Super Ego Archives — Page 6 of 14 — San Francisco Bay Guardian Archive 1966

Party Radar: Donuts farewell, Neon Spring, more. Plus: Les mimes!

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April 19, 2012

Party Radar: Donuts farewell, Neon Spring, more. Plus: Les mimes!

Two big nightlife things this week are true: one sad (but hopeful!) and one speechless. The speechless one involves mimes.

Yes, as the Chronicle keeps reporting, the Entertainment Commission is considering following in many European cities’ silent footsteps — perhaps against the wind, perhaps down invisible stairs, perhaps directly into a pernicious, intractable cube — and utilizing street mime troupes to neutralize rowdy nightlife crowds on the street. It is horrifying. These roving claques of pantomimers, or “nocturnal artistic intervention squads” are part of a program called Les Pierrots de la Nuit, which is something I used to say out loud in the shower while I was washing my hair to crack myself up. Now those words have taken quivering, over-gesticulating flesh and I am mortified.

But apparently, according to Paris, Barcelona, and other nexi of noisy nightlife, drawing a crowd’s attention (and, as the Chronicles gossip queen Leah Garchik cracks, possible malevolence?) drawing a crowd’s attention to sudden, engaging/enraging street theater can diffuse the tension clouds and dissipate any impending violence or escalating noise. (Mimes are also good with Venezuelan traffic.)

No word yet (lol) on the EC’s official decision, and I’ll stop beating up on mimes now because I actually revere Marcel Marceau and adore Mummenschantz. And oddly enough, there is actually a funny space for mimes in club history, from the Commedia dell’Arte traditions that inform burlesque, Vaudeville, masquerades, and Burning Man to a strange number of weeks in downtown Manhattan around 1989 when a group of young’uns went around dressed as mimes in a sort-of Clockwork Orange-y homage and attempted to overthrow the then-mouldering Club Kid establishment. So wave your arms, there you go.

Of course this is San Francisco, and we have slightly, er, different problems:

also

>> DONUTS

The sad but hopeful news? Tonight Thu/19 is THE FINAL DONUTS PARTY, a farewell to that wonderful, four-year-old roving nu-disco and hip house throwdown (yes, with free donuts!) as mainstay DJ Pickpocket, a.k.a. Kat Matutina moves to LA for a big job. I’m pissed that we’re not only losing another great party (like Blow Up and Kontol recently), but that we’re also losing an absolutely fabulous and gorgeous nightlife mover and shaker who did a ton to make SF the sophisticated, debaucherous nightlife center it’s become.

No fear though, because she’s going out in biggie style with performances from Ital, Mi Ami, Magic Touch, and others from the beloved dance music label of the moment, 100% Silk. Good luck, Kat — we will miss you!

Thu/19. 9pm, $5. Public Works, 161 Erie, SF. Facebook invite here.

>> NEON SPRING

“Nu-tech-disco and positivity in numbers” are the stated goals of this new “travelling seasonal party” from the the creators of uber-scrumptious Nark Magazine. Here’s the launch, lighting up your primavera, with music by Doc Sleep, Robert Jeffrey, and Nark himself, who is quite stylish and narky! This will be a good meetup for the fluorescent queer children who like to dance, like these:

Thu/19, 9pm, free. The Lookout, 3600 16th St., SF. Facebook invite here.

***Weekend party recos, besides those in my weekly Super Ego column in the paper, coming soon — right after I take a minute to get over this hangover …. ***

Items

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April 17, 2012

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marke@sfbg.com

SUPER EGO So many things I want to write about this week, if only my delicate, exquisite hands could stop doing these fluttery bird-like motions in front of my gorgeous face. Girls, I’ve got a serious case of the Vogues, which along with Perma-Nod, Fist Pump, “Woo!”-itis, Twirlfoot, Strobe-eye, and Record Bag Shoulder will soon flood hospital wards and special care facilities nationwide with my rapidly aging (mid-20s) club generation.

That’s why universal healthcare is so very important! Have we learned nothing from disco’s untreated polyester scars, the shaken sacroiliacs of funk, Rave Damage, Swing Elbow, Goth Pout, the horrible social stigma of Breakdancer’s Breath? Shit staaank. Don’t laugh, teenage Post-Millennials, it’s coming for you. One day you’ll be holding your phone up to record that underground light show, when you’ll realized with horror that no one uses phones as cameras anymore, not even you. You’ll only be holding your phone up in your mind. And then you’ll catch Skrillexatosis.

What am I even talking about? The things I most want to tell you are these. 1) Mimosas and house dancing on Sunday mornings 6am-2pm at Monroe in North Beach are rad, especially the second and third Sundays of each month, hosted by the Pressure! and Forward crews respectively. 2) The Entertainment Commission is actually considering the use of mimes to help control rowdy nighttime crowds, for realz. (Read more on SFBG.com’s Noise blog.) 3) Flaunting its global fan base, amazing weekly Honey Soundsystem is now simulcasting its Sunday night parties at www.mixlr.com /hnysndsystm — so you can kiki out while doing your dishes at home. 4) I just about died when rap prodigy Azaelia Banks broke into the Prodigy’s “Firestarter” at Coachella, did you see it? More please.

THE TUBESTEAK CONNECTION 8-YEAR ANNIVERSARY

Have you noticed we may be going through another heavy period of gentrification? DJ Bus Station John started his weekly Thursday night club in reaction to the last tech boom’s more blanding effects, drawing upon underground queer ’70s culture to keep the gay ’00s freaky, slutty, and disco-lickingly funky (also cell-phone free: don’t Tweet in this room, love, keep it between us.) “A reliable source of good music and fresh meat delivered w/love (& refreshingly w/o irony) by a 50-something bear qween,” is how BSJ himself describes it. “You won’t believe what you just 8!” is how I do.

Thu/19 and every Thursday, 10pm, $5-7. Aunt Charlie’s, 133 Turk, SF.

ROCK IT SCIENCE LABORATORIES DOUBLE ANNIVERSARY

Seven years of parties, two years as a record label, and always keepin’ it ravey-styley — local player Eric Sharp started off throwing Afterglow undergrounds at the storied Infinite Kaos venue and has become a bedrock of the Bay Area dance music (and an early handlebar mustache pioneer), now celebrating with DJ Fame, Eric Reilly, and his RISL (www.rislabs.com) family, which is us, of course. Expect craziness.

Fri/20, 10pm-late, $5 before 11pm. Public Works, 161 Erie, SF. www.publicsf.com

JEFF MILLS

As “The Wizard” on Detroit’s WJLB FM in the ’80s, the genius Mills cut ‘n scratched electro, hip-hop, house, and techno into breathtaking, highly influential conflagrations of party-starting awe. Now he not only beams genius slices of intelligent techno down from the Mothership — he basically is the Mothership, often on multiple turntables, and will deliciously demolish Public Works, along with beloved Detroit house legend Terrance Parker, LA heavy technoist Drumcell, our own Icee Hot DJs, Mossmoss, and more. Sat/21, $15–25. Public Works, 161 Erie, SF. www.publicsf.com

Party Radar: Bye-bye Blow Up (?), Green Velvet, Kenny Larkin, Hookahdome, DJ Kaos, Monty Luke

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April 13, 2012

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Party Radar: Bye-bye Blow Up (?), Green Velvet, Kenny Larkin, Hookahdome, DJ Kaos, Monty Luke

Is it weird that last night I found myself dancing around in my Underoos to Mother Nature’s wowser light show and bass mechanix? Outside the disco, thunder and lightning are rare commodities ’round these parts (they happened, like, maybe three times in the ’90s?), so please forgive me for flashdancing on my fire escape rather than hitting the dance floor. Sometimes you just gotta be a semi-private dancer in the elements, love.

Speaking of spring storms: Sad — but ultimately hopeful — word has came down the wire that two of SF’s best parties, Blow Up and Kontrol are calling it quits, at least in regards to their regular installments. Greg Bird of monthly techno blast Kontrol at the EndUp put out an eloquent statement about how each of the crew’s side projects had taken on lives of their own, and that June 3’s party would be the last, except for special events. Who could blame Kontrol, after seven years of outstanding live techno fun? In any case, we’ve still two months to bid adieu, so keep it together.

But fantastic electro-glamour gig Blow Up’s last weekly party is tonight Fri/13, and you know it’s going out with a bang.

No tears! Ultimate breathtaking hostess Ava Berlin assures me that seven-year-old Blow Up will be back and better than ever — she and ace DJ Jeffrey Paradise are taking off to the desert for a couple months to plan a relaunch and prepare for the continued success of Paradise’s sunny tech-pop outfit Poolside. Blow Up parties will return, no fear. And how perfectly SF is taking off for the desert to regroup for a few. Loving.

Tonight’s farewell Blow Up at DNA Lounge features damn fine remix crew RAC, which has the power to make everything it touches insanely catchy in an old-school electro-pop way, and DJ Miles, indie-hero resident of the lovely Popscene weekly party. Throw on something risque-bananas and toast the bon voyage of this essential piece of SF nightlife gorgeousness.

Fri/13, 10pm-2am, $10-20,18+. DNA Lounge, 375 11th St., SF. Facebook invite

Besides those listed in this week’s Super Ego clubs column, here are some more party picks for the wet and wild weekend:

>> GREEN VELVET

Ah, you dance music genius Curtis Jones — first you ruled the Chicago house scene in the early ’90s as Cajmere. Then you got REALLY freaky — anticipating both the fried and funkdafied antics of Moodymann and the acid-brained electroclash antics of Felix da Housecat. (And for good or ill we are about to experience an electroclash revival, heralded by Felix’s takeover of the Blow Up party last month.) He’ll be headlining the always bonkers Lights Down Low party, as part of host DJ Sleazemore’s birthday celebration.

From 1995:

From 2005:

Fri/13, 9:30pm-3am, $15-$20. SOM, 2925 16th St., SF. More info and advance tix here

>> HOOKAHDOME AT NON STOP BHANGRA

Ever since the amazing Non Stop Bhangra parties moved to Public Works, the audience for this incredible party has exploded — so much so that the party will now take over both of the expansive club’s levels. To launch the upstairs dance room, Jimmy Love and the dholrhythms crew are enlisting the aid of serious Arabic-vibing bass crew Hookahdome: Jef Stott featuring MC Rai, Kush Arora, Drumspyder, bellydancing, and more. It will be a sunburst of global insanity.

Sat/14, 10pm-4am, $10-15. Public Works, 161 Erie, SF Facebook invite here

>> KENNY LARKIN

Essential second-generation Detroit techno innovator Kenny now lives in LA, but he’s as full of ideas and energy as ever (and he’s a pretty great guy to boot). While he hasn’t received as much attention as I think he should for his many contributions, that’s all starting to be rectified with renewed interest in some of Detroit’s less-lauded players. It helps that he’s been getting around a lot more, remixing recent tracks excellently, and playing splendidly! He’ll be joined by another Detroiter, Monty Luke, for a night of solid banging.

Here’s one of my favorite tracks of all time, from 1994:

And here’s a mighty swell remix he did last year:

Sat/14, 9pm, $10-$15. Monarch, 101 6th St., SF. www.monarchsf.com. More info and advance tickets here

>> DJ KAOS

Twisted Berlin star DJ Kaos does have a bit of a reputation for being, well, chaotic in a party way — what do you expect from such a force of nature behind the decks? Still, his “disco-dusted” tunes, perfect gateways to sexy debauchery, are also glimmering slices of urbane perfection. High mixed with low, at the groovy No Way Back party with beloved local DJs Conor and Solar, returning to the awesomely reurbished 222 Hyde. Go get down.

Sat/14, 10pm, $10 with RSVP to Facebook invite. 222 Hyde, SF.

>> MONTY LUKE

Fresh from his night with Kenny Larkin, Monty Luke — a Detroiter with deep SF roots — will be turning the children of the routinely packed and queer-fab Honey Soundsystem Sunday party out. Monty’s been known for a heady blend of bass funk with acid highlights and deep grooves. Lately he seems to be delving into the more cosmic reaches of the classic techno sound, which I will never argue with. This will be a perfect way to round off your weekend in style.

From 2007:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyr0LSTuFRk

From 2011:

Sun/15, 9pm, $5. Holy Cow, 1535 Folsom, SF. Honey Facebook group

Whose house?

Andrew Lam

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April 10, 2012

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marke@sfbg.com

SUPER EGO “The Oakland house scene? Yeah, it’s *^&^*&#! great!” exclaims DJ Dedan, who along with DJ Eman puts on fantastic long-running soulful house party Brothers and Sisters, which moves to Fridays every week starting Fri/13 (10pm, free. Paradiso Lounge, 2272 Telegraph, Oakl. Facebook invite). “We are now home to some great DJs like Cali, Cecil, Rahiem, Deep Cee, Rob Rhythm, Wazir, Eric Groove, Kincaid…,” he continues to me over email. “And we’ve got some great parties like The People and Deeper Side of Soul. So we seem to be putting Oakland on the house map!”

A video from the former location of Brothers and Sisters:

I would add Blessed, Evolve, Taboo, and Elixir to that solid Oakland topography of deep, uplifting, family-style parties. Indeed, other than the monthly Harlum Muziq label showcase at EndUp, celebrating one year on Sun/15 (second Sundays, 8pm-4am, $15, free before midnight with RSVP to m.deep.music@gmail.com before Sunday noon. EndUp, 401 Sixth St., SF. www.facebook.com/harlum.muziq), and Mighty’s Deep and Mighty Real parties (last Saturdays 9pm-4pm, $20-$25. Mighty, 119 Utah, SF. www.mighty119.com), reliable old school house vibes have slipped almost wholly across the Bay.

I’m absolutely loving the abundant cultivation of Oakland’s house soul (www.thismustbetheplace.net is a good guide) which is bringing dancers from all walks of life together on the floor. But is the growing hole in SF’s own a kind of coal mine from which the kooky canary of demographic change peeps? One thing that also seems to be draining from SF parties is crowd diversity. Sometimes I look around and notice that the only people of color at many otherwise quality gigs are the security. It is creepy!

I’m not saying that it’s necessary to draw on communities of color to somehow “authenticate” certain cultural experiences, even if those cultural experiences are mostly derived from those communities. The music will always lift us right out of our skins. I’m just saying that some thriving Oakland parties still look, sound, and feel like the ones I grew up on in San Francisco — often more than the current ones in San Francisco themselves. That might be something to think about, as long as we’re all still dancing.

BROWNOUT

Austin Latin rock band Grupo Fantasma puts on one heck of a cerebellum-searing show — but wait ’til you peep its funky party alter ego Brownout, in which the Grupo members indulge in filthy-sexy covers of the favorite songs of their youth. DJ Senor Oz from Afrolicious and local tropical art-pop fantasy act Chucha Santamaria open up.

Fri/13, 10pm, $10 advance, $12 door. Elbo Room, 647 Valencia, SF. www.elbo.com

2562

Last month, the dominating As You Like It techno crew performed the neat trick of throwing a party on the roof of the W Hotel while still retaining an underground vibe — it wasn’t LA douchy at all! Now it’s time for AYLI’s more earthbound monthly blast at Beatbox (with obligatory debaucherous attendant after party beginning at 6am at 222 Hyde). Deliciously dubby Dutch techno number 2562, a.k.a. A Made Up Sound, and dreamy-groovy German John Osborn headline.

10pm-late, $10 before 11pm, $20 after. Beatbox, 314 11th St., SF. www.ayli-sf.com

TWILIGHT CIRCUS DUB SOUND SYSTEM

Netherlands-based radical dub ideologue Ryan Moore, a.k.a. Twilight Circus (www.twilightcircus.com) describes the atmospheres he creates as “cadaverous” — bass lines heavy enough to leave bodies on the floor, presumably, but with enough kaleidoscopic-melodic technique to tease out your soul as well. He’ll bring 25 years of galactic dub experience to the always boomtastic Dub Mission weekly party.

