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Categories: Lounges, Art Galleries [Edit]
Neighborhood: BelltownIn the lobby, there is a giant mosaic of Michael Jackson's face made entirely of cereal. Top that, every other bar in Belltown!
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I love the space - right down to the potties. That one can see who was there before them through the wonders of digital photography is titlating and disturbing all at once. The layout, being residence-like, conjures memories of house parties in aging old homes on the hill - little factions of folks congregating in each room and the ability to float in and out of conversations and vibes. Neato.
The installations and decor are lovely, lovely, lovely. My brain needs candy and my aesthetica is a hungry little beast; art all over the place and thoughtful fixtures make a girl happy.
But....but, but, but.....I came here to dance. I came here to shake my ass all over Ms. Mel's ass. Which I got to do for like 20 minutes before whomever that fuzzy afro wielding youth was started rapping over "Girls Just Want to Have Fun". Not mixing it in some wonderfully acceptable way. Nope. He was just rapping, with really poor sound mind you, DIRECTLY OVER THE ORIGINAL. No fucking good.
Bye, bye for now McLeod. I'll be back for something else on some other night. Really excited about the prospects.
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Please don't stone me! I'm just not in love.
It's not you, McLeod. In fact I'm sure it's probably me. Sometimes in life there are things that I just don't get for one reason or another. Life is subjective, right? To each his own. McLeod is one of those things. I've given it two chances thus far for infatuation but I'm left feeling lukewarm.
Perhaps I need to come with a bigger group of fun friends so I'm not left to try and mingle with people that didn't seem too interested in mingling, and I'm a mingler! Also, where was the dancing? I came for the dance party but gave up c. 11:30. There were a few spastic bursts of body movement out on the floor but nothing too consistent and ultimately a large group of folks just standing around the guy on the mic. Maybe I should have come later... or stayed later. Not sure, McLeod, not sure.
I'm willing to give you one more chance because my friends love ya! I do like your bar, cool art, flickr photo thing and the staff was really cool.
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Lawrence took me here. He's a regular. Good drinks, loud remixes of early-'90s dance tunes, and funky art. The laser-etched skateboards they have on display right now are pretty damn cool. Parking in Belltown on Friday and Saturday nights can be fairly difficult.
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I love McLeod mostly for its pre-exclusivity when you had to be a member to head in....I am lucky enough to be dating a guy who calls this place a second home.
I came here for the first time post-graduation party and brought some friends along. I don't think we were drunk/etc. enough to get into the crazy psychedelic dancing that was going on in the room next to us so we just kind of held down the fort at the bar.
Drinks are decent, but I just loved how non-Belltown this place was. I know I probably just jinxed the whole thing, but I can't wait to come back on my next trip and partake in some funky gyrations...;)
Yes, I had to check it out because I am secretly a fringe undercover yelp cult member. I really liked it. The carefully selected 80's music the dj was playing made me very very happy. The webcam art installment in the bathrooms was sooooooo much fun. I felt like I was at a house party and everyone was looking at me like "who is the new girl, she's kinda cute". I can't give it 5 stars until I've been there a few more times.
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I need glasses. I own them and I respect them and I require them. Not for rating your eyebrows or examining ingredients or lifting my fork to my mouth--for close-up assignments my orbs perform like Professionals--but for comprehending subtitles, decoding aerial advertising or driving, I best enlist spectacles.
So driving without glasses is ill advised, but driving without glasses at night is even iller advised, and driving without glasses at night to a new destination, iller still. Last Sunday night, my eye servants were nowhere to be found (hiding in the lining of my purse, I came to know) but I needed to venture out anyway. I hankered to sip a beverage with the gallies and take in some art and put my ear to a little Karaoke at the McLeod Residence.
I'm not the most seasoned of drivers--public transport was long my main mode--so my inner compass is more attuned to bus numbers and colored station maps and cab digits than off ramps and on ramps and tidy parking jobs. Also, I do not often find myself in (fresh scrubbed) Belltown for my mingling, so bounding forth into this illest trifecta of driving scenarios was setting the scene for some Hot Water.
