After heading over to Drunk and Horny with our friend Kitty on Saturday night to wish Big Red a happy birthday, the boyfriend and I grabbed a cab over to Club 222 to check out their new Saturday night house party, Collide. Though I didn't run into the folks I had been expecting to see there, we nonetheless had a very relaxing couple of drinks while bobbing our heads to some nice deep house, and got to check out a live performance of sorts.
Club 222 is fast becoming one of my favorite haunts in San Francisco. I love the literal underground atmosphere of the dancefloor, where my mind often wonders about what went on down there in Club 222's former incarnation as The Blackhawk jazz club. Though outside Hyde Street presents one of the more dismal urban landscapes San Francisco has to offer, what with the homeless flea market, the shootings up the street at the convenience store, and the occasional bottle tossed in your direction from the building next to the club, inside Club 222 offers just about everything you could want in a hipster dive, from moody lighting to Pilsner Urquell tall boys, from handmade pizza for $5 to 25-year-old top shelf scotch for those moments when you feel particularly ebullient.
When it comes to party programming, Club 222 is fast distinguishing itself as one of the most progressive smaller dance clubs, hosting events including Garth and Jeno's monthly back-to-back session, the scenesterrific Lights Down Low, and Techno Tuesdays with its rotating line-up from various local techno collectives. It has a small capacity, and I've seen fifty people make it seem crowded, but I really appreciate the intimate, laid-back vibe of the space.
I heard about Collide from one of the promoters, Jose Mineros of Fag Fridays, so on Saturday I thought I'd stop by to say hi, have a drink and check out the scene. Thought I didn't run into Jose, the boyfriend and I did park ourselves on seats next to the dancefloor and had a very relaxing couple of drinks. The first DJ was a woman (unfortunately I didn't see the DJ names posted anywhere) who played a very smooth set of deep house, and the boyfriend and I both remarked on how long it had been since we had heard a purely house set, and how pleasant this one was. We hung out through a performance of someone on a bass guitar accompanying the DJ with very effected beats, and then into the beginning of the third DJ, a serious-looking guy in a hat. When we first arrived around 10 there were about a dozen people on the dancefloor, which ebbed down to one or two during the performance, with a very substantial influx of folks into the club around midnight. It was a small, pretty casual scene, but after so many recent events that required the expenditure of serious scene points, I really enjoyed being able to just hang out, have a couple drinks, and enjoy some good house music that substantially re-set both mine and the boyfriend's mood. I would definitely recommend checking it out for that night when you want solid music and a laid-back vibe among like-minded folks.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Upcoming Event: Happy Endings at The Stud, Thursday May 1
A night of electro-punk-pop, new-rave, indie, goth, britpop, dance music, plus rock singalongs, straight girls watching gay boys make out, glam makeovers and CANDY.
Free before 10 pm, $5 after
9:00 PM - 2:00 AM
The Stud, 399 9th Street x Harrison
www.elasticfuture.com
Free before 10 pm, $5 after
9:00 PM - 2:00 AM
The Stud, 399 9th Street x Harrison
www.elasticfuture.com
Your Friday Guide for May 2, 2008
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
Gritt at The Transfer
A new night from Mauricio Aviles and Alona, with special guest Robot Hustle (Honey Sound System).
6PM - 9PM
NO COVER
The Transfer, 198 Church x Market
KillSwitch Happy Hour at UndergroundSF
Techno happy hour, this week with QZEN (40 Thieves, Moxie).
6PM - 10PM
NO COVER
UndergroundSF, 424 Haight x Webster
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 reviews of Charlie Horse at The Cinch.
9PM - close
NO COVER
The Cinch, 1723 Polk Street (between Clay and Washington)
GhettoDisco at The EndUp
With residents Vince, Hawthorne, and Jim Hopkins.
11PM - 11AM
FREE before midnight, $20 until 2AM, $30 after 2AM
The EndUp, 6th x Harrison
Sick! at The Matador
Just found out about this techno night that started up in November in the location of the old Arrow bar. Residents D Spurlock, Jeffrey Allen, Jonathon Neil, Kuze, and Meekrob. Check out my review of Sick!
9PM - 2AM
FREE
Matador, 10 6th Street x Market
Monthlies and One-Offs
Zodiac at Deco
Show the doorperson your ID to prove it's your birthday month and get a free drink. Resident DJ Lambchop with guests.
9PM - 3AM
Free before 10, $5 after
Deco, 510 Larkin at Turk
Garth and Jeno Back2Back at Club222
San Francisco house legends Garth and Jeno in one of the best intimate dance spaces in the city.
10PM - 2AM
$10
Club 222, 222 Hyde Street
Club Loaded at The Rickshaw Stop
With Partyshank, Blake Miller, and Eli Smith, and resident DJs Sleazemore and Commodore 69.
10PM - 2AM
$10, $15 for 18-21
The Rickshaw Stop, 155 Fell x Van Ness
The Jaded Gay DJ Recommends: Lucky Pierre at The Stud
Charisma Glitterati's birthday bash, with DJs Donimo and DJ6!
Check out my review of Lucky Pierre!
10PM - 3AM
$5 before 11PM, $7 after
The Stud, 9th x Harrison
German deep techno disco from BPitch Control founder Ellen Allien and label-mate Sasha Funke. With support from local boys Nikola Baytala and Monty Luke.
10PM - 4AM
$15, $17.56 advance through PayPal
Mighty, 119 Utah Street x 15th
Monday, April 28, 2008
Upcoming Event: Stewart Walker at 222 Hyde, Tuesday April 29
Techno legend Stewart Walker will be making his first US appearance since 2003 at 222 Hyde's Techno Tuesdays this Tuesday, with support from Detroit's Vacuum and Auralism DJs Jason Short, Kenneth Scott, Roman Stange, and Clint Stewart, and additional support from Travis Dalton (On!Science) and David Marks (Bottom Feeder).
6PM - 2AM
FREE from 6-8PM, $10 after
Drink specials: $1 PBRs, $2 well drinks, $5 pizzas from 6-10PM
Club 222, 222 Hyde x Turk
6PM - 2AM
FREE from 6-8PM, $10 after
Drink specials: $1 PBRs, $2 well drinks, $5 pizzas from 6-10PM
Club 222, 222 Hyde x Turk
Saturday, April 26, 2008
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.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Your Saturday Guide for April 26, 2008
Weeklies and Bar Nights
Collide at 222 Hyde
From Jose of Fag Fridays comes a new house night with a little bit of urbanity in the mix (I mean, he's got Samim's "Heater" for the MySpace page, how cool is that?) And it's at 222 Hyde, so it's a swell space too. Past DJs have included Jeno, Garth, Tasho, and Mustafa. I may even be there tonight myself.
8PM - 2AM
$5
Club 222, 222 Hyde x Turk
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 review of Drunk and Horny.
$5
9PMish - 2.00AM (with maybe an afterparty)
Underground SF, 424 Haight Street x Webster
Frisco Disco at The Transfer
Every Saturday night they're lined up on the street for this party; haven't made it past the sweating crowds myself yet, but this looks like one of the hottest things going right now, you should check it out yourself and let me know what you think.
No cover listed
9.00PM - 2.00AM
The Transfer, Church at Market
Hot Mess at The Stud
A Gus Presents production with DJ Kidd Sysko spinning a little disco punk, a little hip-hop, and a lot of club. Check out the link for his Top 20 and decide for yourself. I hear there's also baby oil wrestling.
10PM - 3AM
$5
The Stud, 9th x Harrison.
Bistrotheque with Ken Vulsion at Cafe Flore
I've been remiss in not previously mentioning Ken Vulsion of Honey Sound System's Bistrotheque at Cafe Flore on Satuday evenings. A great place to go have a bite, warm up with a couple drinks, and groove along with Ken.
