Catch a Show at One of These Quirky Indie Music Joints

The SoMa building that houses the restaurant Citizen's Band, at 1192 Folsom, is also home to the upstairs club F8, where drum-and-base fans catch one of the city's best weekly shows. (Courtesy of F8)

The Bay Area is home to some seriously iconic music venues: the Greek, the Fillmore, Golden Gate Park. But sometimes the best shows go down in the most unexpected places. Here are seven unique music joints with stories all their own.

F8
While 1192 Folsom may be best known for the culinary accomplishments of resident restaurant Citizen’s Band, as well as the club’s arty gatherings and monthly Quick Draw event, F8 also plays host to top-notch music. Legit DJs regularly spin on the club’s custom sound system upstairs. Go for Housepitality on Wednesdays and Stamina Sundays, one the city's best drum and bass shows.  //  1192 Folsom St (SoMa), feightsf.com


(Courtesy of The Lost Church)
The Lost Church
Tucked inside an angular building designed by famed SF artist David Ireland, The Lost Church has a storied artistic past. Once home to the Capp Street Project—an experimental installation space and artist residence through the 1980s and '90s—The Lost Church, now owned by Brett and Elizabeth Cline, is a one-of-a-kind multimedia venue and production facility for art, sound, and video recording.  //  65 Capp St. (Mission), thelostchurch.com

924 Gilman Street
An East Bay institution, the 924 Gilman Street project was founded in 1986 as a safe space for bands to play and interact with the community without the limitations of conventional shows. Historically a punk venue, it spawned bands like Green Day, Operation Ivy, Rancid and The Offspring during the '90s punk revival. Nowadays, the Alternative Music Foundation is a volunteer-run, nonprofit that maintains Gilman’s DIY ethics and—an increasing rarity among music clubs—still welcomes all ages so long as all participants are drug- and alcohol-free.  //  924 Gilman St (Berkeley), 924gilman.org


(Courtesy of Palace Theater Oakland)
Palace Theater
Constructed as a vaudevillian theater in 1923, the Palace was converted into a movie house in the 1930s and later became the home of a Baptist church in the 1950s. Now, thanks to proprietor Lucid Dream Lounge, an experimental group interested in interactive theater, the Palace has returned to its roots as an entertainment hall. Inside, the original balcony provides a bird’s eye view of the action, whether it’s music, theater, film or a community fashion show. LDL is gradually restoring the place to its original grandeur.  //  1445 23rd Ave. (Oakland), palacetheateroakland.com


(Courtesy of Era)
Era Art Bar & Lounge
This gorgeous lounge in Oakland has a distinctly elegant feel. Downstairs you’ll find a 35-foot vaulted and hand-plastered ceiling and an equally long steel-and-concrete bar. Upstairs, vintage leather seating, a mix of modern and antique furniture, and a handblown glass chandelier set the scene for contemporary art exhibits and boutique cocktails. Era offers a wide variety of live music, from hip hop to Latin to Caribbean and beyond.  //  19 Grand Ave. (Oakland), oaklandera.com


(Courtesy of HopMonk)
The Abbey
While beer aficionados will be famiiar with Hopmonk Tavern's tasty home brews, the spot's music venue, The Abbey, is bringing an eclectic mix of tunes to Sonoma County—from reggae and world beats to some of the biggest names in the West Coast electronic music scene. Sit outside in the luminsescent beer garden or head inside for acts as disparate as Leon Russel and The Floozies.  // 230 Petaluma Ave. (Sebastopol), hopmonk.com

Article and images sourced from http://www.7x7.com/culture/catch-show-one-these-quirky-indie-music-joints

San Francisco's Most Delicious Instagram Accounts

Honeyed walnut and blackberry tart at Craftsman and Wolves (photo via Instagram) 

Instagram is more than just a photosharing app—it gives people a glimpse into the lives and worlds of each of its individual users. Put the app in the hands of restaurants and chefs, and you can expect a very delicious, mouth-watering glimpse. Here are our favorite Instagram accounts from local chefs and restaurants in San Francisco.
@craftsmanwolves
William Werner is more than just the pastry chef and owner of Craftsman and Wolves–he’s their head of social media, too. Werner is the sole contributor to the bakery's Instagram account (pictured above), which has over 30,000 followers. Expect pictures of his beautiful pastry creations, occasional motorcycle porn, and special appearances from Belle and Frida, his adorable dogs.

