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Categories: Dance Clubs, Gay Bars
Neighborhood: Castro
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Ah, badlands. So many good memories!
The music/dancefloor - all my favorite top 40 ladies for dancing - Britney, Kelly, Beyonce, GaGa. Fabulous videos to dance along with. The dancefloor has many screens with the videos playing and crazy lights/lasers going, which adds to the fun...but sometimes it can be a bit much (esp after a few watermelon cosmos). The floor is also small and gets crowded and VERY hot. We usually have to dry our sweaty hair using the hand dryers in the bathrooms! Ladies...try to wear a tank top and bring a coat - I abuse the coat check here all the time. And of course if you are a boy, taking off your shirt is encouraged.
Drinks - CHEAP! Even if you miss the two for one specials (we usually come early and buy tons!), drinks are still well made and cheap. And the bartenders are adorable and helpful.
The Crowd - As we are the pack of straight girls we tend to stick out a bit, but we've met some interesting characters here...from boys telling us we look gorgeous to a pueblo indian reading our auras in the bathroom, never had a negative thing to say about the crowd! We do try to get out early to avoid what my gay friend calls "hunting" at the end of the night.
If you're looking for the cliche gay dance club, this is the place for you. Not recommended for a mellow night, but it's not a bad place to start for drinks at happy hour, since they're so cheap!
oh...Badlands....so many contrast emotions...
cheap drinks (especially dsuring happy hour...which sometimes alasts the whole night)...however, sometimes they make drinks NASTY!
Lots of chairs to rest...which is good.
Music is a mix of nowdays hits and some songs from the 80's...I like it though.....loud..but hey, it's a club
Dancefloor is PACKED...I don't usually care..but the people are often aggressive...so you have to watch out...
And at first I was totally freaked out by their "ladies' room"...they don't really have one...so girls, you have to be very open-minded to share a toilet with guys..and wash your hands while someone is peeing next to you..........
I'm not gay, but I have a good friend who loves to drag my breeder ass into the Castro to see if he can shock me. What I don't think he realizes is that after 12 years of living in this city, nothing is shocking anymore. If I haven't seen it already, there is probably someplace I can go to see it and far worse.
I will have to admit that I'm not a fan of Badlands. At least when we went, it was way too damn crowded, the drink I had was pretty nasty and overpriced, and it was so loud, I felt like we were hanging out in a 777 jet engine.
But on the plus side, I got hit on several times which is good for the ego, we threw down on the dance floor for a little while, and I can now say that I was bad in the Badlands.
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I love, Love, LOVE Badlands! But keep in mind, pre-drink before you get there or get there early and get your drink on fast! as the only way to tolerate some of these messy queens and divas is to throw back a couple 2-for 1 cocktails and bitch slap them back with equal attitude. With that said, I always have a good time. Its a mixed crowd, sometimes a little worn out, but hey, after I get my hair of the dog Im feeling better and things are looking up!
I've been here a few times, and my first time at Badlands was my first forray into the SF nightlife. Why a gay club? Because I was with gay men of course!
Badlands holds a near and dear place in my heart and I always have fun. However, if you are straight and you go their with your significant other, watch out. The guys there were not too happy that I was there with my good looking boyfriend. So just a word to the wise.
But I love dancing and not getting harrassed and groped. And I love when everyone gets just as excited for Britney as I am.
The club is small and can get really packed, but coming from NYC, I found the drinks to be reasonably priced. And it's close to Muni, which is always a plus.
Ernest Hemingway said, "always do sober what you said you'd do drunk." I have a feeling he'd make an exception for the things people agree, offer, show pictures and draw diagrams of doing after a visit to Badlands.
You gotta love the Castro. Well, you don't "gotta," but you definitely shouldn't visit Badlands if you don't.
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Tonight I only found a quarter on the floor. Damn economy. C'mon Bitches, Daddy needs a round of Jager!!!
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I found $5 on the floor! WOO HOO!!! Read more »
Badlands,
I'm liberal as hell. And I'm totally for Transgender rights. However I'd love it if you had separate and equal unisex bathroom areas. More than one lone stall would be greatly appreciated.
