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1

Wow, hip hop clubs aren't the cause of violence? Perhaps someone should tell the cops that all the gun toting home boys from the hood hanging out, throwing signs, jamming to nelly and 50 cent, and firing the weapons at passing vehicles, aren't really a threat.

Or perhaps Hip Hop is just a made up "culture" that justifies violence towards women, each other, glamorizes drug use and a fucked up life.

Oh, I forgot, Cornel west put out a rap album. That changes EVERYTHING...

Shut all these clubs down.

Posted by ecce homo | July 14, 2007 1:31 PM
2

Good point Josh. Not to mention I ran a hip hop club night for 8 years that was very popular and never had issues with violence.

The War Room has issues with violence, but it's caused by the Cops ganging up on unarmed african american youth, not the music or the club. Too bad Nickels won't deal with issues of violence when it's perpetrated by the SPD.

Look to the promomters, look to the lack of police, look to the lax enforcement of already existing laws. Whatever, it's not about the type of music.

Posted by meinert | July 14, 2007 1:38 PM
3

Yeah, it aint the home boys fault fantasizing about being the next tupac, whose brain is ruined from years of TV, video games, crappy food, and sherms.

It's ALWAYS the cops.

Posted by ecce homo | July 14, 2007 1:50 PM
4

Thanks goes out to James Keblas who has been sooo effective in the mayor's office.

Posted by Poster Girl | July 14, 2007 2:07 PM
5

The War Room hosts multiple weekly hip-hop events every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday. Same with Ballroom every weekend. I know DJs that play there & they have no problems save for the occasional fight that gets broken up (which can and does happen at rock clubs ALL THE TIME). Both The War Room and Ballroom also have enough of a security staff to defuse problems quickly and efficiently. So ecce - the problem isn't the thug mentality you describe in stereotypical fashion: it's perhaps a security issue. Or, in the case of the PI article, the easy access to guns and those that make the poor choice of driving drunk (both of which are not limited to Tabella's, obviously). I also agree with Josh that if Belltown had more options - not less - then the weekend crowds wouldn't try and crowd into one place all the time. This works for Capitol Hill and Fremont - why shouldn't it be the same in Belltown?

And blanket statements about hip-hop like yours shows just how little you understand about the music and culture. Hip-hop artists write about violence and drugs, for instance, because most of them grew up and lived in a community where violence and drug activity goes on every day. Perhaps if you listened more carefully, you wouldn't be so quick to judge a book by its cover. Also, most of us that love the music don't fit the sterotype you illustrate: we're average 9-to-5ers that live normal lives and just happen to love hip-hop.

Posted by casey | July 14, 2007 2:10 PM
6

Some clubs in Seattle seem to be able to pull off hip hop nights consistently without violence. The War Room, for whatever reason, doesn't seem to be one of them. Neither, apparently, is Tabella.

Posted by Tiffany | July 14, 2007 3:54 PM
7

Why is it easier to shut down a club in this town then a crackhouse. Never trust a fat man to advocate for anything but the rich. Mayor Nickels problem isn't that he isn't appealing to a fair standard. His problem is that he is not applying it fairly. The rough standard here seems to be: if some venue is the locus of say a dozen acts of violence, whether it's at fault or not, it get's shut down.
Well then what about Pioneer Square. I've seen far more reports of violence there than in Belltown.

Posted by kinaidos | July 14, 2007 4:23 PM
8

Well, kinaidos, they DID succeed in shutting down Larry's, which was in Pioneer Square.

Posted by Tiffany | July 14, 2007 4:29 PM
9


Exactly, Josh: And the answer to bank robberies is to open more banks. And never close any.

Doofus.

Posted by Homer | July 14, 2007 4:35 PM
10

Man, white people are scared.

Posted by Jay | July 14, 2007 5:35 PM
11

They should go after the criminals, not the clubs.

Posted by yo | July 14, 2007 5:51 PM
12

Wow, ecce, for someone who bleats about racism, you sure have pretty typical stereotypes rattling around in that empty head of yours.

Posted by o rly? | July 14, 2007 6:18 PM
13

Another instance of Nichels attempting regulate an industry about which he knows absolutely nothing. The Mayor seems to think he can remain unacceptably ignorant about nightlife while simultaneously attempting to ham-handedly regulate it.

