A New Queer Smorgasbord

If the macabre, joyless pageant that passed for Pride this year left you disappointed — that is, if you would’ve rather celebrated vibrant music and art instead of watching a dreary procession of politicians smiling and waving from their cars, nonprofit groups pouting beneath their banners, and rubes dancing on Bank of America and Whole Foods floats — then welcome Homo A Go Go with open arms. The four-day blowout features a lively, lovely array of independent-minded aesthetic pleasures and parties: more than 60 films, a fashion show put together by local multitasker Chelsea Starr, and, of course, a small galaxy of talented music-makers. Shit-kicking Southern garage-rock action from Girl in a Coma, the Philadelphian homo hip-hop of Sgt. Sass, and chic Italo-disco by Portland, Oregon’s Glass Candy are just a few of the must-see shows on the docket. This is the festival’s first time in San Francisco after years of packed crowds in Olympia, Washington; the party sprawl includes after-hours bashes, workshops, and the kind of artistic revelry that gives being queer a good name.

Homo A Go Go starts today, Aug. 14, at 10 a.m. at SomArts Cultural Center, 934 Brannan (at Eighth St.), S.F.
Aug. 13-16, 10 a.m., 2009