Early Sunday Morning Brawl Outside Q

Things got ugly during a street brawl in front of Q Night Club early Sunday morning, August 11. Video Capture from a video made by Jessica Hill.

History does seem to enjoy repeating itself.

A little over a year ago, The Social opened over on Olive Way as the “hottest new gay/mixed club” on Capitol Hill. When the club proved to be not as popular as hoped, especially with the LGBTQ crowd, the owners panicked and changes began happening, including the removal of one of the partners in the venture,  (a gay man) and soon dumped any queer programming at the venue and switched to a format that primarily appealed to straight, 20somethings. Soon, reports of unruly crowds, excessive noise and even an incident involving gunplay led The Social down a road that eventually ended with angry neighbors, multiple calls to the Seattle Police Department, and an investigation by the Washington State Liquor Control Board that eventually led to the closing of the club at the end of February 2013.

Nearly a year ago, Q Capitol Hill opened at Broadway & Pike and billed itself as the hottest new gay/mixed, EDM dance club on Capitol Hill and Seattle in general. Venue wise, it had a lot more to offer than The Social, as the far more savvy partners behind the venture took the time and the money to actually design a space with strong appeal. A strong line-up of talent and events, many marketed for the LGBTQ crowd, led to early strong reviews for Q. But, allegedly and behind the scenes, a power struggle was happening with the owners of Q and rumors of internal strife began leaking out, with several changes in staffing and programming at the club seeming to validate those rumors. By early summer, the number of specifically queer focused events had trailed away. Last month’s announcement that the gay owner of Q had sold his share of the business to his straight partner was quickly followed by word that Q’s gay head booker was out.

Then, it was announced that KINGDOM, a club night that has its roots in straight Pioneer Square clubs was coming to Q on Saturday nights. Interestingly, KINGDOM had also spent some time as a resident night at The Social prior to its closing. 

KINGDOM’S reviews speak for itself:

“KINGDOM is the party of the year” – Dlist Magazine

“…I can’t believe this party is legal…so fun” – Trashed Magazine

“Creating a great atmosphere and an unforgettable experience is key, and Kingdom Saturdays never failed to provide that.” – Dance Music Northwest

The event is hugely popular with a largely straight, young, suburban clientele. If DList Magazine gushes over an event, you just know every 24 year old straight stud, devoted to drenching himself in testosterone and Paco Rabanne will be hitting that scene. Apparently, said testosterone got out of hand early Sunday morning, as a street brawl broke out in front of the club, in the middle of Broadway.

This being 2013, naturally dozens of people whipped out their camera phones to record the vote and one video has been posted on YouTube by Jessica Hill, who forwarded the link to the video to us. Please note the added onscreen video commentary. Q security staff plunged into the melee to break things up and the Seattle P.D. eventually arrived on the scene.

Yes, history does love a good repeat. Hopefully, everyone is out of the line of fire when the violence escalates.

Check out the video: