and instead focus our time and energy on some nice long weekends at C&S events.

This Weekend I Learned . . . .

• that I can play techno that makes babies cry
• that sometimes forgetting what you meant to bring with you is the best thing that can happen
• that you shouldn't do push-ups in poison oak (actually, the boyfriend learned that one). Sex isn't such a good idea either.

All this, plus lizards, lizards, lizards in the next installment of sfscene.

Upcoming Event: Opulent Temple Insta-Party, Sunday May 27

Okay kids, I'm literally out the door for a weekend of party camping (whoo-hoo!), but this popped into my inbox and I figured I would share. C'mon, how often do you get to party like a maniac on a Sunday? And since it's Opulent Temple you know it'll be Burner-rific.

*****************

Opulent Bonus Party :: Sunday - May 27th

Opulent Temple spontaneous combustion insta-party!
Sunday, May 27th

The stars have aligned with 2 international superstars in the breaks/ tech funk
world being around for some spontaneous fun for the Opulent Temple. So, to make
it a memorable Memorial Day weekend, we've convinced them to come throw down
for free to help out the Opulent Temple. Insta-epic party!!!

With very special guests ::

Meat Katie (Lot 49 / meatkatie.com, UK) (!)

Dylan Rhymes (Lot 49, UK) (!)
+
Syd Gris (Opel / Opulent Temple)
Hoj (Opel / djhoj.com)
Tamo (Angels of bAss)
Billy Casazza (Opulent Temple / Nutbass)
Raydeus (Pronoia)
Nathan Vain (Opulent Temple)
Cosmic Selector (Opulent Temple)
Dulce Vita (Opulent Temple)
Dex Stakker (Opulent Temple, Deck Ade)
Chad North (Garage Mahal, Deck Ade)
Drew (Opulent Temple)
Astro (Opulent Temple / sonicbridges.com)

$10 dressed funky or simply tell the cashier you're a friend
$15 otherwise
3 dance areas, chill bus, BM visuals
Bring your Toys!

At Mighty
119 Utah St. @ 15th
21+
10pm-late night

Posted by: Little B

Event Review: Workout at Le Duplex

It's always a good sign when you start off your evening thinking "Oh, hey, I'll go have a drink and check this out, and then get myself home for a decent bedtime since I have to work tomorrow" and then find yourself walking home very toasty after having closed out the party. Such was my experience of Workout at Le Duplex, hosted by the kids behind Luxxury, Johnatron and Baron von Luxxury, where the boyfriend and I kept thinking, hey, this is cool, let's have another drink and see what happens.

What happened was a fun set of dirty electro disco from the Baron hisself, some strange 80s mixes from Pozibelle (including one of ABCs "How to be a Millionaire" that inspired my first ever DJ anxiety dream, flipping through my records looking for this track as the previous DJ's record spun down to its final groove, the crowd all waiting for me to lay down the next one), and an awesome awesome set of knarzy electrotechno grooves from Brooklyn's Devin Dirt (including his great remix of Luxxury's "Rock and Roll is Evil"). Devin is at it again tonight at Lights Down Low, and the Luxxury boys will be playing a live set, so go go go check it out, I cannot possibly think of a better way to spend your Friday night. Workout is a monthly on the fourth Thursday, and though turnout was low last night (maybe twenty people on the dancefloor at the height of the night) owing, I think, to the holiday AND Michael Mayer at Mezzanine, this feels to me like the kind of scene where you're going to get to see people that you'll be hearing a lot about later. And did I mention that there are cupcakes?

As for Le Duplex, it was Le Suck. I remember when this space used to be a gay leather bar called The Loading Dock (I even spent some time suspended from the ceiling during one memorable evening), and aside from tarting the place up with a red and white color scheme, some cheap-ass lights for the dance area, and a stripper pole, not much has been done to improve the space. The sound system was truly terrible for this kind of music, two EAW speakers that handle only highs and mids up on the ceiling and a subwoofer that was CUT OFF. Really, no bass at all. Plus, $6 for well drinks and $7 for Stoli and tonic is outrageous. We had a drink earlier in the evening at Wish, the home of handbag house (and a crowd that creeps me out), and it was a buck cheaper than Le Duplex, which is much, much lower on the club evolutionary scale. And then, they flipped the lights up at 1.15, after Barbeau had been DJing for what seemed like twenty minutes. Indifferent and surly staff, expensive drinks, lousy sound, and they don't even have the decency to let the party run its course. Here's hoping Le Duplex gets rid of its lousy attitude and upscale pretensions ($170 dollar bottle service on other nights to sit in cheezy upholstered booths) and realizes that it's really just a hole-in-the-wall club in a desolate part of the Mission.

