Event Review: Fuck Shit, Let's Dance! at Deco Lounge

Friday's turnout for FSLD was frankly disappointing, and as a result August will be the last installment, at least at Deco. We're a bit bummed about it, as you might expect, but also fairly sanguine, since even if this experiment didn't play out quite as expected, we did have fun with it and learned some things for our next venture.

I think we had a number of factors working against us this month, not the least of which was being forced out of what would have certainly been our best night, Pride Friday, last month. Had we had access to Deco on that date I think we could have had a very successful event that would have helped us attract a larger following. Instead, we essentially had to start up all over again after a two month break. My being out of town for a week after Pride also threw off our usual promotional schedule, then, this week I got laid up with a serious case of strep throat, so I didn't have the resources to dedicate to promoting the way I would have liked. This was also the first month we went without a headliner.

This isn't to say that we didn't have some fun this time; I particularly enjoyed watching two men in their mid-40s quasi slam dancing to Hearthrob's "Futures Past," which I can guarantee has never happened in a gay bar before. We also had a good turnout of friends and several groups of very cute alternaguys. When we talked to one group as they were leaving they told us that they thought the music was excellent and we should keep doing it, which was certainly encouraging in contrast with the older fellow who got into a long discussion with Lord Kook about how he should "make compromises" and "play some older stuff that people like to to dance to" if he wanted to be a successful DJ who got flown to New York and paid $5000 a gig. Lord Kook's response was that he would be perfectly happy to be flown to New York, sleep on somebody's couch, play for three hundred people, and have *no* expenses paid without having to compromise on his music.

I think that contrast, between the small group of younger guys who seemed to dig what we were trying to do, and the older guy who wanted us to cater to popular taste despite whatever our own aesthetic might be, sums up the whole FSLD experience for me so far. Our focus has always been contrarian, an insistence on our own aesthetic, and on presenting what we think is the most interesting and fun dance music beyond anything else. If we had played the usual fare, and gone for the usual gimmicks - baby oil wrestling and Abba, anyone? - we probably would have been a lot more popular because that's what people want and expect. As it was we did, every time, attract the kind of people we wanted to engage with, but we were never able to make the transition into being a consistent scene.

We certainly made some miscalculations and missteps along the way, and there have definitely been times when I've wondered about the effect of the opinions expressed in this blog on our status within "the scene". At the same time we also expected more support from certain quarters, but now we also have a better sense of who is really into our aesthetic and what we're trying to do, and where to focus our energies and creative engagements in the future

Just because we'll be leaving Deco in August doesn't mean we'll be leaving the scene; on the contrary, this experience has only emboldened me to be even more contrary, and to keep cultivating our small patch of the scene. I still believe in techno as some of the most interesting , fun, sexy music being produced today, and that it can serve as the foundation for nights of wild hedonism. I still believe that Lord Kook is one of the best young DJs on the scene and deserves a much wider audience. I still believe that there is a market for a dance night that strips away the shit and gets down to the heart of the matter, which is boozing, cruising, having fun with your friends, and dancing. And I completely believe that we will keep trying, again and again, until it all comes together. If you believe any of these things, come out to Deco with us on August 22nd, we'll do our best to show you a good time and lay the groundwork for the future.

FSLD August :: Your last chance to hear us for the first time!

Upcoming Event: Fuck Shit, Let's Dance! (FSLD) at Deco Lounge, Friday, July 25

After our month off for our Pride parties, FSLD returns to Deco Lounge this Friday with yours truly and Lord Kook spinning a night of techno for adventurous faggots who want to get down!

Fuck Shit, Let's Dance!
with Residents Lord Kook and DJ Pup
FREE before 10, $5 after
Deco Lounge, 510 Larkin x Turk

Pink Saturday Set List

As I mentioned in my post about Pride, DJing at Pink Saturday was one of the very best experiences I've had in a long time. It was my first time on the decks in public in almost six months, and the first time I've played a set that was exclusively on CDs. Since a couple people have asked, here's what I played:

Time to Jak - A Guy Called Gerald
Magneto - Reference
Modus Operandy - Original Mix (Digital Only) - Roland M. Dill
D-Day - Original Mix - Marc Antona
Back - Original Mix - Ben Klock
Nebula - L.exx Aurel
Unbreakable - Exercise One Fragile Mix - Sweet N Candy
Hold My Hand - Dubfire Dub - UNKLE
Krook - Hugg & Pepp
Ask Your Druggist (Lutzenkirchen Remix) - Andreas Henneberg
Half Truth - Original Mix - Arne Michel
Beautiful Life - Gui Boratto

I hope to have a recorded version of this available in the next week or so.

I'm really looking forward to the upcoming Fuck Shit, Let's Dance (FSLD) on Friday, July 25th at Deco. it's going to be just me and the Lord Kook this time, and we're really, really gonna do the techno night we've always wanted to do. Sooooo, if you see stuff in here that you like, come check us out.

Event Review: Fuck Shit, Let's Dance! (FSLD) at Deco Lounge

This past Friday’s installment of Fuck Shit, Let’s Dance! (FSLD) was about all that a boy could ask for in a birthday party, though I wish I had been feeling a bit better from this crummy upper respiratory infection that has been dragging me down for the past two weeks.

For me birthdays are always a time of perspective, an opportunity to look back over the previous year and assess how things had developed, and I’m happy to say that this year’s ruminations were pretty positive. Last year I had set my sights on starting a club night, which has come to pass, and as I looked around Deco on Friday evening I had ample opportunity to think about all the new friends and acquaintances I’ve made over this past year. Even better, there were many people who I had no idea who they were, which only contributed to the feeling that things in my life are still growing and developing.

We had great sets from all participants, with Lord Kook tag-teaming with both Jovino and Kenvulsion during different parts of the night, and I think overall it was the most consistent vibe we’ve had yet. I especially enjoyed the old-school techno that Ken brought, which still sounds remarkably fresh and deep when you put it up against contemporary tracks.

