Either a cruel joke by whomever put the playlist together—or just a funny coincidence—the 1967 psychedelic rock song “San Franciscan Nights” played softly at the New Parish while we waited for the next performer at a show this week. It’s funny not just because we were in Oakland, but because the lyrics sing an ode to “warm San Franciscan nights,” landing precisely as freezing temperatures crept across the Bay Area. It’s tempting to think that the English songwriters, Eric Burdon and the Animals, had simply assumed that SF was as warm as LA but, according to Wikipedia, they had actually played in the city during a heatwave. Anyone have the citation?
