Neumos

Neumos is one of the premier live music clubs in Seattle, and it's legit one of my favorites to play!! Everyone is so nice and chill, great security and an all around awesome vibe! Highly recommend!

So first, covid reopenings are hard to navigate. I get that. However, I bought tickets days in advance for the lizzo dance party/drag show, only to get sent to the back of a line wrapping around the block where the girls in front of me didn't even know what they were waiting for. They clearly sold more tickets than they could accomodate, just letting people go in and not calibrating headcount to include tickets previously sold. After a 45 minute wait where the line didn't move, my cousin and I just went to another bar. I feel pretty robbed from the $5+3 x 2 that I paid to not go in...

I heard from some girls at lost lakes that the show was really disappointing. In spite of names of lots of drag queen performances, it sounds like it wasn't a cohesive show, and they ended up not performing until closer to midnight. I don't think I would recommend neumos to a friend anymore... not a good experience.

We came here to see Immortal Technique and he did not disappoint. From the opening acts to the star of the show was great! Sound was good, but it's a tiny place so expect to be shoulder to shoulder with your fellow people.
You are in the middle of Capitol Hill and surrounded by bums and such as you wait in line to be let inside.
There are also a lot of great pre-show places to eat or grab a drink near by or grab a drink at their bar.

Security is overly aggressive here. Some other people had been drinking and were leaning against a gate, occasionally causing it to move slightly. Security dude was convinced that I was the one guilty of this atrocity and yelled at me repeatedly in the middle of the band's set, to the point were heads were turning. I'm sure this detracted from the several audience members' experience (and certainly my own). I firmly told the guard that I wasn't the one doing it and he kicked me out of the show. I was stone cold sober for the experience, no exaggeration here.

This was for Andy Shauf back in late January or so.

I love Neumos! Such a fun place to see a band. We were there on Halloween to see Tacocat and assorted opening acts. I reserved a table when I ordered tickets, and appreciated that they had an assigned table waiting for us - clearly marked with my name. The staff were really nice and helpful, pointing out where to go, since it was our first time there.

Since we had the table, we had a server, who checked in with each break between acts to see if we needed anything. Food is available until 10pm from the chicken place next door. I had the chicken tacos, which were pretty tasty. My partner was unfortunately not crazy for his chicken sandwich.

The venue is on the small side, and the overall vibe is just very silly and fun. I'm looking forward to my next show here!

Neumos is a underrated place, I could say that I've seen a handful of bands. (That was the bands name. Lol. [Its believable]) ._. But why 3 stars tho?? ._. Welp, strap on to your hiking backpacks to *boomingly god voice* "REVIEW MOUNTAIN!" (*someone in the back saying "didnt someone die there."* shhh... )

Atmosphere:
It's small, it's a smaller venue. (But not small stage like el corazon. You literal feel like a sardine in a can there! ._.) Theres two floors to view the stage. One at top (for the raging alcoholic people go and look down on the young with jealousy of the youth days!!! ... just me. Ok. O.O) it's been renovated and everything to the top is new. (Feels new.) The classy touch is the beer in ground. Looking down at the stage is limited view due to speakers blocking the stage. (Which they accommodated with tv screens of the stage throughout the bar. Now no longer be blinded by the giant speaker!! ._. The common neumos enemy.) Bathroom are gender neutral, but by god they didnt renovate that part. Get ready to hold it in. The bathrooms can be described as the back alley streets of the worst parts of Gotham city. (And somehow if you close your eyes.. you hear the distinct crying of an 8 year old boy losing his parents. ._.)

Staff/Security:
Is pretty friendly and never had a problem with them. Some just look like they want to get done with there shift and leave. (I wouldnt blame them.  That's me on a daily basis.) Security is pretty loose and and relaxed but overall they do intervene if things get hairy. (Which that's the weirdest expression I ever heard. ._. Why hair?? The world may never know.)

Sound/lighting:
The sound is pretty good. I've had not had a problem. The speakers dont over power the room and you dont get that obnoxious feed back. (Like an over used speaker in a car.. while blasting rap music at 3 am in the morning. Who does that?!?! Crazy dumb people that dont have jobs.) I could say the atmosphere and light set up has never been issue and pretty subtle.

