San Francisco - Alison Bing [157]
POLENG LOUNGE Map
415-441-1710; www.polenglounge.com; 1751 Fulton St; admission free; 10pm-2am Tue-Sat; 5, 21, 43
Tea-infused cocktails and soju (grain alcohol) drinks are specialties at this Filipino-street-food restaurant that becomes a cool DJ lounge after 10pm, drawing scenester locals for underground hip-hop, rooted in late-‘80s, top-40, not gangster. Black Eyed Peas used to do a free weekly jam at Poleng years ago. Now it’s a hive of industry insiders – Rza, leader of the Wu-Tang Clan, hangs here. The front room is way sexier, with Asian statuary and water trickling down textured-concrete walls; the back room is for dancing (when it happens), but it’s little more than a box with kick-ass sound. No need to dress fancy.
SHINE Map
415-255-1337; www.shinesf.com; 1337 Mission St; admission free-$10; 9pm-2am Wed-Sat; 14, 26, Van Ness
We love the indie B-grade swank at tiny Shine, decorated with disco balls and fabric wall panels that look totally homemade. Seating is squishy, but no matter when there’s a good DJ because you’ll wind up dancing. Dig the photo booth. Cool spot to chill with local DJs. Check the online calendar.
TRIPLE CROWN Map
415-863-3516; www.triplecrownsf.com; 1760 Market St; admission varies; 5:30pm-2am; F
A storefront bar with adjoining black-box rooms – one with glittering chandeliers, another with a disco-ball dance floor – Triple Crown hosts DJs spinning everything from ‘60s-soul and ‘80s-pop to down-tempo funk and hip-hop. Expect an upbeat crowd of happy locals that love to dance and schmooze. Tuesdays are gay; Chilidog Disco ). Call ahead or check website to confirm opening times.
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THE ARTS
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DANCE
FILM
OPERA & CLASSICAL MUSIC
READINGS
THEATER
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top picks
San Francisco Symphony
Oberlin Dance Collective
Magic Theatre
Commonwealth Club
Midnight Mass
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What’s your recommendation? www.lonelyplanet.com/san-francisco
San Franciscans are an arty crowd. The Bureau of Labor Statistics and the US Census rate SF the fourth-largest US city for ‘creative density,’ meaning the number of creative types per square mile. Californians are responsible for nearly 30% of US ticket sales in performing arts and sports, and the California Arts Council regularly recognizes many Bay Area arts organizations for their outstanding contributions. The scene here is not all about big names: though the city has a world-famous symphony orchestra, opera company and ballet troupe, it’s equally known for its experimental avant-garde theater and dance – and many such organizations charge remarkably low ticket prices.
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DANCE
Dance has a long history in San Francisco – Isadora Duncan once performed in the courtyard of the Palace of the Legion of Honor. Today, the city has the country’s longest-running ballet company and multiple independent troupes specializing in genre-melding forms.
For a comprehensive calendar of dance events in the Bay Area, check with Dancers’ Group (www.dancersgroup.org). It also pays to keep an eye out for one-off ethnic-dance performances, particularly around the time of Carnaval, and during the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival ( 415-474-3914; www.worldartswest.org) in June. Definitely check what’s on at Counterpulse (Map; 415-626-2060; www.counterpulse.org; 1310 Mission St), a performance space for cultural innovators. Also look for whip-smart Chris Black/Potrzebie Dance Project (www.potrzebie.com), which performs sporadically.
Dance Mission (Map; 415-826-4441; www.dancemission.com; 3316 24th St) always has something going on, from contact improv to dance jams and classes. There’s a lot of ‘extreme dance’ in the Bay Area, experimental forms combining aerial performance, site-specific work, circus arts and dance. For these we particularly like Kunst Stoff ( 415-863-3040,