DiscoMusic.com

The I-Beam had the legendary music team of Tim Rivers, Michael Garrett, and Steve Fabus keeping it REAL.
It's opening on Haight Street was a major event and truly started the disco era in San Francisco.
A very hot (mostly male) crowd danced under two huge silver colored mylar i-beams that hung over the dance floor.
It was a nicely designed masculine club with the best music in the city.

Wow! I never saw the I-Beam mentioned anywhere before. I missed the disco era of the "Beam" since I didn't get to SF until 1982. But coming from the NYC disco scene it was inevitable that I'd find it. The I-Beam was essentially a New Wave club by the time I got there, but it was as close to a NYC house/disco club as I have been able to find in California.

Does anybody know when it finally closed?

Hi there
The I-Beam was my home 4-5 nights a week in the mid to late 80's (1986-1990), at a time when I desperately needed a home away from home. Having moved to the East coast since, I recently found out that the club burned down sometime in the late nineties, which was heartbreaking news to me as I always thought that I would someday go back and take a trip down Memory Lane.

Having been a regular there for many years, I would love to get in contact with anyone who used to be a regular during those years and share memories. Please post back on this board as I will be checking it on and off. Although most of the memories of my I-Beam friends have long faded away, I can still remember DJ Jeff Burkes (Tuesdays and Wednesdays, lol), Adrian Henriquez with his latino posse on stage wearing the cool hat and doing the sax player routine (Adrian, where are you buddy????), Mark and Ted, Sailor Hat, K.C. at the door, and many many other blurry memories... Hope to hear from one of you people soon and hoping that life is good to all of you out there!
Peace
Helen

Before the I Beam there was another notable dance club, "The City". It was on Montgomery just down from Broadway. Upstairs was a disco. Downstairs a cabaret. I worked there in it's heyday. Upstairs I saw amongst many divas of those days, Donna Summers perform about a month before her first hit on the charts. Downstairs I met Charles Pierce, Jane Olivor, Wayland Flowers and Madam, to name a few.

Although I worked there at the really true start of disco in San Francisco, my heart belongs in the I Beam more than any other venue in San Francisco. With absolute clarity I remember a myriad of sight, sounds, people. The red laser beam over head, illuminating the steam rising from the crowd of men, stripped to the waist, their torsoes glistening with a veneer of sweat. I remember dancing with the chorus from Santa Esmeralda when they performed there. On special event nights, I remember pools tables transformed into vast banquet layouts which included whole turkeys and carved hams. I remember beautiful Gary Roverano the bartender (formerly of "the City") and his friend, equally beautiful, Robert Pentossi(also from The City) But most of all I remember a man I met on the first night, David Artim. A man that I went to Yosemite with one week later and was never parted from until his death, from AIDS 17 years later. We were a fixture at the I-Beam, often he with a tambourine and me with castenets. We were there most evenings of the week until we moved to Guerneville to work at Fife's and the Woods. Wow!! What memories!! It was exactly17 years ago today (Oct 27/28)that we met!!

Hi Rell,
Welcome to I-Beam Central, it's nice to hear a voice!!!!!! ;o)
I'm sorry to hear about your lifelong partner passing away. It sounds like you had a very special love there.... you two sound like quite an item!!! I've been picking my brain but no castagnet / tambourine couple jumps to mind, lol.
Anyone not familiar with the I-Beam may say "how on earth could you NOT remember such a colorful sight?" But as you and I well know, the I-Beam was such a stage for so many colorful, larger-than-life, theatrical characters playing out their inner personality, such a feast of color and costumes, that you and David would have fit right in!!!! ;o)

But this was a long long time ago, a different lifetime. You mentioned that you used to be there every night during the week? When was the last year you were there? I moved to the East Coast in late 1989, a month after the big earthquake. Were you there for that? Eeeesh, what memories....
For years I kept memories of the I-Beam close to my heart because I will never experience ever such a feeling of a tightly woven community, folks from all walks of life, all ages and sexual preferences, races, you name it. If you were a regular (as I was), you just knew everyone there and you knew that they knew just how special that place was. When I found out a few years ago that the I-Beam had been torn down, I was surprised by how distraught I felt. Such a feeling of irreparable loss... visions of chunks of the deep red pool room walls dangling into thin air, disgracefully exposed like roadkill while the whole place was going up in smoke. HOW COULD THEY?!?!??! and just so they could build freaking condos???????
Sigh
I always thought that when the time was right, I would go back to SFO and pay my old friend the I-Beam a long overdue visit. Sadly, this day will never come. Maybe it's for the best??? Some memories are best preserved when left untouched.
Hope you're doing well, Rell!
:o)
Helen

What a time it was! My first trip the the I-Beam was by accident. After dancing in an SF club South of Market (SOMA), I desperately needed a ride back to my first apartment in San Francisco (I was just weeks old in this trippy and wonderful city). My "hitched" ride was in a car with some very fast friends who knew just where to go for a great time -- I was hijacked! It was 1982 and the I-Beam was celebrating its 5th anniversary party! I walked in among a sea of men (I think there were 5 woman in the place that night) and saw those banquet tables full of all sorts of delectable goodies mentioned by Rell's earlier posting. The music was booming and the men were stomping in what was the first tribal rite I would ever come to witness. Moments later a woman appeared on stage (now there are 6 of us in this great palace), and I'm thinking who is she? Pretty soon the music begins and she belts out Gloria! Turns out it was disco diva Laura Brannigan. The guys went wild. One of my fast friends knew the manager so we got back stage & I got to press palms with Ms. Brannigan, may she rest in peace. The beauty of it all is I discovered one of best clubs I had ever been to. I became addicted and returned there for what seemed like every Sunday T-Dance until it closed. I was usually the lone woman on stage (wearing a white cap) and dancing like crazy to Michael Garrett (he never stopped jumping). I think it was Steve Fabus that spun the tables around 10pm to the great New Wave grooves of the time. I wanted to live at the I-Beam...I wanted to get married there...it was my church, my Sunday Service. I still have a stack of dance passes foolishly awaiting its return. Michael Garrett, Dr. Sanford Kellman (former owner) -- if you are still out there please bring back what were some of the greatest club moments of all time (54 was nothin')!