6PM - 12AM
NO COVER
Cafe Flore, 2298 Market Street x Noe
Monthlies and One-Offs
Manquake at The Gangway
Bus Station John's newest night at a vintage Tenderloin gay bar. "Tremble & quake to the pulse of 70's/80's hi-NRG, disco and R&B classix & curios while enjoying drink specials & xxx-traordinary vintage visuals." (Note: the link lists Manquake only through March 29, but I think it's still on-going; if not, let me know!)
9PM - 2AM
$5
The Gangway, 841 Larkin Street
Bootie at DNA Lounge
I once wrote that mash-ups represented the nadir of pop music, and I haven't set foot in Bootie since. But this time out KidHack is playing in the upstairs electro lounge, so if you're in the mood for some electro, you might want to check it out.
9PM - "after hours"
$8 before 10.30, $12 after
DNA Lounge, 11th x Harrison
Simian Mobile Disco at Mezzanine - SOLD OUT!
If you ain't got the tickets, you ain't goin, so I'm not even going to tease you with any further info.
Collide at 222 Hyde
From Jose of Fag Fridays comes a new house night with a little bit of urbanity in the mix (I mean, he's got Samim's "Heater" for the MySpace page, how cool is that?) And it's at 222 Hyde, so it's a swell space too. Past DJs have included Jeno, Garth, Tasho, and Mustafa. I may even be there tonight myself.
8PM - 2AM
$5
Club 222, 222 Hyde x Turk
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 review of Drunk and Horny.
$5
9PMish - 2.00AM (with maybe an afterparty)
Underground SF, 424 Haight Street x Webster
Frisco Disco at The Transfer
Every Saturday night they're lined up on the street for this party; haven't made it past the sweating crowds myself yet, but this looks like one of the hottest things going right now, you should check it out yourself and let me know what you think.
No cover listed
9.00PM - 2.00AM
The Transfer, Church at Market
Hot Mess at The Stud
A Gus Presents production with DJ Kidd Sysko spinning a little disco punk, a little hip-hop, and a lot of club. Check out the link for his Top 20 and decide for yourself. I hear there's also baby oil wrestling.
10PM - 3AM
$5
The Stud, 9th x Harrison.
Bistrotheque with Ken Vulsion at Cafe Flore
I've been remiss in not previously mentioning Ken Vulsion of Honey Sound System's Bistrotheque at Cafe Flore on Satuday evenings. A great place to go have a bite, warm up with a couple drinks, and groove along with Ken.
6PM - 12AM
NO COVER
Cafe Flore, 2298 Market Street x Noe
Monthlies and One-Offs
Manquake at The Gangway
Bus Station John's newest night at a vintage Tenderloin gay bar. "Tremble & quake to the pulse of 70's/80's hi-NRG, disco and R&B classix & curios while enjoying drink specials & xxx-traordinary vintage visuals." (Note: the link lists Manquake only through March 29, but I think it's still on-going; if not, let me know!)
9PM - 2AM
$5
The Gangway, 841 Larkin Street
Bootie at DNA Lounge
I once wrote that mash-ups represented the nadir of pop music, and I haven't set foot in Bootie since. But this time out KidHack is playing in the upstairs electro lounge, so if you're in the mood for some electro, you might want to check it out.
9PM - "after hours"
$8 before 10.30, $12 after
DNA Lounge, 11th x Harrison
Simian Mobile Disco at Mezzanine - SOLD OUT!
If you ain't got the tickets, you ain't goin, so I'm not even going to tease you with any further info.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Your Friday Guide for April 25, 2008
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
KillSwitch Happy Hour at UndergroundSF
Techno happy hour, this week with Dave Bass (Bassaholics Anonymous) and Sayaka (Filter SF).
6PM - 10PM
NO COVER
UndergroundSF, 424 Haight x Webster
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. 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
FREE!
The Jaded Gay DJ Recommends: Sick! at The Matador
A nice dive bar with techno tunes, a perfect place to start your night or to spend it. Residents D Spurlock, Jeffrey Allen, Jonathon Neil, Kuze, and Meekrob. Check out my review of Sick!
9PM - 2AM
FREE
Matador, 10 6th Street x Market
GhettoDisco at The EndUp
With Pete Avila, Cuervo, Taj, DirtyHertz, and DMadix. You've got two of of Nitevibe's Top 10 DJs here, so it might be worth checking out, but someone who's been recently described this scene to me as "tragic," so if you go, let me know what you think.
11PM - 11AM
FREE before midnight, $20 until 2AM, $30 after 2AM
The EndUp, 6th x Harrison
Blow-Up at The Rickshaw Stop
So according to his MySpace profile, Jefrodesiac is now Jeffrey Paradise. Any body got any info on this persona change? With residents Jeffrey Paradise and Richie Panic (Frisco Disco) and special guests Plasticines from France.
10PM - 2AM
$10 for 21+, $12 for 18-21
The Rickshaw Stop, 155 Fell at Van Ness
Faktion at Club Anu
Another little mushroom popping up in the techno scene - excellent! Tonight with DJ Amber and DJ Drag'nfly (I opened once years ago for Drag'nfly, she's very fly indeed).
10PM - 2AM
$5
Club Anu, 43 Sixth x Market
Lights Down Low at Club 222
With resident DJs Sleazemore and Rchrd OH!? and special guests. Check out my previous reviews of Lights Down Low.
10PM - 2AM
$7
Club 222, 222 Hyde Street x Turk
Monthlies and One-Offs
The Jaded Gay DJ Recommends: Fuck Shit, Let's Dance! (FSLD) at Deco Lounge
Our monthly faggot techno dance party for queers and their friends. This month with guests Donimo (Lucky Pierre) and DJ Mak, with resident Lord Kook. Last month we rocked the house until 3AM, this time we're going for 4!
9PM - 3AM
FREE before 10, $5 after
Deco Lounge, 511 Larkin x Turk
Shark Attack! at the Cat Club
Orko, Starr, Rubyacht, and Macro spin dark indie electro pop minimal prog dance.
9PM - 2AM
FREE before 10, $5 after
Cat Club, 1190 Folsom x 9th
The Get Physical North American Tour with Booka Shade, M.A.N.D.Y, and Heidi at Mezzanine
Oh man, if we weren't doing our own night, this is where I would totally want to be. A great line-up, come to Deco afterwards and we'll see if we can keep the party going.
10PM - 2AM
$22 Advance at TicketWeb
Mezzanine, 444 Jessie Street x Mint
Monday, April 21, 2008
Record Review: The In-Kraut, Vol. 2
Anybody who likes to mouth the usual cliches about Germans only making cold, calculated, soulless electronic music should run down to Open Mind Records on Market Street and pick up a copy of "The In-Kraut: Hip Shaking Grooves made in Germany 1967-74, Vol.2" on Marina Records. It's twenty tracks of "beat, new sound, soul and soundtrack nuggets" that could slide right into any super-groovy lounge set next to Serge Gainsborough. There's lots of swing, crazy horn arrangements, Hammond B-3 freak-outs, and smooth vocals (in English and German), all recorded live with jazz orchestras like Charly Antolini's Power Dozen. There's even a super-rare single from German proggers Can! from when they were known as Inner Space, and an appearance from a star of German kids' TV, the bunny sock puppet Hase Caesar, who used to introduce the jugend to the latest beats on his show Schlagen fuer Schlappohren (Hits for Loppy Ears).
The stand out English vocal track for me is "Swinging London," by Hazy Osterwald Jet Set, which could be used in the opening titles for the next Austin Powers movie, while in German I'm very partial to "Wildkatze" by Christer Baldin, which was a soundtrack for a movie of the same name. My all-time fave, though, is Hildegard Knef's "Holiday Time;" imagine Nico speak-singing about the ennui of holiday time, bored jet-set children throwing rocks at little girls, hostages being killed in Munich bank robberies, stagnation, inflation, "yes yes, I know you know." A little something to remind us that behind all the groovyness, the Wall was still up, the Beider-Meinhoff gang was on the loose, and only a couple years earlier student riots had almost brought about the collapse of governments throughout Western Europe. No wonder all these cats are so crazy.