Yesterday I ran into my friend Chickpea, who told me he’d been at a potluck in the East Bay where some boys were talking about going to a rave at Deco. Puzzled, he dug a little deeper and found out that they were talking about coming to FSLD. Well, it’s not quite a rave, but we’re trying. In June we’re taking a break to do Mr. for Gay Pride, and then in July we’re coming back with a slightly different format in mind, but still with techno, tech-house, and minimal as the main choices on the musical menu. We know where we want to go, it’s just a question of how to get there from here, and I have faith that next year’s birthday party will find us having successfully arrived.

Event Review: Fuck Shit Let's Dance (FSLD) at Deco Lounge

Last night's fourth installment of Fuck Shit, Let's Dance! (FSLD) at Deco had a somewhat smaller turnout (a disappointment considering it was the first time it wasn't raining and freezing cold since we've begun) and we had some issues with crowd timing, but it also helped us reach a conclusion about some format changes we've been considering.

FSLD has taken off later and later in the evening since we've started, and this has complicated our sense of timing. Last night, though there was a steady trickle of ones and twos through the door after 10, it wasn't until around 11.30 that we began to see the larger groups arrive. When I checked in on the dancefloor around midnight there was a nice turnout of gay boys grooving to Lord Kook's set and I thought, cool, all is well. While there were guys who arrived early and stayed almost all the way to 2.30, there was also the typical departure of folks between 1.00 and 1.30. When the really late crowd arrived to replace them, they found a mostly empty dance floor (I subsequently discovered that about half the party was upstairs in the lounge, while the other half was outside smoking) and that, instead of our advertised techno, Donimo was into a hard electro set. As a result a group of about six gay alternaboys, and three rolly-looking raver kids, arrived, walked through the club, and subsequently departed. It left the boyfriend and I heartbroken, as this is exactly the crowd we see as being crucial to our nascent little scene, and I hope we can win them back in the future by making some format changes.

When we first conceived of FSLD we thought it would be cool to have a headliner every month because we know so many DJs, we wanted to develop a sense of community with them, and we thought we would get some cross-promotional turnout. This hasn't exactly worked out the way we expected in terms of the actual event. Since the crowd has been showing up later, it also means that they've been turning out in force toward the end of Lord Kook's set and the very beginning of the headliner. Unfortunately, a vibe is a delicate thing, and I'm afraid that we've been putting our crowd and our DJs in the unfortunate position where, just as you're getting into the groove, you have to deal with a change-up, the spell is broken, and the energy has to build itself back again.

Having already seen this happen a couple times in our four events, we've been thinking about ways to work on the timing issue, and so, after Ken Vulsion's appearance next month at FSLD, and Mr. with Beatbox Events, Big Top, and Fag Fridays at Mighty in June, we're going to change up the format in July and concentrate more on developing our own group of DJs and delivering a consistent musical journey. Practically, this probably means that we'll keep the rotating opener, which has gone over very well every time, put Lord Kook on for a longer set (probably 11.30 - 2.00), and then I'll bat clean-up for whatever duration the party continues. Though I've really loved bringing in folks like Baron von Luxxury and Johnatron, Dee Jay Pee Play, Donimo, and DJ6, what I found out last night through a couple conversations is that what people really want is techno, and I think we need to develop a trust in ourselves to deliver it to them. It's a bit funny, really, since we thought we would first need to engage people through electro or other means before springing the techno on them, but having now advertised "faggot techno" we're getting people who want true techno, so I guess we should give it to them.

Among the gratifying experiences of last night was seeing several folks who had come back for a another visit after last month, and getting a very nice compliment from David Peterson of Fag Fridays about Lord Kook's set. I think that we may have also helped facilitate at least a couple hook-ups, judging from the wink one fellow gave me as he departed with someone who had arrived much earlier and separately. I guess it's in the whole nature of the game to be fretful about your parties - it's a consistent topic of conversation with other promoters I know - and want them to blossom into this perfect, ideal event, but, no matter how you plan and promote, everything comes down to the interactions between individuals, and those are the things against which you need to judge your success, rather than that ideal. Everyone wants to have a big party, since there's status behind that, and it provides both material and emotional support for what you're doing, but size only matters as a means to putting an optimal number of objects in motion and having them bounce off one another, so to speak. As long as we can keep things moving, as long as we can keep catalyzing reactions and combinations, through whatever musical or other means, I think it's worth continuing on with the experiment even if we need to adjust our formula.

Upcoming Event: Fuck Shit, Let's Dance at Deco Lounge, Friday April 25

Man, that was a fast month! This Friday, April 25, Fuck Shit Let's Dance, aka FSLD, presents another installment of Faggot Techno at Deco Lounge. This time we have the Prince of Lounge Grooves, DJ Mak, opening up and easing you into your Friday evening, then Lord Kook takes to the decks from 10.30 - 12.30 with all kinds of funky minimal, tech-house, and nu-funk grooves, followed up by the incomparable DJ Donimo of Lucky Pierre, Substance, and Shadowplay fame providing his interpretation of faggot techno for the crowd that likes to dress in black. Last time we had to kill the dancefloor at 3AM because one of the bartenders got sick, but this time we're going to see if we can keep it going until 4, so come prepared!

Fuck Shit, Let's Dance (FSLD)
presents
Faggot Techno!
A dance party for queers and their friends
Guest DJs Donimo and DJ Mak
Resident DJ Lord Kook
9PM - 3AM
FREE before 10, $5 after
Deco Lounge, 510 Larkin x Turk (4 blocks from Civic Center MUNI)

Event Review: Fuck Shit Let's Dance! at Deco Lounge

This past Friday was our third installment of Fuck Shit, Let's Dance! at Deco Lounge, and I was amazed that, at 2AM, we had a crazy dancefloor and, at 3AM, we had to reluctantly shoo people out of the club. The dance action started at 10PM with Neco D's set, continued on through Lord Kook and PeePlay, and I think we could have kept it going until 4AM with a hardcore crowd of draq queens and club kids if one of the bartenders hadn't gotten sick and needed to head out.

