From Lord Kook himself:
Come join me, DJ Candy (Now Hear This!) and DJ6 (Lucky Pierre, Now Hear This!, Substance) and more at a last-minute shindig tonight! From 9pm to 2am we'll be spinning and dancing and drinking at Catalyst Cocktails.
Come down and shake your ass to the newest indie/electro/remixes/new wave, get drunk and party with us! It promises to be a fun, easy way to kick off the weekend.
And it's FREE!
Lovefest, LOVEFEST! Okay, so it's not nearly the orgasmic ecstatic dancing in the streets and on telephone poles full-on fiesta of its Berlin cousin, but we do try, right?
For my money the absolute best thing to do is head down to Civic Center around 1.00PM and dance your ass off until the fog rolls in and you're so exhausted you can't move, then hit the hot tub with your fave beverage. But for those of you who still have the stamina and the need for more, more, more, well, you know what, the Official Lovefest Website has the listing of everything I know about, so go check that out.
My best bets for big party action
So two days ago Paul Addis, "alleged" arsonist of The Man, was arraigned in Pershing County District Court. According to this interview in Wired (which further confirms just about everything I've thought about the man to this point - hey, did you know that all us folks who go to Burning Man and have tech jobs don't do *anything* creative when we come back to the city?), he planned to plead "not guilty." I've not been able to track down any accounts of the proceedings yet, but will doing my best to dig it out. Since there were eye witnesses, and no one is going to take his blarney story about "Black Rock Intelligence" seriously, I think he's digging himself into a big hole, but that's his business. Let's see how well his Hunter S. Thompson act flies in state prison.
It's the LoveFest Pre-Party Friday! Lots of stuff going on all over the city, but don't blow your wad cuz you've got keep something in reserve to get you through to Monday morning (and you are calling in sick, right?)
Cosmic Gypsy Happy Hour with DJ Mak at the W Hotel
Get your lounge groove on with DJ Mak in this swank hotel bar.
6PM - 8PM
No cover
W Hotel, 181 3rd Street x Howard
The Jaded Gay DJ Recommends: 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.
9PM - close
NO COVER
The Cinch, 1723 Polk Street (between Clay and Washington)
Fag Fridays at The EndUp
Reliable, not all that exciting, typical San Francisco deep house, but it's gay and you can stay until the next afternoon. Go while you still can, the countdown to Pink proceeds!
10PM - 6AM, and then Ascension starts up
$20
The End UP, 6th x Harrison
The Jaded Gay DJ Recommends: Lights Down Low at Club 222
This installment features guests The Mystery Jets, Jen Lasher, and Robert Smith, with resident DJs Sleazemore, Rchrd OH! and now "hosted" by Billy C. Check out my previous reviews of Lights Down Low.
10PM - 2AM
$7
Club 222, 222 Hyde Street x Turk
Monthlies and One-Offs
Shark Attack!
Residents 0rko, Rubyacht, Starr (Bondage-a-Go-Go), Macro spinning "Electro/Progressive/Techno/Grime/Popdancecrap."
9.30PM - 2AM
FREE before 10, $5 after
Julie's Supper Club, 1123 Folsom x 7th
Honey Sound System with Part-Time Punks at The Transfer
A night of "post-punk dance music" with the Honey Sound System crew and LA's Part-Time Punks.
9.00PM - 2.00AM
No cover listed
The Transfer, Church and Market
Girls Love Techno! at Club Anu
Your fave femme techno DJs mix it up Club Anu. Line-up includes Forest Green, Saya (FilterSF), Solekandi (FilterSF), and a live performace by Chel-C Faith [DEF-SF].
