[Left, i.e., disregarded, neglected]
Seems, as with the incomparable Tony Bennett, my eternal fling with San Francisco remains strong. This time, it was ringing in the New Year with Cake at The Warfield Theater with my bro (the wife declined due to scheduling conflicts), BFAM and his wife. Again, one for the books.
Now, many have either seen/heard first- or second-hand my past SF experiences dating back to 1988, each filled with some level of joy and/or wonder. It was looking pretty iffy at this concert experience in that it didn't echo that of Sia concert at Bimbo's in April '06 when Sia herself gave me (and only me) a big hug outside her tour bus after the show, or the Les Claypool concert at The Fillmore where my date scored backstage passes in December '00. First off this time, Cake lead singer John McCrea lives in Oakland, so he probably took the BART, given his dervish tendencies. Secondly, he was nowhere to be seen; just the bassist with whom BFAM and wife partied with backstage (along with the rest of the band) after Cake's show at the Nugget in Reno last May. (Where was I? Camping in West Sacramento with the fam and in-laws at a campsite we booked before I heard Cake was coming into town, not wanting to hear how great it was going to be...or was, as I checked voice mails the next morning. But that's another story.)
Again, no such luck connecting with the musicians this time. But it got good.
So there we were, buzzed and amped from the high-energy show (at least me and BFAM were), looking to keep it going until the 2 am SF curfew. (It was only 12:15) We needed to lighten our respective loads of concert swag, so we stopped at our hotel room at the Hotel California (formerly The Savoy). After that, we figured heading toward Union Square would yield something Times Square-ish to enjoy. Coincidentally, BFAM and wife's hotel of choice was the Westin St. Francis and one of them suggested looking inside as the building entrances were closed to the public for something. Something we just had to get a closer look at, thanks to their wristbands.
Simply stated, we walked into this:
[Excerpt from party invite]
AList New Year's Eve Spectacular -- SOLD OUT!!!
Upscale, Semi-Formal Party, Fashion Show/ Live Art & Benefit (black tie optional)
...
Mon Dec 31, 2007 (9pm - 2am)
...
$181.95 - $250 per person
...
This Event Is Completely SOLD OUT!!! And thanks to all who've already purchased, see you at the HOTTEST New Year's Eve Party in the SF Bay Area!
...
AList along with Tony Presents and Sebastien Entertainment invites you to "Passport to the World"... Come experience for yourself the exciting and diverse mix of music, fashion, art, sophistication, and charitable causes as we take you into 2008 in grand style! Truly a one of a kind, semi-formal event taking place in Union Square at the luxurious Westin St. Francis, San Francisco
...
* 7 different rooms, including 2 VIP rooms located on an incredible penthouse level on the 32nd floor overlooking San Francisco
* 5 large dance floors with top 40, hip hop, mash-up, house, rock, 80s/90s, and international music
* 2 live bands (Still Time and Curt Yagi Band)
* fashion show (produced by fashion and entertainment veteran, Charleston Pierce)
* live art (by Pacific Art Collective)
* dancers
* midnight balloon drop
* full HOSTED premium bar
...
Semi formal attire is REQUIRED -- No Refunds for those out of dress code!
[End excerpt]
Kudos to BFAM and wife for choosing the St. Francis!
What made this event something we had to see first-hand was the ton of people dressed to the nines pouring out of the exit. (And that was the tip of the iceberg.) The guy at the door said "Sorry, closed party" so bro and BFAM cased the exit, snuck in, and waved me and BFAM's wife in. The door guy there said "wristbands?" we raised our band-less arms and just kept on moving as if we had one on. No one stopped us, so we were home free.
Balloon had already dropped, drinks were still free, bartenders were friggin' hammered, dozens of women in black cocktail dresses were passed out, bands kept playing, and the party area seemed to go on forever (Westin spans an entire city block of Union Square, so you can imagine the size of the floor). We didn't know about the penthouse level party area, but hey, we saved a ton of money crashing the closed, sold-out party late. It was the closest to being on the Titanic in the final moments; just without the whole drowning thing.
The funnier thing is that none of us were dressed appropriately:
I, for one, asked myself WWBD? (What Would Bono Do?) prior to the concert and ran with it, which may have helped identify us as the "We're with the DJ" group.
Anyway, yet another SF trip for the books, and in record time (24 hours: 4-hour drive there, 12-hour excursion, 3-hour sleep, 4-hour drive home). Given the memorable orientation, methinks 2008's gonna be a good year.
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