The Josephine

Was one of the coolest spaces in the Seattle underground. Now other spaces need to keep stricter tabs on making sure the community doesn’t release addresses wholesale, i. e on Unilocal

This place will blast your butt right out of your hole. Bring your own drinks, smoking inside ok. The people living here are fun and friendly. Have fun!

I’m a little bummed that the address is even posted here. My first time going, years ago, I could only get the street, and that was from asking someone who had played there.
It’s a house-​show venue where you can see good up-​and-​coming bands for 5 bucks. Bring beer.

The Josephine is a real gem. You can get away with a lot here that one would only be able to accomplish normally at a house show. The riff-​raff are fun and the place smells like my grandma’s basement. Way to be Josephine.

First off, I am rating the Josephine from a performer’s point of view. They take a majority of the door money leaving your band and the other bands that were playing that night… with ultimately close to nothing. The «stage» is nothing more than an extension of the floor. The sound guy doesn’t constantly monitor the sound at the mixing board and the overall sound sounds just mediocre.
Next, from an attendee’s point of view, they don’t serve anything food/​water/​drinks/​etc inside unless the bands bring it. You reportedly can bring your own stuff («BYOB») but since they don’t serve anything there, other people are likely to beg you to bum a beer. The most disgusting part of this venue is the fact they allow smoking inside. The stench of smoke will stick to everybody’s clothing and will take forever to get out. You will shave a year of your life away by being exposed to second-​hand smoke for the duration of a show, and constantly deal with a clash of smokers and non-​smokers giving each other disgusted looks as they despise the other group for doing their thing.
If you’re a band who’s looking to a play a venue, go check out some of the other venues first before getting desperate and playing here.
If you’re a future attendee, I’m sorry that you are choosing to go. If the band you want to see plays at another venue also, you could save your health and have a better time by going to the other showing instead.

Does anyone know how to contact The Josephine for booking?

best venue in pacific northwest

Oh how I REALLY liked this place!!!
A bit hard to know where you are going, unless you really are looking for it, since you walk into a little hallway leading to a doorway to enter into the place.
After walking in, it was pretty casual, but there was a «door man» to collect money for the show.
Once inside the performance area, I absolutely loved the concrete floor, the different array of furniture to sit on, and the crazy cool things hanging on the walls along with the «arrangements» of things above the floor.
The stage is on the same level as the floor, but still was able to see the show quite well.
Completely relaxed atmosphere and you didn’t feel weird hanging out on your own until your friends showed up.
Met one of the residents while there and had a great time speaking with him.
Also met one of the resident cats, who was pretty friendly, but definitely had the attitude of a cat (I will only come to you for attention, otherwise I don’t want it).
Oh and they are completely into recycling. So, be sure to separate!!!

Definitely like seeing a show in someone’s house, if their house is a garage with dusty bikes, an old piano, an assortment of odd chairs and couches, and a few animals wandering around. Not that there’s anything wrong with that…
It’s nice to have a small yet «official» music space that holds (I’m guessing) maybe around a hundred people tops, in a loud informal atmosphere. The sound is okay (we heard bands ranging from not too loud to pretty loud), and you can take in (okay, must take in) your own drinks, which is a nice customization of the individual listening experience. Recycling bins helpfully line one of the walls, so you can be doubly virtuous as you drink, recycle, and support local music.
Downside is there seems to be smoking allowed. I’ve never been one who loves the part of the show when you get home and have to strip off your charcoal-​smelling clothes and wash your hair before going to bed because you smell like someone else’s ashtray. If you see a show here, you’ll need to, so just be forewarned; I’m so used to a smoke-​free scene that I forgot to not wear a dry-​clean-​only sweater. Not complaining, just sayin’…

I immediately loved this place because it reminded me of my house. I live in a group house where we periodically host shows with odd electronic music. I’m pretty sure this is a similar situation, albeit with a better setup. They have a main room with a stage and room for a decent amount of people and loud sound. The décor is also creative and amusing. I uploaded a few photos.