The I-Beam was my first nighttime home in San Francisco, too.
Skinny, dark with big eyes, the gay boys used to scream "Diana!" at me when I walked in. I used to dance til I was dizzy! I truly miss those days.

I went to the I-Beam back in 1978? 79? I forget but I do remember going there-- what a great place that was! I stayed with some friends from the bay area, I love San francisco!

The I-beam was a great place in the late 1980s. By 1984, it was all disco and new wave - no annoying live bands, so you could really dance. No seating, so it was all serious dancers.

By then, the gay crowd was dying off and retreating to the Castro, and the I-beam often had more women then men. Everyone wore black; on Thursdays, admission was free if you were in black leather.

Did you know that the I-beam was owned by a retired astrophysicist? He was responsible for all the astronomical photographs on the walls.

That is pretty interesting! I would have loved to have lived there during that time. Thanks, Beth

I was in the Navy and stationed in Alameda from mid 83 until the end of 84. I Beam was the best club in the area at the time, IMHO. As John n mentioned it was mostly disco and New Wave by then. Most of the time they had a DJ. I do remember going there one night and there was a live band. It was the Meat Puppets. This was before they had gotten much national recognition.

Another time I went there and they had posters plastered all over the place for an upcoming show. It was for a band called the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Who?, I said. This was before they blew up too. Unfortunately I didn't go back on the night they were there.

The IBeam was the best place for me in all of San Francisco, especially from 1981-84. I would go to the gay disco nights and tea dance with all of my friends and go to see the bands on Monday nights with my brothers. It was such a blast. I remember seeing such diverse performers as X, Flipper, Divine, Nick Cave, The Red Hot Chili Peppers (doing their sock number..), Chris Isaak, etc. It was also great in that you could go get your drinks at the bar right by the dance floor or else go to a more quiet place by the pool tables and chat and order drinks there too. It was a perfect set up. I still live in the Haight and was saddened to see it torn down and replace by some rather sterile looking condos. In the San Francisco of today I can't imagine a noisy club being allowed to operate in the Haight, but god knows it was the last thing back on my mind in those fun days...

Was stationed in Alameda from 84 to 87. I had a click of friends back than who were real night owls, and we hit tons of bars and clubs on the Bay area in this time, and I-beams was one of the best of them. As a sailor, i could outdrink the best of them, but i must say this, the Long Island Ice Tea's served here were the strongest drinks i ever had in a nightclub. I held the record with my friends with drinking 6 in one night. Saw 10,000 Maniacs here. When I think of the 80's i think of clubs like Das Club, I-beams, The Stone and Wolfgangs in San Fran. Those were the days.

Here I am again. I just got home from work and found an email informing me of Paul's posting here. Rereading all of the postings I was struck by the fact that nearly all of them (except LeeAnne and Beth) refer to the 80's. And at first I was puzzled at the absence of postings about the 70's. And then as the clock reached midnight, I realized that so many of those that were there at the beginning are no longer among us. And I also remembered that this is World Aids Day.

Although I cherish the wonderful memories of those times, they bring tears to my eyes, a strange tightness to my throat and chest, and a deep, abiding ache to my heart for those many men that I knew, and more than a few that I loved. We shared a brotherhood, a comradery that, according to a number of educated texts that I've read, has rarely been equaled in all of history. And it has left an unhealed scar. On my soul as well as on the soul of much of the Gay community.

They were beautiful, joyous, souls who embraced life and all humanity, they still were flashing peace signs. To this day I still go dancing nearly every Sunday night. And the crowd around me seems to get younger every year. The dwindling few friends around me are 15-20 years my junior. My peers. And I will say goodbye to many of them prematurely.

It's World AIDS Day. It's important to not forget, whether we remember in joy or in pain. It's equally important that we renew and commit ourselves to seeing an end of this pandemic. If you can't participate actively, you can always make a contribution. In July I completed my 19th AIDS Walk. I'm humbled by the genious, the beauty, the vitality, and the courage of those who are now gone. However I'm not too humble to accept a pledge for a donation for the next walk.

I love the disco music and hearing it allows the curtains of dimmed memory to part, and, for a brief moment, I can recapture the essence of those heady days. But I can't get stuck in the past lest it make me age more quickly than at the current breakneck speed. So I'm also counting on the music that I now hear these Sundays, to at least take the chill off if not warm me in some dim, unseen future.

Respectfully,

Rell

In my posting it actually says that I was there in 1982. I began my I-Beam T-Dance dancing days on the 5th anniversary night in 1982 and continued dancing there until it closed in the 90's. I lost an entire stage (where we danced)of dance partners; they were my comrades and among them was my very good and wonderfully energetic friend, Richard. The 80's are very bittersweet for me. I loved that period since it was full of great music and interesting people; however, the incredible losses we sustained were devastating. On World AIDS Day I bow my head and remember those special souls who have never really left me. And, one day I shall too be dancing with them in heaven or that special place where I know we will all reconnect and feel so good again. Michael Garrett -- I hope you will still take my requests the next time I see you! I owe you so many good memories.

My I-Beam years were '84 - '87 when the New Wave music was big. I'd moved from London to SF and the I-Beam was the only place playing the real stuff. What I loved most was that you could dance -- as a group with friends, with a partner, or all alone. It just felt so good to DANCE. I met a cute boy there one night (a sailor from the USS Enterprise) and ended up marrying him...going on 20 years now. Funny thing is that since then, I've met a guy in Portland, Oregon who met his wife there and just found a blog written by an American woman living in Paris who notes on her "about me" page, that she met her husband at the I-Beam! Thanks for keeping the place alive through this site!!!

