The Shakedown

Absolutely loved this gem of a venue! Super clean, friendly staff and such an intimate place to see a band play. I visited last night for The Stone Foxes and was blown away with the sound in this space. Felt fortunate to see this band play in such a small venue, it was well worth the drive down from Vancouver, B.C. Jackie was a local Bellingham band that opened and they were great too!

The Shakedown in Bham is a staple as far as bar atmospheres goes. You can’t got wrong with the vintage and newer pinball machines upstairs and the bartenders who are always very friendly and provide great service. If you’re looking for a late-night spot to have a good conversation and a drink in a chill atmosphere, look no further. I would give it 5 stars if it had a third bathroom. When it gets busy on the weekends the bathroom wait can be long.

Cool venue for music with big booths and room to dance/stand. Didnt have all the beers listed on tap so limited choices. Cocktail was a bit weak but overall nice experience with good vibes.

I travelled from Vancouver with my boyfriend and friends to see a band we love play here, only to be asked to leave by the person working at the door for briefly kissing my partner on the neck. All I was told is that it was problematic for us to share a few kisses next to the bar because we were blocking it off from where we were standing, and it had made them a bit uncomfortable. I sympathized, tipped them, apologized profusely and stopped. So, when we were told to leave after this, I apologized again for any misunderstandings, and inquired as to why we were being removed since I’d clearly stopped doing what I thought had made them uncomfortable. Instead of having a conversation with me, I was rudely told: “get away from me.” When we spoke to the bouncer outside, he was also visibly confused with the situation and suggested we come back in a few hours when they gets off shift (which was after the show ended). At this point, they came back outside specifically to give me my tip back and say to my face: “I don’t want your money.”nnThis kind of treatment of guests is completely uncalled for. I thought it was prudent to leave a note for other guests who may also fall victim to the arbitrary whims of the staff.nnFOLLOW UP:nBefore we left the next day I spoke with the manager working that night who seemed to have a very different embellished version of events with some things that I know were outright not true. Without being able to see the security footage (I asked), it's hard to corroborate what actually happened. Our friends saw one thing, they saw another. We obviously apologized again for the way things were interpreted, since this has quite literally never happened to either of us before. I still don't know what the prerogative of this venue is on that front, but we didn't get very far trying to be polite about it.

During the day they have great food and good drink prices. At night it's a fun night club, more on the metal side