How it Restarted; How it’s Going: Conversations with SF Dance Music Venues
How it Restarted; How it’s Going: Conversations with SF Dance Music Venues
September 21, 2021
Regan Parrish
How has San Francisco’s nightlife culture shifted and what does the future sound like?
PW Park at Public Works SF
June 15th marked California’s official re-opening which lifted restrictions, mandates, and a color-coded system of do’s and don'ts. With vaccinations on the rise, and San Francisco’s daily COVID-19 cases in the teens and below, the city was buzzing with a newfound sense of liberation and the promise of return to normalcy. This was especially monumental for SF venues who, after 15 months of closures, could finally open their doors again. Parties were back, masks were off, dance floors were packed, and vibrations were high.
Unfortunately, the initial fanfare began to diminish less than a month later, as the delta variant of the virus spread throughout the Bay Area, infecting even those who were vaccinated. For many in the nightlife scene, the risk of contracting COVID-19 became more tangible as prominent artists and partygoers shared publicly their positive test results and personal experiences. The combination of illness and fear of illness lightened attendance at San Francisco venues, who had just been reveling in their reopenings.
To address safety and prevent an impending second shutdown, bars and clubs started enforcing a vaccination-only policy for entry by July's end, even prior to the city’s mandate. Mask requirements for indoor activities returned. How has this affected business, operations, and the community? What is the outlook for the future of SF’s dance music culture? I spoke with key staff from some of SF’s most beloved venues to find out.
F8
f8 nightclub and bar; image courtesy of Open Fire Photography
It feels as though f8 never really closed, given the strong streaming presence they sustained throughout the pandemic. While there were no dancers on the floor, the livestreams offered DJs a semblance of their former identities; and for viewers, a semblance of community and much needed music therapy. In a short time, f8 was able to sell drinks to-go at the door and by January 2021, in partnership with their neighbor El Capitan Taqueria, they were able to serve customers in an outdoor parklet. This eventually led to indoor table service during DJ performances. The venue rigorously followed all of the health department’s rules in order to stay open until the restrictions were lifted.
As Rafael Fierro, General Managing Partner of f8, explained, “When we opened on June 15th, even though we had already been open inside to an extent, when we opened completely normally again, everybody came out. The streets filled with people wanting to hang out, and they felt like the pandemic was over, which was amazing. It was really nice not having to wear a mask and to see everybody smiling again and dancing and feeling free and normal.”
“We expanded our DJ stratosphere to include a lot of other kinds of music that might have been considered more secular.”
Rafael shared that f8 probably grossed more revenue in that first month back than any other month of the club’s history, but that took a turn as the delta variant hit the nightlife community especially hard in late July. After hiring a full staff back, they’ve been forced to downsize again, and retaining security and door staff has proven to be a challenge. f8 loses about 40 customers a night due to proof of vaccination requirements and still receives calls daily inquiring about their policy. Rafael says “there’s a lot of negative energy around [the vaccine requirements] and people wanting to come in.”
f8 is keeping cover charges free to minimal, making it one of the more affordable venues for folks who want to go out. “We’re still in a special place with the pandemic. It’s not over with, so charging a cover is almost secondary. I’m not worrying about how the door does.”
Regarding programming, Rafael says, “We expanded our DJ stratosphere to include a lot of other kinds of music that might have been considered more secular.” He’s noticed a drop in the audience for heavier and more alternative genres. “The tides are changing every week. The people that are going out right now are the young kids who just want to hang out and meet each other and talk about music...We’re going to be a lot more accepting of them and their ideas and not be so cliquey. Everyone is free to express themselves how they want, just as it’s always been at f8.” Over the next few months, the club has booked some impressive niche acts that they’re willing to take a risk on, but even that Rafael explained, is an experiment in what will attract an audience right now.
F8 bar and night club, Image courtesy of Open Fire Photography
Parties like “Stamina” and “Candy Rain” are maintaining their presence at f8, but other parties are springing up. Rafael collaborates with a few different local promoters on their new Wednesday night party, simply deemed “F8 Presents” which showcases different local crews and artists, even some international touring headliners, with a focus on groovy house, acid house, techno, and electro.
f8 has upgraded their equipment, added LED installations, and remodeled their dance floor. They continue to host art shows and utilize their parklet. Rafael asks the community to continue visiting the club and assures us that they’re going to continue to fight to keep their doors open six nights a week.