More on Club 6 and Mixed Use Issues

One of the constant problems plaguing the scene in San Francisco is clubs being located in "mixed use" areas that are both commercial and residential. In SoMa, for example, which used to be primarily industrial wasteland, you had a perfect location for clubs; they could pump the beats at night and no one cared because no one was there. But then, during the boom, there was a lot of residential development in SoMa (really the only part of SF left to develop) and there were inevitable conflicts between residents who wanted their quiet and night and the club goers who wanted to party. In recent years these problems have only gotten worse as limitations on available space force clubs and residential developments into ever closer proximity.

The case of Club 6 on 6th Street is shaping up to be a test case of how to deal with so-called "mixed-use" areas. As reported by Steven T. Jones in the San Francisco Bay Guardian (a report that has caused some friction to erupt between that paper and local politics blog beyondchron.com), Club 6 is located in the basement of a building that also houses a residential hotel, and the sound from the club reverberates throughout the building. The club owner has allegedly taken steps to improve the soundproofing, but, having been in Club 6 on a couple of occasions, I can tell you that the bass will vibrate the fillings out of your teeth. Given that Club 6 tends to host mainly hip-hop and reggae events, where you're going to hear a lot of music with long, deep, bass sounds, I'm not particularly suprised to hear that this sound travels beyond the ceiling of the club (a little physics lesson here, at least as I've learned it: waves have actual length, and in the cases of long waves, which are at the bass end of the spectrum, you won't even hear the sound unless you're at the end of the end of the wave itself. This is why if you stand right on top of a sub woofer, you won't hear the bass nearly the way you will if you step back several feet. For a long 30hz wave, which is about as low as humans can hear, it takes about 20-30 feet to get the full impact of the wave. Also, bass is omnidirectiona and notorious for travelling through walls, while upper frequencies travel in straight lines and are reflected back). I'd be curious to see if Club 6 hosted rock bands, which tend to get more into the upper frequency ranges than lower, and kept the music to the same decibel level, if they'd have the same problems.

There's a hearing on June 5 that will determine what's going to happen in this situation. It seems pretty unlikely that Club 6 will be allowed to operate in the same way for much longer, esp. when it's being portrayed as a fight between irresponsible partiers and the disenfranchised (as evidenced by the comments to Steven's article). Eventually, however, some kind of city-wide compromise is going to have to be worked out or soon there won't be any place where a club can safely operate that is also not totally inaccessible.

Upcoming Event: Last Double Dutch Disco at The Transfer, Sunday May 27

You may remember that waaaaay back in February I reported on the sale of The Transfer and speculated about what would happen with some of the more established nights, like Double Dutch Disco, with the change in management. Well, last night I was talking with a friend of Bus Station John (and, for once, managed to keep my yap shut and not get into an argument about the meaning of disco in the gay scene) and found out that this Sunday, May 27, will be the last Double Dutch Disco at The Transfer (and even the Transfer's myspace page is gone - most mysterious). I never went to this party (if I didn't like The Rod I really doubted I would like DDD) but it has generally been well received by everybody else and I know of several people who say that it's their favorite night out in the city. So, if you've been interested but putting it off, now is the time, and with a holiday on Monday I'm sure this party will be cranked up to 11.

In other, better news, Bus Station John, who was burned out of his apartment by someone flipped out on shrooms, has enjoyed the benefits of two fundraising events and seems to have himself situated for the summer. I don't know of any fund currently being collected for him, but if anyone else does please let me know and I will be happy to both publicize it and contribute.

It's Official: Zen City Records Closed

A couple months ago I speculated that Zen City Records on Valencia Street, one of the few remaining DJ vinyl shops in the city, was closing. Well, now it's official - I walked by earlier this week and they are gone, records, angry dog, and all.

I used to shop at Zen City, but then their stock seemed to become more and more of the back catalog variety, with nothing new at all in their trance or techno sections. They always seemed to have a good stock of new domestic and import house, but, as SF DJs have turned more and more toward techno, breaks, and electro, record stores have needed to change their focus to keep up, and with fewer and fewer DJs playing vinyl, keeping all your stock in one medium seems like a bad idea. The owner of another record store that has also been consigned to history once told me that he didn't know how Zen City stayed in business; well, I guess they didn't. Though I think they were the victims of a myopic view of where the club scene was headed, as well as the changing technologies of being a DJ, it's always a bad thing to see another store like this go under. As of this writing all I know of that's left are Tweakin' Records on Haight, and Soundworks, as reliable DJ vinyl shops where you can listen to music in advance, and then Amoeba, if you know exactly what you want and don't need to listen to it first.

