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Categories: Dance Clubs, Music Venues
Neighborhood: First Hill
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I'm going to give this club 3 stars for it was the ONLY club that actually had F'able girls in all of Seattle. It could of just been a fluke night but the night I went it was 80's night and the girls were actually decent. Every other club in Seattle is seriously depressing and lacking in hot ladies.
If I had to go back to Seattle I would probably hit this place more so than any other club.
If I had balls, this place would suckem.
I heard it was closing down and I am not surprised.
What I liked about this place the least was every time I came in, they let so many people in that I could hardly walk.
I was getting my feet stepped on and if I had room to fall over than I would have.
Never going back again.
I hate this CLUB!
This place use to be POPPIN, now it juss sucks ass. The last time I was here, this shit got me very madd. That's the only reason why i'm writing this review.
I go upstairs with my people and grab some drinks from the bartendar upstairs. I ordered, 1 cosmo and a Roy rogers. The total he said was $11 bucks, I hand him a $20 and that FUCKER gave me back $8.00. I said " I heard you said 11 bucks, why am I short on this change." FUCKFACE response "Oh, sorry the computer said $12.00 and I haven't been here for a wk and I'm sorry if I said it wrong".
You see, I wasn't even tipsy yet and mother fucker think he can short change people. You see how madd I was writing this. I mean i tip really good too, but i Don't APPRECIATE the fucking short change lie!
I despise you WAR ROOM!
I'm sad that The War Room is going to be closing. Honestly, this place was my 3rd home while I was in Seattle for school. There was a stretch when the nights were hit or miss for a while, but on the whole, The War Room was one of the more crackin places to head out to when compared to the rest of Seattle's nightlife. This next Jameson and Sprite is for you buddy.
I don't see how war room is crowded, because compared to San Francisco and some San Jose clubs this… Read more »
So, I was only here once, for the 2008 election night party. But that deserves commemoration before this place disappears into fire code oblivion. The vibe was great and I loved the roof. Of course, the vibe was great everywhere on the Hill that night. And the drinks were over-iced and the different bars stock was differences were just bizarre.
this place is AMAZING when the 40+ lesbians are all out for HOT FLASH night. Any other night, PASS. Why? for the same reason everyone else says pass on this place: bitchez and hoes in f21 gear and the dudes that eat that shit up. I made the mistake of going their for a cocktail with the girls on a friday night. I didn't realize this place turned into little chinatown with a bunch of little china dolls trying to piss off their over protective fathers by becoming total whorebags. I just hate when bars that have a great lay out and good staff and fair priced drinks becomes a waste because the crowd it draws is the scummiest bothell born bros and their harajuku girlfriends. Listen little girl, that hello kitty bling is as fake as your tits and everyone knows it.
No, this is not the place to kick it to hip hop
No, you will not encounter anyone with more than half a brain cell
Yes, everyone is scandalously drunk
Yes, you will be the only non Asian person in the building
Yes, this place is ghet------to
This place exists for Losers United to:
1) Sport their newest Forever 21 clubwear
2) Get their groove on (dry hump each other) to Top 40 bullshit
3) Get hyphy with vodka Red Bulls and PATRONNNN!!!!meowrawr!! shots
If you'd like a reminder of how disgusting humans are, go here.
Also beware of Acne 2000 -- she stumbles around the patio upstairs in her stilettos and shorty short skirt terrorizing her victims aka anyone who manages to get a glimpse of the HILLS HAVE EYES on her mug
Recap: Loud, shitty music and ugly, shitty crowd.
I liked Seattle a lot but this place was like a pus-filled blemish, even by LA standards and LA has a bunch of stupid ass fucking clubs like this. Could barely tolerate this shit even with a Makers on the rocks.
I'm a fan! I'm not a huge clubber, but I've come here on a Wednesday for 80's night and a few Friday nights... and I'll be back!
Wednesday was tons of fun! I found street parking right outside the entrance. There was a $5 cover, boo, but it was worth it! A few people dressed up in 80's clothes, but most people just wore regular "going out" attire. It was buzzing, but wasn't packed so there was plenty of space on the dance floor for my friends and I to get our groove on. Great music, fun atmosphere, and met some chill people. For a low-key night out during the week, this is the place to be!