And really, are all the people in the mayor's staff complete morons? I know there are a great many of them, and they draw higher salaries than most of the Stranger's readers, but did none of them do a single lick of research before letting the Mayor make this idiotic statement to the public???

The night of the shooting Tabella was hosting an 18 and over night!

And so the Mayor's solution is to pull Tubella's liquor license?!? How big an idiot do you have to be to not see the flaw in THAT logic?

Way to go Greg! Without booze, I guess that means they'd have to resort that format for the other 6 nights of the week if they wanted to stay in business, now wouldn't they? That's usin' the ol' noggin and getting to the root of the problem, now isn't it!

Never thought to examine the nuances, did you Mr. Mayor?

And it would seem no one on your highly paid staff -- paid for with our tax moneys, that is -- bothered to look into who the promoter for that night was either, did they? (I know it would have been pretty tough to do -- Google is so very, very difficult to use, after all. I know it took me almost all of 30 seconds to find the info myself.)

The promoter on the night of July 1st (morning of the 2nd) was: www.londontrash.com

From their own website you can clearly see that their night at Tabella was canceled immediately after that incident. You can also clearly see the other nights this company promotes, in Pioneer Square and elsewhere; also nights often known for problems with their crowd.

And, Mayor Nichels, even someone on your staff must surly be able to divine from the website that they are planning to start the night up again at Level-5 beginning tomorrow night. Business seems to be good for them.

Now tell me, how does taking away Tabella's liquor license punish this promoter -- the one with the rowdy following -- in any way whatsoever? (And they'll remain untouched by the mayor's proposed nightlife regulations as well.)

Do you have the courage to actually look into the details and try to solve problems as Mayor? Or are you just looking to deliver a good sound-bite?

And if there's a shooting outside Level-5 in a couple weeks, what exactly will you tell the victim's mother, Mr. Nichels?

Posted by Big-T | July 14, 2007 7:01 PM
14

Another instance of Nichels attempting regulate an industry about which he knows absolutely nothing. The Mayor seems to think he can remain unacceptably ignorant about nightlife while simultaneously attempting to ham-handedly regulate it.

And really, are all the people in the mayor's staff complete morons? I know there are a great many of them, and they draw higher salaries than most of the Stranger's readers, but did none of them do a single lick of research before letting the Mayor make this idiotic statement to the public???

The night of the shooting Tabella was hosting an 18 and over night!

And so the Mayor's solution is to pull Tubella's liquor license?!? How big an idiot do you have to be to not see the flaw in THAT logic?

Way to go Greg! Without booze, I guess that means they'd have to resort that format for the other 6 nights of the week if they wanted to stay in business, now wouldn't they? That's usin' the ol' noggin and getting to the root of the problem, now isn't it!

Never thought to examine the nuances, did you Mr. Mayor?

And it would seem no one on your highly paid staff -- paid for with our tax moneys, that is -- bothered to look into who the promoter for that night was either, did they? (I know it would have been pretty tough to do -- Google is so very, very difficult to use, after all. I know it took me almost all of 30 seconds to find the info myself.)

The promoter on the night of July 1st (morning of the 2nd) was: www.londontrash.com

From their own website you can clearly see that their night at Tabella was canceled immediately after that incident. You can also clearly see the other nights this company promotes, in Pioneer Square and elsewhere; also nights often known for problems with their crowd.

And, Mayor Nichels, even someone on your staff must surly be able to divine from the website that they are planning to start the night up again at Level-5 beginning tomorrow night. Business seems to be good for them.

Now tell me, how does taking away Tabella's liquor license punish this promoter -- the one with the rowdy following -- in any way whatsoever? (And they'll remain untouched by the mayor's proposed nightlife regulations as well.)

Do you have the courage to actually look into the details and try to solve problems as Mayor? Or are you just looking to deliver a good sound-bite?

And if there's a shooting outside Level-5 in a couple weeks, what exactly will you tell the victim's mother, Mr. Nichels?

Posted by Big-T | July 14, 2007 7:03 PM
15

So its racist to point out that there are far more violence associated with these hip hopping wannabe gangsters than with anyone else.

It just might be that the cops and the mayor actually knows whats going on, and some "journalist" who has a hard on for bad "music" doesn't.

Thats not racist, thats the truth. What is racist is making fun of black people for how they talk and what they do. THAT is racist.

