i wouldn't mind if they cut that capacity down to 650 or so, since neumo's seems to like packing people in like sardines. i was shocked they were able to get away with it for so long.

the city's definitely been harassing clubs lately, but moreso for sound "violations" and the amount of people is a separate concern. cutting them down to 250 seems very unlikely.

Hmmm...interesting. I'm not sure I buy it yet but I'm going to the Posies show tomorrow night so I'll let you know if I think "wow! It's pretty spacious in here for a sold out show".

I don't know if the economy is good enough right now for City Hall to be forcing out businesses that are doing okay to make room for condos when there are an awful lot in town that are still vacant. I do, however, believe in the conspiracy that the mayor's office is trying to make it as hard as possible for clubs to operate ("Operation Sobering Thought", noise at Chop Suey, no drinks on stage, etc...).

Doesn't the fire department set the capacity based on what is safe for the room? I hope some people who would know more than I would can jump in and fill us in!

I think the city should have to give a little, to get a little-- barter for it. If they want to reduce the capacity of clubs, then they have to allow drinks on stage! Period. End of story.

(only half kidding)

Gosh darnit! They had better not close Neumos before Los Campesinos comes on the 31st! Is there some sort of petition we can sign?

Yes - I was at the Cloud Cult show last Friday where the same thing happened. They had to take a single show and split it into 2 sets (9:00 & midnight) to accomodate the oversold show. It couldn't have been only 250, it was more than that...but the city has definitely put restrictions on how many people can be there.

Hmm...I'll report back about how it is for Clinic tonight.

Hmm...I'll report back about how it is for Clinic tonight.

I hope the city planners realize what would happen if they were to eradicate the music scene here. Either a sizable portion of the population are going to move out to more music friendly cities (Hello Portland and Montreal?), or there is going to be a more prevalent issue of illegal venues popping up all over. I mean, hello? people from less music friendly places move here due to the scene. I think we would see somewhat of a dip in growth.

@3 - I'm pretty sure it's the state liquor control board that doesn't want us drinking while we play - one of the most ridiculous liquor laws I've ever come across, and I'm from Massachusetts!

I went through this type of stuff in Phoenix where “the Man” went around and made life exceedingly difficult for club owners and before long live music venues started dropping like flies (to elle’s point, that was part of the reason I skipped town). That was about five years ago and the scene in the Phoenix metro area has just started to recover. I sincerely hope that isn’t the case here.

On the other hand, sold out shows at Neumos have always felt like they were packed well over capacity. If God forbid there ever was a fire or some sort of chaos there is no doubt in my mind that there would be some serious casualties.

I was at the Kills show at Neumos last night, and was told to take a look at the new rules posted on the wall before entering… which I did not read (I had drinkin' to do), but in hindsight I realize it probably had said something about floor capacity. As I was waiting for the Kills to play I noticed that the floor was not as crowded as it usually is for a sold out show at Neumos, and that there were about 25 people waiting outside the side door by the bathroom to get in. I think everyone eventually got in (or gave up and stood up in the balcony). I was afraid to go to the bathroom because I did not want to end up in the queue of people waiting to get back onto the floor.

I was shocked by the no alcohol on stage rule. “Hotel” gave a little onstage rant about it and had resorted to drinking coffee. At one point during the encore “Hotel” tried to bring a beer on stage but the security guard frantically shined his flashlight at him to tell him “no-no you cannot have beer up there”, but was ignored. The security guard then proceeded to walk on stage during the encore song and take the beer away. This act was meet with a collective “boo” by the front stage audience, which confused the hell out of “VV” and probably some of the audience members who did not see what has just taken place.

I hope they don't get rid of Neumo's. Since the Croc closed that's probably my favorite venue. Either that or the Showbox, but the Showbox is a bit bigger than both the others. I went to Cut Copy and Black Kids a week or two ago at Neumo's and there didn't seem to be any differences or capacity changes.
I hope this is just a bad rumor.

