Boom Boom Room sits at Fillmore and Geary as the old Fillmore district's blues, soul and funk room, with live music in San Francisco six nights a week.
Tip: No reservations; arrive by 21:00 for a bar seat on weekends. The room books New Orleans funk and trance jazz alongside the blues schedule.
Address: 1601 Fillmore Street, San Francisco, CA 94115
The Fillmore on Geary is the 800-capacity ballroom where the Dead, Hendrix and The Doors built their West Coast sets, still booking touring rock and indie.
Tip: Apples in the lobby and a poster from the night are free souvenirs the venue still hands out. Main floor is general admission; upstairs is seated.
Great American Music Hall on O'Farrell is the gilt-balconied 1907 room that books indie, hip-hop and jazz into a former bordello with a wraparound balcony.
Tip: Reserved-seat dinner-show tickets get a balcony rail; general admission floor opens 60 minutes before showtime. Easy walk from Polk Street bars.
Bimbo's 365 Club in North Beach is the 1931 supper-club room that still books rock, jazz and cabaret into a velvet-curtained hall a block off Columbus Avenue.
Tip: Seated upstairs balconies pull a quieter view; main floor is standing. The room sells out fast on touring nights so check the calendar early.
The Fillmore on Geary is the 800-capacity ballroom where the Dead, Hendrix and The Doors built their West Coast sets, still booking touring rock and indie.
Tip: Apples in the lobby and a poster from the night are free souvenirs the venue still hands out. Main floor is general admission; upstairs is seated.
Great American Music Hall on O'Farrell is the gilt-balconied 1907 room that books indie, hip-hop and jazz into a former bordello with a wraparound balcony.
Tip: Reserved-seat dinner-show tickets get a balcony rail; general admission floor opens 60 minutes before showtime. Easy walk from Polk Street bars.
Cafe du Nord sits in the basement of the Swedish American Hall on Market Street, a 320-capacity SF room booking indie, jazz and singer-songwriter sets nightly.
Tip: The room is low-ceilinged and intimate; sightlines are best from the back bar. Pre-show dinner upstairs at the hall gets you in first.
Charmaine's tops the Proper Hotel on Market Street with a wraparound terrace, fireplaces and Civic Center views, with SF cocktails above the Tenderloin.
Tip: Entrance is on McAllister Street, not Market. Reservations open at noon for evening tables; walk-ins fill the bar after 22:00.
Top of the Mark crowns the InterContinental Mark Hopkins on Nob Hill in San Francisco with a 19th-floor sky lounge and a 100-martini list it has poured since 1939.
Tip: Friday and Saturday evenings carry a music charge after 20:00. The northwest window seats hold the Golden Gate sightline at sunset.