Also could you curb the letting in of straight drunk girls with their boyfriends? I realize I am in fact, a straight girl. But when you add straight drunk boyfriends to the mix the end result is usually a fight. Which we got to enjoy in full view the other night, thank you.
Finally I'd also love it if you could play more current music. When I've haven't ever heard 90% of your songs... and the rest not for several years... it's time to update your DJ to something a little less prehistoric.
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Most people I know go to Badlands
I'm just not pretty enough for Badlands SF. In this case, by "pretty" I mean "desperate."
I think if I were the type of boy who liked to go cruising and pick up tricks at the club, this would probably be my spot. It's definitely the youngest crowd I've experienced in castro and houses a fair amount of attractive boys (albeit less attractive than they think they are), but the music is shitty, the drinks are okay, and it's usually so packed that you can't move, talk to your friends, or play solitaire on your blackberry. Not my bag.
However, makes a great place to take the out of town gays when they want a taste of typical castro nightlife. As for me, "I'll just watch the movie and get drunk at home."
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if i could, i would give it negative stars. the owners need to know that they need to hire new staff to run the freaking spot. They are racist and they do not have any experience AT ALL!!! I have not experienced such racial profiling as much as I have since I've ever been in SF, and the reason I'm so shocked is I am about to open a restaurant and I would never treat any guests in that manner if I want them to come back again. To the owners.....hire new staff or just expect angry customers every fucking week.. thank....
Badlands has always given me a mixed bag.
The music: Not consistant, sometimes they'll have good music and really bad music. As much as I love 80's music, you can't really dance to it.
The bar: It's also inconsistant, sometimes I'll get a really good bartender and sometimes I'll get a really bad one. One time we ordered 3 drinks and my friend paid but all he had was enough money for $1 tip. The bartender then proceeded to comment on it as she said to my friend "Great thanks you're such a baller *thumbs up*" I threw her a couple of other dollars to shut her up but still she could have kept the comments to herself. The drinks are not too bad though.
The dance floor: WAAAYYY too small and crowded. This place was designed really poorly. 2/3 of the place is all standing area and 1/3 is the dance floor, constructed into a weird "swimming pool" circle with basically barriers around it and there is a limited amount of ways into and off the dance floor. ALSO I REALLY hate it when people are just standing around. If you want to stand around, stand in the standing area, not on the dance floor, you're taking up too much precious room.
The People: Its also a mixed bag, sometimes I see the weirded tweekers here. One guy was just dancing by himself with a whistle in his mouth and looked like he was on speed or something. And since everyone is trying to cram into the dance floor, people are not very mindful of others (especially when drunk) and just seem to charge around everywhere.
Overall, Badlands is not my first choice of places to go to. I've been to the Sacramento location and was shocked to see how different their badlands is than ours. I had a much more better experience at the Sac location.
The cover is not too expensive so its def a plus. Not suggested to come in groups as the place is already too crowded.
Probably my least favorite spot in the Castro area. Despite my very subjective dislike for this place, I'll give it a half objective review.
Location: This is the reason it gets one .5 star, because it's in the beautiful Castro.
Space: The place is very gay deco. There are displays, and silver walls and disco lights, the works. It's way too small for the amount of people they let in. It is also a bit awkwardly designed, it feels like a labyrinth to get to the dance floor when drunk...even though it's an uber small space...
Ambiance: This is why it gets another point deduction. If you want to hang out with tweaking, thieving, 19 year old tourists, this is the place to go. Sometimes, when I'm hear, I feel like people are drone zombies.
Service: This place has a long standing history of racial profiling and discriminatory practices against people of color. It was published in the papers a few years back that the owner would ask the bouncers to prevent as many latino and black people from entering as possible. And while they have supposedly "ameliorated" the situation, it's the same owner and I refuse to a be a patron to someone who at some point held that perspective.
