I'm biased, but great article.

YAY Chocolate Chuck!

The U-District has no real concert venues? Really? Tell that to the hundreds of Seattle bands who play every year at the Blue Moon, The Galway Arms, Lucid, and at least a couple of other places if I'm not mistaken (including Royal, a new bar that the Stranger profiled just last week).

However, if you're referring to spaces where underage bands can easily play shows (i.e. not have to deal with the restrictions of playing at a 21+ venue), then you have more of a point. But you should make that distinction.

Exactly what I was thinking, Hernandez. There's also Ruby, putting on great shows every Saturday. Cafe Racer's certainly close enough to fold into the U District.

There are still many places in the U District to see live music. For instance, I've been booking an ecclectic mix of shows at the Blue Moon for almost seven years. There's also Galway Arms for the punks, Lucid for the jazz crowd, Cafe Racer for a little bit of everything, Ruby for art rock, The Monkey and The Rat & Raven both do shows on Saturday nights, and even Cafe Allegro does free shows on Friday nights. Oh, and don't forget the world's loudest burrito joint, although I'm not sure how often they plan on doing shows. (Get that website up and running guys!) To say there's nothing going on in the U District does a disservice to both the students who want to see shows as well as everyone who works on bringing live music to the neighborhood.

DJ Taco Truck!

Good points, all. I understand there are also a few under-the-rader spots (even under mine, apparently) doing their thing in the U District, but most of the bar venues mentioned don't cater to actual University musicians. Part of the the reason for this is the whole 21+ thing, but electronic musicians, especially, are pretty short on options. Cafe Racer's shows are cool, but tend to favor the school of music crowd, as I understand it.

We do some electronic music events at the Blue Moon. While I can't do anything about putting on any all-ages nights there, I'd gladly help out any musicians at UW who want to book a show. If that's not catering to university musicians, then I'm stumped.

You have links to their sites?

I think the conversation here points to the disconnect between the U-District and the actual University, especially with regards to the music scene.

Reminder. UW students live in Seattle, and therefore are not restricted to U-district venues for their performances.

Another reminder. As pointed out further up in the comments, there are actually many venues for music in the U-district. See #3 and #5. If you're calling Meany Hall a venue for electronic music, then any of those other places qualify too (the whole 21+ thing notwithstanding).

Another thing. I don't know the specifics, but I think it would be difficult for a non-DXArts affiliated student to just "get a gig" at Meany. It's huge and expensive, though there must be some sort of discount for students. But not to worry, it is most assuredly NOT the only hall at UW -- there's the Studio Theater at Meany, and Brechemin in the Music School.