If you’ve noticed things have been a little quieter on the 400 block of Clement in the evenings, it may be because the Rockit Room is taking a 30 day break from offering live music shows.

After complaints from neighbors and increased police calls, the Rockit Room has been under the microscope of the Entertainment Commission over the past several months. In March, the Commission outlined a long list of conditions that the club needed to meet in order to hold on to their right to host live music events.

Most of the conditions required increased security (“Install surveillance cameras inside and outside the door to the venue “, “All security must wear distinctive clothing”, Must pat down and electronically scan every patron”) as well as better handling of the acts that perform at the club (“If using outside promoters, there must be a contract in place prior to event, and they must have special event insurance and be registered with city”).

The Commission also mandated that the club end any live entertainment by 1am and have lights on in the club and bar by 1:30am every night.

But within two weeks of receiving their directive from the Entertainment Commission, the club was already falling short according to local police. Which could spell death for the Rockit Room if their entertainment license were to be revoked.

To avoid further censure by the Commission, the Rockit Room has voluntarily agreed to a 30 day hiatus from live entertainment. Entertainment Commission Executive Director Jocelyn Kane told The Examiner that the club owners voluntarily suspended their permit for one month in order to “rebrand and reprogram” the music venue.

The Rockit Room remains open as a bar and lounge, but live music shows won’t start up again until May 6. During their hiatus, owners will need to continue to make changes to satisfy the conditions laid out by the Entertainment Commission.

The clock is ticking – let’s see if the club can get their act together both as a venue, and as a better neighbor.

Sarah B.

Related stories:
Mar 23, 2012: City tells the Rockit Room on Clement to clean up its act
Feb 13, 2012: Oakland rapper Philthy Rich + two others arrested on Clement, Sunday night

The Outside Lands music festival will return to Golden Gate Park from August 10 through 12, and they just announced the lineup today which includes the usual eclectic mix of artists.

Whether you’re into metal, folk rock or thumping dance music, Outside Lands will have something for your musical tastes. The 2012 headliners include Metallica, Stevie Wonder, Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Jack White, Foo Fighters, Beck and Skrillex.

Other names you may be familiar with: Norah Jones, Fitz and the Tantrums, Franz Ferdinand, Regina Spektor, and Passion Pit.

3-day tickets go on sale this Thursday, April 19 at 12noon Pacific with prices ranging from $195 for a special 3-day ticket to $495 for a VIP 3-day ticket which includes lounge seating, special restrooms, VIP food and drink access and a commemorative poster.

No word yet on who is playing when over the course of the 3 day festival, or when single-day tickets are going on sale. And we’ll undoubtedly be hearing about the food and wine lineup in the coming weeks as well.

Here’s the full list of 66 artists and bands performing at Outside Lands 2012:

Alabama Shakes
Allen Stone
Amadou & Mariam
Andrew Bird
Animal Kingdom
Beck
Big Boi
Big Gigantic
Bloc Party
Bomba Estereo
Caveman
City and Colour
Die Antwoord
Dirty Dozen Brass Band
Dispatch
Dr. Dog
Sq_90
Electric Guest
Explosions in the Sky
Father John Misty
Fitz and The Tantrums
Foo Fighters
Franz Ferdinand
fun.
Geographer
Grandaddy
Honey Island Swamp Band
Jack White
Jovanotti
Justice
Metallica
Michael Kiwanuka
MiMOsa
MSTRKRFT
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
Norah Jones
Of Monsters and Men
PAPA
Passion Pit
Portugal. The Man
Rebelution
Reggie Watts
Regina Spektor
Santigold
Sean Hayes
Sharon Van Etten
Sigur Ros
Skrillex
Stevie Wonder
Tame Impala
Tanlines
Tennis
The Be Good Tanyas
The Kills
The M Machine
The Walkmen
Thee Oh Sees
Trampled by Turtles
Two Gallants
Wallpaper
Washed Out
White Denim
Wolfgang Gartner
YACHT
Yellow Ostrich
Zola Jesus

Will you be going to this year’s festival? Who are the bands you’re looking forward to seeing live? Leave a comment to let us know!

Sarah B.

On Sunday, March 11 at 2pm, the choir from the Holy Virgin Russian Orthodox Cathedral will give a performance of Sacred Choral Music.

The concert will feature the compositions and arrangements of Mikhail Konstantinov, the composer/conductor who directed the Holy Virgin Cathedral Choir for many years. The concert commemorates the 30th anniversary of his repose and will be conducted by Mikhail Konstantinov’s successor and choir director, Vladimir Krassovsky.

The performance will take place at the Star of the Sea Church, located on Geary at 8th Avenue. Tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for seniors and students. Children under 12 are free.

Here’s a sample of the kind of choral music you’ll hear at the concert:

Eirmos to the Mother of God

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Now Lettest Thy Servant Depart

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You can purchase tickets online in advance, at the Holy Virgin Cathedral Bookstore (6210 Geary, open Tuesday-Friday: 10:30am – 6pm, Saturday from 10:30AM – 3pm), or at the door the night of the show. Ticket purchases are tax-deductible.

Free parking is available for the event at Star of the Sea School.

Sarah B.