I'm beginning to think that the words "Fourth Fridays" are synonymous with rain; as we were loading the gear into our carshare Scion at 7.30 the first cold drops were starting to come down, and when we arrived at Deco it was looking like a soggy night. Fortunately the rain cleared off later in the evening, but I think it might have played a part in a slightly smaller turnout this time. No matter; whatever deficit we had in patrons, the ones who were there more than made up for it with being some of the most dedicated dancers I've seen in ages. There were guys (and a couple girls) who danced their way through all three DJs, from Neco D's housey grooves up through Lord Kook and PeePlay's excursions into Faggot Techno. We gave away almost all our copies of the "Now That's What I Call Faggot Techno Vol. I" CDs that had been put together by Lord Kook, and I talked to a couple guys (including a cutie who works down at Cliff's Variety Store on Castro) who said that, though they had come out to FSLD purely out of random motivation, it was one of the best nights of being out dancing that they had in a long time.

As for me, this was the installment of FSLD that convinced me we might really be on to something, that the very simple idea of a night dedicated to dancing, drinking, and having fun with friends is something that people want, and that the music we're interested in playing is something that others enjoy as well. We had a hugely diverse crowd, everyone seemed to have a good time, and I think it's more than worthwhile to keep this experiment going for a while longer to see what we can really make of it.



Neco D gets the floor moving.



PeePlay gets their hands in the air, and I can only watch and smile.



Lord Kook contemplates his next move.



PeePlay and Lord Kook grooving on some collaborative tag-team action. Bonus points to anyone who can identify the punk rock track where the lyrics "You are the target" come from (contained also in the first track from our "Now That's What I Call Faggot Techno" compilation).

Upcoming Event: Fuck Shit, Let's Dance! Friday March 28

It's that time of the month kids, another installment of Fuck Shit, Let's Dance! at Deco Lounge this Friday, March 28. Our line-up:

Neco D - 9 - 10.30ish
Lord Kook - 10.30 - 12.30
PeePlay - 12.30 - 2.30

And after PeePlay it's the freeform set, so we'll see what the crowd is like at that point and who wants to get up on the decks. Whatever happens, it will be a night of Faggot Techno like you can't hear anywhere else!

Here's the deets:

9PM - "late"
Deco Lounge, Turk x Larkin
$5, FREE before 10PM

See you all there!

Dueling Drag Diva Divertisements

I was postering through the Castro yesterday evening for Fuck Shit, Let's Dance, and as I was about to tape a poster to a lightpole I noticed something; every other event that had postered that pole featured a drag queen. There was Suppositori Spelling on the Lucky Pierre poster (who, that night, actually played strip poker and we got to see how much of a boy she really is!); Heklina on the Bearracuda poster (which advertised a full-on drag show at midnight); the Monster Show with Cookie Dough at Harvey's; and two Trannyshack events, the Big Sleazy and the Trannyshack Reno show.

Now, granted, I assumed that the forces of Heklina were behind several of these posters, but it did stop and make me think about something I've been pondering for a while, which is the significance of drag to the San Francisco gay nightlife scene. Aside from these events, there's also Charlie Horse at The Cinch and other events at Deco and Aunt Charlie's Lounge, and drag shows have also been big parts of parties from Comfort and Joy and Honey Sound System; in fact, it seems that, if you don't have some kind of drag performer or performance associated with your event, you're missing an important component of what people have come to expect.

Now, I'm not being critical of this - Lord knows, after the dust-up with the furries, the last thing I need is a bunch of pissed-off drag queens on my ass - but I do find it curious, as I don't remember drag being such a big deal when I first moved here in 1999. I was later talking with a friend about this, someone who has lived here a lot longer than I have, and he confirmed that drag queens did seem to be a much bigger deal in the scene now than they were back then.

My theory is that it all has to do with the success of Trannyshack, and the number of Miss Trannyshack winners who have decided to use their title to further themselves in the nightlife scene, which is entirely appropriate. I think Juanita More is the first former Miss Trannyshack I became aware of as an actual promoter, and then there's Midnight Mass from Peaches Christ as well.

So, I'm curious to hear from you all about this; do you think that drag has increased in prominence in the SF scene over the past decade or so, and, if so, why? If it's because of Miss Trannyshack, do you think that, since it's now coming to an end, this will change the complexion (so to speak) of the overall scene? What do you think drag means for the scene in general?

Event Review: Fuck Shit Let's Dance at Deco

Our second installment of FSLD matched the first in terms of numbers, though the energy was a bit different and the presence of gay boys somewhat diminished. The compensating factor was a crossover of "straights," which, along with a conversation with Baron von Luxxury on the history of disco, helped me refine my idea of what I'm trying to accomplish with this night. We also learned that we can function with great agility in the face of the, um, challenges that club promoting presents. We still have a few things to figure out about this particular space and event, but I think that's what makes throwing a monthly party an interesting experiment in party logistics and mass psychology.

First, the numbers: the clicker showed 126 when we closed out, which is nine short of the last time. There were some people I was expecting to see who didn't make it out, which would have filled in a good chunk of that. In the further game of "who are these people," we had one group of five young Asian couples show up, and during Lord Kook's set he had the rapt attention of four young women who let out with a periodic "wa-hoo!" while grooving to his set - though a rather unusual situation for him, he did seem to enjoy their enthusiasm. There were several male/female couples, including the very hip DJ Candy (Bender, Heat) and her husband Twig (artist-in-residence at Heat), and another couple that I swear were tripping tits, since I couldn't understand a damn thing they were saying to me all night (I later had reason to believe that she was the ex-propriertress of Jezebel's Joint, the club that had previously been in the Deco building, though I couldn't find anyone to confirm that). The gay guys who did show up were of a pleasingly diverse variety, though I was especially happy that the neo-tribal and punkish alternaboys were well represented. Among our scenester stars were Johnny Cocksville, who wandered the club with a crop, looking for a suitable object upon which to apply it, Dan Karasic and DJ Donimo of Lucky Pierre, and DJ6 of Lucky Pierre and Bender. I would be remiss if I didn't also mention the giant pink and green rabbit, and Superboy.

