Mission Mission

The other day we took a look at some great sports-related newspaper clippings. In the comments section of that post, reader Ivy sent us a link to yet another, the above celebration of baseball’s 50th anniversary. Ivy points out that the custom lettering in quite a joy to behold, but my favorite part is the part about California’s special place in baseball’s history. It mentions New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Connecticut as states important to the history of the sport, and then says:

But none of them have done more to make baseball what it is than California. Ever since pioneer days, when Market street was a side thoroughfare and Fillmore a pile of sand, the name of California has been closely linked with the national pastime.

When the baseball fever began to spread throughout the country in due time it reached the Golden state. The germ was very contagious, and before many moons there were professional and amateur baseball teams in nearly every city of California.

California makes everything better, doy. Click here to see the whole thing. (Love that line about Market and Fillmore!)

1.) There used to be baseball in the Mission:

2.) The 49ers used to have an insane logo:

(See more in the men’s room at Local Edition.)

Bonus: check out this animation I found on Wikipedia…

American Tripps is growing up so fast! From the official invite:

➠TIME WARP➠
starring
➠PRIMO➠

This party marks American Tripps’ 1-year anniversary, so we figured to make it really special we’d better get Primo (Oldies Night, Nightbeat, Slow Jams, 2 Men Will Move You, Soft Opening). Here’s the rundown:

• FREE PBR from 5-6pm
• Time warpy stuff on the big screen
• Four ping pong tables
• Primo on the decks from 8-11pm
• Plenty of dance floor
• Food carts outside
• After party at Coffee Bar across the street

And now, Primo tells us what this whole “TIME WARP” business is all about:

A DANCE TRIP THRU DECADES OF THE CRAZIEST DANCE MUSIC FROM THE ’50s thru PRESENT DAY!
A one time only dance event all vinyl TIME MACHINE PARTY
Starting with the raw r’n'b and rock ‘n’ roll of the 50′s and sixties moving through rare sixties soul and motown with a layover in psychedelic funk and the soulful sounds of ’72 before we board the disco train with a stop in the disco of italy and Europe for some sounds of the truly cosmic variety ultimately culminating in a crazy wall of chicago acid house and present day rave sounds, ALL IN 3 SHORT HOURS……! NOT 2 B MISSED!!!

Yup! RSVP and invite your friends!

Oh and if you still haven’t seen how this party works (or what an amazing space Z Space is) here are a pair of sick animated GIFs (courtesy of Ulla Havenga / Z Space):

Been watching the Olympics and looking to get in on the action?  Check out the Halberstadt Fencers’ Club on 17th and S. Van Ness, which besides having one of the raddest murals in the neighborhood also serves as the training grounds for local Olympian Alexander Massialas!  The next time your dumb jock friends try to tell you that everyone in the Mission sucks at sports, ask them if anyone from the Marina is in the Olympics.  Touche!

[Photo by JASON ANFINSEN]

Previously:

• Don’t Fence Me In
• Fencing Is Emotional and Magical

And it looks like Mission Bicycle is already getting into the spirit!  Where are you going to watch the festivities?

[Photo by Mission Bicycle]

I love the Olympics. They’re campy and absurd, and they’re a glimpse into the superhuman race breeding amongst us. Synchronized swimming or rhythmic gymnastics, anyone? What about that one that involves running, swimming, fencing, riding a horse, and shooting a gun? I call that one “Survival”.

The London 2012 Olympics start this Friday. So which local bars can we watch them in? Tell me, and I’ll compile a list. Ready, set, go! USA!

Well, this is a dream come true. My two favorite parties in the world, coming together for what will likely be the best superparty the world has ever known. It’s Berlin-style ping pong, in the factory-turned-performing-arts-theater known as Z Space, with DJ Purple‘s newly reborn DANCE KARAOKE party providing the soundtrack.

DJ Purple has been a fixture here in the neighborhood for years and years now (read all about him in our in-depth interview), so it’s fitting that he’s debuting his newly revamped (and renamed) repertoire here on Saturday night. We asked him to explain exactly what’s new:

OK, so the PINK BOOKS are basically taking the DJ Purple DANCE KARAOKE concept and giving it a thorough overhaul and update.

The basic idea of “no slow songs” has been taken into every nook and cranny of the song book, searching out those few remaining “clunkers” as I like to call them – songs that kill the momentum of the dance floor.

I’ve also changed the name from “The Ultimate Karaoke Dance Party” to “DANCE KARAOKE” for a few reasons. Most important is that it puts the emphasis on dancing as the FIRST priority, not just an afterthought.

In the past, I would use the “Party” part of the name as an excuse to include songs that were fun, but didn’t really keep people on the dance floor.

In the new books, every single song (2,436) has been carefully evaluated for dance potential – WAY more carefully than in the old book. For the last nine months, I’ve devoted pretty much every free moment to this.

Of course, it’s still a karaoke show, so it’s not all EDM – it still requires people to be open-minded enough to dance to rock, swing, country, etc.

We tried something similar several years ago at Zen Lounge in Mountain View – I created a special “Super-Dance Karaoke” book – and the result was incredible – we had a packed dance floor all night for karaoke.

Sold! So there’s that, plus the ping pong, plus free PBR, plus an afterparty at Coffee Bar across the street, plus skeeball, and it all takes place in this glorious room:

Imagine the karaoke lyrics up on that giant movie screen, and four ping pong tables worth of ping pong action! This is going to be epic. RSVP and invite your friends!

Oh, and be sure to check out DJ Purple’s songbook in advance.

[Photo by Ulla Havenga / Z Space]

The olympics are right around the corner! Here are a couple of locals trying to improve their relay race time on 24th and Alabama. Photo by Chris Atwood.

[via fecal face]

Two big-ticket parties at El Rio on one big-ticket date!

First there’s the triumphant return of American Tripps to the Mission, which we mentioned yesterday. And then stick around as the sun starts to set for a thrilling night of distortion-drenched punk rock courtesy of Alaric, Crimson Scarlet, and my band La Corde!  This is going to be our only show of the summer, so don’t say I didn’t warn you when you’re suffering from withdrawal sometime in September.  Also, it’s going to be Alaric’s last show for a looooooong time, as they are taking a break to write and record a new record.  Oh, and DJ Brown Amy from Hard French will be spinning records in between sets! Check out the details and tell your friends about it here.

Oh, and I almost forgot about the best part: We’re offering 2 FREE tickets to BOTH events for whoever can come up with the best story in the comments about the craziest punk rock show they ever attended, whether it happened at 924 Gilman, ABC No Rio, or even your mom’s basement. The contest ends at noon on Friday, and winners will be judged on merit.

See you there!

From American Tripps on Facebook:

It’s been two long months since we had a party in the Mission, but we’re coming back full force! El Rio, if you’re not familiar, is one of the finest party venues in the city, and we’ll have ping pong tables set up in each of its three spaces – front room, back room, patio.

DJ Joe Finkel will be on the decks, spinning rock ‘n’ roll, glam and power pop, and Rocky’s Frybread will be on the scene in case you get hungry. This is gonna be siiiick!!

El Rio rules! Daydrinking rules! Joe Finkel rules! Rocky’s Frybread rules! Ping pong ping pong! RSVP and invite your friends!