Legendary Seattle venue, Crocodile Cafe, closes

According to numerous reports, Seattle's famous venue, Crocodile Cafe has closed down. The venue has hosted a number of notable artists including 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 Jr., 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.

The closure was apparently fairly sudden according to employees and due to financial problems. Eli Anderson, the club's current booker, received the brief voice mail from Dorgan on Sunday afternoon.

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.