Hi all
It's been a while since I posted.... It's great to see that the memory of the I-Beam lives on. I wonder if I would ever be able to find some of the folks I used to hang out with back in the I-Beam days through this website. The fact that I do not remember anyone's name is not going to help my search, lol. The timeframe was 1987-1990. Adrian Henriquez is the only name I remember and he was my dearest friend so Adrian, if you're out there, I would LOVE to hear from you, drop me a line. Adrian would always have that routine he did frontstage with his latino posse, pretending he was a saxophone player, bumping his head up and down, always a smile on his face. I remember a guy that I nicknamed "sailor" because he looked like one, kind of short stature, I think that he might have had a scarf wrapped around his neck all the time or maybe it was the type of jacket he would wear that made him look like a sailor. I seem to remember that he was a single father... There was Madeline (friend of Adrian).... Mark, K.C. and the BEAUTIFUL Jeff Burke who DJ'd on tuesdays, thursdays and saturdays, if I remember correctly. If anyone has any info on how I can contact any of these folks, would you please drop me a line?
Thanks ever so much!!!
Helen

I so miss the I-Beam. I saw KC and the Sunshine Band there and also the Village People on Halloween night. I used to always go with my brother to the Sunday Tea Dance and would love the DISCO. It's kind of depressing to think about how fun those days are compared to now -- in our politically correct, hypersensitive world. I was so upset when I saw the I-Beam in a shambles one day my eyes got watery. Thank God I had the privilege of going there and enjoying the Disco era and the height of the sexual revolution. Still alive to talk about it which is good. Greetings to all you I-Beam and Disco lovers out there.
Sincerely -- AL IN LA

I found an old wallet of mine the other day and it had basically nothing in it but i did see a ticket stub for Das Klub dated 1987. And that brought me back to my clubbing days in the 80's. So i did some net surfing and wouldn't you know it, I see I-beams on this site. I used to hit Bay Area scene hard in those days. Like a few people before me, I also was stationed in Alameda. Aboard the USS Enterprise. I like to explore the city and often went to Golden Gate Park. One day i stumbled (literally) into this place and it became one of my favorites. Good drinks, cool people, great music and that classic 80's scene. Oh, how i miss those times. I hate today's music and i never venture to the nightclub scene anymore. Guess i don't have to. I'll always have memories of some of the great places in the bay area to remind me of those days. The ones i remember are Stargaze in Fremont, Berkeley Square in Bezerkly. The Stone, Wolfgangs, Oasis, Paladium, Das Klub and I=Beams in Frisco. And a bar in my old town of Alameda called Crolls. Not quite a nightclub, but did some late night dancing there to there video jukebox.

I was looking at some Haight-Ashbury stuff online today, when I ran across the "I-Beam". I totally forgot about that place. Not living in the city, my girlfirends would often club it in S.F. We saw Chris Isaak at the I-Beam. It was such fun.. no matter when you were there.. and what music was playing.. it seams the I-Beam was a 'fav' for many!

I loved the I-Beam. I was there throughout the 80's, getting in with my fake ID when I was 17. I loved the old movie videos synch'd to the present music, the Divine video jumping on the trampoline, Pit Sniffer (the guy who looked like Peter Frampton who lip-synch'd and sniffed his armpit on stage), Baby Doll Man (the guy who wore a pink baby doll negligee while lip synch'ing), the group line dances, meeting my very first boyfriend Michael there (I was 19, he was 18), my hunky ex-boyfriend David the doorman in his LITTLE gym shorts at the door (all 6'3" of him - YUMMM), Sylvester live, Die Hard Lover by Loverde, the Halloween Party with the guy dressed as a coke bag and his partner was the spoon, my friend Christian the bartender, and my beautiful best friend Dennis who died of AIDS in '93 at the age of 30. Yep, those were the days!

I used to love the I Beam. I moved to SF in '79, but vactioned out there in '78. Of course, the I beam was on the tour. It was a really great dance bar, with lots of men dancing without shirts. The guys there were more of the "A list gays", gym bunnies, and mustachioed Castro clones, but not really attitude, everyone was very friendly. I saw Jim Carroll appear there, as well as the original drag diva, DIVINE, singing her hit at the time "the name game". I used to go there dancing bi weekly with eith my lover or friends. We lived on Waller st., about a ten minute walk from the Beam. There were some great clubs then, "the City" was already mentioned, and I too saw Charles Pierce there, plus the dazzling Harlettes. The End Up, south of Market, was always fun for Sunday afternoons, stretching into the evening.A much funkier crowd, was the STUD, a gay pseudo western, but disco dancing, then new wave bar. Janis Joplin used to frequent it when she was alive. The STUD since changed locations, so it wasn't as fun anymore. Hamburger Mary's restaurant was cruisy and a great place to get a burger before or after dancing. There was another nice little bar right on Market street, i can't think of the name, just before the freeway overpass heading towards Van Ness. Dancing was good there, too. Ahh, life was great, and people who didn't experience gay life during the disco era, and pre-AIDS, missed a lot. I treasure those days, and my old haunts.

I think the other bar on Market Street that roger mentioned was Alfie's. It was sort of small but it could be a hot place to dance.... Getting back to Haight Street, another small venue only a couple of blocks from the I Beam, toward GG Park, same side of the street, was Bones which was opened by Jack and Jerry, who were the owners of the famed gay eatery, Mommy Fortuna's. which was opposite the I Beam, but down 2 blocks heading toward downtown. Peaches LaTour, a female who was one of my housemates, was their chief bottle washer, and staunch defender. She was also, along with many of the first I Beam denizens, a fixture at the original Rainbow Cattle Company which is now called Zeitgeist. Those were some wild and heady days!!

