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New location, same vibe: Cafe Racer brings the family spirit to Capitol Hill

The space felt young and alive, filled with Gen Zers who looked like they were born in the middle of “Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century.”

Dan Ray October 25, 2021
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New location, same vibe: Cafe Racer brings the family spirit to Capitol Hill October 25, 2021

Raised by a single mother in the suburbs of Detroit, Dan discovered an early passion for singing, songwriting, and the arts as a whole. She got her BA in English and music at the University of Michigan, where she reported for the school’s paper, The Michigan Daily. She worked as a Senior News Reporter on the government beat, transitioned to arts writing, and eventually became the managing editor of the social media department. She moved to Seattle in 2017. After losing her job during the COVID-19 pandemic and discouraged about the lack of press surrounding Seattle’s music scene, Dan made the decision to turn Dan’s Tunes, a fully fledged music journalism website focused on showcasing the Seattle area’s musicians, into its own startup. There’s so much music happening in the city that spawned Pearl Jam, Nirvana, and Jimi Hendrix — among others — and Dan’s Tunes is determined to find and expose those outstanding acts. The goal is to have satellites in every major US city, uplifting diverse and compelling voices and helping music communities thrive. In 2020, Dan was featured in the Seattle Times’s year-end music critic poll. Other than her musical endeavors (singing, playing ukulele, and auditioning for American Idol four times before the age of 24) Ray is passionate about food and education around the American food system, and she’s also a large proponent of eliminating the stigma around mental health. Ray loves cats, especially her own, who is named Macaulay Culkin (but she’s a lady).

Haley Graves // Photo by Homeland Obscurity

In July of 2020, after 17 years at its Roosevelt location, Cafe Racer closed its doors due to the coronavirus pandemic. The venue, known for its homespun DIY atmosphere (even though it hosted several nights of live music per week, the venue never really had a sound person, relying instead on musicians or bartenders working that night), quickly phoenixed as an online radio station focusing on local artists. And now, as of September 2021, the venue has a new home in Capitol Hill.

Nestled just above the U-District, the former location hosted a mishmosh of students and locals alike, with an emphasis on an inclusive, family atmosphere. The venue prided itself on being a place for anyone to come — both as patrons and musicians. A lot of musicians played their first shows at Cafe Racer, both through the venue’s open mics and their regular booking process. The space was all ages until 11 p.m., and gaggles of college students regularly watched their friends perform.

Now nestled on 11th between Pike and Pine, the venue is bringing that same spirit to the heart of Capitol Hill.

“We are still going to be all ages most of the time,” Cafe Racer Co-Owner Cindy Anne told The Seattle Times. “We will still be able to watch these kids grow up.”

That youthful energy was palpable when I walked into the Haley Graves, Mr. Dinkles, Sofiia K, and Maya Marie show on Saturday, October 16. Co-produced by Riot Grrrl Records, the night featured almost exclusively under-21 performers (Marie being the only exception). When I walked upstairs to take a look at the vendors (a smattering of local artists selling mostly hand-made jewelry), the first table I saw had a big sign that said “ONLY HERE UNTIL 10:40.” I asked them why, and they said they weren’t old enough to stay later than that. The venue only operates as a restaurant (read: as all ages) until 11 p.m. The space felt young and alive, filled with Gen Zers who looked like they were born in the middle of “Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century.”

Maya Marie, a powerful rock artist performed a captivating acoustic set to enthusiastic applause from this audience. The grit of her vocal reminded me of the first time I saw Stephanie Anne Johnson perform: It was so purely honest I couldn’t have looked away if I tried. On electric guitar, Sofiia K threw down some punky tracks that roused the crowd to mosh at their bequest: “I know my songs aren’t moshing songs, but they SHOULD be.” Mr. Dinkles, a power punk duo that competed in 2020’s Sound Off! competition, came on stage after the venue had started kicking out anyone under 21, but that didn’t deter their fans. Through the window directly behind the stage, you could see the heads of teenagers bouncing up and down as they danced on the sidewalk.

Haley Graves — a fledgling pop punk artist who turns 21 on October 22 — brought up her headlining slot in true Cafe Racer form. Midway through the set, she talked about how last year she was crying on her dorm room floor at Cornish worried she’d never amount to anything. Now at this show, a year later, she was headlining her first set. (And she had sold 99 presale tickets.)

Flanked by Cashing in Karma’s Jonny Barrett on drums and The Morning After’s Bri Ashlee Little on bass, Graves blasted out original tracks from her debut EP, She Thinks My Pop Punk Is Cringey. She peppered in a few covers to the middle of her set, including a bass-infused version of Cardi B’s “Up” and Bea Miller’s “Fire N Gold,” which I had completely forgotten existed and now won’t get out of my head (I’m writing this two days post-show). She ended with a quickly murmured speech in which she thanked everyone for coming and gently reminded people to tip their bartenders.

I moseyed to the bar to tip my bartender on two lovely Old Fashioneds, said goodbye to Graves, then grabbed two of Barrett’s drums to help them load their car before trekking over to where I parked, 10 minutes away. It was a fittingly community-oriented end to my first show at the new space. After all, that’s the Cafe Racer way: We stand outside windows and cheer on our friends, we all help load the van, and we tip our bartenders (even on soda).

To find more events from Cafe Racer, check out their events calendar.

Comments

Raised by a single mother in the suburbs of Detroit, Dan discovered an early passion for singing, songwriting, and the arts as a whole. She got her BA in English and music at the University of Michigan, where she reported for the school’s paper, The Michigan Daily. She worked as a Senior News Reporter on the government beat, transitioned to arts writing, and eventually became the managing editor of the social media department. She moved to Seattle in 2017. After losing her job during the COVID-19 pandemic and discouraged about the lack of press surrounding Seattle’s music scene, Dan made the decision to turn Dan’s Tunes, a fully fledged music journalism website focused on showcasing the Seattle area’s musicians, into its own startup. There’s so much music happening in the city that spawned Pearl Jam, Nirvana, and Jimi Hendrix — among others — and Dan’s Tunes is determined to find and expose those outstanding acts. The goal is to have satellites in every major US city, uplifting diverse and compelling voices and helping music communities thrive. In 2020, Dan was featured in the Seattle Times’s year-end music critic poll. Other than her musical endeavors (singing, playing ukulele, and auditioning for American Idol four times before the age of 24) Ray is passionate about food and education around the American food system, and she’s also a large proponent of eliminating the stigma around mental health. Ray loves cats, especially her own, who is named Macaulay Culkin (but she’s a lady).