Potrero

Barry McGee (if you don't know who he is, go read up) is going to be a part of a special exhibition that opens at 3pm (until 6pm) this afternoon and you'll most certainly want to be there:

Gallery Paule Anglim is pleased to announce a special exhibition by Barry McGee at the gallery's off-site space at 1717 17th Street in San Francisco's Potrero Hill district. Contemporary Arts Centre describes the community acknowledging its present and past: an installation featuring work by McGee and fellow invited artists.

Moving easily across the boundaries of street art, historical High Art, private/anonymous art practices and museum-sanctioned collections, Barry McGee has created and collaborated on artworks appreciated by a broad audience. Acclaimed for his work as a graffiti artist and for his installations in galleries, museums and art festivals around the world, the artist crafts a language that resonates as a shared public experience as well as on a private intimate scale. Addressing social concerns of urban life, yet elaborating a unique personal style, McGee's works focus on a shared humanity, one painstakingly hand-detailed, finely-painted image at a time.

If you miss today's opening, the exhibition runs April 14th to May 19th and will be open Thurs-Sat., 11am-5pm.

[via Fecal Face]

Our buddy, who was close to the deal, brings us word that beloved Potrero Ave dive Mission Hill Saloon has been purchased by Jay and Oliver of Dear Mom:

Bad news, or good news... I'm having a hard time deciding. The Saloon changed hands today. It'll be closed on Monday for remodeling. The buyers? Jay and Oliver of Dear Mom.

Mike, the previous owner of The Saloon, took a greater share of (silent) ownership of all Thieves bars in return. Now we can all celebrate (or mourn) the arrival of another official Thieves bar.

When I followed up for more details on the new bar, this is all I got back:

They're going to change much of the decor from what I gather. Redoing the bar and hopefully the bathrooms. Many of the bartenders will likely lose their jobs... Jay and Oliver will run it. I imagine it will be more like Dirty Thieves than Dear Mom.

Also, there's going to be a party Sunday night for anyone who loved it. I'm truly sad about the change of ownership. The Saloon was a true dive bar... it's gonna change forever.

Don't get me wrong, it's not hard for me to get behind an outing to Dear Mom.  But Mission Hill Saloon was one of the better dives in the hood: the drinks were cheap, the bartenders were awesome, the bathroom wall art was some of the best in town, the pool table was often free, annoying people generally didn't walk in the door, and it was one of the few places left where the bartenders would get so trashed that the customers had to take care of them.  It had real character (not to say Dear Mom doesn't, but it's undeniably different); one I can't imagine will remain.

(Oh, and let's hope pray they don't stop selling Keystone)

UPDATE: It's facebook-official.

Previously on Uptown Almanac

• 12 Ounces of Shitty High School Nostalgia Available at Mission Hill Saloon
• Dear Mom: A Bar So Big, Your Momma Will Fit In It
• New "Beards and Mustaches" Bar Owned By Actual Beards and Mustaches
• "Beards and Mustaches" Coming to 16th

Prior to walking into Mission Hill Saloon for the first time, I didn't even know you could buy The Binge Drinker's Light Beer in the Mission.  And at two bucks a can, it's certainly more expensive than I remember.  But if you have a thirst for the swill you drank behind the 7/11 dumpster when you were 15, MHS has you covered.

(Oh, and their bathroom works of art are mightly nice too)

All photos by John Daniel Reiss.

Previously on Uptown Almanac

• Aesop Rock to Perform For Free at Potrero del Sol