Mission Mission

Remember that piano that someone whimsically dragged to the top of Bernal Heights?  Well, last night saw the culmination of those efforts in a piano recital enjoyed by over 200 people against the most stunning backdrop you could ever imagine.  But it wasn’t quite as easy as that, as one of the ringleaders explains:

Three hours before the recital is supposed to begin, it’s gotten out of control. Over 100 people have RSVP’d, and we’ve all invited other friends, too. Then the worst happens– we’re sitting in my RV working when Todd starts getting texts from every corner of the earth.

“The Piano is Gone.”

Some people might call off the event. Others might substitute a keyboard or some other lesser instrument. Not Todd. He’s on the phone with everyone on Craigslist selling a piano as well as several music shops. He finds a deal on a passable one and flies over to Oakland on his motorcycle to go rent a truck and bring it back over.

The joy of living in San Francisco is experiencing those magical moments that couldn’t happen in any other city. Tonight’s piano recital was one of those moments. When the first song was played, there were twenty people or so watching. By the end there must have been two hundred.

Of course, the revelers were unfortunately soon reminded why we can’t have nice things:

All of a sudden, during a rousing jazz piece, a firework exploded low over our heads. Then another and another. Someone lower down on the hill was providing a rogue fireworks display. People cheered. It was stunning, but it was also a beacon to the police.

Fifteen minutes later, the park ranger has made his way to the piano and is trying to stop the playing. It’s not working, because he’s not quite mean enough to slam the cover on the pianist’s hands. So classical music floats through the air as the finer points of symphonic law are discussed.

The piano continues. It’s hard to stop it, really. You can’t take the piano or unplug it.

Read on to see how it all ended up.  And San Francisco, you stay rad and just keep on being you.

A favorable confluence of factors will be conspiring to make this weekend possibly the best that the city of San Francisco has ever seen.  Where should I begin?  We’ve got a full schedule of Pride events, all of which should be extra fabulously festive since the Supreme Court finally came to their senses and struck down the dishonorable Defense of Marriage Act (leading to one of the best New Yorker covers of all time).

And!  As you can see above, this will all be happening under some of the best weather we ever get over here, so expect to wear shorts and t-shirts THE ENTIRE WEEKEND.  Yes, even at midnight.  Seriously, if you can’t find something amazingly fun to do this weekend, you are totally blowing it.

Jk, it’s the same one as last time, from a new angle. More here.

The silver lining behind Virginia no longer being able to sell her tamales at Zeitgeist is that she’s gonna open her very own shop! An Indiegogo campaign called “Viva la Tamale Lady” explains:

Recently some of the bars Virginia works out of have been told they cannot allow her to sell tamales because she isn’t permitted. Virginia, who just turned 60 this year, has stopped selling tamales to the community she loves.

After meeting with Supervisor Campos and other City departments and with pro bono help from Barbary Coast Consulting, Virginia has decided that it’s time to take her business to the next level!

The Tamale Lady is proud to announce that she will be opening up a brick and mortar “Tamale Lady” restaurant in The Mission.

And she needs our help!

Can do! Read on!

[via Shotwell's on Twitter]

Have you ever gotten your hair cut at Angie’s (the yellow sign with the lips across the street in the background)?  At around $15, it sure beats one of those $40 buzz cuts at that fancy barbershop on 18th and Valencia that everyone’s always waiting in line for.

And the best part is that she’ll give you a haircut that makes you look like a soccer player!  Or at least that’s what my housemate told me I looked like when I came back home after one.  I think she was just fucking with me, though.  Soccer players are cool, right?

Our pal Keli (not pictured) sums it up:

So I walk into the Lex and ask the door person how the night is going.

“It’s midnight in San Francisco but warm enough I’m wearing short shorts. AND I can get married if I want to. What’s not to like?!”

Nothin’!

[Photo by @tifaniemayberry]

Partytime!

[Photo by J Kimble]