@tartinebaker
We’re as obsessed with Chad Robertson’s Instagram account as we are with his bread—they’re both equally brilliant. Follow along for a glimpse into the culinary genius' bread baking process and globetrotting lifestyle. And if you're ever in the need of weekend jams, Robertson occasionally posts random album covers that he’s currently listening to such as The Weeknd, Beck, and Blue Hawaii.

@deliboardsf and @ryeproject
For pure unadulterated sandwich porn, follow deli god Adam Mesnick’s Instagram accounts. He posts pictures of all his crazy creations and daily specials. We dare you to peep his pics and not develop an instant sando craving—it’s pretty much impossible.

@cuesa
CUESA stands for the Center for Urban Education About Sustainable Agriculture and operates the famed Ferry Plaza Farmers Market. This nonprofit’s Instagram contains colorful closeups of the best produce you can get your hands on along with the occasional famers and purveyors that provide the provisions.

@streetfoodsf
The @streetfoodsf account was originally created to highlight the delicious dishes available at La Cocina’s annual Street Food Festival. These days, the account is updated throughout the year with delicious food finds from all around San Francisco. From pizzas to pupusas, if it’s delicious, you’ll find it here.

@humphryslocombe
Beautiful closeups of delicious creamy scoops of ice cream never get old. Follow Humphry Slocombe’s Instagram for a daily dose of ice cream porn so delicious it’ll make you want to lick your screen.

Omar Mamoon is the founder of @doughandco


Article and images sourced from http://www.7x7.com/eat-drink/san-franciscos-most-delicious-instagram-accounts

Inside San Francisco's Most Mysterious Castle

Photos via Patricia Chang
 
When Bill Gilbert was growing up near Candlestick Park, all the kids said that Albion Castle was haunted. Gilbert himself wasn't sure, but every time his parents took him to eat at the at the old Dago Mary's restaurant across the street, he would look at the gates that front the 145-year-old stone structure and wonder. Little did he know that as an adult, he would own the keys to the castle (literally).

For most San Franciscians, Albion Castle is either unknown or an enigma. Gilbert says that before the castle was built in Hunter's Point, it was simply a pond fed by natural springs. "Native Americans camped and hunted there because of the water," he says. It was the access to fresh water that inspired a pair of British brothers named Burnell to found the Albion Ale and Porter Brewery on the site. Inspired by Norman castles, they built a large, stone structure over the springs and harnessed the waters to produce their beer. After the company closed, it was purchased by an artist, then a water company, and then a private citizen. It continued to slowly decay until Gilbert bought it in 2012. Although he had dreamed about it as a boy, he had never set foot on the property until it came on the market. For him, the purchase was about nostalgia and a love of SF history. He decided to bring the building back to life.

And here's where fate steps in again for the castle. Gilbert owns an apartment building in North Beach, and he happened to rent a unit to interior designer Ellice Condon, principal at Velvet & Green. When Condon submitted a proposal to update her apartment, Gilbert was so impressed with it he asked her to remodel Albion Castle. "My charge was to make it look regal on a budget," Condon says. "They wanted me to keep what was special about it, and make the parts that weren't in line with them special too." She says that in many areas of the castle, such as the living room, original woodwork was still as lustrous as the day it was installed. But in other parts, woodwork and walls had been painted colors that were more reminiscent of a circus tent than Buckingham Palace. Bright shades of maroon and blue were everywhere.

Condon started by selecting a palette befitting a castle, and the Benjamin Moore shades she chose have names that fit the bill. "The place was a melange of colors so, after looking at castles online for inspiration, I picked the colors 'Dragon's Breath,' 'Apparition,' and 'Cloud Cover,' she says. "I was looking for dignified colors that I could use throughout to unify the space."

Walls that had been painted bright colors were repainted soft white; painted woodwork reverted to brown to match the existing, unpainted trim. "We left raw stone alone," says Condon.


From the castle's earliest days, part of it was living space. "The kitchen was here from the beginning of the project," says Condon. "I don't know how old the cabinets are, but the detailing on them is amazing."

Condon says furnishing the rest of the house was a treasure hunt. "I had to find new light fixtures and furnishings for every room, and I had tight style and budget constraints," she says. "I looked everywhere from salvage yards to Ross. The good news is that the castle seems to lend itself to an eclectic, bohemian feel—so I went with that."

Given that a thick-walled, castle-style building is not known for light-filled rooms, Condon went for fixtures and finishes that added a touch of sparkle. "I installed a lot of crystal and glass pieces," she says. As for upholstery, she went for textiles that would have been familiar to old-school royalty—velvet rules the day.

