Dillon Rawlings
Staff Writer
On September 24th, the Fillmore hosted the psychedelic U.K. band Temples, who looked every bit as 60’s acid rock as they sounded. Draped in fringe, flares, and suede, against a video backdrop of what looked like a highly colorized pot of oil mixing with water, the four-piece set harmonized and guitar-hooked the audience into a mellow delirium. Continue reading An Hour At the Temples
“The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a San Francisco activist drag troupe, are protesting against Facebook’s policy requiring that all their users must use their legal given name on their profiles. What do you think?”
Jacqline Murillo
Junior, Philosophy Major and Pre-Med Track
“I would agree with what the Sisters are saying. I think there is a big problem in our current society in kind of understanding the balance of our legality, which is beyond our choice, especially in this situation with a given name that we might not necessarily identify with — we’re born unknowing. Facebook should not have to act as a database, because that’s not its purpose. It’s purpose is to connect people, and people are not necessarily their given and legal identities. People are the identities that they create themselves. Continue reading DON on the Street
Dillon Rawlings
Staff Writer
Along Clement Street between 5th and 6th avenue, The Neck of the Woods is an atmospheric bar and concert venue with a killer happy hour and intimate vibe.
This past Wednesday the space featured the indie-alternative rock group Colony House of Nashville, Tennessee. The three-man band performed a high-energy set of songs off their newest album, “When I was Younger.” Released only 6 weeks ago by Descendant Records, the album is a sweeping mix of emotionally charged, highly personal lyrics set to tight harmonies and fresh-rain electric guitar riffs. Exposed within lead man Caleb Chapman’s smooth vocals and the group’s vigorous stage performance is the band’s regard for alternative influences such as Coldplay and Brandon Flowers. Continue reading Bringing Down The Colony House
The California Academy of Sciences, located in Golden Gate Park, features a full aquarium, a newly-built planetarium, and a glass-encased micro-rainforest with a running river and all of the world’s ecosystems. In the after hours of every Thursday night, the museum becomes a venue for NightLife—a science-filled, boozy affair for the city’s 21+ crowd.
Every NightLife showcases a different theme and schedules different activities for its guests, but the best part is that while regular day tickets to the Academy are priced at $29.95 ($24.95 for students), NightLife tickets will only set you back $12. The event starts at 6 p.m. and ends at 10 p.m., and the whole museum is still yours to explore until about 9:00 p.m.
I attended last Thursday’s NightLife when Sketchfest was hosting a slew of comedic talent for the night’s entertainment. Among many other comedians, I watched Last Comic Standing’s Todd Glass have some fun with the audience. The main comedy show was packed—seats ran out pretty quickly, but with enough standing space to easily maneuver to and from the bar. Different rooms in the museum showcased comic sketches of various nature-related topics. In between shows I still had plenty of time to mill about, cocktail in hand, to soak up the permanent museum installations.
Patrons also got the a chance to dance to some DJ’d pop synth on the top floor, pose for a free Cubist portrait of themselves, or cozy up to Claude the albino Alligator. It was a Thursday night well spent. The atmosphere was relaxed yet upbeat, the performers had me laughing, and it was hard to be unimpressed in a building as beautiful as the museum.
The Academy comes up with new themes each week, and the events usually draw a respectable crowd. If you’re looking for a lot to do on a little dime, I highly recommend checking out the California Academy of Science’s upcoming NightLife event. Schedules of the evening’s activities can always be found on the museum’s website at http://www.calacademy.org/events/nightlife, so be on the lookout for themes that pique your interest!
