8 posts tagged “san francisco”

Only a quick glance for now. I'm sure I'll have more to say about the entire experience when I'm not getting ready to head off to my Grandfather's epic 94th birthday party. In the meantime, here are a few shots I just grabbed while surfing through the ultra packed Wondercon:

Stumbling over show ads that pertain to my interest rarely happens on the Internet (especially when I'm on MySpace), but thankfully I was prompted by the following photo to order tickets to see the SF Sketchfest show @ the Mezzanine this Sunday:

The photo says it all but the lineup is incredibly saucesome, featuring a basket-load of my favorite comedians David Showalter (Stella, The State, & Wet Hot American Summer), Tim & Eric (Tom Goes to the Mayor & Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job), and Bob Odenkirk (Mr.Show).  I'm crossing my fingers for some special guests *cough*David Cross and Michael Ian Black*cough*, but seeing the show with Jared and Kat are just as good :D UPDATE: Post-show Thoughts

The performance had many more performers than expected, which ranged from the headline comedians, a screening of comedic shorts (a couple good, a couple not so good), a 2-song acoustic performance, and some other acts thrown in here in there. This made each individuals performance relatively short and in effect each act got shorter and shorter as the headliners started to perform.

As expected, Showalter and Odenkirk were great (and admittedly I got all schoolgirl when I saw Showalter... I've had a thing for him since Wet Hot...), especially when Showalter delightfully managed to surface an awkward tension of a thousand wolfcats in the room when he reported his disappointment in a show-goer's comment that he was 'wider in person'. I was pleasantly surprised by host Eugene Mirman's act, particularly when he displayed a line of controversial pop-up ads that would drive traffic to his website.

Tim and Eric went on last and were incredible as well but unfortunately their act was the shortest of the bunch. They showed more videos than actually spoke in person but perhaps that's their specialty. I can't say that I wasn't a bit heartbroken by their small time on stage, but regardless I'd likely still go to another live performance of theirs in the future.

I was, however, really hoping for an Uncle Muscles performance.

Let the power of savvy musical friends combine! My SF socialite senses are a-tinglin' in anticipation of the grab bag of awesome shows I'll be attending in the upcoming months. This is the first of my many attempts to inject the city into the .tiff and to inject the .tiff into the city.

As usual I owe great thanks to my friendly local scenesters Victor, ee.en, et al. for bringing my attention to such rich musical opportunities to pursue. I only wish ee.en could make it out for the Micromusic SF show ;_; as his company will be sorely missed. Here's a summary of my show list, with a little snippet of what I'm seeing this Thursday!

January 17
Dan Deacon @ The Great American Music Hall

When I was tossing out research references for the hipster party, I made the grave mistake of forgetting to mention the likes of Dan Deacon (he's the gentleman in the Goofy shirt). I had the pleasure of freshly encountering his music when he opened for Girl Talk at the Filmore back in September and have yet to have more fun getting caught up in a pulsing, jumping, clusterf**** of hipsters since. His performance titled Ultimate Reality sounds like quite the scene with a description like this:

It combines an intense musical composition for electronics and drums with a psychedelic montage of Arnold Schwarzenegger films that is projected at a monumental scale.

Songs to chime into: The Crystal Cat, Wham City Part 1 of 2, and Big Milk

Photos from the last show:

January 18
Purple Yam Café (and ELEMENOP) @ The Elbo Room

January 22
Mirah and The Blow @  The Great American Music Hall

February 7
Micromusic SF HQ Launch Party @ Underground SF
Featuring: Trash80, Nullsleep, Starpause, A_Rival, X|K, Chibi-Tech, Tumlt

For the record this show is the one I'm the most excited about! After getting a taste of the chiptune scene from my trip to NYC for Blipfest '07, I'm absolutely thrilled to see the starts of a small collective on the west coast and especially right in my town! Nullsleep is one of the artists at the forefront of the chiptune movement, a friend of a friend, and a master at his work.  Not sure if the fancy pixel-licious light board will be a part of this show, but it should be a great couple of sets for sure.

