Projectile Opening

A bar is born

The 18th Street Bar, which after a couple of months of feverish activity has been quieter than a Barry Bonds rally, is showing some signs of life.  A week or so back large signs went up in all of the front windows announcing the concept and expected opening date of the new bar.

For the Bourgeoisie and the Rebel

The sign reads:

18th Street Bar

Celebrating diversity through music

Hip Hop

R&B

Funk/Soul

Jazz

House

Alternative

Dance

Projected Opening

December 2007

This sign is notable for a few reasons.  First and foremost, pretty much 9 out of 10 people you ask would say that they expected the bar to stand vacant for years, just like The Patio Cafe.  (The 10th person is coming out of a K-hole and didn't hear the question correctly.)

Second, the list of music which is going to unify us through diversity-celebration is impressively exhaustive.  I mean, seriously, checking the iTunes website I think the only musical genres not included are klezmer and Tuvan throat singing.

Third, it's pretty obvious that the poster was written to ease concerns that Les Natali (the new owner of the space) was going to take the only bar in the neighborhood targeted toward people of color (the former Pendulum) and turn it into another Badlands -- which, face it, is not exactly a Benetton ad.  Les' troubles with the city's Human Rights Commission and the independent group And Castro For All are well-known so I won't go into them here, but part of his reported defense was his intention to keep the Pendulum space as a bar targeting a multi-ethnic clientele.  I think this sign's inclusion of terms such as "diversity" and "the Hip Hop" are clear defensive move.

And fourth and finally, this sign is worth a double-take because of the expected opening date of December 2007, about a year and a half after construction began.  I know things move slowly with construction and permitting in this city, but damn, that better be one fun circus under that awning.