9.00PM - 2.00AM
$5
Anu-Bar, 43 Sixth Street x Market
Ah, how great minds think alike. Just this morning, as I was pondering what I might get up to on Saturday night after a day of festing around the Love, I realized just how few gay dance options really exist. It seems that, in a total backlash to the circuit scene, alternaqueers decided that dancing, period, was the epitome of all that was despised, and that mixing was to be strictly forbidden. As I thought further I realized that, outside of Gus Presents events, and the tourist-oriented version of the same that goes on at Badlands and The Cafe, the only real queer dance-oriented events that happen on any regular basis are Lucky Pierre (a monthly) and Fag Fridays. In the past couple weeks I've been out to some nights that, for the most part, had okay music, but there was no dancing, and not even any real interest, from what I could tell, in stoking up the dancefloor. When I really want to go out and dance it's about going to nights that aren't strictly gay-identified (with the exceptions of one-offs from the likes of Honey Sound System and others).
And then, what do I find in my inbox but a teaser for Marke B.'s latest article it the San Francisco Bay Guardian on the topic of gay dance music, Energy 92.7, and the death of the circuit scene? Marke does a great job of surveying the current lay of the land for the gay club scene and club music, and discovers what I would describe as the club cultural vacuum; sure there are events that focus on very specific tastes, communities, body types, and cliques, but almost nothing that unites everyone in the pure good time of going out and getting down on the dancefloor. It's really a shame that the gay capital of America has become so fractured and factionalized that we no longer have any avenues for coming together and letting all our differences melt into the joy of ecstatic dance. I'm relieved that the next generation of queer kids, who don't carry with them the same baggage around DJ music as those who lived through the circuit era, are now looking to get out there and re-invent the world of gay dance music, but it's going to be a hard go until the bottom-line economics of The City change in such a way that these kids can get access to good venues and build up a new scene. Me, I'll just be looking for those signs of queers out at Kontrol, and at Space Cowboys parties, and hope that their presence, and mine, are indicators of a growing desire within our community for a new queer dance aesthetic.
This past Saturday there was a meeting of the Citizens for Halloween to discuss what is going to happen in about five weeks when the dread date descends upon us. BeyondChron has an article about the proceedings, and the answer still seems to be "nobody knows;" no one from The City, like, oh, say, the police department, showed up to answer citizen questions. Apparently the police "have plans" but aren't telling anyone what they are; they are taking a "wait and see" attitude that makes me think they don't have the slightest idea what is going to happen, or what they are going to do about it when it does. Stay tuned, folks, this only promises to get more interesting as time goes on.
The Workout
DJs Pozibelle, Johnatron, and the infamous Baron von Luxxury drop dope electro and nouveau disco beats for you at this swell old-school saloon. This week's special guest is Sorcerer from Oakland.
10PM - 2AM
$5, FREE before 11PM with RSVP to http://sanfrancisco.going.com/discoworkout
The House of Shields, 33 New Montgomery at Market
From Lord Kook comes some darker, harder, electrobreaks beats than what you might have heard during his residency at Drunk and Horny. Here's the track list:
1. Zombie Nation - Don't Touch
2. Rex The Dog - Everyday
3. Timo Maas - First Day (Extended Mix)
4. Groove Armada - Get Down (Calvin Harris Remix)
5. Jape - Floating (Alex Metric Remix)
6. Don Almond - Shake It (Philipe Boyar Mix)
7. DFA1979 - Sexy Results (MSTRKRFT Edtion)
8. N'fa - Get Doh (fRew Remix)
9. Kavinsky - Testarossa (SebstiAn Remix)
10. Riot In Belgium - La Musique
11. Tommie Sunshine - Dance Among the Ruins (Boy 8bit Mix)
12. The Lotterboys - Blazer
13. Justice - DVNO
Check out this mix and all his others at Lord Kook's website.
Not much (or anything, really) on the details about this, but on Mighty's website it lists Roller Disco! for this coming Thursday. When I'm on rollerskates is just about the only time I'm capable of enjoying disco, and I've had a great time at all the events like this I've attended (I'm betting that these are the Black Rock Roller Disco kids).
Here's what I've got for a link: Roller Disco at Mighty!