The stand out English vocal track for me is "Swinging London," by Hazy Osterwald Jet Set, which could be used in the opening titles for the next Austin Powers movie, while in German I'm very partial to "Wildkatze" by Christer Baldin, which was a soundtrack for a movie of the same name. My all-time fave, though, is Hildegard Knef's "Holiday Time;" imagine Nico speak-singing about the ennui of holiday time, bored jet-set children throwing rocks at little girls, hostages being killed in Munich bank robberies, stagnation, inflation, "yes yes, I know you know." A little something to remind us that behind all the groovyness, the Wall was still up, the Beider-Meinhoff gang was on the loose, and only a couple years earlier student riots had almost brought about the collapse of governments throughout Western Europe. No wonder all these cats are so crazy.
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)
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)
Friday, April 18, 2008
That's Mr. Pride to You!
So the "official" word won't be out for a couple more weeks, but here's a little teaser for you: FSLD, Fag Fridays, Big Top, and Beatbox Events are teaming up to bring you Mr. at Mighty on Pride Friday, June 27. Yes, that's right, Mighty. And even better, Lord Kook in the main room at Mighty from 3-6AM. Can you say "faggot techno awesomeness?" Good, I thought you could. I'll let you know about the other DJs as soon as we have confirmation, but I can tell you that Lord Kook will be following David Harness in dark and dirty mode.
Though this is a different kind of event for us to be involved with - I don't think any party I've done in the past few years has had more than 200 peeps in the same space at the same time, and often they've all already known each other - I'm really excited about it. We all agree that we want this to be an event that is distinctly "San Francisco," and we hope that it will have appeal for all queer boys and girls. More info to come soon, but I highly recommend that you go get your fake mustache now.
Though this is a different kind of event for us to be involved with - I don't think any party I've done in the past few years has had more than 200 peeps in the same space at the same time, and often they've all already known each other - I'm really excited about it. We all agree that we want this to be an event that is distinctly "San Francisco," and we hope that it will have appeal for all queer boys and girls. More info to come soon, but I highly recommend that you go get your fake mustache now.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Your Saturday Guide for April 19, 2008
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 review of Drunk and Horny.
$5
9PMish - 2.00AM (with maybe an afterparty)
Underground SF, 424 Haight Street x Webster
Frisco Disco at The Transfer
Every Saturday night they're lined up on the street for this party; haven't made it past the sweating crowds myself yet, but this looks like one of the hottest things going right now, you should check it out yourself and let me know what you think.
No cover listed
9.00PM - 2.00AM
The Transfer, Church at Market
Hot Mess at The Stud
A Gus Presents production with DJ Kidd Sysko spinning a little disco punk, a little hip-hop, and a lot of club. Check out the link for his Top 20 and decide for yourself. I hear there's also baby oil wrestling.
10PM - 3AM
$5
The Stud, 9th x Harrison.
Bistrotheque with Ken Vulsion at Cafe Flore
I've been remiss in not previously mentioning Ken Vulsion of Honey Sound System's Bistrotheque at Cafe Flore on Satuday evenings. A great place to go have a bite, warm up with a couple drinks, and groove along with Ken.
6PM - 12AM
NO COVER
Cafe Flore, 2298 Market Street x Noe
Monthlies and One-Offs
Tedd Patterson at Temple
The guys behind Fag Fridays present Tedd Patterson and David Harness in a slick downtown space.
10PM - 4AM
$10 before 11, $20 after
Temple, 540 Howard Street btwn 1st and 2nd
Bearracuda at Deco Lounge
For bears and those who love them. With DJs Jason Kendig (Honey Sound System) and Medic.
9PM - 3AM
$6
Deco Lounge, 510 Larkin x Turk
Chrome at The Gangway
A queer rock monthly from the same guys who bring you Trans Am.
9PM - 3AM
$3
Larkin x Geary
The Show at The EndUp
Aries Underground night with DJs from Sunset, Brass Tax, NK7, Space Cowboys, Rockit Science and SENSE.
10PM to 12 Noon Sunday (yes, 14 hours)
FREE before 11, $10 with RSVP to www.sensesf.com/show
The EndUp, 6th x Harrison
Junkie XL with Tommie Sunshine at Mezzanine
A dance club stalwart with another super-prolific producer, both guaranteed to have mass appeal.
10PM - 3AM
$20
Mezzanine, 444 Jessie Street x Mint
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 review of Drunk and Horny.
$5
9PMish - 2.00AM (with maybe an afterparty)
Underground SF, 424 Haight Street x Webster
Frisco Disco at The Transfer
Every Saturday night they're lined up on the street for this party; haven't made it past the sweating crowds myself yet, but this looks like one of the hottest things going right now, you should check it out yourself and let me know what you think.
No cover listed
9.00PM - 2.00AM
The Transfer, Church at Market
Hot Mess at The Stud
A Gus Presents production with DJ Kidd Sysko spinning a little disco punk, a little hip-hop, and a lot of club. Check out the link for his Top 20 and decide for yourself. I hear there's also baby oil wrestling.
10PM - 3AM
$5
The Stud, 9th x Harrison.
Bistrotheque with Ken Vulsion at Cafe Flore
I've been remiss in not previously mentioning Ken Vulsion of Honey Sound System's Bistrotheque at Cafe Flore on Satuday evenings. A great place to go have a bite, warm up with a couple drinks, and groove along with Ken.
6PM - 12AM
NO COVER
Cafe Flore, 2298 Market Street x Noe
Monthlies and One-Offs
Tedd Patterson at Temple
The guys behind Fag Fridays present Tedd Patterson and David Harness in a slick downtown space.
10PM - 4AM
$10 before 11, $20 after
Temple, 540 Howard Street btwn 1st and 2nd
Bearracuda at Deco Lounge
For bears and those who love them. With DJs Jason Kendig (Honey Sound System) and Medic.
9PM - 3AM
$6
Deco Lounge, 510 Larkin x Turk
Chrome at The Gangway
A queer rock monthly from the same guys who bring you Trans Am.
9PM - 3AM
$3
Larkin x Geary
The Show at The EndUp
Aries Underground night with DJs from Sunset, Brass Tax, NK7, Space Cowboys, Rockit Science and SENSE.
10PM to 12 Noon Sunday (yes, 14 hours)
FREE before 11, $10 with RSVP to www.sensesf.com/show
The EndUp, 6th x Harrison
Junkie XL with Tommie Sunshine at Mezzanine
A dance club stalwart with another super-prolific producer, both guaranteed to have mass appeal.
10PM - 3AM
$20
Mezzanine, 444 Jessie Street x Mint
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Your Friday Guide for April 18, 2008
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
KillSwitch Happy Hour at UndergroundSF
Techno happy hour, this week with DJ Disconnect and a live PA from Chel-C Faith of DEF-SF.
6PM - 10PM
NO COVER
UndergroundSF, 424 Haight x Webster
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. 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
FREE!
The Jaded Gay DJ Recommends: Sick! at The Matador
A nice dive bar with techno tunes, a perfect place to start your night or to spend it. Residents D Spurlock, Jeffrey Allen, Jonathon Neil, Kuze, and Meekrob. Check out my review of Sick!
9PM - 2AM
FREE
Matador, 10 6th Street x Market
GhettoDisco at The EndUp
With DJs Sean Greene, Hawthorne, Adrian and Cuervo.