Food/Drink: They actually make pretty ok drinks and they're cheap. I had a martini and by default he used grey goose and only charged me 7...pretty nice.
Overall: I don't support racism or any type of discrimination in business practices. That alone will keep me permanently away from this establishment.
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After not going to Badlands for 4 years or so, coming back it's just not the same. Maybe it's the music, maybe it's the crowd, maybe I'm just older and no longer in the "WHEEEEEE I'M 21!!" phase of my life--Badlands just doesn't feel as fun. Sure it has the occasional songs that come on that make you want to run and dance but aside from that and 2 for 1 happy hour (hellooooo cheap alcohol) I'm sad to say you won't find me here (except for Monday happy hour.)
My favorite hangout in the Castro. 25+ televisions playing videos to songs you didn't even know had… Read more »
Definitely debated on whether to write this review but what the heck, let's do it.
Back story: Friend calls me up and wants to go out so I'm like sure let's go and says we're going to the Spot Lounge out in Sunset. Friend comes and picks me up and head over to another house to pickup the girl's. While waiting in the car, I hear "We're going to Castro" and in my head I'm like "Awww crap, looks like we won't be meeting any girls."
Now to review of the place, cover was $2 which wasn't bad and they had some drink specials for $5.50 or so. Tried one and watched the bartender make it which consisted of Ocean Spray #1, some Ocean Spray #2, and vodka. Definitely wasn't the strongest drink but for the price it's not bad. Went over to the dance floor and was hit by a barrage of B.O. Had to step outside because it smelled and lack of ventilation. Danced a little while the DJ played some good dance music but felt like every 4th song was Madonna. Madonna can crank out some jam's but play something else. Well that's the end so if you gonna come by, bring a group of friends to entertain yourselves.
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lets face it about 2% of there customers actually live in the city, its a bit too loud even to enjoy the music and dance
if your bridge and tunnel crowd this is the place for you, if you live here you walk past and go to one of the more friendly bars in the area. used to be a great bar, but times have changed and so has the crowd and the feeling of going out and having fun, without being pushed around or taking 45 minutes to get to the dance floor.
Not to mention have to ever seen this bar give back to anything in the Castro?
Beside the owners bank account in the Castro... Let support places that support the area hence its all out of towners that go there.
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In my other review, i went out clubbing maybe once or twice a month. And i went to a different spot so Badlands was still fun. Now in this post-college-now-working-and-bored-when-i-get-home period of my life, i find myself going out much more. And the more i go to Badlands the more i realize... i've done this before.
Badlands is still fun, don't get me wrong. Happy hour is truly happy at Badlands with their 2 for 1 deal. But i need to start limiting my exposure and so should you. After a while, you begin to notice the same people over and over again who keep bumping into you and don't always say "excuse me". How do i know? I'm starting to turn into one of them. Gross!
Happy hour aside, it's time to chill at the bars and leave the clubs for another night. The more you go to the same place, the faster you get over it. Badlands is a place you can get over if you go to it too much.
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Badlands is a fun club. There is nothing wrong with this place and is actually more popular with… Read more »
This review might be a little bit inappropriate... but it's for Badlands, how can it not be?
Cover was $2, nothing to complain about, especially for what's inside. Let's start off with the GREAT drink specials. I don't know what I was drinking but it did its job at getting me drunk all the while tasting like CANDY. Gays just know how to do EVERYTHING!
The place was crazy packed. All the straight men hanging out with us DID NOT have a good time, but the ladies were having a blast. The music was poppy and fun! It was like going to a girly sleep over with a bunch of tranny and slutty gay men. It was fantastic. Madonna, Britney, Lady Gaga, Cyndi Lauper, etc. I read a review below that you can dance like no one's watching at Badlands and it's true. Just move and sing your heart out.
Unfortunately, our time at Badlands had to come to an early end. Some creepy guy in the corner had the rape twinkle in his eye and his eye happened to be on my straight male friend. Creeper finally stepped over to our group, pulled him aside and offered him a drink. My friend politely declined. Unfortunately drunk creeps don't understand the words "no thanks" and he started yelling absurd rape threats. "If you don't sit down and have a beer with me, my friend over there and I are going to hold you down and rape you".
