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Yeah, I guess I think Echo Park is debatable. Might also be that Sunset Blvd is so disjointed through there, with The Echo, Club Bahia, Los Globos (technically in Silverlake?) all being separated by a decent distance and not-so-drunk-friendly hilly terrain.
Old Town is kind of bro-y, but even though Echo Park has more of what I am interested in, I think Old Town is more concentrated and "happening."
You can walk from the Gold Room, Little Joy, The Short Stop, Lot Cafe, The Echo, and others are in easy walking distance from each other.
I think it's a close second and maybe even tied with LA for the best nightlife on the West Coast. Seattle is third.
I can live with that.
As for me understating San Francisco's nightlife. I personally don't view it that way at all, it's great but unfortunately no, I personally cannot put it right up there with New York in nightlife. One is a destination from around the world, to party, if you want it to be that and only that (even though there's a million other things that also attract people to New York too). The other, while it has great nightlife, is not that. New York even has longer hours of operation to boot it's case. The reason I am focusing on New York is because that was the comparison that I initially disagreed with the earlier poster on.
I can live with the rest of your assessment though. It is reasonable and fair.
Last edited by Trafalgar Law; 03-20-2015 at 04:32 PM..
^^^My intent was actually never to say that SF's nightlife was as good as New York's. My intent was just to say that along with New York, and some of the other "rounded" cities in my list, such as LA, that SF's nightlife was some of the best in the country. New York is far and above tops when it comes to just about everything. Ironically, New York is relatively absent from your posted list of top 100 clubs in the US (and I see some major NYC night spots conspicuously missing).
As far as comparisons, my other comparisons were to drivers and to feel. New York benefits a lot from international tourism, which is often a whole different level of sophisticated crowd that doesn't need to be advertised to the way Americans do (this is similar to SF). New York has a definite work hard play hard mentality among the population (similar to SF). New York has a diverse demographic that includes a huge wealth base such that a lot of venues cater to professionals, rather than American party tourists and service industry folk (similar to SF), and New York is highly concentrated with neighborhoods that vary immensely in their scenes and feels but yet have a huge concentration of bars, restaurants, clubs, and entertainment outlets (similar to SF). There is also an "older" feel to New York's scene - it doesn't cater to college, immediately post-college, or high school with fake IDs. The feel is that most places cater to the upper 20s-45 demographic, and this is the same in SF. Some places are known as "bridge and tunnel" places - same as in SF.
I'm not saying SF is as good as New York, but there are a lot of similarities when it comes to nightlife. New York is more more more and better better better at everything, but SF is like a little cousin from the same bloodline on the west coast. In more ways than just nightlife as we're discussing here.
For what it's worth, Capitol Hill has the 6th best bar in the world (Canon), according to the prestigious Drinks International Top 50 Bars in the World list. No other American city besides NYC has anything ranked higher.
Hollywood is pretty massive and there's nightlife everywhere. Bar/club hopping can easily be accomplished there. WeHo as well. I personally enjoy the offerings around Cahuenga/Vine as opposed to the douchebro scene found further West.
DTLA is coming up big in nightlife too. The best after hours parties are usually found there.
Koreatown is another massive nightlife area where the 2am last call is treated as a suggestion rather than a law.
San Diego may not have the best nightlife scene overall but I think the Gaslamp District is probably the best nightlife district out of all of these for how concentrated and vibrant it is overall.
Well all Las Vegas really has to offer is a night out. So yea, few places in the world can compete with that if you're comparing night life.
Concerning mega music festivals - I'm a little beyond that in terms of age. I'll leave the new scene to the younger Millennial set and those still in college/high school. Music festivals in the Bay Area cater specifically to residents of the Bay Area and aren't meant to be huge tourist draws that festivals in LA, now Atlanta, Las Vegas, Orlando, Miami, etc are (and to be frank, the Bay Area doesn't *need* those tourists). Just look at what is in or catered to the "Bay Area": Burning Man (started in SF, still mostly Bay Area people), Monterey Bay Reggae Fest, Treasure Island Music Fest (all of 2 stages playing 1 at a time), Outside Lands (which is hardly entirely electronic and is just an event bringing big artists to one location for 3 days in GG Park in the city...where it's cold and foggy and only acclimated SF residents would dare go, lol), all music fests in SF 21+ and strictly enforced...which is a HUGE departure from other music fests.
No they aren't, they're open to all ages. Outside Lands and Treasure Island don't have any minimum age requirements but I guess they do ban strollers if that is what you meant. TI is even free for those under 2 years old! LOL
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