Sun/15, 9pm, $6 advance, $8 door. Elbo Room, 647 Valencia, SF. www.elbo.com

Hot sexy events: March 28-April 2

Andrew Lam

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March 28, 2012

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This is the thing, is that pastel is not supposed to be sexy and it’s definitely not supposed to be San Francisco.

But here it is, and nowhere is it more apparent than in this week’s lineup of sex events. It’s not just Mission Control’s pajama bash, but also the parade of parties that will be hitting the decks throughout the next seven days. Actually, maybe it’s just Sat/31 that’s putting forth the highest wattage of lightly-hued light. The 15th anniversary of the Lex? Well sure, it’s hardly pastel in everyone’s favorite dykve bar, but best believe that the world of the Lexington churns based on the wattage that pink provides. And the Clitoris Celebration at La Pena Cultural Center? Rosy shades of powerful. So don’t worry if your dye job’s starting to look a little tie-dye-red — just tell ’em you’re in My Little Pony land and they’ll understand. Hey, maybe even take you home.

In Burning, In Bashing Back, In Blooming

Alexander Alvina Chamberland is a SF native gone Swede — but though they’ve toured their spoken word performance piece all about Europe (try Berlin, London, Stockholm, Manchester, Göteborg, Malmö, Lund, Amsterdam, Copehagen, Norberg, and Uppsala, and don’t ask me what country the last one of those is in) eventually one always must return home. So let’s give the queer performer a big attending-your-soul-baring hug, because In Burning deals in two of the most personal topics there are: sexual assault and gender identity. Plus, Chamberland is an emotive whiz. See the clip of an early performance of a scene from the show for proof:

Thu/29 7:30pm-9:30pm, $5-$15 sliding scale, no one turned away for lack of funds

Center for Sex and Culture

1349 Mission, SF

www.sexandculture.org

Love Triangle pajama party

No one’s going to tell you to stay on your side of the pillow tonight — just make sure you dress your frilly, fierce best because Mission Control’s playspace is all about polyamory permission tonight. Dress code is sleepwear, sweetie, and don’t forget your bedfellow. The buddy system won’t be enforced at the door of the event, but you’ll need a pal for getting into any of the fun zones.

Sat/31 9pm-3am, $20 Mission Control and Love Triangle members only

Mission Control

www.missioncontrolsf.org

Lexington Club 15th anniversary party

Sayeth Marke B. in this week’s Super Ego nightlife column: Time flies when you’re a flaming hot lesbian! Can it be 15 years already since the proudly dive-y Lex threw open its doors to the gorgeously rough-and-tumble dykes of the Mission and their humble admirers (like yours truly)? Oh hell yes. Congratulate owner Lila and crew on keeping one of the few lesbars in homocity open, with filthy music, smokin’ go-gos, kinky quinceanera shenanigans, and lipstick-obliterating drink specials.

Sat/31, 9pm, free

Lexington Club

3464 19th St., SF

www.lexingtonclub.com

Clitoris Celebration

Not enough lip service is paid to the hood beneath your hood, no? Perhaps it we don’t celebrate it appropriately — which is why this benefit for Global Women Intact, the grassroots nonprofit that raises awareness about African female genital mutilation is so important. An evening of music from the mother continent has been planned, so go to support our right to keep that oh-so-important swatch at the forefront of our lives.

Sat/31 8pm, $15/$20

La Peña Cultural Center

3150 Shattuck, Berk.

(510) 849-2568

www.lapena.org

Sinclair Sexsmith author reading

Mr. Sexsmith has recently edited two tomes of stories to get you in trouble — Best Lesbian Erotica 2012 and Say Please: A Lesbian Erotica Anthology. She’ll be reading from the latter today, so if you need a nice little treat for this weekend’s hookup, you can drop by Good Vibes to get a copy sexily signed by its author herself.

Sun/1 5pm-6pm, free

Good Vibrations

1620 Polk, SF

(415) 345-0400

Sis hop

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March 27, 2012

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marke@sfbg.com

SUPER EGO Like many of the great, oldish-school Bay Area hip-hop party collectives, the Sisterz of the Underground core crew has skedaddled — founder Sarah Smalls to LA, creative director Traci P. and organizer Crykit to Las Vegas — following their fortunes to other, perhaps fresher climes. But just like those spectacular b-girl (and -boy) cypher dance circles that have been popping up on finer San Francisco floors of late, the Sisterz are returning, hopefully bringing more of that fly feeling back with them.

A huge Sisterz of the Underground 10th Anniversary Celebration on Sat/31 (sisterzunderground.eventbrite.com) includes not just a dazzling nighttime party at Public Works with music by Kid Sister, DJ Shortee, Butterscotch, La Femme Deadly Venoms, Jeanine Da Feen, Green B, Pony P, and more, plus a gallery show of all-female artists, nail art, vendor fair, live painting, and a one-on-one female all-styles dance battle — but also afternoon production tech and dance workshops and a panel discussion about female empowerment and multiculturalism at CellSpace. The Bay is going to get some phenomenal femme in its face, and not a moment too soon OK?

Talking with the Sisterz is a trip — see my full interview on our SFBG Noise blog — with nostalgic name-drops like storied rap and turntablism venue Justice League, the Extra Credit Kru dance battlers (still in effect), graffiti artist Arouz, emcee Inchant, and Def Ed, the incredible education and empowerment program the Sisterz started that reached schools in six counties in the Bay Area before it was disbanded a couple years ago. The general Sisterz network itself is still slamming, with chapters up and down the West Coast, as well as in New Mexico and Brazil.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOgLK4t-Rts

And the Sisterz still aren’t shy about expressing themselves. When asked about the state of hip-hop, Traci P says, perhaps with a certain super-hyped Bay Area MC in mind, “There is less and less attention paid to substance and more to image and look. Half of these girls can’t even perform live and are in a sense disposable because they have no stage presence. Just a pretty face with flashy clothes and jewelry. At a time when everything seems so fabricated, it’s essential that people be exposed to the roots of the music and the culture.” Werrrd.

SUBB-AN

I caught this UK house wunderkind last year in Berlin at the awesome Tresor club — he played a pumping, expansive set that eventually set off for deeper currents, intricate grooves ride over each other for long periods and innovative technology put into the service of the steamy atmosphere rather than just being “showy.” And he’s cute.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewt5hS3todw

Thu/29, 10pm, $10. Vessel, 85 Campton Pl., www.vesselsf.com

FORWARD 10TH ANNIVERSARY

Another 10-year banger — this one for adorably talented Adnan Sharif’s Forward tech-house collective, bringing in an absolutely bonkers lineup to move us into the next. Deep and wiggy Clockwork from Milan co-headlines with Seattle smart-techno fave Pezzner, plus Nikola Baytala, the No Way Back crew, and a Silent Disco space out side with Star Kommand and more.

Fri/30, 10pm-5am, $10-20. Mighty, 119 Utah, SF. www.forwardsf.com

LEXINGTON 15TH ANNIVERSARY

Time flies when you’re a flaming hot lesbian! Can it be 15 years already since the proudly dive-y Lex threw open its doors to the gorgeously rough-and-tumble dykes of the Mission and their humble admirers (like yours truly)? Oh hell yes. Congratulate owner Lila and crew on keeping one of the few lesbars in homocity open, with filthy music, smokin’ go-gos, kinky quinceanera shenanigans, and lipstick-obliterating drink specials.

Sat/31, 9pm, free. Lexington Club, 3464 19th St., SF. www.lexingtonclub.com

Where Jean Paul Gaultier should go out this week

Jesse Hawthorne Ficks

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March 21, 2012

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Where Jean Paul Gaultier should go out this week

Revered French bad-boy designer Jean Paul Gaultier is in town for the unveiling of a neat-looking “enfant terrible” retrospective of his work at the de Young. (Will there be anything in it as scandalous as the tribute to Naomi Campbell’s famous wipeout in the Vivienne Westwood show five years ago?). He also has a busy schedule: a red-carpet appearance at the new Al Pacino movie launch tonight, a private-ish A-gayish loft party on Thursday whose redeeming feature = drag goddess DJ Juanita More, and of course a lavish opening celebration at the de Young itself on Friday. ($300 per person — I’ll be blogging all the opulence and potential fashion faux paaaaaases.)

But us lowly club kids love you too, JPG.

Whether it’s for managing the Herculean task of making Madonna interesting for 10 minutes 23 years ago, costuming some of the coolest movies ever (stay tuned for a “Gaultier Fashion Film Series” just announced for April 5-6 at the Castro Theatre), foretelling the whole cross-over fashion designer movement with your dance floor classic “Aow Tou Dou Zat” (which sounds amazing right now btw), providing perversion fantasy spectacles for a pre-Internet world, or just plain making fashion crazy, gay, and fabulous — we’d like a chance to thank you by being fabulous back in your presence.

You should sneak out of the hoity-toity fooforaws and get some new, true San Francisco underworld inspiration from your spiritual children. Here’s where:

WEDNESDAY

Booty Call See Juanita More (and ever-energetic co-promoter Joshua J) in her native habitat, as she hosts this weekly queer night bursting with forward looks and youthful cuteness. The stated draw is the fun photobooth in back, tricked out by noted artists, but the free-spirited, non-pop house tunes are tasty, too. 9 p.m., $3. QBar, 456 Castro, SF. www.bootycallwednesdays.com

THURSDAY

Future Perfect Local underground pop apotheosis Alexis Blair Penney’s going away fiesta! This packed weekly party pretty much realizes its admirable aim to demolish all genre boundaries and just play “cool, contemporary music no matter what.” That makes it hard to write about, but easy to dig, especially with yummy weekly live guests that have included Light Asylum, Cold Cave, and Dubbel Dutch. 10 p.m., $10–$15. Monarch, 101 Sixth St., SF. www.monarchsf.com

Popscene All the bright young indie pop fans converge on this long-running 18+ party to peep up-and-coming international live bands often so fresh the Internet has yet to discover them — plus some touching nods to the alternative pop styles of yore. 10 p.m., $10–$15, 18+. Rickshaw Stop, 155 Fell, SF. www.popscene-sf.com

Relax Relate Release Three of the craziest (and cutest) mofo DJs on the scene, Vin Sol, Richie Panic, and 5kinAndBone5 indulge their deeper eclectic (yet still plenty bumpin’) sides, with schweet selections spanning classic disco to hyphy gems, bass oddities to vogue jams, for an adventurous crowd in a Tenderloin basement. 10 p.m., $5. 222 Hyde, SF. Facebook page.

The Tubesteak Connection After almost eight years of reviving rare 1970s and ’80s gay bathhouse disco in an atmosphere that encourages sleazy cruising (and bans all things digital), DJ Bus Station John’s club is still a sensation — DJs make the pilgrimage, often on their knees, from around the globe to catch up on the sex music of the past. 10 p.m., $5. Aunt Charlie’s Lounge, 133 Turk, SF. www.auntcharlieslounge.com

FRIDAY

Blow Up Perhaps the only place you’ll see Gaultier clothing being worn non-ironically (plus the awesome Ssion performs this week)! Fantastically glamorous and classy-yet-raging 18+ underground electro, nu-disco, and post-French Touch night, hosted by Ava Berlin and Jeffrey Paradise, now seven years old and as fashionable as ever with a slew of talented DJs, weekly guests, relatable moments, and incredible looks. 10 p.m., $10–$20, 18+. DNA Lounge, 375 11th St., SF. www.blowupsf.com

Hot Boxxx Girls Legendary gender illusionists of the Tenderloin shower you with bewitching beauty and ravishing razzle-dazzle in this must-see drag show (also on Saturday nights). Once you witness these spirited gals take on your favorite showtune, pop hit, or power ballad, you’ll never hear it the same. Bring lots of singles for tipping. 9 p.m., $5. Aunt Charlie’s Lounge, 133 Turk, SF.www.auntcharlieslounge.com

Some Thing Taking drag (and performance) into some incredible new and WTF zones — with lots of fun dancing afterward, and a fantastic craft table courtesy of Haute Gloo — the Some Thing trio of Glamamore, VivvyAnne ForeverMore, and DJ Down-E add some theatrical, dramatic, and loopy oomph to the SF weekend. 10 p.m.-afterhours, $7. The Stud, 399 9th St., SF. www.studsf.com

“Oops! Jean Paul Gaultier is so soigné!”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwR0OtBJpA0

SATURDAY

Go Bang! Tons of special guest disco-heat DJs this month from Shawn Ryan of Philadelphia to Tres Johnson of Omaha, Nebraska! DJ Steve Fabus has been spinning since the earliest days of San Fran-disco, and when teamed up with young fanatic DJ Sergio — it’s been fire. Each month brings an onslaught of disco heat, with repolished red-light classics and rare vinyl revivals stoking an eager, off-the-shoulder crowd. Fourth Saturdays, 9 p.m., $5. Deco Lounge, 510 Larkin, SF. www.gobangsf.com

Icee Hot This month with Siberian techno chanteuse Nina Kraviz, Detroit techno hero Rolando, and nu-vogue beats innovator MikeQ! The city’s best showcase for razor’s edge developments in underground bass music and the UK sounds of now — with some classic house and techno stunner guests thrown in for mega-measure. A lifeline for those tired of hearing this good stuff via Internet. Fourth Saturdays, 10 p.m.-3 a.m., SF. $5 before 10:30, $10 after. Public Works, 161 Erie, SF. www.publicsf.com

Rocket Cute scruffy dudes from kooky queer Burning Man camps dancing to cutting-edge techno, with a Space Age theme and a performance by SF’s own sissy bounce rap duo Double Dutchess? Amazing. 10 p.m., $7. Rickshaw Stop, 155 Fell, SF. Facebook page

Soiree 10 The queerati will be all exploding in a puff of glitter, feathers, and post-ironic jazz hands for the LGBT Community Center’s 10th anniversary celebration: Honey Mahogany, Anna Conda, Ambrosia Salad, Marga Gomez, Glamamore, Fauxnique, Hard French DJs, and more, plus a banquet to get excited about! Sat/24, 7-11pm, $95 (it’s charitable!). San Francisco Design Center Galleria, 101 Henry Adams, SF. www.soiree10.com

SUNDAY

Honey Soundsystem Timeless, pumping house music so well-curated, and scruffy hot queer freak dancers looking so high out of their minds on the dance floor, that I feel gross and a little violated just being there. 9 p.m., $5. Holy Cow, 1535 Folsom, SF. www.honeysoundsystem.com

MONDAY

Viennetta Discotheque What other intimate, kooky-lovely queer party would celebrate its recent anniversary with 40 McDonald’s cheeseburgers and a platter of fries for hungover voguers to “serve?” From over-the-top disco to tomorrow’s dub-techno to just WTF, DJs Stanley Frank and Robert Jeffrey whip it up. 10 p.m., free. UndergroundSF, 424 Haight, SF. 133 Turk, SF.

TUESDAY

High Fantasy Apocalyptically glamorous queer rabble-rousers Alexis Bair Penney and Myles Cooper make gutter dreams come true in the Tenderloin, with artistically challenging drag performances, international surprise guests, and polymorphous perversity on tap-tap-tap. 10 p.m., $2. Aunt Charlie’s Lounge, 133 Turk, SF.www.auntcharlieslounge.com

WHEW! We know you can doo eet, Jean Paul!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gZyEnMk68A

Oui, I cribbed most of this from our huge Nightlife 2012 guide and my weekly Super Ego clubs column. Check those out for more great, designer-worthy parties.

