Show Review: Crocodiles @ Stubb’s (6/11)

We braved the hot temperatures and hordes of tribal tattoos to catch Crocodiles over at Stubbs; the band was opening for Temper Trap.  After releasing Endless Flowers just last week, I’d already gotten familiar with the bands tunes, which might not have been the case for the majority of those in attendance.  You can skip below for some of my insight.

Seeing the crowd as we walked in, I felt uneasy, unsure of how Crocodiles could win over this crowd; their music clearly is not so similar to Temper Trap.  But, from the moment they came on, they owned the stage, with Brandon Welchez stalking the stage fueled with energy.  Their set seemed to consist primarily of Endless Flowers hits, with a few added touches of Summer of Hate thrown in there.  Perhaps this is where the set went a bit awry for me.

I liked Endless Flowers; it’s a good pop record, but the sheen of the album is possibly one of its detractors.  That polish definitely came through in the live setting, which definitely seemed to restrain the band a little bit.  The bass and keyboards sounded great, but they were up too high in the mix, leaving the squalling guitars far off in the background as Stubbs filled.  I thought they could have turned up loud and blown the crowd away, but seeing as they were an opening act, perhaps they knew their place and chose not to do so.

That being said, I feel like the band is on the cusp of breaking through to larger audience, and they owned the stage like they knew it.  It reminded me of early Glasvegas shows, with pop songs fueled by noise balancing that fine line between indie rock and massive stardom.  I’m not sure what Crocodiles want for themselves, but you can see that they’re poised for bigger things…and they’ve got the songs to do it…should that be their path.

We didn’t stick around for Temper Trap, mostly because Brian refuses to watch shows where the band only has one good song; my excuse is that I just don’t like that band; they don’t interest me…just one man’s opinion.

There are a few more pics at the photo site…