Aw yeah, you gotta love an event title like that. Get down and raise up some money for breast cancer research with some of The City's finest lady DJs at 111 Minna. My Mom had to have breast cancer surgery a couple years ago, so I'm particularly happy to help support these efforts; think of it as doing something really nice for Moms all over the world. Wear Pink!
Beats for Boobs
Fire performers: Sky Fire, Think 13, Luminescence, Fire Arts Collective, Fire Flies, The Sirens
Fashion show contributors: Silver Lucy Design, De Falco Design, Levis, Spindle Desco, VindyCo, Camilla Slater, Bolland, and miss velvet cream
Additional performers:
Cheryl Fidelman: actor/performance poet
The Naughty Nurses
Live Art by Abe Alvarez
Food from: Triptych, Sauce, Greenleaf Platters, Kells, Chakkas, The Cake Gallery
DJ Line-Up:
Sharon Buck (Green Gorilla Lounge)
shOOey (In Deep)
J-Fi (SisterSF)
ViaJay (Angels of bAss)
j9 (Angels of bAss)
Dory Kim (Listed, LA)
Calamity Jane (Word of Mouth SF)
7.00PM - 2.00AM
$20 (includes food; advance tix at www.beats4boobs.org via PayPal)
111 Minna Gallery, Minna at 2nd Street
This past weekend the boyfriend and I dragged a huge blue bin full of stuff that had been rejected out of our closets to The Most Hyperbolically Stupendous Clothing Swap Ever! at Cellspace. Our hope had been to score at least a couple cool new items to improve our fashion standing, but, like our friend Chandler, who showed up with a suitcase of designer duds and left with most of them still in it, we sorta concluded that our stuff was way cooler than the the lame threads others had brought to unload.
Two acquaintances of ours, Monica and Jason, are the brains behind swapsf and this excellent idea - invite everybody to bring their old threads to a clothing swap, and then donate whatever is left to charity. Add some DJs, some drinks, some coffee, and you've got the makings of a fine hipster meet-up. The big problem, however, was that the crowd well exceeded the space, and after the swap had been open for only an hour it was like a scene out of some 1950s movie where the savagery of women is illustrated by their fighting over items at a one-day Macy's sale - except in this case, there were a lot more trucker hats. Every table was completely surrounded by culture vultures grabbing whatever caught their eyes as new carrion was dumped on the pile - in one case I saw someone come up with a bag of t-shirts, and within ten seconds they were all gone. Whatever remained on the tables for the casual browser were the items that had already been deemed unfit by the hiperatti, stuff that I could have found at Community Thrift on a bad day. Since we had long ago decided that the things we brought were going out the door one way or the other, it was overall a better experience than having those bitches at Crossroads pick through our stuff, but I was really disappointed that most people seemed to have brought stuff that was, well, just not that cool - and who knew that so many hipsters were size extra large? The boyfriend did score a cool suit jacket and a nice black shirt, but it seemed an awful low swap ratio.
I think this is a great idea, and I hope that the success of the last two events will move the next clothing swap to a bigger space, and perhaps inspire those participating to bring more than what they've decided is too worn out, or too ugly, to remain in their own closets.
From the SFPartyParty comes word of a meeting this Saturday, September 22, at the Eureka Recreation Center (18th and Collingwood in the Castro), of the Citizens for Halloween (organized by Bevan Dufty's political rival, Alix Rosenthal, interestingly enough). Interested in the Halloween imbroglio and what can be done about it? Then go check it out.