Posted by ecce homo | July 14, 2007 7:06 PM
16

Another instance of Nichels attempting regulate an industry about which he knows absolutely nothing. The Mayor seems to think he can remain unacceptably ignorant about nightlife while simultaneously attempting to ham-handedly regulate it.

And really, are all the people in the mayor's staff complete morons? I know there are a great many of them, and they draw higher salaries than most of the Stranger's readers, but did none of them do a single lick of research before letting the Mayor make this idiotic statement to the public???

The night of the shooting Tabella was hosting an 18 and over night!

And so the Mayor's solution is to pull Tubella's liquor license?!? How big an idiot do you have to be to not see the flaw in THAT logic?

Way to go Greg! Without booze, I guess that means they'd have to resort that format for the other 6 nights of the week if they wanted to stay in business, now wouldn't they? That's usin' the ol' noggin and getting to the root of the problem, now isn't it!

Never thought to examine the nuances, did you Mr. Mayor?

And it would seem no one on your highly paid staff -- paid for with our tax moneys, that is -- bothered to look into who the promoter for that night was either, did they? (I know it would have been pretty tough to do -- Google is so very, very difficult to use, after all. I know it took me almost all of 30 seconds to find the info myself.)

The promoter on the night of July 1st (morning of the 2nd) was: www.londontrash.com

From their own website you can clearly see that their night at Tabella was canceled immediately after that incident. You can also clearly see the other nights this company promotes, in Pioneer Square and elsewhere; also nights often known for problems with their crowd.

And, Mayor Nichels, even someone on your staff must surly be able to divine from the website that they are planning to start the night up again at Level-5 beginning tomorrow night. Business seems to be good for them.

Now tell me, how does taking away Tabella's liquor license punish this promoter -- the one with the rowdy following -- in any way whatsoever? (And they'll remain untouched by the mayor's proposed nightlife regulations as well.)

Do you have the courage to actually look into the details and try to solve problems as Mayor? Or are you just looking to deliver a good sound-bite?

And if there's a shooting outside Level-5 in a couple weeks, what exactly will you tell the victim's mother, Mr. Nichels?

Posted by Big-T | July 14, 2007 7:07 PM
17

Don't feed the trolls like ecce homo.

Posted by Tim | July 14, 2007 7:38 PM
18

Don'tcha feed the trolls like ecce homo,
Ain't nothin' to say to that ass no mo',
It's not that I'm dissin',
Just the fool won't listen,
My opinion ain't subjective,
His posts are full of invective,
An' he ain't had a point since 2004.

Peace.

Posted by supergp | July 14, 2007 9:36 PM
19

The mayor sent a pretty damning letter to the LCB about this place:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ABPub/2007/07/13/2003788533.pdf

This begs the question though, if the mayor can get an emergency revocation of a venue's liquor license, then why would they need a new nightclub ordinance? It looks to me like the system is already working.

Posted by Tiffany | July 14, 2007 10:59 PM
20

Hip Hop and Hip Hop nights are just dangerous and evil. It has NOTHING to do with race and literally all kinds of races go to Hip Hop nights. But Hip Hop clubs just don't work. Something about the testosterone and the music always lead to tragedy by the end of the night. "Shut them all down"

Posted by Touring | July 14, 2007 11:55 PM
21

And yet it took the city years to do anything about Deano's, location of the violent open air crack market that operated in a residential neighborhood at 23rd and Madison. Of course there were no expensive condos near Deano's to warrant quicker action.

BTW ecce, I HATE responding to trolls, but must in this case. Hip hoppers could take a lesson or two from white music fans when it comes to club and concert-related violence. Predominantly white rock concert fans have caused major melees in cities around the world (just google "concert riots"), not to mention white frat boys and soccer hooligans. And lord knows that white concert/club goers NEVER do drugs, start fights, assault police, or damage property. I hear that Fred Meyer has a special on troll food; go buy a bag and choke on it.

Posted by grrrr... | July 14, 2007 11:57 PM
22

I just don't understand this idea that the business is always to blame. There have surely been more people shot in, say, fast food restaurants, or post offices or whatever over the years. So why are clubs always to blame if there is violence in or near them? Shouldn't they just be able to call the cops like any other business if anything starts to get beyond a little scuffle?

Posted by Lythea | July 15, 2007 1:45 AM
23

Hip hop clubs are dangerous and evil? I wonder if some of you have even lived in a real city before.

Posted by Jay | July 15, 2007 3:41 PM

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