I am 3rd generation born and raised in SF. In high school I met David Polizzi, fabulous SF designer/textile artist, also a native. (David was doing hand painted kimono's in the late 70's, Sylvester wore one of his designs on the cover of Cashbox magazine back then) David took me to my 1st gay bar, called The Mindshaft. I was only 18 but always got in without id. Then David turned me onto the IBeam. I think I was one of the very 1st females in the club, as I got past the "no open toe shoes" policy... I spent many a night twirling to the great music over the years. I also met a very special friend, Andre Valiquette at the Ibeam. I am very sad the club is gone, it seemed like it would last FOREVER! I welcome anyone who remembers me to email me back as I am homesick. Vancouver is a wonderful city, but San Fran is HOME. ps I was also an early pioneer at the Troc, the End Up, and the decadent Headquarters. April.

One more thing...does anyone remember the small dive after hours called "Headquarters"? In the early 80's everyone would go there from The Stud. It was pretty decadent after 3, when the "up all night crowd" held court. I cannot remember the name of the small alley it was on...it was off another alley in SOMA...Minna? does anyone remember?
April

The alley was, and is, called Clementina.

Someone brought up Oasis. I also remember Club 9. It was often from Club 9 to the Stud for me. Can't remember much after that but somewhere....

First and only time in IBEAM was April 9, 1983; two germans I met on the plane invited me and I saw the best disco I have ever seen....I'm going to go this winter to Frisco with my two children and I wanted to bring them, but I understood it does exist no more....I will explain them the fabolous feeling I felt and I still feel .... Riccardo (Italy)

I live in Sacramento and would head to the City Friday or Saturday nights. I loved the size of the club and all the men! My most vivid memory is of a fan-dancer dancing shirtless. I was mesmorized by his arms flying about as his body twisted and turned to the strobe lights. He never seemed to stop. He would go all night long.

I also used to go to the Parade in SFO. The I-Beam's "truck" always ended the parade and everyone would follow it (those who couldn't get up on the flatbed) down Market Street dancing.

Someone mentioned Alfies. This reminded me of The Balcony on Market and also a New Year's eve party at Alfie's in '82 or '83. My partner and I had intercourse on the dancefloor at the stroke of 12. Talk about memories. He's long gone, but they live on with me.

Take care all and peace!

I went to the I-Beam on two separate occasions in mid-1984 with a very hot woman with whom I was trying desperately to connect. We danced all night to some great new wave and alternative dance music. I had a lot of great memories of those two nights.

I thought I would look the I-Beam up on the net to see what happened to it, only to discover two things:

One, that it sadly burned down; and

Two: that it was a gay club.

Now, I have been to many gay clubs before and since (with women) and have had a great time. The music is always better and, if I can be so bold to generalize, gay people are a whole lot cooler than most of the straight people I know.

The reason it came as a surprise is that I was there twice and I had no idea it was a gay club. Not that it would have mattered, but I think this is something I think I would have noticed.

My question is: Am I that oblivious or was the I-Beam a "straight" club in 1984 or did it have "straight" nights?

The I-Beam had straight nights, too. I thought it was straight on Tues, Thurs, and Sat.

Another interesting note to go along with this thread: Milk (a feature film biography about Harvey Milk with Sean Penn) is being filmed on Castro Street. The setting is the 70's and the studio has brought back many store signs of bars and businesses long gone along with extras dressed in really bad clothing. I don't recall us looking that bad. Maybe all the good stuff got destroyed. I keep hoping to see Sylvester walk down the street with his afghan dogs in his gold caftan again.

I missed the days of the I-Beam since I didn't move to San Francisco until 1999. I only know of it from friends sharing their fond memories. A few years before the building was torn down there were rumors around the Castro that it would be opened for one last farewell party but that never happened. I wish it had.

I moved to SF during the height of Universe and Pleasuredome at Club Townsend. Those were amazingly fun times although I did see a lot of friends fall victim to crystal. Most of them survived though and are doing OK today.

I imagine the sadness i feel at the demolition of Club Townsend is the same many of you feel for I-Beam. Different generation, different club...but many of the same memories and feelings.

"My question is: Am I that oblivious or was the I-Beam a "straight" club in 1984 or did it have "straight" nights?" I didn't make to the I-Beam but did frequent 'The City' on Montgomery as a very straight Berkeley frat rat with my sorority/Mills College dates circa 78-80. Plus a visit to a somewhat leatherish "Buzby's" with a very cool stainless-steel dance floor. As a I recall Saturday Night Fever had a certain impact and created a certain tension in the gay club scene, which , of course, pioneered the music long before Travolta got fitted as an ice cream salesman. Every regular straight venue with a dancing permit rebranded itself as a disco and was soon filled with people imitating SNF moves. Some of the original gay discos felt themselves beseiged by straights (like me) seeking a hipper experience and in danger of being 'taken over' . 'The CIty' was. In fact I think circa '80 when Urban Cowboy came out it actually went C&W; for a while before folding!
By then I was into Talking Heads...

Incidentally, don't you love the ads Google is serving up on this page!

I arrived in SF in the fall of 1977 from VT on a Greyhound Bus. I was 21, single and fell in love with the Haight. The people, restaurants, rollerskating and of course the Nightlife!
My 1st apartment on Delmar, you could practically hear the Music wafting up the street from the I-BEAM. I often walked past it and marveled at the colorful, demonstrative patrons entering & exiting the club. The owner of Uganda Liquors lived across the street from me... and he sort of looked out for me. The Free Clinic where i went when I was sick (with no insurance).
I'd never known what the gay lifestyle was about (I always thought it meant just being Happy)..... but eventually I understood, and found some dear wonderful men, many of whom I would call my friends. Eventually I became indoctrinated & loved dancing at Alfies, STUD and a few others in the Castro, wearing my simple black leather vest....and dancing till i sweated my a** off. Those years changed me forever. The friends I've lost to this terrible pandemic are with me still. I give every year to AIDs charities & Pray someday a cure will be found. The trips I've made back to SF always include a walk down Haight. To pause & give thanks for those 5years of blessed memories of My Beautiful City By The Bay:)

OMG I would be at the I-Beam each and every night, when I was in my 20's > I was the guy that would do Prince on the main stage

I loved the I-Beam! I was the girl who danced with loveagent7... laughing, shimmying and shaking it right in my supercalafradulisticespealidocious f*** me pumps!

the beam was my favorite club. i had a date with a cute construction worker. having never done mushrooms before we each swallowed a huge hand full. by the time the cab pulled up to the club we were ffffffd up. michael garrett played this song about "flying thru the sky to the moon " or something. my date and i both assumed the I beam had lifted off from earth,,,youhooooo. We were high for three days. I'll never forget that night , that song , or the club. does anyone have any idea of what that song could have been? thanks for the memories!