Friday nights can get pretty packed. The dance floor on the main level isn't massive, so it can get crowded, but there are two floors and a patio! Get here early for better parking and to avoid the line. Like Capitol Hill, the crowd is diverse. Yay! Music is loud, people are crazy -- it's a fun time. The venue is clean and they have VIP booths available. I'd recommend it!
My friends warned me not to compare this to any LA club, but it definitely gave me that LA club vibe... just not he best one.
I can ignore the sweaty crowd-- that's a given. But the bar is super understaffed-- there was only 1 on the roof bar, so that did little to diffuse the crowd. It took me FOREVER to get served, and I was asked if I wanted to leave my tab open only for the bartender to announce 5 minutes later they were closing the roof bar. Um, thanks for the heads up.
DJ that was there that night (Saturday) was decent enough. Played all the staples that got the crowd moving. As for the crowd-- it was whatever. Guess they could say the same for me, haha. I was also told this was Azn city. Well, c'mon. We need somewhere to dance in Seattle, right?
I almost gave it 2 stars for the lame-o bar experience, but the bouncers were really nice and DJ got me dancing if not impressed.
The best thing about this place is the crowd...very diverse. Where else can you find grungy guys dancing right next to preppy asians?
I went on a Saturday night when they were playing hip hop. As much as I like hip hop, I have determined that I am more of a Top 40 kinda girl. I found many of the songs too difficult to dance to, if that makes any sense.
On a plus side, their drinks were nice and strong :)
Visited this place many of times, but normally to enjoy their outside patio upstairs with the sun a shining during the summer months and when the downstairs is normally closed down. If the sun starts to set and it gets a little chilly, they do have heat lamps.
Even though it can get busy on the patio... I'd highly recommend it.
The other night, I was there for the first time during the evening when Wicked & Wild Dancehall was going on...
Good times.. Place was packed at around midnight on a Thursday and our group danced the rest of the night away...
Considering, we didn't pay for cover (good to know people)... I didn't know what it was at the time, but just looked it up on their page and cover was $5... Not bad, considering some clubs to go dancing at will still charge you $10 at midnight to get in...
Drinks are good... and we were served pretty promptly considering the amount of people ordering drinks.
I don't know why there are some bad reviews on this place, but seriously... It's a dance club...
I've seen places where it's darker and I've never had any trouble with the security people or the crowd...
Overall, it's a decent place to go dancing at when up on Capitol Hill...
War Room has it's moments. It's a weird mix of hipster, belltown, and the hip hop crowd. Every time I've been here, I've seen someone get arrested for whatever reason. The bouncers are really really rude. I feel like I'm going into a prison, they might as well get metal detectors. I had to explain what was going on with some (seriously, like 4) asprin I had that wasn't in a marked bottle. Stupid.. The drinks are expensive for how shitty they are... and you probably have to pay a $10 cover to get in! If you're already loaded and feel like dancing to rap, it's great. It's also nice that they do a purse/coat check for a couple bucks and the upstairs outside area is really nice.
I used to go here like, ALL THE TIME.
i really like the decor, the drinks are fine. If you are there on the right night for you, the music can be great. The rooftop deck is the shit, although most often way too crowded.
I haven't been for a long time. It seems like most of my friends don't go anymore, and it is just not the same. I guess the decor and the deck helped, but the fun was really in the friends.
Been only once and not planning to come back again.
I have had to read other reviews because I couldn't believe I ended up in such a ghetto place. Apparently from what other people say, the atmosphere changes quite a bit depending on the theme of the night, so as always YMMV.
I was in a hip-hop night, and it seems they wanted to make us believe we were in the bronx. At the door, we were frisked I guess for guns, while standing over vomit.
In the inside, a mess of pretty drunk people along. The drinks, very expensive (oh and there was cover), and to complete the scene, the security guards roam around, touting their flash lights and making you a favor to be able to be there.
Depressing. Not my kind of place.