Up north

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March 20, 2012

0

marke@sfbg.com

SUPER EGO I went drinking in North Beach and didn’t get attacked by stripper bodyguards! (Damn.) The Beach has garnered a righteous rep for hotsy cocktailology — and yes, the sazeracs at Comstock Saloon (www.comstocksaloon.com) are superb, the Old-Fashioneds at 15 Romolo (www.15romolo.com) kick ass, Vesuvio‘s (www.vesuviosf.com) Bloody Marys bleed “Yes, please!,” hello bacon-wrapped tater tots at the Boardroom (www.boardroomsf.com), and hola gin-and-real-gingers at Tope (1326 Grant) But my NB heart still skipped most for Specs’ Twelve Adler Museum (12 William Saroyan Pl.) and its ragtag cast of characters, fascinating San Francisciana, and oops-cheap whiskeys. Then I took a nap.

MIKE SIMONETTI

Italians Do It Better — so says the nu-disco and modern Italo revivalist’s label, and the man himself ain’t so bad neither. He’s pleased crowd’s thoroughly every time he’s appeared here and, paired tonight with Portland’s buzzy (and worthy) robo-steamy live electronic duo Soft Metals, should be an unstoppable stallion of delight.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKYXTK0unlE

Fri/23, 9pm, $10 with Facebook RSVP, see www.monarchsf.com for details. Monarch, 101 Sixth St., SF.

SSION

Avant-pop doesn’t get more avanter than NYC’s Ssion, who heads a shadowy network of degraded interplanetary glamform beings just within reach among us.

Fri/23, 9pm, 18+, $15–$20. DNA Lounge, 375 11th St., SF. www.blowupsf.com

NINA KRAVIZ

Brainy, unpredictable, sensual, wild: the arresting Muscovite comes with a lot of DJ-of-the-moment expectations — and baggage. Her new album caused an Internet shitstorm when it turned out she’d jumped on the current, out-of-hand “singing DJ” bandwagon that also just claimed Norwegian cosmic disco god Lindstrom (I’m on the “meh” side of the whole thing. The pop-techno crossover trend hasn’t excited me too much so far.) And yet her beats and selection are usually pretty wowza; it’ll be a treat to see what she brings out at the Lights Down Low monthly, alongside essential Detroit techno hero Rolando and vogue beats innovator MikeQ.

Sat/24, 9:30pm-4am, $15. Public Works, 161 Erie, SF. www.publicsf.com

DAN GHENACIA

Dan is one of those supercool French deep-tech house dudes who I can’t imagine laying down a trademark impeccably sexy set without a cigarette dangling from his smoocher. The true drama of this night might just lie in that. You, however, will probably get laid.

Sat/24, 9pm, $10-15. Monarch, 101 Sixth St., SF. www.monarchsf.com

QUANTIC

Here’s a bit of sunshine: renowned UK jazz-hop and tropical beatsmeister Quantic has mined his new home in Colombia for inspiration to release a really beautiful roots funk album, Look Around the Corner, with vocalist Alice Russell. Should be a live smash.

Sat/24, show at 9pm, $15-20. Mezzanine, 444 Jessie, SF. www.mezzaninesf.com

SOIREE 10

The queerati will be all exploding in a puff of glitter, feathers, and post-ironic jazz hands for the LGBT Community Center’s 10th anniversary celebration: Honey Mahogany, Anna Conda, Ambrosia Salad, Marga Gomez, Glamamore, Fauxnique, Hard French DJs, and more, plus a banquet to get excited about!

Sat/24, 7-11pm, $95 (it’s charitable!). San Francisco Design Center Galleria, 101 Henry Adams, SF. www.soiree10.com

Wear it out

Andrew Lam

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March 14, 2012

1

marke@sfbg.com

SUPER EGO “It’s the post-Apocalyptic story of a cultlike group of women who are completely crazy and believe that by sacrificing ‘Paulina’ they can bring some order to the chaos in their lives,” super-stylish designer (and renowned club sweetheart) Dexter L. Flawk tells me of his debut collection. “In reality, it’s a Pan’s Labyrinth version of my last relationship.”

With a fashion show splash, including DJs Richie Panic and Sarah Delush, visuals by naughty hyperrealist merkley???, an opening show by Irukandji, and glamour surely galore, “Death to Paulina” by Dextrose launches on Fri/16 (9 p.m., $5. Project One, 251 Rhode Island, SF. www.facebook.com/projectonesf). “Spooky couture” in sexy excess? We’re ready for it, methinks.

MINGUS DYNASTY

Fellow freaks know I’m a bass fanatic — that extends to the jazz realm and the godfather of out-there analogue double bass bliss, Charles Mingus. On the avant-garde legend’s 90th birthday, excellent seven-piece ensemble Mingus Dynasty will bring the almighty heat to life, trippy bass flights included.

Wed/14, 8pm and Thu/15, 8pm and 10pm, $20–$26. Yoshi’s SF, 1330 Fillmore, SF. www.yoshis.com

WILDKATS

Cute but skinny Scottish-US DJ trio bring warm, funky 1980s-looking house sounds (a few sharp claws and a lot of meows) to the weekly Housepitality party.

Wed/14, 9 p.m., free before 11pm with RSVP at www.housepitalitysf.com/rsvp, $10 after. Icon, 1192 Folsom, SF.

PREFUSE 73

Saw this future bass dude a couple years ago at Slim’s with a live drummer and it b-l-e-w me away. On 103 Harriet’s amps — and backed by indie rap beats dropper Blockhead and super-eclectic cutie Falty DL — he should be insane. This Re:Creation party doubles as a release for Hot N Heavy Bay Area Bass Vol. 3 , so the local wobblerati will be front and center.

Fri/16, 9pm-4am, $15 advance, $20 door. 103 Harriet, SF. www.1015.com

DJ QUESTLOVE

Love me some teddy bear Philly rap Roots-lovin’ from the ?uest man. And dying to see what cuts he brings to the Independent dance floor. If he wipes the vinyl with his afro I will faint and throw my panties, in that order.

Fri/16, 8:30pm doors, 9pm show, $30. The Independent, 628 Divisadero, SF. www.theindependentsf.com

DAN BELL

The early Canadian techno ambassador and Accelerate label owner melded true electro energy to the deep Chicago Trax Records sound — and gave it a steely Detroit edge. He’ll be turning up the electrics with some of my favorite local deep techno DJs, including Rich Korach and Bells & Whistles.

Sat/17, $10 with RSVP at www.sensesf.com/show, $15 without. EndUp, 401 Sixth St., SF. www.theendup.com

NOISE NIGHT

Let’s get noisy in a “contemporary classical” way. A perfectly scrappy, leftfield complement to the huge American Mavericks festival going on at the SF Symphony, this aurally intriguing-looking night has the William Winant Percussion Ensemble playing New Mexican composer James Tenney’s “Crystal Canon” and “Wake,” plus Blood Wedding, Horaflora, Ettrick, and DJ Geeta Dayal.

Tue/20, 9:30ish, $6. Amnesia, 853 Valencia, SF. www.amnesiathebar.com

For Marke B.’s weekly and monthly party picks, see www.sfbg.com/nightlife2012. “Death to Paulina” preview photo from www.jonathansaunders.com

Party Radar: Princess Pandora’s Pink Pajamas, Felix da Housecat, Ron Trent, Guy Gerber, Delhi 2 Dublin

Jesse Hawthorne Ficks

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March 7, 2012

0

Party Radar: Princess Pandora’s Pink Pajamas, Felix da Housecat, Ron Trent, Guy Gerber, Delhi 2 Dublin

First, I made a wee boo-boo in this week’s Super Ego clubs column in the paper (where you’ll find a bunch more fun parties to attend). The awesomely footworky XXXY will appear at the Lights Down Low party at Monarch (not Public Works, as I erroneously previously erroneated.)

Second: so, yes, American Idolator Simon Cowell is launching a DJ competition version of the X-Factor, which promises to enrage just as much as it might engage (please let there actually be a category for how big DJs open their mouth when they stare at laptops!) And some big name DJs who actually aren’t douchbags are already having some good, hilarious fun with it, which in fact kinda makes me want to see the trainwreck/real thing:

And now, more parties.

PRINCESS PANDORA’S PINK PAJAMA PARTY

The Lusty Lady goddess aims to throw one hell of a birthday party at this week’s Bondage A Go Go party for pleasant perversions, which benefits Planned Parenthood. You know what to (hardly) wear.

Wed/7, 10pm, $10. Cat Club, 1190 Folsom, SF. Facebook invite

GUY GERBER

Hypnotic techno cutie from Tel Aviv dives into town before being swallowed by Miami’s Winter Music Conference, thumping around the weekly Base party.

Thu/8, 10pm, $10. Vessel, 85 Campton Pl., SF. www.vesselsf.com

FELIX DA HOUSECAT

The electro-clash jestersneaks into the glamorouos Blow Up party for some good ol’ grin-inducing throwdown.

Fri/9, 10pm-3am, 18.50 advance, $20 door. DNA Lounge, 375 11th St., SF. Facebook invite

RON TRENT

The Chicago house legend (who also qualifies on many counts as a second-generation Detroit techno player) comes to Oakland, with The People crew’s soulful groovers Cecil and Cali opening up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQYDiu2RpDc

Fri/9, 10pm-3am, $10. Bench and Bar, 510 17th St., Oakl. Facebook invite

DELHI 2 DUBLIN

Kick off your St. Patrick’s Week with this eclectic group of Punjab-celtic world travellers, getting you up and pumping at this month’s installment of the wonderful Non Stop Bhangra party.

Sat/10, 9pm-3am, $10 advance, $15 door. Public Works, 161 Erie, SF. Facebook Invite

Knock three times

Jesse Hawthorne Ficks

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March 6, 2012

4

marke@sfbg.com

SUPER EGO Hey ya’ll, here are some primo parties I’m digging this week (and I just added some more great shindigs here) — remember to tap-tap-tap on the second stall door to the left and say, “Hi!” Just a wee reminder: for a lot more insanity, hit up www.sfbg.com/nightlife2012 where you’ll find a huge list of my favorite weekly and monthly parties. Hi!

AS I LIKE IT

Lovely As You Like It techno party crew founder Jeremy Bispo’s birthday means he gets his pick of talent: hard-driving Minneapolis minimal tech-soul jock DVS1, jazzy Israeli duo JuJu & Jordash, Carlos Souffront, MossMoss, Rich Korach. After party starts at 6am at 222 Hyde.

Fri/9, 10pm-5:30am, $10–$15, $5 all night for Pisces. Beatbox, 314 11th St., SF. www.ayli-sf.com

BEAUTIFUL SWIMMERS

Canny duo give disco and rare groove samples a hallucinatory ’90s feel that sometimes borders on sexily slowed-down tribal house, sometimes wormhole disco. Sapphire Slows, Magic Touch, and DJ Pickpockets round off the latest Donuts Party (yes there are donuts!) lineup.

Fri/9, 9 p.m.-3am, $10. Public Works, 161 Erie, SF. www.publicsf.com

EATS EVERYTHING

Bristol, UK’s Daniel Pearce really did eat everything with last year’s delicious and ubiquitous “Entrance Song” that welded tech-house to bass drops, with a canny Maxwell bedroom-soul sample floated atop. Unsurprisingly, SF’s likeminded dirtybird label signed him right away. here’s his local debut.

Fri/9, 10 p.m., $15–$20. Monarch, 101 Sixth St., SF. www.monarchsf.com

TASTE

Salsa dancing, food trucks, Dogpatch love? Heck yes. This new weekly at cafe Cocomo offers salsa and bachata dance lessons, food tastings, and live music — the kickoff features salsa band Avance and some fiery flamenco on the huge back patio. Very summery. This party has a lot going on, so check out the website below for more details.

Fri/9 and every Friday, 6:30 p.m., $15. Cafe Cocomo, 650 Indiana, SF. www.tastefridays.com

BRENDAN MOELLER

As noted above, 222 Hyde has reopened its doors after an extensive remodel (more about that after I black out there a couple times). New party series Realtime focuses on live electronic performances: this hot bearish dub techno South Africa-via-NYCer kicks it off.

Sat/10, 9 p.m., $10 before 11pm, $15 after. 222 Hyde, SF. Facebook invite

DJ LENGUA

Heavy contemporary cumbia vibes from the LA remixer and producer, bassed-up with dub effects and hot sonic surprises. He’s at the monthly Tormenta Tropical joint bringing some Latin heat to your cusp of spring.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzJeF7nQUWo

Sat/10, 10 p.m., $10. Elbo Room, 647 Valencia, SF. www.elbo.com

MURK

Revered ’90s house duo and record label owners (“Reach For Me,” “If You Really Want Someone”) hits the huuuge Arts & Beats party with 50+ local artists, plus DJs David Harness, Chris Lum, Adnan Sharif, and an artful ton more.

Sat/10, 3pm-3am (dancing starts at 9pm), $15. Terra Gallery, 511 Harrison, SF. www.tinyurl.com/artsandbeats

XXXY

Big up some bouncy UK bass that flirts with juke and rave from this Manchester young’un. He’ll be at the raucous Lights Down Low monthly with footwork heartthrob Kingdom and residents Richie Panic, Sleazemore, Joaquin Bartra, and more.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znq5ZJ4DrGA&feature=related

Sat/10, 9:30pm-3am, $7–$10. Monarch, 101 Sixth St., SF. www.monarchsf.com

In their words: party people from the Guardian’s Club Action cover

Charles Russo

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February 29, 2012

0

Last week we got to photograph folks from several different corners of the Bay Area nightlife scene for Marke B’s Club Action cover story. Listen to them talk to Guardian art director Mirissa Neff and contributing photographer Matthew Reamer about what they love to do when they’re out and about in the wee hours.

Cookie Dough, The Monster Show:

cookiedough by SFBayGuardianSounds

DJ Love Gun, Iron Maiden Lane at Otis:

djlovegun by SFBayGuardianSounds

davO and Krylon Superstar, Electro-Hop duo Double Duchess:

doubleduchess by SFBayGuardianSounds

Odie Kim, Flo-ology House Dance Crew:

odiekim by SFBayGuardianSounds

Vicki Virk, Non Stop Bhangra:

vickivirk by SFBayGuardianSounds

Club action!

-

February 28, 2012

30

marke@sfbg.com

This past year was pretty dang rad in the clubs (and here I must stop to thank my fantastic hairstylist, Paul at Zip Zap, for helping make it especially happen for me). Despite the recession — and the continued flight of us decadent types — the parties never stopped. In fact, they seem to have gotten even more varied and creative, with a sophisticated energy that’s welcoming and ecstatic, flinging their doors open wide for hot-footed like minds. I was inspired during a particularly riotous drag show featuring flaming dildos, pancake batter, and Shabba Ranks to put together this list of regular happenings I’m into, a kind of snapshot of our fine nightlife, and a guide to more good times, if you feel me.

That 62 recommendations for weekly and monthly parties sprang to mind immediately — bluegrass, rocksteady, gay goth, electro-cumbia, zouk, hypercrunk, Brit pop, etc — shows out the sheer vibrance of the local scene. The parties listed below are ones I wholeheartedly recommend: friendly, affordable, no dress codes or booth reservations, full of adventurous music and folks who aren’t afraid to move a little sideways when they dance, rather than just nod their heads or pump their fists (and who actually have fun, rather than act like they’re having fun in a video). Also: a good chance of getting laid.

There’s oodles more shindigs I itched to list — some are too new for me to get a proper handle on yet, others I’ve only popped in on, and I’m sure a few I forgot (I’m perma-stoned.). Also, I didn’t throw down in the East Bay as much as I’d have liked; send me your hot tips for next time.

