Gen Z and boomers rubbed elbows at this San Francisco party
SFGATE's culture team recaps the most exciting events of the past week in San Francisco and the Bay Area. The San Francisco Chronicle's weekly column, which includes the best local color from the past week, highlights highlights such as a choose-your-own-adventure drag show, a sausage fest in North Beach, and the cheapest hot dogs in the Bay Area. The column also includes a $2 ticket, $1 hot dog promotion at the Oakland A's Coliseum for their remaining games. The author highlights British post-punks Yard Act, whose debut on vinyl is set to be released on vinyl on July 12. The annual Festa Italiana street festival hosted by the Italian American Athletic Club saw a significant increase in attendance. The monthly monthly event at the Knockout, which still boasts one of the most fun-loving dance floors in the city, also included a special performance from the funk band E. Live Live Live.
公開済み : 10ヶ月前 沿って Dan Gentile, Amanda Bartlett, Timothy Karoff, Gabe Lehman の Lifestyle
We do. In a new column, SFGATE writers break down the best local color from the past week. This installment features a “Goosebumps"-style choose-your-own-adventure drag show, a literal (Italian) sausage fest in North Beach and the cheapest hot dogs in the Bay Area. Plus, disco is alive and well in 2024 at the Knockout.
Yard Act takes the money and runs at the Independent
After an opening set by Austin, Texas, breakouts Font (whose mathy percussive blasts and “The Bends”-era alt-rock vocals are set to make their debut on vinyl on July 12), the tongue-in-cheek British post-punks Yard Act drew thunderous applause from a sold-out crowd Wednesday. I’d previously seen the band three times in one week during South by Southwest 2022, shortly after the release of its first album, “The Overload,” and before Elton John gave it a co-sign by guesting on a new version of “100% Endurance.” The shredding licks of suspender-wearing Sam Shipstone are still front and center, but they now feel less like a bunch of stripped-down sarcastic rock lads new on the scene and more like a total package, complete with a pair of hypnotizing female backup vocalists and the occasional burst of saxophone and road warrior polish. — Dan Gentile, SFGATE senior culture editor
With a foot out the door and fans in open revolt, the Oakland A’s are doing everything they can to fill the Coliseum for their remaining games in the East Bay. That includes a $2 ticket, $1 hot dog promotion that I was happy to take advantage of Wednesday. While the Coliseum has a certain hospice care vibe these days, a deal is a deal!
As a child of the 1990s who ravenously consumed every choose-your-own-adventure “Goosebumps” book I could get my hands on, I felt like Select Thine Own Journey was made for me. Starring some of the funniest drag performers in San Francisco, the wildly original spectacle of a two-act play demands the audience make decisions that affect the show’s trajectory with hilarious results and four possible endings.
Previous iterations of the show co-created by X and Piranha Psychotronica (the duo behind queer art collective Media Meltdown) have sold out at SF Sketchfest, and I was in a nearly full house at Oasis on a Wednesday night. The chaos begins when a Finn Wolfhard-coded nerd (Dot Comme) is trying to get away from her bully (Pablo Escobar). Through mystical circumstances, she escapes by falling into the fantasy realm of the book she’s carrying and discovers the enchanted land of Queerternia. One highlight was when we told them to dodge harpoons in a mine shaft by falling to the floor, and the decision triggered a lip-synced performance of “Get Low” by Lil Jon.
Any afternoon in North Beach is an afternoon well spent, but the neighborhood truly comes alive during its street festivals. Last weekend was one such occasion with the annual Festa Italiana, hosted by the Italian American Athletic Club (undeniably the best place in the city to watch a Euro Cup final). Stockton Street was shut down, with a stage featuring a traditional accordion player, booths slinging parmesan-crusted arancini and sausages literally dangling from festival banners. I left with a full stomach and a shiny new Peroni keychain. — Dan Gentile, SFGATE senior culture editor
When I was a young DJ learning about disco and boogie in Texas, there were a few fabled parties across the country synonymous with the then-nascent modern funk movement. Alongside Dam-Funk’s Funkmosphere in Los Angeles, Sweater Funk was the titan of the 12-inch, beginning in the basement of Li Po Lounge in 2008 and eventually making its way to its current home at the Knockout.
Back then, Sweater Funk’s reputation spanned all the way to Texas, and the monthly party still boasts one of the most fun-loving dance floors in the city. This month’s edition had a special treat — a performance from the funk band E. Live. Disco guitar that would make Nile Rodgers proud and shoulder-shaking synth bass laid a bedrock, with original tunes from its revered Star Creature label making an appearance, as well as a synthed-up cover of Earth, Wind & Fire’s “Let’s Groove.” But the highlight was when Filipino American boogie rappers Tall Tee stormed the stage, making the packed club feel like a late-’70s Bronx backyard rager. Tall Tee’s debut LP dropped this week; expect big things. — Dan Gentile, SFGATE senior culture editor
On Saturday night, ’90s U.K. crashed into ’20s SF when jungle music pioneer Goldie stepped onto the Public Works stage. The gold-toothed DJ and producer, who was honored as a member of the Order of the British Empire in 2016, may be the closest thing to a star in the relatively faceless genre of drum and bass. He reminded the audience why last weekend with a multihour breakbeat barrage.
For a San Francisco club night, the crowd was refreshingly multigenerational. A mix of zoomers and old-school Metalheadz heads scattered the dance floor, and at the fringes, you could catch the diehards hitting some impressive footwork. When we walked home, my friend checked her phone and saw that her step count had doubled. — Timothy Karoff, SFGATE culture reporter
On our radar for the coming week