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Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Bars / Photo / Upcoming A Peek Inside the Crocodile
Posted by Eric Grandy on Tue, Feb 3, 2009 at 2:38 PM
Last week, a familiar but lately uncommon scene was unfolding in Belltown. A van was pulled up outside the iconic Crocodile Café, and a band was loading their gear into the club.
The Crocodile, of course, abruptly closed in late 2007. Not long after, a cryptic website was launched for the club which featured nothing more than a dictionary definition of “elitism.” In September ‘08, the club’s new ownership officially announced plans to reopen in January or Februaury ’09, with Eli Anderson as talent buyer, Roy Atizado as director of live entertainment, and Jim Anderson helping with sound.
The band loading in last week was Ships, and they were at the still-under-construction Crocodile to film a performance amidst the rubble and renovation as part of a series that will appear on the Croc’s forthcoming website, kind of like a reverse Burn to Shine, where afterwards the building gets raised rather than razed (other bands that have performed for the series include the Moondoggies, Throw Me the Statue, and Black Whales).
While Ships were setting up and sound-checking in a gravel pit under the wooden skeleton of a stairway, Anderson and Atizado gave a tour of the site.
More photos by Kelly O after the jump.
picture delicious pizza here
Where the old bar used to be, Via Tribunali is building a stand-alone restaurant that will also serve food in the Crocodile.
Atizado says he expects the wall of multi-colored stained glass windows as well as a couple of chandeliers will survive the transition in some form.
The side door in the hallway, where Ships loaded in, will be the front door of the new Crocodile, with an adjoining box office. The old front door will lead out to a smoking area.
the office mascot, apparently frozen to death
Up some steep stairs (that used to ascend in the opposite direction) are the offices where Atizado and Anderson have been working amidst the cold and construction since October, a space heater glowing orange on the floor, breath fogging up indoors.
Most exciting, of course, is the club’s main room, which comprises both the old show room and the café area. A new, much larger stage stands at the north end of the room, flanked by a small mezzanine area with its own bar (featuring the taps and fridge from the old bar); along the room’s south wall, a long bar (that will accommodate up to four bartenders) runs facing the stage.
The mezzanine bar
The old taps and fridge
Do not order ketchup on your Via Trib pizza
The ceiling is three feet higher and exposed to make room for the club’s intensive and soon-to-be legally mandated new sprinkler system; polished wood slats from the old ceiling now line the upper walls of the room.
Felled at the foot of the new stage is the infamous, dreaded Pole, which used to stand in the very middle of the old Croc’s show room, both occupying what should have been prime mosh pit space and casting a no-sightline shadow all the way to the back of the room. Atizado says he expects the Pole to be incorporated into the new club as a relic of some kind, though he can’t say exactly how. (Note: the wooden support poles pictured above are temporary.)
Anderson and Atizado, wtih Ships' keyboard
Ships (keyboard not pictured)
Anderson can’t confirm any bookings, but some tour dates for the Crocodile are beginning to show up on bands’ itineraries (eg, the Ting Ting’s myspace shows them playing the Crocodile on April 12th); he also can’t confirm a date yet, but says that the grand opening will be sometime in March (or, hedging, “Smarch”).
http://www.ticketmaster.com/Crocodile-Ca…
Yes, on TicketMaster. Why, Crocodile, why? Are they really the only game in town? Will I no longer be able to buy tickets to Croc shows at Sonic Boom?
Couldn't get refinanced? Ran out of dough? Good luck Croc. I can't wait to have you back.
1.a. how about built-in Vietnamese?
1.b. i love those $3 sammiches.
2. i wish i could clone jim.
2.a. jim and bamf cross-list eachother in the dictionary
I want it, I've coveted it since the day I laid eyes on it and if anyone out there knows how I can get my hands on it please let me know. I will pay $$$ for it!!
It looks good. It should be fun.
Sorry, just full of fail on the food front.
Other than that, I have high hopes for the Crocodile.
Speaking of poles, Ship, Moondoggies, Black Whales & Telekinesis vids? Seriously cool, if you haven't seen them yet...go to thecrocodile.com. Watch, enjoy!
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