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"I'm a fan of drinking. period. I enjoy it, i enjoy doing it in bars, and I enjoy doing it on the cheap. The Elite is just perfect for…" read more »
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"So, you gonna sing?"
Hour One: "Oh, no. Not tonight. But I'll watch."
Glug glug, gulp.
Hour Two: "I'm just going to check out their book. See what they have, no harm in that. Oh shit! I can't believe someone is singing this! 'I'm on a boat!"
Glug glug, gulp.
Hour Three: "I'm up next! Wheee!"
There's one easy litmus test of a good karaoke bar. It could be cheap libations, or a very motley and welcoming cast of denizens, or simply a location so convenient that it would be madness not to stop in and have a gander at the local talent. The Crescent has all of these things in spades. But the way you can tell if a karaoke bar is a good karaoke bar is kind of like determining whether you're a feminist or not.
Did you come in not expecting to sing?
And when you left, did you sing, at least from the confines of your chair?
If you answered yes to both questions, then the karaoke bar is a good one.
I will never go back ever again. The only thing that saved the place were the awesome people that we met outside. Here's the story:
My friend Chris and I met up in Seattle on Halloween weekend. We were looking for some fun gay bars to hit up in our cute little Deviles Eggs costumes. We walked into this place, waited forever for a drink, then decided to go elsewhere. The vibe just wasnt quite right. Fast forward about 4 hours, it's 1:30 and the people we met at another bar decided to go to the crescent for last call. The MC for the night was this short woman (or was she a drag queen? i'm not sure) who, from the second we got there, was yelling obsenities at the crowd that i can't even write here. I love the seattle gay scene and i was used to this brash sort of routine, but she was just mean, telling people they had to get out as quickly as possible and making us feel unwelcome.Just after we got our drinks, she announces that the bar must be empty by 2, and everyone responds with booing. Being the tallest person there, she targets ME (mind you, i'm the least violent person on the face of the planet) and runs up and rips my drink out of my hand. So i took it right back from her. Then she starts swinging, and when i take my drink and start chugging because she is too short to actually do anything, she shoves me into a bouncer who then THROWS me out (literally, like i fell down). I was pissed. Then she goes after my friend, hitting him and punching him and calling him aweful names. So he dumped his drink on her head. Not a nice thing to do i know, but she deserved it. then ALL HELL broke loose, and he was shoved INTO ONCOMING TRAFFIC by this girls boyfriend who does not even work here. The management came outside and apologized to us over and over and offered to buy us drinks it we come back again, but i will NEVER. This bar is trashy, they employ rude disgusting little people, you have to wait forever for drinks. Just stay away. There are a bunch of way better bars in the area.
Side note: as we were being kicked out all we kept yelling was "I CANT WAIT TO YELP ABOUT THIS!!!!"
Anyway, there was a happy ending to this story. A bunch of locals that saw this go down and heard us saying that we were not from the area came outside to apologize for the lunatic chick that got us kicked out. They all love Seattle so much and didnt want us to get the wrong impression, so they took us to another bar (it was daylight savings night so some bars stayed open until 3)and we had a great time. Thank you seattle locals for being so nice!
I stumbled in here with an hour to kill until my bus and happily joined the locals getting blitzed and singing badly. It's just that kind of a place.
Tiny, divy, cheap... just wonderfully terrible karaoke. But welcoming and friendly and unpretentious. And that's nice sometimes in Cap Hill.
C.L. is an authentic Seattle establishment - an impressive karaoke song collection, plenty of hot patrons, and watered-down drinks - the last of which is the only reason it gets one star docked. Go here with your friends or a date on a weeknight; you won't be disappointed unless you go on the weekend.
Three stars now. I've been going with friends for karaoke, and this little dive is friendly, saucy, tranny and silly. There's enough going on here that you get a contact high from all the crazy.
More like 2.5. Crusty and as impervious to time as ever. Karaoke ranges from passable to amazingly,… Read more »
Honestly, the best bar in Seattle.
