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SF or LA can compete with NYC in terms of partying.
And the combo of SD and Vegas could take on New Orleans and Miami any day.
So I don't think "very weak" is the right term.
Words are cheap. I can say Oklahoma city can take on every city combined for nightlife, but no one will believe me.
Words are cheap. I can say Oklahoma city can take on every city combined for nightlife, but no one will believe me.
Hard to take that suggestion as seriously when they suggest San Francisco of all places has a nightlife scene that can be as fun as New York in the grand scheme of things. San Francisco's nightlife is for drinkers, people that enjoy bars of all kinds. If you're into the lounge, club, rave scene; you'll stop way short on what you want and that goes with the feeling of being disappointed.
Last edited by Trafalgar Law; 03-18-2015 at 02:50 PM..
Hard to take that suggestion as seriously when they suggest San Francisco of all places has a nightlife scene that can be as fun as New York in the grand scheme of things. San Francisco's nightlife is for drinkers, people that enjoy bars of all kinds. If you're into the lounge, club, rave scene; you'll stop way short on what you want and that goes with the feeling of being disappointed.
I know you're traveled, but this is just not true. San Francisco is a huge force in electronic music and always has been. I'm not a clubber by any means, but having partied in many cities in the US, San Francisco is one of my favorite to go clubbing in. Some seriously big clubs, some of the best music I have ever heard (not sure if you've been to the NYC Burner group's annual Halloween party in LIC - I think it's called something stupid like Electric Robot or Neon Robot and it's themed as such), but that scene and that music is going off probably every 2 weeks in San Francisco with burners coming in all year long for parties and events at various clubs, warehouses, and event spaces (such as the Armory, where they shoot Kink.com porn).
If you're gay, the circuit scene in SF is also easily only rivaled or topped by LA, NYC, and Chicago. Maybe DC as well.
I can rattle off at least 15 actual dance clubs I have been to or go to (one I went to I spontaneously saw John Digweed spinning at unannounced and the place was packed by Europeans, Asians, and otherwise beautiful people decked out and dancing until the sunrise), and like I said, I'm a 1-2x a week bar person, not a clubber. I seem to learn about or explore some new mega club every 3 months or so I had no idea existed. Everything in SF seems to be word of mouth, but you go to these events and it's always eye opening. I have been to *very* few cities in NA with the capability to do this and serve up that deep of a scene with that many options.
Whenever anyone comes to visit, it ends up being akin to a "fun" trip to New York, LV, Miami, or LA for them and they are exhausted from going out and partying so much on no sleep. That is nightlife in SF. And it's a combination of immense tourism, especially of the international kind, a *huge* population/percentage of people aged 20-40 relative to other cities, a large population >40 that remains unmarried without kids (similar to NYC), and abundant wealth at all age ranges down into the younger ages topped by very few cities in this world. Stir that pot and you're going to get really good nightlife that caters.
I like Old Town, but there are at least 5 other neighborhoods in LA that have better nightlife than that area.
I'm not surprised that Hollywood is on top right now, but DTLA is better as a native.
Besides DTLA, it's probably one of the best Southern California neighborhoods to go bar-hopping. Lots of quality bars in Old Town. But yeah, not quite as good all-around as DTLA, Hollywood/West Hollywood, K-Town, and I guess Santa Monica? Not sure what other neighborhoods do have better nightlife now that you mention it... Where else were you thinking?
Besides DTLA, it's probably one of the best Southern California neighborhoods to go bar-hopping. Lots of quality bars in Old Town. But yeah, not quite as good all-around as DTLA, Hollywood/West Hollywood, K-Town, and I guess Santa Monica? Not sure what other neighborhoods do have better nightlife now that you mention it... Where else were you thinking?
Hollywood, West Hollywood, Echo Park, K-Town, DTLA,
San Francisco is a huge force in electronic music and always has been.
A huge force in electronic music but has no major annual event to it's name?
I mean, I know that people in the Bay Area enjoy electronic music, you don't even have to go to a venue to know that much. People in the Bay Area listen to electronic music in their cars, on their iPods, and the like and that is blatantly obvious. This is, however, not different than a lot of other places I've seen though, lots and lots and lots of fanfare for electronic music but the place isn't exactly a destination market for these types from around the country or world on over, frankly.
