Blogs

The good people behind Bersa Discos and their "Tormenta Tropical" series of DJ events are bringing Argentina's Zizek Urban Beats Club back to S.F. on Thursday, July 24. Zizek's a cornerstone of the fast-rising cumbia scene, packing in crowds with music that can perhaps be best described as the ultimate mash-up of underground Latin club sounds: reggaetón and dancehall bleeding into ghettotech and hip-hop, with traditional and electronic dance beats swirling around the whole hot, boiling stew. For those who prefer their funk influences to be kept North of the Border, N.Y.C.'s Drop the Lime shares tonight's, um, limelight with bass-heavy, hipster-approved electro mixes that have moved many white shoes on Brooklyn dancefloors in the past five years. Tix for this Mezzanine DJ throwdown are $12 advance at Going.com. — J. Graham

It may be taking a summer vacation from 12 Galaxies, but it's not abandoning you entirely: the SF Indie Mart will be gathering up its wares and heading over to Thee Parkside on July 27 for a free all-day BBQ and shop-a-thon. As always, the Mart tycoons invite you to apply for your own sales booth, so visit either www.indie-mart.com or www.myspace.com/missionindiemart for application info. D.I.Y. or die, people. — J. Graham

Youngbloodz @ Milk Bar
June 6, 2007
Review and Photos by Catherine McCulloch

Hipsters, punks, fashionistas, party people (but mainly hipsters) gathered at Haight Street’s Milk Bar last night for Emily Betty’s Youngbloodz – a bash featuring DJ Eli Glad, DJ LXNDR, DJ Public and photographer Jerome Pour Homme. You may know Emily Betty from her San Francisco party scene staples No More Conversations at the 222 Club and Blow Up at the Rickshaw Stop.

The $8 cover for the Friday event didn’t dissuade the large crowd from lining up in front the club. However, photographers seemed to outnumber partygoers on the dance floor. Girls in short spandex dresses and four-inch heels scrambled to get their picture taken as the main attraction of the night was playing directly behind them.

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Infatuation at Vessel
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Review and Photos by Crystal Akins

Better than: The other ubiquitous hipster dance parties in the Tenderloin.

While the rest of San Francisco is sleeping, an eclectic mix of hipsters and tourists are raging downtown amid the tall concrete facades every Wednesday night from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Infatuation made its debut at Vessel back in March and it’s been blowing up ever since with DJs Rhcrd Oh? and Sleazemore playing you a good mix of disco, hip-hop, and electro in a club unlike any other hipster dance party has ever seen.

Vessel is chic, equipped with modern furniture, bizarre driftwood centerpieces, and imbued with dimmed red lighting. Not only are the unisex bathrooms so clean you could eat off the floor, soap and lotion are floating above the mint candles burning next to the sink. The bathrooms are also the epicenter of socializing (probably because it’s the only place you can hear anything). When you’re used to dive bars that smell like feces and Pine Sol with decaying toilets, this place is heaven and it’s so disorienting that you’re beside yourself.

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Their masks may be inspired by Friday the 13th, but electro killers MSTRKRFT make their way into the city a full six days earlier for Mezzanine's B.F.D. After-Party this Saturday, June 7. Also on the bill is a li'l bald fella named Richard Melville Hall — more famously known as Moby — bringing his two decades-plus of DJ experience to the decks, while the unhuman British electrobots of Motor perform a live set. Not enough name-dropping to impress your friends? OK, add Glaswegan dance-punks Shitdisco to the DJ lineup, mix in some Popscene peeps, and you have the hipster party of the weekend. I hope you didn't blow all your money on clothes and cocaine last weekend, trust fundies, cos you're gonna need at least $15 to score a ticket for this — and you know how much Daddy hates it when you ask for an advance on your allowance. — J. Graham

What could say "I'm too sexy for my shoes" more than a bowling alley full of electro hipsters? Nothing!

Ironic mullets will be rocked. Heavy ceramic balls will be rolled. And you will have the unique chance to see uptight European synth-o-bots like Ladytron slumming it in a down-home American bowling alley. (Granted, the Presidio alley is nicer than, say, Daly City. But we can pretend.)

Make sure to click the Web site box that says: "Please check here if you would like a Toyota dealer to contact you. Please provide a home or business phone number where you can be reached." It can get lonesome at home and sometimes you just really, really need to talk to someone. Preferably a Toyota dealer. — John Graham

After a successful run of last-Sunday events at 12 Galaxies, the craft-fair-cum-flea-market popularly known as the Mission Indie Mart has decided it needs a li'l breather. The organizers recently blogged on their MySpace page that they will be "taking May and possibly June off, and will be coming back through the summer for outdoor indie marts, underground secret indie marts and a street festival in the fall. So enjoy your Spring, check out Capsule, Maker Faire, Renegade Craft Fair and Chillin' in May! See you soon!"

There's some talk about having an Indie Mart festival in July - Thee Parkside has something pencilled in on Sunday the 27th - which begs two questions:

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