Not only does it have karaoke EVERY SINGLE NIGHT, but it has the best mix of freaks, geeks, dorks, jocks, hipsters, old, young and everything in between.
I have more fun at this bar because for some reason it has that "it' factor. It's not pretty or very clean, but it has cheap drinks and it is always an experience/party at The Crescent.
You would be a fool not to go here. Leave your pretentiousness and snobbery behind, because everyone else does.
This place was awesome! After years of walking by this place and thinking it was a total creepshow, I was forced to go in during a bachelorette party.
The wait at the bar never took too long, and the drinks were well-made! The karaoke was the BEST part. Everyone there was super friendly, AND not a frat guy in sight. (yessss)
There's not much room in there though, so it does get squishy...but definitely check this place out!
I love this place. Anytime I want to have a singularly debaucherous evening, this is my choice. You can find every type of person imaginable dancing, singing, having a great time, and wanting you to have a great time too! I may end up getting way too inebriated, and start "dropping it like it's hot" way too much, but whatever, it's a good time for sure.
If you like Karaoke this is a good place to visit. I do not like Karaoke and I think I am doing Seattle a favor for recognizing this about myself. I found myself at the Crescent during a going away party for a friend. My impressions were that this could be an intimidating place to sing, but most people have conquered this fear because there was a 45 minute wait. Many of the people were on the more talented side as far as bar Karaoke goes and most took it pretty seriously, a little too seriously I thought. I mean this is Karaoke at a bar, not auditions for American Idol. Some of the songs played better than others, I suppose this how most Karaoke goes but this place had a pretty steep curve. My friend sang Sunday Morning by No Doubt and you could not hear any background music at all, the words flashing across the screen were the only cues as to where the song was. If I ever get the urge to sing Karaoke I won't be going here, but it could be just the place for a different sort of person than myself.
This is the second place my little virgin 18yr old eyes saw years ago when I came to seattle. I was so shocked you could see the TVs from the side walk and they where playing some good ole male-male porn. I had really never see anything like that before, and I'm not from Iowa or anything. I have been there quite a few times on a weekend, It's a great place! Little small, interesting layout, I would love to see it when there is no one in there. Had a few embarrassing karaoke moments here.
I kinda wish the Crescent didn't exist so I wouldn't occasionally embarrass the crap out of myself whilst at the time thinking I'm the coolest person in the world. My singing voice totally goes to shit when I have even one drink. STOP, LAUREN, STOP!
Oh wait, it's okay because everyone else is drunk and sucks at it too. The thing is, I always expect some mind-numbingly awesome round of applause when I'm finished but it never happens :(
WAIT, this is a good review. It's not Crescent's fault that I suck at life. They have cute lady baristas, strong drinks, and a great atmosphere. Definitely keeps me stimulated. Stay around for a while, please!
Hudson: "We're on an express elevator to hell; going down!"
If I was to put any movie quote to the Crescent it would have to be from Aliens.
Yes, this is my attempt at reviewing a place that we all love for our own weird reasons, the crescent.
I am confused how do you rate a place that is so bad it's good. The crescent is your dirty weird cousin that nobody gets to pick on but you.
If I gave it 5 stars I think that would be the same as giving it 1 star and the crescent is the only place I can think of that makes that logic make sense.
This is not your first stop but your last stop. The outside usually smells of defiled vodka and the inside surprisingly enough doesn't smell to bad at all. The bartenders are a treat the hosts are all fun and clever. Go with friends on a Friday night around 11.
Get your song in right away though the wait is long. The crescent oh how we love thee in the most worst and charming way possible.
If you dont like it the first time give it at least one more try. The crowd is diverse and oddly friendly for Seattle.
This is really a fun bar to go to during the night. They have karaoke EVERY NIGHT!
It is especially crowded from Thursday to Saturday. If you want to sing, you have to arrive earlier.
It's a good bar also if you have only few minutes left in your night and whant to see people wasted singing funny stuff.
