When the Crocodile Cafe shut down last month, a lot of people were left in the lurch, nobody more so than the club's suddenly out-of-work employees. Sure, bands and fans had to relocate shows, but at least they had other clubs and booking agents eager to help pick up the pieces. Finding a new job is more difficult.

So it's great that Chop Suey has been hosting some "Unscrew the Crocodile" benefit shows to help out the old venue's jilted employees. The first of two events happened December 30 and featured an all-star lineup of performers including Fleet Foxes' Robin Pecknold, J. Tillman, David Bazan, Damien Jurado, Aqueduct, Sean Nelson (who ran up to play before his set with Harvey Danger down at Neumo's), Pleasureboaters, and Spencer Moody. The Long Winters' John Roderick was the surprise guest for the evening ("Mark Arm couldn't make it," he said). Revered Croc soundman Jim Anderson worked the boards for the evening. Chop Suey booker Pete Greenberg (who jumped ship just before the Croc sank) and company raffled off relics from the Croc and sold autographed floor plans to help raise money.

Last week, I mentioned that a lot of local rock shows hadn't felt like much of a scene lately, especially compared to something like the Program. This benefit was a welcome repudiation, a reminder of what makes music a community rather than just a business. The place was packed, and not just with fans—though no doubt everyone there would count themselves a fan of the Croc and at least some of the bands—but with artists and record-label people and promoters. When the people watching the shows include the people making the shows happen, that's community.

The night was a rousing success. Greenberg estimates at least 400 people paid: "We're dealing with 13 or 14 employees and we should be able to get them a nice little bit of cash for their holidays and their postholiday blues."

The atmosphere was simultaneously somber (due to the funereal vibe and the several acoustic/folksy performers) and celebratory (thanks to the loving crowd). Fleet Foxes' Pecknold played a version of "Katie Cruel" in the style of Karen Dalton. Aqueduct's David Terry reminisced about his first show at the Croc, dedicated a 10-year-old "Happy New Year" song to the venue ("Happy New Year, Croc—it's gonna be sad without you, but we're gonna carry on"), and ended the night with a cover of Beyoncé's "Irreplaceable" (aided by the Catch/U.S.E's Carly Nicklaus). It was appropriately sad, fun, and a group effort.

"It was everything I really wanted it to be," Greenberg says of the night. "Just a great, positive experience, especially coming on the tail of something that wasn't so positive. It was a nice excuse for everyone to get together and be nice, for everyone to just be buddies and hang out. That strong sense of community was rad. That feeling that night is what made the Crocodile what it was. It's great to see that continue on."

The January 4 show, the second "Unscrew the Crocodile" event, featuring the Coconut Coolouts, the Intelligence, the Girls, Das Llamas, and Sam Rousso Soundsystem, was less of a wake and even more of a party. The crowd was smaller, but tons of other bands and veteran scenesters showed up, and the down-but-not-out atmosphere of the previous benefit was replaced by more unrestrained, drunken revelry. However the Croc's old employees are doing, it seemed like Seattle's music scene was going to be just fine.


Helping to offset the loss of the Croc (not to mention Kincora, etc.) is the announcement that Kincora's Che Sabado and Jamie Garza will be opening a new bar in the long-troubled (some say cursed) space most recently inhabited by failed gay/not-gay dance club Sugar. The new club will be called King Cobra, and will be, according to the owners, "home to a diverse mix of live acts as well as be a bar where locals can come and relax." The space can hold 475 people, placing it on par, capacity wise, with the old Crocodile or Chop Suey. The new owners plan to remodel the place, starting with the stage, the sound system, and a coat of black paint—and given how much design went into Sugar, they've got their work cut out for them. As for the booking, Sabado says, "We want to feature everything from hiphop to punk, metal, alt-country, comedy, and even DJs." Even DJs! He says, "We don't want to be known as a club where you only go see certain music, because the music fans in Seattle like all kinds of music." recommended

egrandy@thestranger.com