French dance party Bardot A Go Go returns to the Rickshaw Stop

SAN FRANCISCO — The Bay Area’s favorite — and only — Francophile dance party returns to San Francisco’s Rickshaw Stop Saturday night when Bardot A Go Go fills the club with groovy sounds from the ’60s and beyond.

Founded by DJs Brother Grimm, Pink Frankenstein, and the Cali Kid in the late ’90s, the regular dance party took advantage of the resurgence in mod ’60s pop and soul fueled in part by the popularity of the Austin Powers film series, but with a distinctly French twist. 

Focusing on the “yé-yé” tunes of Brigitte Bardot, Jacques Dutronc and Francoise Hardy (many penned by iconic songwriter and later a lascivious star in his own right, Serge Gainsbourg) and French covers of American and British hits, the throwback DJ night drew big crowds dressed in mod clothes to a variety of San Francisco venues well into the 2000s with its go-go soundtrack accompanied by period film projections, pop-art displays and occasionally live synchronized performances by popular SF dance troupe the Devil-Ettes. 

At one point, the dance party became a weekly event, though organizers eventually found themselves taxed by holding Bardot A-Go-Go that frequently and scaled things back. Over the past decade, the event has focused on celebrating specific dates including the birthdays of Gainsborough and its iconic namesake Bardot, as well as an annual party held on or around Bastille Day. While only DJs Brother Grimm (aka longtime Rickshaw Stop booker and talent buyer Dan Strachota) is playing music this time around, fans can still expect the usual sweat-inducing onslaught of ’60s go-go grooves.

Bardot A Go Go Post Bastille Day Party
Saturday, July 16, 8 p.m. $10-$15
The Rickshaw Stop