Obvious Diversion

Last week, I went to the opening night of The War Room on Capitol Hill. I had walked by the location a number of times as it went through it’s transformation from previous failed venue to a wood paneled mystery. When I heard that on Sunday they would be open for business, I dragged my friend Jon with me to check it out.

We arrived early, which gave us a chance to explore the space with only a smattering of people. In short, it’s damn nice and I expect many future evenings will be spent there. The setup is very smart with lots of floor space for dancing and b-boys with posh seating on the outskirts. There’s a more loungy area set aside with a huge bar. The whole place feels comfortable and dark as if it really would be a place to stage your personal revolution. The walls are covered with artwork by Shephard Fairey. There’s a fantastic triptych next to the stage that’s sadly obscured by an ill-placed speaker. I believe the logo for the place is designed by Shephard Fairey as well, but I wasn’t able to confirm this. A nice rooftop area for cooling off makes for one other area to escape to. Looking at their future schedule, The War Room will be primarily a DJ / Hip Hop house with an occasional indie rock show.

My only complaints are the art-obscuring speaker and the fact that the ventilation seemed a bit lacking, but both of these items are things that can be remedied with time.

The real test of this place is the quality of the music they manage to fill it with and I’m looking forward to many future visits over the summer to see how they do.

The War Room
722 E. Pike Street, Seattle