I've only been to the Crescent twice and usually I'm repulsed by the crowd they attract before 8pm... Whenever I drive or walk past (I live just 2 blocks up) I see people standing around who look as though they haven't been sober since 1980.
I will say though that the bar is AWESOME for karaoke and drinks on the weekends. I've never seen a whole bar sing along to a song like that! In fact, I'm not much of a singer but I joined in on a number of songs because their selection is great and the whole crowd is into it.
If you're looking for a fun place to stumble into on a Friday or Satuday... I highly suggest you take a peak inside because everyone else is clearly having way more fun than you are. Join in and be a part of it!
The mix of people is also great. It's stereotyped as a gay bar but to me it appears to be an "everyone is welcome" bar. I never really notice particular "types" of people inside. It's just a room of people out to have a good time. Even agewise you'll find that it's all spread out. Makes for an interesting night!
There have been no other karaoke crowds that I can rile up more than the one at The Crescent. This is simply the best place to get your pretend rockstar with the cracking loud voice on. Go ahead and drink down those shots if it gets you up to sing.
The Crescent is about the size of a shoe box and has a great mix of people. From young, to middle age, to older than dirt the patrons run the age spectrum. The bartenders are fun and always go up to sing a song. The bathrooms are a little iffy but if you gotta go, you gotta go.
The Crescent is beyond cool. Plain and simple.
I LOVE THE CRESCENT!
If I could go here every night, I would. Well, I guess I COULD go here every night, but that would make me really tired, and probably an alcoholic. So I don't.
This is a bar where you can take almost anyone and have a good time. In fact, last time my mom was in town, I considered taking her here. She would like it.
I love doing karaoke, cause people are into it and cheer for me. Also, there is this one woman who sings "Give Me One Reason" and inserts every swear word known to man. I've heard her do it twice now. I would come back again just for that!
I always love the karaoke hosts as well as the bartenders. Everyone is friendly.
The bathrooms are a bit nasty, but what do you expect?
I don't know...
Its small...
Its divey...
Bitchy regulars grab the mic from you if you try to sing "their song."
Old fags nurse a pitcher of bud and get uncomfortable if you get to close to them.
But, I like it. I just never go.
This is the place I love to hate, especially in the summer.
I've had the misfortune of living within earshot of the loyal army of off-pitch singers The Crescent offers for years now. And during those summer months when my windows have to go up to be able to sleep in the heat, my heart breaks. Many nights I'm up until 2 am, praying for some charitable soul to buy some of THOSE GODDAMN PEOPLE some singing lessons.
And then, a funny thing happened.
I went in. And I fell in love. All those characters, the lack of pretension, the sing-along-worthy bad karaoke - maybe it was the stiff cocktails, maybe it was that intoxicating summer air, but for one evening all was right in the world and I didn't hate The Crescent.
Sure, there will be nights where I shake my fist at The Crescent in my bed. But now it's the place I hate to love.
This place was PACKED. It was a saturday night when I went and it was shoulder to shoulder. Not bad or anything but just worth saying.
It's not a really nice place, it seems like if you turned the lights on, everything would be made out of plywood. (Just sayin')
BUT-it is fun. Nice people, KARAOKE. The bartenders are awesome, friendly and the drinks are stiff.
3.5
Been here twice now, and managed to survive the sardine can like conditions each time. If you are in need of being groped, schmushed, poked, or boobie raped by every possible classification of human on earth, then go here.
Karaoke rules this place, it's every night and from the sights I've seen, it's damn popular. From the tones I've heard however, this is where American idol judges may stop to find more "laughter fodder" for the opening of the next season.
Strong, quick pour. Within easy walking distance of a plethora of cheap, drunken eats.
Once, my goal is to get here before it's so jam packed and get prime seating for the eventual grope fest as it crowds up.
It is a damn good thing I do not live in Seattle. I would be a raging alcoholic. What?? Oh, I already am? Well, then you should take my advice as expert and drink at the Crescent.
