San Francisco Schtuff

By: Farrah

Help! I moved to the East Bay and I don’t know where the party’s at!

Some people think that a move to the East Bay is a move to the burbs. Many of my San Francisco friends think there’s no party worth coming to out here and would never move away from their beloved urban paradise. I’m lucky if I can get a few of them out here once a year.

What a lot of SFers don’t realize is that the East Bay as tons of great bars, clubs and parties. The best things about the East Bay’s nightlife are that the crowds are more diverse and there are relatively few douchebags.

If you’re looking for something to do in the East Bay, here are my suggestions:

If you like Mr. Smith’s and Rosewood you’ll love Easy and Lucky. There are a tons of bars in the Grand Lake area of Oakland and Easy and Lucky stand out as being the most popular with a broad range of people. Easy’s a classy little bar with a great beer selection. The music changes nightly and there’s a little space for dancing. I love going to Easy during the week when it’s quieter but it can be a bit obnoxious on the weekend when weird guys on the prowl outnumber women.

Lucky has the same weekend weird dude problem although it’s generally an awesome bar. There are lots of couches to lounge on so it’s a great place to take a date or relax with friends. The DJs are usually phenomenal. They usually spin house and I’m not usually into house but their very good.

Divey bars. Radio and Ruby room in downtown Oakland are my favorite dives in the Bay. The bartenders at Radio are friendly and the DJs play a great music from a lot of different genres. The last time I went there, they were offering free drinks to anyone who’d go upstairs and dance behind the screen.

Ruby room is sorta like Zeitgeist – rough looking (scruffy atmosphere, people smoking, some characters in the crowd) but actually friendly. Unfortunately, it’s an indoor bar so if you can’t deal with smoke, it’s probably not a good option.

Serious clubbing. If you like to get all dressed up to go dancing, Air Lounge in Downtown Oakland is for you. Fridays and Saturdays Air’s always packed with a “grown and sexy” crowd. It’s a beautiful underground space in historic Old Oakland.

Arsimona is another beautifully decorated bar in that area that has a great DJ on the weekends. It’s not as popular as Air but it’s a great place to go to dance.

Tiki bars? For some reason, the East Bay has a bunch of tiki bars. These places are great for kicking it with friends and drinking mysterious pseudo-Polynesian potions. I’m a fan of Kona Club on Piedmont Ave. and Conga Lounge on College.

Please don’t mess this party up with a party bus… Unfortunately the Oakland tribune did an article on my favorite party, the People, so the secret’s out. The reason why I worry about the publicity is because what makes this party so great is that it’s not at all mainstream. Several DJs mix house with world, hip hop, soul and any other random genre with a danceable beat. Incredible dancers hold court. People of all races and sexual orientations dance under the stars together until way past two. If you get hungry, there’s food. Last time it was milk and cookies.

The People happens every fourth Saturday at Oasis in Oakland.

The trib article about the people – http://www.insidebayarea.com/search/ci_8726890?IADID=Search-www.insidebayarea.com-www.insidebayarea.com