As for the challenges, they ranged from personnel problems to blown speakers. Kitty, our coat check girl, called me at 5.30 and told me he'd had to go in for a root canal during the morning and was in no shape for a long late night. I was able to find a substitute, but then when we arrived at the club it was pointed out to us that one of the main suspended floor speakers, a JBL 15, had a completely shredded cone. We all scratched our heads over how this had happened (Kiko, the security guy, said it was like that when he showed up for work on Wednesday, and the club was closed on Monday and Tuesday), since those things are pretty indestructible, but there was only one thing to do: I got in the rental car, came home, loaded up one of my own JBLs, and got back to set it up fifteen minutes before we we were supposed to open. This still left us with the tasks of setting up the downstairs and cleaning up the coat check area, but all was ready on the dot of 9.

Though we were ready to go at the appointed time, it still took a while for things to take off. At 10.30 I was wondering where the hell everybody was, but by 11.30 we had a solid dancefloor. Neonbunny played a great set of harder electro to an unfortunately mostly empty room, and when Baron von Luxxury and Johnatron came on after Lord Kook they too had moments when the dancefloor seemed to thin out. This seemed to be another big difference from the first FSLD, when the dance floor was packed the entire time, though we also had a lot more in and out traffic this time as well. I was scheduled to go on at 2.00 when the Baron and Johnatron came off, but the dance floor energy was fragile enough that I decided it needed a more confident and able guide, and turned things over to Lord Kook again.

During a smoke break outside the Baron and I had a long conversation about disco music (broadly defined), and though our tastes run in somewhat different directions, we do share an interest in the social/cultural implications of the disco experience. This, along with a conversation I had with a gentleman at the end of night at the coat check, really made me put some thought into what I would like to accomplish with this night. He seemed to be a Deco regular who decided to come check out the party; in kidding tones he said he was suprised at the way the upstairs was set up "without glory holes." He then asked me when the next Starfucker was going to be, and I told him that it was done as a regular night, but would be back for Pride (taking over our fourth Friday, in fact).

What these conversations did was make me realize that, though we don't have a lot of the features you would associate with a gay night, like go-go boys, baby oil wrestling, wet jockstrap contests, or glory holes, I am more interested in the possibility of creating a night that, by virtue of the music that was played and the energy that was put forth, had a crossover appeal that could bring all kinds of people together. Sure it's important to me that our emphasis is on "a dance party for queers and their friends," but I want the friends as much as the queers. Something I realized later was that, despite having a sign on the door that advertised the night as exactly that, there were many non-queers who came through the door and hung out anyway. To me, that epitomizes the disco spirit; something that's associated with queers, but is also about openness and respect for everybody. I know we could get more gay guys to show up if we had go-gos or some kind of performance to appeal to prurient interests, but the moment we begin to do those sorts of things, I think we'll also begin to lose that crossover crowd. It's important to me that we don't do that because I do have this idea that, if club nights are about creating culture, I want to create something that enables people to transcend the barriers that exist between us, rather than something that closes us off in an insular world.

FSLD is pretty clearly going to be a work in progress for a while; aside from the abstract philosophical issues that need to be considered, there are very practical matters as well, like how to get more people through the door before 10PM (I'm open to any suggestions you all might have in that regard), working out the timing of the DJs for the different phases of the night, and what we can do to bump everything up a notch. I think there's a lot of room for us to grow, but as long as we can keep a steady crowd coming for the next few months, I also think there's the potential to do something we can really be proud of.

Upcoming Event: Fuck Shit, Let's Dance This Friday at Deco Lounge!

Yes kids, it's been a month since the premiere of Fuck Shit, Let's Dance! Last month we had torrential rains, cold, and yet still managed to have a crazy crowd of over 130 dancing away to electro bangers from DJ6 and Lord Kook, so this Friday we hope it will be even bigger and crazier. Here's our line-up:

Neonbunny - our good friend from Bunny Jam, Faerie Freedom Village, and Further Confusion (I think he might be the only person associated with that event who will still speak with me) will be opening with a set of the crazy electro he's known for.

Resident Lord Kook will come on around 10.30, and this month has not only created our visuals, but also has a special remix of a Ben Mono track that he will premiere.

And then there's our headliners, Baron von Luxxury and Johnatron on a tag-team disco workout. Both have been producing and remixing tracks left and right, so we're hoping for a night of music you won't hear anywhere else!

And, if things are still going strong at 2.00AM, I might even hop on the decks for a little dark electrotech to finish off the night.

Here's the deets:

Fuck Shit, Let's Dance!
Deco Lounge, Larkin x Turk
9PM - 3AM
FREE before 10, $5 afterwards
Jaeger Shots, Vodka Tonics, and Bud Lite Specials!

http://myspace.com/clubfsld

Hope to see you all there!

Upcoming Event: Fuck Shit, Let's Dance! Friday, January 25 2008

Last night the boyfriend and I plastered the Castro with flyers for the debut of our club night at Deco Lounge, Fuck Shit, Let's Dance! Though we've gone back and forth over the flyer design, I'm particularly pleased with the way our logo stands out among the other flyers posted around; we still seem to be the only promoters in the gay scene who don't feel it's necessary to put an image of a guy on our promo materials, but we do have horses rampant, as they say in heraldic circles, so I'm sure that counts for something.

As for the details:

Fuck Shit, Let's Dance!
Friday, January 25
Deco Lounge, Turk @Larkin
9PM - 3AM (and maybe a tad later if it's really bumpin')
FREE before 10, $5 afterwards

DJs: Pup (yours truly) at the opening, Lord Kook (the boyfriend) as resident, and DJ6 (Lucky Pierre, Bender), laying down electro techno minimal disco-punk grooves for your boogie pleasure. We may not have a show, wet jockstrap contest, or go-go boys, but we will do our best to make sure that you dance your ass off.

BTW, if you're on myspace, hit the link in the first paragraph to see our profile and become our friend.

Fuck Shit, Let's Dance!

