Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
It was once known as the best place to sample acid jazz, but now, the two-level
Elbo Room (647 Valencia St., at 17th; % 415/552-7788; www.elbo.com) books
live bands and DJs, playing a mix of funk, soul, Afro-Cuban, hip-hop, and other
alternative music. Daily from 5pm to 9pm, draft pints are just $2. Show tickets
are generally $6 to $10.
Good bands in a boring building; that's the winning formula at The
Independent 55 (628 Divisadero St., at Grove; % 415/771-1421; www.
independentsf.com), one of the most reliable places in town to catch a band.
Facilities are small and simple, with a good sound system, excellent sightlines, and
tickets usually top out at around $25 but usually cost less. Sometimes there are movie
nights.
CABARET
You'd think that an artsy city like San Francisco would have lots of rooms hosting
classy, often throwback musical performances akin to the great hotel performance
rooms of New York. But ever since the York Hotel, now the Vertigo, converted its
performance space into a tony Tyler Florence restaurant, there's really only the
Rrazz Room at the Hotel Nikko SF 5 (222 Mason St., at Ellis; % 866/468-3399;
www.therrazzroom.com), located in a comfortable space on the ground floor of a
bland executive hotel. It books singers like Maureen McGovern, Oleta Adams,
Mary Wilson, and Diane Schuur, plus TV comics, the odd famous drag queen,
and famous names trying out cabaret shows. The space was just getting on its feet
at press time but, nevertheless, was taking bookings a year ahead. Tickets are $20
to $55, depending on how big the name is.
Dark and brooding, with a super-tiny upstairs cabaret-style room for perform-
ance, House of Shields (29 New Montgomery St., at Stevenson; % 415/
975-8651; www.houseofshields.com; closed Sun) has been likened to a Mafioso
bar. Others think its intricate flooring and narrow booths make it seem like a
bank. That's a nice sentiment, in a theatrical kind of way, but the clientele here is
actually more like post-work 20-somethings. Pabst Blue Ribbon is sold on tap for
just $2, and Thursday through Saturday, there's usually a musical performance
squeezed into the space for a $5 cover.
As you might imagine from its fun name, a tongue-in-cheek take on a slurred
drink order, Martuni's 5 (4 Valencia St., at Market; % 415/241-0205) is cheer-
ful, inclusive, and serves from a long list of well-poured martinis and other drinks.
Skilled singers and piano players hold sway in back, making it the best place to
catch casual but classy cabaret-style performance in the city; there's a different
style of music every night. It's also a great place to bring friends.
DANCE CLUBS
Ruby Skye (420 Mason St., at Geary; % 415/693-0777; www.rubyskye.com)
delivers a big but somewhat impersonal experience, which can work, considering
there are 15,000 square feet and four rooms to get lost in. The beautiful Art
Nouveau space, dating to its original incarnation as an 1890 theater, invokes a
pleasingly baroque energy, even if some of the details have been obliterated by
misguided renovation and the dancing crowd is pure Saturday night. If you can
name any DJs as if they were mainstream celebs, it's the scene for you. It's also the
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