I moved to the city in 1978. The I-Beam was hot and sweaty and pure sexual energy. Dancing shirtless, cruising, etc. Did my first ever hit of MDA at the I-Beam. Because I worked at Church Street Station, I got to know a lot of the staff at the I-Beam. For a long time the staff handed out coupons to enter tea dance for free or $1. Saw Sylvester, Two-Tons, and many PAs there.

My household would raced to get there before 5 PM on Sunday or a line would form. We would smoke joints and go across the street to the Uganda and buy a six-packs and get ready for the night life. Many are hot 'clone' was taken home from the I-Beam.

Later when on to spend 7 years working at the Woods and Fife's in Guerneville.

This message is to Chuck who posted on July 14,2008.My lover and I moved from SF to Guerneville in 79, where we worked at Fife's, The Woods, Stumptown Annie's and The Fool. Would like to exchange memories. rellsky@sbcglobal.net

Loveagent7, I so remember you, lolol, how insane is that?!!!! If you're the Prince lookalike that I'm thinking of (there were two frequenting the place at the time, one REALLY looked like Prince (you?) and the other one was a creep who worked at a cafe 4 blocks down from the I-Beam and I sure hope you're not him, lolol), then I think I danced with you on a few occasions. :o)
I just called my husband after reading your comment to tell him that I just read about a guy I used to see every other night in a club some 21 years ago!!! LOL, only at the I-Beam. He was surprised that people would still take the time to come to this site and reminisce about the I-Beam days after all this time.... I explained to him that the I-Beam was not just a regular club, that it was a very unique culture where all kinds of mixed crowds coexisted and spent blissful, iconic moments, where many of us semi-homeless creatures found a place to call home 3 or 4 nights a week. You just never forget a place like this. I too always thought that someday, a year or 20 from now, I would be able to get on a plane (I live on the east coast now) and walk down Haight street where I spent some of my most exhilirating years and walk by that fantastic place again and run up the long staircase. Sadly, I will never be able to fulfill this fantasy.
Becky, I'm not sure that I remember you. What did you look like? I too used to walk in with my fake ID from hell, some French student card where the birthdate had been rewritten by hand and looked so obviously false, lol.... noone cared back then.
;o)
Helen

I remember Suzie, my girlfriend at the time, taking me there for the first time in mid 1986. I spent many Saturdays there over the next few years. I still remember stopping at Uganda Liquors for gum, certs, etc before going in.Remember how hard it was to find a parking place in the neighborhood? I would cruise around for at least a 1/2 hour to 45 minutes. I have a memory of flirting with a girl from San Jose named Athena who came on to me hard.

SOMEONE ASKED ABOUT A SONG THAT WAS ALWAYS PLAYED AT THE BEAM

IT WAS CALLED TRIPPING ON THE MOON

Yes that's right, thanks LoveAgent, I just youtubed it! :o)
Also, does anyone remember this other video of a really huge guy involved in an eating orgy and licking his chops the whole way until.... he exploded? lol, do I remember thsi correctly? WHAT MOVIE WAS THIS FROM, ANYONE?????
:o)
To the question about the club's sexual identity in the early to mid 80's. I wa there every tues, wed, thurs and sat and absolutely remember the club to be mostly straight. This being said, this wasn't the kind of place where you labeled people, anyone and everyone was there happily sharing teh dance floor and as far as I know, noone gave a damn what you were and did, just so long as you didn't step on other people's dancing feet!!!!
Does anyone remember the girl in her 20's who did her classical ballet rehearsal (clearly dancing to teh beat of her own drum!!!) in the left corner right in front of the stage (at the foot of the screen)? lolol. That's where I used to dance... I love how evryone has such different memories attached to the place, by the way.
Does anyone know what happened to DJ Jeff Burke?
Helen

"Also, does anyone remember this other video of a really huge guy involved in an eating orgy and licking his chops the whole way until.... he exploded? lol, do I remember thsi correctly? WHAT MOVIE WAS THIS FROM, ANYONE?????"

This was from Monty Python's Meaning of Life.

My friend Chris and I discovered the I-Beam in 87. She was working at the Paladium and we ended up at the I-Beam one Sunday night - Tea Dance! The best time I ever had. Michael Garrett, Sweet Giza, Alan, Phil, my love James Julian. It was an incredible three years for me. I ended up working there! Best job of my life! Soundgarden, Cris Isaak, GWAR, even Jello. I even met my best friend there - Julianna. I remember the night dancing on stage with Chris and Kim, in his spandex and microphone. Ah to be so young and naive again. There I was groupie to the best band of the 80's (no name mentioned) and living and loving at the club. Never again! These West Virginia hillbilly bars just don't come close!

Thanks everyone - you've brought back some cherished memories. I first went to the I-Beam about two weeks after I arrived in SF in the spring of 1981 and went to Tuesday dollar nights every week for at least three years. Brian Raffi as DJ, new wave, new romantics, some punks, mostly undefinables like me. I must know Helen - I too danced in the far corner below the stage, or on stage if it got too crowded. I'm tall, blond, male (duh), mistakably straight, uptight European, and (at least back then) self-absorbed. So I danced mostly by myself, but never by myself. I loved that I could dance with the people around me, connect for a few moments only, then retreat into the music. I also loved feeling like I was losing control without actually losing it.

I remember Edward in the middle of the dance floor in his dreadlocks and white shorts, sweating and moving all over, always surrounded by a couple of young boys. And there was a the shaking guy - he'd stand still with his whole body vibrating to the music. Ballet girl, of course.

