I didn’t have high hopes for a club described by the locals as, “not too terrible.” As I parked and made my way toward a nightclub/bar located on the outskirts of San Francisco’s Soma district, I crossed paths with several homeless and suspicious looking characters. Trying to shake my uneasy feelings, I distracted myself by focusing on the interesting graffiti that covered every other wall. While the wall art was beautiful, I couldn’t help but judge the rest of my surroundings. Dubious thoughts of, “Where the heck am I? Where is this place?” and “Am I going to get jumped?”, began to creep into my head. Despite my negative thoughts, I reaffirmed my resolve to get some San Francisco techno and hastened my steps forward. A block away from my destination, I still seemed to be surrounded by precarious environment, but now had some reassurance; I could hear where we were going.
I was more than compensated for travel efforts by my experience at Monarch. I entered at the ground floor, which had a very nice aesthetic. The bar area had a mellow impression, with good music and several un-crowded, comfortable sitting areas. Downstairs, at the basement level, was a different story. “It’s a Thursday, so it won’t be too packed,” local nightlife denizens told me. I made my way down the stairs; it became darker, I could hear a change in music, and the flow of people became more energetic. I entered the underground level and while the effervescent, rolling sea of music lovers couldn’t quite be described as canned sardines, I would certainly describe the venue as packed. There was a very similar esthetic to other similar venues. Reflective decorations hung from the ceiling and artsy-projected graphics splashed across the DJ booth. Under closer inspection, upon the shining ornaments were inscriptions of “Up.” “Up All Night” is a novel concept that provides an affordable nightlife concierge service to the San Francisco area. This is clearly foreshadowing to tonight’s event.
I saw Axel Boman about to take the controls as I made my way toward the bar located at the back of the room. I had just managed to grab a Pacific beer when there was a significant change in music. Perfect timing; Axel was on. I’ll admit that I was not familiar with the Swedish artist’s music. However, I am a follower of DJ Koze and his label, Pampa records, of which Axel Boman recently joined. Axel did not disappoint.
At first, the music had a tribal sound, with drums and vocals. Then the music became even more eclectic. There were disco beats that had that signature 80s upbeat happy feel. Axel took live samplings from vinyls while switching back and forth to CDJ. Axel particularly struck a chord with me when he played a really deep bass line. I love a hard bass that sends shockwaves through your chest to your feet. He continued to keep control of the sea of gyrating bodies. The reverberating beats and repetitious single lyrics hooked me like a fish on a line. He reeled in the audience over and over; sometimes it felt like a short distance and others felt like we were reeling for miles and miles. However, at the end of each anticipatory moment, we were rewarded with the release that always accompanies a sick drop.
Stay tuned for more reports of sick beats and eats!
Ciao!
-P&T
Techno & Pizza 