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
Showing posts with label 111 Minna. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 111 Minna. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Event Review: FUK Werk Fridays at 111 Minna
The FUK Werk techno happy hour at 111 Minna is a welcome attempt to bring minimal techno to a wider audience in a well-known and easygoing space, but on my afterwork visit both the sound system and the DJ couldn't cut through the noise of busy bees trying to connect with their hive mates.
The boyfriend and I rolled in around 5.30 and installed ourselves in a booth in the back room where a blonde woman (who I think was Susan Tobiason) was getting started behind the decks. The first thing that we commented on was the lousy quality of the sound, all bass and tweeter with no middle whatsoever. The result was an echoing, muddy low-end without any focus or snap to the rest of the sound. I think house has been the main staple of 111 Minna parties for a while, so it may be that the system is tuned for that kind of music more than minimal techno, where you need that mid-range to give the music presence.
The tracks themselves didn't help much with putting over the techno aesthetic. They were minimal in composition, but, unfortunately, in drive as well. As they boyfriend put it, they had no funk, no change-up, just a steady chugchug bassline, one of the most sterile, emotionless sets I've heard in a while. The DJ did not seem very comfortable behind the decks; we couldn't tell, but it seemed she was working off a laptop and it was consuming much of her, and another gentleman's, attention. She was chewing gum somewhat nervously, and never seemed to get into her own music. I always take it as a bad sign when DJs don't feel moved to bop along to their own tracks.
The crowd was young and diverse, from dreaddy white boys to Asian and Indian tech workers to at least one guy in a business suit. None of them in the back room, though, seemed that much into the music. There were lots of drinks and lots of chatter, and I suspect that many people were there as much because it was on their way home as because techno was being played.
FUK Werk Fridays is a good afterwork drink scene and I'll be sure to check it out periodically; I only work two blocks away, after all. The party is just getting started, so I think both the performance and sound issues will resolve themselves as time goes on. The crowd is generally okay, but stay toward the back room if you don't want to deal with all the busy bee buzzing.
The boyfriend and I rolled in around 5.30 and installed ourselves in a booth in the back room where a blonde woman (who I think was Susan Tobiason) was getting started behind the decks. The first thing that we commented on was the lousy quality of the sound, all bass and tweeter with no middle whatsoever. The result was an echoing, muddy low-end without any focus or snap to the rest of the sound. I think house has been the main staple of 111 Minna parties for a while, so it may be that the system is tuned for that kind of music more than minimal techno, where you need that mid-range to give the music presence.
The tracks themselves didn't help much with putting over the techno aesthetic. They were minimal in composition, but, unfortunately, in drive as well. As they boyfriend put it, they had no funk, no change-up, just a steady chugchug bassline, one of the most sterile, emotionless sets I've heard in a while. The DJ did not seem very comfortable behind the decks; we couldn't tell, but it seemed she was working off a laptop and it was consuming much of her, and another gentleman's, attention. She was chewing gum somewhat nervously, and never seemed to get into her own music. I always take it as a bad sign when DJs don't feel moved to bop along to their own tracks.
The crowd was young and diverse, from dreaddy white boys to Asian and Indian tech workers to at least one guy in a business suit. None of them in the back room, though, seemed that much into the music. There were lots of drinks and lots of chatter, and I suspect that many people were there as much because it was on their way home as because techno was being played.
FUK Werk Fridays is a good afterwork drink scene and I'll be sure to check it out periodically; I only work two blocks away, after all. The party is just getting started, so I think both the performance and sound issues will resolve themselves as time goes on. The crowd is generally okay, but stay toward the back room if you don't want to deal with all the busy bee buzzing.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Your Friday Guide
For some reason, Fridays have become my favorite night to go out. I'm not sure why this is, but it seems that most of the events of interest to me happen on Fridays. Well, that's just fine, more time to recover. So, for this Friday the jaded gay DJ recommends:
FUK werk Fridays Happy Hour at 111 Minna
A new minimal techno happy hour in downtown, yee-haa!
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 (the DJs should update their bios, since they refer to clubs that don't exist any more)
The Rod at Deco
FREE before 10, $5 after, where the guys tend to be a bit frisky, though the music is all disco-retro
Charlie Horse at The Cinch
Free entry, easy-going, cheap strong drinks, crazy drag escapades, a good place to put down a couple on a Friday night when you're looking for a low-key but entertaining evening
Lights Down Low at 222 Club
I've not had a chance to check out this night yet but it seems interesting (despite the cliche "sexy girls" video they have on their myspace page), with good reviews for the bar itself on Yelp. If anybody goes and can give a report, please do so for the benefit of myself and everyone else looking for a good time. This Friday is DJ Sleazemore's birthday, so expect some celebrating.
Not sure where I'll end up at this point; I've heard that there's a tattoo studio in Oakland that will do a "13" for you on Friday the 13th for 13 dollars, so the boyfriend and I may be getting inked with a friend of his, and lord knows what we'll get up to after that. I'll be sure to let you know, though.
FUK werk Fridays Happy Hour at 111 Minna
A new minimal techno happy hour in downtown, yee-haa!
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 (the DJs should update their bios, since they refer to clubs that don't exist any more)
The Rod at Deco
FREE before 10, $5 after, where the guys tend to be a bit frisky, though the music is all disco-retro
Charlie Horse at The Cinch
Free entry, easy-going, cheap strong drinks, crazy drag escapades, a good place to put down a couple on a Friday night when you're looking for a low-key but entertaining evening
Lights Down Low at 222 Club
I've not had a chance to check out this night yet but it seems interesting (despite the cliche "sexy girls" video they have on their myspace page), with good reviews for the bar itself on Yelp. If anybody goes and can give a report, please do so for the benefit of myself and everyone else looking for a good time. This Friday is DJ Sleazemore's birthday, so expect some celebrating.
Not sure where I'll end up at this point; I've heard that there's a tattoo studio in Oakland that will do a "13" for you on Friday the 13th for 13 dollars, so the boyfriend and I may be getting inked with a friend of his, and lord knows what we'll get up to after that. I'll be sure to let you know, though.
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