11PM - 11AM
FREE before midnight, $20 until 2AM, $30 after 2AM
The EndUp, 6th x Harrison
Blow-Up at The Rickshaw Stop
Third Anniversary party with resident Richie Panic (Frisco Disco) and guest DJ Junior Sanchez, plus Designer Drugs and Jhn Rdn.
10PM - 2AM
$10 for 21+, $12 for 18-21
The Rickshaw Stop, 155 Fell at Van Ness
Monthlies and One-Offs
The Jaded Gay DJ Recommends: Heat at The Stud
This month's installment features a live performance from Ejector! Check out my previous review of Heat.
10PM - 3AM
$5
The Stud, 9th x Harrison
Shark Attack! at the Cat Club
Orko, Starr, Rubyacht, and Macro spin dark indie electro pop minimal prog dance.
9PM - 2AM
FREE before 10, $5 after
Cat Club, 1190 Folsom x 9th
Get your lounge groove on with DJ Mak in this swank hotel bar.
6PM - 8PM
NO COVER
W Hotel, 181 3rd Street x Howard
KillSwitch Happy Hour at UndergroundSF
Techno happy hour, this week with DJ Disconnect and a live PA from Chel-C Faith of DEF-SF.
6PM - 10PM
NO COVER
UndergroundSF, 424 Haight x Webster
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. 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
FREE!
The Jaded Gay DJ Recommends: Sick! at The Matador
A nice dive bar with techno tunes, a perfect place to start your night or to spend it. Residents D Spurlock, Jeffrey Allen, Jonathon Neil, Kuze, and Meekrob. Check out my review of Sick!
9PM - 2AM
FREE
Matador, 10 6th Street x Market
GhettoDisco at The EndUp
With DJs Sean Greene, Hawthorne, Adrian and Cuervo.
11PM - 11AM
FREE before midnight, $20 until 2AM, $30 after 2AM
The EndUp, 6th x Harrison
Blow-Up at The Rickshaw Stop
Third Anniversary party with resident Richie Panic (Frisco Disco) and guest DJ Junior Sanchez, plus Designer Drugs and Jhn Rdn.
10PM - 2AM
$10 for 21+, $12 for 18-21
The Rickshaw Stop, 155 Fell at Van Ness
Monthlies and One-Offs
The Jaded Gay DJ Recommends: Heat at The Stud
This month's installment features a live performance from Ejector! Check out my previous review of Heat.
10PM - 3AM
$5
The Stud, 9th x Harrison
Shark Attack! at the Cat Club
Orko, Starr, Rubyacht, and Macro spin dark indie electro pop minimal prog dance.
9PM - 2AM
FREE before 10, $5 after
Cat Club, 1190 Folsom x 9th
Monday, April 14, 2008
Upcoming Event: Sex and Candy at The Stud, Thursday April 17
A night of electro-punk-pop, new-rave, indie, goth, britpop, dance music, plus rock singalongs, straight girls watching gay boys make out, glam makeovers and CANDY.
Free before 10 pm, $5 after
9:00 PM - 2:00 AM
The Stud, 399 9th Street x Harrison
www.elasticfuture.com
Free before 10 pm, $5 after
9:00 PM - 2:00 AM
The Stud, 399 9th Street x Harrison
www.elasticfuture.com
Event Review: Timo Maas with Hercules & Love Affair and Honey Sound System at Mezzanine
Timo Maas with Hercules & Love Affair and Honey Sound System had the strangest vibe of any club event I've attended recently, but I had a great time dancing to Maas' set, and he is showing a definite evolution toward a techno-influenced sound.
The strangeness of the vibe came from what felt like two separate parties going on in the same space; during the DJ set from Hercules & Love Affair there were lots of toga-clad gay boys on the dancefloor who immediately retreated to the upstairs lounge where the Honey Sound System DJs were playing when Maas came on. Some of the advertising for the night (including some that was up in Mezzanine's bathroom) made it seem as if Hercules & Love Affair were the headliners for the night, with Timo Maas' name in tiny letters down next to the address for Mezzanine, and these partygoers seemed to think that was the case as well. As a fan of Timo Maas I must admit that this bugged me, since Hercules and Love Affair have released exactly one album and two singles in their year of existence, where Timo Maas has been a headlining DJ for over fifteen years, released five albums of his own material and DJ mixes with contributions from artists like Nenah Cherry and Brian Molko, and remixed the likes of Madonna, Depeche Mode, Moloko, Tori Amos, and Jamiroquai. I assume that this was an attempt to promote the event more directly to a gay audience, with the assumption that no one who was into Hercules and Love Affair would also be into Timo Maas, but I also have it on very good authority that Timo Maas is gay (consider the lyrics he wrote for "Pictures" if you doubt this, and the fact that he has performed at the Community Dance stage at SF Pride), so you'd think that if the marketing was all about the sexuality of the performer, Maas would have gotten a tiny bit more respect than he did. I'll resist my usual tendency to over-analyze what I think was behind all this, as well as the exodus that took place when Maas came on, and just say that it happened, I was disappointed that it happened, and that I think Maas should have been given just a little bit more respect for his contributions to the world of dance music.
I didn't catch that much of the DJ set from Hercules and Love Affair (which was really just Andy Butler), but what I did I felt was pretty "eh." Granted, I wasn't particularly pre-disposed toward liking it to start with, but what Butler served up was a pretty standard foray into disco house that, in terms of flow, struck me as very muddled, and, in terms of programming, was what I have come to expect as standard gay DJ material. I also have to say that, after the Joakim party I went to a couple months ago, I've become very leery of these producers-touring-as-DJs; if someone is a big producer, then when I go out to hear them I want to hear their material performed, and if I want to go dance to a DJ, then I'll go to hear someone I know as a DJ. As with Joakim and other producers, the problem seems to be that the original material doesn't travel outside of the studio, since most of it is assembled on a computer anyway, so the only way to "tour" is as a DJ, which generally means just playing a bunch of tracks that you like. In Butler's case he does have the experience of having DJed parties for Chocolate Thunder Pussy in Denver, so he his transitions were clean (if rather sudden, I didn't hear much in the way of mixing going on) and his tempos matched, but if you didn't know anything about the success of Hercules and Love Affair in the bloghaus scene you might have wondered what all the fuss was about.
Maas' set started off a bit weak for my taste, but by the time we'd gone out for a smoke and come back it had built into a steady groove that kept us moving for more than an hour straight. There were a couple odd programming choices, as when he dropped in a vocal track toward the beginning of his set that completely changed the vibe, and then again around the 2.30 mark when he downshifted rather abruptly, but overall it was a smooth, seamless journey. He's moved away from the breakbeat rhythms of the Pictures album, and way away from the progressive approach of Music for the Maases, to embrace the steady burn of techno, though in his track selection you can still hear the very synthetic sounds I associate with deeper trance. Our only complaint was that he seemed a bit detached from the dancefloor, chatting with people up in the booth and not really tweaking around with the tracks, though the dancers who were there were quite enthusiastic about his set. My main thought for the evening was that it was nice to go out and hear someone who takes a real old-skool approach to DJing, who is a master of the long mix and can keep a steady energy flow on the dancefloor, who is up there behind the decks not because that's a constraint imposed upon him, but because it's where he creates his art. I hope that, if Maas comes back to San Francisco in the near future, a few more people might come to hear what he's up to, not because of whatever scene he's associated with or his sexuality, but because they want to be moved by world-class DJ and producer who is always ready to bring something new to the dancefloor.
