We know, we know. Tomorrow's show at the Croc isn't just about Say Hi -- in fact, he'll be opening the night up for Grand Hallway, who's got the mid-lineup slot before Wye Oak takes down the evening headline-style. However, here at TIG we loves us some Eric Elbogen, so much so that we'd like to give some tickets away to a pair of lucky Say Hi fans who are planning on getting down to the show for the whole thing, first moment to the last.

PS, if you haven't heard the latest Say Hi effort -- a little something called Um, Uh Oh -- here's a few notes about it from our friends at Barsuk:

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Got your running shoes handy? No, not your Chucks. I mean the ones that you lace up to go the distance. Yes, I know they're buried in the bottom of your closet. We'll wait.

Okay, good. Now, get your favorite socks on warm up those calves -- there's too much good stuff going on around town tonight for you to hit just one show. For starters, the opening set at Neumo's tonight will be a great place to pre-funk. I'm sure that Justin Nozuka is a tremendous headline, but our sources from back east swear that Elizabeth & the Catapault will be the glimmer in our proverbial eyes for the designated warmer-upper of the evening. The Brooklyn based singer-songwriter will be unleashing her endearing, charming ways on the earlybirds that make their way down to Neumo's tonight, and you'll be doing yourself a favor by making it the first stop of your night.

After that, it could go either way -- if you don't stay for the rest of the show at Neumo's, you have your pick of two not-to-be-missed performances going on that you can shuffle to your liking. The first would be making sure to see most, if not all, of Kay Kay & his Weathered Underground's headlining set at the Tractor. It's no secret that our very own ChrisB hearts them to no end, as stated in his loving and well-thought commentary on a past show: What makes Kay Kay such a special band is that there are not any limitations imposed on the music. When you listen to them, you hear elements of vaudeville, ragtime, psychedelic rock, show tunes, Sgt. Pepper-era Beatles, and anything else they can find under the kitchen sink. It’s like they raided their parents’ and grandparents’ record collections and ignored much of their own. All that, and the fact that Hey Marseilles' Sam Anderson hails as a member of their repertoire, makes this a win-win-win.

The other big sha-bang happening this evening is the benefit show for the recent GIVE compilation that was released, with a line-up to beat the, um -- band. Or something. Anyhow -- have a look at this: on one bill, for charity, and at a mere fifteen bucks [!!!], you can catch Grand Archives, D. Black, Kinski, Grant Olsen (of Arthur and Yu), Gabriel Mintz, Tilson (of the Saturday Knights), Fences [swoon], and the Tea Cozies. Really, that's less than a dollar a band member, if you splice it out the right way. And even at twice that, it's a better-than-fair price for a best-of-the-best kind of show.

So, bundle up tonight and hit the town -- whether you go Neumo's > Tractor > Croc, or Neumo's > Croc > Tractor > Croc, pick one to hit up with your birds and bliss the night away. With all this talent, you're sure to get a win no matter what venue(s) you choose!

at Crocodile Cafe

No frills set up for Damien. He walks on stage 10 minutes before his scheduled set time, takes his jacket off, opens a can of Coke, plugs his guitar in and starts playing. I've equated Damien's music as musical elixir in the autumn/winter months. I don't know what it is but themes of despair, longing and brokenness just sets the right mood in the background for those dark, wet foresty Pacific Northwest days. So here I am now in the spring and spirits are much higher, the outside air fresh and warmer.

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It isn't easy being green, but The Crocodile does it anyway.

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When I asked the very intelligent and capable talent buyer Eli Anderson of the soon-to-be-reopened Crocodile Cafe, I was expecting a list of ten records he liked. Instead, he had sent me several well-written lists and deserves countless bonus points because he even showed his work.

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Am I the only one having a heart attack???

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"Now, in conjunction with the UW Ethnomusicology Department and the head of the UW media department John Vallier, some 3000 hours of shows from the Crocodile are set to be preserved forever."

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The application for the liquor license seems to mean they're serious, and hopefully it also means a press release is forthcoming.

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I just got a call from KUOW (a Seattle public radio station) and they'll be discussing it on today's Conversation show. It starts at 1pm and I think I'll be on around 1:20pm to talk about it for a couple minutes. It's all live and stuff, so who knows what's going to be said.

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Our investigator friends at Line Out found the for-sale listing for the Crocodile!

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