So this list will grow and be updated — bookmark it for later use. And follow our music listings and my weekly Super Ego column for special nightlife events.

All events below are 21+ and end at 2 a.m. (except where noted). Enough blather, Barbra! Tonight, we dance.

MONDAYS
TUESDAYS
WEDNESDAYS
THURSDAYS
FRIDAYS
SATURDAYS
SUNDAYS
ROVING PARTIES

MONDAYS

Bluegrass Mondays Live bands, well-picked tunes, and a hootenanny crowd help get the new week twang on right — strumming legend Toshio Hirano appears monthly to show how it’s really done. 9 p.m., free. Amnesia, 853 Valencia, SF. www.amnesiathebar.com

Death Guild Our fair burg’s weekly 18+ goth classic, bursting with kohl-rimmed, cyber-punk joy, now going on 19 years of dark celebration. DJs Decay, Melting Girl, and more deliver chills from Cocteau Twins wormholes to bleeding edge nu-IDM. 9:30 p.m.-afterhours. $3 before 10 p.m., $5 after, 18+. DNA Lounge, 375 11th St., SF www.deathguild.com

Motown on Mondays The SF scene’s Monday go-to for some soulful comfort food, with a swinging crowd and some mighty fine Motown and more selections from DJ Gordo and guests. 6 p.m., free. Madrone, 500 Divisadero, SF. www.madronesf.com

Skylarking High-flying hazy fantasia of roots reggae and dub goodness from a host of local reggae royalty with a more-than-welcoming vibe. 10 p.m., free. 3089 16th St., SF. www.skylarkbar.com

Wanted A very sexy mixed party in the Castro for indie dance and electro rock-oriented folks who aren’t quite ready to end the weekend. Gives a downtown NYC vibe with SF (lack of) attitude. With DJs Key&Kite and Richie Panic. 9 p.m., free. QBar, 456 Castro, SF. www.sfwanted.com

Viennetta Discotheque What other intimate, kooky-lovely queer party would celebrate its recent anniversary with 40 McDonald’s cheeseburgers and a platter of fries for hungover voguers to “serve?” From over-the-top disco to tomorrow’s dub-techno to just WTF, DJs Stanley Frank and Robert Jeffrey whip it up. 10 p.m., free. UndergroundSF, 424 Haight, SF. 133 Turk, SF.

TUESDAYS

Bass Cellar An uncomplicated blast of dubstep (tending toward the brostep variety) with a crowd that mixes the mainstream with the more devoted, and never fails to deliver on the wob-wobs. 10 p.m., free. The Cellar, 685 Sutter, SF. www.thecellarsf.com

Bless Up Premier reggae, riddim, and dancehall crew Jah Warrior Shelter Hi Fi keep the Upper Haight rocksteady with live guests, smokin’ tunes, and a forest of cute dreds. This is the good stuff. 10 p.m., $5. 1840 Haight, SF. www.milksf.com

High Fantasy Apocalyptically glamorous queer rabble-rousers Alexis Bair Penney and Myles Cooper make gutter dreams come true in the Tenderloin, with artistically challenging drag performances, international surprise guests, and polymorphous perversity on tap-tap-tap. 10 p.m., $2. Aunt Charlie’s Lounge, 133 Turk, SF. www.auntcharlieslounge.com

WEDNESDAYS

Booty Call Ever-gorgeous queen Juanita More and ever-energetic promoter Joshua J host this weekly queer night bursting with forward looks and youthful cuteness. The stated draw is the fun photobooth in back, tricked out by noted artists, but the free-spirited, non-pop house tunes are tasty, too. 9 p.m., $3. QBar, 456 Castro, SF. www.botycallwednesdays.com

Housepitality Good ol’ back-to-basics, world class house dancing with a warm, family vibe and some refreshing sophistication without pretension — also, some mighty hot hoofers on the dancefloor and guests in the booth. Pretty much a perfect hump night out. 9 p.m., $5 before 11 p.m., $10 after. Icon, 1192Folsom, SF. www.housepitalitysf.com

Coo Yah DJs Green B and Daneekah up the steamy reggaeton and dancehall ante with some strong female power behind the decks, live Caribbean and UK guests, and a diverse crowd who know how to put one leg up with the jams. 9 p.m., free. SOM, 2925 16th St., SF. www.som-bar.com

Bondage a Go Go The teasing tension between what can legally go on at this polyamorous showcase (now approaching its 20th year) and what actually might go on is just one of the exquisite tortures/pleasures for its many fans. DJs Damon and Tomas Diablo keep the rock and retro atmosphere dark and hot. 9:30 p.m., $10. Cat Club, 1190 Folsom, SF. www.bondage-a-go-go.com

WEDNESDAY MONTHLIES

Shutter Goth glamour exquisitely laid over indie sensibilities: modern darkwave and ’80s synth strains form the backdrop for a monthly ball of debaucherous shivers and Romantic excess. Fourth Wednesdays, 10 p.m., $5. Elbo Room, 647 Valencia, SF. www.facebook.com/Shutter.SF

Stay Gold Adorably spazzy neon-sweatered, asymmetrically haircutted, often pantsless sexy young queer people unite! And get down to some pretty fierce reggaeton, hip-hop, and non-ironic pop jams from DJs Pink Lightning and Rapid Fire. Last Wednesday of the month, 10 p.m., $3 before 11 p.m., $5 after. Public Works, 161 Erie, SF. www.facebook.com/staygoldsf

Qoöl Mammoth One of our oldest funky techno crews, Qoöl, joins forces with beloved insane Burning Man camp Pink Mammoth for a monthly SF scene reunion — as a happy hour, which means we’re growing up? Oh dear. Last Wednesday of the month, 6 p.m.-11 p.m, free. The EndUp, 401 Sixth St., SF. www.qoolsf.com

THURSDAYS

Afrolicious All things awesomely funky, especially Latin and African, for a packed house, from adorable DJ brothers Pleasuremaker and Señor Oz. Live percussion and performances, international guests, and a free-spirited atmosphere keep it lively. 9:30 p.m., $5. Elbo Room, 647 Valencia, SF. www.elbo.com

Base Upscale club Vessel dips into the scrappy underground (a little) by hosting some of the most consequential names in international techno every week for an adoring, knowledgeable, dance-ready audience. 10 p.m., $10. Vessel, 85 Campton Pl., SF. www.vesselsf.com

Future Perfect This packed party pretty much realizes its admirable aim to demolish all genre boundaries and just play “cool, contemporary music no matter what.” That makes it hard to write about, but easy to dig, especially with yummy weekly live guests that have included Light Asylum, Cold Cave, and Dubbel Dutch. 10 p.m., $10–$15. Monarch, 101 Sixth St., SF. www.monarchsf.com

The Monster Show If San Francisco has a drag sweetheart, it must be the loveable Cookie Dough, who isn’t afraid to dump buckets of blood around the stage or skewer Toddlers and Tiaras or Whitney Houston for her gently twisted, often outrageous Monster Show performance night. DJ MC2 rocks the tunes. 10 p.m., $5. Midnight Sun, 4067 18th St., SF. www.cookievision.com

NightLife Hey smart peeps (and friends), the incredible Cal Academy of Sciences puts on one of the best parties in the city, with different intelligent but fun themes, exciting DJs, and informative talks each week. Yes, there are multiple bars and dancefloors. Yes, there are penguins. 6 p.m.-10 p.m., $12. California Academy of Sciences, 55 Music Concourse Dr., Golden Gate Park, SF. www.calacademy.org/nightlife

Popscene All the bright young indie pop fans converge on this long-running 18+ party to peep up-and-coming international live bands often so fresh the Internet has yet to discover them — plus some touching nods to the alternative pop styles of yore. 10 p.m., $10–$15, 18+. Rickshaw Stop, 155 Fell, SF. www.popscene-sf.com

Ritual Our best dubstep party, mixing anarchic raving with some damn smart programming and top notch selections. DJs Nebakaneza, Johnny5, and the Irie Cartel keep the sound an art form, exploring its outer, moodier reaches while still punching your solar plexus good. 10 p.m.-3 a.m., free before 10 p.m., $5 after. Temple, 540 Howard, SF. www.templesf.com

The Tubesteak Connection After almost eight years of reviving rare 1970s and ’80s gay bathhouse disco in an atmosphere that encourages sleazy cruising (and bans all things digital), DJ Bus Station John’s club is still a sensation — DJs make the pilgrimage, often on their knees, from around the globe to catch up on the sex music of the past. 10 p.m., $5. Aunt Charlie’s Lounge, 133 Turk, SF. www.auntcharlieslounge.com

THURSDAY MONTHLIES

Relax Relate Release Three of the craziest mofo DJs on the scene, Vin Sol, Richie Panic, and 5kinAndBone5 indulge their deeper eclectic (yet still plenty bumpin’) sides, with schweet selections spanning classic disco to hyphy gems, bass oddities to vogue jams. 10 p.m., $5. 222 Hyde, SF.

I Heart Cochina Tonga’s Take one plainish gay bar (LookOut), dress it up like the tackiest Mexican-wannabe cabana bar ever, add in a loco drag queen (Ambrosia Salad) and two DJs picantes (Stanley Frank and Taco Tuesday) who aren’t afraid to salsa-fy some party tunes — and shazam! A primo fiesta. Fourth Thursdays, 9 p.m., free. The LookOut, 3600 16th St., SF. www.lookoutsf.com

FRIDAYS

Blow Up Fantastically glamorous and classy-yet-raging 18+ underground electro, nu-disco, and post-French Touch night, hosted by Ava Berlin and Jeffrey Paradise, now seven years old and as fashionable as ever with a slew of talented DJs, weekly guests, relatable moments, and incredible looks. 10 p.m., $10–$20, 18+. DNA Lounge, 375 11th St., SF. www.blowupsf.com

Hot Boxxx Girls Legendary gender illusionists of the Tenderloin shower you with bewitching beauty and ravishing razzle-dazzle in this must-see drag show (also on Saturday nights). Once you witness these spirited gals take on your favorite showtune, pop hit, or power ballad, you’ll never hear it the same. Bring lots of singles for tipping. 9 p.m., $5. Aunt Charlie’s Lounge, 133 Turk, SF. www.auntcharlieslounge.com

Loose Joints Awesome rare grooves, from boogie raveups and old school hip-hop to Latin jazz and post-punk gems (plus some super-current cuts) that please vinyl mavens, sure, but also serve to keep the floor packed with hotties. DJs Tom Thump, Damon Bell, and Centipede combine their diverse crate-digging styles into a quality supersound. 10 p.m., $5. Make-Out Room, 3225 22nd St., SF. www.makeoutroom.com

Paris-Dakar Coupe Decale There’s pretty much something fab going down every night at Senegalese hotspot Little Baobab, but this party (also on Saturday) really turns the sweat on, with Central and West African rhythms — plus zouk, soca, Brazilian, reggae, and a bottom-dropping global stew of others. 10 p.m., $5. Little Baobab, 3388 19th St., SF. www.bissapbaobab.com

Some Thing Taking drag (and performance) into some incredible new and WTF zones — with lots of fun dancing afterward, and a fantastic craft table courtesy of Haute Gloo — the Some Thing trio of Glamamore, VivvyAnne ForeverMore, and DJ Down-E add some theatrical, dramatic, and loopy oomph to the SF weekend. 10 p.m.-afterhours, $7. The Stud, 399 9th St., SF. www.studsf.com

FRIDAY MONTHLIES

120 Minutes Based goth, rapegaze, hypercrunk — if you’re unfamiliar with these hysterically nihilistic, through-the-looking-glass genres, don’t worry: host Marco de la Vega and crew will slay you through it. First Fridays, 9 p.m., $10–$15. Elbo Room, 647 Valencia, SF. www.elbo.com

Braza! Seductive Brazilian-themed goodness — from live Forro bands to forward-thinking DJs from Rio — and a smokin’ crowd of regulars, full of warmth and positive energy. First Fridays, 10 p.m.-3 a.m., $10. SOM, 2925 16th St., SF. www.brazasf.com

Low End Theory The seminal LA future bass and heady glitch party has done spectacularly with its monthly outpost here, bursting with eclectic live acts and well-known woofer Picassos. First Fridays, 10 p.m.-4 a.m., $15–$20. 103 Harriet, www.1015.com

Oldies Night It’s all about the doo wop, baby. Underground ’50s and ’60s rock and soul get the no-pressure crowd fired up like Tracy Turnblad on a bender. First and Third Fridays, 9:30 p.m., $3. The Knockout, 3223 Mission, SF. www.theknockoutsf.com

Taboo Truly moving soulful house sounds in Oakland from the great David Harness and friends, in a family atmosphere with old school good Bay vibes. First and Third Fridays, 9 p.m.-3 a.m., free before 10 p.m., $5 before 11 p.m., $10 after. Bench and Bar, 510 17th St., Oakl. www.bench-and-bar.com

Baxtalo Drom Brassy Balkan folk and wild Romany (gypsy) whirls were recently ubiquitous in local nightlife — this “gypsy punk cabaret” was one of the original parties and still one of the best. Fourth Fridays, 9 p.m., $7–$10. Amnesia, 853 Valencia. www.amnesiathebar.com

Teenage Dance Craze Another ’50s and ’60s rock and soul night at the Knockout (which is chockful of old-timey neat things), but with a lot more twists — of the Chubby Checker variety. The crowd is crazed for it all, indeed. Fourth Fridays, 10 p.m., $10. The Knockout, 3223 Mission, SF. www.theknockoutsf.com

SATURDAYS

Bootie The grandpappy of mashup clubs, going on eight years of bastard pop and cheeky pirate-themed fun. The crowd may have broadened, but Bootie head DJs Adrian and Mysterious D still program mindfuck drag performances and leftfield happenings to keep merry dancers (and loud singers-a-long) on their toes. They can even turn a Katy Perry-themed night into something subversive. 9 p.m.-afterhours. $10 before 10 p.m., $15 after. DNA Lounge, 375 11th St., SF. www.bootiesf.com

El SuperRitmo! Your best weekly bet for “the finest African music of Latin America,” with a whole tropical world of other styles thrown into the mix by spunky resident DJs Roger Mas and Kool Kyle. The crowd can get a wee bit dressy (so polish your patent leather Keds), but the floor never quits. 10 p.m., $5. Make-Out Room, 3225 22nd St., SF. www.makeoutroom.com.

SATURDAY MONTHLIES

Haçeteria Acid house, early industrial, classic rave, warm Italo: A heartfelt tribute to Manchester and Chicago warehouse sounds of the ’80s and early ’90s with a few nifty musical spanners thrown into the works. First Saturdays, 9 p.m.-3 a.m., free before 10:30 p.m., $3 after. Deco Lounge, 510 Larkin, SF. www.facebook.com/rancheria

Hard French Amazing queer soul party that digs up vintage 45s from the ’50s on up and spins a patio full of jiggling personalities into a smiley lather. DJs Carnita and Brown Amy crank the ol’ Victrola. First Saturdays, 2 p.m.-8 p.m., $7. El Rio, 3158 Mission, SF. www.hardfrench.com

Kontrol For six years the top-notch Kontrol crew has brought some of the finest innovators in techno to play live sets all night at the EndUp. Don’t worry, the sometimes wonky intelligence and occasional tech crowd overload never overshadow the ecstatic dancing to be had. First Saturdays, 10 p.m.-6 a.m., $20, The EndUp, 401 Sixth St., SF. www.kontrolsf.com

Leisure 1990s Britpop and trip hop, plus mod ’60s scooter gems and bubble gum pop from DJs Omar and Aron Axelson make everything laidback, baby. First Saturdays, 10 p.m.-3 a.m., $5. Cat Club, 1150 Folsom, SF. www.sfcatclub.com

Debaser After four years of excellently reviving grunge and alternative rock for flannel-shirted, babydoll-dressed 1990s fanatics, DJs Jamie Jams and Emdee are incorporating hip-hop and taking on a huge project: dedicating a night to every year of that nutso decade, starting with 1989 on March 10. Second Saturdays, 10 p.m., free with flannel before 11 p.m., otherwise $5. The Knockout, 3223 Mission, SF. www.debaser90s.com

Love Will Fix It Those questing to slake their thirst for vinyl ’70s and ’80s funk and R&B classics (a surprisingly rare flavor on the scene these days) played in a Market Street hole-in-the-wall bursting with positivity and hot-hot gays and friends need look no further than DJ Bus Station John’s latest venture. Second Saturdays, 10 p.m., $5. The Hot Spot, 1414 Market, SF.