The strangeness of the vibe came from what felt like two separate parties going on in the same space; during the DJ set from Hercules & Love Affair there were lots of toga-clad gay boys on the dancefloor who immediately retreated to the upstairs lounge where the Honey Sound System DJs were playing when Maas came on. Some of the advertising for the night (including some that was up in Mezzanine's bathroom) made it seem as if Hercules & Love Affair were the headliners for the night, with Timo Maas' name in tiny letters down next to the address for Mezzanine, and these partygoers seemed to think that was the case as well. As a fan of Timo Maas I must admit that this bugged me, since Hercules and Love Affair have released exactly one album and two singles in their year of existence, where Timo Maas has been a headlining DJ for over fifteen years, released five albums of his own material and DJ mixes with contributions from artists like Nenah Cherry and Brian Molko, and remixed the likes of Madonna, Depeche Mode, Moloko, Tori Amos, and Jamiroquai. I assume that this was an attempt to promote the event more directly to a gay audience, with the assumption that no one who was into Hercules and Love Affair would also be into Timo Maas, but I also have it on very good authority that Timo Maas is gay (consider the lyrics he wrote for "Pictures" if you doubt this, and the fact that he has performed at the Community Dance stage at SF Pride), so you'd think that if the marketing was all about the sexuality of the performer, Maas would have gotten a tiny bit more respect than he did. I'll resist my usual tendency to over-analyze what I think was behind all this, as well as the exodus that took place when Maas came on, and just say that it happened, I was disappointed that it happened, and that I think Maas should have been given just a little bit more respect for his contributions to the world of dance music.
I didn't catch that much of the DJ set from Hercules and Love Affair (which was really just Andy Butler), but what I did I felt was pretty "eh." Granted, I wasn't particularly pre-disposed toward liking it to start with, but what Butler served up was a pretty standard foray into disco house that, in terms of flow, struck me as very muddled, and, in terms of programming, was what I have come to expect as standard gay DJ material. I also have to say that, after the Joakim party I went to a couple months ago, I've become very leery of these producers-touring-as-DJs; if someone is a big producer, then when I go out to hear them I want to hear their material performed, and if I want to go dance to a DJ, then I'll go to hear someone I know as a DJ. As with Joakim and other producers, the problem seems to be that the original material doesn't travel outside of the studio, since most of it is assembled on a computer anyway, so the only way to "tour" is as a DJ, which generally means just playing a bunch of tracks that you like. In Butler's case he does have the experience of having DJed parties for Chocolate Thunder Pussy in Denver, so he his transitions were clean (if rather sudden, I didn't hear much in the way of mixing going on) and his tempos matched, but if you didn't know anything about the success of Hercules and Love Affair in the bloghaus scene you might have wondered what all the fuss was about.
Maas' set started off a bit weak for my taste, but by the time we'd gone out for a smoke and come back it had built into a steady groove that kept us moving for more than an hour straight. There were a couple odd programming choices, as when he dropped in a vocal track toward the beginning of his set that completely changed the vibe, and then again around the 2.30 mark when he downshifted rather abruptly, but overall it was a smooth, seamless journey. He's moved away from the breakbeat rhythms of the Pictures album, and way away from the progressive approach of Music for the Maases, to embrace the steady burn of techno, though in his track selection you can still hear the very synthetic sounds I associate with deeper trance. Our only complaint was that he seemed a bit detached from the dancefloor, chatting with people up in the booth and not really tweaking around with the tracks, though the dancers who were there were quite enthusiastic about his set. My main thought for the evening was that it was nice to go out and hear someone who takes a real old-skool approach to DJing, who is a master of the long mix and can keep a steady energy flow on the dancefloor, who is up there behind the decks not because that's a constraint imposed upon him, but because it's where he creates his art. I hope that, if Maas comes back to San Francisco in the near future, a few more people might come to hear what he's up to, not because of whatever scene he's associated with or his sexuality, but because they want to be moved by world-class DJ and producer who is always ready to bring something new to the dancefloor.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Your Saturday Guide for April 12, 2008
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. Check out my reviews of Drunk and Horny.
$5
9PMish - 2.00AM (with maybe an afterparty)
Underground SF, 424 Haight Street x Webster
Frisco Disco at The Transfer
Every Saturday night they're lined up on the street for this party; haven't made it past the sweating crowds myself yet, but this looks like one of the hottest things going right now. Check it out yourself and let me know what you think.
No cover listed
9.00PM - 2.00AM
The Transfer, Church at Market
Hot Mess at The Stud
A Gus Presents production with DJ Kidd Sysko spinning a little disco punk, a little hip-hop, and a lot of club. Check out the link to see his Top 20 and decide for yourself. I also hear there's baby oil wrestling.
10PM - 3AM
$5
The Stud, 9th x Harrison.
Monthlies and One-Offs
Ferrari at Deco Lounge
Looking for a fix of class, trash, and disco? Then look no further than West Add Radio's Ferrari party, with DJs Primo, Nicky B., Conor, Nico, Jordan, and McVick.
10PM - 3AM
No cover listed
Deco Lounge, 510 Larkin x Turk
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. Check out my reviews of Drunk and Horny.
$5
9PMish - 2.00AM (with maybe an afterparty)
Underground SF, 424 Haight Street x Webster
Frisco Disco at The Transfer
Every Saturday night they're lined up on the street for this party; haven't made it past the sweating crowds myself yet, but this looks like one of the hottest things going right now. Check it out yourself and let me know what you think.
No cover listed
9.00PM - 2.00AM
The Transfer, Church at Market
Hot Mess at The Stud
A Gus Presents production with DJ Kidd Sysko spinning a little disco punk, a little hip-hop, and a lot of club. Check out the link to see his Top 20 and decide for yourself. I also hear there's baby oil wrestling.
10PM - 3AM
$5
The Stud, 9th x Harrison.
Monthlies and One-Offs
Ferrari at Deco Lounge
Looking for a fix of class, trash, and disco? Then look no further than West Add Radio's Ferrari party, with DJs Primo, Nicky B., Conor, Nico, Jordan, and McVick.
10PM - 3AM
No cover listed
Deco Lounge, 510 Larkin x Turk
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Sophie Maxwell Withdraws Name from Promoter Legislation
Word comes from Supervisor Bevan Dufty's office that Sophie Maxwell, the original sponsor, has withdrawn her name from the new nightlife legislation. Though the Mayor's name is still on it as a sponsor, it now has no support from the Board of Supervisors, meaning it's effectively dead. Everyone who turned out to oppose it should congratulate themselves for their efforts. Good job, everybody!
Your Friday Guide for April 11, 2008
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
KillSwitch Happy Hour at UndergroundSF
Techno happy hour, this week with Platform DJs Nikola Baytala, Craig Kuna, Myles Egner & Dima.
6PM - 10PM
NO COVER
UndergroundSF, 424 Haight x Webster
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. 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 Jaded Gay DJ Recommends: Sick! at The Matador
A nice dive bar with techno tunes, a perfect place to start your night or to spend it. Residents D Spurlock, Jeffrey Allen, Jonathon Neil, Kuze, and Meekrob. Check out my review of Sick!
10PM - 2AM
FREE
Matador, 10 6th Street x Market
GhettoDisco at The EndUp
With Manny Lehman, Hawthorne, and Matt Consola.
11PM - 11AM
FREE before midnight, $20 until 2AM, $30 after 2AM
The EndUp, 6th x Harrison
Monthlies and One-Offs
Lights Down Low at Club 222
With resident DJs Sleazemore and Rchrd OH!? and special guests. Check out my previous reviews of Lights Down Low.
10PM - 2AM
$7
Club 222, 222 Hyde Street x Turk
The Jaded Gay DJ Recommends: Bender at The Transfer
Always a lively crowd. With resident DJs Candy and DJ6 (Lucky Pierre).
9PM - 2AM
NO COVER!
The Transfer, Church and Market
The Rod at Deco Lounge
I've warmed more to Bus Station John's retro disco since my initial review, but whether you'll be into it really depends on how you feel about late 70s and early 80s gay nostalgia. Check out my review of The Rod.
