Seattle's packed with music clubs of every stripe

The Clumsy Lovers, a Vancouver, British Columbia, band, plays at the Tractor Tavern in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood. (Ron Wurzer/WPN for the Boston Globe)

SEATTLE - The joys of this city might be best appreciated at night. Seattle teems with clubs of all descriptions, clustered in close-knit neighborhoods, catering to a wide slate of tastes, and enhancing the casualness of the city perfectly.

Two of my oldest friends are former Bostonians who now live in Seattle and are staunch advocates. "I love Seattle!" says Lilli Dennison, who used to book and manage a number of Boston and Cambridge clubs.

"Seattle is really a huge version of Cambridge," adds Chris Porter, who previously booked the Middle East and Mama Kin in Boston, and now programs Seattle's nationally known Bumbershoot Festival each year. "People talk about the 'People's Republic of Cambridge,' " he says. "But I've heard the same thing said about Seattle."

They introduced me to the city's night life on a Saturday evening that extended merrily until 2 a.m. I went out a couple of nights without them, but together we went to the Palace Kitchen (a hip restaurant-bar for which Dennison works as a caterer) and then to the buzzing Ballard neighborhood, described by Dennison as "the roots rock center of the universe here." It's a flourishing, artist-friendly area that was "mostly boarded up when I got here 11 years ago," Porter says.

Ballard's focal point is the Tractor Tavern, a roadhouse reminiscent of Harpers Ferry in Allston. High ceilings and a mellow, mixed-aged crowd ("a lot of people in their 30s and 40s go out in Seattle," says Dennison) makes this a comfortable stop. The music spans country and rockabilly, and Boston bands such as Sarah Borges & the Broken Singles have played here. Within walking distance are cool watering holes like Lock & Keel, the Sunset Tavern, and Bad Albert's.

"There are a lot more live music venues here than in Boston," says Porter, and that's hard to dispute. Seattle's rise seems fueled by better entrepreneurial opportunities for young people, cheaper rents, and easier availability of liquor licenses, says Dennison.

On another night, I went to the popular Capitol Hill neighborhood, built on one of the San Francisco-like hills in the city. I visited a funky rock dive called the Comet Tavern, booked by another former Bostonian, Michelle Smith, who now goes by the name of Mama Casserole. And across East Pike Street is the hopping Neumos, which felt like a smaller version of Boston's Avalon. A British dance crew called Simian Mobile Disco pumped up the volume for a young, sold-out crowd. And adjoining it is Moe Bar, a swinging room where Porter plays disc jockey once a month, spinning vintage '60s rock and Brit pop.

Capitol Hill, which is full of hippies and grunge-era survivors, is an alternative-culture mecca boasting other informal spots such as Bimbos Cantina and Café Vita, not to mention a skateboard shop and tattoo parlor.

A more mainstream choice is the Belltown district, a downtown cluster of rooms on First Avenue. Dance clubs abound, including Tia Lou's and Belltown Billiards. Many new condo buildings have gone up in the area, causing friction between bar owners and upscale condo dwellers. But for the moment, the partying continues.

The Belltown area has a shine to it. There are posh restaurants such as Le Pichet (French cuisine) and the fancy Cascadia, which serves rabbit and oxtail truffle ravioli. And an upscale lounge called Amber has two floors of beautiful furnishings and even more beautiful people. It has won all kinds of awards as Seattle's best singles bar.

Farther across town is the Triple Door, located in a former porn theater. Now a supper club with candlelit tables, it was there I caught Roy Rogers & the Delta Rhythm Kings belting out great original blues and classic covers.

To chill out, try the Queen Anne neighborhood, along Queen Anne Avenue. It has the laid-back Peso's Kitchen, Floyd's Place, and even a dueling piano bar called Chopstix. Something for everyone, which is the essence of Seattle's inspiring, off-the-charts club scene.

STEVE MORSE