Ten Shows Announced for Crocks, 23 February to 20 April 2012
One post on 20 February 2012 listed ten dates at Crocks, running from a hardcore band on Thursday to a southern-rock double bill eight weeks later.
Thursday 23 February 2012 was the first date of the run, and the post announcing it went up three days earlier. Every Time I Die, a hardcore band from Buffalo, opened the run at Crocks. Their album Ex Lives came out on 6 March, so the Thunder Bay date fell twelve days before the record reached shops.
It was a plain list, one line per show. Each line gave a name, a date and a prompt to RSVP on Facebook. Prices, door times and age rules were left to the event pages. Read as a single document, the ten entries cover about eight weeks of one club’s calendar.
The first week
Five shows fell inside six days. After Every Time I Die came DJ Massacre on Friday 24 February, advertised as six DJs on stage alternating beats. Saturday 25 February was the second DJ tribute night, this time to Avicii and LMFAO, the Swedish producer and the American duo who had both had a big year in 2011.
Monday 27 February belonged to Philthy Pro, presenting the second Philthy Fam night. On Tuesday 28 February came Raekwon at Crocks, billed as Wu-Tang Clan’s Raekwon the Chef live in Thunder Bay. His 1995 solo debut, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, is an acclaimed record produced by RZA, with Ghostface Killah alongside him.
Two early shows
Two entries carried the label EARLY SHOW. Hey Ocean played on Thursday 1 March. The band is from Vancouver, and its third album, IS, followed in 2012. On Saturday 3 March the early slot went to Rococode, followed by an after-party with Electrocity.
The label suggests a show that finished ahead of the late-night programme, which fits a room that ran club nights after the bands. That is a reading of the wording. Start times were not given, so nobody can say how early early was.
The long gap
Then the calendar goes quiet. Nothing is announced between 3 March and Monday 19 March, when The Trews appeared with Poor Young Things. The Trews come from Antigonish, Nova Scotia, and their fourth album, Hope & Ruin, had come out in April 2011.
Another month passes before Wednesday 18 April, when Yukon Blonde and Library Voices shared a bill. Yukon Blonde began in Kelowna, British Columbia, and moved to Vancouver in 2009. Library Voices are from Regina, Saskatchewan, and put out Summer of Lust in 2011.
Records in the air
Several acts had an album landing close to their date. Ex Lives, produced by Joe Barresi, later topped the Billboard hard rock albums chart. Yukon Blonde’s second album, Tiger Talk, came out in March 2012, a month before their Crocks date. Hey Ocean’s IS also belongs to 2012.
The Trews were the other side of that pattern, arriving nearly a year after Hope & Ruin, which was produced with Gord Sinclair of The Tragically Hip. Whether any of these dates was booked around a record is not something anyone stated.
What it does show is a club filling its calendar with whatever was on the road. Two of the ten nights were DJ nights, one was Raekwon, one was a hardcore band, and one was the Philthy Fam night.
The other five were rock or indie bills, and most of those acts were Canadian. Set against the first week, the second half of the list was quieter, and no single sound ran the whole eight weeks.
The closing date
The list ended with Nashville Pussy and The Supersuckers on Friday 20 April, written as 4/20. That show has its own record, including prices and the 9:30 p.m. start, at the Nashville Pussy page, which had gone up eight days before this list.
A single line at the bottom named the shops selling tickets: The Urban Boutique, Rainbow on Bay, Extreme Pita, Ozone on Memorial, Bean Fiend and Valente’s Music. Shows at other rooms are on the shows page. What this list cannot tell you is which of the ten nights drew a crowd.
Frequently asked questions
Which shows were announced for Crocks in late February 2012?
Every Time I Die on 23 February, DJ Massacre on 24 February, a DJ tribute night on 25 February, Philthy Fam on 27 February and Raekwon on 28 February headed the list. Five more dates ran through 20 April.
When did Raekwon play Crocks in Thunder Bay?
The listing put Raekwon at Crocks on 28 February 2012, billed as Wu-Tang Clan's Raekwon the Chef live in Thunder Bay. Only the name and date were given, with no support act or ticket price.
What was the last show on the list?
Nashville Pussy and The Supersuckers, on Friday 20 April 2012. The show has its own page in the record, with ticket prices and the start time.
Where were tickets sold for these Crocks shows?
The listing named six Thunder Bay outlets: The Urban Boutique, Rainbow on Bay, Extreme Pita, Ozone on Memorial, Bean Fiend and Valente's Music. It gave no prices for any of the ten shows.
What does RSVP on Facebook mean in the listing?
Each entry ended with a prompt to RSVP on Facebook, which pointed readers to an event page for that show. The listing itself carried no other details, such as doors or age rules.