Audium
For my closest friends who trust my judgement, I say, "Go to 1616 Bush Street at 8pm on Friday or Saturday. Bring $10."For those who need a tiny hint, I might say something like, "It's about sound," or, "It's a little bit like Bell-Labs-World's-Fair-Tomorrowland-1967, and if you don't go you're really making an error in judgement."
And then, for strangers, for whom I have no need to maintain an air of mystery, and who may question the judgement of this electronic music fanatic they have somehow encountered, I may descend into a more graphic description.
What you do, first, is arrive in San Francisco on a Friday or Saturday evening no later than 6pm. Locate House of Nanking restaurant on Kearny St, in China town area (919 Kearny, 415.421.1429). You can park at the Holiday Inn for $6 an hour. It's a bit pricy, but necessary, unless you allow another hour or so for parking.
Get in line outside of Nanking. There will be lots of trendily dressed white folk waiting to get in, saying things like, "But there's another Chinese restaurant just next door," and "What's so special about this place?" If you're lucky, some of them may act upon these foolish impulses and speculations, meaning you get to go in sooner.
Once inside, you'll find a minuscule narrow restaurant, with a frantically unerring staff squeezing past the customers and each other to take and bring orders. The decor is an interesting mix of Blade Runner and "institutional lavatory 3-a," with a weighting on the latter. Order your meal. Be sure to get at least one order of Crispy Fried Tofu, which is their best dish, and does not appear on the menu. ("I am not making this up!") Your cost should come to rather less than $10 a person.
House of Nanking has nothing to do with Audium, but is definitely a good way to start the evening, and is one of those little places to add your master "I've been there" checklist. The food really is superior, or perhaps it's the MSG.
Audium is only a dozen blocks away, at Bush and Franklin. It has a wood panel facade, and large white lettering forming the word AUDIUM four times, in a square. Street parking is not too difficult there.
The door may be closed, but it will be unlocked at 8pm. As you step in, you'll see a simple ticket office with a friendly bright eyed gentleman in his 50's dispensing tickets.
It is as you proceed into the waiting area that you realize that, yes, you have entered a truly timeless place. A narrow room with a scattering of freestanding wood grain auditorium seats from my elementary school, P.S. 191, with indirect lighting and a droning, swelling monotone greets you. At the end of the room, a large glowing clock shows the time as 8:05.
As you look around the corner, you see the room continues in an L-shape, ending at an oddly shaped door, much like the Krell constructed millions of years ago on Altair IV. The door is framed by some lighting. Returning to the other branch of the L, the clock seems to have moved off of the wall, and onto the floor. It reads 8:10.
The space is adorned with a few bits of modern abstract art. A series of carved wooden cylinders. A geometical wooden sculpture on a stand. Some false colored photographs. And that droning, and the oddly moving clock. Is that a ticking noise as well? It all seems so natural that one's brain has simply ignored that sound.
(When the clock reads 8:20, I would suggest stepping outside for a smoke, if that be your inclination.)
After a time, the lighting changes slightly, dims, and the drones fade away. Instinctively, those in the waiting area begin to fidget, gravitate towards the Krell door.
At this point, the composer, Stan Schaff, appears in the doorway and offers a few words before leading the audience inside. "What we'll experience here can be different things to different people. We work with images and memories. Some have said what goes on is a lot like dreaming. The work is presented in two segments, with a 5 minute intermission."
The short entryway to the seating area resembles a cross between a corridor of the Death Star and the enameled wood futurism of a 70's synagogue or the United Nations General Assembly Hall.
I can tell you no more. What happens in the 49 seat theatre is magical and secret. I would have to say that what goes on is a lot like dreaming.
An hour and a half later, the lights slowly fade back from pitch blackness. In the waiting area, a circle forms around composer Stan Schaff. "Oh, yes, blind people enjoy it immensely..." "Ha ha, well, early incarnations of Audium, I suppose may have had beanbag chairs, yes..." "The speakers are mostly wired in pairs..." and so on.
And then, aurally sated, everyone leaves, and Audium is closed up for the week.
Audium is located at 1616 Bush Street San Francisco, CA, 94109 415.771.161610/16/95.21:25 - 8/15/96.01:12