Vue Lounge needs no introduction to most Seattle-area club goers. The multi-concept venue, nestled on Belltown’s 2nd Ave. strip, is an innovative nightlife destination with multiple rooms, art installations, and a mixture of Top 40, R&B, and EDM DJs.
So it would likely surprise you to know that, until recently, Vue did not feature a weekly EDM night.
Vue’s newly-launched weekly, Off The Record, changes that. Produced every Thursday by Midnight Frēqs, Off The Record comes right out of the gate with some big promises about its level of production.
“Unlike a typical club weekly, we treat it like a full-production show. Every Thursday we bring in our own lighting console and programming for the house systems, high-powered lasers, and our own engineering and production team to operate it all.”
Vue, launched in 2018, has certainly lived up to its considerable pre-launch hype, especially around its sound and lighting systems. Their innovative Tectonic Audio Labs mains are truly a marvel, and venue staff seems to fly a new mover or LED panel monthly.
We want to provide our customers with festival grade productions every Thursday. We feel like Seattle deserves better.
– Chuck Wang, Vue Owner
Vue promises to Off The Record will feature artists from a wide range of EDM sub-genres. Thus far, they have featured dubstep (YAXZ), house (Dirtybird artist Black V Neck), and riddim (Aweminus), with house artist Westend upcoming.
So does it feel like more than a “typical club night?” Well…yeah, actually. The production is great. Vue’s footprint and unique layout work especially well in service of the festival vibe.
The laser units loaded in by Midnight Frēqs absolutely blanket the main room, and when they blast off with the house lights and panels it is very bright. Getting lost in the lights is a hallmark of any nightclub, but at Off The Record, with so much firepower in a smaller space it’s more like getting lost in The Light™.
Credit: Vue Lounge/OST
The main bar and Hypebeast Room (featuring DJs and a second bar) are very close but usefully insulated from the sound, to the point where you can “leave the main stage” to chill.
We regularly bounced between the main stage and the much chiller Hypebeast Room during Aweminus. You can easily talk without yelling, bar service is swift, so you can recharge with a drink, have a quick chat, then get right back to it.
Vue’s interactive art is everywhere in between.
Vue and Midnight Frēqs have done an admirable job engineering their mini-festival show. All clubs have lasers, and LEDs, and many have side rooms. Off The Record brings something a little bit different to the club weekly, wrapping up the spirit of the festival experience into a tidy integrated package.
It’s definitely worth checking out.
Off The Record runs every Thursday at Vue, starting at 9PM. Dress code is relaxed and rave attire is encouraged. You can get info about upcoming shows on Vue's Facebook page, and tickets can be purchased here.
Important things happen in Pacific Northwest nightlife, and DMNW will send you alerts!
