The mini-explosion continues; carts and trucks, oh my!

Now that we're past a few days of rain, it's time to get your food-cart on! And you're in luck, because they are out. in. force. I know in places like New York, this is nothing new -- there, they even have food cart awards.. the Vendys! -- but it is notable here in San Francisco, where we've had a dirth of carts until fairly recently.

I'm mean, you've always been able to find a taco truck. And then there's the Tamale Lady, who, while not in a truck/cart, serves the same purpose (though perhaps with drunker clientele). Then the Bacon Dog Cart started showing up in the Mission..

And, recently, there's been a mini-explosion of "high-end" carts showing up around town over the past couple of months (well, mostly in the Mission). Yeah, you may have heard of -- or have seen -- the Magic Curry Kart, the Crème Brûlée Cart, or the Amuse Bouche Cart (which seem to be traveling together these days) in Dolores Park, or somewhere along 24th Street..

But we ain't done yet. In the next week or two, another will roam:

Chez Spencer chef takes French food to the streets

Yes, I'll take my skate braised with capers or frog's legs with curry on the street, where it belongs. haha. Oh -- you'll find this new cart/truck, "Spencer on the Go", in SOMA, near Terroir Natural Wine Merchant & Bar, spreading the foodie wealth outside of the Mission a bit; good show!

Ladytron for me; The Virgins for you?

You got lucky.

I mean, if you missed their opening spot on the Black Kids tour through San Francisco back in October, The Virgins are back, playing at the venerable Popscene for their Holiday Gala 2008. TONIGHT!

The Virgins at myspace

They've got a sound where The Strokes comparisons are inevitable (and I think that's mostly a good thing), but to mix it up for the here-and-now, The Virgins have thrown the occasional disco-y beat or Clash-y guitar syncopation behind most of their tracks. And these are also good things; their shizz is catchy, while still being fresh and a little raw (more on that later)..

I also appreciate that a few songs -- including their huge hit, Rich Girls (video) -- emanate a bluesy-sexuality, a la The Rolling Stones.. and, luckily, the lead singer has the looks to make it all work. haha. Ah -- just a heads-up that the Rich Girls video is semi-safe-for-work, given that some scenes contain a model gettin' down to her skivies. ;)

So, with all that said, let me submit that this is the last time you'll see them at a venue so small.. unless you're deep in certain artscenes of the LES -- their home-hood -- where you might still see them play at a party/gallery once they're back from touring. Yeah, they seem to be getting more and more air/face-time on the radio, on the TV, over the past couple of months, so I'm only expecting a good 2009 for these guys.

To be honest, part of that (predicted) success is due to the "slickness" of their self-titled debut album on Atlantic records. The label/studio really got to them, and not in a particular good way for my tastes. That is, they didn't capture the "freshness" and "rawness" I mentioned earlier; they didn't capture that sound that I heard when I first caught a couple of tracks off their original, self-recorded EP (after a friend told me about them this past January).

No matter.. whatever they want to do professionally is fine by me. I'm not asking you to buy their album. But you *should* see them rock-out live -- hear their music the way it was meant to be heard -- in that hot, sweaty, 18+ box of musical taste: Popscene, tonite; doors at 9:30pm, so it's gonna be a late night of getting your dance-on!

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By the way, I would totally join you tonight at Popscene, but I already have tickets to the Ladytron DJ set featuring Reuben Wu at Mighty (playing with San Francisco's own Sleazemore). Maybe I'll see you there?

The show is presented by the good folks at Blasthaus; check out more from them here.

So much more than gore and fantasy and folkart

If you "go out" in NYC, no doubt you've heard of Santos Party House (formerly-known-as-and-perhaps-soon-to-swing-back-into Santa's Party House); no doubt you've even gone to check out a cool mix of live acts and djs; and to get your dance on.

Hmm.. Did you know that Andrew WK is one of Santos' four owners? Probably; you did. Ok. But could you name any of the other owners?

Does it matter? Well, not really. haha. But sometimes these sorts of little facts help establish a rapport with certain groups of people. Yeah, no matter what circle(s) you roll in, you're sorta expected to know who's who in the scene (whether we're talking about NYC clubs or SF non-profits).

In any case, SF and NYC cross paths once again..

