Paradise Garage 30th Anniversary

Last Saturday afforded my wife and I an excellent night of clubbing and dancing in SF. We were especially excited by the fact that the tiny but elegant Pink (home of Miguel Migs' monthly Salted parties) on Mission was hosting a 30th anniversary tribute to New Jersey's legendary Paradise Garage. Our hosts on the plattenspielers were SF's own Franky Boissy, legendary David Harness, and dance music pioneer Danny Krivit (he of both the re-edits and Body & Soul residency). Larry Levan, unquestionably the greatest DJ who ever lived, smiled down on the crowd from above the DJ booth while vintage photos (including Krivit's membership card from the Paradise Garage) adorned the walls as visuals. Love was definitely the message in San Francisco that night with a slew of classics that helped not only to close out the glamorous late 70s disco sound of uptown Manhattan; during the 80s Levan's club defined the dirtier Jersey garr-idge sound we all know and love today. Stripped of all of Paradise Garage's more adventurous tunes the legendary trio tagged teamed up for an all star set list of pure dance floor classics that EVERYONE knew the words to and sang along. The DJs, being the old pros they are, indulged the crowd with many sing-along moments that harkened back to the communal vibe of the original club. Best of all (besides the posh VIP table and seemingly endless amounts of quality vodka) was that this wa my brother-in-law's idea of a 50th birthday celebration subsequently many of the happy folks on the crowded dancefloor were my in-laws. The birthday boy even regaled us with a tale of his very own trip to the Paradise Garage twenty five years earlier. Krivit played many of his biggest re-edits (this guy has been DJ'ing since Nixon was in the White House and got his first promo from James Brown himself), the crowd was educated and well-mixed (rare and refreshing for the wife & I), and there was family in the house. I can't think of a more lovely night. I feel honored to have been part of such a special moment. You shoulda been there.