'Snohomish County nightlife' isn't an oxymoron

It's Friday night, and you want to unwind after a long week. While curling up in front of the television to watch the first in that monster collection of DVDs may seem like a good way to launch the weekend, there's a great big county out there with a vibrant nightlife.

Yes, you heard it right. There is life after hours in Snohomish County, home to a slew of sports bars, neighborhood crawls and dance clubs that heat up once the sun goes down.

In the first installment of an occasional series that spotlights the county's after-hours hot spots, we look at the Everett Underground, the only gay and lesbian bar in the county.

"You'll never know who you'll meet at the Everett Underground."

So says the sign dangling above the cozy dance club's doorway. It's a fitting motto for a club that draws a diverse clientele from both inside and outside the county.

For more than a decade, the Underground has operated out of an unassuming building near downtown Everett, offering a place for people to have dinner and drinks, and then burn it off on the dance floor.

Though the Underground is classified as a gay and lesbian bar, an estimated one-third of its patrons are straight, which co-owner Dan Moore attributes to the comfortable atmosphere.

"We've seen more straight people coming in. I think it's because they don't have to deal with the testosterone," Moore said. "People just want to come in and dance and have a good time."

On a recent Friday night, the dance floor was nearly full of sweating, swaying bodies pulsating to recorded disco, funk, hip-hop, rap, new-wave and pop music. The dancers didn't miss a beat, even as the music shifted from Tom Jones' "She's a Lady" to 50-Cent's "In Da Club" and to songs in between.

The music at the Underground is a refreshing change from dance clubs that play lots of techno music and offer little in the way of 1980s flashbacks or current hits. The Underground's disc jockey will spin the occasional slow song and requests, as well.

In the eight years that Moore and his mother, Barbara Moore, have operated the Underground, they have made changes to create a comfortable ambience.

Fresh paint on the interior walls, more lighting and a better sound system have made the club competitive with Seattle hot spots. What the Underground has that is harder to find in Seattle: ample parking and clean restrooms.

"We've got the cleanest bathrooms in Everett," Dan Moore said.

Here's what you can expect:

• Mondays and Tuesdays: "Kick Back Night."

• Wednesdays: karaoke.

• Thursdays: 1970s and '80s music.

• Fridays and Saturdays: techno and other dance music. A $3 cover charge begins at 9 p.m.

• Sundays: free pool and jukebox music.

Jackie Fluaitt has tended bar at the Underground for about three months. The club's appeal, she said, is simple: "It's accepting of all cultures."

Tina Potterf: 206-464-8214 or tpotterf@seattletimes.com