You see, tomorrow night, the Jack Hanley Gallery, located on the northern-most (and up-coming-est) stretch of Valencia Street, is opening its doors from 6pm - 9pm to present to you, the public, the latest works from Spencer Sweeney, NYC-based (visual and performance) artist -- and co-owner of Santos.

(For your future reference -- and name-dropping pleasure -- the full list of owners of Santos Party House follows: Spencer Sweeney, Andrew WK, Larry Golden, and Ron Castellano.)

Spencer Sweeney @ Jack Hanley Gallery
September 20th - October 25th, 2008

Admittedly, I'm planning on stopping by somewhat for the scene (although why else go to any art opening?; the opening event is not a particularly good time to go to have an intimate dialog with the art itself). That said, the swirl of colors, and mix of (sloppy) geometry and modern-symbols-rendered-in-a-primitive-fashion, found in the pieces that I've seen online seem up my alley.

The work recalls Philip Guston and Basquiat, it recalls some Paul Klee and early Jackson Pollack in my mind. (ahem) I know the use of such HUGE artistic icons in my comparison betrays my lack of art knowledge; and I somewhat-apologize for their use. But, whatever; it's all I got off the top of my head. ;) Check the Jack Hanley site for his latest work, or, get your google on!

Besides, this Sweeney fellow seems like an interesting character. And Jack Hanley usually provides free beer at these sorts of shindigs.

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Alright, alright, so now that I've whetted you appetite for the visual scene here in SF, what else to do? Well, I think we're all in luck because this Fall is starting off with a bang..

Two artists of the (local) "Beautiful Losers" collective have shows up right now in the city. And while I'm NOT a fan of most "street art" -- to put a really generic term that covers what these guys do/make -- Shepard Fairey and Barry McGee have created iconic bodies of work, have created a signature style that you will surely recognize, even if you didn't know the artists' names. Check it (now, in a gallery setting):

Shepard Fairey @ White Walls Gallery
September 13th - October 4th, 2008

Barry McGee aka Twist, aka Ray Fong, and, now, aka Lydia Fong @ Ratio3 Gallery
September 15th - October 18th, 2008

Read about + see more of the work of Fairey and "Fong" here and here, respectively.

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And, well, this last bit is just a tease -- because we all just missed this show at Park Life, over in the Inner Richmond -- but, man, be on the lookout for more work by 22-year-old Matthew Palladino.

He captures gore and fantasy and folkart, wrapped up in tiger stripes and gang colors. In short, it's pretty cool.

In the Realms of the Palmsonntag

For those of you in the NYC area, outsider artist extraordinaire, Henry Darger, is risen (again)! A new show of his work opened today, posthumously, of course, at the American Folk Art Museum:

Dargerism: Contemporary Artists and Henry Darger

"The American Folk Art Museum is home to the single largest repository of works by one of the most significant artists of the twentieth century, Henry Darger (1892 - 1973), who created nearly three hundred watercolor and collage paintings to illustrate his epic masterpiece, The Story of the Vivian Girls, in what is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinnian War Storm, Caused by the Child Slave Rebellion, which encompasses more than fifteen thousand pages."

Who knew?

This particular exhibit incorporates works from about a dozen contemporary artists who have made reference to Darger's naked-child-filled (and dreamycreepy) fantasy world of Abbiennia, to the creation of new worlds through shear force of the individual mind (of which we only glimpse timeslices through the artists' work). I wonder if all these artists made the conscious decision to echo some of the themes in Darger's work (life?), or if it was just coincidence? No matter, really (for a causal artfan - like myself). Outside of this show, Henry Darger has certainly been an explicit touchstone for many a creative folk; check out some of the pop culture references listed at his Wikipedia site: Natalie Merchant, Neil Gaiman and Sufjan Stevens, represent!

The general format of the show reminds me of the "Picasso and American Art" exhibit at the SFMOMA, early in 2007. I remember going to it with a friend and we both thought - I think we both thought this; maybe it was just me? - that it was a bit cold and clinical. That is, I found it super-interesting to see American art reflecting various Picasso works (in many a genre) over this huge time span - decades of Picasso production! - but the layout of the rooms at the SFMOMA left me without any emotional reaction to the art itself. In short, I found the curation lacking.

