While the Crocodile Cafe deserves its historical status as ground zero for Seattle rock, for everyone actively involved in the early- '90's music scene, Moe's Mo' Rockin' Cafe was equally iconic. From when the doors opened in 1993 until they closed with a much mournful, drunken fanfare in 1997, the Capitol Hill club was a magnetic force for touring bands (now-legendary acts like the Flaming Lips, Drive Like Jehu, and Radiohead made unforgettable appearances) and a supportive breeding ground for the strong local acts like 7 Year Bitch and Sage. Wehn Moe's closed its doors, the cliche was apt: It was truly the end of an era.
It was also the beginning for a really crappy era, as the subsequent line of tenants proceeded to demolish and neuter much of the buldings aesthetic charms, ushering in a stream of electronica and dance-oriented programming that invariably failed. Whatever form it took--the capid sterility of ARO.space's blank white disco or the more recent scatterbrained "house of sound" that Noiselab was supposed to be--every incarnation perpuated urban lore about the building being cursed.
That's all about to change dramatically. After six years of leasing out his building, original Moe's founder Jerry Everard has joined forces with Marcus Charles (owner of the Bad Juju Lounge, Marcus' Martini Heaven, the VIP Room, Jack's Roadhouse and the Capitol Hill Block Party) and the original Moe's booking agen Jason Fitzgerald to resurrect Moe's under the updated moniker Neumos. Construction is already under way and during my walk through the club last week, I was relieved to see they couldn't be smarter in midwifing the club's rebirth. Deftly weaving together elements of what made Moe's such a beloved haunt (the decadent carnivalesque atmosphere, the labyrinth-like layout) and improving on its shortcomings (poor sightlines, not enough bathrooms or bars), Everard and his partners are planning on delivering something bigger and better. The most dramatic changes are the complete removal of one showroom wall and the building of an enormous new stage, shrewd moves that bump the room's capacity to approximately 800 and will iimmensely improve the live experience for both audience and artist. In addition, a brand new 48 channel sound system is being installed..
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