tikistitch

Seattle's Crocodile Cafe closes

Crocodile Cafe, R.I.P.

Saturday night, the Belltown club was packed once again for sets by Robin Pecknold, J. Tillman and David Bazan, with the usual "Croc" good times under way and the bar doing brisk business. Nothing suggested that those in the crowd were witnesses to the venerable music venue's last waltz.

Owner Stephanie Dorgan, who could not be reached Monday, left voice mail messages with club employees Sunday telling them they should not report for work any longer -- the Crocodile Cafe has been closed because of financial difficulties.

Eli Anderson, the club's current booker, was shocked when he received the brief voice mail from Dorgan on Sunday afternoon. As he said Monday: "We all knew the club has problems with money, but we certainly didn't think it would be closing right now. ... I was booking new shows on Saturday, so I was freaking out when I received Stephanie's voice mail. And the thing is -- band contracts require 50 to 75 percent of full payment if a club cancels their gigs, so she's probably not saving much money by closing."

....

Among those who graced the Croc's small stage were such notables as Beck, The Ventures, the Indigo Girls, Death Cab for Cutie, The Presidents of the United States of America, Corinne Bailey Rae, The Beastie Boys, Dinosaur Junior, Michael Stipe and R.E.M., Ann Wilson, Yoko Ono and Sleater-Kinney. A now-legendary Croc double bill, with a $3 ticket, took place Oct. 4, 1992, and featured Mudhoney and Nirvana (billed that night as Pen Cap Chew). A 1996 gig by Cheap Trick included a surprise appearance by Pearl Jam.....

tiki's immediate and uncensored reaction to the newspaper headline: "Shit, the Croc was still open?"