En route to Belltown, I realized that my stunted vision missed the downtown exit off 99. Once it became clear that I was headed toward Burien, I took the exit which would be deemed (by a stranger in the bathroom line at McLeod) the David Lynch Off Ramp. It brought me to a large and curious plant that billowed smoke and manufactured Evil, with no life in sight, dead ends all around and the only signs reporting "Truck Turn Arounds Ahead." "What about car turn arounds?" I said as I hit one road block after another. "What about CAR TURN AROUNDS?!" I said louder. Not a peep, not a person, not a car. I found my way past the plant to an overpass sheltering a tangle of roads going this way and that way and who's going where and what way is what? I knew I had to turn fast or I was going to whizz onto an off ramp to my colliding death.
So I maneuvered a reversal and pointed myself in the other direction. Just as I was beginning to relax into the faith that signs would be ahead and all would become clear, the screaming of tires and bellowing of engine alerted me to a bonafide "Bat out of Hell" in my company. Just feet away in an empty parking lot was a tiny car driving doughnuts at Le-Mans speed, shrieking and sparking and painted in bright orange flames. Bright orange flames! 120 miles/hr! Just us. Just we! I knew, just KNEW that this car was manufactured by the Plant of Palpable Evil to drive right out of that lot and right into my vehicle, leaving me with not only the handicap of night blindness but also grotesque disfigurement of the cheek and shoulder!
I hugged the car closer to my chest and tried to drive invisible and begged my motor to pleasepleasePLEASE be quiet so as not to inflame the temper of the flamed vehicle. Heart punching and primed for a chase, I took the first on-ramp I saw, headed toward.....SQUINT......Burien.
So I arrived at Belltown's McLeod Residence from Ballard by way of Burien in need of a DRINK. I fell into the wings of my friends and a Lemon Drop and soothed myself with the handsome art. The McLeod Mirror was worth an extra trip to the bathroom and the Michael Jackson face constructed out of sugar cereal melted away my cares like Lucky Charms marshmallows cavorting in milk. Ooh! There's a SoopaJDelux with her creepy cute coterie and the graffiti artist who adorns the underpass near 65th with poker playing rodents and LOOK at all those etched wood skateboards! Suddenly, all was well: charmed staff, chummy crowd, chatty house party din. My Little Pony cartoons played on the Karaoke screen and the headless rabbit tip jar accepted both cash and the wee plastic farm animals that floated around in my purse.
Then someone's tiny dog peed an astonishing puddle onto a sitting bench and my eager skirt plopped right into it. At that, I took my tired eyes home.
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First Trip to McLeod Res:
A sincere request was made for me to reveal my left nipple to 5 strangers (3 female) sitting together at the bar. I declined.
Second Trip to McLeod Res:
Bought 3 rolls of Shit Be Gone toilet paper as stocking stuffers.
Third Trip to McLeod Res:
Had magical conversation with 7 strangers (these strangers were more interested in Barack Obama than in my nipples, which I found refreshing).
Two months later I traveled to a remote city in Mexico with one of those strangers-turned-inner-circle (from the THIRD visit, not the first).
Maybe this says more about me than it does about McLeod, but I find something surprising on each visit . While some surprises are more welcome than others, I am interested in returning simply for the adventure this place affords and the wacky mix of personalities it attracts.
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Ever walk into a place and automatically know that you are going to have a good time? That is the exact feeling I got when I went here for the first time the other night.
And that's my review. I'm not going to bother to re-hash details that others have already so eloquently (and from what I read, accurately) described about the place. I like it and will definitely be back.
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Stopped by the McLeod Residence on a whim this past Friday night and was thoroughly impressed. This is a little piece of cool in the middle of blah Belltown. It is like a little piece of Cap Hill was transported to Belltown. Hopefully it will stay that way. Love the fact that it has a bunch of different rooms to match your mood. Small little dance floor w/varying dj's, lounging bar in back and some interesting art on the walls. Since I hit it up right before closing I'll have to circle back see whats cooking at the McLeod Residence before the witching hour.
*****UPDATE 5/3/08: Second Friday night in two weeks at McLeod. I love it even more. LOVE LOVE LOVE. Great patrons, great staff, great music, great art. GREAT GREAT GREAT. Bring on the tax refund, I'm buying myself a membership!*****
I had more fun at the McLeod residence on Friday than I have had (at a public establishment that serves booze) in FO-EVAH.
The drinks were strong, the patrons were friendly and diverse, the art was cool.