Non Stop Bhangra Welcoming and wild, this tribute to the contemporary Punjabi (via London) dance sound mixes in plenty of tasty bass variants and one of the most diverse crowds in the Bay. DJ Jimmy Love and the dholrhythms dancers host awesome, global-eared guests. Second Saturdays, 9 p.m.-3 a.m., $10–$15. Public Works, 161 Erie, SF. www.publicsf.com

Beatpig Intensely fun and charitable gay times at the Powerhouse bar in SoMa, as DJs Juanita More and Sidekick and host W. pack the leather-lovin’ hole with nightlife personalities, pleasant dancing, and often much sex cruising. Third Saturdays, 9 p.m., $5. Powerhouse, 1347 Folsom, SF. www.beatpigsf.com

Dial Up Electronic music bears, kooky gay club kids, and serious techno lovers unite with posses of like minds and sometimes wild outfits for neat guest DJs and surprise drag performances. With DJs Doc Sleep, Dabecy, and Robert Jeffrey, hosted by lovebirds Tim and Jorge. Third Saturdays, 10 p.m., $5. 222 Hyde, SF. www.facebook.com/dialupsf

New Wave City The original ’80s retro party, going on 20 years — it was retro almost before retro began! DJs Skip, Shindog, and Low-Life pump out the angular New Wave and darker singalong jams, with all the fun theme nights you could ask for. Third Saturdays, 9 p.m.-3 a.m., $7 before 10 p.m. $12 after. Cat Club, 1190 Folsom, SF. www.newwavecity.com

Tormenta Tropical Elecro-cumbia heaven, as a hip crowd gets down to the latest dance music of the Latin American diaspora. Absolutely filthy-lovely global grooves right here, from DJs Oro11 and Shawn Reynaldo. Second Saturdays, 10 p.m., $5 before 11 p.m., $10 after. Elbo Room, 647 Valencia, SF. www.elbo.com

Booty Bassment “Squat! Squat! Gobble! Gobble! Squat-squat! Gobble-gobble!” If shouting these words in your head makes you want to slip down your hot pants and show your silky thong for $$$, this hipstery-but-fine booty music paradise has your bottom number. Third Saturdays, 10 p.m., $5. The Knockout, 3223 Mission, SF. www.facebook.com/bootybassment

OK Hole Real risk-taking live electronic, synth, and leftfield analog music performances for enthusiastic spectators, with jaggedy dance tunes from resident DJs Nay Nay, C.L.A.W.S., and (Keep It) Keith Slogan. Third Saturdays, 9 p.m., $5. Amnesia, 853 Valencia, SF. www.amnesiathebar.com.

Icee Hot The city’s best showcase for razor’s edge developments in underground bass music and the UK sounds of now — with some classic house and techno stunner guests thrown in for mega-measure. A lifeline for those tired of hearing this good stuff via Internet. Fourth Saturdays, 10 p.m.-3 a.m., SF. $5 before 10:30, $10 after. Public Works, 161 Erie, SF. www.publicsf.com

Go Bang! DJ Steve Fabus has been spinning since the earliest days of San Fran-disco, and when teamed up with young fanatic DJ Sergio — it’s been fire. Each month brings an onslaught of disco heat, with repolished red-light classics and rare vinyl revivals stoking an eager, off-the-shoulder crowd. Fourth Saturdays, 9 p.m., $5. Deco Lounge, 510 Larkin, SF. www.gobangsf.com

Reggae Gold Don’t let the classy, sparkling crowd of gorgeously toned people throw you off — there’s plenty of friendliness here for all. Top dance hall and reggae, flavored with spicy soca and and hip-hop, yes please. Fourth Saturdays, 10 p.m.-4 a.m., $5–$10. Six, 66 Sixth St., SF. www.reggaegoldsf.com (Also second Saturdays at New Parish in Oakland).

Dark Room Campy gay goth glory, replete with shivery drag performances, industrial tunes, and plenty of upside-down crucifix earrings in only one ear. Spooky and successful. Last Saturday of the month, 10 p.m., $5, The Hot Spot, 1414 Market, SF.

SUNDAYS

Dub Mission For 15 years, DJ Sep and friends have kept the Bay flame alive for deliciously heavy dub and classic rocksteady rhythms (now with a bit of dubstep). I often feel like I’m in some underground club in Jamaica or London in the early ’80s when I’m here, which is pretty much the coolest feeling there is. 9 p.m., $6. Elbo Room, 647 Valencia, SF. www.dubmissionsf.com

Forward AM Um, why the heck wouldn’t you “get up” at 6 a.m. to hit up this rise ‘n shine tech-house gem, putting North Beach back on the map for serious party fanatics. 6 a.m.-1 p.m., $10. Monroe, 473 Broadway, SF. www.forwards.com

Honey Soundsystem Timeless, pumping house music so well-curated, and scruffy hot queer freak dancers looking so high out of their minds on the dance floor, that I feel gross and a little violated just being there. 9 p.m., $5. Holy Cow, 1535 Folsom, SF. www.honeysoundsystem.com

Sunday Sessions One of the last bastions of soulful, family-style deep house music in San Francisco, especially during the monthly Harlum Muziq label showcase with David Harness and Chris Lum, every third Sunday of the month. 8 p.m., $10–$20. the EndUp, 401 Sixth St., SF. www.theendup.com

Sweater Funk Not sweat or funk — sweat and funk, in spades, as the tiny basement of Chinatown’s Li Po Lounge gets off on a huge dose of classic and contemporary boogie and soul from a crew of true connoisseurs. 9:30 p.m., free. Li Po Lounge, 916 Grant, SF. www.facebook.com/sweaterfunk

ROVING

These roving parties — ones that happen at irregular intervals or in different venues — are worth following for their quality productions, underground vibes, and hot attendees.

Alcoholocaust Heavy metal, indie rock, and punk concerts that feel like parties, Facebook page

As You Like It: Big-name techno with a intimate vibe, www.ayli-sf.com

Donuts: Yes, there are Donuts! And great live electronic acts + DJs, www.facebook.com/donutsparty

The ITL: Ass-wasting moombahton and global bass, Facebook page

Lights Down Low: Super-eclectic dance mania — you’ll probably hear the future here first, www.lightsdownlow.net

No Way Back: Classic and cutting-edge house, techno, and disco, Facebook page

Sunset: The Pacific Sound Crew (often in collaboration with Stompy) puts on fine, family vibe house and techno bashes, www.pacificsound.net

This Must be the Place: East Bay soulful house promoters who’ve got an excellent thing going almost every weekend, www.thismustbetheplace.net

Trannyshack: The one, the only classic trash drag explosion (and bus trip to Reno!), www.trannyshack.com

We All We Got Great occasional showcase of Bay rap talent, Facebook page

Krushin’ on

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February 22, 2012

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SUPER EGO I’ve only a wee bit of space this week before I rush off back into the Mardi Gras of my mind, but I’ve got to three times diagonal-snap for local fashion designer Jeanette Au (jeanetteau.carbonmade.com) who tore it up for SF on the NY Fashion Week runways last week with her debut collection of 3-D knit fantasias. Ruling!

RED BARAAT

The Non Stop Bhangra (www.nonstopbhangra.com) monthly party’s return two weeks ago was beautiful-insane — if you missed it, or must fulfill your yearning for incredible Indian-inspired dance music sounds before the next installment, check out this live act featuring irrepressible bandleader Sunny Jain on the dhol drum, backed by a high-stepping nine-piece brass band. Bollywood meets Mardi Gras is the shorthand, but the ringing grooves transcend categorization.

Thu/23, 7:30 p.m., $12–$15, all ages. Slim’s, 333 11th St., www.slimspresents.com

ROLLER DISCO

Oh man, David Miles Jr., our patron saint of skate — “The Godfather of Skate,” actually, who founded the essential Black Rock Roller Disco and keeps peeps rollin’ from the Embarcadero to Golden Gate Park — lost everything in a tragic fire. He and his family are OK, but here’s a great event to help get them back on their (wheeled) feet. Skate rental available: Lots of good DJs.

Thu/23, 9 p.m., donations at the door. Mighty, 119 Utah, SF. www.mighty119.com

CUTE FANGS 4EVER!

It’s no secret that hyper-productive tech-breaks player and Cute Fang label owner Forest Green is one of my favorite people. It’s hard not to leave her parties with a smile plastered on your face — partly from the room-wobbling beats, partly from her pure positivity transmission. This is her two-room blowout birthday party, with a slew of bonkers local guests like DJ Denise, Dragn’fly, Raydeus, Tek 9, and Base Hed. And it will be cute!

Fri/24, 9 p.m.-4 a.m., $5 before 10 p.m., $10 after. Icon, 1192 Folsom, SF. www.forestgreen.org

SITUATION

Part of the reason door fees have risen so much in San Francisco is our insistence on relying on foreign or guest DJs to bring something interesting to the table. Flights are expensive, cover rises. Well here comes Situation, a free party deliberately designed to showcase local talent and some snappy grooves: “the new disco sound of New York, bangin’ house joints, 12-inch dance versions, and more than a few non-sequitors to keep things interesting,” quoth host DJ (along with Eug and Ash Williams) Derek Opperman, my nightlife critic counterpart at the Weekly, who’s basically an adorable human Shazam. Move out, yazoo.

Fri/24, 10 p.m., free. 222 Hyde, SF. www.222hyde.com

DJ KRUSH

Let’s just admit that future bass was the trip-hop revival, OK? And while Flying Lotus et al. took the sound to unfathomable new highs/lows (and old hands like Amon Tobin sizzled retinae with his ISAM stage-show comeback), there’s sometimes no beating the originals. After 20 years, Tokyoite chill-wizard DJ Krush can still gently ride those intelli-stoned waves into the stratosphere: a three-hour set should do you quite solid.

Sat/25, 9 p.m., $17.50 advance. Mezzanine, 444 Jessie, SF. www.blasthaus.com

Fire in the hole

Andrew Lam

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February 16, 2012

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SUPER EGO They call her cinnamon shot/ because she’s quick and hot/ and when she’s really on?/ She’s a sake booomb! I recently affirmed — tipsier than the Costa Concordia and twice as cruisy — that one of my all-time favorite bars is that Sapphic Mission watering hole, the Lexington Club (3464 19th St., SF. www.lexingtonclub.com), wherein ace bartender Amy and a gaggle of scrappy lesbians got me good and watered on the cheap.

The Lex is a classic. But let’s stumble through some of the new joints in town that have just thrown open their bar doors. Social Study (1795 Geary, SF. 415-292-7417) in the Fillmore is a chill, evening nook where you’ll meet your dream sexy librarian. It’s beer and wine only: buy her a couple glasses so she’ll let down her hair and flip it around the brick-walled space like a Van Halen video. In Bernal Heights, Iron and Gold (3187 Mission, SF. 415-824-1447) took over the old Argus space — it’s all spruced up pleasantly, with one of those trendy Olde Tyme Californy wood stoves in the back, but has yet to find its flavor in the crowd and cocktail department, IMO.

Dear Mom (2700 16th St., SF. 415-625-3362), meanwhile, is blowing up faster than your Facebook wall did with shocking Whitney tributes from your punk pals. (They can care!) I had to slyly elbow my way through a pack of future indie rock cautionary tales to the bar, whose major architectural innovation is an extra corner for hanging onto. There I was rewarded with a PBR, so retro, and rad people-watching. You straight singles are kooky adorbs. Skip the weakish cocktails — surprising from the folks who brought us Whiskey Thieves, Thieves Tavern, and Dirty Thieves — and the, er, “revealing” ladies room (no doors), but watch Mom transform her old El Rincon space into a neighborhood magnet.

I didn’t make it to fresh-out-the-box Rock Bar (80 29th St., SF.), from the Front Porch folks, because my heel broke — um, can we finally move beyond late-night food trucks to outfit-repair kiosks and touch-up huts? — but don’t fear the musty-ish moniker: it’s a neat play on the stone-encrusted exterior, inherited from its days as the International Club. I’ll get there, though, once my shoe-glue dries.

“V”: VESSEL FIFTH ANNIVERSARY

The “upscale” club in Union Square has actually been very good to scruffy underground fans with its affordable weekly Thursday night techno blast, Base. (Who else could afford to fly in so many European DJs?) Now, in honor of its fifth anniversary, the club has planned a week of monster names, Wed/15-Sun/19, including Moby, A-Trak, Digitalism, and Hercules and Love Affair. Check out the details at www.vesselsf.com and go big in an intimate space.

ELLEN FERRATO

One of our local heroes of energetic techno — think storied 1990s weekly Sugar at the Stud — is finally back on the decks to throw down at the kicky monthly Dial Up party. Her muscular style (right down to her tank top) marries deep yet fleet-footed grooves with progressive house’s more rewarding trappings. Nice to see ya!

Thu/16, 10 p.m., $5. Public Works, 161 Erie, SF. www.publicsf.com

EWAN PEARSON

For six years the monthly Lights Down Low party has brought new intriguing sounds and old favorites to SF — this Brit legend (whose work as Maas is revered by techno heads and who’s been palling around with Andy Weatherall lately) brings some deep tech-funk and bleepiness, joining New Jersey house god Todd Edwards and many more for some in-the-dark madness.

Fri/17, 9:30 p.m.-4 a.m., $15 advance. Public Works, 161 Erie, SF. wwwpublicsf.com

POOLSIDE

Opening for sophisticated Italian-Belgian pop-house act Aeroplane on Friday is our very own Poolside, the sun-kissed duo comprised of Filip Nikolic and Jeffrey Paradise, who’ve been slaying daytime parties around the world with dreamy acid house reveries and melodies that catch you in the bikini. A bit of lovely warmth in winter, this.

Fri/17, 9 p.m., $17 advance. Mezzanine, 444 Jessie, SF. www.mezzaninesf.com

REBOLLEDO

Intoxicating Mexican techno from this wavy-haired goofball, please, especially when hybridized with avant-pop structures into a bouncy funk, with one smart eye on retro-minimalism and the other on bumping rumps. Tim Sweeney, host of NYC’s invaluable Beats in Space radio show opens up.

Fri/17, 10 p.m., $10 before midnight with Facebook RSVP. Monarch, 101 Sixth St., SF. www.monarchsf.com

BRAZIL CARNAVAL BALL

“Nobody parties like the Brazilians!” is the motto of the Friends of Brazil, who are throwing their 45th outrageous Carnaval celebration on Saturday. I and my sore bottom are here to affirm that this is true! Mardi Gras is hard upon us, and it’s Rio’s traditional time to shine (even though our own big Carnaval street party doesn’t happen until May). Let those feathers fly and sequins shine with great live music and dancers.