On the particular morning drinking marathon that landed me and my cohorts here the owner decided, being as we were so dedicated to the cause of getting smashed before happy hour, that he would be a good enabler and bought us a round of bloody marys. He even went to the store to get bloody mary mix when he realized they were out. It was worth the wait, and even would have been had they not been on the house. These drinks doubled as their own little breakfast with olives and pickled green beans and asparagus, oh, and plenty of vodka.
As we sat sipping our little testament to our drinking problem the owner introduced himself and explained that karaoke starts at 3. Yes, as early as 3pm you, too, can be making a huge drunk ass of yourself. He also explained how his vision for his bar was pulled from a few bars in my lovely city of San Francisco and he wanted his bar to transcend any category....not a straight bar or gay bar or young bar or old bar but somewhere all alcoholics can meet and have a good time.
I think he is doing a fine job and you should definitely go see for yourself. If you hit the place up on a particularly mixed crowd morning you may even get a second free drink after being whisked away to vote for the LGBT Emperor and Empress of Seattle....provided you are a registered voter. Oh, and this place is in an odd shaped building that used to be an old carriage house, in case you wanted a little history with your drink.
I could write a book about this place entitled "This just isn't my bag, baby" under the pen name of Ninja "Danger" Powers.
..but I won't.
What I will say is that whenever I have come here full of fun and party, this venue has leeched it off of me with the same, I'm assuming, vicious suction being applied in the men's bathroom.
My habit of overdressing, or at least dressing well, makes me an outsider, yuppie scum, or worse here. It is fun everywhere else.
I'll come here to hang out, but don't expect me to make a big thing of it. The crowd here is too tightly wound in taking themselves seriously to be much fun.
Ohhhhhhh THE CRESCENT!
I have an intense, intense, intense love of karaoke.
I also have a very strong interest in dive bars, cheap booze, watering holes within walking distance of my apartment, etc...
Therefore... the ol' Crescent is just a recipe for HEAVEN.
By the time I'm there I'm usually pretty much.... wasted. Surprise, surprise. So a lot of details are blurry. Nasty bathrooms, cheap drinks that get the job done, crusty regulars.. oh and yeah, the main attraction: karaoookkkeeeee.
As some may know, I've replaced my old signature, "Total Eclipse of the Heart" (it's become cliche) with a new one, "It's All Coming Back to me Now"... can I just say last night that my Crescent debut of Celine was VERY well received.
Some guy kept hugging me afterwards. That's the Crescent for you, just a warm embrace in the arms of alcohol and music.
Why are all the good karaoke bars gay? Not that there's anything wrong with that, just a question. I checked this place out on a Thursday night and had a really good time. The beer was cheap and the singing ranged from good to so-bad-it's-good. I put my name in and only had to wait about an hour to go up. The song selection was enormous and there were several books in various locations of the place. There was a nice sized crowd (i.e, not too many people) but that could be because it was a Thursday and not a Friday or Saturday. The bartenders are cool and one was even nice enough to call me a cab.
Lost a star because the place is kind of small and dive-y, and the set up of the tables vs. the bar vs. the stage seemed a bit counterintuitive.
"...work, turn to the left work, now turn to the right, work, sashay shante..."
Ooh! Lets go to the Crescent
Why?
Because I want to siiiiing!!!!!!
Ok, so it's dirty and sticky and smelly, but so what? It's fun and we have great memories of the place
Who wants to listen to real music when you can listen to people who can't sing, sing? Ok, maybe I do. But, karaoke has it's place too!
To be honest, I've never had a bad time here....Actually, wait, let me rephrase and say, I've always had an interesting time here.
This place is pretty crazy, but sometimes that's fun. Last night I had a great time here - despite the fact Scott and I cleared out the bar. But, we redeemed ourselves with our second try! I managed to spend hardly anything last night and still have a blast - it was $8.50 for 3 drinks?! Really?
Sounds good cheap drinks and a night of karaoke...
or so I thought..