This Sunday from 11am until 6pm, a tribute concert for the late Warren Hellman will take place in the Ocean Beach parking lot along the Great Highway. SF Rec & Park confirmed the location last week, but there was no explanation why it wouldn’t be held at the recently re-named Hellman Hollow in Golden Gate Park.

The event will include two stages of music featuring many of the musicians that play the annual Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival that Hellman organized and financed every summer in Golden Gate Park. Last summer, it attracted dozens of bands and over half a million concertgoers to the park.

Artists will appear in the following order on Sunday beginning at 11am. Performances will alternate between the two stages (e.g. both will not be going at once):

Poor Man’s Whiskey
John Doe
Kevin Welch, Kieran Kane & Fats Kaplin
Dry Branch Fire Squad
Steve Earle
Buddy Miller
The Wronglers with Jimmie Dale Gilmore
Gillian Welch
Boz Scaggs
Old Crow Medicine Show
Robert Earl Keen
Emmylou Harris with special guest The Go to Hell Man Clan

The concert will also be streamed live at http://www.strictlybluegrass.com. Public transportation is of course encouraged, and valet parking for bikes will be available. If you want to get a good spot, the earliest you can arrive is 8am. Visit the event page for all the details on Sunday’s free concert.

And for you planners, mark your calendars for October 5-7. That’s when this year’s 12th annual Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival will take place in Golden Gate Park.

Sarah B.

Photo by Elijah Ellis

• Free adult classes start at the Richmond Village Beacon on January 30th. Ballroom dance, yoga, tai chi, knitting, computers and English (ESL) instruction – all free! View class schedule
• Kisha Studio (210 Clement) has a spring sale event this Saturday. Free champagne, and hair mini makeover sessions from 1-5pm (call 422-0468 for an appt). Plus 10% off any purchase when you mention the Richmond Blog.
• Supervisor Mar’s latest resolution to the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday was about the Grammy Awards and their limited selection of musical genres. No word yet on the Board’s reaction.
• SFCitizen reports that there will be a public meeting on January 26 about the remodel of the Stow Lake Boathouse. Hall of Flowers, 7pm.
• SF Rec & Park is planning a free tribute concert to Warren Hellman on February 19 from 11am until 5pm. Location will be either Hellman Hollow or Ocean Beach parking lots, depending on the weather. Organizers also hope to stream it live online.
• Feeling lucky? Enter to win a Green Apple $20 gift card from FunCheapSF.

This Saturday, the Westside Art House is putting on a concert to celebrate the Chinese New Year which takes place next Monday, Jan. 23. This is the year of the dragon.

Performing will be the San Francisco-based trio of DaMaDa. They combine Chinese folk song styles from Zhuangzu, Yi Zu, Miaozu, Xinjiang, and other Chinese provinces with American improvisational jazz forms.

The concert begins at 8:30pm this Saturday at the Westside Art House, 540 Balboa. Tickets are $8 per person.

Since they opened last February, the Westside Art House has built a great calendar of free and low-cost classes, workshops and seminars for the community. Check out their website or follow them on Facebook to keep up with their events and classes.

Sarah B.

This weekend, several schools in the neighborhood will take advantage of the influx of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass concertgoers to raise some much needed funds.

This weekend, the following schools will offer all-day parking for $25 (tax deductible!):

Argonne Elementary School, 17th Avenue & Cabrillo
Saturday & Sunday 9am-8pm

Lafayette Elementary School, 36th Avenue & Anza
Saturday & Sunday 10am-8pm

Presidio Middle School, 30th Avenue & Geary
Friday 5pm-9:30pm, Saturday & Sunday 10am-8pm

For all of the schools, these concert parking fundraisers have helped fill the budget gap for school programs. At Argonne, the funds they raise go to support reading and learning support specialists, art, dance, classroom supplies, enrichment programming, chorus and P.E.

The free Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festivals takes place at Speedway, Lindley & Marx meadows in Golden Gate Park from 11am until 7pm on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Full schedule

Most of the lots fill up by noon so if you plan on driving, get there early to secure your spot!

Sarah B.

The Alice Now & Zen fest will feature the Goo Goo Dolls, Michelle Branch and Eoin Harrington

Two free festivals are coming to Golden Gate Park this weekend, just in time for the nice weather!

Tour de Fat Bike & Beer Festival | Saturday, 10am – 5:30pm, Lindley Meadow
Put on by the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, the Tour de Fat festival features a bike parade (at 11am), a marching band, fire-jumping bike acts, cycling games, food and drink, and live music from Dovekins, The Daredevil Chicken Club, Yo Yo Squared, Free Energy, and Extra Action Marching Band.

Why is it called Tour de Fat? Because the festival is sponsored by by the New Belgium Brewing Company, makers of Fat Tire beer. Let’s see if the cops intervene again this year to ban kids from the boozy parts of the festival.

Alice Now & Zen Fest | Sunday, 12pm – 5pm, Sharon Meadow
Spread your blanket in Sharon Meadow to rock out with top bands like the Goo Goo Dolls, Michelle Branch and Eoin Harrington at Alice Radio’s Now & Zen Fest.

The festival also features an assortment of food and drink vendors to keep you hydrated (don’t forget the sunscreen!). Free valet parking for bikes provided by the SF Bike Coalition.

Rock on Richmond folk!

Sarah B.