Music
For nearly any show you might like to see in the Bay Area, you should consult The List
Venues
Dancing:
The Ruby Room – They have music most nights, but Fridays bring a hip hop night with great DJs. Drinks are priced normally for the Bay Area. No line, no cover fee. Diverse crowd getting their groove on.
Starline Social Club – Bunch of dance events throughout the week. DJs often play here while on tour. Drinks can be expensive. Always a line, always a cover.
1015 Folsom – Tons of dance and EDM-oriented events here.
The Midway – Located in an old warehouse somewhere in SF.
Vague Terrain – Once a month lo-fi techno show in SF.
Resident Advisor maintains a weekly list of shows
Metal & punk:
Golden Bull – Metal and punk bar in Downtown Oakland. Tickets from $10–15. Drinks are not dive-bar-priced.
Octopus Literary Salon – In addition to their various poetry readings, they often host punk shows at night. Loud, in your face, short sets, local groups mostly. Cheap cover, normally priced drinks.
Metro Operahouse – In addition to local opera and amateur wrestling, they host many metal, punk, and avant-garde/experimental music shows (Merzbow, Prurient, and Kelly Moran shared a bill last year). Cheap tickets usually.
924 Gilman Street – In Albany. Lots of local groups. All-ages venue.
Eli’s Mile High Club – Biker-ish bar on MLK Jr. in Oakland. Mix of punk shows and resident DJs.
The Stork – True dive bar in Uptown Oakland. Cheap drinks, usually a cover. Music can range from dad-rock singer-songwriter to heavier punk.
Jazz:
Yoshi’s – Upscale jazz club in Jack London Square
Oakland Free Jazz Society – Local group hosting free jazz events. Currently running out of PRO Arts Gallery in Downtown Oakland.
SF JAZZ – Huge jazz zone in SF. Mr. Tipples: Market
Zingari Ristorante: Market
Local Edition: Market
Black Cat: Market
Piano Fight: Market
Library Bar: Market
Club Deluxe: Hayes Valley
Revolution Café: Mission
Comstock: North Beach
Café Trieste on San Pablo has jazz at 8pm every day.
Rock:
Bottom of the Hill – In SF by the warehouses (in Potrero Hill). Acid Mothers Temple played a couple of years ago.
Other:
The Starry Plough Pub – In Berkeley, about 1.5 miles away from BWW. They have entertainment every night. Some favorites include Tuesday night open mics, Wednesday night poetry slams, and Thursday night free funk nights (live show of funk, hip-hop, soul, etc.)
Ben and Nick’s - karaoke every Saturday at 10pm
Nick’s has karaoke most nights
Music stores:
Bandcamp – Longtime online retailer for the unsigned (and signed), Bandcamp opened its first physical store right here in downtown Oakland near the Fox Theater. The selection is vinyl-only, but visitors/customers are welcome to come in and listen to records for free at the various turntables. Bring a friend for shared exploration. They host shows at least once a month, often weekly.
Amoeba – Located on Telegraph (there’s also one in SF/Haight-Ashbury), they sell a wide range of CDs, vinyl, and tapes. Plus movies and DVDs. Lots of cool stuff to find here. Pretty large sale selection maintained at all times, too.
Econo Jam – On Telegraph nearing Downtown Oakland. Mostly vinyl; maybe some tapes? (plus a variety of turntables and speakers so the vinyl can be heard)
Styles of Dance
1) Tango Mango: Interested in learning tango, check out the entire Bay Area map for lessons, practicas and milongas.
a. Tango Marathon
2) The Beat: Into all sorts of dance? This is your place.
3) Contact Improv: Thursdays at Finnish Hall, Saturdays at Studio 8.
4) Mission Cultural Center
5) The Breakaway Lake Merritt Dance: You can find all sorts of dance. Lindy Hop on Tuesdays.
6) Bay Area Dance: http://dancecircle.org/
7) Lindy Hop: http://rikomatic.com/riks-list-of-where-to-lindy-hop-in-san-francisco8) La Pena for Blues Dance on Wednesdays.
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