Oh, by the way, the place is deceiving because it looks pretty cool from outside. It's a nice, squarish, wooden building, modern and with a nice patio with a small garden upstairs (that I couldn't go up to because there was a gorilla with a t-shirt in the way). Unfortunately deceiving.
I'm sensing a pattern, so I'm taking you down a notch, War Room. Here are a few tips to survive (enjoy?) a night here:
1. Earplugs!
2. Don't go near the bathrooms (Problematic because of the next one. Perhaps a funnel and a new use for the bamboo on the upstairs porch?)
3. Drink. Everyone else is trashed. If you're the DD, they'll piss you off.
4. Wear a big, puffy coat - it's the only way you'll have a modicum of personal space after 11:30
5. Clogs. I'm serious. Maybe steel-toed Docs. The cute shoes leave you way too vulnerable to stompage in here.
6. On second thought, maybe avoid the drinking and stick with stronger sedatives. If the people don't push all your buttons, the bouncers just might.
War Room, perhaps you can improve the atmosphere for both patrons and employees by respecting the crowd limits set by the fire code? Thanks.
Some shout-outs to last Saturday night's War Room crowd:
* You know you're in Seattle when the music…
Read more »
My short lived clubbing life began and ended with the War Room. My wife and a friend from work wanted to go dancing. After leaving the Havanm because of the poor music and no open tables we stumbled upon the War Room on lesbian night.
We went in being one of the first few people in and sat down and relaxed for a bit. I had a drink that was way too strong for me (I'm an alcowimp) and just hung out until a steady stream of people came in. As the place got about two-thirds full we began to dance. It was a lot of fun. I love crowds so the sheer amount fo people was actually fun for me. I liked the people bumping and intermingling.
The womens' bathroom had a line of about 20 peopel while the mens' was completely empty so the girls started to use the mens'. Most of the guys didn't care and the ones who did couldn't do anythnig about it.
All in all I had a fun night.
That was the first and last time I'll be in a club because just a couple weeks later my wife and the friend we went to the club with both found out that they were pregnant. Oh well. My clubbing life was fun for the one night it lasted.
Decent place to be, but crowd control is a major issue on the weekends. Also, it helps to be really drunk when you are here so you wont mind the people bumping into every 10 seconds while they are trying to dance. Plus, 99.96% of the people in here are hammered, so if you are the part of the DD patrol, prepare for never ending stream of drunken idiots.
Bartenders are okay, drinks are a little on the expensive side, but get to know one of the bartenders early before they get busy, tip well, and you are sure to have a much better time (read; not sober.)
I would say it's a 50/50 shot if you are going to have a good time here. If you can get a booth before they get crazy busy, that is the smart play. I know arriving early to a club is lame; but later when you have people coming out of every orifice of your body, you will wish you would have gotten there early enough to snag a booth...
I have been to the War Room several times in the past couple years and it's always the same scene. Cheap, shitty drinks being slammed by a sweaty crowd while the DJ spins top 40 rap. You can always go to the roof-deck area and try to catch some cigarette burns from strangers if you need a change of pace, too! Overall, I have never had a great experience here, but never a horrible one either. That is until I was there on Friday to celebrate a birthday. I decided to be nice and pick up the 14 shots of well tequila (I know, disgusting, right....) which ran $56. After tipping the bartender an absurdly kind $14 for a total of $70, we left. 3 days later, $90 posts to my credit card. So this jerkoff thinks that he deserves more than a 23% tip for pouring a plastic jug of tequila into plastic cups...?!? Never going back to this dump!!!
First night out in Seattle...
since we were tired from running around all day...and not to mention...happy hour, we wanted to go somewhere that wasn't too dressy, listen to good music, and be around good people.
we ended up at war room...
walked in, coat checked our jackets, and scoped out the place.
the Crowd: a little on the younger side (once you've reached your 25+
mark, you...too, will know what i'm talking about!)
the Vibe: chill on the bar side/dancing on the dance floor
the Music: came here on a friday...SO...some semi-new radio hip-hop
songs...BUT...somehow they managed to slip in Rick
Astley's - 'never gonna give u up'! (if you're an 80's kid...you
kno exactly who this deep voice sounding red head is!)
