Goth San Francisco: Clubs, Nights and Alt Spots

Goth San Francisco has a secret weapon: the weather. Fog rolls in most summer afternoons, the hills are lined with Victorian houses, and you can wear a long black coat in July without anyone looking twice. The scene here is smaller than LA's but famously loyal, with one weekly night that's been running since the early 90s and a dark dance party somewhere in the Bay almost every night of the week.

Nights move and dates change, so check socials before you go.

Death Guild: the Monday institution

If you only go to one night, make it Death Guild. It started in 1993 and runs every Monday at DNA Lounge in SoMa, which makes it one of the longest-running weekly goth and industrial nights anywhere. Several DJs play two rooms of goth, industrial, EBM, synthpop and darkwave, and the crowd ranges from people who were there in the 90s to people at their very first goth night.

Yes, it's on a Monday. That's part of the charm. It's a real community night, and regulars treat it like a weekly hangout with friends. DNA Lounge also hosts other dark nights through the month, including Dark Sparkle and After Life upstairs.

Cat Club and friends

Cat Club on Folsom Street is the other pillar of SF dark nightlife, with two rooms and a packed calendar of themed nights:

Dancing Ghosts. A darkwave dance party running since 2007, playing post-punk, industrial and deathrock.
New Wave City. Two rooms of 80s new wave and classic goth. Great if you love The Cure as much as Depeche Mode.
The Hanging Garden. A classic goth, new wave and synthpop party on the fifth Friday of the month, sharing its name with a Cure song.
1984. A long-running 80s night that pulls a fun, mixed crowd.

Smaller nights around town

Some of the best nights are tucked into small bars:

Fever Dream at the Make Out Room (Mission). Darkwave deep cuts, EBM, post-punk and synthpop on fourth Tuesdays.
Kumbia Dark. Goth and post-punk mixed with cumbia, rock en español and new wave, a great example of the Bay's Latino goth scene.
Club Interzone at F8. A weekly Tuesday darkwave and electronic night in SoMa.

SFGoth keeps a big, regularly updated list of Bay Area nights, so it's worth bookmarking.

Across the Bay

The East Bay has its own scene. Oakland's bars host monthly deathrock, darkwave and post-punk nights, and there are goth nights from Vallejo down to San Jose and Santa Cruz. If you live outside the city, there's probably something closer than you think.

Shopping

Haight Street

The Haight is still SF's main street for alt shopping. Head toward the Upper Haight for:

Amoeba Music. A giant record store inside a former bowling alley, with deep post-punk, goth and industrial sections and live in-store shows.
Piedmont Boutique. The costume and wig shop with the giant legs sticking out of the upstairs window. Great for fishnets, wigs and over-the-top accessories.
Vintage and thrift. The street is lined with vintage shops for leather jackets, band tees and boots.

For more ideas, see our goth on a budget guide.

The Mission

Valencia Street and the surrounding blocks have bookstores, vintage shops and tattoo studios. It's a great area to wander before a night at the Make Out Room.

Spooky daytime hangs

Colma. Just south of the city, Colma is a small town where the dead outnumber the living by a huge margin, because San Francisco moved most of its cemeteries there in the early 1900s. It's full of grand old graveyards and a peaceful, strange place for a walk.
The San Francisco Columbarium. A domed, Victorian-era building in the Richmond district full of ornate niches. It's a beautiful and quiet visit.
Sutro Baths ruins. The concrete ruins of an old bathhouse by the ocean at Lands End, extra moody in the fog.

Live music

The Bay gets plenty of touring goth, post-punk, darkwave and industrial bands. DNA Lounge hosts live shows, and venues across SF and Oakland bring through dark acts all year. Our industrial music guide is a good starting point if you want to know who to catch.

Dressing for the fog

San Francisco weather changes block by block, so layers are everything. A long black coat or leather jacket over a mesh or lace top lets you go from a chilly, foggy street to a hot, packed dance floor without suffering. Bring a scarf, and pick boots you can actually walk in, because those hills are no joke after a night of dancing. The upside: you can wear velvet and wool in July, and nobody will blink.

Who you'll meet

SF's scene is welcoming and a little nerdy, in the best way. You'll meet longtime industrial fans, tech workers who dress up after work, queer goths, Latino darkwave DJs, burlesque performers, artists and plenty of people who moved here from somewhere else and found the scene within a week. It's a small enough scene that you'll start recognizing faces fast.

Meeting alt people in the Bay Area

The Bay is spread out, and it helps to have someone to meet up with before heading to Death Guild for the first time. On Alt Chat you can find goth and alt people nearby in Meet, chat in live rooms, or put a darkwave song on your profile as your Anthem so people know what you're into. Heading south? Check out the goth scene in Los Angeles, or go north to the alt scene in Portland.

FAQ

What is Death Guild?

Death Guild is a weekly goth and industrial night that has run in San Francisco since 1993. It happens every Monday at DNA Lounge in SoMa, with several DJs across two rooms, and it's often called the longest-running weekly goth night in the US.

What are the best goth clubs in San Francisco?

Death Guild at DNA Lounge on Mondays is the classic. Cat Club in SoMa hosts several monthly dark nights, including Dancing Ghosts, a darkwave party running since 2007. Smaller bars around the Mission host monthly darkwave and post-punk nights too.

Is San Francisco good for goths?

Yes. The city's foggy weather and Victorian houses suit the look, the scene is small but very loyal, and there's a goth or darkwave night most nights of the week somewhere in the Bay Area.

Are San Francisco goth clubs 21+?

Most bar nights are 21+. Some DNA Lounge events are 18+, so check each event's listing and bring ID.