Sat/18, 9:30 p.m., $35. Cafe Cocomo, 650 Indiana, SF. www.brazilianevents.com

LIL MISS HOT MESS’S ROLLER SKATING BIRTHDAY EXTRAVAGANZA!!!

This adorably meshuggah yet politically sharp (her satirical stage extravaganzas are to die for) drag queen threw one of the parties of 2010 when her birthday Bar Mitzvah rolled around. The long-awaited follow up, on wheels, promises just as many bumps, thumps, and bewigged triumphs.

Sun/19, 3 p.m.-8 p.m., $6 admission, $4 skate rental (or bring your own). CellSpace, 2050 Bryant, SF. www.lilmisshotmess.com

Loveless?

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February 9, 2012

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SUPER EGO The last time I tried to make out with a cute boy who wasn’t my husband, he actually said, “OK, I’m going to stand over there now. But you’re a great dancer.” Smooth save, Cornelius J. McRejector. I mean, if I had any pride left to be wounded do you think I’d be standing here wearing pink Baby Phat bedazzled cutoff jeans, a sequined visor that reads “Party Bottom,” possum-brown Keds, and some totally offensive, insensitively appropriated Native American item, possibly a dreamcatcher nose ring? I don’t need you! I’m busy re-embracing irony.

Anyway, that whole tackiness is over, and the point is this: dancing. If it seems there are more wild Valentine’s themed parties than ever this year (check out our roundup in this issue), there are also, well, more parties in general, including choice ones such as below. Just like Lana del Ray’s top lip, there’s always enough nightlife to go around. So don’t let some piddly fear of rejection lock you in the closet with zombie Mitt Romney. Be the great dancer you are.

LIGHT ASYLUM

Wide-ranging party players Marco de la Vega, Gary Riviera, and Brian Furstman have launched the new Future Perfect weekly at Monarch with the intent to obliterate whatever few genre boundaries remain in dance music — no central feel, “just good, forward thinking, contemporary” music, de la Vega told me. That’s a tough trick: without a definable flavor for a crowd to hold onto, you need to sustain a wholly unique energy (drink specials help!) or rely on big guest names to draw people back. Future Perfect seems to be succeeding at both strategies. The party’s already hosted Cold Cave, Jokers of the Scene, and Nguzunguzu; the latest big name is beguilingly dark live duo Light Asylum, anchored by singer Shannon Funchess’ throaty vocals. Considering Light Asylum’s justifiable reputation as one of the most riveting live acts around, this party’s energy will keep building.

Thu/9, 9 p.m., $10–$15. Monarch, 101 Sixth St., SF. www.monarchsf.com

BACK2BACK SEVENTH ANNIVERSARY

SF’s cosmic jam legends Jeno and Garth brought down club Mighty’s roof when they played at their original party Wicked’s 20th anniversary last year. Now they’re celebrating the lucky seventh of the party that sees them both on decks at the same time, finishing each others’ musical sentences. Poetry for your feet, child, and not to be missed for anyone interested in DJ sets that color outside the lines. (I’m so excited, I’m mixing my metaphors.)

Fri/10, 8 p.m.-4 a.m., free before 11 p.m., $7 after. Mighty, 119 Utah, SF. www.mighty119.com

NON STOP BHANGRA

Rad dance sounds from India seemed in danger of fading from the SF club scene recently. The lively Bollyhood Cafe in the Mission closed. (The space was taken over by expanding Senegalese restaurant-nightclub Bissap Baobab, so all is not lost worldwise). Forward-thinking global bass collective Surya Dub had faded from local DJ decks, although member Kush Arora continued to release ass-kicking riddim tracks at a furious pace. And when I heard long-running monthly dance extravaganza Non Stop Bhangra was looking for a new home I totally got a Punjab sad. Luckily, Non Stop has now landed on second Saturdays at Public Works — last month’s launch included the return of the Surya Dub crew, even. Whirl away with the expert Dholrhythms dance crew to DJ Jimmy Love’s bhangra bangers and a truly diverse Bay Area crowd, now going afterhours. This month, DJ Rekha of NYCs raucous Basement Bhangra guests. (Check out my interview with her — full of some amazing tunes — here.)

Sat/11 and second Saturdays, 9 p.m.-3 a.m., $10 advance, $15. Public Works, 161 Erie, SF. www.nonstopbhangra.com

OPEL 10-YEAR ANNIVERSARY, PART ONE

A part of our nightlife so huge, its decade celebration had to be split in two. Opel usually blows up the underground with tech house and drum and bass glory — founding member Syd Gris is responsible for the massive Lovevolution festival. But this above-board extravaganza at Mezzanine boasts Opel stalwart DJs Meat Katie, Dylan Rhymes, Syd, and Melyss downstairs, and a “looking back” room upstairs with longtime spinners Kramer, Ethan Miller, Dutch, and Spesh.

Sat/11, 9 p.m.-4 a.m., $20 advance. Mezzanine, 444 Jessie, SF. www.mezzaninesf.com

DROOG

Some tasty undergroundish events have been popping up at 46 Minna lately — raising a few eyebrows, since 46 Minna is otherwise known to the mainstream bottle-service crowd as Harlot. A recent chat with one of my favorite DJs, Adnan Sharif of the Forward SF house collective, cleared up the mystery: the Harlot peeps want to draw a more adventurous crowd to their lovely space on non-weekend days. Rebranding’s fine with me, especially if it brings a four-hour set by Droog, the LA trio of expert house deconstructionists who fill their funky mindtrips with all kinds of electronic Easter eggs. This is the launch of Forward SF’s weekly Forward Sundays Sessions (with a fresh fruit buffet!). Adnan himself is opening up.

Sun/12, $10–$20, 6 p.m.-midnight. 46 Minna, SF. www.forwardsf.com

Party Radar: Mike “Agent X” Clark, Cheap, DJ Hell, Forro Brazuca, Martin Buttrich, The Bunker

Jesse Hawthorne Ficks

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January 31, 2012

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Our weekly Super Ego clubs column took a wee breather from the paper this week in order to bring you some great live bands we love. But does that mean you’re not going to go out partying? Possibly even partying like this dude, who last month broke the world record for continuous DJing (130 hours and 30 mins)? Maybe! After the jump, my picks of the week.

>>Mike “Agent X” Clark

The expansive, blues-house Beatdown sound is finally making it to the Bay Area. Last week, so-called “First Lady of Beatdown” Lady Blacktronika visited us from Mt. Shasta. And now one of the three Detroit originators of the decade-old sound itself, Mike “Agent X” Clark, comes to one of my favorite new weekly parties, Housepitality. But Clark has a long and varied history of tasty dance sounds; he’ll be bringing a whole bag of soulful tricks to lift you up.

Wed/1, 9 p.m., $5 before 11 p.m., $10 after (free before 11 p.m. with RSVP at www.housepitalitysf.com/rsvp). Icon, 1192 Folsom, SF. Facebook invite.

>>Cheap

Last week I bitched about how expensive some parties were getting — I can barely keep myself in lynx stoles and unicorn caviar! Well, here’s the response for queers and friends: how about a free weekly party with $3 well drinks and $2 PBR, plus DJ Stanley Frank and a wild performance by the lovely Donna Personna? I say yes.

Thu/2 and every Thursday, 9 p.m., free. The Stud, 299 Ninth St., SF. www.studsf.com

>>DJ Hell

Helmut Josef Geier is, yes, German and also one of the folks who brought us some of the better parts of electroclash. But wait! He’s been making music for more than 20 years (and DJing since 1978!), so his catalog is incredibly deep. If he plays 1992 anthem “My Definition of House Music,” I may weep.

Fri/3, 9 p.m.-late, $12 presale, $15-$20 door. public Works, 161 Erie, SF. www.publicsf.com

>>Forró Brazuca

Awesome Brazilian dance music monthly party Braza! — um, yeah, the patrons are freaking friendly and gorgeous — is kicking off a series of live music showcases with this accordion-powered roots music quartet, each member from a different region of Brazil. Really stoked for this one.

Fri/3, 10 p.m.-3 a.m., $10. SOM, 2925 16th St., SF. www.som-bar.com

>>Martin Buttrich

One of the strongest representatives, along with his Desolat label co-founder Loco Dice, of the current polished German techno sound, all flexing muscle and audio wizardry under the surface, but floated with enough bright swing (especially in the example below, one of my faves) to pull anyone onto the floor. He’ll fill every inch of your ear on Mighty’s mighty sound system.

Fri/3, 10 p.m.-4 a.m., $15. Mighty, 119 Utah, SF. www.mighty119.com

>>The Bunker

One of the best long-running parties in Brooklyn — and the nerve center for East Coast techno and “avant-house” — is the Bunker, which this month meets our own techno nerve center, Kontrol, in a delectable conflagration of like minds. Bunker DJs Derek Plaslaiko (who blew us away at Berlin’s Tresor club last year), the more classic house-oriented Mike Servito (likewise at Honey Soundsystem), and Spinoza will let us know how the other coast lives. This is another stealth Detroit takeover, too, since Plaslaiko and Servito both originally hail from the Motor City. The waves just keep on comin’.

Sat/4, 10 p.m.-6 a.m., free before 11 p.m., $20 after. EndUp, 401 Sixth St., SF. Facebook invite

>>Dan Beaumont

This week’s fab Honey Soundsystem party on Sunday play’s host to this revered London club owner (Dalston Superstore) and DJ (Disco Bloodbath collective). I’m digging his refined style, plugging into deeper synth-electronic waves.Should be a stylish international wrap-up for a kind of crazy SF weekend.

Sun/5, 9 p.m.-2 a.m. $5. Holy Cow, 1535 Folsom, SF. Facebook Invite

Party Radar: Cheap, GO BANG!, DDP, Mosca, Stacey Pullen, more

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January 26, 2012

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Party Radar: Cheap, GO BANG!, DDP, Mosca, Stacey Pullen, more

In this week’s Super Ego column I bitched that club cover charges were getting too high — and pumped some affordable, worthwhile upcoming parties. Here are even more for this weekend, including one called, yes, Cheap. You know it!

>>CHEAP
This new Thursday weekly party at the Stud promises “cheap booze, cheap fags, cheap tunes, cheap everything.” Free cover, $3 well drinks, $2 PBR — and a couple weeks ago a SWAT team landed across the street, no shit. So cheap entertainment, too! I’m totally saving some cash and turing gay for this.

Thu/26, 9 p.m., free. The Stud, 399 Ninth St., SF. www.studsf.com, Facebook invite

>>I <3 COCHINA TONGA’S

This outrageously fun monthly party turns the Castro’s LookOut Bar into a kooky Mexican cabana bar, replete with drag performances, dance numbers, giant sombreros and inflatable flamingos. Hostess Ambrosia Salad and probably SF’s two cutest gay DJs, Taco Tuesday and Stanley Frank, play everything from salsa to Trina for a loosey-goosey crowd. Well drinks are $2 untill 11 p.m., mijas!

Thu/26, 9 p.m., free. LookOut, 3600 16th St., SF. Facebook invite

>>STACEY PULLEN

We at SFBG have a total soft-spot for the immersive, tribal-like second generation Detroit techno DJ — he’s got as much subtlety as muscle on the decks, but still leads you to ecstatic places. he’ll be at the weekly BASE party at Vessel, which is a whole lot of fun for techno freaks and friends. And it’s free before 11 p.m. with guestlist signup here. (Sign up before 8 p.m., though!)

Thu/26, 10 p.m., free before 11 p.m. with site RSVP, $10 after. Vessel, 85 Campton Pl., SF. www.vesselsf.com, Facebook invite

>>DECENTRALIZED DANCE PARTY
Helping to inaugurate a strange new era of crowdsourced party funding — i.e. in order for the party to happen, there was a Kickstarter campaign (!) — the DDP takes a really fun, familiar idea and slicks it up: bring an old boombox (with batteries!) and an FM transmitter will broadcast tunes from every speaker. It’s decentralized! It’s spontaneous! The theme is “Strictly Business” so wear formal business attire.

Fri/27, 8 p.m.-midnight. Join the Facebook page for info about the location, somewhere in the Mission.

>>DARK ROOM

Dark music, gay goth fans, industrial dancing, free whiskey shots before 11! Need we say more — other than our favorite little hole-in-the-wall queer goth monthly will depeche your mode with complimentary silk-screened tees for the first 50 people through the door, in honor of its ghoulish first anniversary.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfkYzxQKIYE

Sat/28, 10 p.m., $5, The Hot Spot, 1414 Market, SF. Facebook invite.

>>GO BANG!
Time for another installment of this sweaty-lovely monthly disco-soul free-for-all, this time featuring LA sleazy edit hound Cole Medina, self-described “drunk funker” Tal M. Klein, and one of my longtime crushes, Rich King of NYC’s decade-old SNAXX club, which is indeed snaxxtastic.

Sat/28, 9 p.m.-3 a.m., free before 10 p.m., $5 after. Deco Lounge, 510 Larkin, SF. www.decosf.com, Facebook invite

>>MOSCA
Got to give it up for the always innovative Icee Hot party, popularizing the bouncy-deep UK bass sound in San Francisco and giving our nightlife a few other juicy headtrips, tunes-wise. For Icee’s second birthday, Mosca, a prominent rep of the London’s Night Slugs scene (read this neat interview with Paloma Ortiz), will join fellow rave-y Brit Altered Natives on decks, along with chill-toasty regulars Rollie Fingers, Shawn Reynaldo, and Ghosts on Tape.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywAJL8sKYvk

Sat/28, 10 p.m.-3 a.m., $5 before 10:30 p.m., $10 after. Odd Job Loft at Public Works, 161 Erie, SF. www.publicsf.com, Facebook invite

Techno is expensive

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January 24, 2012

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marke@sfbg.com

SUPER EGO Let’s be honest. Let’s start the new year out a month late with honesty. (Gung Hay Fat Choy, btw). Going out these days can really cost you someone, and that someone is named Pretty Penny, if not Armina Leg.

The average cover charge in the city, according to my professionally drunken self-survey, is pushing from $10 to $15, if not $20. Officially a night out — drinks, cabs, cover, recovery pizza slice — can run you upwards of $50. (Unofficially, you may just have to put out for your ride and pony up for new Underoos when the flask seal breaks in your back pocket. I am not advocating anything here. Just don’t opt for Drano instead of blow.)

Some parties are absolutely worth it. If Radiohead tickets are, like $144, then the party of the year so far, Laurent Garnier at Public Works — a four-hour live set with three musicians, full digital effects, huge bass boost, and a Thursday night crowd of serious dance fiends — was $25, $15 presale, invested in the supreme life force. There are fortunately still many parties hovering around the $5 mark where you can hear fantastic innovation and occasional international stars. And by all means, if you want to cough up $35 to hear some pop-EDM millionaire douchnozzle vomit down your earhole, be my guest. Just bring me back a pair of neon shutter shades. (Full disclosure: I gladly pay to get into about 70 percent of the parties I attend.)

But nightlife appears to be recession-proof here, possibly because of our tech bubble, and I wonder if one of the most democratic of art forms, dance music, is turning into a prissy connoisseur enterprise that only the wealthy can fully experience and enjoy. The answer, of course, is to go outside and make our own damn noise.

Bull sessions The Red Bull Music Academy has become quite a thing in the past 14 years — championing some mighty forward-thinking dance music, linking past legends with newbies through interviews, workshops, lectures, and lively parties, and putting me in the funny spot of sounding like a full-on Red Bull product placer.

The Academy itself could number you among its ranks. It’s a group of talented musicians, DJs, and producers chosen to attend a massive, globe-roving yearly summit full of cultural and clubby goodies. A Hogwarts of hip-hop, an Exeter of electronica, a Quattrocentro of Moombahton. This year’s takes place in NYC in October, but to kick off the Academy application process — get in gear and apply starting Feb. 2 at www.redbullmusicacademy.com — Red Bull’s launching a series of tasty events here in SF that are open to all.