Overall:
i guess i got what i came for! i got tipsy, then i got to dance! mission accomplished!
Not only do I have two left feet, but I have no sense of music whatsoever. Don't get me wrong, I love music, but it takes me a split second too long to recognize when the beat is. Hahaha. Soooo, I typically avoid clubs. I'm more of a bar kinda guy. Typically a better atmosphere and I feel like you can socialize more.
That being said, Drie C. was done with finals yesterday (CONGRATS!) and we lived it up. Dinner at the Wild Ginger: Check, drinks at Havana (sp?): Check, hitting up War Room: Check!, going to other places that I can't remember but will review on Yelp when I see their names on my credit card bill: Check!
War Room kind of looks like a spa from the outside. Random. It looks inviting what with all the plants and wood and stuff. The spa illusion quickly goes away when you see people smoking the reefer and urinating on the side of the building. Classy. Oh, and I wasn't a huge fan of being patted down either.
When we finally get in (there was a crazy ordeal over the cover... none of us had cash. Smart on our part) we hit up the bar and are reallllly surprised that the bartenders are smart and able to mix some good drinks (unlike any other club in Seattle it seems).
The music sucked. Every now and then they would start to play a recognizable song I liked, but they'd play it for maybe 30 seconds. Le sigh. But it was all good. I was able to quasi-dance after a few shots and the music was less irritating. I don't think I'll be going back (although you never know), but I give it 3 stars just because I had so much fun last night and I think that if I were to actually enjoy clubs I would have had more fun.
Maybe if we hadn't come for the Obama Election Night Party, my star count wouldn't be as high, I have no idea what it's like on a typical night, but last night was anything but typical.
When we walked in to meet a few friends, we were overwhelmed with the spirit of triumph and that was at 6:15 pm!
We had tried the Showbox, but they were at capacity 30 minutes before the ads said their doors opened! And the Triple Door had poor happy hour specials as well as a subdued 40+ crowd. We wanted energy people!
So off to Capital Hill we went: and the War Room was the perfect choice. From their tri-level building structure, to the free Baracky Road from Molly Moon's, this was the perfect place for everyone to squish together with strangers and united in the hope for change, become friends throughout the evening.
I was coming out of the bathroom at 8pm PT when it was announced that Obama was president elect and I can't describe in words what it was like to be there, suddenly I was engulfed in hugs and cheers and I hadn't even squeezed my way back to my friends yet!
I threw myself down the stairs to my sobbing husband and the cheers went up for President Elect Obama!!
This was a fantastic, world-changing election. If you don't know that, then you haven't been paying attention. And with their friendly staff, great sound system, big screens and plenty of beer on tap- the War Room was an excellent place to celebrate our victory.
Just short of Grant Park in Chicago of course...
This place can either be fun or annoying. One of the major complaints I have about this place is how overcrowded it is. It's very hard to navigate your way through the dance floor. I feel claustrophobic in this place. The drinks are also pricey. They add Grenadine to the Amaretto Sours to bump it up to make it a "premium drink." It's really annoying. What some of my friends do is walk around the corner and get a drink at the Indian Restaurant. It's much cheaper.
The only good thing about this is place that my friends usually go here, and the music is okay. I prefer to not go to this place, but I always end up here because my friends seem to enjoy it. Granted, I hate the over population of asians in this place.
DJ UPS is the dopest....
Ring the Alarm.. 2nd & 4th Fridays...
Was in Capitol Hill on Friday and the group felt like dancing, so we decided to hit up War Room since it's usually a cool scene and worth spending the $10 cover for. Walk in and hear some Techno music...umm Okay well they normally mix in all music so that's okay. 30 minutes later...what they are still playing techno music?!? what the hell?!? 10 minutes later they play one rap song for 30 seconds then cleverly turn it back into a techno version of the song...DAMNIT DJ I HATE YOU! Give me back my damn $10. I don't know if War Room has suddenly become a techno club or maybe it was just a special guest DJ...but you failed me War Room.
