Stagecrush directory tagged with: San Francisco

An exquisite mid-size room with grandiose antique ornamentation, a large stage, and an atmosphere of ornate historical luxury. Perched between the Tenderloin, Civic Center, and Polk Gulch neighborhoods, this hall first opened in 1907 and has been everything from a bordello to a jazz club to its current incarnation as one of the city's best places to see both old musical favorites and rising young stars.

This indie-slash-punk rock club is a revered local institution with all the staples you'd expect: kitschy retro decor, sticker-smothered bathrooms, and nightly entertainment that ranges from loud-as-hell to what-the-hell-was-that. A smoker's patio in back offers a welcome respite from the crowds and noise inside, or, for another form of distraction, you can scope the old event calendars from years gone by and try to count how many musicians played this small stage before moving on to huge theaters or even arenas -- you'll run out of fingers before you run out of bands.