Some people have written some very nice things about Hard French (and taken some really nice photos too). Here are a few of our personal favorites.
If you, me, or anyone you/me/we know wants to toss some words on to a page, blog or bathroom wall and needs some info don’t hesitate to drop us a line at info@hardfrench.com.
AWARDS
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Our Weekly Picks – San Francisco Bay Guardian – Marke B.
Look, hot queers into anything but ancient circuit techno and contemporary plasticene ladybots: I adore your Sunday beer busts, your Friday happy hours, your Monday-night free-for-alls (and all-for-mes). But when it comes to a jam-packed Saturday-afternoon dance party rocking girl groups, boogaloo, and garage stompers, it’s finally oui the hard way — Hard French, that is, a raucous party filling the weekend void with BBQ animals on the grill, marinated animals on the patio and dance floor, and DJ Carnitas and Brown Amy on the tables. DJ Bus Station John joins them this time around for some meaty amuse-bouches. My only quibble? It’s only once a month. Hélas!
Is Hard French the Country’s Best Gay Party? – The New Gay – Zack Rogen
“Hard French, then, was so much fun, and so genuinely different, becuase it made absolutely no assmptions about what queers find appealing. It had a co-ed crowd dancing to soul hits of the 60’s and 70’s. No strippers, no glitter, no unicorns. It wasn’t Kristine W covering “Twist and Shout” to make it more palatable to us. It was a party I actually would’ve wanted to go to based on location and music, but with gay people.
Why can’t more parties do this? Take away every conjecture of “gay people need…” and just throw a balls-out queer dance party that is based on what people like, not based on what gay people liked to do 30 years ago? . . . The only thing “Gay” about this party was the people and that could not have made me happier.
SF Bar Hop: Hard French – Asterisk San Francisco Magazine – Jonathan Hirsch
Crossing Cesar Chavez, nearly a full city block from the doors of the El Rio I could hear the crowd, and I experienced my first reaction to the best damn party in the city: “Man, where have I been all this time?”
Hard French has concocted the perfect recipe: barbecue, sunshine, an open air dance floor, and several heaping spoonfuls of some of the most danceable, smooth, hard 60s R&B and soul sides around. Then there’s the fact that every month the place is jam-packed with every kind of imaginable subsection of the SF nightlife: everybody’s welcome, and pretension is at a minimum. This is when a party takes a magical turn, and becomes a celebration.
Best Place in SF to Get Cheap BBQ & Beer – Broke Ass Stuart – Becky Pederson
I’m gonna be really real right now: the only thing that gets me wetter than fantasizing about making it with one of Marva Whitney’s back-up dancers is basking in the sun and eating some down home, backyard barbeque. You can imagine my reaction, then, when I heard about Hard French, the new outdoor soul dance party happening the first Saturday of every month. . . And here’s the kicker that made me cream: for just $10, you get access to this party plus all-you-can-eat barbeque and all-you-can-drink beer. It’s a broke-ass bonanza!
It’s about hard dancing, hard soul, and Hard Frenching. If you’re gay – great. If you’re straight – that’s okay too. And if you’re neither, there’s always the barbeque.
SFist Parties: Hard French at El Rio – SFist – Joe Payne
Despite stiff competition from Saturday’s usual activities (e.g., 2 p.m. brunches, Dolores Park, drug addiction, etc.), people were lining up to get in for Hard French’s six-hour soul marathon. Why? Well., thanks to DJ Carnita and DJ Brown Amy, as well as musical interludes by SheBeast.
Did we mention that there’s food? Because there is.A mere $10 gets you unlimited beer and a BBQ ticket. (Vegetarian options, alas, are minimal.) Food will be necessary to keep up one’s strength/eroding sobriety.
Hard French @ El Rio – SF Weekly Slideshow – Emily Savage photos by Hanna Quevedo
The Hard French party at El Rio is an ardently and successfully all-gender, all-sexuality crowd, so if you’re feeling out of place, maybe you’re wearing the wrong shoes? The theme this time around, a take-off on the Gidget-slasher-surf genre film, invited attendees to don bikinis, colored balls, and badminton rackets, and work it out on the backyard patio. DJs Brown Amy and Carnita plus special guest Dick Vivian (of Rooky Ricardo’s Records) brought the soul. Guests brought the hairdos.
Hard French at East River Bar – The Village Voice Slideshow – photos by Maro Hagopian
A “San Francisco New York collision” occurred this Sunday, September 19 for a whole lot of soul and psych at East River Bar in Williamsburg.
Hard French 