After the KUBE-93 DV8 days were well over and before Premier was even open, you might say that the heydays of the Seattle Asian American club scene hit a high point somewhere in the midst of 2005.
This saturation point occured when places like Bada Lounge (now Umi, an awesome sushi joint on 1st Ave), Medusa (now Venom on Western Ave), Belltown Billiards (some restaurant now on Blanchard) and Ohana's (also on 1st) were packed to the rim with Petron guzzling patrons. Not only were these hot spots sitting within a block of each other, but club promotion teams (i.e. my nvrMT boys, Ting's crew, the short-lived d.i.p. family) essentially nabbed the same network of Asian Americans.
These were the days when you could grab a couple of cheap drinks at Ohana's, spend an hour or two at Medusa, leave and walk (or stumble) up a block and pop into Bada to meet up with another set of friends. And if Medusa didn't suit you that night, you could always head to Belltown Billiards.
Four years later with so many different clubs and lounges scattered in every corner of Seattle, an alcohol infused night is no longer confined to just Belltown, nor are they confined by cultures.
Notice the color in the clubs? You don't need to get your eyes checked. Cultural networks are steadily merging and promoters are scrambling to nab all cultural networks, not just the Asian American community they once solely focused on. Ultimately, this is a good thing.
But where do all the Asian Americans go now?
Below's a current list of clubs and lounges typically frequented by networks I belong to, as well as places we'll drop by once in a while.
This isn't to say that all Asian Americans unconsciously mob over to these venues when looking for a place to dance (跳舞 Pinyin: tiao4 wu3) and drink their liver away. If anything, a mixture of cultures exist in the list below. I love ClubVibes and Seaspot as much as the next girl, but no list exists to break down what's currently popular in a matter-of-fact fashion.
No matter what cultural circle(s) you belong to, feel free to help expand upon it by posting venues you frequent via comments.
Seattle Asian American Nightlife List: Current as of March 27th, 2009
Add your spots (Asian American or not) to diversify the list.
Key
(+) are frequent venues
(*) are occasional venues
(-) are irregular venues
Thursday
Fusion
Cowgirl's Inc.
Trinity (-)
Venom (-) only for their once a month DList party
Friday
Ibiza (+)
Venom (+)
War Room (*)
Parlor (+)
Amber (*)
Twilight (-)
Saturday
War Room (+)
Parlor (+)
Ohana's (*)
Trinity (*) usually for birthday parties
Amber
Twist
Del Ray's
So now the question is where do you like to get your drink on?
This saturation point occured when places like Bada Lounge (now Umi, an awesome sushi joint on 1st Ave), Medusa (now Venom on Western Ave), Belltown Billiards (some restaurant now on Blanchard) and Ohana's (also on 1st) were packed to the rim with Petron guzzling patrons. Not only were these hot spots sitting within a block of each other, but club promotion teams (i.e. my nvrMT boys, Ting's crew, the short-lived d.i.p. family) essentially nabbed the same network of Asian Americans.
These were the days when you could grab a couple of cheap drinks at Ohana's, spend an hour or two at Medusa, leave and walk (or stumble) up a block and pop into Bada to meet up with another set of friends. And if Medusa didn't suit you that night, you could always head to Belltown Billiards.
Four years later with so many different clubs and lounges scattered in every corner of Seattle, an alcohol infused night is no longer confined to just Belltown, nor are they confined by cultures.
Notice the color in the clubs? You don't need to get your eyes checked. Cultural networks are steadily merging and promoters are scrambling to nab all cultural networks, not just the Asian American community they once solely focused on. Ultimately, this is a good thing.
But where do all the Asian Americans go now?
Below's a current list of clubs and lounges typically frequented by networks I belong to, as well as places we'll drop by once in a while.
This isn't to say that all Asian Americans unconsciously mob over to these venues when looking for a place to dance (跳舞 Pinyin: tiao4 wu3) and drink their liver away. If anything, a mixture of cultures exist in the list below. I love ClubVibes and Seaspot as much as the next girl, but no list exists to break down what's currently popular in a matter-of-fact fashion.
No matter what cultural circle(s) you belong to, feel free to help expand upon it by posting venues you frequent via comments.
Seattle Asian American Nightlife List: Current as of March 27th, 2009
Add your spots (Asian American or not) to diversify the list.
Key
(+) are frequent venues
(*) are occasional venues
(-) are irregular venues
Thursday
Fusion
Cowgirl's Inc.
Trinity (-)
Venom (-) only for their once a month DList party
Friday
Ibiza (+)
Venom (+)
War Room (*)
Parlor (+)
Amber (*)
Twilight (-)
Saturday
War Room (+)
Parlor (+)
Ohana's (*)
Trinity (*) usually for birthday parties
Amber
Twist
Del Ray's
So now the question is where do you like to get your drink on?