In the taurine ring? Saxophone deity Gary Bartz (Wed/25, 8:30 p.m., $30. Yoshi’s SF, 1300 Fillmore, SF. www.yoshis.com) — whose African-rooted jazz of the late 1960s and ’70s became associated with the Black Panther movement — drops some fierce “Uhuru Sasa” with Aloe Blacc and Bilal. Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito (Thu/26. 10 p.m., $8. Mighty, 119 Utah, SF. www.mighty119.com) revive their groundbreaking hip-hop days as hosts on Columbia University’s WKCR in the early ’90s. And finally, in a coup that has the classic house community abuzz, Nuyorican heroes Kenny Dope and Lil Louie Vega, a.k.a. Masters at Work (Fri/27, 10 p.m., $15. 103 Harriet, SF. www.1015.com) will reunite for the first time in 10 years.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSoD3qKiU1o

I’ll take them wings, gimme.

ROCKET

A newly-formed passel of local queer techno DJs, the Rocket Collective (Mat Dos Santos, Brian Maier, Trevor Sigler, David Sternesky) is shooting for the moon with this underground sound-oriented party which benefits different Burning Man camps every month. Always-energetic drag astronauts — dragstronauts! — Ambrosia Salad and Miss Rahni perform.

Sat/28, 10 p.m., $7. Rickshaw Stop, 155 fell, SF. www.rickshawstop.com

SUPERDRE

Superhot funky bass and minimal tech DJ and Bass Candi label owner flaunts her supreme technique — her sets are wide-ranging surveys of the best various current dance music genres have to offer, but who cares we’re dancing. With dirtybird’s Worthy, Little Jon of Raindance, and more.

Sat/28, 9 p..m.-3:30 a.m., free before 10 p.m. with Facebook RSVP, $5 after. Public Works, 161 erie, SF. www.publicsf.com

SuperDre – Divergent Spectrum Tour w/ Bassnectar – Miami, FL 10.22.11 by SuperDre

C.L.A.W.S.

Reverend Bertie Pearson, the cool cleric who brought us the absolutely epic Episcodisco parties at Grace Cathedral, is now at the Episcopal Church of St. John the Evangelist — and there’s no way that church won’t see some nightlife blowouts as well. Like this all ages blast featuring longtime local experimental tech cat C.L.A.W.S. with cute “proto-synthpop without raping it” band Shakes Gown and also Earth Jerks.

Sun/29, 6 p.m.-10 p.m., all ages, $5–$10 sliding scale, no one turned away. Episcopal Church of St. John the Evangelist, 1661 15th St., SF. www.saintjohnsf.org

Nite Trax: Lady Blacktronika comes for Honey

Jesse Hawthorne Ficks

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January 20, 2012

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Nite Trax: Lady Blacktronika comes for Honey

Watch your snowballs: the First Lady of Beatdown, Lady Blacktronika, is hopping on her magic sleigh and coming down the mountain for Honey Soundsystem on Sun/22. She’ll be giving SF some much-needed transwoman power on the decks, and it will be the tea.

That mountain would be Mt. Shasta, where the prolific, San Jose-born producer and DJ has been headquartered lately, releasing track after track of absorbing, soul-seizing grooves on her Sound Black Recordings label. Her aesthetic takes the expansive and unrushed Detroit beatdown blues-house sound (with which she’s had some personal experience) and the mesmerizing moodiness of artists like Theo Parrish and Alton Miller in unexpectedly deep directions — using her notable experience as a singer and some lovely dubby effects shared with her former production partner Mattski to give the malleable beatdown sound some intriguing new shapes.

In anticipation of her first DJ gig in San Francisco after spinning around the world, I chatted with her over email about her gospel music-loving roots, the challenges of being a transgender woman in the electronic music industry, and some of the women on the scene that she admires.

SFBG This is really the first time you’ve DJed in San Francisco?

LADY BLACKTRONIKA Yes this will be the first time I’ve ever played in the Bay Area. It’s a long time coming since I am a born-and-raised Bay Area girl from San Jose.

SFBG Your music transmits such a deep, techno-spiritual quality. Can you tell me some of your favorite music growing up — and who might some surprising people you’re listening to now be?

LADY BLACKTRONIKA I grew up on KSOL out of San Mateo and DJ Cameron Paul’s mixes. Lots of soul and lots of disco, boogie, and dance music. Dance music, primarily disco, has always been in my life thanks to KSOL and KMEL growing up. I also always loved traditional African music and gospel music even though I was raised a Jehovah’s Witness and was told it was wrong to listen to gospel, cause it was false religion. (PS: All religion is false religion. LOL.) Now beside house and disco I’m listening to John Grant’s Queen of Denmark and Montreal’s glitch-hop crew Alaclair Ensemble.

SFBG You’ve said the Detroit beatdown sound really struck you — but a prominent Detroit label rejected the tracks you offered them because there was “no progression.” When you compose a track, what shape do you usually aim for, if not traditional “progression?” What types of tracks by others catch your ear that seem to fit in with your aesthetic?

LADY BLACKTRONIKA Emotion Emotion Emotion. I am super moody, often able to find joy and happiness but sometimes very sad. I am resilient though. I put all that emotion good and bad in to my music. If it ain’t got that swing as they say… but in my case it’s heart and soul that I must put in to every track. That’s what I want to hear from other music, and what I hope to convey with my sound. Honesty is also a huge ingredient in my witch’s brew.

SFBG I see you’re active in the Women in Electronic Music group on Facebook. Can you share some of your thoughts about the state of electronic music in regards to female presence, and who are some women you think should be ruling the electronic music world right now?

LADY BLACKTRONIKA I think the broad mainstream presence of women in electronic music is lacking but growing. Women are in full force though in the underground and not to be underestimated. I hope I am representing women well with what I do. As far as other women to watch out for you know I have to big up my Supreme Scyence sisters Jenifa Mayanja and Lola Dakinin9. Also non-producer DJs to watch out for: Jennifer Xerri is a bad muthah shut yo mouth. LOL. Sarah Farina in Berlin is a nu soul-broken beat-avant-guarde newcomer that I am gagging over. Her mixes are dope as shit.

SFBG Can you give us a current top five tracks?

LADY BLACKTRONIKA 1. Juan de Dios, “Spirituality”; 2. Mattski, “Twilight”; 3. WBTTU Anthems, “Stebeni’s Theme”; Eddie Leader, “Ummmm Well”; Core 4 Spin, “Brothers and Sis”

The Lady Blacktronika – Akua Rising Mix For Pulse Radio by Ms Lady Blacktronika

SFBG Can we talk a little about your feelings as a transgender woman in the electronic music community? Have any reactions stood out for you?

LADY BLACTRONIKA We can. Although as a transwoman in the industry, my experience has pretty much been that of a woman in general. Though I did have someone suggest I do drag show-type gimmicks to further my career. I was like, Why should I have to do that when I already have media attention?

I also had someone say “I knew a woman couldn’t be making beats that good” after I told him I was transgender. I was so shocked. I take offense to that as a woman and as a transwoman. It’s difficult to imagine that this sort of blatant and utter sexism exists in underground house, but it does.

SFBG Ick about the sexism ;( Do you find that as a transgender woman you’re able to step across the gay-straight club divide — and do you think that there is such a huge divide anymore? Also, are there other transgender people on the scene who you admire?

LADY BLACKTRONIKA I don’t live in the city so I don’t know what’s going on with the club scene so much. This is the first time I’m getting fanfare in the gay community which is great. I’ve been wondering where all the family was at. So nice to know we are not all in to circuit bullshit LOL

I wish there were other transwomen that I knew who were into the sound I am into. I can’t say I know any others personally or have any I admire.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xauvwT_u1JA

SFBG So what are some of your favorite places in Mt. Shasta? I might be heading there come spring …

LADY BLACKTRONIKA Some of my favorite places in Mt. Shasta are the freeways, railing and greyhound station — any way to get out of here. LOL.

LADY BLACKTRONIKA AT HONEY SOUNSYSTEM
Sun/22, 9 p.m., $5
Holy Cow
1535 Folsom, SF.
www.honeysoundsystem.com
Facebook invite

Nite Trax: Edwardian Baller Justin Katz tells of Gorey origins, steampunk youth, more

Jesse Hawthorne Ficks

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January 18, 2012

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Nite Trax: Edwardian Baller Justin Katz tells of Gorey origins, steampunk youth, more

In this week’s Super Ego nightlife column in the paper, I write about this coming weekend’s giant Edwardian Ball at the Regency Ballroom, which spans five events and welcomes thousands into its playful goth-steampunk-burlesque embrace. Named for Edward Gorey but encompassing more than a few winks at the Edwardian Era of the last turn of the century, the all-ages ball has come to act as a summit for a certain essential, instantly recognizable San Francisco nightlife subculture.

The ball was launched in 2000 by Justin Katz of “premiere pagan lounge ensemble” Rosin Coven and Mike Gaines of the neo-cirque Vau de Vire Society, and has grown enormously in the 12 years since — including branching out to Los Angeles. I interviewed the genial Katz over email about the ball’s Gorey origins, the challenges of expansion, combatting the dreaded FOMO, and welcoming a new generation of Friends of Ed.

SFBG Congrats on 12 years of the Edwardian Ball. When you started this, did you think it would take off in this big a way? Can you share a couple of your favorite memories of the Ball since the “turn of the century”?

JUSTIN KATZ Thank you! Each year in the history of this event has been such an adventure, with unpredictability even for us being a constant! Our first year we used a slide projector to show images from a Gorey book. Slides! The second year we did our first interactive theater with the audience, inviting friends to come up and be part of “The Curious Sofa.” Our fifth year was the first with Vau de Vire Society, one of the best decisions Rosin Coven ever made, and I can’t believe the amount of theatre, aerial, and huge open flames that we fit into the back room of the Cat Club. From then on it’s been astounding to see the growth and participation, first the Great American Music Hall, then up to three nights there before waltzing into our current home, The Regency Ballroom.

SFBG You’re extending the festival over six events this year — can you tell me a little about that? Have you ever had this many events, and is this in response to demand?

JK This is definitely our biggest offering to date. The event has developed in so many ways concurrently that there is just too much to see and do during a nighttime event. The Vendor Bazaar (afternoon of Sat/21) has grown into a world of its own and people want more time to shop and mingle amongst the dozens of amazing artisan vendors we now house for the weekend. It gives people a chance to focus without dreaded FOMO — fear of missing out! — with all of the revelry of the Ball afterwards. And this year’s tea with Professor Elemental (also afternoon of Sat/21) is a new one. We are so pleased to have such an excellent artist flying all the way from the UK that it only seemed proper to have a tea party, and give fans a chance to get up close and personal in a more relaxed setting. So it’s about opening up and spreading things out a bit, to enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iRTB-FTMdk

SFBG This year’s theme book is the Iron Tonic — will there be specific references to the book, or do you adopt these just as general frameworks to work within? And what are some of the special things you’re looking forward to this year?

JK: Each year Rosin Coven & Vau de Vire Society, co-hosts of The Edwardian Ball, choose a featured Gorey story to bring to life on stage. So this year’s tale is “The Iron Tonic”, which will be presented on Saturday night with original music, staging, choreography, and video as our “big show.” So you will see the story in its entirety. And more, actually, because Vau de Vire always goes to the next level in creating the story – showing you what Gorey doesn’t. One of the most intriguing things about Gorey’s work is that he shows you so little, and implies so much. Vau de Vire plays with character, back story, scenes between the scenes, and really draws you in. Rosin Coven works closely with them developing this and creating the music and narrative that drives and showcases all of the amazing theatrics.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qgIGKobTe4

Another addition to this year’s event that I just can’t wait to see is our new Museum of Wonders – we’ve added an entire third floor of The Regency to the event, a dense, dark playground of eccentric collections, unusual artifacts, circus sideshows, mechanical dolls that sing you songs, fortune telling, tarot reading, a haunted pipe organ, and a living statue garden by Vau de Vire performing more Gorey stories. We’ve taken the wonderful art that has filled our ballroom and given it its own home, a whole new world to wander during the event, and a place to get away from the crowds for a different experience. This also allows us to open the Ballroom up even more for dancing and enjoying the show – more space to tango!

SFBG I’m fascinated by the general culture that’s coalesced in the past decade or so around the Edwardian Ball — it’s such a San Francisco signature style incorporating burlesque revivalism, playful goth, circus and steampunk, various aspects of Victoriana and Edwardiana. You guys seem to be the major exponents of this certain culture. Have you had any thoughts about it as you’ve seen it develop? What changes or developments have you seen in the Edwardian Ball culture through the years that you’re proud of or that have really made you think?

JK It’s an honor to be recognized as an influence on San Francisco’s style and trends, I’ve always seen us almost more of a great receiver of ideas and influences. We provide a creative, permissive space for people to inspire each other and cross-pollinate. By creating a mood but not strict rules, people have developed their own interpretations and styles over the years, the sum total of which become “Edwardian.” We initially used the name Edwardian just to dress up Edward Gorey, but its been fascinating to see people develop the historic elements of the event on their own. Steampunk is an interesting one too – when we started that word didn’t even exist. We’ve never self-promoted as a “steampunk” event, any more than we would be a “period recreation” event, but we’ve enjoyed the dovetailing of the trend and it’s expansion into more elaborate costume and character. I’ve enjoyed seeing people take Gorey’s work and meld it into their own creations too – characters and monsters and oddities from the pages of his books have been found in the most wonderful corners of the events.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjjDt2_oKyU

SFBG How has the Los Angeles Ball been going and do you plan to expand further?

JK Los Angeles has been inspiring and challenging. Our first year was gorgeous, held in the mostly-defunct, run down Tower Theater in Downtown LA. It was moody and intriguing, and difficult from a production standpoint. So last year we moved to The Music Box, which is such a great venue. We had a little hiccup when the venue double-booked the night and bumped our date, and we had to push it back a month. But this year The Music Box outdid themselves and shut down a week ago, out of business, so we’re hard at work on finding a new home and date in time to announce at the SF event. LA is just good at tossing us curveballs – but aside from the nuts and bolts we have a wonderful time down there and are inspired and impressed by how ready the crowd is to step up, dress up, and immerse themselves in the Edwardian world. I see no reason not to keep expanding the reach of this event: New York, Seattle, New Orleans, there are so many places that the Edwardian Ball could pay a delightful visit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3ISx6UaKw0

SFBG You welcome all ages to the Ball. Do you find that, as steampunk and burlesque enter the mainstream consciousness more, that more younger people are drawn to the culture that the Ball represents?

JK I think that’s a good assessment. I think we’re seeing a couple of groups of younger people – there are those that are drawn to live music, circus, and performance, and this gives them a place to go when most shows are 18+. It’s such a well-behaved crowd – playful but respectful – that we feel good about including all ages and creating a safe space for young people. Their presence adds a really vital energy, and I think affirms that we are creating something that can continue on, it’s not just for the producers and their own social circles. New, young ideas can and will influence where this event goes.

Also, some of the longtime fans are getting older and having children themselves, and starting to bring them to see this unique world. We’re starting to see the “Under-10” crowd show up for the first few hours – they watch the show, climb aboard a bike-powered carnival ride, play midway games with clowns, pose for photos, and head back to school for an unbelievable round of show-and-tell.

Fri/20: Edwardian World’s Faire Kinetic Steam Works, Cyclecide, Vau de Vire, games, and more

Sat/21: Edwardian Ball 2012 “The Iron Tonic” with Jill Tracy, The Fossettes, Miz Margo, and more

Both at Regency Ballroom, 1300 Van Ness, SF. All ages, see www.edwardianball.com for prices, times, and more events.

