Late October in San Francisco means Halloween, which means, of course, lots of drunk people wearing costumes–admittedly not a very rare sight in our fair city. In any case, celebrate the harvest season by dancing your face off at any of the following parties, all of which feature top-notch talent from both near and far. See you on the dancefloor!
ICEE HOT featuring MGUN and VEREKER, Friday October 25, Holy Cow
You might not realize it, but America is experiencing something of a techno renaissance right now. Detroit may have invented the genre, but for much of the 1990s and most of the 2000s, American techno was fairly lackluster—techno was a Europeans’ game. Within the past several years, however, a legion of young producers have stepped up to the plate, in cities from coast to coast and in between, crafting all sorts of fuzzed-out, back-to-basics techno and house that’s lighting up dancefloors worldwide. The next Icee Hot features two of these producers: Detroit’s MGUN, whose space-age stripped-down sound is a direct descendent of hometown heroes Underground Resistance, and SF’s very own Vereker, whose industrial-strength productions are matched by the blistering intensity of his DJ sets. RSVP on Facebook for more information. 10pm - 2am, $5 before 11pm.
120 MINUTES presents GATEKEEPER and TAMARA SKY, Friday October 25, Elbo Room
Pinning down Gatekeeper isn’t easy. The Brooklyn-based duo could nominally be described as “techno,” but that’s a particularly reductive way to describe their music, which combines the sounds of vintage 70s/80s horror film synth soundtracks with the atmosphere and attitude of late-80s EBM and new beat, all of which is polished with a glimmering sheen of late-90s proto-internet fetishism. Their live performances are an all-hardware sonic barrage, quickly shifting from high-BPM acid techno to sweeping ambient soundscapes to glitchy IDM-style excursions and back again. Joining them is Tamara Sky, founder and resident DJ of LA’s Lil Death parties, whose all-black-plus-fitted-hat aural and visual aesthetics will fit right in at 120 MINUTES. RSVP on Facebook for more details and buy presales via Ticketfly. 10pm - 2am, $10 presales, $15 at the door.
HONEY SOUNDSYSTEM + NO WAY BACK HALLOWEEN featuring WILLIE BURNS and SPLIT SECS, Thursday October 31, F8
The best possible way you could spend your Halloween night is here, with two crews of San Francisco’s best DJs: No Way Back is teaming up with Honey Soundsystem and bringing Willie Burns and Split Secs along for the ride. Willie Burns is a New Yorker whose profile has been rising steadily, whose productions borrow the pianos, hi-hats and diva vocals from classic Chicago house and filter them through a lo-fi modern vision. Split Secs are an LA duo who have only released three records so far, but each is simply fantastic, blending deep house with the sound palette of classic 80s outsider dance music—think Oni Ayhun plus Nitzer Ebb. Joining them are both No Way Back and Honey Soundsystem residents (Conor and Solar for the former, and Josh Cheon, P-Play, Robot Hustle, and Jason Kendig for the latter), who’ll keep the party going before and after the headliners. RSVP on Facebook for more information and purchase presales via Eventbrite. 9pm - 4am, $10 presales, $15 at the door.
Cosmin TRG
AS YOU LIKE IT presents FREAKY FRIDAY with MAYA JANE COLES and COSMIN TRG, Friday November 1, Public Works
The day after Halloween, As You Like It is throwing a costume party that happens to double as a dance party featuring world-class DJs. Maya Jane Coles, the young British house music wünderkind, is bringing her crowd-pleasing sensibility back to San Francisco–she’s got just enough underground chops to satisfy the heads with enough big-room overtures to make just about anyone lose it on the dancefloor. Joining her is Cosmin TRG, the Romanian-born, Berlin-based shapeshifter, who originally got started producing top-notch dubstep for labels like Hessle Audio and Tempa and now produces top-notch techno for 50Weapons and Hemlock. The pair are supported by a large cadre of locals, including Bells & Whistles and Brian Knarfield on the main stage as well as a chillout room in the loft featuring Cubik & Origami, Mossmoss, Mike Bee, and Nackt going back to back with William Wardlaw. RSVP on Facebook for more details and buy presales via Eventbrite. 9pm - 4am, $25 presales, $25+ at the door.
HAÇETERIA’S 3RD ANNIVERSARY featuring SAPPHIRE SLOWS, MAGIC TOUCH, BOBBY BROWSER, and ROCHE, Friday November 1, Balançoire The club night coloquially known as “The Haç” (see this Roche track for reference) has been presenting live electronic music from the Bay Area and beyond for three years now, and it’s celebrating its birthday with a 100% Silk/Not Not Fun showcase of Haçeteria stalwarts. Headlining is Sapphire Slows, coming from Tokyo, bringing her spacey electronics and submerged vocals to San Francisco. She’s joined by three 100% Silk artists who have graced the Haç stage (and others) numerous times: Magic Touch, Bobby Browser, and Roche, all of whom have a firm grip on house music at its most vital with record collections to match, which they’ll be showing off with respective DJ sets. RSVP on Facebook for more information. 10pm - 2am, $5 before 11pm, $8 after.