Okay, so it's generally indicative of how well the gay community relates to the rest of San Francisco party culture (or maybe it's the other way around) that LoveFest and Folsom Street Fair wind up on the same weekend. And while my Outlook calendar is so brimming with LoveFest parties for next weekend (mainly on Friday, I guess nobody wants to compete against Seismic at Mighty or the huge hullabaloos at 1015 and the Bill Graham), I've got nothing, nothing for Folsom Street Fair parties. Oh yeah, I know about Real Bad at (urgh) 1015 ($60 - $85, but at least the proceeds benefit LYRIC), and Magnitude ($75 retail, $90 at the door, thank you very much), the Folsom Eve Ball at the Porn Palace (sorry, an event that only has images of women just doesn't appeal to me very much), and Juanita More's Playboy event The Stud (which at least has Safety Scissors as a DJ going for it), but these are all the "official" events - what I want to know is, are there any "underground" parties going on? Any parties with music besides tribal diva house (now that's butch) or stereotypical industrial sounds (how many times will NIN be played this weekend)? Any parties that aren't in megaclubs or mega expensive? C'mon, I haven't had a chance to wear my latex doggie gear out in a really long time, gimme a clue about where I can get my fetish on.
The Saturday 'fore LoveFest all was quiet in The City, nar'y a party is happenin', 'tis such a pity.
Weeklies and Bar Nights
Drunk and Horny
Sorta like those high school parties you'd wished you'd had. Get drunk, flirt with boys, and dance to good-time party standards. Reliable, easy-going, and a short stumble home, but beware that it gets claustrophobically crowded. Check out my reviews of Drunk and Horny.
9PMish - 2.00AM (with maybe an afterparty)
Underground SF, 424 Haight Street x Webster
Frisco Disco at The Transfer
This night just recently started up at this new location and I haven't had a chance to check it out yet, but with tunes provided by the likes of Jefrodesiac and Richie Panic, and Lady Meleksah as the cruise director, there's some great potential for a good time.
No cover listed
9.00PM - 2.00AM
The Transfer, Church at Market
Weeklies and Bar Nights
Cosmic Gypsy Happy Hour with DJ Mak at the W Hotel
Get your lounge groove on with DJ Mak in this swank hotel bar.
6PM - 8PM
No cover
W Hotel, 181 3rd Street x Howard
The Jaded Gay DJ Recommends: 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.
9PM - close
NO COVER
The Cinch, 1723 Polk Street (between Clay and Washington)
Fag Fridays at The EndUp
Go check out Fag Fridays at The EndUp while you still can, remember that October 12 is the last night of the eleven year run in this location!
10PM - 6AM, and then Ascension starts up.
$20
The End Up, 6th x Harrison
Monthlies and One-Offs
Blow-Up at The Rickshaw Stop
Jefrodesiac (Frisco Disco) and Richie Panic mix it up with MC Jelly Donut, with special guest appearance by Stretch Armstrong.
9PM - 2AM
$10 before 11PM, $12 after
The Rickshaw Stop, 155 Fell at Van Ness
Deep End: Back in the Saddle at Supperclub
Another fundraiser for the biggest lil' danceclub on the playa.
9PM music in the bar, 11PM music in the main room
$15, $10 in playa or Western gear
Supperclub, 657 Harrison x 3rd
SF House Music Fundraiser for LoveFest Float at Mighty
Claude vonStroke and Mark Farina top the bill for this fundraiser for the SF House Music kids to have a float in the upcoming LoveFest. House house house house, house house house house . . . .
$10 - $20 sliding scale
10PM - 4AM
Mighty, 119 Utah
Waaaay back in June Rayna, the author and artist behind the modifyer blog, asked me to make a contribution to her Process series. Given that the other contributors included folks like apendics.shuffle, Philip Sherburne, and popnoname, it was a slightly intimidating invitation. And, as it turned out, an excruciating process that lasted more than three months. You can read all about it on modyfier, and download the mix, but the result was about an hour of minimal techno direct from my turntables to the CD recorder (no Ableton for me, kids!). Check it out, I'd love to hear what you all think.
Track List:
Dominik Eulberg and Gabriel Ananda - Schieder Kreisl
Styro 2000 - cremeschnitte
Jason Emsley - P.H.I.A.P.O.S.
