Frommer's San Francisco 2012 - Matthew Poole [176]
If you’d rather slit your wrists than visit hokey tourist attractions like Pier 39, log on to www.laughingsquid.com and see what the locals are up to during your vacation. Since 1995, the Laughing Squid has been the Bay Area’s sine qua non online resource for art, culture, and technology. Along with links to local art and culture events, the Laughing Squid also hosts the “Squid List,” a daily event announcements list. There’s some really freaky fringe stuff on this website, with plenty of garbage-level entertainment among several gems, including the Great Pillow Fight that usually happens around Valentine’s Day (so you can take out your aggression on your partner before giving him or her chocolates?). Either way this site offers entertaining surfing.
San Francisco’s Great Pillow Fight.
Ruby Skye Downtown’s most glamorous and colossal nightspot led a previous life as an 1890s Victorian playhouse, and many of the beautiful Art Nouveau trimmings are still in place. Mission District clubbers won’t go near the place—way too disco and full of the “bridge and tunnel” crowd—but for tourists it’s a safe bet for a dance-filled night in the city. The light and sound system here is amazing, and on weekend nights the huge ballroom floor is packed with sweaty bodies dancing to thumping DJ beats or live music. When it’s time to cool off you can chill on the mezzanine or fire up in the smoking room. Be sure to call or check the website to make sure there isn’t a private event taking place. 420 Mason St. (btw. Geary and Post sts.). 415/693-0777.www.rubyskye.com. Cover $10–$25.
1015 Folsom The ginormous party warehouse—total capacity is 2,000 persons—has three levels of dance floors that make for an extensive variety of dancing venues. DJs pound out house, disco, funk, acid-jazz, and more, with lots of groovy lasers and LED lights to stimulate the eye. Each night is a different club that attracts its own crowd, ranging from yuppie to hip-hop. Open Thursday through Saturday 10pm to 2am. 1015 Folsom St. (at Sixth St.). 415/431-1200.www.1015.com. Cover varies.
Jazz & Latin Clubs
Rasselas Large, casual, and comfortable with couches and small tables, Rasselas is a popular locals spot for jazz, blues, soul, and R&B combos 7 days a week. The adjacent restaurant serves good Ethiopian cuisine nightly from 5 to 10pm, which, combined with the live music, makes for quite the cultural evening. 1534 Fillmore St. (at Geary Blvd.). 415/346-8696.www.rasselasjazzclub.com. Cover $10 Fri–Sat. 2-drink minimum.
Yoshi’s Jazz Club ★★ What started out in 1977 as a modest sushi and jazz club in Oakland has become one of the most respected jazz venues in the world. For more than 3 decades San Franciscans had to cross the Bay Bridge to listen to Stanton Moore, Branford Marsalis, and Diana Krall in such an intimate setting. With the grand opening of Yoshi’s in San Francisco’s Fillmore District, now locals can take a taxi. The two-story, 28,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art jazz venue features the finest local, national, and international jazz artists, as well as first-rate Japanese cuisine at the adjoining restaurant. The elegant club is awash in gleaming dark and blond woods, big sculptural Japanese lanterns, and sensuously curved walls that envelop the intimate stage. Don’t worry about the seating chart; there’s not a bad seat in the house. It’s the perfect place for a romantic date that starts with hamachi and ends with Harry Connick, Jr., so be sure to check Yoshi’s website to see who’s playing while you’re in town and make reservations ASAP—you’ll be glad you did. 1330 Fillmore St. (at Eddy St.). 415/655-5600.www.yoshis.com.
Yoshi's Jazz Club.
THE BAR SCENE
Finding your kind of bar in San Francisco has a lot to do with which district it’s in. The following is a very general description of what types of bars you’re likely to find throughout the city:
• Marina/Cow Hollow bars attract a yuppie post-collegiate crowd.
• The opposite of the Marina/Cow Hollow crowd frequents the Mission District haunts.
• Haight-Ashbury caters to eclectic