Not only do they book good music acts (we were shakin' our respective booties with Champagne Champagne on Friday), the small venue allows for a more intimate show, yet the multiple rooms allow for quieter moments - if that's what you're looking for.
The staff was incredibly nice - no "hipper-than-thou" attitude here, which is a wonderful change from the typical Cap Hill/Belltown bar scene.
McLeod Residence is officially my new favorite go-to place for drinks, art and fun. You done good, McLeods, you done real good.
P.S. In case you weren't aware, they are now open to non-members Tuesday through Sunday, 6 PM - 2 AM (21+). Check out their website for more info on art and music shows!
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I went to the McLeod Residence two Friday's ago for my favorite new music act Champagne Champagne and I was very impressed with this space!
The decor is great, they have this fantastic black and silver/white wall paper on the walls which gives the place a very classy and somewhat vintage feel. They've done a great job creating a space where both art and performance can live and compliment each other very comfortably.
McLeod is one of the few places where you can have Art, Music, Great Drinks, Friendly staff and Beautiful People sans stuffy attitudes all at the same time!
I like that!
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My new favorite place in Belltown, McLeod's Residence is part gallery, part bar, and part scene. From an unassuming entrance on 2nd Ave, one goes up a flight of stairs to the space, where you should take your picture with the webcam before moseying on over to several rooms filled with artwork and installations. Really enjoyed the works by Diana Falchuk currently showing, including the wall which is a composition of wall paper, gouache and cake frosting, of all things.
Towards the back, there is a well-stocked bar. You won't find 50 different types of scotch or 20 types of microbrews, but you will find Old Overholt Rye, Hendricks gin, etc., as well as a few wines by the glass and beers... you get the picture. Combined with smart bartenders and good service, McLeod's is unpretentious and sophisticated at the same time.
Stopped by around 9pm on a Friday night and it was empty. But by the time we left around midnight, the place was full of people having a great time, and we will definitely be back regularly. Overall, McLeod's is a unique combination of gallery, bar, and scene, and unlike some places that try too hard, it works.
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Excellent venue to see unique art, have some drinks and meet friendly, eccentric and intelligent people - The owners are amazingly creative and driven, and are very supportive of the Seattle art community.
The Bar is AWESOME, with great drinks and a fun atmosphere!!!
Go check it out!
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Some of the installations fall firmly in the "Um, I don't get it" category with a lot of emphasis on the "I" in that sentence. Oh well, as Frank Zappa said "Art is making something out of nothing and selling it.".
What I DO get is the bar there, which serves up some pretty tasty drinks. We went there for Charlie McLeod's 4th birthday (Charlie is a wee little doggie), where there was cake for all, live music, tons of dogs running around and drinks.
Overall, it's a cool place.
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This place has some of the best art I've seen on display in Seattle. It's often high tech and interactive. The network of young successful artists that make up the place is really awesome too. You can often catch really good music there as well!
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I came here with a bunch of girls & I was totally stoked on the set up of this spot. If you get there early enough, there is a bunch of art work you can view in little rooms. Its an second level house that has rooms with different artwork in each. One with a DJ, one with a bar and the rest with funky artwork.
The spot gets pretty crowded quickly & I will say its a miscellaneous crowd. You mos def have your share of hipsters but then you see some random people coming in like they just stepped out of a circus...(not too sure if we didnt get the memo)
overall, its a cute little spot & it plays some dope mixes.
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After awhile, most bars start to seem the same to me. McLeod is a serious exception to this trend.
It's a bar. In an art gallery. With dogs. A tipsy hairstylist gives smashingly good haircuts on Thursday nights for $35. There is typically a crazy theme party going on that you will not be dressed appropriately for (unless you're on the member mailing list). No one cares. There are lots of free drinks. There is art made of Cheerios and Viewfinders and a monitor where you can blast drunken photos of you and your friends to Flickr.
The first time I was there, we couldn't even find the bar. (At the top of the stairs, go in the door on the left, then walk right to the back room.)
McLeod is just wonderful. I hope it's able to maintain its uniqueness and charm as it continues to grow in popularity.