Conclusion:
Do you love the sudden trap underneath your shoes to not being able to move because someone named Ashley was too drunk to compose herself before the last band? A good selection of bands playing in a venue, good staff and ok security, great sound (that your grandma wouldnt approve of, and the most ghastly bathrooms you could ever want to place your two fluffy cushions on? Welp, come on down and grab a beer and let's wait for the next band play.

My first time at this venue was this evening to see Julia Michaels. It's general admission, so no seating, and spots closest to the stage are first-come, first-served.

The bar is located on the mezzanine. Well drinks are $7.75 as of this show, this evening (4/7/19), which is a bit steep to me. (I'm hearing that the prices vary per show.)

Low lighting provides the perfect atmosphere for a concert venue.

If you can snag a good spot right up against the mezzanine railing, you'll have an amazing overhead view of the stage.

Truth be told probably more of a 3.5 review for me.
I went here last weekend to see Tricky. Trying to see this musician has been a really long term goal of mine. Many, many, many years ago when I still lived in Denver I was going to go see him but the musician had customs issues and never returned for a tour date in Denver when I lived there. He has put out several albums since then and has toured the United States (Tricky is British) but either stuck to the west coast or the east coast and never came to Middle America.
It's been five years since I lived in Washington state and at long last a tour date was announced for Seattle and I finally got to see him! A big "check" on the bucket list. The opening act, Pure Magic was very good and Tricky himself was excellent but the show was very dark. Meaning very little lighting during his entire performance on the stage and his two encores. That had nothing to do with the venue but how the musician wanted to present himself but other people complained about it too.
The Neumos venue itself isn't bad. It has a good, intimate setting and there is an upstairs where you can sit. Both levels have a bar.
The service itself by the staff? Well some  of it it is definitely hit and miss. I saw that Tricky was not selling much for swag (t-shirts) but I saw that Neumos sold their own swag. I really liked a hoodie that they had on display. I went up to the bar where the hoodie was displayed above and a bartender that was filling in for the regular bartender said that I had to "go across the hallway to get the hoodie". This bartender worked at the nearby Runaway as I saw her go back in one of their entrances which was connected to Neumos. So I imagine the same owner has both places. I asked a security guy that worked for Neumos and he didn't really know where the hoodies and t-shirts were other than they were in the store room. (Sigh) When I went back to the downstairs bar the regular bartender was back and I asked her about the hoodie in which she said that they were all sold out. Though I didn't get the answer I wanted she was the most knowledgeable one that I interacted with here.
I would go back for another show. I liked the venue well enough but I'm not too sure I want to ask the staff too many questions for fear of being sent on a wild goose chase since quite a few staff members don't fully know the layout of where everything is at their work.

I'm a fan of this place because it's like a divey version of the House of Blues. In other words, it's a small venue with an upstairs from which you can view the band (and get drinks) and a downstairs that is small enough that, even in the back, you're not too far from the stage. That said, HOB has better acoustics and overall layout. I'm still a fan though and would head back. Just be advised: Parking sucks, so leave extra time to find something (and meters run until 10:00 pm).

Bottom line: Check it out.

Neumos always host the best events, like THE OFFICE TRIVIA!  People came decked out in costume, the place was decorated, and there were drink specials, all relating to The Office.  It was fun!  And speaking of trivia - they have Trivia Tuesday every week, featuring popular TV shows and movies, so there's something for everyone to check out.

There are always small shows performing here, mainly independent artists, which I dig, and themed dance parties, like '90's night or Britney v. Beyonce Battles!  Tickets for any of the events can be purchased online, but also at The Runaway next door.  Plus, there's Bok a Bok service here.  

There are two floors to Neumos, so when it gets crowded where the main stage is - people can head upstairs for some booth and table seating and an upstairs bar.  And it's a 21+ venue.  

Overall, I always have a fun time at Neumos, especially during their themed events!  It's worth being on their e-newsletter just for those!