~G
The War Room is one of my favorite clubs in the Seattle-Area. The crowd is usually a good mix of… Read more »
really loved the place, the night is blurry... cheap stiff drinks
Standing in line with my friends, I was a good human and let a fellow cut in front of us so he could join his. He turned to us and handed us a bunch of flyers. "Thanks for letting me cut in, man. Here's some flyers good for half off the cover tonight."
Karma at work.
The first room of the War Room houses the bar and some comfy couches. I looked around for a spot to check my coat. Coat check was disabled on a Friday night. Well, that's cool, I hung up my jacket where the normal coat check would be anyway. Good thing I carry a hanger everywhere I go.
Just kidding.
There were a set of stairs heading up to lord knows where. Made a mental note to find out, and instead headed down a nearby set of stairs to the dance floor. The DJ was up on a stage, where a bunch of dancing people had deposited themselves. I figured I'd be up there later, and continued my circuit of the place.
Next to the dance floor/DJ stage is a set of booths. A lot of them were open. If I were with a bigger, less mobile group, I'd snag a table. However, my group was small and getting around, and it would be a waste. Let someone else rest their feet there. I headed up another set of stairs that lead me past bathrooms and back into the main bar area. Ok, circle complete. Time to look upstairs.
Upstairs is an outside bar and deck on the roof of the War Room's building. It was a nice night, but they still had heating lamps going. I ordered a drink and mingled a bit. Met some folks who were new in town and exchanged numbers. I like to do my part to melt the Seattle Freeze. :)
Grabbed the female members of my group and headed back downstairs to dance. The floor is pretty compressed, and there was a whole lot of elbowing and shoving. A few people seemed to mind, but they were probably from the country and not accustomed to a lack of elbow room.
Sure enough I wound up on the stage, dancing my ass off. Ain't that the way of it?
When closing time hit, security herded us all outside. Then they started herding people off the street in front of the club. Then they started herding people away from the intersection down the street. What the hell? We got out of your club, if I want to stand outside and yack with my friends I don't see any reason why you should try to bust my head to get me away from the front of your building. Aren't sidewalks and streets public places? Whatever. Dropped a star for that; security here seemed like a bunch of ego driven meat balls.
i ain't gonna go on about the music... it's totally hit or miss, and i'm long over the irony of whitey hipsters dancing to chopped & screwed top 40 hip hop. whatevs.
i'm gonna talk about the bartenders. there's one girl who's got it all on lock. dark hair, random star tattoos, really pretty. anyhoo, she's served me on a number of nights, and the drinks are always fast and superb. but here's what's awesome: she's a take-no-shit kinda bartender, she's got no time for suburban messes. i've seen her deal with dicks of the highest order, correct their behavior, get called a bitch (or worse), write it off instantly, and move on to the next customer with grace and style. just shook it off. friendly as hell to the next folks, not even stressing about some jackoff who orders five AMF's, tries to carry them all from the bar (four is a fools game, to be sure), drop one in the well, and blame her for it.
respect to the serious, unflappable bartenders.
I was disappointed the second I walked in..why is the bar right next to the entry? There are already a lot of people crowding around the door..but to top that off, you also have people crowding around the bar making the room twice as packed.
Given that the name of the club is WAR ROOM..you really can't expect it to be glammed out with flashing lights and glitzy displays. The club itself has an underground kind of appeal..not much effort has been put into the interior..it's just a bunch of wooden walls with some sort of communist artifact on it.
I had fun while I was there..but that was also with the help of downing a couple of drinks..which I'll say are decent drinks..it'll get the job done.
The dancefloor is PACKED the night I was there making a little hard to breathe..but the DJ was good. And speaking of PACKED, I never got the chance to go to the outdoor seating area because I couldn't even get past the stairs!
I really would only go to War Room if I was looking for a low key night..it's nothing extravagant..it's nothing worth dressing in your best for. It'll be fun if you make it fun.