Finally I came over to intervene. Creeper did not like that. He called me every name in the book... spiting and slobering all over us while doing so. In the end, drunk creeper won. We left Badlands early and the guys voted we moved onto the Mission, where it was the girls' turn to get harassed by ugly drunk people.
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You know that cheesy quote that chicks love about living your life and laughing like you might die tomorrow and dancing like no one's watching (or something like that...ya'll know which one i'm talking about, right?)??
Well, you actually CAN dance like no one's watching at Badlands. You just can. It's just that simple. You can also have men ask you if you are from the Dominican Republic and tell you that you are exotically beautiful and that you look like their step-sister.
You can also get unapologetically excited about the worst top 40 and dance music of the moment and act out the videos as you watch them on the many tv screens lining the ceiling. You can basically just have a badass time...at badlands. Do it. GO now.
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They play really new music videos on the different big screens. They make sure u can watch the videos any spots u are at. The laser red lights art looking awesome as well. Modern but also very romantic feeling. HOT HOT HOT! No matter the dance floor or the good looking people in this place. (some of them are topless... lol) Anyway, friendly touchy gay people, good dancers, and cheap drinks! LOVE LOVE LOVE it! If they took credit card I would just got drunk over there and gave them 5 stars.
This club has potential, but it needs more work. It's a large enough space, but it's so boring. The music is lame, the drinks are watered down, the bathroom is too small, and the coat check should be free if they are charging to get in. And what's with closing at 1 am???
Friends and I were in SF and wanting to meet up late Saturday afternoon so we went to Badlands. I've been before but sometimes it's way too crowded. SaturDAY was a refreshing change as I was easily able to move about the bar and we were able to get a table up front. The bartenders were nice, I enjoyed the music and also the drink specials. If I lived in the Castro, I could see this being a place I would frequent.
"Sadlands" is my gay bar guilty pleasure. Ya, I said it.
Who doesn't love their 2 for 1 drink specials? Who doesn't love the friendly bar wenches? Who doesn't love the cheap cover when there is one? Who doesn't love Kylie, Britney and Madge? And who doesn't love good times with friends?
Always an interesting experience at Badlands.
Swallow [your pride] and go.
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Boys and girls - we all talk trash about Sadlands, but let's face it... it's a staple that we all return to. Their happy hour is pretty fan-f'ing-tastic, the music is decent, they ACTUALLY have a dance floor (albeit small), and the service is good.
The cons - bad decor, sometimes bad smells (this is just from mixing sweaty guys together in bad ventilated spaces), and it's just a dark space. They need to invest in some cool effects lighting, and up their game. It's been too long since money has been put into it's physical appearance, so it no appears outdated compared to the rest of the bars surrounding it.
This was the last stop of our bar hopping journey last night. My friend recomended this place because she said they play good music and the drinks are cheap. She warned me prior to coming here that it was a gay bar though. I could care less as long as we have a good time getting our dance on! I was like sweet! There should be plenty of lesbian chicks and chicks with gay friends here too. LOL!
We walked in and this place was packed with people. The beer were like $3.75 each and the Vodka Tonics were $4.50! I can live with that! I did have some guys try to hit on me but I kindly told them that I was with the pretty lady and they were cool about it.
Surprisingly this was the best place of the night!
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clubbing can't be more castro-esqe than the badlands.
there's nothing bad about badlands, it's greatlands! the drinks are strong and not too tough to get. the dancing is high energy and the crowd is there to have a good time (and dance their face off).
cash only is a small :( for me though.
You'll usually not find me at a gay bar as I'm not a fag hag, fruit fly, etc. etc. etc. But I will kindly oblige when the going away party for a staff member who I will sorely miss is being held at one.