There really was magic on that floor. I used to take the bus down Haight Street afterward, maybe to go home or to eat somewhere like Zim's or the Grubstake first, and one night there were maybe a dozen of us on this bus, still sweaty and glowing, and somehow we all burst out laughing. It felt like we had all recognized how special the night had been and the extraordinary connection between the people on that dance floor - a connection that I never heard verbalized until now.

I do remember going to Headquarters at least once after the I-Beam.

Saturday nights were for Earl's, as long as it lasted, but I also went to the Stud - I think they played new wave Monday nights back then at the Folsom Street location. Later came a bunch of South of Market clubs with decent music, but I seem to remember names at random: Anon, Zulu, the Rainbow, Club 9, the Oasis, 6th & Minna, eventually the DNA...

And I made life-long friends at the I-Beam: Linda and Cathy.

Fredster
I do remember Edward!!! lol, what a riot! I had forgotten all about him until I read your description of him and it instantly came back to me. Wow, funny how the mind works!
AND I'm now also remembering one regular guy dancing in my area night after night, a blonde guy germanic looking, usually doing his own thing night after night, dressed pretty lowkey. Could that have been you? I'd probably recognize you from a pic, lol!
Does anyone know where I could buy a used I-Beam tee shirt? OR (since they're prob all gone), would anyone have a scanned I-Beam loggo so I could get my own tee shirt made? That would be quite something after all these years to be able to wear an I-Beam tee shirt!!! I still remember the loggo, with the tall "I".... but where would I find it? Can anyone help?
:o)
Peace and don't forget to vote next week for those of us who can't!!!!
Helen

Fredster -Were you the guy who danced with his hands in his pockets, medium-length hair with side part?

Helen - I know how you feel about an I-Beam tee. I still have mine and refuse to get rid of it. I wear it out sometimes when I feel like talking to people; it's always a conversation starter.

I just added Die Hard Lover by Loverde, Come Get Your Love by Lime, and Sylvester's Band of Gold to my iTunes. Need to add Gloria by Laura Branigan, The Visitors by ABBA, and Mickey by Toni ???

Helen, Jamie,

Did you guys ever go to New Wave City? If so, is it still going on? I went once and enjoyed dancing for the first time in years, but I live in Massachusetts now.

I doubt that anyone would mind if you grab the logo off some website, clean it up in Photoshop and have it printed on the t-shirt of your choice. Of course, that's not the real thing, but still.

Don't know if I'm the guy you remember. I changed styles a lot back then, but yes, Germanic-looking I am. Six four. Did my own thing, mostly with my hands out of my pockets. When I was feeling good I probably took up more space than anyone besides you know who.

Besides Edward, you mean? ha ha ha.... What I wouldn't give for one big reunion with all the old timers. Boy do I sound old!!! ;o) Why can't all the old regulars find this site and start blogging already????
Thanks for the suggestion but fyi, there are no site I can find with I-Beam loggo and I can't remember it well enough to have it recreated. All I remember is the very tall "I" letter and I think the loggo was red or orange..... hey, maybe I'll go do a search now, you just never know what could be online....
:o)
Helen

Wow! Just found this site....I worked at the I-Beam for many years in the eighties. I was the doorman/manager. I started around 1984 and then brought my friend Jefferson out from Colorado and he became a DJ. Then brought out another friend David and he worked the door. We had quite the little posse and boy was it fun! What a great club and a great group of people. We got to see every cool band there was and had the place to ourselves after 2:00am every night! Just reading all these comments has brought back so many memories of my own. Edward! We used to get so many complaints from people because his dreads would spray everybody with sweat as he swung his head around. Gary, Michael, James, Cathy Cohn and what about the greatest doorman in the world TV. We held a helluva fundraiser for him after he was shot. So many great shows! X, Chili Peppers, Cramps, Butthole Surfers, and the local bands like the Beatnigs, Wait until December and Faith No More. And Chris Isaak was always off the charts. I'll never forget the firts night I saw Buck Naked and the Bare bottom Boys! Buck had worked for us for awhile and I knew he had a band, but he only told me "it was kinda alt-country". When he came out with nothing more than a rubber chicken over his privates and pink vinyl cowboy boots with matching hat, I just about sprayed beer out of my nose! He became a good friend and I have never gotten over his murder. I hate to admit this now, but I was only 19 when I started at the I-Beam. I had one crazy 21st b-day party! I grew up there and made so may great friends there and its wonderful to read all of your stories! Thank you Sanford for giving us all a place "hang" in those crazy days of the eighties.

Helen, the logo is near the top of this discomusic.com page: there's an image of a Sunday Tea Dance ticket with the logo on it about eight or nine inches from the top. There's also a cleaner-looking image of the logo in black and white further left.

Ooops, just noticed the loggo at the very top of this page so I should be all set, and right in time for Christmas! :o))
Fredster, that place you mentioned does not ring a bell but then again, I moved out of the bay area in winter of 90...
Can anyone tell me how much Haight Street has changed since the mid-eighties and would I be completely horrified by how unrecognizable it has become? I haven't been able to make the trip back west since...
Helen

I have not read all the descriptions of the I-Beam but did anyone mention the red laser light. It was the first laser I'd ever seen, made many times more visible because attendees were allowed to smoke.
I was a straight guy who worked with a gay construction crew at the time. We restored houses in the "Castro" district. Larkin McCalistar was my boss. A great boss I might add. Larkin lived on a street off Fillmore in one of his restorations. The reason I'm bringing this up is because of the movie "Milk" which has just hit the movie theaters in my neighborhood (East Village NYC) cut straight to my heart. I worked with these guys for two years. I ate lunch with them. And, occasionally partied with them at the I-Beam for example. I would like to see as the next president is a black lesbian. 'Nuff said.