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I checked out the diggs this past Friday as part of their grand opening weekend to the public. I brought quite a few peeps with me - about 10 I think and we all had a fabulous time. I think my fave activities were taking pictures on the video camera, arguing over whether the MJ pic was actually made of cereal, dancing to 80s music, and getting interviewed by Buster for his adhoc matchmaking service. Oh and the art installaion with the 3d pics was tres cool. The best "art" in my opinion was definitely the wallpaper which I believe was ordered online. Is there anything that can't be anymore? BONUS: there are plenty of rooms if you need to get away from certain people or make out with a new hottie that you unexpectedly meet. That didn't happen to me but there is always a next time and I plan on returning. See you there! :)
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Sign me up, I'd be a member. I dig it, it's a house party and you're invited even if you're dressed Belltown Yuppie when you should have gone Cap Hill hipster. Can I be both? You bet I can, but maybe not at once. If you go I would make a day trip to a thrift store to freshen up the wardrobe with a new used sport coat maybe.
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Oh what to say about this amazing place.... i AlWays have a great time! if you want a themed party, a laid back modern artsy pad, and rad people who wanna all get to know you.... come here!!!!!
I love all the different (and always changing) artwork throughout the entire place, the kissing booth.... and a stripper pole!
I love going to the Mecleod Residence to dance, drink, kiss, through on my funnest most starkly outfit... and feel like i'm right at home.
xoxox
Have to agree McLeod Residence isn't like any other gallery on 2nd. It definitely felt like you were in someones house checking out all the great art. I was there in the afternoon was it was totally empty which made it really nice to freely walk around.
Another great gallery to check out!
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It's a rare occasion where I will just show up at a party alone and drop my drawers. Well, rarer than it should be I guess. In any case, it was International No Pants Day and I chanced it to McLeod on my own, hoping that a couple Yelpers would show up there too.
I walked from my car with my pants on, wanting to check out the scene first, but when I saw a guy smoking a cigarette out front in his boxers and tube socks, I knew the evening would work out OK.
The Yelpers I was hoping to see showed up, but I was still in a good place coming alone. The pants to no pants ratio was easily at 80%, with lots of fun and playful people taking part. I made plenty of new friends, from the woman who makes Barbie porn to the woman with the cute little puppy, to a guy whose name I mis-heard as Bullet so he called me Ammo.
The music was a ton of fun, the Maker's on the rocks were deep ($7 non-member), the PBRs were frosty ($2 non-member IIRC) and the art was generally intriguing. There's a digital camera and a screen mounted at the top of the stairs and using the provided costume accessories you can pose for fun pics that will get uploaded to Flickr.
The No-Pants party really "took off" when the folks from the local Burlesque scene showed up.
There were small bursts of typical Belltowners that showed up over the course of the night and it was funny to see them react to a room full of pantsless people. They didn't generally stick around for long.
On the whole, a great crowd, fun music, cool environment, I will be back!
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honestly, everyone has already said it.
blah blah blah blah blah blah awesome blah blah blah blah art blah blah blah blah just go blah blah blah blah booze blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah michelle can we have a party here? blah blah
BLAH!
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There's always something interesting going on here. One weekend, you might find yourself in the middle of a dog's birthday party and another night, you might witness someone getting married at the bar.
My favorite place in Seattle.
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Back in art school I realized that I had a really serious problem: Like many of my fellow artists, I was letting art get in the way of my personal hygiene. And I really wasn't liking art too much. It troubled me, but there seemed a huge disconnect between artist and viewer, unless the viewer was also an artist, who had all the same information the artist had. (And similar body odor). I couldn't put my finger on it, or express it well, but I kinda quit making art after I graduated. And I started bathing regularly. Connection? Not sure.
Not until a long time later, while reading Heinlein's 'Stranger in a Strange Land,' did I finally discover the words to express my problem. I'll quote Heinlein a bit here (speaking about Rodin, and the artists who studied him and came after):
"...What [artists] failed to see was that [Rodin] told stories that laid bare the human heart. They became contemptuous of paintings and sculpture that told stories--they dubbed such work 'literary.' They went all out for abstractions.... Abstract design is all right, for wallpaper and linoleum. But art is the process of evoking pity and terror. What modern artists do is pseudo-intellectual masturbation. Creative art is intercourse in which the artist renders emotional his audience. These laddies who won't design to do that--or can't--lost the public. The ordinary bloke won't buy 'art' that leaves him unmoved."
