Heroes, Idiots, and a Rice-a-Roni Sing-Along. It’s Muni Diaries Live!

Muni Diaries Live 9 Lucky Jesus 2
Photo by Elton Sin

Where else would you erupt into an impromptu Rice-a-Roni sing-along? At Muni Diaries Live, of course! This time we packed in a queercore band, a great lineup of storytellers, plus a rematch of the Muni Haiku Battle. Here’s how it all went down.

Queercore band Lucky Jesus jump-started the show with a cover of Berlin’s “The Metro,” rewritten to fit San Francisco’s own crazy transit.

Muni Diaries Live 9 Lucky Jesus
Photo by Elton Sin

Additional photos of Lucky Jesus by Tara Lohan can be found here.

Cartoonist Mike Capozzola did a little investigative reporting and brought some hilarious Muni advertisements for the audience. He is actually live-drawing this Thursday at the California Academy of Sciences, where you can get a portrait the robot version of you!

Muni Diaries Live 9 Mike Capozzola
Photo by Elton Sin

Hapa Ramen chef Richie Nakano admitted that he is a “Muni idiot,” but we have a feeling his kids are going to be tough, pro-level transit riders after he told us what happened when he took his toddler on Muni.

Muni Diaries Live 9 Richie Nakano
Photo by Elton Sin

You know Johnny Funcheap as the man who brings you all the cool, cheap stuff to do in San Francisco. But did you know he is also a Muni hero who defends an old lady against a lazy backpack who wouldn’t give up a seat?

Muni Diaries Live 9 Johnny Funcheap
Photo by Elton Sin

As with all our shows, we invite the audience to come up on stage to tell their own Muni stories to win some great prizes. Valerie, Mark, Rebecca, and Lacey braved the stage, and Mark took home a beautiful F-Market streetcar poster from for leading the audience in a riotous sing-along to the Rice-a-Roni song!

Muni Diaries Live 9  audience storytellers
Photo by Elton Sin

Other prizes were sponsored by rad local eateries Southpaw BBQ and American Grilled Cheese Kitchen (thanks for your support, guys!).

We were thrilled to have BART operator Kelly Beardsley back on stage with us. Last time we saw him, he told a story about the time when he thought he had found a dead man on BART. This time, he investigates the origins of a familiar terrible smell on his shift.

Muni Diaries Live 9 Kelly Beardsley
Photo by Elton Sin

Last but not least, we invited Anna Pulley and James Nestor back to the stage for a rematch of the Muni Haiku Battle from last October. Anna rocked the audience with her dead-pan haikus.

Muni Diaries Live 9 Anna Pulley
Photo by Elton Sin

The match was almost too-close-to-call, but James narrowly won, taking home his second Muni Haiku trophy (this one with a brand new nail clipper!).

Muni Diaries Live 0 James Nestor
Photo by Elton Sin

Our photographer Elton Sin captured more candid photos of the show. Check ’em out on the Muni Diaries Flickr page (and add your photos to our group when you get the chance!)

We had a great time meeting some of you at the Elbo Room. Seeing our community in real life is one of the best rewards of running the website. Muni Diaries would not be possible without your stories, so please keep them coming!

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