Lawrence
Your posting is intriguing and makes me want to see Milk, lol... when did you frequent the I-Beam (years and week nights)?
Take care and Happy Thanksgiving to All!!!
Peace and Love
Helen

Does anyone remember Simple Simon the roguish but endearing neer do well speed freak? He was a dj from Canada.

How about Terry Mercenary, Tom Treason, Killer, Rebel, Quirke or Michael Maniac? Does anyone remember any of these people?
Maniac where are YOU??

While I spent a lot more time across the street from the I-beam at the Nightbreak, I saw lots of bands at the I-beam. I was stationed at the Presidio from 1988 to 1991 and stayed in the lower Haight very close to the Kennel Club on Divisidero and Hayes for a year after I got out of the army. Needless to say I have great memories of seeing countless bands at the I-Beam. Lots of local bands like Maximillion's Motorcycle Club, Buck Naked and the Bare-Bottom Boys, The Sea Hags and a few others I can't recall. I also saw lots of national bands there too like The Fluid, 24-7 Spyz, and oh so many more. Phil, the lead singer of Buck Naked And The Bare Bottom Boys worked the door there and was tragically taken from us when he was murdered in the Panhandle. I still remember the day he died - same as when Chris from the Sea Hags died. So many memories. Nice to share them here and read others' memories as well.

Anyone else remember or hang out at the Nightbreak?

I remember running between Nightbreak, Murio's, and I-Beam most nights of the week for several years. There was a loose knit community of like minded folks who made that particular scene what is was in those days.

Most memories revolve around the live shows and the people I knew and hung out with only made the experience better. Does anyone remember "Fast Mike" who photographed most of the shows there? Would enjoy hearing more experiences from others about the I-Beam shows and the area in general.

Steve.

I lived about a block from the I-beam and used to go to the t-dance pretty regularly. The music was great and there were some hot men that went there. I remember going in through the door on Haight street and walking up to the second story where the dance floor was. You walked through the pool room which had it's own bar and beyond that was the dance floor which had a long bar along one side running the length of the room. Hot bartenders.

OMG Philio, how did I not see your posting until now is beyond me! Are you still friends with Jefferson? He was the person I was referring to in one of my previous postings, how wild!!! Was his last name Burkes or Burks? I wonder if he would remember me. he used to play tuesday nights (How the he11 do I still remember that????) No really folks, I do have a life!!!!). ;o)
Too funny! And I would probably totally remember you then too, but the name doesn't ring a bell for some reason.... Were you also friends with Mark (also worked the door)? and KC or TC (can't remember now)????? You were 19 when you started working there, lol, I was SEVENTEEN when I started going on a regular basis (every tues, thurs, some fridays, saturdays), lol. My french student ID was as fake looking as can be but you guys would let me in anyways, so.... THANKS!!!!!!!

PS: Is is true that someone created a profile on Facebook for the I-Beam? I'm not on Facebook yet and not sure I want to be BUT I must say, I'm intrigued.....
PPS: Wouldn't it be soooo cool if a movie was made based on the club and its unique and colorful past?
PPPS: Since you worked the door, do you remember how people could sneak into the club from the building that was right next to it, at the street corner? I think you ended up somewhere upstairs? lol, I never had to but my sister who was visiting fom France (also underaged) once had to... again, why do i remember this silly story from TWENTY years ago? I guess because it was very funny at the time as she kept getting booted out and kept showing up again a few minutes later, thanks to my friend Adrian!).
;o)
H

Jimbo, Terry Mercenary was a nurse stationed @ Travis around 1982-1984...by day he nursed at the Vets Hospital, by night he was a GOTH dj at Nightbreak...did you know him?

I remember it all: mid 80s and early 90s! The gay dance side and the live music side... There was a real scene... a music community... not virtual. I miss it and cannot believe that it has not been documented as important of a time and space as it was creatively. I am in contact with the few who have stayed in music - which is not too many of us. Eddie Jennings is based in LA. I run into the Jackson Saints people every now and then and Kelly Spencer our former DJ is at a label. Cathy Cohn went into nutrition. Do not know what happened to anyone else. Except I run into Steven Ames Brown here in there in legal circles... loved reading the comments about music!!!! Anita

April-

Sorry to pass on sad news, but Terry passed away back in 1989 (?)...and I heard Tom went back to Sacramento. Might be a little off on the date, but I remember getting the call, it was long ago.

Those were good days, at I-Beam and Nightbreak....

Does anyone remember Darryl Anderson? He died after falling off the I-Beeam float at the '82 parade. The truck failed to make the turn, and it lurched when the driver put it in gear to back up... Darryl was dazed from the fall, and somewhat slow to move, and he rolled towards us not realizing the truck's tires were approaching him from behind.
The driver didn't hear us yelling until it was too late, and stopped on his head...

Nightbreak: used to see Chris Isaak at Nightbreak when he was 'breaking' into the biz. His mom sat at a card table at the door selling his CD's. Boy, those were the days.

The I-Beam, my favorite place for Tuesday night. Lived in the area, use to run down, when asked if I was alone, I would say, ???My friends are over there???, pointing to a random group of gals. Yikes, I dated, Adrian for a whole month. Helen, I have not thought of him for years. My best memories were when the crowd spontaneously burst into dancing around the place in circles ??? I can still remember ???Get It On??? ??? people running on and off the stage in this wave of madness.

The I-Beam was my Sunday afternoon stop because I didnt have to wait until dark for the party to get started on the dance floor.
I recall them playing Joe Jackson's Steppin Out to an already packed dance floor just upon entering, and it was daylight outside.
I remember it like yesterday hearing Confunkshun'a Ffun, New Order's Bizarre Love Triangle and seeing in amazement that wonderful shooting out colors from the sides of the dance floor. I danced on that stage when possible til I dropped.
I loved that big bar to refresh, but didnt talk to anyone much. I think they wanted to see me dance more when I got my steam back.
By the way, loved the bathroom decor!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUOg3Prkz9o

My God, a web page with the I-Beam talked about, how wierd is this. I Worked the club for over 5 years in the mid 80's doing the Laser show on most nights. What a hoot, worked at the Drum club on the river too. Good mem's all.