Finding the place is easy and so is the parking. I parked without fail only 1/2 a block away from the bar 10:30 p.m. on a Wednesday night. The bouncer did his job and did everything but practically bite my Illinois ID to check that it was real. Nice. Either I looked too young or I didn't put on enough makeup for that license picture. (Shakes my head in shame dreading the next 10 years of hopefully not having to show anyone my ID.)
I'm not much of a drinker so I passed time by talking to random people, friends and looking at videos from the Top 20's. I like the music even though it's a little loud. With a little liquor, I bet the music sounds great and the dance floor could probably be tolerable. The last time I was in, our entire group was kicked out on account of one of us being a little too loud.
For the drinkers out there, the 2 for 1 happy hours happen about every 15 minutes so drink up. The drinks here (from what I sampled) taste pretty tasty for $2 well drinks and the bartenders are fast and comply willingly to unusual drink requests. The only thing I can't stand is the noise volume and how slippery the floors are. I'm wearing sneakers and I'm slip sliding on the floor. Not cool.
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Ewwwwww.
When did this place become a West Hollywood clone? It was like stepping into a less-ritzy Abbey, sans the spray-on tans and *cringe* designer sunglasses at night.
SF Badlands, get some new fucking tunes. There's no excuse for playing late 90's, especially when you're not being ironic.
Also, to the boy that claimed to be "straight" when I came up to him to apologize for my drunk friend that tried to hook us up: thanks for the chuckle. Your perfectly groomed eyebrows and lip gloss where a bit distracting, though. You may want to work on that.
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2-for-1 drink specials involving flavored vodka and cranberry juice?
Sure, the bartenders have the…
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This place is lame-lame-lame. It was so much better 10 years ago before they rennovated it into a video bar.
Nothing but feminine guys (Mostly all bridge and tunnel or tourists) on the weekends listening to the typical Madonna, Cher, Kylie, Lady Ga Ga-crap that is shoved in your face and expected you like it because you are "gay". So cheesy.
I have to admit, the video screens are cool, even though the videos to the songs they are playing are horrible. At least the bartenders are nice for the most part.
If you ever find me here it's because I'm taking a friend from out of town that wants to see the Castro, This place could close down and I would never miss it.
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I love happy hours here. Always run into a few friends, making new ones and end up having a great time.
If it wasn't for two-fer-one I probably wouldn't visit this bar at all. The music is SO. TIRED.
On a weekend night, you can barely walk through the place and the drinks are relatively watered down. The only way they actually taste good is if you were there earlier for the twofers. By the time you drink five or six you actually start a buzz and can't really tell if there's ay alcohol in there.
Some of the bartenders are super-nice while the other half is super-not. I say find yourself a good bartender and only visit his station if you're going to make this a regular spot. I can't point out how much I LOVE it when a bartender remembers my drink when I walk up to the bar.
Oh, and the barbacks kind of make it worth the trip, too. :)
Good music, strong drinks, friendly people.
It gets pretty crowded in here but generally I'm too drunk to care at that point. There is a front bar area and a back club/dancing area. The bathrooms are unisex so the lines can get fairly long.
3 shots of jagger + 1 gin and tonic = $18. Not bad at all.
And hot men. Who cares if they're gay?
Minus one because they are cash only. But all the bars are like that in the Castro.
I love it here!
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Y'all can kiss my yellow ass. I still like this place. Cover was free before 11 p.m., and it's only $2.00 anyway......
Happy hour is awesome. Two-for-one. We had 4 rum-and-cokes and two lemon-drops for $18! Cash only though.
It gets packed, with beautiful men and women.
Music, always love it here. Videos are decent too. I just love the dance floor....
My only complaint for the night, and they (the club) has nothing to do with it.....
