Hey, we're in a video game!

Back in April 2007, Sony rented the club for a film shoot for the SingStar Amped video game. At the time, I was under the impression that they were shooting a commercial for the game, but it turns out, they were shooting the intro to the game itself! When you put the disc in and boot it up, the first thing you see is DNA Lounge. Also, that's David in his video game debut as the doorman in the crane shot of the people entering the club.

They did a really good job: there were only like 30 people there, but they made the club look packed.

I guess the game came out late last year, but I only just found out that we're actually in it. Neat!

Some time ago, we got a call from Friends of the Urban Forest, the folks responsible for installing those anemic twigs of trees in the sidewalks around town. They were planning on installing some trees on our street, and wanted to know if we wanted one. We said no, because our sidewalk is very high traffic at night, and it would really be in the way. And would be a tripping hazard. And wouldn't survive long anyway, what with our customers falling into it.

Six months later, they asked again. We said no again. A week after that, someone had come by and cut a big square out of our sidewalk in preparation for a tree. Apparently nobody refuses the Friends of the Urban Forest. Well, we immediately bought some concrete and filled that back in. So there.

A few months after that, one day there was a tree there. Curses! They re-cut the sidwalk and planted the tree too fast!

Surprisingly, the sickly twig they gave us survived almost a year. But, a few weeks ago, someone (probably a delivery truck) broke it in half.

Then Barry got a call from our landlord:

"Why did you plant a tree?"
"We didn't, it just showed up."
"Ok, why did you cut it down?"
"We didn't! Someone knocked it over!"
"Well, I just got a $200 fine because you cut down the tree without a permit..."
"Oh... well, it was dangling out in the street, so we cut that part off and threw it away... It was kind of a hazard."
"Uh huh. In addition to the fine, now they tell me I have to hire a professional tree remover to dig out the roots before paving over the hole."
"Wow... Can't we just plant another tree?"
"No, you need a permit for that too."

So we theorized that maybe we could dump this problem back in the lap of Friends of the Anemic Twig, but I guess our landlord is just going to say "fuck it" and pay the fines, so it's no longer our problem. But, geez...

And today, we arrived at the club to see this amazing still-life:

Yes, that's a walker. It's missing a wheel and it looks like it's been burned. Apparently the ghost of the tree is angry and trying to kill cripples.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Having just spent the last two days in court, I am pleased to announce that in some small number of weeks, DNA Lounge will have exchanged our "ABC Type 48 On Sale General Public Premises" license for an "ABC Type 47 On Sale General Eating Place" license.

This means you can expect to see 18-and-over shows here in the very near future!

The actual permit is not yet in my hand, and it's not real until that happens, but they tell me it should be within a few weeks.

We had been planning for this since I bought the club in April 1999. We started construction on our kitchen in February 2006. And we turned in the application for permit transfer in April 2007. So depending on how you count, this process took either two and a half years, or eight years. And a truly obscene amount of money. But it's done.

Details, as they say, To Be Announced.

Today is the seventh anniversary of our re-opening of DNA Lounge in 2001. So happy anniversary to us. And hooray for DNA Lounge: it's not just a job, it's also the longest and most dysfunctional relationship I've ever had.

Is the new permit here yet? No. How about now? No. How about now? No. How about now? Still no.

Photos are up of Everything Goes Cold (apparently nobody took any photos of the other three bands?), of the Zivity Batman Party, of Hubba Hubba Revue's "Jolly Olde England" show (don't miss their "Benny Hill" video!), and also of Immigrant performing at the final Pop Roxx. It was a great turnout for the last one, because everybody loves a funeral... If we could have gotten that kind of attendance regularly, it wouldn't have stopped!

To commemorate the final event, we gave away a bunch of compilation CDs of most of the bands who have played at Pop Roxx over the last two and a half years. It wasn't all of the bands, because there were too many to fit on an audio CD, so we had to leave a few off.

If you didn't manage to pick one up, you can still listen to it as this week's mixtape. This is the "director's cut" of that CD: it's almost the complete set of Pop Roxx bands. It is only missing tracks by three bands (Pretty Vicious, Landshark, and Sunday Drivers), because somehow I managed not to get CDs by those bands, and I wasn't able to track down MP3s in time.

We had a lot of great bands at Pop Roxx! I'll miss it.

Starting in September, every third Saturday will be a new party called Super Ego. Stay tuned...

Wow! We had quite a showing in the SF Bay Guardian Best of the Bay readers poll this year!

BEST DANCE CLUB
DNA Lounge

DNA scratches just about every strange dance floor itch imaginable -- from '80s new wave and glam-goth to transvestite mashups and humongous lesbian dance parties.

Other long-time DNA Lounge alumni also won:

BEST PARTY PRODUCERS
Adrian and the Mysterious D, Bootie

Five years in, the Bay's groundbreaking original mashup party, Bootie, has expanded coast-to-coast and to three continents. This duo displays the power of tight promotion and superb party skills.

Every second and fourth Saturday at DNA. Five year anniversary party next week!

BEST CABARET/VARIETY SHOW
Hubba Hubba Revue

Vaudeville comedy, tassled titties, and over-the-top burlesque teasing make the Hubba Hubba Revue the scene's bawdiest purveyor of impropriety.

Every third Friday at DNA. Is next: Creepshow Peepshow!

BEST BURLESQUE ACT
Twilight Vixen Revue

Finally, someone thinks to combine pirates, wenches, classic burlesque, and foxy lesbians. This all-queer burlesque troupe has been waving its fans (and fannies) since 2003.

Appearing at (almost) every Hubba Hubba Revue!

BEST CIRCUS TROUPE
Vau de Vire Society

Offering a full-on circus assault, the wildly talented and freakishly flexible troupe's live show delivers plenty of fire performances, aerial stunts, and contortionism.

Formerly monthly at DNA Lounge, now erratically.

And there's more... Best DJ: Smoove (twelve DNA appearances); Best Creep-Show Chanteuse: Jill Tracy (six DNA appearances); Best Dance Company: Hot Pink Feathers (three DNA appearances); Best Drag Act: Katya Ludmilla Smirnoff-Skyy (only one appearance so far, I think); and Best Indie Band: Ex-Boyfriends (performed at Pop Roxx in August).

Thanks to everybody who put on those great parties, and thanks to everybody who voted for them! You rule.