Yapacc - take this away
Lurifax - Lobo rmx
Fletcher Mundson Syndrome - Lauter Leute
Carston Jost - divide et impera
Serafin - Starship Discotheque
Sascha Funke - I love this tent
Kontakt - Music Gewinnt Freunde
Okay, after much hemming and hawing and puzzling over technology, SFScene now has a feed, courtesy of Feedburner. Hit the link there on the left and you have the option to subscribe using some pretty standard readers, or, for the fully geeked, you can get the XML blahblahblah.
Of course music journalism has its own unique, um, style, which is pretty much the same game of intellectual one-up-manship played by people like, oh, say, Science Fiction fans, or a room full of second-year comparative literature grad students. In fact, put those two groups together and I guarantee that you will find at least one person who imagines themself as the next Lester Bangs (though we all know how that turned out).
Pitchfork Media is the current platform for all those aspiring Mallermes of the musical milieu. But I'll let The Onion take it from here. My favorite bit is the last paragraph:
Still, most analysts agreed that the impact of Pitchfork's scathing review of music will be dampened by the 2.4 rating it received from Pitchfork staff writer Dave Maher just moments after the initial critique was published online. Maher termed Schreiber's assessment of music "overwrought, masturbatory posturing intended to make insecure hipsters feel as if they're part of some imagined elite beau monde."
A brief profile of Jermaine "Jerm" Barley, the boy who hung himself in the Comfort and Joy tent at Burning Man, appears in today's SFGate. Seems like the kind of guy it's a shame for the world to lose.
Weeklies and Bar Nights
Drunk and Horny
Sorta like those high school parties you'd wished you'd had. Get drunk, flirt with boys, and dance to good-time party standards. Reliable, easy-going, and a short stumble home, but beware that it gets claustrophobically crowded. Check out my reviews of Drunk and Horny.
9PMish - 2.00AM (with maybe an afterparty)
Underground SF, 424 Haight Street x Webster
Frisco Disco at The Transfer
This night just recently started up at this new location and I haven't had a chance to check it out yet, but with tunes provided by the likes of Jefrodesiac and Richie Panic, and Lady Meleksah as the cruise director, there's some great potential for a good time.
No cover listed
9.00PM - 2.00AM
The Transfer, Church at Market
Monthlies and One-Offs
Vibrasphere at The Gingerbread House
The first San Francisco appearance from the Swedish standard-bearers of deep, progressive trance in four years. Two rooms, electro/house up and trance down, with many of the usual suspects from the SF psytrance scene.
$20 advance tickets (hit the link above to purchase online or check the retail outlets)
10PM - 6AM
The Gingerbread House, Connecticut at Cesar Chavez
Substance at The End Up
Synthpop, new wave, 80s, electro, etc. with DJs The Melting Girl (Death Guild), Damon (1984), Dangerous Dan (1984), Donimo (Shadowplay and Lucky Pierre) and Tomas Diablo (Strangelovae). Be advised that Paul Addis has been invited to make an appearance at this month's installment.
$15 (?)
9.30PM - 6AM (and then the T-Dance starts)
The Endup, 401 6th Street, 6th x Harrison
9.30PM - 6AM
Back when I was more of a trance-head I was really into the smooth, progressive, deep sounds of the Swedes known as Vibrasphere, and for the first time in four years they're making an appearance in San Francisco. I picked up a couple of their tracks last year and the vibe is still there, so if you're into that kind of sound, you should definitely check this out. Here are all the deets:
Line-Up:
<>
DUTCH ((((thum pradio)))/inner eye)
MICHAEL LIU (illumination records/stilldream)
SENTIENT (vaporvent/synchronize)
*CHRISTINE* (vaporvent/infinite webb)
OBU (bombay power/outpost23)
EPSILON (preserve/secret psychedelica)
TORIN (dawn patrol)
<<>>
DENISE (mizumo music/sound asylum)
MACADIO (first light/defsf)
SERG ROCKWELL (rokrite)
DEXX (earwacks/evolution)
DJ REMINISCE (all in the family/earwacks)
JERRY CHIU (pure.fm)
MOROCCO SLIM (bumpty hump/earwacks)
DJ PM (outpost/love allstars)
details >
audio // HARDSCIENCE
visual // VIBERATION GRAPHICS and OOZE SYSTEM
San Francisco CA // 10pm to 6am // 18+
415.762.3638
www.vibrasphere-sf.com
location>
The Gingerbread House
@ Connecticut St. and Cesar Chavez St.