Your Weekend Guide for Memorial Day Weekend

Okay kids, yours truly is heading out of town with the boyfriend this weekend, our destination being one of those fabled places known to small groups of Burners and other freaks, site of so many lovely times I cannot possibly enumerate them all here, but suffice to say there will much romping and fun amongst the tall trees. I'll tell you all about it when I get back.

Since I'm headed out tomorrow I'm making a nice, concise, all-in-one place weekend guide for you all this time. There aren't that many super-spectacular things happening because, I guess, most people are getting the hell out of town for a couple days, but there are definitely some things for you all having a staycation to enjoy. And here we go . . .

Friday

The Jaded Gay DJ Recommends: Lights Down Low at Club 222: Disco Prom
This installment features a live performance from local 'lectrodisco phenoms Luxxury. Five bucks, swell space, fun kids, what the hell more do you want on a Friday night? Check out my previous review of Lights Down Low.

Starfucker at Deco Lounge
If you really have to go to a gay night, then why not go to one in probably the best club in the 'Loin? $5 all night.

Charlie Horse at the Cinch
Best place to go out and have a cheap drink while being entertained by drag queen antics. Music by DJ Dirty Knees is more rock and new-wave oriented, but at least it won't interfere with your conversation. Check out my latest review of Charlie Horse at The Cinch. Free, with strong drinks!

Saturday

No recommendation for Saturday since I've not checked out either of these events, but if I was in town I surely would go to one or the other, depending on whether I felt like hanging out with techno kids or sweaty gay guys.

The Grind at The Cat Club
Okay, it's the usual deal: booze sponsorships, Gloss magazine, Matt Consola. But it's at The Cat Club, a great space with a convenient location. And who knows, maybe it'll turn into something different than the standard line of Gus Presents-type events. $10 before 11, $15 after.

FilterSF at Fat City
Yeah, I know, I've not been too crazy about the stuff I've been hearing from/about the Bay Area Beat Drop crew, but here's an all-night techno party right in the heart of SoMa with [a]pendics.shuffle and Someone Else. $15 before 11 w/out RSVP, $20 after. Hit 'em up for an RSVP, get in early for free, and party your ass off until the golden light of Sunday morning.

That's it my lovelies, go forth and party, and if you have fun, or even a crappy time, at any of these events, drop me an email and tell me all about it!

CD Review: "Sweet and Vicious Remixes" by Luxxury

If, like me, you spent most of the late 90s hanging out in industrial clubs, going to Depeche Mode tribute parties, getting all swoony over Groovy Man of the The Thrill Kill Kult, and pondering the intersection of industrial and techno, there is much in the "Sweet and Vicious" remixes from local kids Luxxury (Baron von Luxxury and Johnatron) that you will find both familiar and appealing.

Though "Sweet and Vicious" is the main star of these remixes, the album also contains remixes of "Drunk," "Sex with Rich People," "Understood" and "Rock and Roll is Evil." The titles alone should tell you something; at the heart of all these tracks is the same dark, sexy synthpop sound that drove the glam side of goth into its eventual electro evolution. Of the "Sweet and Vicious" remixes my favorite has to be "All Night Dance Party's More Vicious Than Sweet" version. Big chunky bass thumps with classic acid house handclaps and highhats, crazy phased vocals, ah, I can see the lights sweeping the sweating masses now. Second place would have to go to the "Exxpensive Re-edit," a classic piece of synthpop that puts the vocals right up front and would go lovely with side of Depeche Mode or Wolfsheim. Of the other tracks I really dug the dirty electro sound of "Rock and Roll is Evil (Devin Dirt's Fat Elvis Remix)" and "Drunk (Lovesick Vocoders at Night Remix)," which sounds like something I would have encountered on the dance floor of Berlin's Duncker when the DJ was headed into his harder industrial moments. All in all a great set of tracks for those nights when you want to put on your eyeliner and go play with the disco vampires.

