Biffy Clyro brought their Scot-rock to a nearly sold out crowd at the Crocodile on Saturday night. The mixed-age crowd was far more familiar with their catalog than we were, but it didn’t matter because they were able to put on a more than entertaining show for us all. Up front there were a group of over enthusiastic (slightly intoxicated) women that drooled non-stop over the shirtless members. On the other side of the stage, a male fan was fist pumping at every chance he could. more ›

KAZAN!: Sounds like shazam, but not. Tonight Northwest Film Forum brings us Eliza Kazan's 1960 lyrical flick about rural Tennessee in the 30's. There's opposition from the local people! There are evictions! Love affairs! All of the required goodies. more ›

A dynamic, young "jamband" from Northern California, Hot Buttered Rum is often described as a rock band playing bluegrass instruments. Their music is a sweet combination of rock, jazz, bluegrass, folk and blues and is highly danceable, especially with the recent addition of drummer Matt Butler (of Everyone Orchestra fame). more ›

The Times is reporting that the Crocodile Cafe will, after some vague "construction," re-open in early 2009 with a Via Tribunali pizza kitchen in back. Live music will be sound engineered by the Croc's own Jim Anderson. No clue yet who will do the booking, or anything else, really, for that matter. But, there are photos online of how things look at the moment. So, we guess the disappearance of the Croc was really just a chance for the storied Belltown bar to get a little space before it comes back to us for good. And, damn, with pizza! Hott action. more ›

• Lights & Sirens reports the real way to get folks to turn in felons is to offer them free gasoline. Last month, the Tacoma Crime Stoppers began a gas card giveaway to reward tipsters who provided information about the county's most wanted felons. In less than a month, 14 of Tacoma's 50 most wanted felons have been arrested.
• According to The Belltowner, there is hope yet for the beloved Crocodile Cafe--or at least the building that once housed it. The owner of Marcus' Martini Heaven (unsurprisingly, named Marcus) has applied for a liquor license for the Croc's old home.
• The Rainier Valley Post wants to let all you garage sale and junking fans know that Mount Baker is hosting a Mount Baker Community Center Saturday morning to get a map of the houses that will be participating. Hopefully one of you finds some great Antiques Roadshow-worthy trinket.

The word on the Web is that another Seattle venue has been sold. The club on the auction block this time? Chop Suey, apparently sold to a yet-to-be-named Japanese company. Hannah Levin and Reverb were the first to report the story after Miss Levin ran into Chop Suey's booker Pete Greenberg on a Ballard bike ride last night. Greenberg, who was also the booker at the dearly beloved and departed Crocodile, must be feeling particularly unlucky--which is a shame because he does a hell of a job. Our sources tell us a press release is currently being crafted to officially announce the sale. more ›

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Remember when The Crocodile Cafe closed unexpectedly in December? Remember how up in arms everyone got, yelling about how likely it was that yet more new condos would be the result? more ›

The first sign that anything was wrong at Seattle's beloved Crocodile Cafe, was the abrupt end of I Heart Rummage (IHR). Within a week of the first IHR being cancelled, the Crocodile was closed for business. I Heart Rummage has been a long loved staple of independent Seattle shoppers. The monthly craft market has been delighting us since 2001 with hand-made goodies from dozens of local artisans. more ›

"Where have all the crocodiles gone?" by jaycoxfilm We can't help but gaze at the now-empty belly of the dead rock-hosting beast. Thanks for dropping it in the Seattlest Flickr pool—so we can feel depressed nostalgic all over again. more ›

Maybe when your club is as steeped in musical history and genetically bound to its host city as the Crocodile Cafe, explaining a sudden shut-down is embarrassing. Maybe a public statement is too daunting a task. Maybe a background in law teaches you to keep your mouth shut. Whatever the reason, Stephanie Dorgan could pick up some PR tips from Matt Feigenbaum, owner of Bellingham's just put-to-rest Nightlight Lounge. more ›

When the Crocodile Cafe abruptly closed down a month ago, we turned to a friend of ours looking for the inside scoop. Kultur Shock guitarist Val Kiossovski was bar manager down for quite a while (he's now running his own place in Lower Queen Anne, Solo, one of our favorite hangouts), so we figured if anyone knew, he would. Unfortunately, he was busy with problems of his own: rescheduling his band's show. more ›

magazine claims, "You can't swing a dead cat this time of year without hitting a Top 10 List." Never one to waste a perfectly good dead cat, we decided to take a swing and create a Top Random-Number Shows Seattlest Saw This Year. And now, without any further ado, here's how your favorite bloggers broke down the year: more ›

As ChrisB of Three Imaginary Girls points out, losing your job sucks. Losing a job that meant a lot to you sucks more. And losing all that during the holidays? Well that just blows a goat. more ›

If you're wondering what happens to the lesser-known bands who used to play Seattle at the Croc, evidence from the sports world shows that you ought to look for them in Kent. Or not at all. more ›

