The Contour is a strange amalgamation of lost identities. It is hard to say just what the Contour is or what crowd they are aiming for.
The Contour is a fairly small club located on First Avenue on the outskirts of Pioneer Square. Legal capacity is only about 199 and that might even be stretching it a little.
Contour has been known for a number of things, one of the longest running live hip-hop shows in Seattle, happy hour, after hours action, and that's about it.
Monday nights have always been live hip-hop night at Contour for the longest time. It is a pretty small crowd but they are all regulars and fairly respectful of each other without too much incident.
Contour Happy Hour is very good and there is a very eclectic selection of foods on the short menu. Prices are great (less than $2) for food items and they usually have at least one beer also for $2 or less during Happy Hour. It is a decent selection and really depends on your style and taste. If you want to hang around the "just off work" crowd then Contour is a good bet, if you want a little break from the office go check out the best Happy Hour in Seattle only two blocks up first McCormick and Schmicks.
Contour at night is VERY hit or miss, sometimes you might find a mediocre DJ spinning decent tracks, some days you might be so alone you decide to tend bar yourself. The crowds never really build here as the Contour is on that vital edge of Pioneer Square and they are not part of joint cover. So it is hard to justify paying ANY cover for a small bar with a small crowd when you can walk 100 feet and go to 9 bars for the same cover price.
Contour after hours is and always will be popular. The Contour features fire dancers, dj's and for the tweakers out there visual displays and lasers. Obviously catering to the pill popping candy kids and the all night tweakers the after hours scene is what it is. If that is your thing then you are probably safer here than you other options (Mantra and Fenix) and you might have more fun here. If you are a psych grad student and want to people watch or do research on drug abuse and it's affects on people, this is your after hours fishbowl.
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