Missing Moe's? You'll Feel Right At Home At The Breakroom

If the Moe's crowd has found a new place to dwell since the club closed, the Breakroom on Capitol Hill would be it.

From the outside, the triangle-shaped tavern at 1325 E. Madison St. has the low, nondescript, semi-industrial look of an automotive parts shop, which is what it was. But inside, it has the open-beamed, well-worn welcome look of a saloon much more established than its mere six-week existence would suggest.

But according to Bob Wheeler, the Breakroom's bar manager, the place has been a year in the works.

"Originally we were going to be a pool hall with a lot more tables," he said. "But we started developing the ideas, we came up with the stage, more booths and table seating, so we lost some of the (pool) tables. But now we've got live music on Saturday and most Fridays."

The configuration allows for two spacious rooms facing Madison, with couches and booths at the wide windows and plenty of space to maneuver your stick around the pool tables. In the center of the former garage is the stage and a good-size bar. The Breakroom serves beer, wine and munchies.

And the crowd is of that Moe's mix: musicians, artists, students, working stiffs and neighborhood folks looking for a brew, a game or some conversation.

"We get people that like Linda's (Tavern), Moe's, the Comet. . . . Actually Moe's closing down and the new club's taking so long to open has been really good for us. The timing has been just right."

The Breakroom is open 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. daily. The music leans to alternative rock; Seattle favorites such as Gas Huffer have already played the room. Tomorrow night, the Breakroom will feature a free show of Spork! recording artists the Pointy Birds, the Promise Keepers, Bloodhag and HRDR.

Saturday, it's a record-release party for local faves Bebop and Destruction, along with Golden Delicious and DJ Woodgrain (the alter ego of Citizens' Utilities' Bill Herzog). Cover is $5, and the music begins at 9 p.m.

"We're a little hard to see driving by," said Wheeler. "We don't have the big expensive sign yet, but people are showing up and they seem to like what we're doing."

For more information, including how to get your band booked, call 206-860-5155.

-- Coming to the Showbox: Zaireeka. That's the name of a year-long experimentation by the group Flaming Lips, in which they use car stereos, portable tape players and up to 300 pre-recorded and pre-arranged tapes to create multidimensional surround-sound events.

Apparently the group has pared it down to four CD players on four systems playing four sets of music simultaneously to create spontaneous sound stimulation, or something like that. This is, after all, Flaming Lips, the Oklahoma band that had the 1993 hit single "She Don't Use Jelly," one of their tamer bits of Zappa-esque musical experimentation.

At any rate, the performance is free at the Showbox at 8 p.m. Saturday.

-- On the Thanksgiving front: the Sit & Spin will not be open today, but just about every other club in town will. You should have no problem finding a place to work off that post-dinner tryptophan lull. Happy holiday!

Tom Phalen is a Seattle free-lance writer. His Ace of Clubs column appears every week in Ticket. Send club information to Clubs, c/o Ticket, The Seattle Times, P.O. Box 70, Seattle WA 98111: or fax to 206-464-2239. You must include price and starting times to be considered for inclusion. Information must be received in writing 10 days before publication.