By 9 pm at Elite a solid group has filed into the front bar. Nearly every seat in the bar is taken. But there is still lots of standing room available. The energy that you feel is the excitement of finally having a nice new place on Olive Way to get a drink and hang out with family.
By 10 pm Chapel is just getting started again after serving its happy hour crowd earlier in the evening. I must say that the atmosphere is pretty “cool” here. Dark and chic but does not feel stuffy at all. Most chairs are filled inside this mortuary converted into a bar. Eerily you can kind of visualize the bars former mortuary days. But that’s what makes this bar so hip. As expected a distinctly mixed straight/gay crowd but more than enough gay patrons to make it feel comfortable.
By 11 pm the crowd at B-Bar @ Baltic Room (Every 3rd Saturday) has already begun to fill in. Very impressive for this crowd to be there so early. Cover was a mere $5.
By 12 am B-Bar is packed. Still room for more upstairs but the bar is filling up fast. Extremely impressed for this type of event this early. DJ Brian Gorr spins an enticing mix of recent and some older favorites that seem to pull you onto the dance floor. This feels like a monthly event that does have a place in the Seattle gay scene.
By 1 am Cuff Complex has a decent sized crowd. The dance floor is not even nearly has packed as last week but the front bar is filled with many Cuff regulars. It also appears that the bar may have already reached its peak for the night. Last week no one was out in the patio but tonight a large crowd has moved outside and still no smoking is allowed on the patio under the canopy. $4 cover every Friday and Saturday night.
By 1:15 am R Place is pretty full upstairs on the dance floor. Signs all over the club warn people not to set their drinks down since someone has been putting “toxins” in them. Not exactly a comforting thought. We expect Hip Hop and stand with curiosity and amazement as the crowd is able to dance (hop) to the beat but at least hearing Rihanna’s umbrella is a bit of crossover into dance music. No cover that late.
By 1:45 am at R Place it’s last call and patrons shuffle down to the first floor before being forced to the exit. The outside sidewalk is packed and the one observation is how well behaved everyone is. No fighting, no tension, no trouble. This is the way Hip Hop clubs should be.
By 2 am outside Neighbours Nightclub the crowds begin to line up outside for after hours entry til 4 am. Cover $8.
R Place is closed Sunday Dec 16 for a private party.