Get Gorey

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January 17, 2012

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marke@sfbg.com

SUPER EGO Wax up your handlebar mustache, dust off your stripy topcoat, burnish your steampunk petticoats, and oil those wheezy accordions: The Edwardian Ball, that phenomenal annual gathering of exquisitely decked-out freaks, is back for its 12th installment of mannered mayhem. This time it aims to quell any kvetching about crowding by stretching itself over five official local events (and a satellite ball in Los Angeles next month). But the Fri/20 World’s Faire and the Sat/20 Ball itself will still be the main attraction for thousands of Friends of Ed.

Where did it come from, the distinctly San Franciscan style that the Edwardian Ball represents, the curious — and, in some pale lights, socially conservative — amalgamation of circus revivalism, steampunk mechanicals, Wild West gumption, burlesque peekaboo, 1990s anarcho-sincerity, and more than a hint of Burning Man fairy dust? The ball itself, launched in 2000 by Justin Katz of “premiere pagan lounge ensemble” Rosin Coven and Mike Gaines of the neo-cirque Vau de Vire Society, delectably conflates affection for Edwards Gorey, author, and Windsor, British king, producing a turn-of-the-last-century high-brow goth fantasia that’s impossible to resist. There’s more than a hint of Burtonesque Scissorhands-worship in there as well, bringing our Ed count to three. (Check out my revealing interview with founder Katz.)

Like absinthe, the ball’s drink of choice, I savor this native subculture most in small, strong doses — sometimes its sheer mass can overwhelm, and its style seems always in a state of coalescence rather than expansion. (An Edwardian Ball in 2112 would, and probably should, be much like the one this week, hover-bikes notwithstanding.) That’s why the ball’s a perfectly cromulent occasion to check in on the dark-eyed, ruby-red, velvety feast of one of our essential undergrounds. Promenade, anyone?

Fri/20: Edwardian World’s Faire Kinetic Steam Works, Cyclecide, Vau de Vire, games, and more

Sat/21: Edwardian Ball 2012 “The Iron Tonic” with Jill Tracy, The Fossettes, Miz Margo and more

Both at Regency Ballroom, 1300 Van Ness, SF. All ages, see www.edwardianball.com for prices, times, and more events.

BENEFITS FOR DJ TOPH ONE Beloved “wino” Toph One got struck while riding his bike by a hit-and-run driver on Sun/8 and was hospitalized with a broken pelvis and internal bleeding. The DJ, bike activist and annual AIDS Rider, and party promoter (of the incredibly long-running Red Wine Social and Pepper) is OK and in good spirits now. And the great Bay Area nightlife scene is banding together once again to help out a friend in need. There are going to be two big benefits — all proceeds going to Toph’s bills — that are also serving as major bay talent summits. One’s at Public Works (Fri/20, 9 p.m.-3 a.m., $10. 161 Erie, SF. www.publicsf.com) with J-Boogie, Jimmy Love, Matt Haze, Pleasure Maker, E Da Boss, Chris Orr, and many more. The other’s at SOM (Sun/22, 8 p.m., $10–$20 but no one turned away. 2925 16th St., SF. www.som-bar.com) with Billy Jam, Sake One, DJ Pause, Rolo 1-3, Rascue, Jah Warrior Shelter Hi-Fi, and tons more. Get well soon, buddy — and anyone with information on the crime please call the anonymous police tip line at (415) 575-4444 or send a tip by text message to TIP411.

LAURENT GARNIER

One day, I will write an entire book about French techno polymath Laurent Garnier’s seminal 1993 “Acid Eiffel,” a monumental track whose throbbing chords (not quite nabbed from Mr. Fingers), squiggling acid jabs, and cheeky whale-song bass figures pretty much audibly nailed where my rave-fatigue head was at back then. He hasn’t been here in a decade: this time he arrives as part of the trio LBS (Live Booth Sessions) with Garnier DJing and knob-twisting, Benjamin Rippert on keyboards and Scan X on “machines.” They’ll be tearing through a whole host of electronic styles at this installment of the whip-smart As You Like It roaming party (co-produced with Public Works), throwing some brilliant corners on Garnier’s signature ecstatic style. With M3, Rich Korach, Briski, and P-Play.

Thu/19, 9 p.m.-3 a.m., $15–$25. Public Works, 161 Erie, SF. www.publicsf.com

THE QUEEN IS DEAD

Honey, is she ever! There has actually been quite an uptick in Smiths tribute nights (maybe making up for Morrissey’s string of Bay Area concert cancellations?). And this monthly one, celebrating a year on Saturday, is the Frankly Mr. Shanklyest of them, with a wide range of melancholy jangle-pop tunes and DJ Mario Muse on decks. Unhappy birthday!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oYsQ1Ra1hI

Sat/21, 9 p.m., $5. Milk, 1840 Haight, SF. www.milksf.com

OCTAVE ONE

The classic Detroit techno Burden Brothers whose seminal “I Believe” and “Black Water” will always get me on the dance floor hollering and waving my arms around like the homosexual muppet I am have been touring successfully. Catch them on the swell Club Six sound system.

Fri/20, 9 p.m.-4 a.m., $15. www.clubsix1.com

SOUKI

Kooky-rad monthly queer and friends party Dial Up dials up a special Friday night with Berlin ‘s Souki, whose deep-but-friendly techno prowess is making recent waves. She’ll be performing a live PA, sure to get funky.

Fri/20, 9 p.m.-3:30 a.m., free before 10 p.m., $6 after. Public Works, 161 Erie, SF. www.publicsf.com

DUBSTEP PRODUCER BATTLE FINALE

Some great beats have come out of the rounds leading up to this grand wobble finale — nice to see so much local talent holding forth (and stretching the often narrow dubstep definition.) Come jiggle and support finalists Fivel, Taso, and Kontrol Freqs at the new Fuel Lounge (formerly Etiquette).

Fri/20, 9 p.m., $5 before 10 p.m., $10 after. Fuel, 1108 Market, SF. www.fuelsf.com

Mermaids vs. unicorns

Jesse Hawthorne Ficks

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January 10, 2012

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marke@sfbg.com

SUPER EGO The slightly “meh” body of 2011 isn’t even cold and already we have two completely ridiculous yet ridiculously adorable, new deliberately manufactured subcultures to pretend argue on blogs about, because who blogs anymore? Seapunks and bronies, yep. I hope they fight, too, because it’d be the 2012 apocalypse in one cute, handy metaphor. Sparkly rainbow annihilation now!

Luckily, both also provide some cotton candy for thought. Bronies (and Pegasisters) are adult fans of “My Little Pony,” spanning the glittery spectrum from dedicated furries to wayward anime admirers. And yes, they dress up, and yes, there was a packed Bronycon in NYC last week. The Brony dance music of choice is variously called rainbowstep, ponystep, or dubtrot, and consists mostly of “My Little Pony”-based samples (“Fluttershy will snuggle you in your sleep!”) laid over basic dubstep tracks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2F7-Bz1lvBU

Many will find this to be divine justice for the much-maligned dubstep genre; I’m fascinated by both the ever-evolving cuddlecore-kawaii movement — humanity is so awesome — and the strange amalgamation of retro commercialism and celebratory fetishism, dancing together to something someone whipped up on a laptop for the occasion.

Seapunk is a bit more complex, a wonderful bit of subcultural engineering masterminded by elfin LA producer Fire for Effect, of underground pop group Ssion, who wanted more environmental consciousness in the club scene. (The original concept came from a “GIF dream” designed by Twitter personality Lil Internet, according to the legend.) Seapunk’s aqueous adherents, mostly in the Midwest but spreading fast — SF just got its first octopussy Seapunk mural at Market and 12th Street — have been characterized as goth mermaids, which certainly captures the look and feel: think turquoise-dyed hair and an embrace of all things oceanic, yay for steampunk jellyfish outfits.

But the whole idea is perhaps appropriately diffuse, nay watered-down: it’s more an “immersive Internet concept” than a pre-packaged lifestyle. And the music isn’t punk at all.

Besides an odd bubbly noise or two, it would be hard to identify any seapunk tracks (by Zombelle, Teams, Slava, Unknown, mostly on the Coral Records label) as anything but deep, dreamy tech house and bass music, a bit drowned-sounding, with those chipmunked rap samples now back in vogue. The lighter side of witch house, maybe.

Ultrademon – #Occupy Mixtape by Мишка Bloglin

It’s in the DJ sets, though, that seapunk catches my ear, especially those by Ultrademon. They’re perfectly party-ready, smart but completely nonthreatening, slightly melancholic fun runs you can imagine someone raving out to in a giant polyurethane bubble. But the intermittent, seemingly random fast-slow timeshifts are something more. What if mix tempos could shift suddenly, freely, and often at the clubs — like the currents of our rapidly rising, steadily depleting oceans?

Some Thing turns two: I want to give a special birthday shoutout to one of my favorite weekly clubs, Some Thing (Fridays, 9 p.m.-4 a.m., $7. The Stud, 399 Ninth St., SF. www.studsf.com), which brings a fantastically twisted and hot, hot, hot community of queers and (other) together every Friday for shoestring razzle-dazzle drag shenanigans and afterhours dancing. Helmed by the glorious Glamamore, who celebrates 30 years of drag this year; VivvyAnne ForeverMore, fresh back from dance performances in NYC; and DJ down-E, our king of deadpan cataclysmic retro (why not just throw on some Carpenters occasionally?), this is really one of the hardest working parties in town — no sweat ever shows, though, those seams are seamless. There, you’ll see 10-plus performance numbers covering everything from nonironic Broadway showtune adoration to scandalous punk rock conflagration. Meet me there for a shot or four this Friday — and hit up the Noise blog for my juicy interview.

NGUZUNGUZU

In a stunning show of actual musical taste, Gawker named the rad, boppy LA global-bass duo’s “Perfect Lullaby” DJ mix one of 2011’s best. Catch them live at the new Future Perfect weekly.

Thu/12, 9 p.m., $10. Monarch, 101 Sixth St., SF. www.monarchsf.com

GESAFFELSTEIN AND BRODINSKI

Look, if you’re in the mood to just rave the fuck out to some good ol’ hardcore electro and minimal techno, you could do far worse than these two French dudes who are not douches, really!

Fri/13, 10 p.m., $20 advance. Mezzanine, 444 Jessie, SF. www.mezzaninesf.com

LEGOWELT

Fab Dutch hybridist performs live, bringing his unerring ear for totally jackable tech tracks and brain-tickling deep Chicago house vibes to the lovely No Way Back party.

Sat/14, 10 p.m.-4 a.m., $10–$15. Public Works, 161 Erie, SF. www.publicsf.com

DJ SPEN

One of the Baltimore’s famed Basement Boys, the energetic house legend welcomes in MLK Day at the soulful Harlum Muziq label monthly, with David Harness and Chris Lum.

Sun/15, 8 p.m.-4 a.m., $15. EndUp, 401 Sixth St., SF. www.theendup.com

HE IS WORKING ME IN THIS CLIP!!

Newbies

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January 3, 2012

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marke@sfbg.com

SUPER EGO And so it came to pass a few weeks ago that I found myself volunteering to chaperone a dance for 500 queer teens. I’m not ready yet to be a DILF! But these weren’t just any queer teens. They were activists from Northern California Gay-Straight Alliance high school clubs (www.gsanetwork.org), gathered at Horace Mann Elementary in San Francisco to learn how to help their teachers understand the new California FAIR Act, which requires lessons about LGBT history and people with disabilities.

This dance was the official afterparty. And yes, there was a drag fashion catwalk portion of the program. And yes I was slain by the gorgeous seven-foot Samoan trans girl in a miniskirt and deconstructed 49ers jersey. Let me tell you all those kids were fierce, from their enormous brains to their personalized shoes. (“I’m flying to the White House in a couple days to meet Obama,” one casually told me. And then there they were on her Facebook.)

Of course they were wonderfully goofy, too, with fuzzy backpacks, sudden laughs, and rainbow braces. But even though the stylized accouterments of queer rebellion, codified in the 1990s, were in evidence — pierced lips, dyed hair, ripped tights, “emo face” — most used mainstream pop signifiers to smooth out any difference, singing “Born This Way” together on the jungle gym, throwing their hands up to Katy Perry on the dancefloor, doing the “Time Warp” together during assembly. “You’ll know this song from Glee,” the MC introduced the Rocky Horror classic, and they all did.

It certainly gave me a lot to think about (besides the viability of my cardboard-box retirement plan). But with all the glorious acceptance and positive energy, I soon found my snobby self pogo-ing along with them to “Sexy and I Know It.” Wasn’t the queer revolution supposed to be soundtracked by Fugazi, Nas, and acid house? Loosen up, punk rock grandpa! Despite our current moment’s bout of conformity, the future — the queer one, at least — looks almost too sexy for its shirt.

Folsom Street Fair moves up: Oracle Open World will be a lot less kinky than it sounds this year — the massive tech conference has booked up all the hotel rooms in the city for the last weekend of September. Oops: that’s also the same weekend as Folsom Street Fair. Or was. The Folsom folks decided that rather than risk stuffing five hundred thousand frisky fetishists into the city’s nether nooks and crannies, they would move the fair up a week to Sunday, September 23, 2012. (Which, perhaps coincidentally, is International Celebrate Bisexuality Day!)

Fret not, though, there’ll still be plenty of fisting for all — not to mention the usual glut of fantastic Folsom entertainment and spectacle, especially on the music front. In a steamy backroom at an undisclosed location, hunky Executive Director Demetri Moshoyannis told me, his towel slipping coquettishly, “This change of schedule has happened really early in the game for us. So right now we don’t have any confirmed musical guests, although we do have our wish lists. And we will be attending Coachella to see who’d be a perfect fit for us.” Kinky Oraclers, you’ll just have to extend your stay.

BLOWUP: NYE REDO

Why wait another whole year? Relive the blurry highs and scandalous lows right now with the glamorous/insane Blowup electro family: balloon drop, midnight champagne toast, and wild tunes from Vin Sol and Jeffrey Paradise.

Fri/6, 10 p.m., $10–$15. DNA Lounge, 375 11th St., SF. www.blowupsf.com

LADY TRAGIK

Wicked based-goth monthly 120 Minutes fires up its hip-hop side (think Waka Flocka Flame but warped in Hades) with this fascinating queer amalgamation of nihilistic underground pop-rap. Lil Debbie cameo in her “Dirty Bitch” video? OK!

Fri/6, 10 p.m., $5. Elbo Room, 647 Valencia, SF. www.elbo.com

BLESSED

I can’t think of any better way to deeply breathe in the promise of the new year than by sharing a dance floor with Oakland’s Divinyl Echo crew. Deep, spiritual house, a welcoming vibe, and a back-to-basics crowd, with DJs Rob Rhythm, Discaya, and Rafa’EL.

Sat/7, 9 p.m., free before 10 p.m., $5 after. SomaR Bar, 1727 Telegraph, Oakl. www.facebook.com/divinylecho

MAYAAM NIDAM

I’m not too happy with some of the changes the new management has made at the EndUp — most of my favorite bartenders are gone, the gay nights are horrific, and the crowd’s become kind of bland. But the monthly techno Kontrol party keeps pulling me back there with its headliners. Like this striking Tel Avivan, whose fluency in several dance music genres, from bubbling Middle Eastern funk to razor-sharp minimal techno, always impresses. She’s rumored to have one of the largest record collections around, and she knows how to use it!

Sat/7, 10 p.m.-6 a.m., $20. EndUp, 401 Sixth St., SF. www.kontrolsf.com