Full disclosure: I have a large place in my heart for Noise Pop. They are my Mission neighbors; their offices are right in between the place where I work and the place where I live (which are very close to each other). The guy who does their marketing is super cool and I am always glad to run into him on the street, which, like I just said, is my street. So I might be a bit biased when I say Noise Pop's 20th Street Block Party is going to be epic. But you should also note, I am not like the biggest proponent of all the gentrification-y changes on 20th Street, which I sometimes now call Expensive Sandwich Street because for four consecutive blocks by my house you can buy a $12 sandwich if that's your thing. I miss Cafe Gratitude and their pay-what-you-can bowl. I sympathetically miss the parking. I miss the affordable rents which meant other people like me could be my neighbors. I miss that one shady convenience store which has now been turned into a hilariously ironically named restaurant, Local's Corner, which serves oysters at prices that no one who was a local before 2012 could ever afford.
But hey, we can't live in the past, right? And it's pretty much certain that the 20th Street Block Party is going to make me fall in love with the neighborhood all over again! And probably make you, people who do not live in a four or five block radius of 20th and Bryant Streets in San Francisco, California, USA, fall in love with it too! Here's why:
1. James and Evander
A few months back, KQED Pop had a big party at the Verdi Club and James and Evander played for us and they were not only great musicians, they were great guys. I can't wait to see them again and sway to their perfectly sway-able music.