But getting back to the Henry Darger show at the American Folk Art Museum, I hold out hope for better selection and arrangement, and do want to check it out en vivo. In fact, I've wanted to see more of his work ever since I saw the 2004 documentary "In the Realms of the Unreal", which gave a glimpse of this odd man, his odd life and his odd obsessions. And since the show is up until September 21st, there's a pretty good chance I'll be able to make it happen (if I remember); I do my fair share of hanging in the Big City each year.

In other art-happening-in-notSF news, Anselm Kiefer has an installation called Palmsonntag up at the First Baptist Church in Los Angeles (in conjunction with a gallery showing of Kiefer's paintings, sculpture and collage at Gagosian Gallery in Beverly Hills). This too, I'd love to check out.

You see, my favorite show (ever!) at the SFMOMA since I started going regularly (say, 2004) has been "Anselm Kiefer: Heaven and Earth"; it was up late 2006.. (although I did enjoy the pomp and spectacle of the "Matthew Barney: Drawing Restraint" show too, also in 2006). Large scale works of (only semi-imagined) dystopian landscapes, crawling with unnatural biological vibration in a framework of environmental regularity: they crush my soul.. yet still, I would step right inside any one of them if I could. Like many people, I have an unnatural attraction to Kiefer's hypnotic paintings (truly - you can fall into them), which I guess is why he is one of the most well-known German artists alive today (internationally, speaking, that is).

Yeah, so.. two shows far away from me; but I thought my friends farther afield would like to know. If you do check either of them out, I'd love to hear your take. And if you don't (due to distance or desire or whatever), you've still got a few new arty things to say at your next cocktail party (yo). So, you're welcome either way. ;)

Less and less Prohibition

Ahh.. I heard about it last week, but forgot in the hubbub of the past couple of days (i.e. guest in town, final for Russian class, etc.). The Drink Blog at 7x7 reminded me today that December 5th was the 74th anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition here in the US. And given that the weekend is just about upon us, remember that a brief toast in appreciation of our ability to imbibe (at all) is in order. (And then put it out of your mind and just do your, um, weekend thang.)

Out of coincidence, 2007 - and just recently, at that - was the year that saw the repeal of another archaic liquor law; this one was surrounding La Fée Verte. You see, absinthe, that anise flavored liqueur of ill-repute, is back for sale in the US (legally); and, if you want to actually distill it here, you can do that too (after A LOT of paperwork, I imagine). In fact, St. George Spirits distillery in Alameda is making their own version (after years of under-the-radar experimentation). Check the full details at the NYTimes:

A Liquor of Legend Makes a Comeback
By Pete Wells
Published: December 5, 2007

While I did have some Eastern European-based absinthe drinking fantasy when I was in college - it seemed like the epitome of subversive sophistication! - it doesn't exactly have the same appeal for me now that I've done a little traveling and drinking and all that. How jaded of me, I know. haha. That said, if a bottle of good-quality stuff came my way, I will not say no; and a cafe in Budapest will not be required for me to enjoy it. A nice place in NYC with friends would do. Or, Alameda.

It was a construction site after all

Ask yourself: have you ever seen anything so magnificent?

So magnificent! And, so friendly to your sense of aesthetics! All you can *really* do is stand there; your vast world has collapsed into this narrow inlet of experience - welcome to the here-and-now; it's been waiting for you (to pay attention). Really, what else is there to do besides breathing in the sights and sounds before you?! No wonder that you wish it could be this way forever, tethered to this time and place.. but, still - somehow - feeling light as an amnesiatic feather.

Whip!
Whip; whap!
Crumplecrack!

The massive blue tarp - the source of our audio and visual adventure today - can't help itself; it is caught between the whimsy of the strong easterly winds and the placement of the steel anchors at its edges. The scene is surely an exercise in Drawing Restraint, albeit without an human operator; and, therefore, the flow of howeverwhichway is the order of the day. As a result of that latter fact, the day is all the better.

You see, it's funny when the theoretically-simple strikes you as something much greater than the sum of its parts. In this case, a building-not-yet-complete provided the playground; and a tarp-you've-never-seen-a-tarp-so-large provided a medium for attention-getting (and personal engagement). It was a raging cubist masterpiece come to life!