Well they did have cheap drinks and karaoke. However, the song book wasn't the only thing that reeked of cat piss. The MC decided the night was about hooking up her friends. My friends and I waited as the same set of people kept getting called up. We eventually got called up since we put a fake name down.
Ok. so I'll prolly have to give it another go since I hear it's usually run without such pretension. Maybe then I can live with the piss and the shady's in the bathroom.
How was I supposed to know that I had the ability to rock "Turn Me Loose"? I honestly didn't know that I could do that.
Luckily, alcohol has a unique effect on me. I've known for a long time that drinking lots of it makes me smarter and funnier, but the other night I found out that it makes me ROCK THE HOUSE too!
Thanks to the amazingly patient host Danika for not turning off my mic. Or maybe she did.
DML last night at the Crescent, ya'll.
I sang 'Oh.. Oh Shelia.. Let me love ya til the mornin' come..' here last night and it was such a great time! I love this place.. they've got great regulars, great djs, and stiff drinks.
It really don't get any better than gettin' down to karaoke with an older gentleman (70's, me thinks..) dressed in a full length fur coat, polyester trousers, and gold chain.. Oh, and with about 30 other Yelpers too.
DYL'in at it's 'funnest'.. Yep, that was the Crescent last night.
The Crescent is insane. The cute female bartender whose name I forget makes up awesome drinks for me based on my random requests. There's a crazy mix of gay and straight, hipsters and frumps like me. The people-watching is great. The karaoke is decent, with a fine selection of songs and a reasonable sound system. The stage is prominent (there's reeeaally nothing but the karaoke here) and the sound is decent. It's a bit loud for an intimate conversation, but not too terrible.
What is terrible is the crowdedness. You have to watch your purse or put your wallet in front, and don't wander away from your table to get a drink or you won't have a table to come back to. In fact, if you arrive after 9:00 you're unlikely to find a table at all. Cozy up to the neighbors, though, and you'll have some interesting conversations. Whether you're in the mood for "interesting" or not.
What's also terrible is the parking, just like everywhere on that part of Capitol Hill. Maybe it's the frumpiness (see above), but I hate having to park in Kirkland to hang out on the Hill. Maybe when light rail is finished things will be better.
Last time I was there, the ladies's room toilet was clogged so I used the men's. That was a cultural experience I'd rather not repeat.
The Crescent definitely has a number of things going for it as a karaoke bar. However, it is not without its faults.
The bar is a divey joint along Olive on Capitol Hill. The bar features wood paneled walls, roving transvestites and other Hill folk and a casually rowdy atmosphere.
The Friday night host was excellent. He kept the crowd goin', ran a fair rotation and even recommended seasonally appropriate suicides for certain singers. The karaoke hosts rotate daily at the Crescent, but there is singing 7 nights a week and... bum Bum BUM!!! Weekend AFTERNOONS OMGWTFBBQ! Now, if your constantly having to fend off vampires, you can get your rockin' out of the way under the cover of daylight!
The book at the Crescent is sizeable. However, I was disappointed because the first two of my staples were not included. One of them, TMBG's Birdhouse is very common among the karaoke joints I've been to and the Crescent did have Istanbul, so I was kinda surprised. The second song, Punk Rock Girl, is one of the rockinest karaoke songs out there and, while less common, is included in the books at several other bars around town. Besides, I have a feeling that the folks at the Crescent would appreciate that song more than the meat heads and hoochies that infest a place like Ozzie's.
Finally, the Crescent also gets very crowded on the weekends, which is an undesirable trait for a karaoke hound like myself who prefers to be the center of rock-tension. Still, I would recommend the Crescent as a post happy-hour rock stop on a long night of boozing.
American Idol rejects unite and show Simon what you're made of.
If you can't carry a tune to save your life and you're in the mood to belt out a tune to an obliviously adoring crowd then this is the place for you! I reluctantly have to admit that this joint can be really good for a cheap beer or two and healthy laugh but c'mon guys... a spring cleaning now and then wouldn't kill anyone.
