I guess the ABC is getting bored with harassing kids, now they are going after foodies!

Today the SF Appeal describes with their typically snarky commentary the latest bit of stupidity by the ABC.  Their target?  The culinary cocktail movement.  I wonder how Alice Waters feels about this. 

Michael Bauer from the Chronicle is all up in arms about this latest, misguided ABC effort.  Though I would hate to see all my favorite creative bartenders put out of business by this effort, one hopes Mr. Bauer connects the dots and links this latest campaign to the attack on nightclubs that serve food.

Let's imagine San Francisco as the ABC and SFPD have envisioned.  All music venues are owned by major entertainment corporations, and are either all ages with no liquor, or 21 and over with no kids allowed.  There will be no place in San Francisco where one can get food, alcohol, and live entertainment.  Also, there will be no private parties with djs.  Any gathering of more than 20 that features turntables, an amp,a band, or an ipod hooked up to speakers will get shut down.  Lastly, say goodbye to the culinary cocktail movement.  The only cocktails served in San Francisco will be sanctioned by Smirnoff.  To be realistic, many of the things that make San Francisco such a vibrant city will disappear, as few independent entrepreneurs  will be able to take a chance on running such businesses at a loss.  San Francisco will become more and more suburban, more like San Ramon than a world class entertainment city.

Is that the San Francisco you want?

Sharing the new reality with an out of town musician friend

I had a couple of beers last night with a dear friend who is a musician and who's parents are ACLU lawyers.  He just moved back here after 4 years of New York, so has missed most of the drama surrounding trying to have nighttime fun in San Francisco.  I told him of the ABC's campaign against all ages clubs here, the notorious party laptop confiscations,  the zero-tolerance policy on underground parties and gatherings, and the SFPD harassment clubs like the DNA Lounge are enduring on a daily basis.  He simply can't believe its happening.  He kept asking "Is this legal?  What laws are being broken?  Has someone contacted the ACLU?"

I am not a lawyer, so I can't say what is legal or not.  It all seems pretty shady, however.  I am a big fan of the rights guaranteed by our Constitution.  There's that bit  in the first amendment about the "right to free assembly" that seems to be getting squished at the private parties that are getting shut down.  The "unreasonable search and seizure" clause of the fourth amendment seems to be where laptop confiscations have gone awry.  Perhaps every party in San Francisco needs to post those two amendments boldly, both for the benefit of cops who might be thinking of ignoring those rights, and the patrons themselves, who need to know their rights when confronted by an angry policeman intent on intimidating them.  Know your rights.

So I have another out-of-town friend here this weekend.  Do I take her to Bootie, who are hosting the Hubba Hubba review tonight?  There's every possibility that what she will get is a police drama on the street instead of a dancing girls in the the club.  I can also walk her over to Slims and show her the incredibly depressing pitch in their window to raise money for their fight against the ABC.

I wonder if I, as a private citizen can get the ACLU in on what is happening here.  The club owners themselves are no doubt scared to death of doing such a thing, as once they win in court, they can guarantee law enforcement will be crawling over their activities with a microscope for as long as they are in the business. I will see what I can do.

This one night at the DNA Lounge...

Last Saturday my hubby and I decided to drop in on Bootie's triumphant return to the DNA Lounge.  We got dropped off by a friend, and noticed two odd things: first, several police cars parked in front of Butter, and lots of officers on the street.  The next thing I noticed was that there was no line at the DNA, even though it was midnight, prime time for people to show up for Bootie.  Knowing what I know is going on with SF nightlife, I just chalked it up to some SFPD BS.  Sure enough, a quick check of the DNA Lounge blog told me the whole ugly story. The DNA is in for weekly harassment, Butter got shut down, and the cops also pestered the patrons of Mist down the street.  Larry Bertrand waved his proverbial nightstick around, and evidently intends to keep doing so till all the clubs on 11th street are driven out of business.

I've testified in front of the board of supervisors on this issue, and now I have written to the mayor as well.  Newsom calls San Francisco an event-positive city.  Evidently, Larry Bertrand and the SFPD are attempting to prove him wrong.  Here is what I said to Mayor Newsom.  If you are reading this, please write to him as well.

"Hi Mayor Newsom,
I will get to the point quickly.  Why are the SFPD officers conducting Gestapo tactics at some of the best run nightclubs and bars in San Francisco?  What on Earth is happening in South of Market?  Is there anything you can do to reign in  officer Larry Bertrand's one-man campaign to kill nightlife in San Francisco?  How do tourists who have heard of Bootie, or other world-class nightclub entertainment in SF, react when the see a police mob?  NOT SPEND MONEY is what.  What's more, why do I even know officer Bertrand's name?  The horror stories I have heard of his tromping on the Constitutional rights of both patrons and club owners is chilling.  And where the Hell was Officer Bertrand during the Suede club killing?  No doubt harassing clubs South of Market.

Are you powerless in the situation, or do you simply not care?  Do you really want the death-knell of nightlife in San Francisco to be your lasting legacy to the city as mayor?  Don't talk to me about Suede.  Badly-run clubs that tolerate thugs are going to have such problems.  But the DNA?  Slims? Butter?  What is particularly fiendish about the targeting of the DNA is that they are a very gay-friendly, nightclub and provide a safe and fun environment to dance and have fun after 10pm.  If this is the way a place like DNA gets treated, (ie, police harassment and weekly "sidewalk-blocking" tickets that get thrown out by a judge), what hope is there for the other legitimate nightlife businesses in San Francisco?

Please do something.  We need leadership from the Mayor's office on this. 

Sincerely,"

Its been a while

The holidays have intervened, and I I have not gotten out much lately, other than a great metal show at the Parkside (that had been moved from the "closed by the ABC" DNA Lounge.  That was  Korplikaanii, Tyr and White Wizard.  It was fun.

But here's to the news.  A party, which was a fundraiser, happened in San Francisco two weekends ago.  January 31, some folks who were trying to raise money for the legal defense of students protesting fee hikes, got busted by the cops and "turned violent"
the violent party in question

Seems some "neighbors" called in a noise complaint, and the attendees got "violent".  Only the attendees tell a different story.  They got bum-rushed and attacked by the cops with little or no warning.  As undercover cops were in attendance, we can be sure that Larry Bertrand was busting heads.  He seems to consider South of Market and the Mission his personal stomping ground.

Too bad for those SFSU students that they did not get the memo, that it is forbidden to throw a party of any kind in San Francisco.  Maybe the school administration should include this information with student schedules: Do not organize any event with music, alcohol and people within the SF city limits. Fun is not allowed in this city.