Mission Mission

Geoffrey Ellis of Sadkids got in touch to tell us about an opening tonight at Rite Spot Cafe:

“Rock Show”

Group Photo Show featuring:

C.Anderson (Victim of Time/Horizontal Action)
Tiger Lily (KALX/Jet Lagger)
Geoffrey Ellis (Sadkids)
Charlie Homo
Julie Zielinski (Noise Pop)
Annie Southworth (Panache/Noise Pop)

Reception:
Sunday February 1st between 6-9

Link. As a bonus, at about 9:30, Sweet Hollywaiians take the stage, and they sound like a good time.

And even if none of the above floats your boat, remember, Rite Spot is the permanent home of probably the best painting of all time.

“Mr. Quintron at Gonerfest 4, Memphis, 2007″ by Geoffrey Ellis.

“Dick Tater,” hand drawn on the Valencia Street Art Wall.

Previously:

Cock on a Walk

BART Boner

Sam Rockwell’s Cock

Valencia Street Art Wall at Midnight

This photo comes from Carlos Reyes and was captioned “focused my shit.” Link.

I hope to one day focus my shit too.

Beginners Blood is a show at Million Fishes curated by photographer Zach Lewis. Some of our favorite Zach Lewis photos are this and this and this.

Plus a Victorian two-piece dress, an iPod, a a navigation device and some colorful feathers. Saw this item on items of interest to me and, possibly, to you and found it to be of interest. Link.

Marcus says:

The bright lights at AA hurt my eyes coming home from the bars.

Link.

Former Missionite Sarah Hromack was going through the Interview Magazine archives and came across a quote from Marc Jacobs that is both timely and timeless, and probably applies to a lot more than just fashion:

The only time anything ever changes is really when you’re respectful and disrespectful at the same time.

Link. Something to think about over the weekend.

Previously:

The Duality of Man on Mission Mission.

Marc Jacob’s Boyfriend’s Dead Mouse Brooch on SFGate.

Olivia snapped this superbly composed shot, saying, “Super creepy makeup-caked Fake Chaplin on BART. His moustache is falling off. Liquor in his bag.” Link.

Mission Loc@l had the bright idea to send a reporter out into the community to see what people are really saying about American Apparel. Julie Johnson is the reporter, and she came back with some great stuff:

A few doors north from the public notice announcing American Apparel’s application to open shop in a vacant storefront, Roger Ryan is surrounded by orange tags halving prices, and red signs that read, “Going out of business sale.” Ryan, who owns two storefronts along the business corridor, will close the doors of his flagship Z-Barn Interiors shop on the 900 block of Valencia Street for good on Saturday.

“If I’d known American Apparel was opening a store here, I would have kept my doors open longer,” Ryan said. “Right now, this block is actually a dead block.”

[...]

“I have no idea why they need to claim more land,” said Courtland Donaldson, 24, who has worked at Shoe Biz for more than three years. “If anyone wants to shop there they have three other locations.” Shoe Biz also has another location in the Haight.

[...]

Further north on Valencia, Jeremy Tooker posted “Stop American Apparel” signs in the window of Four Barrel Coffee near 15th Street, which he opened last August. Wearing a grey sweatshirt he bought at American Apparel, Tooker echoed many people’s views when he emphasized that he likes the company but doesn’t believe it fits in the Mission’s culture.

[...]

Many neighbors have never heard of American Apparel, including Laura Hopper, director of Psychic Horizons, a few doors down from the proposed store.

“I would prefer not to have chains, but if I’ve never heard of it, it can’t be that big,” said Hopper, who’s been in business on Valencia Street for about 11 years. “It’s always better to have the space filled.”

[...]

“In certain areas, chain stores are helpful in growing neighborhoods. But in this particular case it’s not necessary,” [Michael O’Connor, president of the Small Business Commission] said. “It’s not like the space won’t get rented.”

Link.

By James Stevens / Photos by Matt Rubin

Thorns of Life loaded in their own equipment as about a hundred kids looked on in a scene that must have been reminiscent of Blake Schwarzenbach’s humble beginnings playing houses and small clubs in San Francisco, L.A and the East Bay. Schwarzenbach, considered one of the biggest influences on punk and emo music, is back playing and writing music with his new band Thorns of Life after nearly a six-year hiatus.  Last night they played Thrillhouse Records.

Thrillhouse, next to the 76 on the corner of 30th and Mission is the prototypical punk rock record store.  The store is a non-profit collective and part of a house where six of the members live.  It houses a DIY record label and is also a show space (although the Fire Marshall shut down the basement last summer). The venue embodies the ethos of Schwarzenbach as an artist- entirely focused on the music and having a good time with no attention paid to making money or drawing huge crowds.  If Jawbreaker is the sound of the Mission, then this is how the Mission parties.

The atmosphere was distinctly different from the show Thorns of Life played at the Hemlock on Monday.  The only famous musician I saw at Thrillhouse was the Mission’s own Adam Pfahler who was the drummer in Jawbreaker and now owns Lost Weekend Video (as opposed to Fat Mike from NOFX and Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day at the Hemlock).  There was no guest list, no line to get in and no obnoxious bar owner telling people to leave or that there wasn’t any room.

At Thrillhouse there wasn’t any room, either, but everyone who made it was invited in with open arms.  At the Hemlock, crowd members rudely shouted out names of Jawbreaker songs and at Thrillhouse the crowd bantered with members of the band and songs were dedicated to Harvey Milk and Mayor Moscone, “Don’t forget about Moscone, he got blasted too.  Every time you go to the Moscone Center think about that,” Schwarzenbach quipped.

The show itself was great.  If a comparison has to be made to Schwarzenbach’s other bands (and plenty are being made already), the music was the same combination of literature as lyrics and three chord punk that Jawbreaker fans love, with certain songs dropping the tempo and building in complexity in ways that are similar to Schwarzenbach’s second band Jets to Brazil.   However, because of the three person guitar-bass-drums set up of Thorns, the sound is decidedly more punk and upbeat than Jets to Brazil.  Blake’s telltale growl shines through it all, a familiar voice we never thought we’d hear live again.  Thorns of Life play 924 Gilman Street in Berkeley on Saturday.

Related:

Thorns of Life house show in Brooklyn (Video) at Bohemian.com (Thanks, Thaddius!).

The Sound of the Mission on Mission Mission.

Thrillhouse Toilet Graffiti on Mission Mission.