Like the character being spoken to (pp325-326), I realized this was one of the reasons why I quit liking or caring about art, and it had nothing to do with bathing habits. I thought, like the character, something was missing in me. (Besides soap) Instead, I was disturbed by the tremendous disconnect between the society my fellow artists were making art about, and my fellow artists:
"...One does have to learn to look at art. But it's up to the artist to use language that can be understood. Most of these jokers don't want to use language you and I can learn; they would rather sneer because we 'fail' to see what they are driving at. If anything. Obscurity is the refuge of incompetence."
Recently I've started going out to galleries to check out art again, and see if any of it speaks to me. Not as an artist, I've got 10 years of separation now and I've done my best to forget the secret code words and handshakes.
Ascending into this art space from the street, I felt like I had entered a very large apartment where art lives. I wandered from room to room, not feeling so much like I was walking into different rooms in a gallery, but more like I was walking through someone's house that had been emptied of everything but the art specifically for that show, but all the beds and couches and dressers and lamps were just waiting in a storage facility or a back closet to be returned to their proper place.
The art work was all intriguing, some more than others. Every time I go I find pieces that I connect with. Maybe I've descended back to being a common person from that elitist avante guarde asshole I was learning to be. Or maybe McLeod does a good job of finding work that bridges the gap. Or maybe I'm still too informed and making connections the rest of the world who didn't get an art degree wouldn't.
Whatever the case, a fully stocked bar in the back generally makes me stupid enough to like everything I see, even when I don't understand it. Combine that with some pretty cool music acts that come through, and I feel like I'm back at Thursday Night openings in the main gallery in art school.
Only the people smell a whole hell of a lot better.
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I really liked this gallery. Cool to walk up the stairs and feel like you were in an old house with some freakin awesome/crazy art everywhere. I was in seattle for a day and wanted to check out some galleries and I read about McLeod's on yelp. I was there in the afternoon and just wondered around - the lady that was working was really nice too.
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I love this place. It has an incredibly friendly, unpretentious vibe. The art is great, I like the Flkr photo booth. I know a lot of people that hang out there, but every-time I go I meet someone new. It is always good times. The bathrooms are clean as well which is always a plus in my book.
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Speakeasy, meets commercial art space, gets a civil union and creates something beautiful in the heart of Belltown. Entering this venue makes you feel like you're in on a secret, and you are... art changes lives. Go to their website look up a public event or go down when it's open to the public Tuesday - Saturday, 10am-6pm.
The worst thing that will happen is that you will walk in and die in a freak accident... and what are the odds of that?
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love it. i need to go more. the owner is AWESOME. haven't met the dog yet.
i will update after the next time i go , tell a little tale...since i have yet to be there during an actual event.
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Maybe it was just the drag night theme the evening I visited the McLeod Residence, but I felt like I was walking into a real-life version of the movie "Shortbus" (good movie btw). Seriously though, the McLeod residence is a refreshing breath of fresh air in Belltown that offers something other than overpriced drinks in a "we're so swank" atmosphere.
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The McLeod Residence oozes chic hipster culture, though don't call the McLeod clan hipsters. Even if you're on the leading edge of all that is cool in this town, this place seems to have a direct lifeline to Williamsburg, Brooklyn, therefore making us Seattlites stand out like distant cousins at a party for friends. A little awkward, slightly out of place, but related, so we SHOULD get it, right?
The decor is legendary in Seattle: medallion patterned wallpaper in the central hallway, accented with a robin's egg blue ceiling. I have to admit that it inspired the color scheme in my own living room.
The art is consistently good, interesting, and well-executed. The drinks are classic, and the parties always a hoot. The Flickr photo-booth is a highlight always. I'm not sure I'm into the whole "pay $300 for membership and get to be a McLeod thing," but if that's what you need to feel like an insider here, more power to you.
Personally, I prefer to be that distant cousin, who might not get all the jokes or might not dress quite the right way, but who's always still invited to the party. It's fun for the people watching, in any case.
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"The Residence" has quickly become one of my favorite places in all of Seattle. It's like Cheers, where everybody knows your name (but it's not nearly as indicative of an alcoholism problem seeing the familiar faces). The people are warm and welcoming, the space is beautiful, and the art makes me feel like a grownup while I otherwise feel like a kid in a playground. It's an interesting experiment, and I'm more than glad to be a small part of it.
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A charming place to hold a party, from the Flickr photo booth and the funky wallpaper to the artwork (even in the bathroom) and the bar. Everybody loved the space. I was happy to pay a $75 membership fee -- it's a great concept that's worth supporting.
