KICKS II - OAKLAND

Kicks II is on 5th St. between Broadway & MLK Way, in the shadows of the hulking concrete of I-880. The place looks like a big-rig trucker's dive from the outside, but the crowd is eclectic -- hip truckers, perhaps? The stage is upstairs in a funky old building with bare brick walls and high ceilings, and there's a nice beer garden/smoking lounge out back.

If you're planning to exceed a blood alcohol level of 0.08% (as well you should be), here are some ways to get yourself to the venue and home again without running afoul of Oakland's Finest . . . whose HQ is just blocks away, FYI.

BART

The BART line runs right through the back yard of Kick's II, just before it enters the section beneath downtown Oakland... as for how to get your train to STOP there, I'll leave that to your creativity. Unfortunately, if you're one of those wimps who would rather use a station, the nearest one is at 12th St. From there, walk 7 blocks SW along Broadway, right onto 5th St., and 2 blocks NW (about 12 minutes total).

Here are the map, fares, and schedules

AC Transit

There are no buses that run in the immediate vicinity of Kick's II; however, many buses run on Broadway, so your best bet is to get off as close to 5th St. as you can and walk down Broadway as described in the directions from BART. This map should help you select a line.

Almost all non-transbay fares are $1.35.

Be sure to check the schedule, especially if you're unfamiliar with a particular line.

Specific directions for AC Transit Line 51

The nearest stop is at the corner of Broadway and 8th St. (for Berkeley-bound buses) or 7th St. (for Alameda-bound buses). Walk 2 or 3 blocks SW along Broadway, right onto 5th St., and 2 blocks NW along 5th St. (about 8 minutes total). The fare is $1.35 and the bus runs 24 hours a day, every day.

Here's the schedule

Note that this bus will NOT go through the tube after 9:00 PM, EVEN ON NIGHTS WHEN IT'S OPEN. It will, however, cross the Park Street bridge and make its usual stops in Alameda, albeit in reverse order.

You may direct your complaints to the bureaucrats at AC Transit; I don't make the schedules, folks, I just report 'em.

Brought to you by Lushes for Public Transport