Block Party Crown Hill by Seattlest Flickr Photog Jeff Carlson 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......

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......

Someone named Shilo Urban at Seattle-based CultureMob claimed yesterday that: It’s going around the streets of Seattle like wildfire that Johnny Depp is going to buy the old Crocodile Cafe and make it much, much cooler (and hotter) than it ever was before. Apparently Seattlest isn’t in touch with "the streets," cuz we haven’t heard a thing. Or maybe we’re just not hanging with the right drunks. This is from several unreliable sources, some......

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? Well the future of The Crocodile Cafe wasn't known then and still isn't known now, according to the PI: Groupee Inc., a privately held Seattle-based Internet software company, has withdrawn its application for a restaurant and lounge license at the site, said Susan Reams,......

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. After a few months without a home,......

"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.......

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. Feigenbaum sent a 1500-word "formal......

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. Kultur Shock......

Time 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: According to Dante, everything else pared in comparison to Daft Punk at WaMu Theater 7/29/07. OMFG!!!!!!!!!!!!!......

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. So what do you do to help out these fellas who so unexpectedly got canned on Sunday afternoon? If you're former Croc booker Pete Greenberg (now at Chop Suey), you organize a benefit show to help these guys pay......

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. As you read, those Seattlests who do follow music weren't too concerned about losing the Croc. Neumos and Chop Suey are the places to go--they book well-known bands (well-known to music types, at least). The Croc booked lesser-known bands,......

News of the Croc's closure sparked a lively conversation at Seattlest HQ yesterday. We suspect reactions at other blogs' virtual newsrooms were equally as visceral. The local blogosphere, if you will, seems to have turned temporarily into a Croco-sphere. Personally, we have found bittersweet solace in the words of Scripture: In 1966, I went down to Greenwich Village, New York City to a rock club called Electric Banana. Don't look for it; it's not there......

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We've been listening, morosely, to this outtake from Richard Hawley's show at the Croc on 12/10, courtesy of the Northwest Tapers and Hawley, who let them use the soundboard to tape from. Earlier in the show, Hawley mentioned he'd seen little independent record stores closing down all over the country on his tour. Well, so are venues. Discovering Hawley exists is one of the reasons we're sad to see the Croc go -- we met......

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. Meanwhile, on Saturday David Bazan (of Pedro the Lion and Headphones) plays at the Croc unless you want to go to Chop Suey and get rocked (non-threateningly) by Shonen Knife. Here's a video from last night's......

"You can't reinvent how to write a song," Robin Pecknold once said in an interview. "I don't listen to too much new music unless it adheres to tradition." Generally we might take that to mean Neil Young or Fleetwood Mac, but the polyphonic choral intros and sense of space to newer Fleet Foxes songs pull from early American hymns, maybe even monastic chants. The complicated multi-part harmonies have prompted Pecknold to start air conducting --......

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......

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.......

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: We'll check out Nicole for sure, but we know better than to......

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......

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......

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......

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......

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. The not-so-teenage rockers roll into town today for a free in-store at Easy Street (Queen Anne), then on to the Crocodile. 8pm // Easy Street Records // Free! 9pm // The Crocodile Cafe // $12......

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. Both bands released a new album only a few months ago. Pitchfork gave The Coma's Spells a not-so-bad 7.4, and Great Northern's Trading Twilight for Daylight is pretty much your classic California rock album, which is a good thing. Crocodile Cafe // Doors at 9pm // $8......

Yes, the line-up for Bumbershoot is more than underwhelming, but check this shit out: John in the Morning at Night Featuring: Maps, Vampire Weekend*, Jamie T., Das Llamas & Joy Wants Eternity September 22nd, 2007 Crocodile Cafe Presale Starts: Now Presale Ends: Thursday, July 19th On Sale to Public: Friday, July 20th Password: JITMAN With three big-time buzz bands on the bill and two solid local up-and-comers, a line-up that strong (and a venue......

Yes, we know we've been plugging this band a lot lately, but it's only because they live up to the hype. Besides, after Battles' show tonight at the Croc, we probably won't have anything to say about them for at least a week or so. But no promises. Seattlest chatted with John Stanier, the man behind the kit, as the sonically solid foursome headed up the West Coast. Have you been surprised by the......

When Seattlest received that fateful email from a friend, our immediate reaction was a roll of the eyes and an audible, drawn out, "Bull shit." No way would the one and only Beastie Boys play the legendary but very wee Crocodile Cafe. No way. Then came the Ticketmaster link all but confirming it. The Croc's website kept mum, not listing the show at all. Supposedly The End had been talking it up, but we......

When our friend told us the Beastie Boys were playing a warm-up show at the Crocodile this Friday, we called him a liar and a sonofabitch. Then he sent us the Ticketmaster link. No fucking way, we thought. Tickets went on sale online today at 4pm. We (and our friends, elsewhere in the city) had our fingers on the trigger. Clock hit 3:59 and we started refreshing the Ticketmaster page. Clock hit 4:00 and bam!......

"I don't know much about these heart rummages," a friend said recently. "You go to them though, right?" And we havegone to them. Once. And it's been at least 18 months, since we were non-parents at the time. And we really liked it, so we're not sure exactly why we haven't been back, but back we haven't been. We didn't even realize it'd been taken over by Urban Craft Uprising, a local crafter event that......