Only in San Francisco

Every now and then, San Francisco still shows its wonderful eccentricity.

Bill Walton and the surviving members of The Grateful Dead leading over 40,000 SF Giants fans in "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" on Monday night.

Where else could you go to a ballgame and get a bobblehead, not of one of the players, but of Jerry Garcia? Only in San Francisco

Things I Miss About San Francisco -- Elvis Edition

To be fair, this post should really be things I miss about California since a couple of these are from LA, but anyway. . .

Unusual Elvises, in order of unusualness:

#1: TORTELVIS


http://www.dreadzeppelin.com/index2.html
The lead singer for the band Dread Zeppelin, Tortelvis is the self-described "Rock N Roll Singer Inna Reggae Style." The band started out doing reggae versions of Led Zeppelin songs (hence the name) then mixed in Elvis, Disco, and whatever else they thought needed to be taken down a peg.

And lest you think they aren't paying proper respect to Led Zeppelin, here's an endorsement from none other than Robert Plant:




Anyway, here's a sample:





#2: El Vez, the Mexican Elvis


http://www.elvez.net/evFrameset.html





#3: Elvis Herselvis, the Drag King



Elvis Herselvis is the alter ego of Leigh Crow. The Elvis Herselvis website is still under construction, and I couldn't find any clips of her band "Elvis Herselvis and the Straight White Males," but this is her other band, the Mighty Slim Pickins:






#4: Extreme Elvis.




Extreme Elvis was born in the 1990's when a San Francisco-based performer thought "what if Elvis had lived? And continued to just let himself go?" The answer would horrify everyone.

I'm not going to post any videos of EE, because I don't want to scare off anyone, but if you're interested, there are plenty here. But I will warn you that none of them will be safe for work. Or home. Or prison. They are not for the easily offended, or the easily sickened. Here is a description of EE from Earpoke.com:

Extreme Elvis is possibly the greatest living Elvis tribute artist alive today. If he’s still living, that is. His site was permanently shut down years ago by the FBI and Homeland Security for copy write infringement and other heinous crimes…or was it? Reality becomes a blur. Aside from a few online interviews, a story in Gigs From Hell and fading memories of the fascinating biography from his old site, nothing remains but a small handful of unforgettable performances which remain seared into my brain.

Extreme Elvis burst on the about scene eight years ago, leaving a trail of carnage, urine stained blue suede shoes, feces soaked mikes and broken hearts.

Apparently, the part about the FBI is true, this is what you get if you open his homepage:

THIS SITE

HAS BEEN PERMANENTLY SHUT DOWN BY THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION AND U.S. IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT

Individuals involved in the operation and use of the Extreme Elvis network are under investigation for criminal copyright infringement

Anyway, if you're interested in a good freak show, check him out, but proceed with caution. And remember the Extreme Elvis motto:

Every generation gets the Elvis they deserve.

(in the interests of full disclosure, I should mention that Extreme Elvis once felt me up at Kimo's and I'm still not completely recovered)

Things I miss about San Francisco

Chapter Three: Pac Bell Park

Or SBC Park or AT&T Park or whatever the hell they're calling it these days.





I grew up watching the Giants play at Candlestick Park.

At first glance, Candlestick appears to be a typical cookie-cutter, multi-use, 1970's style stadium. Which would have been fine. But the 'Stick was anything but typical once the sun went down.

As soon as the sun began to set, the fog would roll in, the wind would swirl around the field, and your parka, blanket, and cocoa were just never going to be adequate.

I've been skiing in snow-covered mountains, I've been to Seattle in the winter, I've taken inventory in a walk-in ice-cream freezer, and I swear there is just no kind of cold like Candlestick Cold. It get into your bones. And it slowly deflates your very soul. There used to be an award they gave out to anyone who stayed to the end of an extra-inning night game.

Really:

I believe the Latin translates as: I came, I saw, I survived.

Of course the 'Stick does have this guy:

And where else could this happen?

The Grateful Dead set the tone for a special Giants season, singing the anthem on Opening Day at Candlestick Park.

But nothing could ever make up for that cold. When Mark Twain said that the coldest winter he ever spent was summer in San Francisco, he must have been referring to Candlestick.

So when the Giants built their new downtown stadium, I wasn't asking for much. It could have been Ernest Borgnine ugly as long as I could go to a game without stopping off at REI first.
But when I saw the park

I thought I was going to cry. Pac Bell/SBC/AT&T Park is the most beautiful baseball facility in the US of A. And screw you, Baltimore - I've been to Camden Yards and it's nice, but not even close. Same to you, SanDiego & Petfood Park.


And yes, the giant coke bottle in center field is a little cheesey (although at least it doesn't light up in different colors like the one at Turner Field) but once you've sat behind home plate and watched Barry Bonds send a ball into San Francisco Bay, there is nowhere else you'd rather watch a game.

And that's not even the best part.

See those people behind the right-field wall? Under the out-of-town scores?


They're watching the game for free!
And this is the view they have:



Anyone can walk behind Pac Bell Park and watch the game over the right-fielder's shoulder free of charge. If there are other people waiting, security will ask you to move along after one inning, but since the first year that hasn't been a problem too often. It's an amazing perspective on the game, being right on field level. It really gives you an appreciation for the amount of ground these outfielders have to cover.

In summary: Pac Bell /AT&T park is the greatest ballpark in the country. And I'll fight anyone who says different and is considerably smaller than me.

Things I Miss about San Francisco: Chapter Two

Things I Miss about San Francisco: Chapter Two -- The Folsom Street Fair

Ever feel like you don't quite fit in? That maybe you aren't quite "normal"?

Ever think you might be a little strange, maybe even weird?

Well, once a year the leather / fetish community comes together on San Francisco's Folsom Street to show you just how palinly, blandly normal you really are.



Yes. People do walk around naked during the Folsom Street Fair.

Yes. Slaves are punished in public during the Folsom Street Fair.






















Yes. Most of the people who choose to be nude and/or engage in S&M in public are people who should never, never, never be nude. Anywhere.

Yes. Some people get off on dressing like horses. More people than you'd think.

For the NSFW Slideshow, click here:
http://www.folsomstreetevents.org/photos/folsom-2008/index.php?slide=13
But fair warning, some people may find these pictures disturbing.

Things I Miss About San Francisco

Chapter One: The Billy Nayer Show

http://www.billynayer.com/home2.shtml

Aspiring filmmakers Cory McAbee and Bobby Lurie started the band "The Billy Nayer Show" in order to make soundtracks to their movies. The band ended up taking on a life of its own, releasing several albums in San Francisco before relocating to New York



This is a clip from the short film "Man on the Moon"



This is, I believe The first film to feature music from Billy Nayer:




An Early Performance:



A clip from the first full-length Billy Nayer Show film The American Astronaut: