When I saw that the Danish rock-duo, The Raveonettes, are playing this weekend’s SF Oyster Fest— Sat/15 at Fort Mason– I was quite curious how the two band members felt about the animal/food at the heart of the party. Strangely enough, I found a blog post that lifted the mystery and erected another.
Sune Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo are an interesting pair of slightly awkward and wonderful creatures who pluck out stellar ’50s summer-style pop hooks, add in tainted surf guitar and sweetly sing lyrics that aren’t afraid to address the shitty things in life: rape, drugs addiction, betrayal and other Debbie Downers. I can imagine their sound blasting under the San Francisco sun to an outdoor crowd, but thought it was funny to imagine them strumming at an event created for the consumption of bivalve molluscs, or easier known as oysters or shelled ocean friends. I wondered if their publicist/tour manager had to ask them if they liked eating these slimy things before agreeing to take the stage?
Due to the fact that a quick internet browse came up with a blog post from Wagner and Foo themselves, I’m guessing there were no hesitations. The post explains an evening dining experience in New York, chomping on none other than oysters. The photos were obviously taken via camera phone and apparently their waitress “was the best part about the meal.” But here’s what the post had to say about shells:
Foo: “We love oysters. It’s always so interesting to try different oysters at different restaurants.”
Wagner: “They were really great! Well served, fresh, with a nice little sauce that went with them.”
Foo: “Well also, the fact they’re an aphrodisiac, we’ll have to deal with that later on too…”
Have to “deal with that later?” Aphrodisiacs? What??? Foo didn’t believe him either and writes something about not “feeling anything yet” while chugging her glass of wine. But with another quick interweb click, I discover that oysters are in fact a sexy food. Here’s how LiveScience.com described this weird fact:
“Many foods (bananas, asparagus, carrots, avocados) are considered aphrodisiacs because they resemble the penis or testicles. Oysters resemble a vagina. The Romans placed the oyster high on their list of prized aphrodisiacs. Casanova, the legend goes, would eat 50 raw oysters for breakfast. Yet interestingly, oysters (and pine nuts, another ancient aphrodisiac) are high in zinc, which is necessary for sperm production. Raw oysters are also high in D-aspartic acid and N-methyl-D-aspartate, which increased testosterone levels in one study on male rats, which could in theory increase libido, according to Karen Boyle of Johns Hopkins Hospital. “The data is questionable and mixed, but oysters do make a nice appetizer,” she said.”
Oysters resemble the female genitalia? Well, ok yes. Eat up San Francisco…
The Raveonettes w/Cake, Jackie Greene, Thao & The Get Down Stay Down
Sat/15, 11am, $30
The Great Meadow at Fort Mason
(Intersection of Bay and Laguna Streets)
www.oreillysoysterfestival.com/