I'll admit this entry is pretty much copy-pasta-ed from my house blog but it was necessary that I push down the Break my stride music video since it is just soooo 2007.

It was inevitable that a very first new year celebration in San Francisco would get its rocket launched in our humble new abode. Seeing as the majority of my good friends from high school have yet to graduate from their parents' houses, it was up to Kat and I to provide an apt space for merry making. While readying the house for thirsty guests, we popped open the fine bottle of champagne my parents gave me for Christmas which was of course the best way to begin the night. Once the train of twenty-somethings breeched the kitchen our fridge was instantly filled to the brim with everything from Tecaté to canned champagne.

As soon as everyone was properly pissed we somehow managed to hop on a Muni, tackle some escalators (see Fig. 1 for details), and travel to the club we were destined to spend the rest of the night at. We multi-party-tasked as the coat check was closed upon arrival, clinging to jackets, sipping whiskey sours, fiendishly dancing, and stealing hats (see Fig. 2) until 2:30 am. I safely escorted those who were crashing at my place but departed soon after to head to the Sunset where I'm currently house-sitting with Rudy.

Look at me. Look at me!  I'm mashing up my blog titles!

Anyway, the concert @ the Filmore this Saturday was quite the riot of a good time.  While Girl Talk did his part by orchestrating hipsters and club lizards into one massively sweaty all-singing all-dancing conglomerate, Dan Deacon actually provided a more intimate, memorable experience with his set.  In conclusion, it was all made of fun.  Here are a few more action pics from the evening:

Methinks if my guy friends gather up their senses and get organized I will be going to see Daft Punk's movie Electroma tonight @ the Mezzanine.  Doors at 7PM, movie at 7:30 PM.  $5 Dollars befor $9 with performances by Riot in Belgium and a few other DJ's later in the evening.

Check out the trippy trailer for a sneak peek @ Daft Punk's new direction since their last album:

EDIT: Pooh. Looks like my ride home bailed on me :( so I will not be attending this fantas-morgasmic show.  To anyone who attends, let me know how amazing it was.  I'll be at home working on my blogging skills and Quasimodo techniques. *cries*

Regardless of the fact that I live only 40 minutes driving distance from San Francisco and that it is one of the best cities in the world, my entire family only makes it up to the city at most once or twice a year.  Sad, yes, but true. 

This Friday after I get off of work my family is making a bold move to drive up to the city and have dinner with me.  Unfortunately, given the limitations of my time in the city, I have yet to become any wiser about the 'hot spots' in San Francisco, particularly, good places to eat.

Calling out to my San Francisco friends!  What is the best restaurant that you'd take your family to?  My mother prefers Italian, but any recommendations are welcome.  If I don't get any recommendations my  father will probably make us go to the Cheescake factory (*rolls eyes*).  So please, I'd love your suggestions!

Thank you in advance!

Lessons learned today about SF Muni:

1. Its helpful to know in advance alternate routes to your destination.  It's also helpful to know if the line your on has a final stop that ends miles aways from your planned get off.
2. Everytime you get on a Muni bus within an hour (in this case, 4 times) you do not have to pay $1.50.  After closer examination of the ticket receipt, you may use the receipt to travel as a transfer ticket for an hour or so after purchase.
3. Passing by China Town three times in a bus will always be exciting.
4. Kind Muni drivers are the best, especially when helping a n00b in need.
   
5. Getting lost in San Francisco is not scary or intimidating.  It's a blessing in disguise.
6. In addendum, don't forget your keys to the office.  Its embarrassing to ring the doorbell.
   

Exciting things seen and experienced while on my adventure:

1. Parks, plazas, and restaurants I plan to lunch at in the near future.
2. A woman with a fake baby. Mind you, it was a doll, but the way its legs tossled around in the bus suggested its weight was comparable to a real baby.  And it had a nonstop cry voicebox, which was a joy to the rest of the passangers.
3. Riding Muni while standing is almost as exciting as the Indiana Jones ride in Disneyland.

Total Cost: $4.50 and 1 hour of my time. Well worth it though.