The Cha-Cha

A hipster bar in Seattle. Perhaps even *the* hipster bar in Seattle. Notable for a number of things:

• Demi-rockstar bartenders including Kim Warnick of the Fastbacks and Sam Jayne of Love as Laughter and Lync
• Regular sightings of half a million other Seattle demi-rockstars like the Murder City Devils
• Weekly mentions in local free rag The Stranger, mostly on account of those first two points
• A higher density of carcinogenic tobacco-based aerial particles than one would think possible in a space inhabited by (apparently) living and breathing human beings
• $1.50 pints of pabst
• A tropical decorating scheme that would seem sure to relegate the bar to the provence of tourists and old alcoholics, yet the place is always filled (packed is probably a better word) with leather-bedecked, tatooed hipsters.

If this sounds like your kind of scene (i.e., you have a strong desire to order a Chi Chi without being made fun of by your leather-bedecked, tatooed companions), the bar is on Pine Street in the Pike-Pine neightborhood of Seattle. Enjoy.

I swear, conform beats me to all the good nodes.

Oh sweet Cha-Cha, how I love you so.

The Cha-Cha is, as noted by conform, the hipster dive bar in sunny Seattle, WA. If there is a nexus of Northwest drunken rock star energy, this is it.

The Scene: A sort of Mexican carnival decor, featuring bad paintings on black velvet, illustrations of masked amateur wrestlers, and red pepper-shaped Christmas-tree lights hanging from the ceiling. The only beer on tap is Oly, everything else is either a Mexican beer or Pabst. Liquor is available, but thou shalt not drink the well. There's a back room that's pretty spacious - however since half of the fun at The Ka-Ka is people watching, I prefer the bar. If you're going on a weekend, chances are it's loud and crowded. Don't go looking for sophisticated or even audible conversation. Music selections are played at a drowning volume, and feature everything from The New Pornographers to Weezer to Jay-Z.

The People: Typical evenings at The Cha are attended by representatives of the following groups:

Hipsters/Local Rock Stars/Wanna-bes

The usual dive-bar crowd

Yuppie/College kids out looking for "an experience"

Some notable Cha-Cha personalities are:

Me (haw-haw, just kidding)

Kathleen Wilson - music critic for The Stranger - less of a regular now she's on the wagon

John Atkins - former lead singer for 764-Hero and Friday night Cha-Cha bartender

The above mentioned Kim Warnick, typically on Saturday nights

Members of The Murder City Devils, ICQ, Carissa's Wierd, Modest Mouse, 764-Hero, KARP, etc etc etc.

Some Fun Cha-Cha Facts:

First bar I ever drank in

The only time I've ever been threatened with a deadly weapon was in the Cha-Cha

Best place in Seattle to attempt starfucker status

Chances are, if you go there tonight, I'll be there.