This was my first time at WAMU Theater in Seattle. I also have not seen Ganja White Night since Electric Forest in 2019. Before going to the show, of course I would look up everything related to the venue and I gotta say, the reviews were not good.
People had issues with the lines, the security, the bathrooms, and how overpacked the venue was. Oddest one I read was about how people had issues with the curtains that blocked off the main dance floor from the food and drink vendors.
The Venue
My squad and I were first very surprised at the size and location of the venue. We were driving towards the theatre and were pleasantly greeted by the T-Mobile stadium right next door. “Is that the venue?” “No way that’s the venue. That’s the stadium.” Lo and behold, it was the venue.
We parked at the Lumen Field parking garage right next door for $20 for the whole night. Which is high but considering everything, not that bad. Especially after going to shows in the Bay Area, this was a breeze.
We had some time to kill and we were all starving so we went to the Jimmy’s On First across the street. And also, we are all past 30.. We don’t have it in us to survive through multiple openers anymore. We had zero expectations of the restaurant since it was right next to all the big venues. But it was actually really great! Had a couple of brewskis and some food in our stomachs and left to finally go into the venue.
Inside WAMU
The venue was unexpectedly big. Tall ceilings, barely anyone outside in the food and drinks area. Mostly because for this event, you could only drink in sections. There were drinking sections inside left and right of the standing area so you could easily grab drinks there and still see the show and listen to the music rather than having to come outside and being stuck there until you drank their overpriced cocktails.
The most surprising thing was that there was an open Starbucks in there. In my all years of going to shows and festivals, never have I ever seen Starbucks open and available.
The bathroom lines were pretty much nonexistent and it was clean and fast and well maintained. As a girl, this is always a pain point for me and I’ve grown the knack for holding it to the point where I’m concerned for myself sometimes. But at WAMU, no wait and no fuss.
The Show
Got the seats at the bleachers because like I said, we are old. Boogie T was great. It was a great opener set. It was wubby and dubby and the set was priming us for the main act.
And Ganja White Night came on and it was fricking amazing. It was such a stark difference from when we saw them last in 2019. The production was insane, the lazers and lights were on point, the music was amazing, and they delivered such a good time. I call this genre, the colorful wooks genre. It was a vibe, it was a party, and the drops were fire. Especially all the shoutouts to their homies like Tape B, Boogie T, Griz, Zeds Dead, and more.
Boogie T’s special appearance with him singing and guitar was an absolute delight. Capping the night off with Zeds Dead’s latest, ‘One of these mornings‘ was a banger. Griz bear riding the saxophone with the GWN’s mascot in the visuals as the whole theatre is bumping along under the lazers was so wholesome.
My cup of tea is usually more alien side of the spectrum where you get absolutely sucked in like Pretty Lights and Tipper (and an artist that I absolutely loved and adored and followed along everywhere that I will not mention anymore as a former basshead). So usually I just have a great time with my friends at venues close from home, not tiresome as multi-day festivals, but still scratches the itch. Don’t get me wrong: artists like Zeds Dead, Liquid Stranger, Rezz who throw just fantastic sets, I would put above great.
But this Ganja White Night set. I don’t know if it was the vibey party banger set they threw on, the whole production with the lazers, or the amazing crowd.. it was one for the books. It was one of those shows that left you smiling from ear to ear, patting yourself on the back for coming out and experiencing it, and getting you excited for the next time you see GWN on the lineup somewhere.