This place is A-OK with me. But, make sure you know what kind of night you are getting into prior to paying. They theme the nights these days with the music/DJ and it can make one experience very different from the other. The upstairs deck/patio is sweet in the summer. Usually a $2 beer special on High Life, or similar piss beer. Small lounge area by main bar (usually full with drunkies). Good sized dance floor. Crowd can get lame on a weird theme night.
I have good memories of this place though. Come here after a few drinks to dance and you are typically in for a good time.
I was the first patron to enter the War room on Saturday night, eager to savor Seattle's hiphop scene.
After being frisked, I walked over to the bar. The two bartenders look at me with strangely and were slow to serve. Remember I was the ONLY person in the club at this point. When he finally approached and asked what i wanted, I asked for a beer. He moved past rows of pint glasses and grabbed a 10oz plastic cup, filled it with beer, looked at me and said eight dollars. LOL. Being from the east coast, I am used to those prices but was suprised to see them here.
As I leaned against the bar enjoying my adult beverage, I noticed that the security guards either huddled outside or shadowboxing in random locations. And there were a LOT of them too, causing me to wonder if there was a riot or some other civil disturbance planned for that night.
Anyway, the music was, at first, pretty decent; Gangstarr, Biggie and someother mainstream hiphop that I could bob my head too... Then people started to show up...
So lets skip ahead an hour...
The place was packed, filled mostly with young asian kids. Not a lot of gringos or anybody else. Ok, thats cool. A fair amount of good looking people.
I went back to the bar and paid twelve dollars for a tiny gin and tonic.
The music went from decent to horrible. I dont know what the "dj" smoking but I've heard better hiphop at a highschool prom.
The security guards were roaming the place, angrily looking to stamp out any activity they deemed as improper (i.e., standing on the stairs, walking on the stairs, standing within three feet of the stairs, going out the door, coming in the door... you get the idea.)
Skip forward another fifteen minutes...
Okay, I just left, completely unsatisfied in every way possible. The music sucked, the place was too crowded and I was made to feel like a criminal for just going into the damn place. I wonder if they serve beer in glasses on the non-hiphop nights? I bet they do.
As I was walking to my car, I thought, I'm never ever, ever going back in there again. So, if you like good hiphop and a cool vibe, dont waste your time and money with the war room. And if you find a place like that ... lplease let me know.. cause I'm dying here. LOL.
On side note, several other reviewers on this board have stated or hinted at that the war room was ghetto, I didnt see that AT ALL. Like I said above the crowd was 90% asian hipsters and the other 10% were hipsters of all other shades and colors. I think the ghetto thing is kinda racist, but thats neither here nor there to this review.. JUST DONT GO!!!
warroom.. what can i say about you. first of all.. i just wanna flat out say, this place is disgusting. its too dark in there.. its not even the good kind of dark, its the creepy kind.. reminds me of the "saw" movies. the bar area... is pathetic. the "lounge" is pathetic. the dance floor. is pathetic x2. overall. i would never, in my life, ever ever, step foot in this disgusting, dumpster of a place.
and why do the security people walk around with their little flash lights telling everyone to stay off the walls, the stairs, the walk way.. as if the president is walking through. get a real job! and... really.. no need for those unecessary little comments that you have when checking ID's. i understand you get a lot of underage kids trying to go there.. but really.. if we're of age, no need for stupid remarks.
warroom employees need to get over themselves. you work in a giant dumpster. GET OVER IT!
oh yeah. and the drinks. overpriced and disgusting. and taste like they split a bottle into 2, and just filled it up with water. great business plan til people notice. IDIOTS!
overall, i just want to say. if i could give this place a negative. i would. never in my life would i step foot here again. i dont get why people come here.. but i guess people don't care for standards of their surrounding environment.
thanks for reading!
I can totally understand that this place is a hit or miss. Depending on what night you go and WHO you go with. I always seem to have fun here because all my friends like to dance. When I'm in the mood for some dancing, this is the spot I frequent most often on a Saturday.