Okay, here is the word from a certain bar back I know who works for Neumo's/Moe's:

Neumo's is currently working under a temporary permit as they were recently caught overfilling past capacity, once. (This actually surprised me, as it's a well known fact they are quite often packed to the brim, especially as anyone at last year's CHBP Girl Talk set can attest.) They are trying to get it overturned; I noticed there were employees escorting the fire dept around before tonight's show. He said they've been reduced to HALF of their real capacity limit, although no number was told to me. Working at half rate, of course, does not bid well for turning a profit... and my informant and the doorman standing nearby did not seem too optimistic about the future of their employment.

My summary: Fuck.

Heyo - here's the official statement from Steven Severin of Nuemos:

Neumos was recently and suddenly informed by the City of Seattle of a new interpretation of the capacity rules for our venue that is leading to some unwieldy restrictions during shows. It is not a change to our overall capacity, rather a limitation on allowing people to move freely throughout the venue, from the showroom floor, to the mezzanine, to Moe Bar, and reduces the number of tickets we can sell. Instead, the City is telling us that patrons have to stay in divided areas.

We have been going through all the proper channels to correct this as quickly as possible and we have been receiving some assistance from certain departments within the city. The Fire department has been flexible and is working with us this weekend to help solve some of these problems connected with the restricted flow to these areas. The earliest we are able to have our initial meeting with the Department of Planning and Development will be May 28th. We have been pleading to get the appointment moved up, but have been unable to get that done. Unfortunately we are being expected to try to change our entire business model over night, without the time to train staff, adjust customers expectations, and re-design our business model.

The building and its occupancy have been interpreted the same way for 15 years.

We hope we can get this sorted out and put behind us so we can continue to do what we are designed to do, which is bring quality music to a thriving music city, in a responsible and professional manner.

Thanks for the clarification, Steven. Wishes for a speedy resolution to keep the club going strong and bringing the music.

good to know, but just because capacity had always been interpreted that way doesn't meant it was right. the city is absolutely correct that there was no way in hell for people to "move freely throughout the venue" for sold-out shows. add to that the stifling heat, and i only have a little sympathy for the situation.

When I got tickets to Moby, the site said that they only had 400 tickets available. So the capacity is probably about that.

If the previous capacity was calculated:
Moe’s + Balcony + Floor = Capacity
Then the city needed to step in and force some adjustments. Nobody’s in the bar by the time the headliners go on, thus packing everyone into that little square in front of the stage. I hope that Neumos can figure out a way to be successful under whatever new regulations are set forth. The old strategy of packing as many people as possible onto the floor wasn’t really conducive to an enjoyable concert experience.

I was at The Kills show the other night & found myself in the hallway by the bathrooms for about 20 minutes or so, missing the first part of their set. Just because I had to pee. The line got pretty long & people got pissy, believe me. I understand that Neumo's & their employees were dealing with a pretty frustrating situation for everyone there but it was totally lame..kinda put a damper on the show for me. I want to support the club, but I'll think twice before I see another show there & that sucks.
I have a friend that works there and he said the club is losing money every night due to the new, unexpected crack down. I fear that down the road a few years we'll be standing outside a condo development saying to our friends, "this is where Neumo's used to be". Once Capitol Hill is drained of any character, who'll want to live there??

It's just like every other part of Seattle that used to be cool and is fast becoming land o' condos: Belltown, Ballard even.... Suck.

This is a bummer.

I was looking forward to The Warlocks/Black Angels show in June at Neumo's but now I don't know if I want to go if it is going to be a hassle just to get into the showroom.....

I was at Neumo's last night for tokyo police club, it was a sold out show but it seemed really empty!

LAME.

all the shows I've gone to over the years have always been TOO PACKED! I think they should cut it down to around 500-600.

Everytime I have been there it has been criminally underfilled.

If I were the city, which I'm not, I would increase their capacity to 1 million. And everyone who didn't get in? Arrested and sent to the pit!

Was just at Neumos last night for the sold out Busdriver/Dizzee Rascal/El-P show and about 1/3 of the floor was empty.

What the f?

i tried to go see xiu xiu there a while back and by no means was it my last time ever to try. The guys at the door and the bartenders were extremely polite and the atmosphere as always was a 10+ for accessibility of space, by no means was the great potential to see one of my favorite
"groups" drastically reduced to a poor minimum of squashing and ass grab by a thousand other people. As a matter of fact I'm leaving my house right now to go to another show at neumos. Halophile-tonight...