Still, this anthropomorphic recipe was not yet perfected. Blustery puffs needed to assert themselves, spawned from a sky in all its gray-so-gray glory (and butterfly wings); and they did (bring their A game), in stratospheric amounts. You see, the day was on the cusp of indulging in promiscuous atmospheric play (and I surely was not going to stop it!), and as such, it provided a mystic-from-my-position spice-so-delicious in the form of experiential chaos. Yes, I really do mean *chaos* in the most hell-bent (and pleasing) manner possible; I mean it in the way that seeds submitted to the winds by the promise of a new generation is an intrinsic ideal to aspire to. We know - deep within our DNA - that we must all thrive in an environment of randomness.

In short, the scene before me was really quite hypnotic and charming (again, in a way that connected me to antiquity.. and the ways of the universe at large); it was a construction site after all.

You won't believe, only four beers

You know I'm a man all about his beer, but I really didn't partake too much on this last trip to NYC. I suppose it was a combination of a couple of things, but the short answer is that I didn't make it a priority (like I did on my last two trips in the summer) and my usual NYC company isn't particularly into it, given a choice.

That said, I did make it over to Barcade in Brooklyn - just down the street from where I was staying - for a pint (or two); it had been on the to-do list for awhile. The place is large, and on a lazy - and warm! - Sunday evening in October it seemed especially cavernous (i.e. relative to the amount of people there). I'd be interested to see if/how the space fills up on a weekend night; I've read it can get crowded. The industrial garage-like interior is lined with a slew of 80's era stand-up video games (think Gauntlet and Tetris, not Street Fighter).. and, more of my interest, there is a bar area with 25 or so craft brewers on tap.

Their selection is heavily focused on local brews (ex. Chelsea, Southampton, and Smuttynose brewing companies), and to that, I say: kudos! While part of me wishes that every good beer (née, every good everything) somehow finds it's way to the Bay Area, I can appreciate the need to actually go to a place - physically - to experience them (and other local charms, of course). That sounds like the start of another long blog entry (beyond beer), so I'll digress..

I started with a pint of HopDevil from Victory Brewing, a tried and true favorite of mine, but it was my first time having it on tap; and then followed with a Fisherman's Pumpkin Stout from Cape Ann Brewing Company. The latter was a truly unique beer and I hope I come across it again. It's very much a coffee-y stout from the start, but the pumpkin and its usual entourage of spices (cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice) provide a subtle undertone of warmth and evoke a holiday season je ne sais quoi.

Other than those, I only had two more beers of note over the week.

The first was this year's Harvest Ale from Sierra Nevada; it was the first time they'd bottled this annual brew, and it sure was tasty; I hope they keep bottling it. I'd read about "wet hop" ales for the first time only this year, but if Sierra's version of it is any yardstick for the rest, I'm going to seek more out before the season is done. In fact, there is a wet hop festival at the Toronado this weekend.. which I may or may not go to given how crowded every public event at the Toronado gets.. but at least they should have some kegs there for this coming week.

The last beer of note was the Schneider-Brooklyner Hopfen-Weisse (a mouthful, huh?) from Brooklyn Brewery. The only thing I can say is that while I understand it to be an exciting beer, given its lineage, it was a bit too sweet and banana-y for my tastes; and I didn't like the mouthfeel. To each their own, right? But the silver lining is that I had it on tap at a cool Brooklyn bar (and grill, apparently) named Maracuja; it is exquisitely decorated, with lots of dark woods and the right hues of (low) lighting to match. After two rounds of pool (if you're wondering, my friend slaughtered me), we finished our drinks out back in their canopied and trellised garden.. and basically had the place to ourselves the whole time, but I think that was a consequence of it being late on a Monday night, so it may get crazy on the weekends or something. Still, given all the pro's of the scene, I'm willing to take my chances next time I roll through town.. which is looking like November (frequent flier miles represent!).

Hopefully, at that time I'll still be able to get my hands on more great pumpkin treats; I've been obsessing on the pumpkin this year (who knows why). On this trip, I got both beer and bagels tinged with the flavor of this large orange benefactor, but I know there are more tasty devices in which to enjoy this holiday staple. And I say, bring 'em on!

ps. Barcade also has a full bar, which is uncommon, I think, for a place that has such a great focus on beer. But in (another) twist, they have offerings from micro distilleries like Dogfish Head Spirits along with the more common hard stuff.

Are you ready to shvitz?

