DJ Athome in San Francisco

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  • Honey Soundsystem is a rarity in that it really feels like a club—it has a sense of community and locality that's all too uncommon for a party series. Jacob Sperber, one of six members of the Honey "brotherhood," not only seemed to know everyone in the party on a first name basis, but could also tell you the full life story of most of the venue's staff. The night takes place at The Holy Cow, a ramshackle bar in the SoMa neighborhood of San Francisco. Supposedly, the night I attended was a quiet one, but there was still tremendous fun to be had, sharing a dance floor with bearded guys, ultra-glam trannies and, in one instance, a dude whose outfit was equal parts Hasidic jew and '70's gangster pimp.   Honey Soundsystem has been a mainstay of the SF queer scene for a number of years. It's loosely modeled after London's Horse Meat Disco, and started as a hang-out for the city's bear community (bears like honey, geddit?). Some of the Soundsystem members have rave pedigree, with connections to Hardkiss and The Bunker in New York, while others are simply talented local DJs. What's clear is that they have great taste: previous guests include Hercules & Love Affair, Todd Terje, Tim Sweeney, Prosumer and Maurice Fulton. The guest I caught was Athome, a Belgian DJ with a decent following in his hometown of Brussels. He followed a set of sprightly disco and house from resident P-Play with a great collection of acid, sleazy Italo and snappy electro. The music was indeed good, but what really made the night special was the crowd. For one thing, they looked amazing. As throngs of shirtless guys danced in front of the DJ booth in the glow of a police light, it was obvious they'd come to party. For a Sunday, an unreasonable amount of booze was being downed. If anyone had work in the morning, few seemed to care. I can imagine on the right night, with the right guest, Honey Soundsystem really takes it to the next level. Already they seem, much like their heroes at Horse Meat, to have transcended their roots as a local gay night, earning a rep far beyond those borders. 
RA