Saturday night is a little crowded, sometimes way too crowded, but it's the best night because of the music. They play the best variety of hiphop music compared to other hiphop clubs in Seattle. DV-One is da shizz!!! (no wonder it gets so packed). When my girls and I get here, we always want to dance, and boy do we dance... All night... Sometimes guest DJs come to spin here... Spindarella from Salt n Pepa come quite often and she always-always-always rocks the house. I've also been here for 2080s night on Wednesday, great 80s music and Thursday for Reggae and Dancehall. What can I say? I love music and I love to dance. I bet you will go, "That's MY SONG....!" and get up off of your feet and boogie-down more than once.
Yes, there are only 2 bathroom stalls in the women's restroom so be prepared to wait in line for at least 5-10 minutes and not at the last minute when you're about to piss yourself. Most other clubs only have 2 or 3 stalls, and either one is broken or flooded or has some girl puking in it and there will always be a line. Sorry, I don't go to a place just because of their bathroom situation. Drinking makes you pee alot . Just try not to break the seal so early. =P Oh and don't get so wasted to the point you're going to throw up. Not cute.
People here are just chill, they have fun, and mind their own. I've met some really cool people here too. There are some young ones too, they're fun to watch as well. It reminds me of how old I'm getting. =P
Check their calendar to see what's playing each night. You can also get on a list or reserve a booth for a party.
This review is based solely on The War Room's deck - and the happy hour you can partake of once there -- If I had to rate it for dancing, I'd slide it down to 3 for week nights, and down to a 2 for the weekends (the crowd there is one of the most pushy, meat-markety, trolling for drunk hook-ups that I've ever seen). But I digress...
There was a time when my friends and I made an endless loop of bars on the Pike/Pine route. Chapel, Capitol Club, War Room deck, Rosebud - ending up at Maharaja around 1am and trying to soak up our alcohol with simosas. It didn't always work, but it was sure a damn good time.
Though I don't frequent it as much now, the War Room deck is still my favorite location of all the stops we made. It's high-up, so it gets plenty of sun, there's lots of benches and tables, and it's usually not all that crowded, so getting to the bar to get your booze is cake. Cheap cake, even. Um. If cake were booze, I mean.
Anyway, you get the idea. If you want a place to sit outside and have a drink on one of the few sunny days Seattle gets, the War Room is a great place to do it. The only flaw? No food available - but easy access to The Honey Hole, The Rosebud, Indian or Thai means that doesn't matter so much.
So, a 21 year-old straight guy from Berlin, Germany is visiting for the summer and staying with really cool 60-something folks.
I felt it my duty to show him the night scene in Seattle.
EEK! I don't know anything about straight bars...so I did my internet research and decided to try Trinity.
We could not get in because the boy didn't bring his international passport and his German ID was not good enough.
Next we went to Chapel, it was OK.....nice atmosphere but not to many friendly folks to chat with.....
Then we went to War Room.....this place is aptly named. They frisked us at the door....I got a little thrill from that...but it seemed a bit over the top...until we go inside.
This club is ghetto....sort of a gangster feel to it. My german friend was almost killed for dancing too close to some guy's woman....
The drinks were very expensive.
The music was pretty decent.
The staff had flashlights and kept shining them in our faces to tell us to move along and keep the flow moving.....so finding a place to sit and observe was next to impossible.
The cover charge was ten dollars each....
What a waste of cash.
We ended up at Neighbours.....and go figure....this is where my German friend ended up lip-locked with a woman (she was real too!), and got umpteen phone numbers from local straight girls....he did also get groped in the men's room...which made him turn three shades of red.....but heck....he got more play than most of us would!
Really was not at all what I had expected. It's really small in there! We went on a Saturday for my friend's birthday and she reserved a booth, which was nice since I am not a dancer. The music was good too, if you like hip-hop. But the drinks were way overpriced and the womens bathroom has only two stalls so there is always a line. And on top of that, while you are in line you have to smell the drench from the mens bathroom! Probably won't come back here again unless I have to for a birthday.
this was the first club i went to after i moved here from LA. i should not compare LA nightlife with Seattle nightlife cuz it'll just make me sad and bitter. so i was a snob the first time and didn't come back for awhile.
but then i came back again cuz the war room brought Spinderella (From Salt n Pepa). then i realized the War Room brings some greats dj's, even some of my beloved LA dj's so the war room know's what's up and is pushing the envelope in Seattle with hip hop, electronica, and other genres.
i was there on a friday night and i do have to say i did appreciate the photographers and posting the photos online. it's so asian and so my club style- i love it.
do try to check their website b/c it really varies by night, cover, and some nights offer guestlists.