The Crescent hosts no-holds-barred karaoke 7 nights a week. The DJs usually are great at keeping things light and entertaining despite the random shrills coming from the mic. Every now and again there will a nice surprise and someone will really get the joint hopping.
This is a Capitol Hill institution, you should experience it at least once. Get boozed up and drag your pals in here for a nightcap of "Friends in Low Places" and trust me - everyone will join in!
Tip: When you walk in the door you're hit with the bar serving station. Regulars go right and sit near the stage, visitors turn left and head toward the back.
Dirty, nasty, a little scary, and that's why I love it!
The karaoke nights are a ton of fun, the crowd is diverse and great.
The drinks are whoa!
And um, I love walking by in the early afternoon and seeing 80 year olds already on their 3rd round.
You know that weird bar in "Star Wars?" Wikipedia tells me it is the "Mos Eisley Cantina." Anyway, there's a bunch of weird-looking aliens sitting around and odd music playing? Ok. So, that's the Crescent, except substitute transsexuals in shiny clothing for aliens... and Billy Joel karaoke for odd alien music.
Crescent's awesome. Karaoke every night and a diverse crowd. Seems like the gay bars in Seattle all have good karaoke, although monkey pub and twilight still take the prize for me.
It's always packed when I go there, regardless of the day of the week. I'd hate to try to go on a Friday/Saturday. As it is, you gotta get there early if you want a table or even a chair. Somehow I always see people I know here, maybe it's just my kind of crowd.
It is really a dive. Don't expect crap from the venue as far as aesthetics go, but there's always interesting people here and things a happening.
Oh wait a minute, you mean karaoke is stupid and so therefore we should pick stupid songs we hate and sing them in the goofiest manner possible? Thanks for letting me know. See ya.
Is what I should have said upon entering the Crescent Lounge, but I wasn't fast enough. Oh well.
A group of friends and I decided to have a Friday night on the town and someone in the group choose the Crescent. Lissa M and I drove by on our way to find parking - I think my exact words were, "What the F. Where are you taking me?"
We finally found parking (miles and miles and MILES away) after over 20 minutes of searching we gave up and were willing to pay for the honor of parking on Capital Hill.
We walked in the lounge and it was packed. To some people - this is probably great. To me, it is roughly my worst nightmare. Some people in our group already had a table. Actually, calling it a table is a bit of a stretch - it was probably 2' diameter - but it was something. Tables and stools are pushed together and you pretty much have to sit in someones' lap to get by.
There were some good singers, and the other patrons were very entertaining, kind, and fun. But for my money, I'd rather go somewhere with good food, a bit more quiet (so you can hear your friends), and a LOT less crowded.
This place is great for karaoke! Not for everybody, of course, but if you're looking for a friendly atmosphere with a huge selection of songs, this is it.
It definitely doesn't deserve the "dive" reputation that I've heard about so many times.
Well, I guess it is kinda divey...But atleast the drinks are cheapier than most places...People are friendly...
Karaoke there was a blast! Granted, this place is a dive, but it's a dive with character!
Last night was my first time here, and I would definitely have no qualms about a return trip. There was a guy there going by the name "Giggles" who was extremely entertaining with his version of "Tipsy". The characters that came out of the woodwork for this place was phenomenally amusing. I especially loved the fact that Scott K broke his Karaoke Cherry while we were there belatedly celebrating my birthday.
Lindi and I hit it up with our own rendition of the Spice Girls "Wanna Be" and I belted out "I want to come over" by Melissa Ethridge that seemed to be a hit with the crowd.
Let's just say this place is now memorable for me and as long as you don't have any scruples about the places you "hang", it's a great night out.
Neighborhood: Central District
Category: Restaurants
Neighborhood: Capitol Hill
Category: Gay Bars
Neighborhood: Belltown
Category: Karaoke
Neighborhood: Ballard
Category: Bars
Seattle, WA
Category: Gay Bars
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