NW News: I-Spy and Nation in Seattle are now closed!
- Thread starter Mr. D-Sane
- Start date
This was taken from an article in last saturday's Seattle Times...
Planning on going out tonight to I-Spy, that eclectic downtown Seattle nightclub?
If so, change your plans: I-Spy, at 1921 Fifth Ave., as well as its adjacent club/restaurant Nation, is out of business.
Owner Sandy Kolbeins confirmed yesterday that the 3-year-old club is closed. While Kolbeins said he was too busy moving out to discuss why he was shutting down, there have been rumors for months that the club was in bad financial shape, and a double homicide outside I-Spy in October didn't help business.
Even so, the closure was sudden; the club was booked through this month, and now promoters are scrambling to find new venues for their bands.
Kolbeins (who also owns Vancouver, B.C., club Brickyard), Chris Beno and Chris Roberts (co-owner of the Alibi Room) opened I-Spy in late 1999, in the space formerly occupied by the Weathered Wall. (Beno, who owns Graceland, said yesterday that he had not been involved with I-Spy in more than a year.)
Was it an indie rock spot? An electronic-rave scene? A hip-hop hut? With local and national bookings ranging from punk rockers to big-name DJs, the spacious club might have been too varied for its own good.
Still, in just over three years I-Spy had some popular, acclaimed shows, with local bands such as Kinski, FCS North, Carissa's Wierd and Maktub, and touring acts Kid Koala, Mum, Aphrodite, Ming & FS and DJ Spooky.
For all its fine music, I-Spy may be most remembered for Oct. 5, when two men were killed in gunfire outside the club after a hip-hop show. The crime is unsolved.
Planning on going out tonight to I-Spy, that eclectic downtown Seattle nightclub?
If so, change your plans: I-Spy, at 1921 Fifth Ave., as well as its adjacent club/restaurant Nation, is out of business.
Owner Sandy Kolbeins confirmed yesterday that the 3-year-old club is closed. While Kolbeins said he was too busy moving out to discuss why he was shutting down, there have been rumors for months that the club was in bad financial shape, and a double homicide outside I-Spy in October didn't help business.
Even so, the closure was sudden; the club was booked through this month, and now promoters are scrambling to find new venues for their bands.
Kolbeins (who also owns Vancouver, B.C., club Brickyard), Chris Beno and Chris Roberts (co-owner of the Alibi Room) opened I-Spy in late 1999, in the space formerly occupied by the Weathered Wall. (Beno, who owns Graceland, said yesterday that he had not been involved with I-Spy in more than a year.)
Was it an indie rock spot? An electronic-rave scene? A hip-hop hut? With local and national bookings ranging from punk rockers to big-name DJs, the spacious club might have been too varied for its own good.
Still, in just over three years I-Spy had some popular, acclaimed shows, with local bands such as Kinski, FCS North, Carissa's Wierd and Maktub, and touring acts Kid Koala, Mum, Aphrodite, Ming & FS and DJ Spooky.
For all its fine music, I-Spy may be most remembered for Oct. 5, when two men were killed in gunfire outside the club after a hip-hop show. The crime is unsolved.