tickets >
Advance ticket information > purchase tickets now to guarantee entry and save on admission
$20 Advance tickets are now available at www.vibrasphere-sf.com
Standard retail tickets are available at these locations:
Reverb > 1816 Haight St, San Francisco, 415.221.4142
Skills DJ Workshop > 2566A Telegraph Ave, Berkeley, 510.704.9876
Paramount Imports > 455 Meridian Ave, San Jose, 408.286.9839
Channelz > 2371 Arden Way, Sacramento, 916.641.8808
Weeklies and Bar Nights
Cosmic Gypsy Happy Hour with DJ Mak at the W Hotel
Get your lounge groove on with DJ Mak in this swank hotel bar.
6PM - 8PM
No cover
W Hotel, 181 3rd Street x Howard
The Jaded Gay DJ Recommends: 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.
9PM - close
NO COVER
The Cinch, 1723 Polk Street (between Clay and Washington)
Fag Fridays at The EndUp
Reliable, not all that exciting, typical San Francisco deep house, but it's gay and you can stay until the next afternoon.
10PM - 6AM, and then Ascension starts up
$20
The End UP, 6th x Harrison
Monthlies and One-Offs
The Jaded Gay DJ Recommends: Lights Down Low at Club 222
This week's installment, Space Disco 2007, features the Gemini Disco Gang and Mikkee Lixx, with resident DJs Sleazemore and Rchrd OH!? Check out my previous reviews of Lights Down Low.
10PM - 2AM
$7
Club 222, 222 Hyde Street x Turk
The Rod at Deco Lounge
For all the gay boys who want to pretend that it's 1979. Unfortunately, I'm not one of them. Check out my review of The Rod.
10PM - 4AM
FREE before 10PM, $5 After
Deco Lounge, 510 Larkin at Turk
Monthlies and One-Offs
Disco Hook-Up 2007 with Hey Willpower at The Rickshaw Stop
Also featuring Oakland's Hot Tub and and Orange County's Voxhaul Broadcast, and DJ Omar of Popscene on the decks.
10PM - 2AM
$8 before 11, $10 after, advance tix available if you hit the link above.
The Rickshaw Stop, 155 Fell x Van Ness
Word comes to me that Paul Addis will be "holding court" at Substance at The End Up this Saturday. Maybe this will encourage you to go, maybe it will encourage you to go elsewhere, maybe it will inspire the prankster in you - all I'm doing is relaying the information, it's up to you to do with it what you will.
Judging by comments I've started to receive from my post below, I've aligned myself with the "uncool kids" by thinking that there was something wrong with the actions of Paul Addis at Burning Man. I considered responding in depth in the comments, but given that today marks the anniversary of another event that provoked world discussion through the destruction of an iconic structure, it seems that this might be a great opportunity to discuss the ethics of destruction.
Let me state my position clearly: I think what Paul Addis did was wrong because it was an action filled with contempt for the work of others, that it was nihilist rather than artistic, and because it threatens the principle of mutual respect that makes radical community possible. This is completely separate from what I feel about Burning Man as an event (which I recognize has issues it must deal with), what I think of Larry Harvy or the Burning Man organization (with which I have had only slight interaction), or how I feel about "The Man" itself as one iconic structure among the many in the world.
