It’s been a while!
Hey coolgrrrls readers! I have been terrible about keeping up with my updates to all of you lately, so please forgive me. I‘ve been spending my time having a whirlwind of fun. In my last update, I told you all I was working 2 bartending jobs, 6 nights a week, so I had no time to play. Well, I couldn’t keep that up, so I quit the stuffier job, and am only working one bartending job now. I’ve had a dream schedule up until now. I’ve been working Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursdays, the early happy hour shift from 2:30 pm to 10 at night at the latest, and Saturday nights from 10pm to 2:30 am. During the week, I’ve been off early enough to go out and see shows. I’ve only had to give up my Saturday nights for work. It’s been a small price to pay, since I’ve had every other night to do as I pleased. I’ve been having an absolute ball. I can honestly say it’s been the best time of my life.
I got to see a couple of good concerts this summer. At the end of July, I saw The Buzzcocks at Mezzanine. I enjoyed them this time as much as the 3 previous times I had seen them over the last 14 years. I left the next day for LA, where I saw the New York Dolls at Tower Records on the Sunset Strip. I wasn’t really sure they’d be good to see since they are so old now, but they were great. They sounded as good as they ever did, and I felt like I was lucky enough to experience something really important to music history. I am so glad I had the opportunity to see that show. It was awesome.
My August was action packed. I saw Peaches at The Fillmore, who put on an exciting show. She has great energy, attitude, ballsy lyrics, and fun costume changes. I also saw Fischerspooner at Mezzanine, and they put on a really fun show as well. They always have a stage full of dancers and excitement going on, and I really enjoy their electro sound.
I went to a punk rock wedding weekend Aug 18-19 in an area called Sonora, CA, about 4 hours from San Francisco. It was very hot out there, and the town of Columbia where the wedding was held was charming. It’s an old gold rush town, very down home, and different from what I’m used to. Everyone who went out there for the wedding had a ball. There were a lot of musicians and rock and roll people mixed with the couple’s family in a small historic town, which was surreal. We were literally in the country, and this city girl enjoyed it even though I felt a bit out of sorts!
The last weekend of August, an old friend’s hardcore punk band came through town on tour from New York City called Hymen Holocaust. They are extremely high energy, very musically tight, with funny lyrics. At times the songs reminded me of Minor Threat, which were a favorite of mine back in high school. They were pretty rad, and made some new SF fans here when they played. They did shows here at Annie’s and Mad Dog in the Fog, as well as a local skate park.
Since you last heard from me, I went mostly to a lot of local bars, shows, and various other local places of interest. I discovered a new Sunday Brunch, which is a true San Francisco Experience! It is called “Sunday’s a Drag,” located at Harry Denton’s Starlight Room, which is a beautiful, opulent dining/ ballroom room at the top of The Sir Francis Drake Hotel in Union Square. The brunch is only $30 per person for a lovely spread of all-you-can-eat high quality hotel fare, with a campy fun show consisting of various local drag performers. It’s the best 30-dollar brunch I’ve ever had! I’ve been back 3 times, and loved it every time. The show changes week to week, but the food and the fun are always guaranteed to be wonderful. The Starlight Room also has a crowded, off-the-hook dance club night on Wednesdays, which I’ve breezed through twice. It’s always full of revelers, and it’s really fun to be dancing and drinking in that gorgeous, plush chandelier-clad room with a view of the city lights as far as the eye can see. It feels like you’re on the top of the world, or at least the top of the lovely city of San Francisco.
I’ve been a frequenter of the monthly mash-up club, Bootie and the under-the-radar hipster hotspot bar Otis. I happened upon Otis’ one-year anniversary party on August 9th, where I was photographed, among others, www.vaindeer.com.
I attended this years’ annual SF Weekly Awards on October 18th; the 5 year Anniversary of the Hemlock Tavern; and have enjoyed the beach and Golden Gate Park. I also saw old school UK punk band, The Vibrators at Kimos in September, which was really fun. I saw The Killers, who were fantastic, at The Warfield, which sucks. The Killers had an amazing stage set, and I love the singer’s voice. I think it is so beautiful and rich. I hate the Warfield though! They took my bullet belt away, which upset my night. They have a lot of rules and barriers, and then some more rules. You can’t talk on a cell phone in the lobby, you have to smoke or make calls out front of the club behind a barricade, and no cameras (or bullet belts apparently) are allowed. I hate venues like that.
On Saturday Sept. 9th, I went to an awesome photography show called “It’s only Rock n Roll” at a Gallery called Root Division. There were awesome original photos of young Billy Idol, Avengers, Ramones, Dead Boys, Iggy, Go-Gos, Sid Vicious, and many, many more people of interest. My favorite photos were of Joey Ramone, by Jen Lens, who attended the event. You can actually contact her, place orders, and buy original photographs through her website. My absolute favorite was of Joey Ramone lounging by a pool in 1978 in San Francisco. www.jennylens.com
I’ve been keeping myself busy between work and fun, and I truly apologize for letting it go so long since I’ve sent in an update on life in San Francisco. My silly excuse is that this city is so much fun, with so much to offer, that I got completely carried away in it for a while. I’ll tell you more soon, I promise!
XOXO Alisha Amnesia
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