10PM - 4AM
FREE before 10PM, $5 After
Deco Lounge, 510 Larkin at Turk
Timo Maas with Hercules & Love Affair and Honey Sound System at Mezzanine
An all-around stellar line-up of the old skool, new skool, and the bloghaus scenes. This is my destination for the night. Note that Hercules & Love Affair are only doing a DJ set.
10PM - 3AM
Limited $15 advance, $25 advance at ticketweb
Mezzanine, 444 Jessie x Mint
Get your lounge groove on with DJ Mak in this swank hotel bar.
6PM - 8PM
NO COVER
W Hotel, 181 3rd Street x Howard
KillSwitch Happy Hour at UndergroundSF
Techno happy hour, this week with Platform DJs Nikola Baytala, Craig Kuna, Myles Egner & Dima.
6PM - 10PM
NO COVER
UndergroundSF, 424 Haight x Webster
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. 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 Jaded Gay DJ Recommends: Sick! at The Matador
A nice dive bar with techno tunes, a perfect place to start your night or to spend it. Residents D Spurlock, Jeffrey Allen, Jonathon Neil, Kuze, and Meekrob. Check out my review of Sick!
10PM - 2AM
FREE
Matador, 10 6th Street x Market
GhettoDisco at The EndUp
With Manny Lehman, Hawthorne, and Matt Consola.
11PM - 11AM
FREE before midnight, $20 until 2AM, $30 after 2AM
The EndUp, 6th x Harrison
Monthlies and One-Offs
Lights Down Low at Club 222
With resident DJs Sleazemore and Rchrd OH!? and special guests. Check out my previous reviews of Lights Down Low.
10PM - 2AM
$7
Club 222, 222 Hyde Street x Turk
The Jaded Gay DJ Recommends: Bender at The Transfer
Always a lively crowd. With resident DJs Candy and DJ6 (Lucky Pierre).
9PM - 2AM
NO COVER!
The Transfer, Church and Market
The Rod at Deco Lounge
I've warmed more to Bus Station John's retro disco since my initial review, but whether you'll be into it really depends on how you feel about late 70s and early 80s gay nostalgia. Check out my review of The Rod.
10PM - 4AM
FREE before 10PM, $5 After
Deco Lounge, 510 Larkin at Turk
Timo Maas with Hercules & Love Affair and Honey Sound System at Mezzanine
An all-around stellar line-up of the old skool, new skool, and the bloghaus scenes. This is my destination for the night. Note that Hercules & Love Affair are only doing a DJ set.
10PM - 3AM
Limited $15 advance, $25 advance at ticketweb
Mezzanine, 444 Jessie x Mint
Monday, April 7, 2008
Event Review: Lucky Pierre Update
The boyfriend, J, our friend Victor from Seattle, and I stopped into Lucky Pierre on Friday night and found that, after going for over a year, the scene is still hopping. It was Charisma Glitterati's birthday party, and the dance floor was going from 10.30 until we finally took off after 1. DJ6 and Donimo kept the beat rather poppy through the first part of the evening, but then reached down into their bags for some harder tracks with the sawtooth bassline growl that I love later in the evening. I also have to give props to Lucky Pierre for the best integration of drag performance with music and the dancefloor that I've seen in San Francisco; no stopping the dancing to make everyone watch, no MC, just the DJs mixing in the tracks and the girls getting out there to strut their stuff, taking the energy up a notch higher than bringing everything to a screeching halt. With the weather warming up finally I think the boys are going to warm up as well, so when you're feeling frisky next month head out to Lucky Pierre for some great music, fun drag, and sexy strip poker.
Upcoming Event: Timo Maas with Hercules & Love Affair and Honey Sound System at Mezzanine, Friday April 11
From some of the flyers I've seen you'd think that Hercules & Love Affair were the headliners for this event, and while I'm certain they hold higher stature in the minds of some than Timo Maas, I think it would be a serious mistake to underestimate just what the man will be bringing to Mezzanine on Friday night. It's been a while since I heard anything new from Timo, but "Pictures," with Brian Molko of Placebo, was one of the scariest, sexiest tracks I've heard in a long while, and the fact that it was about boy-on-boy action (no matter how depraved), made it stand leagues above the pop dross being spun by his contemporaries, and "First Day," remixed by the likes of Adam Freeland, gave dance floors a much-needed dose of revolutionary sentiment. "Music for the Maases 2," arguably his best dance mix, shows a DJ who is willing to tread into darker, harder territory than label mate Paul Oakenfold, and I've anxiously been waiting for him to appear someplace other than Ruby Skye for a long time. So, get there early to check out Hercules & Love Affair, go get gay groovy with the boys from Honey Sound System upstairs, but don't miss out on what is sure to be an interesting set from Timo Maas.
Upcoming Event: Christopher McVick's Fancy Circus Disco Cabaret, Wednesday April 9
Christopher McVick is one of the impressarios behind Ferrari at Deco Lounge, so I'm sure that this will be an equally fabulous party, featuring, as it does, hosts Sylvester McMillions and Crystal Chandelier, and DeeJay PeePlay on the decks. And, even better, there's the promise of monthly themes and variety acts. I give extra bonus fabu points for having a kitty in a top hat and bow tie on the flyer. Best part of all, it's FREE!
10PM - 2AM
FREE
The Make-Out Room, 22nd and Mission
10PM - 2AM
FREE
The Make-Out Room, 22nd and Mission
500 Posts!
A memorable milestone, 500 posts as of Saturday! That's roughly a post a day for the slightly longer than a year that this blog has been running. Seems like a good time to take a moment and reflect on what a year this has been. I've certainly made some new friends through writing SFScene, and gained the enmity of a few people as well (I've been really quite surprised at how seriously people take the things I write, since I'm really not anybody special). It has given me good excuses for going out on the weekends ("I have to find something to write about for the blog") and has also, at times, been a real drag going out on the weekends, simply to find something to write about. I'm happy that San Francisco nightlife seems to have been gaining strength during the time I've been writing this, but also somewhat disappointed in the general lack of vitality that permeates the club scene - at best it seems that there's only enough of a market for nightlife to sustain two or three events on any given weekend evening. I still think that there's lots of room to develop the gay scene, especially when you look out and realize that there are only a small handful of people responsible for most of the gay nights in the city, and often they are only reiterating one of an even smaller number of themes or musical genres.
There have been a couple of times when I've considered giving up this blog - after the furry incident, for example, when I learned the error of taking on an entire Internet-enabled community - but I still like to think that I'm doing something, in some small way, that has an influence on San Francisco's cultural fabric, even if it's just by making other people aware of what's going on and what might be worth checking out. So, I think I'm going to try and tough it out for another 500 posts, taking some of what I've learned from the previous 500 to make this blog something that even more people will want to read. To those of you who've sent me emails, subscribed, and commented, thanks so much, I hope you'll continue on with me in this excursion into the San Francisco demimonde.
There have been a couple of times when I've considered giving up this blog - after the furry incident, for example, when I learned the error of taking on an entire Internet-enabled community - but I still like to think that I'm doing something, in some small way, that has an influence on San Francisco's cultural fabric, even if it's just by making other people aware of what's going on and what might be worth checking out. So, I think I'm going to try and tough it out for another 500 posts, taking some of what I've learned from the previous 500 to make this blog something that even more people will want to read. To those of you who've sent me emails, subscribed, and commented, thanks so much, I hope you'll continue on with me in this excursion into the San Francisco demimonde.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Your Saturday Guide for April 5, 2008
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 can get claustrophobically crowded. Check out my reviews of Drunk and Horny.
$5
9PMish - 2.00AM (with maybe an afterparty)
Underground SF, 424 Haight Street x Webster
Frisco Disco at The Transfer
Every Saturday night they're lined up on the street for this party; haven't made it past the sweating crowds myself yet, but this looks like one of the hottest things going right now. Check it out yourselves and let me know what you think.