Event Review: The Rod at Deco

There aren't many parties that lead to the boyfriend and I having a passionate debate about the meaning of parties and the scene, but that's exactly what happened Friday night at The Rod at Deco: while everybody else was in the front room cheering on the wet jockstrap contest, there we were in the back room by the pool table, throwing around words like Gesamtkunstwerk and pondering the necessity of gay men connecting with their own history in a way that, while troublesome in its nostalgic aspects, also gives them a sense of their possibility in the present. On the boyfriend's side he thought I needed to lighten up a bit, since the evidence was all around us that people were there having a good time and connecting with something, and I had to concede that, at times, my contrarian nature, suspicious as it is of all things popular and fun in the tradition of Theodor Adorno, clouds my critical perspective. On the other hand, my position remains that the party scene is about creating culture, and if we are going to take a critical perspective upon it, it can't be from the perspective of whether or not people are simply having a good time - after all, people have great times at circuit parties, which are the target of numerous dismissive comments within the "alternative" gay community - but it must be from the perspective of the kind of culture that is being created and the meaning of that for those participating in it. And from that perspective I continue to have issues with the culture being created by The Rod, because, to me, it feels like a step backwards in the evolution of San Francisco's gay culture.

The Short Version of the Review - Is It Fun?

I am perfectly willing to accept that this point about the place of The Rod in San Francisco's gay culture probably doesn't really matter to anybody else but me, so here I'll give you the the standard nightlife magazine review of The Rod and you can continue on with the rest of your online reading without further ado. The Rod, on the 2nd Friday of the month at Deco Lounge, is among San Francisco's longest-running gay nights, having celebrated its 3rd Anniversary this past Friday. DJ Bus Station John, who has advanced leagues as a DJ since I first heard him spin a couple years ago at Aunt Charlie's place, where he continues with his very popular Tubesteak Connection, has one of the best collections of rare-groove disco, Hi-NRG, and original New York electro ever assembled. If you closed your eyes during one of his sets you could easily imagine yourself back in a San Francisco disco or bathhouse circa 1979, and if you opened your eyes the photocopies and projections of vintage porn, featuring pre-steroid swollen guys with feathered hair (many of whom look exactly like the guys who gave me boners when I was in high school) might convince you that you are really there. The Rod is an almost perfect emulation of a particular moment in gay history, and if the attendees were sporting more polyester and facial hair you might think that the door to Deco was really a time portal.

That The Rod has been going on for three years should be enough testament to its popularity, and on any given Friday night you can rest assured of a sizable crowd of guys and a few girls as well. Since it's a Tenderloin bar the crowd is definitely scruffier and more alternative than you would find at any given Castro bar, and I suspect that many of the guys competing for the $100 prize in the wet jockstrap contest might otherwise be trying to get that sum by walking the beat of Polk Street. To my eye the crowd skews a bit older, since the music attracts many guys who probably heard it when the grooves were fresh off the cutting press, but I also saw a few twenty-somethings of my acquaintance. Though I've usually seen a few guys boogieing in front of the DJ stand, The Rod doesn't really come across as a big dance party, but more of a mingling scene, and the music provides a great background for the naughtiness that people get up to later. We noticed that, after the patio closed and the wet jockstrap contest began the crowd seemed thinner, or perhaps just more concentrated in two rooms, one where they were watching the contest, and another where they were carrying through on the instincts it aroused. All in all, if you are looking for a laid-back, sexy (for a late-70s value of sexy) night out with a crowd that isn't too precious or grotesquely buffed, and your main goal is some sleazy fun, then The Rod is a great choice.

I Come Not to Bury Bus Station John, But to Praise Him

And what, you might ask, is wrong with a party simply being a good time? In the present moment of the event itself, nothing - people come and have a good time, connect with each other, and maybe leave with a feeling of satisfaction in whatever form they were seeking. But the success of The Rod is also, in my mind, what opens it up to a higher level of examination. I admire Bus Station John for having created a total aesthetic, for the way he combines sound and visuals to bring forth a vibe that others connect with. Despite the boyfriend's protestations that this is a pretentious way to put it, I think Bus Station John has created a work of art that is distinctive in the San Francisco gay scene, and that The Rod is an example of someone really creating culture. And this is where I believe that the critical perspective comes into play, where its legitimate to ask, what kind of culture is being created, what ideas are being put forth in this creation? As I pointed out before, many of my friends and acquaintances have no problems with negative criticism of the culture being created by other promoters, such as Gus Presents, when that culture is not part of their own aesthetic, when the ideas they see being put forth are in contrast to their own. Things get trickier when the object of critical perspective is within one's own cultural milieu. I will admit that in my previous review of The Rod, I was bitchier than I needed to be, since I thought that tone was necessary to make my voice be heard. But since then I have softened my stance a little bit - I have heard disco played under circumstances when it felt right and was enjoyable, and I have absolutely nothing against the man himself; though I don't know him personally, many other folks of my acquaintance do, and by all accounts he is a really great guy who's heart in the right place. In fact, I am quite sympathetic to the intention that I think is behind Bus Station John's nights, I just disagree with the way he is materializing that intention. I hope that a greater degree of respect for that intention is evident in this review; if I did not feel some respect for the ideas that someone was putting forth, believe me, I would not be spending my Saturday afternoon in front of this laptop, hoping that my perspective might, in some way, help further those ideas.

Disco of the Past, Disco of the Present

My main issue with The Rod is its nostalgic foundations. In an interview with the Bay Guardian, in which he was asked about his take on the current gay club scene, Bus Station John said " . . . I've retreated to the past, where I dwell happily with my pre-AIDS, pre-crack, pre-MTV, pre-PNP vinyl collection. Greetings from 1981! Visitors are welcome." Given the rather bland state of the gay club scene over the past few years, with its endless rotation of the same DJs playing the same music to the same crowd of guys over and over gain, I can't blame Bus Station John for wanting to recreate the vibe of an earlier time, when the scene was more about joy and sex and fun than meth and money (though it seems contradictory to be anti-PNP and have a giant cut-out of a bottle of poppers in the front window of the club). And I can even understand wanting to return to music that has, at its core, genuine warmth and emotion after listening to the hours of anthem tribal dreck that is spun at most circuit events. But, even with the best of intentions behind it, this approach is essentially reactionary and regressive, and says that the best solution to the "ennervating" (to use Bus Station John's term) state of current gay club culture is to retreat to the past.