Not my (or Diana L's) scene on a Friday night, but Riz wasn't at the Re Bar, so we headed up the hill.
Insanely packed.. and I felt a little out of place. I think we were two of the three Caucasians in the joint. 'Not that there's anything wrong with that.' -- Jerry Seinfeld.
Also, to the 'barely legal' boy who's English was limited to, 'Want to dance with you', 'Thanks for havin' the cohones to ask', but A.) I think I'm old enough to have once been your babysitter, and B.) when I'm out dancin' with my girl, I'm dancin' with my girl!
Here's to an awesome night, D! :)
Apparently the extra day we were blessed with this month wreaked a little havoc with reguarly scheduled programming in Seattle nightlife.
I really wanted to go to Re Bar and get my dance on to the unparalleled spinning skillz of the legendary DJ Riz. I really did. A perfect blend of Old School R&B and Hip Hop; it was going to be beautiful. And I was going to get to see Riz, who has to be the most adorable human being on this planet - bar none.
Katie S. and I headed down, scored a great parking spot (should have been my first clue that something was off), and survived the murder of smokers outside the club only to be assaulted one dimensional industrial pounding at us on a dance floor riddled with Goths. What?!? No, no, no.
This is how we ended up at the War Room. It would at least be Hip Hop, right? It sounded fine from the outside, so we headed on in. The space was ok, the dance floor a good size, but...
I haven't felt so tall since I lived in Japan. Seriously. I could see from one end of the club to the other, my view completely unobstructed. Not there's anything wrong with that - I just felt a little like the Jolly Green Bitch is all.... trapped in a Saigon nightclub. At any rate, it would seem that it was a special night at the club for DJ Vinroc from SF or some such shit. The man could not mix a pitcher of Kool-Aid - really. He sucked in a way that I am unable to fully describe.
"We can go if you want." I say after the second tiny little man has made his move on Katie with the oh-so-effective method of randomly rubbing his tiny little naughty bits up on her.
"Let's go!" she says without hesitation.
We head up to the Satellite Lounge, because fuck it, I'm out of the house and maybe I want to check my theory that NOTHING has changed in the 7 years it's been since I've been there. Sure enough - it had not. And we'd just missed Riz, who had been through on his rare Friday night off.
Whatever, any time with K-Town is a good time. Big ups M'Lady!
I was not expecting much.
Aaaaand now I understand why people don't like the war room.
First of all, why do the bouncers have such sassy attitudes? I tried to leave from the "entrance" door instead of the "exit" door (the doors are literally 2 feet apart and will get you to the same place in five seconds) and one of he bouncers stopped me and yelled at me! He was like EXCUSE ME!!!!!! WRONG WAY! WRONG WAY! And forced me to walk TWO steps to the left to get me to the exact same place. The club was not packed at that time, and I would not have even bumped into his bald-headed-YET-ponytailed-ass.
Also, there was this really bizarre drum and bass performance that was. I....can't even describe it. It was like black unitards with floppy hats I don't know. Is that why there was a $10 charge?
I went on Hip Hop night and they sure played a lot of Hip Hop. Every so often they burst into a Top 40 song like "American Boy" (Estelle) or "No One" (Alicia Keys). I would get excited and before I finish getting my groove on, they would cut the song off and go back to something I wouldn't recognize. Bummer.
+ $5 cover before 11PM on Saturday night (Hip Hop Night)
+ Drinks are alright. Prices run around the same price as other clubs.
+ Close to the Seattle Central parking garage ($5/per car to park)
+ Outdoor area was nice for a breather.
- I got frisked. I don't think I've ever been to a club where I had to be frisked before being let in
- Coat check: $3. That's a $1 more than most of the other places I go to.
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