Monarch
Monarch; image courtesy of The Holy Mountain
Monarch’s first official venture back was their open-air series, “Electric Fields” at District Six, in May. The monthly gathering presented by “Green Gorilla Lounge” boasts dance music heroes, food vendors, and a shopping bazaar in the heart of SOMA. Since June, after-parties at their sister venue, The Great Northern, and now Monarch, have been added to the festivities, branding it as a day-into-night event with stacked lineups.
Monarch opened its lounge in May, and then hosted its grand reopening, including the basement with sound and light upgrades on June 18th. Evita Salazar, Talent Buyer & Marketing Director, compared these first events and reopening to the roaring 20s. “In the beginning when things opened back up, everyone was going out and everyone was going crazy.”
“It’s a difficult thing. No one prepared us for a pandemic. Booking and coordinating things and keeping regulations in mind has been difficult.”
Evita aims to represent diversity in her bookings and “make Monarch inclusive and everyone feel welcome.” She says that she’s focused on working with local talent and giving newer DJs a chance. “I’m always looking for people that want to play and I try not to be too repetitive in my bookings.” She’s also featuring different styles of music to make Monarch’s offerings more eclectic so that there is something for everyone in any given week. In addition to legacy parties such as “WERD” & “Housepitality,” Evita is working on adding Thursday monthlies. Already in the works are two parties–one focused on nonbinary and LGBTQ-identifying artists, and the other focused on up-and-coming talent and crews.
Monarch SF; image courtesy of The Holy Mountain
Reflecting on these past few months, Evita shared, “It's been a complete rollercoaster. The energy was so high when we opened and then the delta variant hit. It went from ‘this is amazing’ to ‘here we go again, are we going to get shut down again?’” On the challenges Monarch has faced, Evita said, “It’s a difficult thing. No one prepared us for a pandemic. Booking and coordinating things and keeping regulations in mind has been difficult,” yet the venue has prioritized safety since day one. They’ve even gotten creative with the mask mandate, encouraging patrons to don their most engaging face coverings, awarding $100 cash for the “best mask” every weekend.
Despite the fluctuations in business, Evita is booking “full steam ahead and going big.” She’s excited for what’s on the horizon and encourages folks to “Come out. Dance. Be safe. Get tested. Be kind to staff who are working hard to bring entertainment.” She hopes that we will “come out of [the pandemic] stronger as a community and be more unified. The whole thing should bring us together and not apart.”
Public Works
Public Works’ outdoor parklet, PW Park
Public Works is celebrating 10 years of “giving the people what they want” on September 25th. They reopened last September, utilizing their outdoor area, by transforming the “smoking section” into a comfortable dining and dancing space, now referred to as PW Park. By late May 2021, and after an almost full staffing turnover, they were able to open the doors to the two-room, 1200 capacity venue known for “classic and underground programming.”
Molly Kish, Assistant General Manager, shared that the small, but mighty, freshly assembled Public Works team vowed to improve the negative aspects of the industry that they felt hindered by before. “We have a chance now to change how a venue should be run, focus back in on our core values and roots, and what we love about music and putting on shows.”
“It’s worth it for us to take these risks financially in order to reignite the scene, and get people to feel good about coming out and feel good about throwing parties again”
The team’s commitment and enthusiasm is evident in their innovations and diverse events roster over the past year. As Molly explained, “We have an opportunity to bring in new blood and new talent and see what the current underground scene is. Everything’s changed. We can’t look back upon anything because we’re in a completely different world now when it comes down to it. Booking the parties, throwing the parties, seeing how we even function as a venue—it’s a whole clean slate that we’re trying to take advantage of and elevate.”
Public Works seeks to expound upon their DJ-centric programming, and branch into being a true multi-purpose event space featuring comedy, art, and live bands, and eventually include markets, wellness gatherings, and other daytime offerings in the PW Park space. Through their event experimentation, they hope to attract a new generation of patrons.
