The Crocodile, Take 2
The pictures tell 1000 words, but here's 259 more on the new Crocodile.
We've seen many iron poles rock the old Crocodile. We've walked many, many miles to the back bar for a proper drink. We've experienced claustrophobia, suffered in the heat, and struggled to confirm that there was actually a band on the stage producing the audio assault we were enjoying so thoroughly. You could always see the lead singer; beyond that it was just guesswork. Great times, but that venue is gone.
In its place: the new Crocodile. By some trick of physics, the new Crocodile is about four times the size of the old. Seriously, the wizards who are responsible for this new place shoehorned a huge new floor into the space where the old Croc used to be. The ceilings are towering, the bar at the back of the room is expansive and there's a balcony. It's a little hard to find, but there's even a Via Tribunali in the new place. It's helpful to imagine where the old back bar and bathrooms used to be. Yeah, there it is.
We loved the old Crocodile--in spite of, and sometimes because of, its curiosities of character--but that place is in the past. That kind of hits home when you see the new place, which seems like it's going to be a lot easier to love, but bears no resemblance to the old Croc. We're thankful for that.
If the new place opened and it looked like the old Croc with a new coat of paint and no load-bearing poles blocking the stage, it would have seemed wrong somehow. We're just not that interested in a CBGB's nostalgia-type experience. New Croc promises many good times that will be its own good times.