The basic structure of the castle is a few rooms (kitchen, living room, dining room) at the base of a slender, four-story tower (each floor contains either bedrooms or sitting areas). Gilbert says that, in the old days, the factory stood in front of the tower. "I think that part of the building may have collapsed in the 1906 quake," he says. "The second owner, an artist named Voisan who had a thing for Art Deco, added the living room and dining room." The top of the tower is a loft that Condon outfitted as a casual hang-out space. The views of India Basin from the narrow window are stunning.


But the views from above hardly rival what lies below. The ruins of the former beer factory act as a portal to three below-ground caverns that contain large reservoirs of spring water.


Gilbert has gone to considerable expense to restore the water and the filtration system for the natural springs, and it shows. The water housed in each pool is enticingly clear, and you can see right down to the bottom of the reservoir. "Back in the day, there was talk that the city might take over the land and demolish the building. But it was decided that, if the city should face disaster or an attack, the water would be needed," he says. "I think politics may have play a role in the decision too."


Gilbert says that in the 1960s, the Mountain Springs Water Company was supplying water coolers throughout San Francisco with the stuff (the building was given landmark status in 1973). He hasn't given up the idea of reviving the business, it was a thought he had in the back of his mind when he bought the castle, but at this time, he is the only person who drinks the water. "It tastes really great!" he says.

The retired SFPD lieutenant and his wife live on the Peninsula, so it begs the question: If they aren't making beer or bottling the water, what are they doing with the castle? "We want to rent it out for weddings and events," Gilbert says. "We've already had a lot of inquiries." (Want to live like a royal? You can contact Gilbert for rates.)

Of course, there's another question that demands to be answered: What about those ghosts that frightened Gilbert's childhood friends? "No evidence of haunting," Gilbert reports. "But the old stories have been terrific for security."

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Article and images sourced from http://sf.curbed.com/archives/2015/09/14/inside_san_franciscos_most_mysterious_castle.php
 

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Lineup Finally Released: Conor Oberst, Flogging Molly, Jessica Pratt, M. Ward + More

Your favorite free festival is coming up fast — and at last, the line-up in full has been released!
If you’ve been keeping up with Hardly Strictly, you’ve noticed that they have been releasing a series of music medleys (5, to be exact) to provide fans with a fun way of discovering confirmed acts. And now, the wait is over.

 

 

Here is the full line-up!
Laurie Lewis & The Right Hands
Gregory Alan Isakov
Marco & The Polos
The Dustbowl Revival
Paul Weller
Big Star’s Third — an all-star performance of Big Star’s haunting ‘Third’ album, featuring Kronos Quartet, Van Dyke Parks, Jody Stephens, Mike Mills, Chris Stamey, Ken Stringfellow, Pat Sansone, Ralph Carney, Audley Freed, Brett Harris, Skylar Gudasz, plus an orchestral ensemble; and special guest singers Steve Earle, Robyn Hitchcock & Chatham County Line
Dry Branch Fire Squad
The Stone Foxes
The White Buffalo
Leftover Salmon Featuring Bill Payne of Little Feat
Chicano Batman
The Bros. Landreth
Megan Slankard
The Go To Hell Man Clan
Delbert McClinton
Buddy Miller’s Cavalcade Of Stars Featuring: Jim Lauderdale, Donnie Fritts & John Paul White, Tony Joe White, Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams, Scott Miller & The Commonwealth’s Ladies Auxiliary, Buddy Miller & Friends
Fairfield Four
Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell
Robert Earl Keen Performing Songs From ‘Happy Prisoner: The Bluegrass Sessions’
Neko Case
Dustin Kensrue
The Brothers Gibb
Acres Of Space
Dave Alvin & Phil Alvin with The Guilty Ones
The Mavericks
Steep Canyon Rangers
James McMurtry
Hot Tuna Electric
Punch Brothers
Nels Cline & Julian Lage
Beth Hart
Robyn Hitchcock
The Brothers Comatose
Cooder – White – Skaggs
Monophonics
Chatham County Line
DeVotchKa
The Milk Carton Kids
Saintseneca
Michael Franti & Spearhead
The Time Jumpers Featuring Kenny Sears, Vince Gill, Paul Franklin, Joe Spivey, Larry Franklin, Andy Reiss, Billy Thomas, Jeff Taylor & Brad Albin
Steve Earle & The Dukes
The Flatlanders Featuring Joe Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmore & Butch Hancock
Mandolin Orange
Nick Lowe
Boz Scaggs
Joe Jackson
The Sheepdogs
Madisen Ward and The Mama Bear
JB Nimble
The Blind Boys Of Alabama
Robyn Hitchcock & The Sadies Playing ‘Sweetheart Of The Rodeo’ & Other Delights
Lera Lynn
Flogging Molly
Jim White vs. The Packway Handle Band
mini-Mekons Featuring Jon Langford, Sally Timms & Rico Bell
Joe Pug
Poi Dog Pondering
Hot Rize with Red Knuckles & The Trailblazers
Sonny and The Sunsets
Ben Miller Band
Charles Bradley & His Extraordinaires
Tim Barry
Hardly Strictly Disco
Conor Brings Friends For Friday Featuring: Johnathan Rice, Jessica Pratt, The Felice Brothers, Laura Marling, M. Ward, Conor Oberst
Alison Brown & The Song Of The Banjo
Waco Brothers
Circus Quirkus with Poor Man’s Whiskey
Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys
Walter Salas-Humara
The Sadies
ALO
Peter Rowan Band
Lee Ann Womack
Nancy and The Lambchops
The Oh Hellos
Jamey Johnson
The New Mastersounds
Los Lobos
Heidi Clare & The Goose Tatums
Asleep At The Wheel
Kevin Devine
Spirit Family Reunion
Doobie Decibel System
Angel Olsen
Kieran Kane & Lucas Kane, Kevin Welch & Fats Kaplin
Anderson East
Sister Sparrow & The Dirty Birds
Indigo Girls
Pokey LaFarge
T Bone Burnett
Fantastic Negrito
Gillian Welch

