Seattle Subsonic

Noise For The Needy at the Croc

June 16th, 2009

The Grand Archives/See Me River/Curious Mystery show at the Crocodile this past weekend (6/12) was my first time stepping foot into the renovated Belltown venue, so I’ll begin with some first impressions. I like it. I like the size of it, I like the balcony with an extra bar (though it could use little sound redirection boost), I like the exposed wood beams that were “salvaged” from the original club. I like the windows above the main bar that peep out onto Blanchard St., I like all the show posters covering the walls and I liked the photo installation in the entry way (many depicting the Sonics). I definitely like the defined walkway next to the sound booth so you can get to the restroom easily through a crowd. I didn’t like the super-shiny tile on the bathroom floor, as I thought it was completely wet and was fooled into thinking my feet were about to come out from under me. I miss having a separate bar in the back, but I’m glad Via Tribunali kept the old stained-glass walls. Nothing will replace the old Crocodile Café, particularly its history and unique decor, but this is a good substitute.

.

The Curious Mystery, an expansive, serpentine desert-rock quartet, opened the show with a wandering handful of tunes from their lone record, Rotting Slowly. They began with “Gone In Time”, a tripped-out, country-noir acid burner in which guitarist Nic Gonzalez and multi-instrumentalist Shana Cleveland share vocal duties. As a whole, they seemed to stick to the songs that utilize her wonderfully languid and smokey pipes. They played “Strong Swimmers” (I think) and “Black Sand”, where Cleveland busted out the autoharp. The band put forth many odd instruments: Gonzalez massaged an old steel desk fan with a cello bow, Cleveland arranged some sleigh bells on her ankles and puffed on a melodica, and drummer Faustine Hudson stepped to the front of the stage and introduced set closer “Nicaragua” with a gong-on-a-rope, crashing it to the floor several times. She almost hit someone with it. Hudson’s drumming was even more dramatic than this ritual, as she crashed and smashed both deliberately and recklessly, with equal parts liveliness and lethargy, pausing only to shake other noisemakers. It was enthralling.

.

This was my first time seeing See Me River, and they did not disappoint. What started out as a one (Kerry Zettel) and two-man (Joe Arnone) side project has blossomed into a full-blown band of seven or more. Four guitarists, a drummer, a keyboardist, and a bouncy bassist all took the stage Friday night. As a result, the sound was wider, fuller and more orchestrated than what the band showed on Time Machine. The inspiring nightmare ballad “Not Far Out Of Town” was played first with Zettel’s chilling refrain “because I die in a car crash!” ringing clear. They also played the ramblin’ “Don’t Pray For Blood” and the cowbell one I can’t remember. I didn’t take very good notes, but I think they played more than a few off their latest EP and their upcoming winter release The Day The Sun Died. Really good set.

I know this is getting long, but a few words on Grand Archives. If this was your first time seeing the band, I’d understand if you were underwhelmed. The defection of keyboardist/guitarist Ron Lewis to the Shins may have been a reason for the band’s slowed down and mellow tone. The pace of each song plodded more than usual, and only for the encore—when they played their two most upbeat songs, “Torn Blue Foam Couch” and “Crime Window”—did they seem to cut loose. On the plus side, many (good) new songs were played, along with most of The Grand Archives, and Mat Brooke was looking his Washingtonian best (lots of denim, boots, hirsute, skinny as a rail, etc.). They even played “Doctor My Eyes” by Jackson Browne, and Brooke took up the ukelele for “Orange Juice”. I still love them and am looking forward to Keep in Mind Frankenstein, due September 15th.