Let's start by talking about The Man as an object. Though others obviously disagree, I see it as something that was created by a group of people, who invested their labor into it, and who had an intention for it. You may try to argue that it was a "craft" and not "art," and you may argue that, because it is serially reproduced year after year, it is also not art. This is all pure semantics, and has no bearing on the fact that people worked to create it, invested it with intention, and saw it, in some way, as a personal expression of what they were giving to the community. Those who created the man were acting as participants, which, supposedly, is what is most valued by all members of the Burning Man community.
This object, however, is also imbued with iconic meaning. For many, it is a negative icon, symbolizing everything that they think is wrong with Burning Man. For years people, mostly those who see themselves as part of the older, more authentic Burning Man experience, have talked about burning it early in a symbolic act of defiance. So after many years of talking about destroying this symbol, someone does it, and is instantly acclaimed "a hero" by people like Chicken John Rinaldi and others who consider themselves part of the original Burning Man experience.
Those who find this act praiseworthy seem to take the position that what Addis did was an act of radical self-expression, that the intent was to make a statement about art, about the corporate nature of Burning Man, about the loss of spontaneity at the event, etc. But all of this ignores the nature and intent of the act itself. I can do many things that are provocative and make a statement about something - I can blow up a building, paint swastikas on a church, or slash a painting in a gallery - but just because they provoke a discussion and make a statement doesn't make them ethical. The consideration of the ethical dimension of Addis' act is what has been completely left out of all these discussions, as though the intent justified the means.
It is obvious from Addis' various statements, most notably the one that appeared on Laughing Squid, that he holds all those who are not part of the original Burning Man experience in contempt, an attitude shared by many others. It is also obvious, from his action itself, that he holds the work invested in the object of The Man in contempt - it is something worthy only of being destroyed. Thus it seems to me that Addis acted out of a general contempt for the experience and work of others. In my view, this makes his action unethical.
But what about it as a prank, about it being in the spirit of the original Burning Man experience? For me, a prank is like what John Law did with The Man in 1997, the year of the Smiley Face. John Law also has taken a very critical stance toward Burning Man, and wanted to make a statement about it. His statement was to *create* something of his own that commented on Burning Man - in other words, he created art. And this is where Addis' act is completely different, in that it was only about destruction. Destruction isn't art, it's nihilism.
Finally, what did Addis' action accomplish? Judging from the commentary on this and other online forums, it has only caused even more polarization and factionalizing in the Burning Man community, a hardening of already opposing positions that will now be even more difficult to resolve; thus, instead of bringing about a synthesis, of provoking dialogue between these various factions, Addis has only succeeded in breaking apart the community even further.
When our community begins to hold someone like Paul Addis up as a "hero," I think we have truly lost our way, because it means that our heroes are nihilists who are incapable of creation, only destruction. Addis' action may be seen as an act of "radical self-expression," but it is self-expression that is completely devoid of any respect for the labor of others, their intents, and their expression. If that's our hero, then we are deep trouble, and I think that the values of our alternative community are no longer viable, because we have lost the main quality that makes community possible: mutual respect.
Last night the boyfriend pointed out to me how ironic it was that this is all taking place during the 40th anniversary of the Summer of Love, another moment in time when it seemed that the alterative community was poised to make real changes in the world. But that moment collapsed for many of the same reasons that the Burning Man community now seems to be collapsing, a victim of its own success, with in-fighting over issues of authenticity, how to manage a community that has grown well beyond its original members, how to keep its values alive when they are being disseminated on a massive scale. What has been most striking to me in all of this is how whether or not you agree with Addis' action seems to have become the mark of whether or not you are an authentic Burner, whether you are part of the despised establishment or can count yourself as a true participant, one of the heads. I think that what David Addis did was wrong because it was unethical, because it did not respect the labor and intent of others, and because it was based on a general contempt for all those not part of an in group; if that means I'm not an authentic Burner, I can live with that.
