Recently, I went to a show at a small hole-in-the-wall dive bar called Kimos. I used to go to this venue frequently before I moved to LA in December of 2004. Since I have been back in San Francisco this year, there haven’t been many good shows booked at Kimos (due to constantly changing bookers), but it seems they finally got someone booking that puts together decent punk shows again. Last month, I saw The Lowdowns there, who are really great. The weekend of July 15th, I saw a show I didn’t expect much from, but was very pleasantly surprised. I went to see The McCools, who I am friendly with and really enjoy. What surprised me about this show though, was that both bands they played with were also fantastic. The Double D’s are fronted by a girl named Nettie, who has been in the local punk and rock-and-roll scene forever. She used to go-go dance at Stinky’s Peep show back in the day, which was a weekly event that everyone here in the Bay Area loved. I knew she had recently started a band, but I didn’t realize that she fronted the band, or that she is "a natural," as McCool’s singer, Beth Loudmouth put it. Nettie’s stage presence just blew me away, and to add to the like-a-bility of the band, there is another girl who shares vocal duties and rocks out with her, as well as 2 guys who were dressed like idiots, which I thought was really hilarious. I have to thank "Mr. Dodgy," a local rock photographer, for snapping some great shots of the band for me. This was one of the best shows I’ve seen lately, and I was so irritated that I forgot my camera! There are some shots of the McCools on his site too, as well as other bands. You can check out Mr. Dodgy’s site here: http://mrdodgy.com.

The other band that played that night was The Whiskey Dick Darryls. I have to say, first off, that I really hate this band name. That aside, this band totally rocked. Hard, fast, loud, rock-n-roll, commando style! I will have to see them again to be able to elaborate better, but I was definitely pleased that I liked them so much (considering their stupid name)! Hopefully I will see them again soon.

The same weekend, I went to a really fun Barbeque that the band, The Grannies threw, which included a (rather long) slide show of their recent European tour. It was a real treat to get to witness this, since I haven’t been to Europe since before September 11th. I absolutely love Europe and wish I could take my own tour…for a year, or forever! I hope to go back soon myself. Anyway, the slide show included live shows, skinny-dipping, plates of absolutely disgusting sausages and assorted meats, as well as dirty backstage areas, and beautiful, scenic European cities. It looked like they had one hell of a time.

On Friday July 22nd, I went to see The Briefs (for about the 20th time) at 12 Galaxies, a newer venue in SF. I just love this band, and although it seems impossible, they continue to get better and better! They put on an amazing, high-energy show, and the place was packed with good, lively energy, and a really cool crowd filled with many familiar faces I hadn’t seen in a long time. I had a super fun night, much like I used to back when my favorite old haunt, the Covered Wagon was still open.

Now I will backtrack a bit. June is when San Francisco hosts our big annual Gay Pride weekend celebration. I kicked off Gay Pride weekend at the Castro Theatre (a nice historic theatre in the heart of SF’s gayest neighborhood), to see "Trannyshack, The Movie." This was a documentary about Trannyshack, which is a weekly club thrown every Tuesday night at The Stud by hostess Heklina, which features inventive and unique drag queen performances. I got so rip-roaring drunk on Champagne that night that I don’t remember the movie at all! This is particularly funny because the club has been selling T-shirts for years that I see all over town that say, "I blacked out at Trannyshack." Well, leave it to me to black out at "Trannyshack, the Movie!" I did get some great photos of me with some of the best looking drag queens SF has to offer before I lost my head.

The next night, after I attended a hilarious bachelorette party (complete with penis-shaped balloons, gay porn, and a stretch limo), I went to see hilarious drag queen band, Pepperspray. I would have more to say about it, but I went with a dud of a date and he kind of ruined it for me! Among other things, I learned from this experience that I enjoy myself most when I don’t have to adhere to a schedule, and maybe it was a bit presumptuous for me to try to fit in dinner, a bachelorette party, and then a date all in one night, especially during frantic gay pride weekend.

The big Gay Pride celebration is always held on a Sunday at the end of June, and begins with a parade on Market Street that features floats from liquor companies, clothing stores, and various local sponsors. A few years ago I was actually paid a hundred bucks (and all the Stoli and Gatorade I could drink) to go-go dance on the Stoli float. (The catch was that I had to be there at 9am… Ug!) Every since that year that I was drunk by noon and tired from the sun, I never arrive before about 2 or 3 in the afternoon, since festivities go on til 6 pm. There are DJs playing every kind of music set up on various streets, and I would guess that about 6 city blocks are closed to traffic and open for freaks to drink on the street, all around our beautiful city hall building. People come from all over the world for this, and it is really a fun day. Basically, it’s like a big outdoor nightclub… but during the day with lots of food! This year was no exception. (Bands also play the main stage. This year I skipped them, but some of the headliners were En Vogue and Third Eye Blind.) After the formal outdoor celebration, I attended a fabulous poolside party at the Phoenix Hotel’s Bambuddah Lounge. It was packed with interesting people, and was great fun.

This week, Tue July 26th through Sunday the 31st is "BOBfest" in Oakland. This is a week of punk shows for "BOB" which stands for Bremen, Germany; Oakland, CA; and Bath, England. I think shows alternate between the 3 cities, but I am not sure if they happen in each on every 3rd year, or how it works exactly. Click here to view the flyer with dates, venues, and bands. I am planning on attending the Friday the 29th show at the Red Door Warehouse, with one of my favorite local bands playing, Everything Must Go.

Coming up, The Insaints at The Red Devil Lounge with the Whiskey Dick Darryls on the weekend of August 12. They are predicting this show will sell out. The Insaints were a popular Bay Area punk band in the early 90s, before I lived here. Their singer, Marion passed away, but the band recently reunited with a new singer- Amy, from local Psychobilly band Thee Merry Widows. I am really a fan of this girl’s, and I go see Thee Merry Widows whenever I get the chance. She has a really good voice and stage presence, and her background in burlesque gives her a confident quality in performing. I recently saw the Merry Widows at 12 Galaxies and I can tell that they will continue to positively develop. I have seen them progress quite favorably in the few months I have been seeing them, and I look forward to what is to come for them. They are the only all-girl Psychobilly band that I am aware of, so I really hope they take it to the highest level they can.