Since Luxxury is a local phenom you have plenty of chances to catch them in both live and DJ incarnations. This Friday at Lights Down Low they'll be having a CD release party, featuring DJ sets by some of their remixers and a live performance ("Two men, two synths, one bass guitar, one vocoder and one talkbox…come smell the magic!"), and every fourth Thursday (that's tonight, kids) Baron von Luxxury and guests set your heart pumping with Disco Workout at Le Duplex (and did I mention the free cupcakes?). And these kids just keep on giving - check out their blog, discoworkout.com for daily MP3s of their favorite artists. And don't miss their YouTube video for "Sweet and Vicious," in which they save London from a LOLcat. Whew, so much productivity!

Now if I could just hook Baron von Luxxury up with Lord Kook . . . .

Berghain: Philip Sherburne on Berlin Techno Hedonism

For a while now the boyfriend and I have been trying to engineer our way across the ocean to Berlin. I first went there in 1984 and had my day of adventure in the East, where kids admired my "Nike schuehe," I saw real East German borderguards with submachine guns and police dogs, and had the crap scared out of me when I heard what sounded like a loud explosion from the direction of the wall. I returned in 1995 to live there for a summer while I took classes at Humboldt University, and then again in 1996 just to be a bum. I got to see the last Love Parade on the Kudamm and manged to find my way into clubs like Tresor, E-Werk, and WMF. My last visit was in 2000, and my most moving memory is standing on the roof the restored Reichstag, looking down into the glass dome of the legislative chambers. The symbolism was some of the most powerful I have ever experienced in architecture.

One of the things that drew me to Berlin was its long and rich history of decadence, its stature as a birthplace of avant-gardes, and the amazing history that was embodied in everything around me. One of my friends was a Kreuzberg anarchist who owned a bicycle shop (now doesn't that sound strangely familiar?) who would ride me around the city and point out moments in fascist history. Over here is the wall where the communists executed members of the June 17 1953 uprising; and here's a building in the park where Hitler had participants in the assassanation plot executed; oh, and that old bunker over there? That's a dance club called Bunker.

Philip Sherburne's This Month in Techno column in Pitchfork describes Berghain, the current version of a decadent dance club in a massive industrial setting. It reminds me of what I went to Berlin looking for, and being thrilled to find, but it also made me wonder about the way in which Berlin has become mythologized as this land of techno sybarites. It looks like we're working on another chapter in that mythology, and I hope I'll soon have a chance to learn its places and names.

Naked, Performing with Snakes: NYTimes on Dubai Nightlife

Dubai is starting to seem like the weirdest place in the world. To get a really good idea of just how weird, check out George Saunders' essay "The New Mecca" in the 2006 edition of The Best American Nonrequired Reading. And then there's this article on Dubai nightlife from a recent issue of the New York Times. I particularly enjoyed the final paragraph:

As 3 a.m. approaches, all the Grey Goose at Trilogy is polished off and the imported D.J.’s pack away their records. “The thing is,” says Jessica Glunz, “Dubai definitely has the potential to be a party capital of the world if the government wants it to be. It’s already the world’s most famous city, and that took them how long? Ten years?” From here the revelry moves behind closed doors: I tag along with a couple of wealthy party boys, who cruise around looking for pretty people to scoop up. We join the after-hours party at someone’s hotel room, where there are drinks and dancing and enough drugs to fill a pharmacy. Pretty soon, the live entertainment arrives: naked male and female dancers paid to perform with snakes, à la Britney Spears.

Wow, those kids know how to throw an afterparty.

Another year older . . . .

Though my press release doesn't seem to have made it into the major papers (I *so* need to get a better publicist), this past weekend the jaded gay DJ added another notch to his string of years on this earthly plane. It wasn't the best, nor the worst, birthday I've had, though the older I get the more notable birthdays become simply through their continuing occurence.

Over this past year I've put two grandparents in the ground, had a friend kill himself, and another was 5150'd by the SFPD off to SF General after flipping out due to excess consumption of 'shrooms. A bit of a grim year in retrospect. This was also the first year in a very long time in which I had full-time employment, which is a mixed blessing of financial relief and existential dread. I still haven't worked out what I want to be when I grow up, though the world seems determined to make some of those decisions for me.

I started my birthday weekend by going up to The Cinch to see some of my friends who were at the Charlie Horse show. It was a fun time, but I was disappointed to find out that a substantial contingent of my former Burning Man camp mates have decided to head off to (literal) greener pastures and camp with the Alternatiave Energy Zone. As word of these defections makes its way through the rest of the camp I'm sure they will shake others loose from us, perhaps including myself, the boyfriend, and our friend Kitty.