Steven Jones gives Chicken John some press in this San Francisco Bay Guardian article on Burning Man that centers mostly on the Paul Addis' arson of the man and reactions to it. Jones explains how Chicken John and Addis have known each other since 1995, and that CJ even kicked Addis out of his Odeon bar a couple times. No surprises there, since San Francisco is a small town, and the core of old-skool burners is even smaller. But then there's this lovely quote from Chicken John:
"[Addis is] a hero. He did the thing that we've been talking about doing for a decade," Rinaldi said. "No matter how misguided he was, his intention was to facilitate art."
Umm, how does that work exactly, facilitating art by destroying something that someone else has created? I guess I'm just a grump, but I don't see where Addis' action is facilitative, helpful, or even a good prank, because it involved the destruction of something created by someone else. To me, it's akin to burning a book, destroying someone else's creation because you don't like what it represents (and no, it's not the same as that iconic gesture of flag burning, because a flag is a reproduction, not an original work - how would we feel about some slashing a Van Gogh to make a statement?).
In an earlier post I talked about why I have trouble with Chicken John's campaign, but now we have someone who is holding himself up as a guardian and supporter of the arts commending Addis as a "hero" for destroying someone else's work. Does Chicken John think it's okay to destroy art if you don't agree with it? Is that how he's going to improve the condition of the arts community in San Francisco?
There's an article in today's New York Times about the last Misshapes party that went down in SoHo on Saturday night. For those of you who have not been following the New York scene (and why aren't you?), the Misshapes have been the big IT kids for about four years now, winding up as DJs for big fashion shows and now having spun off a blog, a clothing line, and a photo book. My favorite line in the article is "In 2002 Geordon Nicol, 23; Greg Krelenstein, 28; and Leigh Lezark, 23 — self-styled D.J.’s known more for their post-new-wave aesthetics than their turntable skills — started their nightlife careers with a one-off at Luke & Leroy." You know, if you just have the right style, and you can get the other stylish kids to show up too, then the whole music thing doesn't really matter.
It's a good article in that it gets right down to the whole damned if you do/damned if you don't aspect of the hipster club scene - if you're not hip enough, then nobody pays attention to you, but if you get to be the hip party, then everybody is sooooo over you and spends the rest of their time sniping at you. Sorta like Burning Man here. Me, I'm slowly becoming of the same opinion as one of the kids quoted in the article: “The new hot party is the dinner party." At least at my own parties I have no one but myself to blame if the music sucks.
Well, now that everyone's back from the playa, it's time to shift from fundraisers to decompression parties.
Weeklies and Bar Nights
Drunk and Horny
Sorta like those high school parties you'd wished you'd had. Get drunk, flirt with boys, and dance to good-time party standards. Reliable, easy-going, and a short stumble home, but beware that it gets claustrophobically crowded. Check out my reviews of Drunk and Horny.
9PMish - 2.00AM (with maybe an afterparty)
Underground SF, 424 Haight Street x Webster
Frisco Disco at The Transfer
This night just recently started up at this new location and I haven't had a chance to check it out yet, but with tunes provided by the likes of Jefrodesiac and Richie Panic, and Lady Meleksah as the cruise director, there's some great potential for a good time.
No cover listed
9.00PM - 2.00AM
The Transfer, Church at Market
Monthlies and One-Offs
Dust Buster with Pink Mammoth at Mighty
Pink Mammoth resident Gravity, along with Andy on percussion, will be joining Black
Rock's top DJs spinning memories across the dance floor, with footage on the big screens from BM 07 all night long.
FREE with playa'fied gear, $5 otherwise
10.00PM - 4.00AM
Mighty, 119 Utah Street
Kontrol Underground with Galoppierende Zuversicht
And to think that I took years of German just so I could spell that without looking at the copy. Check out Zurich's hottest contribution to minimal techno, along with your favorite Kontrol DJs at this special underground location (hmmm, 16.8.2 surround sound - only one place in the City I know of with that kind of system). LIMITED CAPACITY OF 150 PEEPS!
$20
10.00PM - 6.00AM
Directions on Saturday by hitting the link above