Sydney, Melbourne, Amsterdam, London, Brussels (Belgium), pretty much all of New Zealand, and of course places like Ibiza and Bali. These are just off of the top of my head. Even in the United States; Las Vegas, Miami, Los Angeles, and New York all cater to prominent annual events. EDC Las Vegas is quite possibly the top annual event in the Western United States, while Ultra remains so for the Eastern United States. EDC New York is not too far behind, rounds out one of the absolute most active electronic music events in the country. Cities like Austin and Toronto take it up a notch too with events like South by Southwest and North by Northeast, while neither are totally EDM/electronic events (not even close), they have a huge amount of that too.
None of that looks like something I would buy a ticket to fly to the other side of the country for. Not trying to disparage San Francisco but there is a difference between a place being an EDM/electronic hotbed in every sense of the word (or most of it) and being a place with lots of EDM/electronic followers and venues that mix to some electronic music. I'm not even sure if I can call New York an electronic music hotbed, definitely not in the same vein as Sydney, London, Amsterdam and the like.
I mean, I actively listen to a lot of electronic stuff, namely stuff like Bvdub, Lusine, Mangos, Fatboy Slim, Astronautica, Insomniacs, Holy Other, Bonobo, Abhi & Dijon, Xilent, DJ Tatana, Pryda, Karsh Kale and I rarely ever hear them doing any live casts from San Francisco while on tour there or hear of them marketing San Francisco as a must stop destination for electronic music heads. I almost always hear them on their tours in Los Angeles, hell, majority of them market and advertise the living bats out of their "upcoming tours in Los Angeles or New York."
Though, since it's your city, I'll lay off the criticism for a moment and let you have the chance to tell me about some homegrown artists from San Francisco Bay Area. If there's something I am missing in terms of annual electronic music events, if I missed a prominent event, then let me know of what it is and how good it is. I'm willing to hear you out.
Quote:
Originally Posted by anonelitist
I'm not a clubber by any means, but having partied in many cities in the US, San Francisco is one of my favorite to go clubbing in. Some seriously big clubs, some of the best music I have ever heard (not sure if you've been to the NYC Burner group's annual Halloween party in LIC - I think it's called something stupid like Electric Robot or Neon Robot and it's themed as such), but that scene and that music is going off probably every 2 weeks in San Francisco with burners coming in all year long for parties and events at various clubs, warehouses, and event spaces (such as the Armory, where they shoot Kink.com porn).
I'm not a clubber either and generally have a very low opinion on nightclubs as a whole. I've gone to one nightclub in the last three years, that too it was on my Western trip this past winter and I saw James Harden there. So I suppose that was cool but I really don't care for clubs. I think if I had to pan out an ideal night, staying home and going to bed early or reading four or five chapters in a book is higher on my night list than clubbing.
That being said, the poster I quoted was directly comparing the nightlife in San Francisco to New York and Los Angeles. I will refrain from talking about Los Angeles, as I have minimal to no nightlife experience there to speak of but I've been through some of the more active club areas in Manhattan and Meatpacking District looks like it's way more popular than anything I've ever seen attributed to San Francisco for clubbing.
Would you say that San Francisco's nightclubs are right there in the same ballpark as New York's?
Quote:
Originally Posted by anonelitist
I seem to learn about or explore some new mega club every 3 months or so I had no idea existed.
Speaking of mega clubs.
Most successful nightlife establishments in the United States in 2014 (bars, lounges, and nightclubs):
01. Las Vegas
02. Las Vegas
03. Las Vegas
04. Las Vegas
05. Las Vegas
06. Las Vegas
09. Las Vegas
10. Las Vegas
11. Las Vegas
13. Las Vegas
14. Las Vegas
15. Las Vegas
18. West Hollywood, CA (Los Angeles)
19. Los Angeles
21. Los Angeles
24. Las Vegas
25. Las Vegas
26. Las Vegas
30. San Diego
37. Los Angeles
38. San Diego 39. San Francisco
42. Las Vegas
43. Long Beach (Los Angeles)
45. San Diego
46. San Diego
47. San Diego
48. Las Vegas
50. Anaheim (Los Angeles)
52. Los Angeles
57. Sacramento
58. Los Angeles
61. Las Vegas
62. Los Angeles
64. Seattle
67. Costa Mesa (Los Angeles)
69. Scottsdale (Phoenix)
70. San Diego
73. Las Vegas
76. Los Angeles
79. Las Vegas
80. Las Vegas
83. Hermosa Beach (Los Angeles)
86. Long Beach (Los Angeles)
87. West Hollywood (Los Angeles)
88. Las Vegas
89. Los Angeles
92. Santa Barbara 93. San Francisco
94. Las Vegas
96. Las Vegas
99. Hollywood (Los Angeles)
Whenever anyone comes to visit, it ends up being akin to a "fun" trip to New York, LV, Miami, or LA for them and they are exhausted from going out and partying so much on no sleep.
