Baby's in black

My friend said he'd meet me here at Civic Center," murmured a bewildered Ginny Grant at the Black & White Ball Saturday night. "He said he'd be dressed in black." That was a cruel joke. Ginny was lost on a restless black ocean of formal wear with plenty of white caps amid the waves. It was a successful night for the S.F. Symphony's world-famous gala which occurs every two years. 11,000 people, dressed to the nines, sauntered from concert stage to buffet table to bar and back again. The Civic Center area was sealed off to car traffic for the night. Wouldn't it be nice to keep it that way all the time? ... If people are either charming or tedious, as Oscar Wilde said, then the charming were out in full force. ...

"It is a lot less crowded than the last time, said Mike Antonini, the dentist from the GOP. "It was unpleasantly jammed two years ago." But it was a different world two years ago. 9/11 was yet to happen and there was still some leftover money from dot com that hadn't quite done gone. There were jobs, too. ... But Saturday there was plenty of good food, plenty of strong drink, which was consumed prodigiously. Of course, there was plenty of music. The S.F. Symphony, conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas, played at City Hall. After passing through some pretty scrupulous security (quite impressive, according to San Jose police lieutenant Steve Ronco), I heard the Ball chairman Yurie Pascarella, in an eye-catching Oscar de la Renta B&W gown, tell her husband, Carl Pascarella, CEO of Visa Int'l., "I want to see the Emotions." I followed. Her instincts for music are good. The Emotions, a sister act, were big R&B stars in the 70s. Wanda, Sheila and Jeanette Hutchinson, with a tight backup band, tore up Davies. There are seats in Symphony Hall but who needs them for dancing? ...

John G.Conaghan says he danced with his wife at the B&W for the first time since their wedding. No, they are not newlyweds. "It is a night for amplitude and pulchritude," mused John. Not for politics or gloom or worry. That's for later. In a sea of cleavage and natty gents, it was all about food, drink, music and sex. In short, everything that is good. A young lady asked if I were rich. I have credit with my friends and I am bursting with sanguinity, I told her. She moved away. No, it was not a night to meet the next Mrs. Bellingham. More likely the ex-Mrs. Bellingham. But I'll leave it at that. ...

Not all wore black and white to the Black & White. Letitia Todd drew attention with her rose-red gown. "It's magenta," she said firmly. "Men never know what that is." Sure. It's the color we turn when we are told we are stupid. The Peninsula's Yanting Zhang was a knockout in a splendid, satin, peacock-blue gown. Was the renowned physician/acupuncturist needling convention? "No," said the doc, "I wanted to look beautiful." She did. ... Linda Carey Kunnath complained she had trouble finding long, elegant gloves, which she finally ordered online from Florida. Jan Wahl recalled how Rita Hayworth caused a on-screen sensation in "Gilda" just by the lascivious way she removed her gloves. Always a movie reference with Jan. ... Jia Jung, the arts editor at the Daily Cal, was also a sensation in her black bodice and homemade white bloomers. ...

At the War Memorial, the legendary Buck Owens, a little testy and a little toasted, delighted his fans with "A Tiger by the Tail" and other old tunes. You have to be a wee bit drunk to play country music. You have to be very drunk to appreciate it. Buck's vocalist, Kim McAbee, said later, "Buck is always picky about the sound. I'm just glad we can stay at a hotel in San Francisco tonight. We usually get on the Lear jet and head right back to Bakersfield." ... Deborah Harry and the Jazz Messengers (a tribute to Art Blakey) might have been a little too stylized for the party crowd. No Blondie tunes. Just melancholic, quirky, quasi-beatnik verses on hipster riffs. Well-done but the crowd was more in the mood for Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, who have produced a polished, nostalgia punk band. They were coifed, clean and ready for Orlando. All those punk tunes sound so, well, nice. ... What will rap nostalgia sound like in 20 years? "Gee, I haven't heard the M-F word in years! How quaint. I wish the kids would use nice dirty words like we used to." ... On a flatbed truck, twisting the night away with Chubby Checker were Nancy Bechtle, Yurie Pascarella and Nancy Pelosi, who got to use her skill as House Minority Leader to twist from left to right. ... 500 hula-hoops were tossed to a giddy crowd. ...

"It is amazing how fast the night went," mused Paul James, who owns Fog City Leather on Union St. with his wife, Susanne James. It was soon 2 a.m. The Black & White Ball refugees went looking for cabs. Having tired feet was the biggest complaint. The more chivalrous of the sturdy swains carried their dates, shoes in hand. Some wandered aimlessly into the Tenderloin. But the creatures of the street seemed oblivious. Oblivion is what takes over during these hours before the dawn. For the brave revelers, it was a grand party to keep the tedious at bay -- at least for a little while.