Saturday the boyfriend, Kitty and myself went out to the Gray Area Gallery party, but when we arrived at 10 the only place the party was bumpin' was in the (single) bathroom and they were gouging us for beers at $5 each, so we got stamped and went off to The Eagle for real drinks at decent prices. When we returned at 11.30 things were more lively, but none of us were really able to get into the party - I kept flashing back to undergrad art school parties, there was no place to sit (you begin to notice these things when you get older), and the beers weren't getting any cheaper. We went back to my place, listened to Kompakt Total 7 and Pop Ambient 2007, and played Katamar Damacy until the small hours.

Sunday I had arranged a rendezvous at 7PM at The Pilsner for people to buy me drinks. It wasn't a massive turnout, but it's always interesting to take note of who shows up to share birthday drinks with you and who doesn't. We wound up as a slightly raucous table of 6 at Home around 9.00PM, where I got the requisite cake and "Happy Birthday" treatment. The mood was muted when the boyfriend and I returned home, the result of a weekend that didn't quite go as expected and his having to deal with the shroom-destablized roommate mentioned above, who, as of this writing, has been released from General and presents all manner of anxiety and stress-inducing possibilities. Wish us both luck, gentle readers, as we turn to face the things ahead of us.

Memo

Seen printed out and posted above a desk in the back room of a bar:

Do not serve alcohol to John; he showed up yesterday and had drinks here, then showed up today all beat up with a suitcase and no place to live. You'll be doing him a favor.

Upcoming Event: Michael Mayer at Mezzanine, May 24

It's been over two years since Kompakt impressario Michael Mayer came through town, and this time he's moved up from Mighty to Mezzanine. Gui Baratto is with him on the tour, and with the Kontrol boys and Dirtybird artist Worthy filling the space between, it should be a grand night of technotechno. Here's a link to the flyer, it's $15 in advance and I think you better scoop up the tix while you can.

Event Review: The Golden Girls - The Play

When my friend Kitty and I used to live together I would often return home in the late afternoon following grad school classes to find him sitting on the couch, bong close by, watching The Golden Girls and laughing himself silly. I never really got into The Golden Girls, though after seeing a performance last night of two classic episodes by Heklina, Cookie Dough, Matthew Martin, and Pollo DelMar (with a special guest appearance by Mike Finn channeling Keanu Reeves portraying a lesbian) I suddenly understood what Kitty had realized long ago: that The Golden Girls really are a bunch of drag queens. Once you have that figured out, everything makes perfect sense.

The show could be described as "parlor theater" since it was performed in the parlor of a vintage Victorian on Grove Street right off Fillmore. This led to a bit of unintended comedy during the performance of the second episode, when, in the dark between scenes, Blanche sat down in a chair, the back legs slipped off the edge of the makeshift stage, and an elbow went through a window. It took three rounds of laughter and Blanche's comment of "I thought it was getting a little hot in here," before some semblance of order was restored, and the broken window opened up some opportunities for comedic improvisation through the rest of the of the performance.

The depictions of all the girls was spot on, but when Heklina came out as Dorothy everyone broke into laughter over how much she really looked like Bea Arthur, right down to the nose. Matthew Martin as Blanche was my favorite, however, capturing perfectly Rue McLanahan's southern tart. It's hard to go wrong when you're working from the original scripts, but the extra camp twist that everyone put into their performances kept the audience roaring through the full hour (the Sex on the Miami Beaches being sold out by the ticket booth certainly helped as well).

All the 8PM shows are sold out, but if you show up early (and I mean early - folks were lined up at 7 for the 8PM show) you can get on the standby list, and there's at least a chance you'll be able to get in. There are also 10PM shows, and after the success of this series I wouldn't be suprised if the girls make their way back to SF for encore performances.

Your Saturday Guide for May 19, 2007

Two fun, fun, fun one-offs for you this week, with each one being so potentially fun I had difficulty deciding which one to make my recommendation for this week. Eventually techno and art won out over psytrance, but I think you can't go wrong with either choice this week.

