Sixxteen @ The Cat's Club The 500 Club
The Beauty Bar Zeitgeist
  Sixxteen--- The Cat's Club---Sundays
1190 Folsom @ 9th St. 415-431-3332
---Reviewed by John Kane

1984 @ The Cat's Club

Photo by Catherine Lee

Kiss, The Runaways, AC/DC, The Sweet, Iggy Pop, Motley Crue. These bands and their lifestyles are celebrated every Sunday night at Sixxteen, far and away the tastiest of rock 'n' roll niteclubs, where it's as if Glam and Metal never went away. Each week a large (and, best of all, Yuppie-free) crowd gathers for a night of serious drinking, chain smoking, and debauched living. Five dollars gets you through the door, from there you can choose to mingle at the bar or go up to the main room where a live band (garage or punk style) kicks the evening off. After midnight the main room becomes the center of the action as the guys and gals get all sweaty writhing away to classic (for me at least) songs like Poison's "Talk Dirty to Me" and Quiet Riot's "Cum On Feel the Noize." While there's no official dress code most guys go for a rocker/roadie look (lots of black leather, T-shirts, wifebeaters) and the girls get slutted out in tiny tops, skintight pants, and high heeled shoes, with both sexes loving the studded belts. Inexpensive cover, always interesting crowd, phenomenally loud music, what more do you need? In a word, ROCKIN'.



  The Beauty Bar
2299 Mission @ 19th St. 415-285-.0323
---Reviewed by John Kane


The Beauty Bar

Photo by Rodwin Pabello

Can Yuppies and Hipsters get along? Find out at The Beauty Bar where on a nightly basis the two are forced to coexist in this crowded and cramped Mission hot spot. A somewhat successful attempt to imitate the theme bars of New York, The Beauty Bar offers manicures and makeovers, seats swiped from hair salons, and theme night parties. It's best feature by far is the music with nights devoted to moody soundtrack offerings, girl groups, and hard rocking gutter trash tunes. Drinks are well made and for the most part reasonably priced. Biggest downside to the place is the overwhelming number of Yuppies who frequent it during the first half of the evening. On the plus side after eleven the cool equipped club-goers show and things usually get more fun, if not less obnoxious.



  The 500 Club
500 Guerrero @ 19th St. 415-861-2500
---Reviewed by Catherine Lee

The 500 Club

Photo by Catherine Lee

If old alcoholics bother you, don't bother going to The 500 Club. But if you've ever stumbled out of a bar charmed by a boozy conversation with a veteran of bourbon shots, this place should suit you. It's kind of dark & dumpy but the combination of semi-circle booths, a crumbling fireplace and casually dressed clientele make it a great place to go out in a low style. Filled with smoke & a generation that came of bar-age with grunge, the atmosphere is relaxed with a bite of sexual tension. Sprawl in a booth with friends while you shoot the shit accompanied by a superb soundtrack any night at "The 5". The last time we were there, we argued over an Uncle Tupelo song, remembered how fun drinking is with Tom Waits, & generally interrupted our own sentences to sing a good line. And everyone in the bar does the same damn thing: sing with the jukebox songs. Maybe because the music is so good, or maybe because the mixed drinks actually have some liquor in 'em.



  Zeitgeist
199 Valencia @ Duboce 415-255-7505
---Reviewed by Catherine Lee

Zeitgeist

Photo by Catherine Lee

Somehow the Zeitgeist Bar got a reputation that implied a connection to Nazism. Urban Myth. The German word Zeitgeist translates to spirit of the time. Contrary to it's exterior, the spirit at Zeitgeist isn't really rough, just anti-establishment. Bikers, punk rock, and dogs co-mingle to create an outlaw atmosphere. On the overhead television screen you won't see sports or talking heads, but old b&w horror movies or Japanese animation. The speakers sound better inside the bar if you need to catch up on some Stooges or Agent Orange, but if the weather is nice (or if you smoke), then step outside. A big pitcher of beer out on a picnic bench in the exterior garden on a warm day/night is Zeitgeist heaven. Zeitgeist fires up an outdoor grill every evening with bargain prices, but call ahead to verify before you end up satiating your hunger with pints of Guinness.