Public Works’ main stage; image courtesy of Ariya Behjat
Aside from their booking focus on gender balance and diverse local representation, they seek to nurture more young promoters and crews by being open to ideas and genres and making the entry point for throwing a party more accessible. They’ve maintained a low rental fee and bar minimum to meet realistic expectations in the current nightlife climate.
Public Works Main Stage; image courtesy of Zita Molnar
Molly shared that the venue doesn’t always make a profit or even break even, given the safety mandates and shifting attendance, but says, “It’s worth it for us to take these risks financially in order to reignite the scene, and get people to feel good about coming out and feel good about throwing parties again.”
The Public Works team is excited to provide a safe place for people to go out and have their events in. “The best we can ask moving forward is to continue working with us on the ever changing guidelines and know that we are doing our best to provide an environment that everyone feels comfortable in. Keep coming out to shows and supporting us in that respect and we will weather through this as best we can together.”
1015 Folsom & DJ Dials Presents Productions
Image courtesy of The Holy Mountain
1015 Folsom opened its doors on July 11 to a sold out “Brownies and Lemonade” show. Dials, Talent Buyer & Event Producer for 1015, said that the energy was ecstatic, people felt free, and there was electricity in the air. Dials, who hosts parties all over the city under the brand “DJ Dials Presents,” also threw a warehouse party a month earlier that featured international touring acts who reside in the Bay Area. As he described, “It felt like everyone was getting married. There was so much joy and excitement. Everyone showed up for it emotionally.”
“The corporate promoters have become even more aggressive in San Francisco, and with each other, and [independent promoters] are becoming the casualties”
Though reopening started out strong, attendance and enthusiasm would decline as San Francisco’s coronavirus cases began to spike in mid-July. Despite receiving numerous threatening messages and phone calls over his pro-vax stance and shift to vax-only parties, Dials says he is “doing whatever the state of California and the health department tells [him] to do.” He is tired of the division and resentment resulting from the polarizing issue, but aims to maintain respect for people, even if he disagrees with their opinions.
Dials hopes that people will move past the panic and regain their confidence and comfort in going out. He suggests that we take the stigma away from being sick. “Follow the numbers. Still be safe. Still be considerate. Still be mindful, but remember if we do our part and we follow the advice and guidance of scientific experts, we’re going to get through this quicker.”
Image courtesy of The Holy Mountain
The promoter/event producer of 25 years noted that new DJs and crews have emerged, developing their own scene through the pandemic. “People have been throwing house parties, renegades, and raves, and a lot of bedroom DJs are trying to break out. Meanwhile, veteran DJs have semi-unionized by creating crews or record labels. Everyone’s trying to level up. It’s cool to see the local talent trying to make an impact.”
Dials is disheartened by the entitlement he increasingly encounters at his parties. He asks patrons to recognize all the time, energy, passion, and dedication that is expended by countless event staff and meet them with gratitude and respect. He also urges ticket-buyers to support independent promoters and small to mid-sized venues. “The corporate promoters have become even more aggressive in San Francisco, and with each other, and [independent promoters] are becoming the casualties.”
For 1015’s future, Dials says his goal is “to bring 1015 Folsom back on the global stage because for its 35 years it has been synonymous with SF nightlife. I want for San Francisco to be a nightlife destination and for people to want to come here because the scene’s so hot. That starts with the community of people that invest in the culture, and music, and that comes through friendship, companionship—all these things that happen when you put people in a room together with good music.”
He advises the community to keep creating and keep being inspired. “This is a town of artists. We’re talking about the crowd, but I remember when the crowd in San Francisco was artists, where it was a community, where everyone was able to be inspired by everyone else. I want that. I want everyone to know there is a place in SF for them and their art. That’s super important to me. This is a town for the beautiful weirdos and magic.”
Line outside 1015 Folsom on opening night; image courtesy of The Holy Mountain
Regan Parrish is a sonic storyteller and activist under the name femmelectric. She is committed to supporting women in electronic music and passionate about both the preservation and evolution of San Francisco’s dance music culture. Regan served on the core team for Revive the Night, an initiative for SF dance music venues that raised over $45k during the pandemic shutdowns, and has hosted numerous women-focused music events annually.