It's one of those things I should have done while I was in Russia, but it was only this past Friday that, on a whim and with a friend, I went to a "Russian" bath house.. in Manhattan. The Russian and Turkish Baths in the East Village (about a block from Tompkins Square Park) are like a little time warp to the 70's, evoking both old school New York and Russia in one fell (and wet) swoop.

The place had a couple of saunas, a steam room, a cold! water bath, and showers, all with the stylings of a tight, Nixon-era, locker room. The only deviation from that motif was via the main Russian steam room, which drew upon its ancient, stone, lineage; references to a dungeon or tomb (and incredibly hots ones at that) would not be out of place. Hmm.. I'm not exactly selling these baths here, but I think the whole is more than the sum of it's parts. So, let me assure you that I'll be back; it was somehow charming, and the pleasurable physical effects (of hot and cold extremes, in succession) are real. In fact, I've been to similar (if newer) facilities in other countries, like Japan and Slovakia, and it's always worth it.

Beyond the general entry fee for all-day access to the baths, you can pay for additional "special treatments" like massages, salt scrubs and so forth. And so I did: I asked for a platza treatment - basically a mild beating - with a big ol' bunch of oak branches (with leaves intact) soaked in olive oil soap, because, well, why not? Really, you're there, so how could you *not* submit yourself for that sort of experience?

It's much different than I had imagined: you're not getting whipped with an individual switch, so you actually aren't getting lashed or anything like that. However, you do feel the mass of the branch bundle coming down on you, which is slightly uncomfortable for the times that it's happening on your chest. haha. But otherwise, it was definitely much milder than I thought; it was sorta like what I image being in a brushless car wash would be like (and I mean that in the best way possible). In short, it's not as much as a masochistic endeavor as you might think (so I'll need to find that fix another way).. but you still come out feeling so fresh and so clean clean.

A little bonus to the experience was that I got to use a few Russian words with the guy who gave me a platza treatment (to his amusement). Plus Colin Farrell was there; yeah, it was a real mix of clientele (and body types). Who would have thought; apparently, the baths transcend financial and cultural boundaries. So, basically, if you're thinking about going, all you have to ask yourself is:

Are you ready to shvitz?

There will be distractions, and yet postings will flow!

Well, I'm back and I'm back, and, well, really, I'm *almost* back. (It depends on your perspective.)

That is, I arrived in NYC last night after hours and hours and hours of traveling (more than a literal 24 hours, I guess) from Kyrgyzstan (et. al.) - and it all seemed quite normal and go'd-with-the-flow throughout: First I was there. And then there; it is another place to be and do. And another.. so, now, I'm here, being and doing still more. And more and more. "Finally", now - at 3:00pm EST - awake (again), if not a bit disoriented, another time and place (in every senses of those words - ha!) upon me.. and, well, starting to settle (readjust?) back into "stability"; I'm drinking some tea.

I show up places and do things.
I show up places and do things?
Again, I guess; and I guess I do (in a good way!).

There is a black Moleskine journal across the table, so full; the first entry is dated from May 26th (2007, thank you very much) or so, and the most recent is from "yesterday" (whatever that meant at the time); the latter is a picture. But most of the rest is words, and words and more words; words I'd like to (and will) read over and (maybe) obsess about, given no other distractions (although I imagine distraction; I plan to assist in my arrival at distraction).

I'd like to use those words as inspiration - ha! - for remembering specific incidents and funtimes, but moreso for musing a bit about themes and feelings and thoughtlines that emerged - or will emerge, in retrospect - over my last couple of untethered weeks out of SF (and, more importantly, outside of my "normal" life). Blog posts will follow. haha.

In the meantime, let me just say that - wow, what disparate adventures to consider! - while there were ups and downs, physically, culturally, and - perhaps, most memorably - emotionally, the overall time was awesome (to put it simply, yet accurately).

Also: fuck yeah! (ahem) That is, again, to put it simply, yet accurately. haha. Good stuff; stay tuned.

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Chris, I hope you made it to Istanbul safely; we rocked Russia and Kyrgyzstan. And we - as discussed - have, now, a higher standard for interactions with future drunks in our life (ex. they better bring - at least! - their own loshad, mutherfucker). hahaha. And the rest of you, I hope to see soon (loshad or not)..