I don't live in Seattle right now, so this review is just about the Residence as an event space. You do have to be laid-back to plan a party here, as you'll get conflicting answers about details. For example, one person said the slideshow projector was set up for a DVD. The next person said, "What?! No -- it's hooked up to a computer." When I arrived with my laptop, there was the DVD player -- and no computer cable in sight. Also, they said they could keep the separate art galleries open later than usual for the party, but they didn't. They also said I should expect another 20 or so McLeods and it'd be nice to bring extra food, and that didn't turn out to be necessary.
But whatever. We had a blast. It's a perfect size for 30 or 40 people. As you come up the stairs, there's a brightly lighted room ahead of you to the right with a table for food. To the left through a doorway is a more sophisticated room with great bench seating and artwork, and through that room is the bar. The party flowed well between areas. You can bring your iPod for the sound system in the bar, though the music doesn't really reach the other rooms.
Bottom line: Nice people, stiff drinks, interesting art and an excellent atmosphere.
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An oasis in Belltown where one can retreat from suck and become drenched in joy. Where else do you find an interactive digital pixel art piece next to the toilet and the ShitBeGone toilet paper? (Image of me from it: http://www.flickr.com/...
Others have mentioned the interactive photobooth. I ended up here after the yelp party, so a yelp nametag was even immortalized on it: http://www.flickr.com/...
I recommend the drink with champagne and some other ingredients that I forgot. Blue fruity one = Eh. Cash only of course so come prepared ;)
This is the kind of place where you come not knowing anyone and leave with a bunch of new friends who talk about politics, art, music, etc. rather than bland smalltalk. I'm a lifetime member :)
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Interesting, very very interesting.
The concept, "Extraordinary living through art, technology, and collaboration" sounds fantastic. The residence itself was gorgeous, the people seem absolutely brilliant, and the photo booth was novel (even if it wasn't a booth).
I'm excited to see how this place evolves and grows. It seems like membership has it's privileges, but I'll probably keep my own last name.
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You know how sometimes it can be really awkward when friends embark on a new venture and you just pray and pray that you won't have to smile to their face and cry behind their back because it is so bad. The band you hate, the bad poetry, the terrible projects, etc etc.
THANK GOD that was not the case at all with the McLeod Residence. First of all, I had expectations of loving everything about their space, since I already loved everything about the concept. And second of all, my expectations were totally exceeded.
I wish so much that I lived in Seattle so I could go to the parties and the happy hours and hang out on the couch and read my email.
A beautiful space, put to an ideal use with lovely and wonderful art and good good people. Much much love to the McLeods.
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...actually, I might have just liked this place because when I went to their opening it was 32 degrees out and blowing rain. And, at that point, being indoors ANYWHERE is worth at least a 3-Star review.
That said, I thought this place has a lot of potential. You enter through an unassuming doorway and ascend up a steep flight of dark wood stairs, into a large foyer. The walls are covered with intricate brown and white wallpaper, and adorned with classically style paintings with elaborate frames.
Beyond the foyer, the artwork takes a decidedly less Edwardian feel, and skews more to the modern day. At the time of the opening, it featured back-lit photography (sort of hit-or-miss) and an interactive piece featuring looped video of a cellist playing (interesting and engaging).
All in all, a great place, but one which I'll be interested to see how things play out. i know that the McLeod's want to see the place as more than a gallery, and instead a sort of club house for the artistically minded to hang out and exchange ideas. To that end, they've applied for a liquor license and will be opening a lounge area later this year. I'm sort of split on all of this...
The optimistic, art-major part of me thinks "gee, this will be great! What a wonderful idea, and what an exciting addition to Seattle."
Meanwhile, the pessimistic, yet still art-major, part of me thinks "oh bother, it'll soon be over-run by self-important, under-talented, art-hipsters who'll be more interested in getting drunk than doing anything creative."
Only time will tell. I've got my fingers crossed for the first option though.
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This gallery is a real trip! It is a piece of work, even with out the exhibits that bring you this hip Belltown location. The cross between the wallpaper that boldly greets you when you enter all the way back to the intimate low lit bar where you can top off your night. I attended an event that was held last Thursday, so I am not sure if there is always alcohol served but either way it is a fun place to see some local art work.
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