Crocodile Cafe

I love the Croc. It's small enough to be able to enjoy a show, yet if you are not really feeling the music you are hearing, you can head over into the other part of the bar and chill out--- like other reviewers have noted. The place used to be so smoky that it detracted from the experience. Now- I can not tell you how AWESOME it is to see a show, then go home without my clothing and hair smelling nasty. It does retain a certain dark and dirty to it, which is just fine by me. more

It was a clear summer night, with full moon shining brightly. I walked unsuspectingly into Crocodile Cafe and paid the $10 cover charge for the "Emo" rock bands Criteria and Appleseed Cast. As I entered the dimly lit show area, I noticed something sinister out of the corner of my eye... AAARGH!! SNAKES ON A CEILING!! After a few curses worthy of Samuel L., I realized they were quite dead. Once I got past the dead-reptiles-strung-from-the-rafters motif, the rest the evening was great. This was a Monday night, yet the show area was 80% full. Only 1/3 of the crowd was in the "over 21" area - not sure whether that speaks more to the band or the venue. Right away I liked the place because it felt intimate, I could feel the sound from the speakers and because Criteria put on a great set. The stage lighting is cool. Your basic high school lights with red and green and yellow filters. It reminded me of a Pearl Jam video, the one where Eddie Vedder crowd surfs. Anyway, great place to catch a live band, but I suspect weekends it is mobbed and/or sold out. There is also a cafe area where you can just chill (and don't have to pay cover). more

I recently went to see a Peruvian singer, Susana Baca, at the Crocodile. This is a woman who has appeared before at the Triple Door, the Paramount, etc. I'm not sure exactly sure how she ended up at the Croc, but it was completely the wrong venue for her. Hot, crowded, noisy (three different couples behind us yakked at full volume through the ENTIRE show), full of drunks. We walked out halfway through, and a lot of other people did too. I'm sure this is a fine place for getting drunk with your friends to the beat of a loud punk band, and the food was surprisingly decent, but for someone who actually wanted to be able to see and hear this petite, soft-spoken woman with an acoustic backup band it was awful. more

And we're not talking symphony orchestra here... The Croc is the place to catch indie acts of every stripe before they hit the big time and start playing the Showbox (next rung on the ladder), the Moore (yet another step up) or the Paramount (sellout city). (You and I both know that sports arenas don't even merit discussion as music venues, unless you're just going for the fireworks display). Their bookings are consistently eclectic (from Jim Jennie and The Pinteops to Sigur Ros) and excellent (Camper van Beethoven and the Knitters were two of my favorite shows in the past year, but there were really too many to count). The beer is cheap, the floors are sticky and the whole place has that funky smell that can only come from a tightly-packed room of sweaty rock fans. If you love music and want to catch your favorite band up close and personal, the Croc is the place to be. more

Croc. the bar is mellow and quiet. show room is small enough to be intimate, big enough to hold crowds for most shows. the stage is elevated so everyone can see what's going on. it's grungy and dirty, but not scary like the old graceland. it always sounds great. they serve food. the beers are good - and pretty cheap. and they consistently book the best local talent -- any given night you're bound to like some or all of the lineup. For the record, Showbox is the worst venue in Seattle. always over-crowded, always sounds crappy, always full of drunken uw packs, always grumpy bouncers, horrible restroom locations, never able to see anything on the stage b/c the floor isn't angled enough. i have banned the showbox for life (except for the calexico show this summer, for which i was forced to make a single exception because i expect the crowd will all be courteous and over 25). more

The food at the Croc is pretty good - maybe a tad on the greasy side and the lunch time service can be a bit on the surly and slow side. I've had the tuna melt and the hamburger and both are ok - nothing delightful, but nothing offensive either. At night they have some great bands here - and that's the real reason to come to the Croc. more

A diner in belltown you might not have heard about if it were not owned by one of the members of REM, and the host of some of the coolest shows ever. I have seen some of my favorite live acts there. The place is far from fancy but host some cool indie bands in a very intimate setting (small perfoming area). Several years ago I saw the Go-Betweens there and it happened to be a band members birthday. They passed out cake to all and sang like I was at a family function. THAT my friends is what makes the crocodille a staple in downtown seattle. Check the Stranger for listings. more

The way the Crocodile Cafe is set up there's an inner area with a stage for live music shows that happen pretty much every night, and outside that is a cafe area. Once nice secret is that if you feel like just listening in on a concert without paying for it, you can grab a table just outside the stage area and hear pretty well what they're playing. Most of the time I go inside, though, and over the years I've seen a lot of great shows here. more