No cover listed
9.00PM - 2.00AM
The Transfer, Church at Market
Hot Mess at The Stud
A Gus Presents production with DJ Kidd Sysko spinning a little disco punk, a little hip-hop, and a lot of club. Check out the link for his Top 20 and decide for yourself.
10PM - 3AM
$5
The Stud, 9th x Harrison.
Bistrotheque with Ken Vulsion at Cafe Flore
I've been remiss in not previously mentioning Ken Vulsion of Honey Sound System's Bistrotheque at Cafe Flore on Satuday evenings. A great place to go have a bite, warm up with a couple drinks, and groove along with Ken.
6PM - 12AM
NO COVER
Cafe Flore, 2298 Market Street x Noe
Bearracuda at Deco Lounge
For bears and those who love them. With DJs Boyshapedbox (Viva La Basket!), and Underdog.
9PM - 3AM
$6
Deco Lounge, 510 Larkin x Turk
Monthlies and One Offs
The Jaded Gay DJ Recommends:Kontrol at the End Up
With guest Pan-Pot. Check out my recent review of Kontrol.
10PM - 6AM
FREE before 11, $20 after
The End Up, 6th x Harrison
Trans Am at Club Eight
Rock/punk/indie music from resident Dirty Knees, usually with a band performing as well. Check out my review of Trans Am.
10PM - 2AM
$5
Club Eight, 1151 Folsom x Eighth.
Autchere with Massonix and Rob Hall at Mezzanine
Glitch pop legends performing live, something well worth checking out.
9PM - 2AM
$20
Mezzanine, 444 Jessie Street x Mint
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 can get claustrophobically crowded. Check out my reviews of Drunk and Horny.
$5
9PMish - 2.00AM (with maybe an afterparty)
Underground SF, 424 Haight Street x Webster
Frisco Disco at The Transfer
Every Saturday night they're lined up on the street for this party; haven't made it past the sweating crowds myself yet, but this looks like one of the hottest things going right now. Check it out yourselves and let me know what you think.
No cover listed
9.00PM - 2.00AM
The Transfer, Church at Market
Hot Mess at The Stud
A Gus Presents production with DJ Kidd Sysko spinning a little disco punk, a little hip-hop, and a lot of club. Check out the link for his Top 20 and decide for yourself.
10PM - 3AM
$5
The Stud, 9th x Harrison.
Bistrotheque with Ken Vulsion at Cafe Flore
I've been remiss in not previously mentioning Ken Vulsion of Honey Sound System's Bistrotheque at Cafe Flore on Satuday evenings. A great place to go have a bite, warm up with a couple drinks, and groove along with Ken.
6PM - 12AM
NO COVER
Cafe Flore, 2298 Market Street x Noe
Bearracuda at Deco Lounge
For bears and those who love them. With DJs Boyshapedbox (Viva La Basket!), and Underdog.
9PM - 3AM
$6
Deco Lounge, 510 Larkin x Turk
Monthlies and One Offs
The Jaded Gay DJ Recommends:Kontrol at the End Up
With guest Pan-Pot. Check out my recent review of Kontrol.
10PM - 6AM
FREE before 11, $20 after
The End Up, 6th x Harrison
Trans Am at Club Eight
Rock/punk/indie music from resident Dirty Knees, usually with a band performing as well. Check out my review of Trans Am.
10PM - 2AM
$5
Club Eight, 1151 Folsom x Eighth.
Autchere with Massonix and Rob Hall at Mezzanine
Glitch pop legends performing live, something well worth checking out.
9PM - 2AM
$20
Mezzanine, 444 Jessie Street x Mint
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Your Friday Night Guide for April 4, 2008
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
KillSwitch Happy Hour at UndergroundSF
Techno happy hour, this week with Tasho (Mothership, Stompy).
6PM - 10PM
NO COVER
UndergroundSF, 424 Haight x Webster
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 reviews of Charlie Horse at The Cinch.
9PM - close
NO COVER
The Cinch, 1723 Polk Street (between Clay and Washington)
GhettoDisco at The EndUp
With residents Vince, Hawthorne, and Jim Hopkins.
11PM - 11AM
FREE before midnight, $20 until 2AM, $30 after 2AM
The EndUp, 6th x Harrison
Sick! at The Matador
Just found out about this techno night that started up in November in the location of the old Arrow bar. Residents D Spurlock, Jeffrey Allen, Jonathon Neil, Kuze, and Meekrob. Check out my review of Sick!
9PM - 2AM
FREE
Matador, 10 6th Street x Market
Monthlies and One-Offs
Garth and Jeno Back2Back at Club222
San Francisco house legends Garth and Jeno in one of the best intimate dance spaces in the city.
10PM - 2AM
$10
Club 222, 222 Hyde Street
Club Loaded at The Rickshaw Stop
With the live band debut of Lady Miss Kier from DEE-Lite.
10PM - 2AM
$12, $15 for 18-21
The Rickshaw Stop, 155 Fell x Van Ness
The Jaded Gay DJ Recommends: Lucky Pi$erre at The Stud
Charisma Glitterati's birthday bash, with DJs Donimo and DJ6!
Check out my review of Lucky Pierre!
10PM - 3AM
$5 before 11PM, $7 after
The Stud, 9th x Harrison
Oh so many breaks DJs, check the link for the full line-up.
10PM - 4AM
$10 before midnight, $15 after
Mighty, 199 Utah Street x 15th
Event Review: Techno Tuesdays/Lil Brthr at 222 Hyde
One of the great benefits of being laid off is that now I have the time to check out all those weekly events that would normally keep me up past my bedtime. In a celebratory mood after attending the Entertainment Commission meeting on Tuesday, I decided to go check out Auralism Record's lil brthr at Club 222 Hyde, one of the rotating events in the club's weekly Techno Tuesdays. It was an unexpectedly active event for a Tuesday night, with some great minimal techno that, while it might not necessarily move you into a long session of sweaty dancing, is certainly great for head-nodding and getting plastered with your friends on absurdly cheap drinks while munching on some fine, homemade, thin-crust pizza.
OK, let's get to the drinks: $2.00 for a vodka tonic! Yes, that's right, $2.00! The first time I paid I thought I misheard the man, then counted my change. A better bargain in San Francisco I don't know of, but I should point out that if you really want to blend into the crowd here, order yourself a Pilsner Urquell tall boy.
I arrived right around 10 and shortly thereafter ran into David Peterson and his partner Jose Mineros, who is starting a new urban house night called Collide at Club 222 on Saturdays. We chatted in the upstairs bar for a while, during which time I found myself nodding along to some easy-going minimal techno with a consistent shuffle beat from resident Roman Stange. When I went back down into the dance area there were about 25 heads hanging out, listening to a female DJ who I think was Dima, with a few folks doing the jerky spazz dance, but mostly just bobbing along. I liked her set quite a bit, varying as it did from Outhud's "Put it away, put it away, put it away, dad" (which made me laugh when she put it on) to a remix of The Rapture's "W.A.Y.U.H.", to some fairly dark stuff that bordered on minimal psy, winding up, just as I was leaving, with Sammy Dee and Guido Schneider's "Styleways" (I think this is right, I recognized the track from Ricardo Villalobos' "Blue" disc in the Green&Blue compilation, but my audio memory is little fuzzy this morning). Overall a darker, deeper set of the sort that I appreciate, and the fact that she seemed to be playing exclusively on vinyl was even more endearing.
I counted about fifty people in the whole place when I left around 12.30, a certainly respectable showing for a Tuesday night; Alland Byallo even popped by to drop off flyer's for this Saturday's Kontrol. If you've got a free Tuesday night and an even freer Wednesday morning you should definitely come by and check out what's happening at Techno Tuesdays, you're bound to hear some good tunes, get plastered on cheap drinks, and maybe sober up with some tasty pizza after the aroma of it baking compels you to try some.
