In an era when vibes often overpower facts, San Francisco is beginning to feel as if the vibes and the facts are on the same side.
Rainbow laser cannons illuminating Market Street, monthly festivals taking over downtown, impromptu raves on the waterfront, impromptu raves at Civic Center, beautiful light displays at Grace Cathedral — San Francisco is having its best summer of the 16 I’ve spent here. Something about the city’s mood has begun to shift for the better, and we have the pictures — and the data — to prove it.
Call it our “brat” summer (assuming that cultural moment isn’t over already). It’s starting to feel like that long, dark period when San Francisco-bashing reached a fever pitch is over. Collectively, we are waking up to the city’s inherent awesomeness, led by visual art and live music, along with plenty of new parks and way less bipping.
Let’s start with the loudest part: all those outdoor shows. Virtually every week, thousands of people of all ages have headed out to shake their tail feathers together. In last weekend’s case, it was free of charge: For the first time in my San Francisco memory, Embarcadero Plaza was a desirable place to be Sunday, thanks to “Back to BAYsics,” a four-hour set with DJs from Dirtybird, the local label that grew out of free barbecues in Golden Gate Park. Staged by SF concert powerhouse Another Planet Entertainment, the show was part of an agreement between the promoter and City Hall to produce three free outdoor events per year for three years in exchange for a second festival in the park one week after Outside Lands.
This program, called SF Live, is designed to breathe new life into beleaguered downtown spaces, something Mayor London Breed “has prioritized as a component of her broader economic strategy to revitalize and add vibrancy to pockets” of the city, according to a spokesperson.
That’s pure bureaucratic boilerplate, no doubt. But there’s no denying that it’s working, with the reinvigoration of the Hibernia Bank, a Beaux Arts white elephant in the Tenderloin, well underway after an open-to-close Bonobo set this month. Noise Pop, another veteran of the live music scene, is the force behind this weekend’s SF Live performance, with violinist and vocalist Sudan Archives crowning an all-Black, all-queer lineup Saturday at Dogpatch’s Crane Cove Park. More free Noise Pop events will hit parks later this summer.