I can't deny that there is a legitimate place for disco in current gay club culture, and I've found myself increasingly drawn to music from contemporary producers like Justus Koehnecke, Prinz Thomas, and Lindstrom that updates the disco sound with modern production. There is a looseness in its composition and upbeat hipness in its sonic palette that can't help but bring a twitch to my hips and a smile to my face. And, thanks to the recent Mineshaft party from Honey Sound System, as well as Bus Station John's set at the recent Paradise All-Night Disco Extravaganza, I've found a way to connect with it in the club experience. I think that, periodically, the gay club scene needs to re-connect with its roots as a means of rediscovering its values, and in this regard I have no problem with the occasional disco party (as long as nobody plays Donna Summer or Gloria Gaynor, that is). My problem is when the disco party is seen as the height of gay club culture, carrying with it the statement that there is nothing of value at all to be found in contemporary culture, when this plainly isn't so. I also worry that, in the context of creating culture, disco nostalgia keeps us from participating in the creation of a new cultural identity for ourselves. This is what I like most about parties like Lucky Pierre and those coming from the Honey Sound System; they are in touch with the past and recognize its importance, but are also actively engaged in using contemporary msuic and culture to create a new sense of gay identity. In fact, from things I see going on right now, I think 2008 might very well be a banner year for the San Francisco gay scene, one in which many groups come together to once again create a sense of excitment and joy about being a San Francisco queer. Looking back to the past will never really get us to that point, because once you step beyond the door of the time portal, your're right back where you started from.

Say No to Nostalgia, Say Yes Creating the New World

Nostalgia is a powerful impulse, and after the eight years of shit we've all lived through, it's no wonder that so many people, gay and straight, are looking back to the past, when things seemed easier, more fun, and certainly less dire (just think about all the 80s, disco, and "return to . . ." parties that have gone down over the past year). But, ultimately, what we have to deal with is the here and now, and nothing from the past will really solve our present problems. Looking back to the past may give us ideas about how to deal with the present, but it's up to us to put those ideas in a contemporary context. 1970s era disco might help us connect with a set of values, but that doesn't mean we need to precisely emulate that era, it means we need to create the disco of the 2000s. The Rod is a great place to go on every second Friday to have fun and reflect on the original disco era, but the moment you start thinking "yeah, it was all so really great back then, I wish we could go back" is the moment that you enter into bad faith with the present. Rather, you should be thinking "yeah, how do we bring this into the now, how do we create this feeling with contemporary music, images, fashion, and people?" Formulating the answers to that question should be the main task of the San Francisco gay scene over the next year, because when the elections happen in November, we need to be ready to make our contribution to the change that will ensue.

Upcoming Event: Mash-Ups and Electro at Deco Lounge, Friday December 28

DJ Medic and DJ Boyshapedbox present a night of Mash Ups and Electro.
8PM - 3AM
$2
Deco Lounge
Larkin and Turk

Event Review: Saturday Night in the Loin: White Walls Gallery, Chrome, Joystick, Bearracuda

After being up until almost 4AM following Bender at The Transfer on Friday Night, and looking forward to a late night at Honey Sound System's Mineshaft party, the boyfriend and I decided we'd have an easy night of bar tours and flyer distribution for Fuck Shit, Let's Dance. Our agenda had been to head to Chrome at the Gangplank and then walk up to Joystick at The Cinch. However, things being what they are, I managed to have a buzz-killing mishap, and instead of hanging out in bars we wound up perusing art and going into the bear cave at Bearracuda.

First, my mishap; we were desperately trying to flag down a cab on Market Street at 9.30 when we thought we spotted one across the street by Cafe Flore - but just because cabs have their lights on doesn't mean they're available, as we found out several times during the evening. We were running across Market to try and flag this cab when I lost my balance and fell full force on my right shoulder in front of the Noe and Market F-car stop. It was so painful that I was unable to move my arm for several minutes, and most of my attention for the rest of the evening was diverted wondering whether I had broken something. At the very least, it had wounded my ego, and I spent a lot of time rubbing the warm knot in my trapezius and feeling like a doofus.

We arrived at The Gangplank around 9.40; a couple older, morose-looking guys were standing around outside smoking cigarettes, and when we peeked through the door there were only a couple local denizens at the bar, so we decided to check out the gallery show next door at The White Walls gallery.

Wow. I have not seen a show of new artists like this in along time, nor have I seen so many things that I would happily hang on my walls that are so reasonably priced (most pieces averaged around $500 - $1000, and the ones that were more were definitely worth it in terms of both materials and artistic vision). Though the show features at least a dozen artists, there was a very interesting cohesion of vision that I would describe as "dream-like" or psychedelic. Since this was the opening I assume that the show will be up on their site in the next few days, so you should hit the link or go by and have a look for yourself.

We looked back into the Gangplank a little after ten; same people. We went to the back and found the DJ set-up, and a B-52s track was spinning on the turntable, so presumably the party had started. However, we didn't feel like hanging out long enough to be sure. I double-checked the flyer just now, and it definitely says that the party starts at 9PM. Maybe that was a misprint, but if I show up at a bar at 9PM, when the flyer says things are supposed to start, and what I wind up hearing is The B-52s rather than the "hard rock" described on the flyer, my tendency is go elsewhere. So, in this case we didn't even stay long enough to have a drink, turned on our heels and headed to Joystick at The Cinch.

Joystick is a cute idea; console video games, anime, and 80s music. It's also a nice bar, and so we were pretty enthusiastic about it. But, after a couple rounds of Soul Caliber II and Pac-Man and two drinks, there didn't really seem to be that much going on to keep us there. I think the problem is that what makes this night distinctive, the video games, are also what suck the energy out of it; though I enjoy watching the boyfriend drive swords through his enemies as much as the next guy, it's not the kind of thing that I could spend a whole night at a bar doing. In fact, I associate video games in bars with being bored and feeling awkward, so it's hard to think about that as the whole focus of my night out.

We left around 11.00 and found ourselves wondering what to do with ourselves; I was in too much pain to contemplate really partying, nor did either of us feel like any major expenditure of energy or cash - for a moment we discussed going to The Show at The EndUp, but the boyfriend felt that it was a bit too "heftig" for his mood. Since we were already walking down Polk we decided to check in and see what was happening at Deco.