OK, let's get to the drinks: $2.00 for a vodka tonic! Yes, that's right, $2.00! The first time I paid I thought I misheard the man, then counted my change. A better bargain in San Francisco I don't know of, but I should point out that if you really want to blend into the crowd here, order yourself a Pilsner Urquell tall boy.
I arrived right around 10 and shortly thereafter ran into David Peterson and his partner Jose Mineros, who is starting a new urban house night called Collide at Club 222 on Saturdays. We chatted in the upstairs bar for a while, during which time I found myself nodding along to some easy-going minimal techno with a consistent shuffle beat from resident Roman Stange. When I went back down into the dance area there were about 25 heads hanging out, listening to a female DJ who I think was Dima, with a few folks doing the jerky spazz dance, but mostly just bobbing along. I liked her set quite a bit, varying as it did from Outhud's "Put it away, put it away, put it away, dad" (which made me laugh when she put it on) to a remix of The Rapture's "W.A.Y.U.H.", to some fairly dark stuff that bordered on minimal psy, winding up, just as I was leaving, with Sammy Dee and Guido Schneider's "Styleways" (I think this is right, I recognized the track from Ricardo Villalobos' "Blue" disc in the Green&Blue compilation, but my audio memory is little fuzzy this morning). Overall a darker, deeper set of the sort that I appreciate, and the fact that she seemed to be playing exclusively on vinyl was even more endearing.
I counted about fifty people in the whole place when I left around 12.30, a certainly respectable showing for a Tuesday night; Alland Byallo even popped by to drop off flyer's for this Saturday's Kontrol. If you've got a free Tuesday night and an even freer Wednesday morning you should definitely come by and check out what's happening at Techno Tuesdays, you're bound to hear some good tunes, get plastered on cheap drinks, and maybe sober up with some tasty pizza after the aroma of it baking compels you to try some.
Update on Promoter Permit Legislation: Rejected Unanimously at Entertainment Commission Meeting
At Tuesday's meeting of the Entertainment Commission over fifty members of the public, including a wedding planner, representatives of non-profit and fundraising agencies, two members of the Board of Supervisors, venue operators, and promoters all stood up at the podium to voice their opposition to the new promoter permit legislation. At the end of the meeting, all five attending commissioners also opposed it, and the President of the Commission, Audrey Joseph, said that when the review of the legislation was moved from discussion this week to an action item at the next meeting of EC, they would tell the Board of Supervisors they did not support it. Since no one spoke up in support of the new legislation, including anyone from Sophie Maxwell's office, which introduced it, this appears to be dead in the water. To drive the final nails in the coffin, everyone opposing this should still write to their supervisors and let them know how you feel, since, with this much opposition, few Supervisors would be willing to buck against their constituents to support it.
I went into the Commission meeting with a real sense of anxiety over how this could turn out, though I knew that at least Commissioners Alan and Joseph were sympathetic to the opposition. There were only a few people in the room when I showed up at 4.45, including several people I had contacted personally, so I was afraid we would be a minority voice, but then the room began to fill up and soon reached overflow capacity. I had planned to speak, but it really wasn't necessary, as every point I would have made was brought up by someone else. It was very gratifying to see how the whole entertainment community, with clubs and promoters and non-profits from across the musical and sexual spectrum, could come together like that. When I was talking with David Peterson of Fag Fridays and Temple later, he said it reminded him of 2000, when the SFLNC came together to deal with the club crackdown from Captain Martell of the Mission District. It made me think that we need to have a greater sense of solidarity among the nightlife community, because we really are all in it together, and we need to come together more often, and more effectively, to restore San Francisco to its rightful place as a center of world-class nightlife.
I was also thrilled to see Supervisor Bevan Dufty come in and state, in unequivocal terms, his opposition to the legislation, including the possibility of amending it. Dufty has taken a lot of heat over the Halloween debacle for the past couple years, and has been pilloried as a representative of the bourgeouis gay class that has "ruined" the Castro, but I've seen Dufty out clubbing, and in our discussions with him a few weeks ago, I was impressed that he clearly understood the implications of this legislation and would have nothing to do with it. He might be guilty of being more of a pragmatist than the ideologue that many people seem to want in their Supervisors, but I can't really fault him for doing what a politician is supposed to do, which is to seek out compromises that can work for everyone, and come down hard on those things that make no sense for anyone. I was happy to join in the very enthusiastic applause he received after making his comment.
Gerardo Sandoval sent his legislative aide, Luke Klipp, to represent him. Sandoval seems more equivocal, according to Klipp's statement, since he recognizes the problems with this legislation but is "willing to work" with Supervisor Maxwell on it. If you happen to live in Sandoval's district, you might want to shoot him an email and let him know that there's no way that this legislation can be made to work.
By my count, there are at least four Supervisors who will oppose this legislation, either wholly or in party, leaving only two more to find to get it killed. My feeling is that, if Sophie Maxwell is smart, she will withdraw it, rather than face political embarrassment over having it defeated in a Board vote, and come back to work directly with the entertainment community to deal with the issues that brought this about in the first place. And shame on the Mayor's office for setting her up with this ill-conceived bit of political theater.
Minutes of the meeting, including video, will eventually be up on the Entertainment Commission Meeting Information webpage.
I went into the Commission meeting with a real sense of anxiety over how this could turn out, though I knew that at least Commissioners Alan and Joseph were sympathetic to the opposition. There were only a few people in the room when I showed up at 4.45, including several people I had contacted personally, so I was afraid we would be a minority voice, but then the room began to fill up and soon reached overflow capacity. I had planned to speak, but it really wasn't necessary, as every point I would have made was brought up by someone else. It was very gratifying to see how the whole entertainment community, with clubs and promoters and non-profits from across the musical and sexual spectrum, could come together like that. When I was talking with David Peterson of Fag Fridays and Temple later, he said it reminded him of 2000, when the SFLNC came together to deal with the club crackdown from Captain Martell of the Mission District. It made me think that we need to have a greater sense of solidarity among the nightlife community, because we really are all in it together, and we need to come together more often, and more effectively, to restore San Francisco to its rightful place as a center of world-class nightlife.
I was also thrilled to see Supervisor Bevan Dufty come in and state, in unequivocal terms, his opposition to the legislation, including the possibility of amending it. Dufty has taken a lot of heat over the Halloween debacle for the past couple years, and has been pilloried as a representative of the bourgeouis gay class that has "ruined" the Castro, but I've seen Dufty out clubbing, and in our discussions with him a few weeks ago, I was impressed that he clearly understood the implications of this legislation and would have nothing to do with it. He might be guilty of being more of a pragmatist than the ideologue that many people seem to want in their Supervisors, but I can't really fault him for doing what a politician is supposed to do, which is to seek out compromises that can work for everyone, and come down hard on those things that make no sense for anyone. I was happy to join in the very enthusiastic applause he received after making his comment.
Gerardo Sandoval sent his legislative aide, Luke Klipp, to represent him. Sandoval seems more equivocal, according to Klipp's statement, since he recognizes the problems with this legislation but is "willing to work" with Supervisor Maxwell on it. If you happen to live in Sandoval's district, you might want to shoot him an email and let him know that there's no way that this legislation can be made to work.
By my count, there are at least four Supervisors who will oppose this legislation, either wholly or in party, leaving only two more to find to get it killed. My feeling is that, if Sophie Maxwell is smart, she will withdraw it, rather than face political embarrassment over having it defeated in a Board vote, and come back to work directly with the entertainment community to deal with the issues that brought this about in the first place. And shame on the Mayor's office for setting her up with this ill-conceived bit of political theater.
Minutes of the meeting, including video, will eventually be up on the Entertainment Commission Meeting Information webpage.
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