The festival is happening October 2nd, 3rd, and 4th in Golden Gate Park — specifically, in Hellman Hollow and the Mark and Lindley Meadows.


Article and images sourced from http://www.upout.com/blog/san-francisco-3/hardly-strictly-bluegrass-lineup-finally-released-2015?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=UpOutSF&utm_campaign=freepost

Pacific Union’s August 2015 Real Estate Update

Bay Area homes were even tougher to come by in August than they were at the end of last summer, as the months’ supply of inventory (MSI) fell year over year in every Pacific Union region but Lake Tahoe/Truckee. Conditions remained exceptionally tight in the East Bay, where the MSI stayed below 1.0 for the entire summer and caused properties to sell for substantially more than list prices. Click on the image accompanying each of our regions below for an expanded look at local real estate activity in August.

MARIN COUNTY At just under $1.1 million, the Marin County median sales price continued its seven-digit run for the sixth consecutive month. On average, buyers paid 98.1 percent of original price, less than they did in June and July.
Homes left the market in an average of 50 days — identical to August 2014 — while the MSI closed the month at 1.5.
Defining Marin County: Our real estate markets in Marin County include the cities of Belvedere, Corte Madera, Fairfax, Greenbrae, Kentfield, Larkspur, Mill Valley, Novato, Ross, San Anselmo, San Rafael, Sausalito, and Tiburon. Sales data in the adjoining chart includes single-family homes in these communities.

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NAPA COUNTY

Home prices in Napa County cooled from July to August, with the median dropping to $571,316 — still up 12 percent on an annual basis. At the same time, the MSI took a sizable jump from July, moving up to 3.3.
Napa County properties sold in 60 days, the fastest pace observed in the past year. Sellers received 96.4 percent of original price, very similar to June and July totals.
Defining Napa County: Our real estate markets in Napa County include the cities of American Canyon, Angwin, Calistoga, Napa, Oakville, Rutherford, St. Helena, and Yountville. Sales data in the adjoining chart includes all single-family homes in Napa County.

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SAN FRANCISCO – SINGLE-FAMILY HOMES

The median sales price for a single-family home in San Francisco has been inching down since May and finished the summer at $1,225,888. For the past year, sellers in the city have been enjoying premiums, and that trend continued, with the average home selling for 111 percent of asking price.
Homes were on the market for 29 days in August, keeping pace with the market’s speed over the past two months, while the MSI remained unchanged from July at 1.3.

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SAN FRANCISCO – CONDOMINIUMS

As is true for their single-family counterparts, San Francisco condominium sellers have been in the driver’s seat for the past year, and in August properties sold for 108.2 percent of original price. At $1,050,000, condos in the city have been in the seven-digit range since February.
The MSI closed August at 1.3, virtually unchanged from the preceding five months. Homes left the market in 27 days, in line with numbers recorded earlier in the summer.