We hesitated for a moment when we saw the sign "Bearracuda $5" on the door. I've made fun of this event in the past based almost purely on that groan-inducing pun of a name, and I continue to have issues with the way that gay events segregate their audiences based on body types, as well as the somewhat reactionary nature of "bear culture," but we figured, what the hell, let's check it out.

Bearracuda is currently Deco's most successful night, and when we arrived there was a sizeable crowd in attendance and plenty of eats (pop tarts, jalapeno poppers, cheez doodles, corn dogs, etc.) laid out on the pool table. We immediately ran into our friend Matt and several of his friends, and wound up having a pretty pleasant couple drinks with them. It's funny, being in an environment where I expected absolutely nothing made for a very enjoyable experience. It was "hard rock night," and this time the DJs actually delivered; Jon Ginoli of Pansy Division was on the slate to spin, and had it not been for my increasing need put some ice on my shoulder, I think we would have stayed later just to hear what he played. Bearracuda is obviously much more of a socializing and pick-up scene than it is a dance night, and the crowd was pretty friendly to a couple of distinctive non-bears such as ourselves. It's not an event I would necessarily go out of my way to attend, as it's not really my scene, but if you're a bear, or into bears, this is obviously the place to be, and if your not either of those things, it's a decent place to hang out and have a couple drinks as long as you don't mind paying a $5 cover to do so.

By time we got home around midnight my shoulder was so messed up that I couldn't get the keys out of my pocket, much less turn them in the lock. It was a pretty abbreviated Saturday night, but even if I hadn't sustained a nearly crippling injury early in the evening I don't know that we would have had much better luck with our bar tour. For reasons I don't quite understand Saturday continues to be the weak night on the calendar for going out unless you're into the big club scene, or perhaps it's just that, after most of my Friday nights, I'm just not feeling it as much on Saturday.

Fuck Shit, Let's Dance!

Hey kids, watch this space for what we here at SF Scene consider an exciting announcement. Hints: Fourth Fridays, Deco Lounge, Resident DJ Lord Kook, super special guests. More details when we're ready to make it official, which should be very, very soon! Wheeeee!

Another One Bites the Dust: No More Starfucker at Deco

I received an email this afternoon informing me of the end of Starfucker at Deco. This is kinda odd, as I wasn't aware that I was on an email list for them, and I thought this night had died weeks ago anyway. Deco is a great club, one of my favorite places in the Tenderloin, but I'm not really surprised that this party has come to an end, since there's not that much to distinguish it from anything else happening on a Friday night. The email itself is kinda telling:

One of the things that killed this party is it's Friday night spot. Between Manhunt, Craigslist and the other Friday parties going on, people have many sinful choices in SF.

So the things that Starfucker compares itself to are hook-up sites; the message then goes on to tout the "shameless cruising in our basement" as a main feature of the last party. I would suggest that this is the reason that the party died; if all you've got to really offer is a hook-up scene, there's lots of other ways to do that, and I don't think that this is what people are looking for right now. From my conversations with people, they want fun, a sense of excitement, good music, and a place to dance. The 1970s model of the gay club as a sex scene seems to be losing some of its luster now (when was the last time you heard anything about a Bus Station John event), while the events that are picking up are those with more emphasis on style, music, and a "scene." I hope that whoever takes up the new Friday night slot at Deco realizes this and plans accordingly.

Event Review: Activate! with Alland Byallo and Nikola Baytala at Deco Lounge

December 31, 2007 Update: I received a friendly email from Mr. Baytala this week letting me know that, though he was on the bill as one of the DJs for this event, he in fact didn't make it and the person we heard was his substitute. Sorry about that Nikola, and if anyone else out there ever has any factual corrections for DJ names and such, please feel free to send them in.

After three evenings of running the party circuit, the boyfriend and I were a bit weary when we rolled into Deco on Saturday night with our friend Kitty in tow. We were lured out by the promise of hearing one of our favorite Kontrol DJs in the super comfort of Deco Lounge, and though the music was good, we never quite found our stride.

I'm not sure how the Kontrol kids came to hold a party at Deco, which is far more gay than their crowd usually strikes me as being into. I found out that Gun Club, which does underground electrotechno events, apparently counts Deco as homebase, and I assume that it was through their sponsorship that the boys were brought into this space. The entire event was for the pirate radio station WAR 97.3, which seems to be broadcasting out of the Western Addition.

Alland was on first, and though I like the more aggressive, knarzy sound he puts out, it was way too loud and painful in that small room for me to enjoy it. Later in the evening, as more bodies were able to absorb the high-end snap, it got better, but I still noticed that there was a force-field around the DJ booth into which very few people seemed willing to pass. There were a few moments when I thought that the sonic aggression was too much for early in the evening, but the best sign was when the bartender, who has certainly heard his share of gay dance music, told me how much he was enjoying Alland's selections.

We got up and danced for a bit, but the boyfriend thought that, as it grew more crowded, the dancefloor also became more "rude;" as he later put it, "if one more bitch in hoop earrings hits me with her elbows, I'm going to scream." I found it difficult to raise much energy in general, and spent most of my time simply surveying the crowd. They were younger, generally dressed in black, and I suspected that they were there as much for 97.3 as for Kontrol (though the boys do have a show there on 2nd Mondays at 9PM).

After Alland, Nikola Baytala came on with a set of housey/space-disco tracks that seemed like they would have played better at an earlier hour than they did after Alland's harder excursions. The boyfriend didn't care for his his mixing, and while it sounded beat matched to me, it also did sound like there were some distinct transitions between tracks that weren't compoitionally as well matched. I honestly didn't have much opinion at this point, though, since my fourth drink after three nights of clubbing had made me essentially insensate.

