All Shook Down Music Festival

My first fun event in San Francisco!
A few days after arriving here from England not knowing a sole within 6000 miles I went wandering in North Beach and stumbled upon the All Shook Down stage. I ventured in listened to some music drank some beer and had a great time. By the end of the I festival had some great new friends who I still hang out with.
At the time I did not realise but the closed streets and drinking in the street are quite a treat for SF.
Neon Indian were great although amazingly load!
A perfect Sunday in my eyes, sunny, outdoor daytime drinking with some live music thrown in for good measure! The only problem is Monday comes all to fast…
Maybe it was not quite 5 star but it was a great welcome to the city for me so its getting 5 stars!

Absolutely amazing acts up and down North Beach (and the weather was perfect!). The main stage shows were fantastic (well the two I saw anyway: Janelle Monaé and Neon Indian). I only wish there were more of me so I could have seen all the other acts around town.
My only complaint was the whole VIP thing. I didn’t buy a VIP pass, but others did and it seems the event coordinators did nothing to monitor the use of the VIP area or even make sure that everyone near the stage had paid at all. Had I known, I might have saved myself my regular ticket price and just gone in.
They should either: a) have the event open as it was, with no VIP distinction b) check for ticket purchase farther back from the stage or at least enforce the VIP designation. I’m in favor of option «a» because it’s just too hard to monitor who is coming in and out without a lot of staffing and bullshit. Plus, they’ll still make money off the folks who want to see the events inside the other club venues.
Anyway, for a first time out of the gate, it was a fantastic event and I look forward to going next year!

Janelle Monáe AND Neon Indian on the same bill? YES, PLEASE.
I sprung for the «VIP» tickets since we’d have access to the VIP-​only section right in front of the stage. I had run the SFM Full that day, so I figured that I’d need the VIP treatment. It would’ve been great if they actually ENFORCED it. They didn’t even check for regular admission. Anybody could’ve gone to this show for absolutely free; and by the look of it, 75% of the people in the VIP section DID. I was struggling just to get a view of my 4^th wife Jane. Granted she has a restraining order of 10′ from me, but the closest I could get was 20′. It got even worse when Neon Indian took the stage.
THE OBLIGATORY SIDE-​STORY
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Like I said, the VIP section was littered with non-​paying concert-​goers. One of those guys was a 4′-13″ homosexual who grabbed my shoulder and attempted to shove me to the side to get closer. You can imagine how much I laughed when he couldn’t even get my weight to shift. What’s funnier is that I should’ve been a pushover considering my legs were as stable as Jello after running 26.2 miles. Anyway, he looks at me dirty as if he was going to punch me (if he could reach that far). I’m sure he was the alpha-​male of his relationship, and he was just trying to impress his date. Now, I’m the non-​violent type, and I would never raise my fists against a woman or a gay guy. That, and if i actually got beat up by either, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself. So I tell vertically-​challenged-​Ru-​Paul to relax and that I’ll let him pass since his «oompa-​lumpa-​Lupe-​Fiasco-​looking ass won’t block my view». Oh, he was mad, but he knew better. He skipped the kicking and pushing and decided to coast instead.
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So basically, I paid $ 43 for some free Vitamin Water and a YakPak that I will most likely give away to the first person that requests it.
To sum it up:
INCREDIBLE choices for the main stage.
sound was great.
terrible, terrible execution.

So much fun. 15 bucks for a bunch of live music. other free music and booths and a great scene in the heart of north beach. I couldn’t ask for a better afternoon!

So glad I made it to ASD in its first year. Paid $ 15 to get into the best bars in North Beach and hear every breed of music I could ask for (rock, blues, hip hop, electronic, acoustic, latin, international, etc.), including great local acts and national headliners. My favorite show by far was Neon Indian, who put on a performance that I have to count as one of the best I’ve seen in SF to date. Great energy, great crowd, great setting in the historic streets of North Beach.
I also had a great time at Mojito for some funk and soul, and loved Tiny Television at Savoy Tivoli.
Unlike the typical free street festivals, ASD was not too crowded. Moreover, it had very positive energy, unlike many street fairs that often descend into useless drunken agitation. And because the shows were outside as well as in every corner bar, it felt like everywhere you turned there was new music to explore in a colorful new venue. Kind of like when you go to the ice cream shop and there’s such an abundance of deliciou choices at your fingertips, you don’t know where to begin. Was great that so many streets were just blocked off to traffic entirely.
Next year I wouldn’t be surprised if they raise ticket prices. But even if they do, we can always catch the main stage acts for free — maybe the best treat of all.
One question I have is, why would anyone pay VIP? Again, some of the biggest acts you could watch for free outside. And even though the main stage had a little area supposedly reserved for VIPs, there was no actual barrier or bouncer preventing anyone from just walking right up to the front of the stage.