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SILICON VALLEY

Home prices in our Silicon Valley region stabilized over the summer; August’s $2.75 million median was an increase of only $50,000 from June and July. At 1.3, the MSI was virtually unchanged from earlier in the summer.
On average, sellers got 104.4 percent of asking price, and homes sold in a brisk 23 days.
Defining Silicon Valley: Our real estate markets in the Silicon Valley region include the cities and towns of Atherton, Los Altos (excluding county area), Los Altos Hills, Menlo Park (excluding east of U.S. 101), Palo Alto, Portola Valley, and Woodside. Sales data in the adjoining chart includes all single-family homes in these communities.
Mid-Peninsula Subregion
Although the $1,502,000 median sales price in Pacific Union’s Mid-Peninsula subregion was down from the preceding month, it was up 13 percent from August 2014. The average home sold for 105.4 percent of asking price, almost identical to July’s numbers.
The MSI has been creeping up slowly since June but is still extremely low: 1.1. Properties left the market in 26 days, a week faster than they did at the same time last year.
Defining the Mid-Peninsula: Our real estate markets in the Mid-Peninsula subregion include the cities of Burlingame (excluding Ingold Millsdale Industrial Center), Hillsborough, and San Mateo (excluding the North Shoreview/Dore Cavanaugh area). Sales data in the adjoining chart includes all single-family homes in these communities.

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SONOMA COUNTY

Sonoma County is another market that appears to show stabilizing prices: the median hasn’t varied month to month by more than $4,000 since May and closed August at $549,000. The MSI increased from June and July to 2.0, though there are still fewer available homes than there were one year ago.
The average home sold in 60 days — one day faster than August 2014 — and for 95 percent of asking price.
Defining Sonoma County: Our real estate markets in Sonoma County include the cities of Cotati, Healdsburg, Penngrove, Petaluma, Rohnert Park, Santa Rosa, Sebastopol, and Windsor. Sales data in the adjoining chart includes all single-family homes and farms and ranches in Sonoma County.

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SONOMA VALLEY

After popping above $700,000 in July, the median sales price in our Sonoma Valley region relaxed to $651,000 in August. The MSI dropped to 2.0, tying its 2015 low.
The average home sold in 60 days, not too far off last August’s sales pace, and buyers paid 98.9 percent of original price.
Defining Sonoma Valley: Our real estate markets in Sonoma Valley include the cities of Glen Ellen, Kenwood, and Sonoma. Sales data in the adjoining chart refers to all residential properties – including single-family homes, condominiums, and farms and ranches – in these communities.

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LAKE TAHOE/TRUCKEE – SINGLE-FAMILY HOMES

The median sales price for a single-family home in Pacific Union’s Lake Tahoe/Truckee region is on its way back up, climbing to $594,139 in August. Inventory was up on both a monthly and yearly basis, with the MSI rising to 7.8.
Homes sold in 81 days, identical to July’s sales pace, and for 90.6 percent of asking price.
Defining Tahoe/Truckee: Our real estate markets in the Lake Tahoe/Truckee region include the communities of Alpine Meadows, Donner Lake, Donner Summit, Lahontan, Martis Valley, North Shore Lake Tahoe, Northstar, Squaw Valley, Tahoe City, Tahoe Donner, Truckee, and the West Shore of Lake Tahoe. Sales data in the adjoining chart includes single-family homes in these communities.

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LAKE TAHOE/TRUCKEE – CONDOMINIUMS

The median condominium price in Lake Tahoe/Truckee rocketed up from the previous month to $424,000 in August, a one-year high. Condos also sold much faster than they did in July — an average of 56 days.
The MSI dropped off a bit from early in the summer, but at 8.3, supply remains plentiful. Condos sold for 95.7 percent of original price, in line with what we saw in June and July.
Defining Tahoe/Truckee: Our real estate markets in the Lake Tahoe/Truckee region include the communities of Alpine Meadows, Donner Lake, Donner Summit, Lahontan, Martis Valley, North Shore Lake Tahoe, Northstar, Squaw Valley, Tahoe City, Tahoe Donner, Truckee, and the West Shore of Lake Tahoe. Sales data in the adjoining chart includes condominiums in these communities.

Article and images sourced from http://blog.pacificunion.com/pacific-unions-august-2015-real-estate-update/