I worked as a busboy and coatchecker at the I-Beam when it first opened in Oct of '77, for about a year and a half. I remember the owner, Sandford and his lover Brad Wise (who was the manager),and the bartenders and my close friend and coworker, Bob W., and of course the DJs and patrons. Sylvester came in from time to time. I have some fond memories of it's warmth and charm. I was back on Haight Street in July of 2009. The doors of the old I Beam building were still there....

If you saw a live music show at the I-Beam from around September of 1987, up to about April of 1991, I was your lighting director. There were quite a few sound engineers during my time there- most notably Deanne Franklin- but I was the only LD for every live show during that time. Well, almost- I was sick one night but I came in to do the setup, and left by the time the doors opened. The band was Pere Ubu, on a reunion tour in '88, and the manager, Jefferson Burke, ran the lights that night.
I guess most of the postings here are remembrances of dance nights, but I was coming to the live music shows at the Beam long before I worked there. The lighting gig was actually "handed off" to me by my roommate at the time, Wayne Sugihara, and I used to watch many of the shows from backstage and in the private upstairs rooms at the back of the house.
I eventually moved the lighting boards up to the small corner balcony (right rear corner, above the dance floor) where one of the follow spots was located, because I got tired of running the lights from in the DJ booth behind the stage, looking through the window. The only good part of that was that I got to look at the faces of the people right up front. This gave me the advantage of being able to pick out cute girls in the crowd to try and meet after the show (and see if they had any boyfriends lurking around). Hey, don't think you wouldn't have thought of it, too!
Many of the bands that played there, especially the local bands that were often 2nd billed to national acts, were aware of the fact that I was also the head of A&R; for local indie label (the legendary) 415/CBS Records. This after Howie Klein sold the label to Sandy Pearlman, who also owned Alpha & Omega Studios in the Hyde Street Studios complex (now being converted into condos, like the I-Beam). I can't help but wonder if these bands put on their best performances at the I-Beam because of this; many of them handed me casettes and cd's of their demos after the show.
It was an interesting mix of staff on live nights, too, as the music crew (lights, sound, roadies, security, etc.) were pretty much all straight, while the bar crew was mostly gay- and we got along great! It was never an issue, happy to say. But that points out the real vibe of the club- everyone was welcome. Sadly, I watched as many of these wonderful souls passed because of AIDS; it was heartbreaking to all of the I-Beam family (RIP Alan & Sam, et al).
And lastly (whew, thought he'd go on forever), there was a panel on the wall just as you enter the DJ booth, on the left side, that had a number of signatures of people that had played there, including Ian McCulloch (Echo/Bunnymen), John Taylor (Duran Duran), and Bono Vox (U2). Yes, it was that long ago that he still signed his name with "Vox." My only regret is that I didn't somehow get in there before they tore it down and remove that panel from the wall. Would love to have that hanging in my house right now. Oh well.

Thanks for letting me share some of my adventures in I-Beam land!

Cheers

thanks to all 4 sharing. the I Beam was a (mostly) gay men's dance bar in it's first few years, - the way Rell described it above. I too remember the chorus from Santa Esmerelda doing (or lipsyncing) 'Misunderstood.' Other early tunes I recall played by the Djs: 'Once Upon a Time / Fairy Tale High' by Donna Summer; Cerrone: Got to have lovin;' Chic: 'Dance dance dance/Yowza,' 'Everybody dance'; El Coco: 'Cocomotion'; Linda Clifford: 'Runaway love,' 'Caught up.' enjoy!

Thanks Tommy for your recollection, it took me back for a few minutes...
I probably saw you a number of times there, I literally lived in that place (4 nights a week between 1986 and 1990. I still remember bringing water glasses to Jefferson on nights when he DJ'ed, lol.
It's a darned shame that none of us will ever be able to revisit this place. It forever captured a snapshot of us that will haunt many of us for a lifetime. The fact that the place only lives in people's memories today contributes to making it larger than life and almost mystical. For many of us, this place was much more than a club.
We'll always have the memories.
;o)
Helen

just to note: the late SF Supervisor Harvey Milk came in to the I Beam to speak up against Prop 8 (I think that was the prop's number) @ 1978. I didn't hear him speak, but saw him there later that evening before he left.

Allow me to clear up a misconception about the end of the I-Beam: there are some posts on here that state that the club burned down... it didn't. It was torn down to build condos w/retail space on the ground floor. The building next door burned down (on the corner of Haight/Cole) and they built the Goodwill Store on that site. Fortunately the wind was blowing east that night, so the I-Beam was unscathed, while the houses across Cole Street suffured some fire damage.
And if I remember correctly, the building that was to become the Goodwill Store was deliberately torched while it was under construction, possibly because there were people that didn't want any "chain" stores on Haight St. Regardless, the I-Beam was not damaged that time, either, and the Goodwill Store was eventually completed. If I didn't remember this part correctly, feel free to post a correction, but I'm pretty darn sure the building next door burned twice.

Cheers!

To Anita Rivas:

I continued to work for Sandy Pearlman at 415/CBS Records up until he changed the name (to "Popular Metaphysics") and moved the label to MCA Records. I'm happy to hear that you still know the whereabouts of Eddie. If you ever see him again tell him Tommy Justin says hello, and I remember both of you very fondly. Those were awesome times!
Of course I had a bit of a crush on Kelly (I wasn't alone), but since I wasn't a "long-haired loser with no money" (her words, not mine) I didn't qualify for dating consideration. I do hope she's doing well.

Regards.

The I Beam as deliberately torn down and did not burn?????? I'm floored. I could live with the place having tragically burnt down to the ground but to know that it was deliberately torn apart blows my mind completely.
:o(((
Did any of the local IBeamers try to fight back to stop the demolition project? demonstrations, complaints at City Hall?
That is truely heart breaking.
:o(
Helen