OT - San Francisco

[MarkB]

Heading out that way this week.. plenty of time to kill..

Any places that I should hit?  Music stores, clubs, etc?

I know there are some bay-area stompers... so where should I go?

"-)

[Peter Snowberg]

Cool.

What sort of stuff do you like to do? I'm sure we can find some suggestions for you.

I've been living to the North for several years now and I almost never make it into "the City" so I don't know much about it these days, but one music store you should check out for sure is "Real Guitars" at 15 Lafayette St. http://www.realguitars.com/

Here you will find a shot of our very own ZVex visiting the store to show off his wares.

You might also want to check out the Haight Ashbury Music Center http://www.haight-ashbury-music.com/ (my home neighborhood ) Last time I was in there is was a pretty good store. I picked up my first electric and Marshall there.

We have lots of parks. I would suggest Muir Woods for sure, but you have to hit it early in the morning to avoid the crowd. (It's a redwood rain-forest just to the north by 10 miles or so). A little further North I would suggest the view from the summit of Mt. Tamalpais (2571 ft. I think). That's the mountain that Muir Woods is at the base of. On the way you'll pass the Marin Headlands where I used to be a Ranger :lol: and that place has a cool lighthouse if you're into that sort of thing as well as an old surface to air missile base that is now a museum. http://www.nps.gov/goga/nike/

The Exploratorium is an amazing hands-on science museum that I really love http://www.exploratorium.edu/ .

Across the Bay to the East is the People's Republic of Berkeley. Telegraph Avenue is somewhat neat shopping district right next to the University of California Campus where Plutonium was discovered along with a bunch of other elements. Berkeley also has a couple botanical gardens, another great science museum called "The Lawrence Hall of Science", and TON of food that is just beyond amazing. Great record stores there too!

A little ways south of Berkeley, you might want to check out "Mike Quinn Electronics", 401 McCormick St. San Leandro, CA 94577. (510) 569-1539

For music, pick up a free copy of "SF Weekly" http://www.sfweekly.com/ which you can find in newspaper racks across the city, and also get an "SF Bay Guardian" http://www.sfbg.com/ which is the other big free paper in town. Those will be a good directory of who's playing. Just don't accidentally wind up at a show happening in a "leather bar" unless that's your cup of tea.  :shock:

The weather has been great for the last two days.... hopefully that will continue for your visit.

When are you going to be here? I might be able to meet you for lunch or something, but my time is a funny thing these days so I can't promise anything.

Take care,
-Peter

[MarkB]

WOW
thanks for all the info.. shoot me an email or PM and we can make some plans to meet up!

I'll be there from tomorrow evening (monday) to sun morning.. my wife has a conference out there, and I'm just tagging along for fun.
"-)

[DaveTV]

Hey there Mark. What type of stuff do you like to do/see? What type of music would you be interested in checking out?

For a music store (CD's, albums), you really can't go wrong with Amoeba, which is on Haight Street. You could probably spend a whole day there, but the location will also put you nearby lots of other interesting things as well (the Haight, Golden Gate Park).

For music instrument stores, there really aren't many MUST SEE places I can think of in San Francisco. Most of the really cool ones are out of business now. You might check out Real Guitars, which is located on Lafayette St, which is sort of an alleyway off of Mission St. They sell mostly vintage stuff, but it's one of the few places I know in SF that sells Z Vex pedals, if that's an indicator of anything. Of course you could also go to Retard Center, which is only a few blocks from there on Mission, but I'd understand if you didn't.

For live music, I'm not sure if I could be much help. It seems like a lot of the cool clubs I used to like going to are out of business now. Some places that have managed to stick around are Bottom of the Hill, Slim's, and Great American Music Hall. These places tend to book more well-known acts, but the venues are still pretty small. I've been to a few good shows at Bottom of the Hill recently. They feature a lot of local acts there as well and you should be able to find something pretty good on any given night, and parking isn't too hard around there.

The SF Weekly and the Bay Guardian are two free weekly papers that you can pick up just about anywhere. Both have full listings of local shows.

Enjoy your trip!

[DaveTV]

Looks like Peter and I share some common tastes.

[Adam Shame]

I second Amoeba music.   I have been to the one in Berkeley many times when I am up there.  I am glad they opened one up in LA, because they always have deals on used CDs.

[claydavis]

i haven't been to san francisco in a few years, but if you get a chance to go by lark in the morning (in the cannery, i think), do it. perhaps the coolest collection of acoustic/folk/ethnic instruments ever. http://www.larkinthemorning.com

and make some time to drive north out of the city along the coast (hwy 1?). lots of scenery and wineries.