Indeed, San Francisco is a very fun trip but for me personally, I've never been able to attribute that to the city's nightlife. I was in Los Angeles on Christmas Day and as you can expect, things were closed, and I still found places that I had more fun in than all of the nightlife experience I had put together in San Francisco on my six days in the Bay Area; I did not get the chance to search out a lounge in San Francisco this time (when that was something I actively searched out in San Diego and Seattle). That's with very minimal to hardly any exposure into Los Angeles too by the way. Whereas we went all around San Francisco. I can say that I've had more fun, effortlessly, in Miami, New Orleans, New York, and especially Las Vegas than San Francisco. That's just me personally though, I haven't been able to equate San Francisco as a destination for nightlife. By that I mean, I don't think I would ever entertain the idea of flying out to San Francisco just to experience nightlife if that was the only thing I wanted to do there. I can definitely do that in Las Vegas, New Orleans, and Miami because nightlife is a central/integral part of what those cities are, it wouldn't surprise me if most people visiting these cities go solely for nightlife and nothing else. For good reason, if there's a fun meter, I don't see anywhere passing these three. Not even New York, and you know how big a fan I am of that city.
None of this is to say that San Francisco's nightlife is bad. It's not. It is a lot of fun and I for one would be the first to defend the place if I saw anyone insinuate that the city is "sleepy" because it's not. However, in my experience, I have had just as much fun, if not more, in places like Seattle, Vancouver, and Portland, along with maybe several other places in the country. I would personally say, from personal experience, that San Francisco's nightlife is closer to these than it is to New Orleans or Las Vegas or Miami, or even New York and Los Angeles. Seattle to me seemed to have a lot of the same things as San Francisco but like my friend from San Francisco said when we were all in Capitol Hill on our first night, "this city is dirt cheap compared to San Francisco" and he's right. Seattle lacks no quantity and no quality in it's nightlife, it has it all. I would say it's nightlife could favorably compare to San Francisco. Seattle feels like a far more late night place, based off my experience in both in the same week, than San Francisco too.
Maybe I would put San Francisco and Washington in a tier by themselves with Chicago. Is that a fair place to put it?
Quote:
Originally Posted by anonelitist
I know you're traveled, but this is just not true.
Indeed I have.
Here is from November, in one of the top five cities on planet Earth, not sure how it's nightlife would rate worldwide or if it's even known for nightlife but I can say with almost near 100% certainty that I haven't ever had this much fun in San Francisco, as it pertains to nightlife:
After the rave, everyone walked out of the door and the beach was right there. Some people instead of going back to their hotels stayed on the beach all night with whomever they partied with. The topography in this city is probably the tops in the world and it's one of the densest places in the advanced world.
Where can I experience a rave this fun in San Francisco? I'm asking a real question, I would really like to know for the next time I am in the Bay Area.
I don't know. I personally don't think of San Francisco as a nightlife destination. If we're talking about the West Coast and strictly on the West Coast, then I may be obligated to say that San Francisco's nightlife is better than everywhere except Los Angeles, I suppose (and that's because Las Vegas isn't actually on the coast, otherwise San Francisco would be third). I would also say that Los Angeles, along with Las Vegas, and those aforementioned cities you listed, Miami, New York and I'll add New Orleans actually can be a nightlife destination. If someone wanted to take a trip out, spends thousands just to entertain their nightlife, those would be the cities to fly across the country to do it.
Also to me, I include things like live shows as nightlife. Comedy stuff, theater stuff, basically anything that requires you to be out after 6 P.M. for multiple hours in company with other people (or just one other person). All of that is nightlife to me. How is San Francisco on live performances and nightshows?
Red is subjective things. Blue is objective things. Blue doesn't necessarily mean I agree with it but that is how it is.
Last edited by Trafalgar Law; 03-19-2015 at 05:32 PM..
Nice picture of San Francisco on their page. I'm not so sure if these upcoming events would be enough for me to think of San Francisco as a forethought in EDM/electronic, honestly, but I'll let you add on to it. What are some Bay Area electronic/EDM events that you would suggest to someone and that you have a high opinion of? Any local artists and talents that perform frequently in the Bay Area?
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