Tag Archives: Misfits

So Long Funhouse, and Thanks for the Fish (Photo Gallery)

The Grindylow.
The Holy.
Brokaw.
Brokaw.
Brain Hornet.
Brain Hornet.
No World.
The Funhouse.
CCAA.
The Funhouse.
Tight Lies.
Tight Lies.
Blood Orange Paradise.
Blood Orange Paradise.
The Downstrokes.
The Downstrokes.
Last Gasp.
Poop Attack.
Glenn or Glennda.
Glenn or Glennda.

Brent of The Grindylow gets all rock-star. (photo by Tony Kay)

The Holy raising a holy racket at the Funhouse on October 30. (photo by Tony Kay)

Mike Henderson of Brokaw, shortly before knocking a hole in the Funhouse ceiling with his mic stand. (photo by Tony Kay)

Brokaw bust out the fog machine. (photo by Tony Kay)

Brain Hornet buzz away at The Funhouse's second-to-last night. (photo by Tony Kay)

Nick the Hat of Brain Hornet impersonates Satan. (photo by Tony Kay)

Dan Infecto of No World. (photo by Tony Kay)

Even the condom dispensers at The Funhouse are punk rock. (photo by Tony Kay)

CCAA bring the beats to their opening set at The Funhouse Farewell Party. (photo by Tony Kay)

The Funhouse: Catering to the oft-ignored Masked-Wrestling-Punk-Rock-Fan Demographic since 2003. (photo by Tony Kay)

Tight Lies rock The Funhouse. (photo by Tony Kay)

Tight Lies. (photo by Tony Kay)

Blood Orange Paradise, providing arty noise, or noisy art, or something like that. (photo by Tony Kay)

Blood Orange Paradise. (photo by Tony Kay)

Michelangelo and Raphael (sorry, singer Nick and bassist Ricky) of The Downstrokes. (photo by Tony Kay)

The Downstrokes. (photo by Tony Kay)

Henry Rollins + Mick Jagger x Scary Homicidal Homeless Guy = Ajax of Last Gasp. (photo by Tony Kay)

Sgt. Slaughter hits bottle hard, fronts punk band: Poop Attack help out with The Funhouse's last hurrah. (photo by Tony Kay)

Just another boring old cross-dressing Misfits cover band: Glenn or Glennda at the Funhouse's final farewell. (photo by Tony Kay)

Glenn or Glennda? Guess. (photo by Tony Kay)

The Grindylow. thumbnail
The Holy. thumbnail
Brokaw. thumbnail
Brokaw. thumbnail
Brain Hornet. thumbnail
Brain Hornet. thumbnail
No World. thumbnail
The Funhouse. thumbnail
CCAA. thumbnail
The Funhouse. thumbnail
Tight Lies. thumbnail
Tight Lies. thumbnail
Blood Orange Paradise. thumbnail
Blood Orange Paradise. thumbnail
The Downstrokes. thumbnail
The Downstrokes. thumbnail
Last Gasp. thumbnail
Poop Attack. thumbnail
Glenn or Glennda. thumbnail
Glenn or Glennda. thumbnail

Yeah, it sucks in the most epic, unequivocal way imaginable that The Funhouse is now history. The inevitability of its prime real estate falling into the hands of the usual rich-developer suspects doesn’t make it sting any less.

But glass half-full time, folks: The club served up nine solid years of loud, fun shows, in a rough-hewn-but-loving environment that gave young bands a chance to cut their teeth. And it provided strains of music underrepresented by the current indie-rock scene: Sturm-und-drang heavy metal, loud-fast punk, and dirty-fingernailed garage rock all found a welcome haven within the venue’s venerable walls. Plus, co-owner Brian Foss repeatedly stated his intention to open a new venue somewhere in town that continues to live up to The Funhouse’s credo of loud fun over fickle fashion. Continue reading So Long Funhouse, and Thanks for the Fish (Photo Gallery)

The Funhouse Disappears in 2…1…

Say good night, Mr. Skull: The soon-to-be-dearly-departed Funhouse (photo by Tony Kay).

For nine years running, The Funhouse’s purple-hatted skull sign has leered larger-than-life over 5th Avenue, lending a welcome aura of Grand Guignol grotesquerie in contrast to the shiny-chewed-gum-lump that is the EMP Building. More importantly, the venerable (by today’s fleeting standards, anyway) watering hole/music club has provided some of the most unapologetically sweaty, loud, and fun shows to come shambling through Seattle. That era comes to an end tomorrow night, as the venue says farewell with their last show.

The mythic Seattle music scene–the one romanticized by the media since the late 1980s–has found its closest physical manifestation in the Funhouse’s environs for the last decade. It’s been one of the few clubs in town where real dyed-in-the-wool fans outnumber trend-huffing hipsters;  a beer-sodden and lovably-dillapidated space where brave souls could risk flying beer cups, projectile vomit, or unruly slam-punks to have their worlds rocked. And with the building’s nearly 80-year-old history as a bar (previous incarnations included Tex’s Tavern and Zak’s), the demolition of the venue to make way for yet another residential/office building signals the death knell for a grotty but beloved piece of Seattle history.

Blessedly, it’s not too late to pay your respects. Wednesday evening’s farewell show features the wonderfully-bent Misfits cover band Glenn or Glennda, who’ve headlined the Funhouse for a few Halloweens now, so it’s only apropos that they’re sending the club off.

Advance tickets have sold out, but there will be a few tickets held back at the door. You’ll want to get there early, though: Those door tickets are likely to get gobbled up something quick, and there are l0ads of great bands filling out the evening. The Downstrokes pound out garage rock with equal parts surfy twang and Ramones pop/punk energy, and veteran local hardcore band Last Gasp hold up the old-school end. Blood Orange Paradise serve up an artier variety of post-punk noise with a decided Dischord influence, while Poop Attack’s irresistible sloppiness cranks up the fun factor. All of the bands share Funhouse DNA: Each outfit sports at least one employee as a member.  The mayhem begins at 7pm.

Tonight offers another opportunity to breathe in the club’s stale air, too. It’s another stacked bill, with The Grindylow‘s vintage grunge colliding with swatches of double-kick-drum metal, Seattle metal-punks Brokaw decimating eardrums, artist/musician Dan Infecto’s death-metal/punk hybrid No World ripping away, and local goth/prog/sludge merchants Brain Hornet buzzing in for a set, among others. It’s a paltry $5 at the door, with the show beginning at 9pm. Both nights’ll find The Funhouse going out the only way it knows how–loudly.