Douchebag at the bar, we were in line waiting to get drinks, he looked at me up and down, and then decided to harass me. Why? Because I'm a straight female! He proceeds to say I'm fat (which I could be for an 'asian' chick but that is not the point). A few minutes later, he proceeds to INFORM me that he is gay (no shit, sherlock, a gay person at a gay bar/club, what a fucking surprise.) Later on outside of the club, he grabs my arm, and starts mumbling about random shit. WHAT THE FUCK, man, get a life!!! (He was by himself, drinking by himself, and left by himself.) Yeah, I wonder why he was by himself with this stellar attitude and behavior. [Insert sarcasm detector]
Anyway, back to this review... go here if you want a good time, and ignore the douchebags anyway. I got kissed by a girl, and I liked it. :-P
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Love this place. Great hours, decent music (beats to dance to!), and love the big screens on the… Read more »
I have to agree with the previous two reviews - you can dance like nobody's watching at Badlands - mostly because there is always some huge loveable freakshow dancing it out harder than you ever could.
What would earn this place an extra star or two from me would be the removal of the "The DJ does not take requests" sign. Dudes, you have the only dancefloor in the stro worth anything - better music and requests from (paying) patrons would make it a better experience overall.
Although I regularly go to Badlands, up to now I haven't written a review because I would just be saying the same as everyone else: Cheap drinks, big measures, happy hour, some cute staff, some entitled staff, DJ's with worse transitions than my iPod, accidentally repeated songs, too much Madonna, dated decor, smelly and sweaty...
But now they charge a dollar for a glass of tap water while they fail to even ventilate the place. That sucks. Don't expect me to tip if you charge for tap water.
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Came here on a wednesday night. Our Bartender was great. Made our drinks strong from the start, and she had such a great attitude, very personable.
it was early, and our first time on Castro, so we decided to give QBar a try. It was dead, so we went back to Badlands'. Upon entering the friendly bartender informed us of the 2 4 1 drink special. WTF?
I got pretty drunk that night, thanks to those specials!
Music reminded me of being back at home in LA at RAGE!
Typical top 40 Pop divas. But that stuff doesn't bother me too much.
I liked the fact that the bathroom was unisex!
I will definitely come back, hopefully that friendly bartender is still there!
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I like the bathrooms
1. men peeing in open view of the rest of the customers
2. a second bathroom with a stall for the lady (that's me!) and a urinal on the other side with a cute boy peeing.
I wasn't sure - am I allowed to leave the stall if I am done first? But then won't I see his panini?
Decent drinks - 2 for 1, contributed to my cheese whiz/cat story (see Toad Hall).
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I had so much fun! My friend and I had never checked out Castro District before so it was very fun! I read some of the other reviews and I would agree that there was some nice bartender and not so nice bartenders. My friend and I are straight women, so some bartenders just avoided us altogether! :( But there was this one cutie (can't remember his name :( ) who talked to us and attended to out alcohol needs! :)
It is a small place and did get crowded. They do not accept credit cards, either. But the place is super SUPER cheap! They called specials all night! Girls pee with the boys. The urinal is next to the sink . . . soooooo I really wanted to look but I tried hard to stare at the square tile in front of me like it was the most interesting thing is the world. :D
Badlands plays pretty good music, it can be kind of crowded depending on when you find yourself there, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Don't lie to me and pretend like you don't want to find yourself getting grinded on from behind from random strangers! Drink prices are decent, too.
My only issue with the place is that they don't make Manhattans correctly (most places don't put it in the martini glass, and I can live with that, but a shot glass? really?). Ok, I know you probably don't get much orders for them since Sinatra's era, and especially not from girls like me, but it's my fave drink so I'd appreciate it made correctly, please (as in Manhattan does not equal a simple shot of whiskey with a cherry). But it's ok, I can get my drink on elsewhere, which is what I'd suggest for those who are purists about "their" drinks.
The San Francisco Badlands used to have really good Dance, House and Eurodance music and remixes of different pop artists but now it plays bad hip hop music and 80's stuff and their music like so many other reviews on this wall is bad and lacks rhythm (not danceable) . The drinks have always been watered down but the music used to be good.
Neighborhood: Castro
Category: Gay Bars
Neighborhood: Castro
Category: Gay Bars
Neighborhood: SOMA
Category: Gay Bars
Neighborhood: SOMA
Category: Gay Bars
Neighborhood: Castro
Category: Gay Bars
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