Mission Mission

American Tripps (the “Berlin-style” ping pong party I helped start here in the Mission back in 2011) along with the legendary DJ Purple present the first-ever April Fools’ Day edition of Singin’ & Pingin’, this Friday night at Verdi Club. Here’s from the official invite:

This is our first ever APRIL FOOLS’ DAY date, so we knew it had to be a SINGIN’ & PINGIN’ party!!!

• DANCE KARAOKE w/ the world famous DJ Purple
• BERLIN-STYLE PING PONG all night long (2 tables!)
• DRINK SPECIALS by the Verdi Club crew

*****Special guest ~April fools~ will announce CRAZY NEW RULES at the ping pong tables throughout the night!!!!
**********And it’s up to YOU to bring some utter FOOLISHNESS to the karaoke stage!!!

RSVP and invite your friends here! (And be sure to get a head start browsing DJ Purple’s songbook.)

UPDATE: Btw my favorite *foolish* song DJ Purple has is probably “Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick” by Ian Dury. I’d do it myself tomorrow, but I have some other plans. Who’s up for it?

I think we’ve got a couple options…

1.) All the way from NYC, it’s superstar DJ Jonathan Toubin, doing a free late-night session at the Chapel:

2.) Or if you wanna keep it local, our pal Tristes Tropiques is the special guest at Galaxy Radio at the Knockout:

[Editor's note: Congrats, y'all!]

Tonight’s the night! Pops Bar has been nominated for a NITEY award for BEST NEIGHBORHOOD BAR. The NITEY’s celebrate and honor excellence in creative content and patron experience in the San Francisco nightlife industry. Starting tonight at 6:30pm at The Regency Center, get your tickets, walk the red carpet and cheers on POPS BAR! Thank you to everyone who voted. Award or no award, we already know that our neighbors are absolutely the best of San Francisco!

Check out this week’s entertainment line up at Pops Bar:

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This Sunday the Bon Vivants present a night of booze, bones and babes at Pops Bar! Stop in from 7-9pm for some clackin’ and throwing bones all while slugging back some chocolate Jell-O shots with Ancho Reyes and Mandarine Napoelon. The Bon Vivants’ own Ethan “Bone Daddy” Terry will be hosting the event with DJ Chili Killi (aka Nicolas Torres) playing a menagerie of jams to keep you bonin’. Pops’ girls Ally & Ellie will be tending bar and they’ll be sure to wet your whistle. Come on down to the boneyard.

This week at Pops Bar:

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So much to choose from! We’ll start at the southernmost option and head north:

1.) Oldies Night at the Knockout! It’s nasty!

2.) Roger Niner Karaoke at Pop’s! Now every 3rd Thursday!

3.) Haçeteria’s 5th anniversary party at F8! Best dance party in town!

4.) Smiths vs. LCD Soundsystem dance party at Rickshaw Stop! Live bands + DJs!

Cleaning out your closet has never been more fun. Gather up your clean, unwanted clothes, shoes & jewelry. Come down to Pops Bar on Sunday 2/21 from 2-5PM and let the swapping begin! Leave some clothes, take some clothes all while sipping Bacon Bloody Marys. We’ll take care of sorting the items, all you have to do is show up and have a perfect Sunday afternoon of hunting for new clothes and enjoying a drink at Pops Bar.

Check out this week’s entertainment line up at Pops Bar:

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[Editor's note: Just confirmed! Mission Mission 9th anniversary party at Pop's this Sunday a.k.a. Valentine's Day a.k.a. our literal 9th anniversary at 9am! More info soon! Thanks, Pop's!]

Happy in love? Aww that’s so cute, now just go away please…This week we’re all over celebrating the single life with our BFFs and at the same time cursing the single life by getting oh so Emo on you. Sadderday SF asks you to song request your broken heart out so we can all get a good cry or scream on the dance floor.

Check out this week’s entertainment line up at Pops Bar:

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1. Go to the final American Tripps at DSF in the Lower Haight tonight! DSF had to close its doors due to rising rents and stuff, so this is your LAST CHANCE to party there! And how long’s it been since you went to one of these Berlin-style ping pong parties anyway??

2. Go to the Rice Paper Scissors Lunar New Year Brunch at Pizza Hacker on Saturday! The RPS crew only does their brunch thing every now and then, so you need to hop on this opportunity. They’re doing a “Phở French Dip,” man!

That’s it!

1. Go to a Berlin-style ping pong party tonight! Every town’s got football, but only San Francisco has Berlin-style ping pong parties!

2. Have Vietnamese food for brunch on Saturday! Every town’s got burritos and clam chowder, but only San Francisco has Vietnamese brunch popups in a pizza restaurant!

That’s it!

When we were contacted about reviewing the Curran’s last show of their “Under Construction” series we hesitated because Brittany was going to be in DC for work. However, I thought if this show has even half the entertainment value, innovation and beauty of the previous show we saw at this venue…I really needed to be there! So while Brittany was being snowed in, I took my reoccurring stand in Garrett Lamb and we powered through the rain and headed downtown.

Taylor Mac at the Curran: Under Construction (c) Jim Norrena

Katie: Wow. I have few words…still processing. All I can say is that was really impressive. I can’t believe I’ve gone my whole life without experiencing, as Taylor Mac (the writer, performer, and co-director) called it, a “radical faerie realist ritual”. So, what did you think?

Garrett: I don’t know, but I think I liked it. The format was unique. Sort of a storytelling/musical/drag show/concert. And of course the venue was unique too!

K: Hell yeah! How cool was it to be on the stage of the Curran and be looking out towards the orchestra!

G: Totally. But thinking about the show, some of it didn’t make sense, and wasn’t very polished. Like when they handed out a pamphlet on “Equality of the Sexes” and didn’t really refer to it, or use it with the audience. Or when he wanted us to be eating apples but his “dandy minions” hadn’t given them to us yet. But I guess Taylor did mention this was a workshop in progress. That said, everything else was on point and very moving and entertaining.

K: Agreed. For a performance art piece, this is the one of the best I’ve ever seen. I mean, to be able to command the room like that for three hours was really special. Plus, the idea of doing a 24 hour concert later this year in New York is super intriguing. But I can’t lie, I was really distracted by the fact that Nancy Pelosi was sitting in our row!

G: Me too! That was amazing, I’m glad Nancy was into it. I wonder what she thought when Taylor stripped down to only a golden thong, and then gave her husband a lap dance!

The Verdict: It doesn’t matter if you like or don’t like performance art, drag shows, or musicals. This is a very special experience that should be had by all. Taylor Mac’s performance was provocative, present, raw, hilarious, honest, beautiful, uncomfortable, comforting all the while very philosophical.

The Drama Talk: I’m not going to lie, when I saw that this show was 3 hours long without an intermission I thought twice about going, but the time went by so fast it was crazy. From the venue, to the ridiculously amazing costumes, down to the talented band there is so much to see and hear, there is never a moment you are daydreaming about your instagram feed. I do think time went by so fast because the show has interactive moments where you will be asked to participate. I usually don’t like to participate at the theater but the way it was done in this piece really enhanced Taylor’s theme of “imperfection fostering community”. That night we were a community and this was more than a show, it was a profound shared experience. Go in with an open mind and you will leave with a heart full of love for how art can change lives.

The Drinks: There is a bar on the stage. So get there a little early and grab a drink. And don’t worry, even though the show is 3 hours with no intermission there are little breaks where Taylor changes costumes and you can run down to the bathroom.

A 24-Decade History of Popular Music runs through January 30th at the Curran. You can purchase tickets on Curran’s website for $50.