The Jaded Gay DJ Recommends: I'm Out at the Gray Area Gallery
The Gray Area Gallery is one of those little secrets I just found out about, and this blowout party to close their old space before moving to the 'Loin promises to be a gathering of some of the grooviest techno kids in San Francisco: Safety Scissors, C.L.A.W.S., and the kid Marke B. of the SFBG SuperEgo column tells me is the guy to watch, Jason Kendig, among others. New works by artists John Blanco, Alex Heilbron, Peter Petroschko, Anthony Desimone, and Sarah Wylie Ammerman will be on display as well.
$10
9PM - 3AM
371 11th Street (2nd Floor) between Folsom and Harrison

Love and Devotion at The Gingerbread House
An ALL AGES, ALL NIGHT psytrance underground sponsored by Geomagnetic.tv and The Phoenix Family, featuring one room with full-on psy and also a chill room. Lotsa names here, check out the link for the full DJ line-up AND the address.
$20
10.30PM - 7AM

Mix to Download: Kap'n Kirk of the Space Cowboys

The Space Cowboys are probably the favorite breaks crew of San Francisco Burners, and Kap'n Kirk has a new mix that attempts to demonstrate how they got that status.

Your Friday Guide for May 18, 2007

Whoo kids, well, I'm a little behind on my usual scouring of clubl and party listings since I've been out of town, but here are a couple to get you started for this Friday:

Bar Nights and Weeklies

The Jaded Gay DJ Recommends: Performance at The Transfer
Featuring DJs Mo-Luxx and Natureboy with a special performance by Hey Willpower!
9PM - 2AM, $5. Check out my review of The Transfer. Check out my review of Hey Willpower at The Rickshaw Stop.

Charlie Horse at the Cinch
Best place to go out and have a cheap drink while being entertained by drag queen antics. Music by DJ Dirty Knees is more rock and new-wave oriented, but at least it won't interfere with your conversation. Check out my latest review of Charlie Horse at The Cinch.

Fag Fridays at The EndUp
Reliable, if not all that exciting, but it goes all night, expect to pay around $20 to get in and to dance to pretty typical San Francisco deep house.

Salvage at Deco
Trauma Flintstone of Bijou fame hosts a monthly gathering of crazy show gurls at one of my favorite San Francisco clubs. Check out my review of Bijou.

FUK Werk Fridays Happy Hour at 111 Minna
A new minimal techno happy hour in downtown, yee-haa! Check out my review of Fuk Werk Fridays.

Minneapolis Report

Hey kids, just back into town from the Mini-Apple (no, I didn't make that up), pretty pooped but wanted to give you the quick shot of my brief forays into Minneapolis gay nightlife.

Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday are never good nights for going out anywhere, and Minneapolis is a small city (380,000 people or so), but I was fortunate that my hotel location made it easy for me to walk to The Eagle on Washington Avenue and The Saloon and The Gay 90s, both on Hennepin (the main drag for clubs, bars, and restaurants).

The Minneapolis Eagle, like its namesakes in Washington, San Francisco, and New York, has a back patio area that is the focus of the Sunday afternoon scene. It was a warm, beautiful day and, when I arrived around 7PM, there was a good crowd of 50-75 guys who seemed to have been boozing away for a while before I got there. The crowd here, as at all the bars, was much less studied than a San Francisco crowd, with many of the guys looking like, well, just guys rather than gym bunnies or crazy pierced freaks or the other usual categories in the taxonomy of San Francisco gay culture. The other major difference was - no pot smoke! I stayed for two drinks, about an hour, but had absolutely no cruising luck, or even that much interest in crusing. It was one of those moments when I wondered if I was invisible. But, with the crowd thinning, I decided it was time to go get some food and then check out the Sunday DJ night at The Saloon.

The Saloon on Hennepin bills itself as the major gay dance club, and that night their resident (Kiko, something like that) was coming on at 10. I got there around nine, enjoyed a drink al fresco, and then cruised in to check out the scene. Again, though there was nothing particularly attitudinal about the guys, I must have been wearing my invisibility cloak. The music was a lot like being at The Cafe, and by midnight, after they couldn't find anyone to participate in their "sexy shower" contest (there was a working shower with plexiglass walls right off the main dance floor), it seemed like it was time to head back to the hotel.

Monday I was fortunate to find the Vital Vinyl record store right behind my hotel, and then had a great time at the Walker Art Center (one of the most appealing aspects of Minneapolis is its strong art community and some of the most amazing contemporary architecture I've seen anywhere), but it wasn't unitl Tuesday that I went out again, this time with some other queers from my conference. We met up at The Gay 90s, a HUGE club that could easily hold over a thousand people. It was supposed to be a drag performance night, but I've never seen so many guys lip synching at a drag show (and I'm pretty sure they weren't drag kings). The women were of the female impersonator variety, and the guys were, well, pimps. The music was all hip hop, the audience was a bit on the thuggy side, and the area was, well, really sketchy - I saw the cops busting a guy, and go