Columbia City Theater is a Dream Come True Again [Photo Gallery]

The Columbia City Theater (Facebook) is a music club to fall in love with. It re-re-re-re-opened (the old vaudeville hall has been around since 1917, in various guises) in June of this year, and vaulted into the Seattle Weekly's "Best of Seattle" list less than two months later.

Before we go behind-the-scenes, here's the lowdown. You'll find the Theater at 4916 Rainier Avenue South, which is just beyond the Columbia City Cinema. (Take the #7 or #8 bus or light rail--the last light rail train leaves SeaTac for downtown at 12:10 a.m., Monday through Saturday.) It's adjacent to the award-winning pizzeria Tutta Bella, who serve up the eats in The Bourbon, Columbia City Theater's bar. The bar is open seven days a week, 4 p.m. to 2 a.m.

The bourbon-heavy cocktail list ($8-$10) features pre-Prohibition favorites (Mint Julep, Derby, Commodore), as well as some rye (Red Hook; Fratelli Cocktail, with Fernet Branca; Diamondback). Bar entertainment ranges from djs to karaoke to live music, and on nights when there's a show in the theatre, you can watch the show projected live on a screen. Happy Hour most of the week is 4-7 p.m., and all day Monday, and brings you such wonders as $5 pitchers of High Life and $3 wells.

Past the bar, on your left, is the entrance to the theater, which has a bar of its own. It's an intimate shoebox space, though it holds over 200, and the acoustics require no over-amplification. The ambiance--the curtained stage and brass lighting fixtures and brick walls--makes this unlike any other music club you're likely to step into in town.

Coming up on the calendar are bands like Hounds of the Wild Hunt, Hobosexual, Baltic Cousins (here for a Sound on the Sound bill September 10), followed the next night by a CD release party for Drew Grow & The Pastors’ Wives, with Pablo Trucker, Yuni in Taxco, and the Hopvine's Michael Vermillion. Later on comes Rachel Flotard & Rusty Willoughby, and Hey Marseilles. Tickets range from $7 to $15.

For bands, there are two green rooms, one with entertainment, one for quiet time--and a rockstar catwalk that leads to the stage. There's also a full recording studio run by run by Producer/Engineer Gary Mula, who was in there doing some mastering today. He gave us an early listen of a raw recording, and it sounded quite good. But don't take our word for it--fire up an expeditionary team and head down to check the place out for yourself.