Although I basically agree with Hans' assessment of SF, there's a couple of things. The club scene has been bad for years, with the occasional bright spot (Rhythm Method, Staple, and a couple of others currently). The massives have been awful since 1994 almost without exception, although for many people awful is better than staying at home with the parents or going to the mall. When I went to the New Year's 1999 Toon Town (an unrecognizable relabeling of a truly classic SF early rave) to see DJ Pierre, I would guess that maybe 50 people in the room had any notion at all of who he was.
On the other hand, SF has a very active underground scene with lots of good gatherings. Usually these are small, but not always. Ou Friends & Family group threw a big party for over 1500 people in SF in early March, fully permitted, as a fundraiser for the No on Knight campaign. We went all night, four rooms of sound, right in the heart of South of Market (SOMA), full-on production with the best sound, lights and lasers around, raised $10,000 for the campaign and covered our costs. And sold out without a single flyer on the streets, just email and word of mouth. Of course, this doesn't happen every weekend :) But the smaller interesting events do, you just have to dig around. phred