We went out for a smoke and chatted with Alland, who told us about some great upcoming events (including one at the Porn Palace!); related a story about a certain DJ of his acquaintance involving a Halloween party at the Porn Palace and a ball-gag that became the weekend's sole costume; and talked about the kind of changes that come up when you move into the bigger club venues after having been underground for a while. There was also a bit of dish about another group that produces techno parties that confirmed some suspicions of mine based on their flyer art and general demeanor. It was nice opportunity to chat, though I wish I had been a bit more mentally engaged at the time.

We split out around 1.30, before Broker/Dealer's set. It was an okay night out, with good music, though next time I think I need to pay more attention to that internal regulating mechanism called exhaustion before venturing out yet again for another party. At the very least, it'll help me write a better review on the Monday following.

Event Review: The Rod at Deco

There aren't many times when I dread writing a review, but this is certainly one of them, because I'm about to say bad things about what has become an institution among San Francisco alternaqueers, or at least those who like to imagine themselves as such. There is no doubt that The Rod is one of the single most popular nights for gay men in San Francisco, and DJ Bus Station John has achieved underground celebrity status for his attempt to provide some tonic to the world of circuit parties and gym clones. I certainly applaud him for making this attempt, I only wish that he had found some other solution than situating us once again in the ghetto of 70s gay disco.

Loyal readers should have some sense of my priorities when going out and looking for a good night; comfortable space, fun crowd, danceable music, clean sound, skilled DJs. What I don't look for is that an event is necessarily gay; honestly, that's one of the least important things to me, because when I go out, I go out to dance and be with my boyfriend, rather than to hook up. Hooking up, however, is what gay nights generally tend to be about, so when I got an event like the Rod, I'm already way out of synch with the night's intentions. It's difficult, then, for me feel what my relationship to the night should be, and to what standard I should adhere when writing a review.

Deco is absolutely one of my favorite club spaces in San Francisco; with three levels, an outdoor patio, super-friendly bartenders, and an all-around great vibe, it feels to me more like a clubhouse than an actual club. The decor is very retro, with curvy disco moldings, mirrors, and neon. When you step through the door for The Rod, the combination of this decor, the retro 70s and 80s rare disco B-sides, and the vintage 70s porn that serves as The Rod's calling card makes it feel like you have stepped back into pre-AIDS San Francisco. And this is precisely why I hate it, despite the fun everyone I know has there, despite Bus Station John's good intentions, and despite my own desire to be stop being such a critic and just enjoy it.

For me, The Rod represents Bus Stations John's fetishization of pre-AIDS gay life, and, to me, makes the statement that there is nothing that follows after it that can have any meaning for gay men. It says to me that the best time to have been a gay man was in the past, and that the best thing we can create for ourselves now is a simulacrum of the past. Having come from Lights Down Low a block away, where I saw young queer guys involved with straight kids and others in making new culture for everyone, The Rod seemed like stepping into the living room of an old gay auntie who hadn't gone out in thirty years and wanted to show me pictures of "the good times."

As loyal readers know, I really don't like disco. It's thus hard for me to objective about the music that Bus Station John plays, or even the way he plays it. I wouldn't really call him a DJ, and, to his credit, he has said as much in interviews. More accurately, he is a guy with a really amazing record collection, and a couple times a month he plays it for people. I watched him play records for a while on Friday night, and he does clearly know his music and enjoy it, but don't expect anything beyond moving the fader from one channel to another; he doesn't even use headphones to listen to the track he's about to cue up. This is fine if all you are about is playing records, but I like a little more excitement and performance from a DJ.

I can't say that there was really much of a dancefloor - the lounge room where BSJ was spinning was packed, but it was more of a mingling floor; here and there you could find pockets of people getting down, and some general head-bobbing, but nobody seemed to really be there to dance. This is somewhat consistent for what is essentially a pick-up scene; as long as the music isn't too obnoxious, as long as it doesn't break the mood, it doesn't really matter what you play. In this case retro disco is just enough stimulus to raise the energy of the room, but not enough to distract from flirting and conversation. It's also quite comfortable and unchallenging, not unlike the shawl you might put on to keep yourself warm while looking at those old photos.

My worst experience of the evening was getting into an argument with a friend of ine who is also a friend of BSJ, about my opinion of the night. He is a genuine alternaqueer sort who is looking for something other than the standard run of Gus Presents and Castro bars, and I am totally in agreement with him on that. For him Deco represents a space that is welcoming to other sensibilities, and where you don't have to be an overbuffed steroid queen to get attention. And in those respects, he's completely right. My argument was that, if we want to create alternatives to mainstream gay club culture, why do we have to look back to the past rather than creating something for ourselves out of our present situation? It was at this point I realized how much the likes of Gus Presents and similar events have poisoned young gay guys against what they think of as "techno," which, generally, means terrible tribal house. For them "techno" music is synonomous with all that they find oppressive about mainstream gay culture, though I also think there is an element of willful ignorance at work here, since most of them couldn't tell you the difference between techno, trance, and house even while listening to it. I also think the return to classic disco demonstrates that, to be a successful gay club night, it's much easier to go with the comfortable and familiar than to take a chance with the unknown and potentially challenging. This is what I think ultimately accounts for the wild popularity of The Rod; you are guaranteed that it will be the least challenging thing you, as a gay man, can do on a Friday evening. If you are looking for a night of the comfortable and familiar, and maybe a desperate hook-up at 3AM, then by all means, go for it. As for me, I'll be looking for party destinations that aren't focused on locking us all up in the closet of the past.

Your Saturday Guide

Seems a little quiet this weekend, but two events coming up look promising.

Low End Saturday
Brought to you by Bay Area Beatdrop, some of the same crew involved with the FUK Werk Fridays at 111 Minna, which guarantees some decent minimal techno. At the Retox lounge on 20th Street over in Potrero, a spot I've not visited but heard good things about. Best part: NO COVER!

Activate! with Kontrol DJs and Broker/Dealer
This is where the boyfriend and I plan to spend our evening. Kontrol DJs Alland Byallo and Nikola Baytalla will be appearing with local minimal techno duo Broker/Dealer. The Deco Lounge at Turk and Larkin is a super-cool space with three floors, a back patio area, and much, much less club baggage than the End-Up, if you know what I mean. It's a cheap $5 to get in with proceeds to benefit West ADD Radio 97.3.