Clubs aren't taverns; they don't grow finer with age. It's better to have a steady, sustainable turnaround of clubs and venues. It helps keep the music scene itself from stagnating and compartmentalizing.There's nothing more depressing than a club reaching mythic "legendary" status with 45-year-old, original patrons -- trying to relive old memories -- throwing lecherous glances at the 16-year-old noobs who go there because it's the cool place to be.The best thing that can happen for a club is to close before it gets tired and becomes a caricature of itself. Clubs best live on in the slightly hazy, alcoholic fog of memories of past patrons. more ›

To listen in on one of the last shows at the Croc, give thanks to Northwest Tapers and Richard Hawley, and download the super HQ FLAC file or the more storage-space friendly mp3 version. more ›

Things always die down right around the holidays, so not much is going on tonight, except local noise mavens X-Ray Press will be celebrating their CD release (and the addition of their new keyboardist) at Jules Maes in Georgetown. more ›

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As previously mentioned, Les Savy Fav play Neumo's tonight. If the idea of a pregnant dude spitting water on you doesn't quite float your boat, head to the Croc to check out Cave Singers and Fleet Foxes. Tonight is also a free-free-free hip hop show at the War Room with Bun B and Swizz Beatz, care of the redundantly good people at Goods and Zune. Show up early; the last event like this, with Clipse... more ›

Second chances are rare, but here you go, Seattle. Last time Great Northern came to town, y'all bunked out and went home instead of sticking around for the inevitable encore. The band pulled the plug, had a smoke and packed it in. And we were sad. Though it seems they were just here, Great Northern is touring again in support of their new EP, the appropriately titled, Sleepy Eepee. Check out the new songs here.... more ›

Playing tonight at the Croc is Nicole Atkins, who we know from, um, American Express ads. But she's got a silver-throated voice kinda reminiscent of Hope Sandoval and/or Patsy Cline, so we'll let that one slide. Her debut album Neptune City just came out earlier this week and she was on Letterman Tuesday. Not all her songs are quite this Roy Orbison-ly grandiose: more ›

Do they sing into caves, about caves, or from within a cave? Whatevs. Hauntingly, charmingly neurotic local folk trio the Cave Singers open for Black Mountain at the Crocodile Cafe this Saturday night. Seattlest has a pair of tickets to give away to the 21+ show. Enter to win by filling out the form below. No worries: Your info is safe with us and will not be shared with advertisers and/or the government, yadda yadda yadda. We'll be drawing one winner Friday at 10am. more ›

In January of this year, the Weekly's Brian J. Barr described local trio the Cave Singers as "an updated version of the Anthology of American Folk Music. Not the graduate-student, learned interpretations of folk music circa 1962, but folk music approached by way of punk rock. It's sparse, melodic, and simultaneously creepy and alluring, like the widow mourning graveside in Johnny Cash's 'Long Black Veil'." That was enough to get Matador Records interested, who signed the band in May and released their debut album Invitation Songs last month. more ›

If there were a righteous God in heaven, Dr. Dog would be huge. Of course, if there were a righteous God in heaven, perhaps Dr. Dog wouldn't be saddled with such a horrid, fame-killing name. Despite the cringeworthy moniker, we love this Philly-based rock band: for their radiant layers of Beach Boys harmonies, for their shimmering jangle of major chords, for their psychedelic pop sheen. Haters claim that they are too derivative of the Beatles, but what band playing today doesn't share lineage with the Fab Four? Besides, we'll take derivative of the best band ever over derivative of the flavor of the week. Dr. Dog played the Croc this spring as an opening band and they nailed it. Now they're back in town as the main act and we know they're gonna make another killing. Expect sunglasses donned at all times, throwback rhythms, the occasional drunken rambling, and mini pop masterpieces played with high energy, retro flair, and unbridled enthusiasm. more ›

We tend to like Scandinavian bands, so it makes sense that we'd be fans of Denmark's Figurines. Christian Hjelm's whiny falsetto vocals remind us of Neil Young and/or Doug Martsch (same diff), while the musical underpinnings run the gamut from bluesy to psychedelic-leaning to the melodic pop of "Let's Head Out" (above) from their third and latest album When the Deer Wore Blue. Tomorrow night they play the Croc, along with catchy-as-hell Australian art-rock five-piece Dappled Cities. Figurines don't stop by Seattle often--once per album tour, it seems--so this is your lone chance to catch these great Danes. more ›

Finally, after five years of screwing around, making babies and whatnot, Imperial Teen are back with a new album and touring the country with their made-in-California indie pop. more ›

It's east meets west tomorrow night at the Crocodile. Come for the psychedelic rock of Brooklyn's The Comas, stay for the indie pop goodness of LA's Great Northern. more ›

Yes, the line-up for Bumbershoot is more than underwhelming, but check this shit out: more ›