Starfish Prime, SF’s Newest Indie Pop Band, Debuts in Front of Friends and Neighbors
MUSIC SIDE DOOR , said a piece of paper taped to the front. The note was written hastily, in purple marker, with letters like squiggly tentacles. I lingered on the stoop, treating myself to a few lungfuls of chilly San Francisco air. The street was calm and illuminated by the gentle ooze of streetlamps. Cars rolled blankly past. To my left, I found a narrow tunnel guarded by a dismembered toilet (the bouncer for the evening?) and stooped ever so slightly, following the sound of music. One of the tunnel’s walls was decorated with spray paint, the cannisters tucked on a low shelf, while the other was part of the house’s garage. I peered through a small window and spotted a collection of bird statuettes, their wings stuck in eternal liftoff. As I half admired, half shuddered at the birds, someone stepped into the tunnel. They introduced themself as DJ (crucially, not a DJ) and asked who I was there to see. I interpreted the question as a hostile shakedown – Who d...
