Upcoming Crocks Shows Announced for July to November 2013
One post on 12 July 2013 laid out a summer and fall at Crocks that ran from a Friday fundraiser to a Tuesday rock night in November.
A cancer fundraiser billed as acoustic, paired with a night called Next Big DJ, opened the run on Friday 19 July 2013. The last date was a Tuesday in November. In between sat sixteen dated shows and two extras, some a day apart and some separated by more than a month of nothing. The post that announced them went up on 12 July.
The post promised a busy summer and fall and called Downtown PA, the local shorthand for downtown Port Arthur, a destination for world-class entertainment, local music and dance parties. Anything not listed sat on a Facebook calendar. What followed was a short selection, not a schedule.
The July run
Eight dates fell inside ten days once the run began. Saturday 20 July was a hashtag party with DeLeo and Party Fowl. The Resignators, a ska-punk band formed in Melbourne in 2005, played on the Sunday. That spring they had put out an EP, Down in Flames, and told an Australian magazine that Canada was probably their biggest market, with five visits behind them.
Demigodz, with Apathy and Celph Titled, followed on Monday 22 July. Their album Killmatic had come out in March 2013, and the two rappers had toured it after the group first played together with all members present in Rhode Island the previous November. Wednesday brought Five Alarm Funk for an encore performance, and Thursday 25 July a Wax Philosophic beach party.
Late July
DJ Hollywood Hype from Winnipeg played Saturday 27 July. Sunday 28 July went to Great White featuring Jack Russell, a Los Angeles hard-rock band best known for its 1989 cover of “Once Bitten, Twice Shy”, which reached the top five of the American singles chart.
After that the calendar went quiet. House of David Gang on 2 August sat outside the main list, and then nothing until mid-August. Ten days of hard rock, hip-hop and ska had come and gone by the end of July.
Three nights in a row
The densest stretch came in the third week of August. The Sword, from Austin, Texas, played Wednesday 14 August with Castle, American Sharks and Uhussie, less than a year after their album Apocryphon in October 2012. Five days later, on Monday 19 August, The Proclaimers, the Scottish twins Craig and Charlie Reid of “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)”, were billed at Crocks.
On Tuesday 20 August Tech N9ne, the Kansas City rapper, came to Thunder Bay, and on Wednesday 21 August the Australian hard-rock band Airbourne ended the stretch. Airbourne, formed in Warrnambool, Victoria, had released Black Dog Barking that May.
What the calendar shows
Count the weekdays and a pattern shows. Only six of the sixteen dated shows fell on a Friday or Saturday. Nine landed between Sunday and Wednesday. That pattern fits acts routed between bigger cities, though a Monday for The Proclaimers or a Tuesday for Tech N9ne is a reading of the calendar and not a stated reason.
The bills also ran wide within a single summer. A Winnipeg DJ, an Australian ska band, a Kansas City rapper and a Scottish duo all had dates, and the run from first show to last spanned just under sixteen weeks.
Autumn dates
September brought Madchild and Slaine on the sixth, then a special early concert by Elliott Brood on Saturday 14 September, which has its own entry on the Elliott Brood page. Mysto and Pizzi followed on Friday 27 September, on a show page of their own.
November opened with Hollerado, from Manotick near Ottawa, with The Zolas and a second Vancouver band in support, on Saturday 2 November. Hollerado’s second album, White Paint, had appeared in February 2013. Then, on Tuesday 5 November, came the last date, Matthew Good. That show had been announced on 20 June, three weeks before this post, with tickets on sale from Friday 21 June.
Other rooms and older seasons are on the shows page. One line in the July announcement reads “Acoustic Cancer Fundraiser / Next Big DJ”, and it gives no beneficiary.
Frequently asked questions
Which shows were announced for Crocks in July 2013?
The post named sixteen dated shows and two others. Among them were The Resignators on 21 July, Great White with Jack Russell on 28 July, The Sword on 14 August and Matthew Good on 5 November.
When did The Proclaimers play Crocks in Thunder Bay?
The Proclaimers were billed for Monday, 19 August 2013, at Crocks. It was one of three big nights in three days that week, with Tech N9ne on the Tuesday and Airbourne on the Wednesday.
Who was playing at Crocks on 20 August 2013?
Tech N9ne, the Kansas City rapper, was billed for Tuesday, 20 August 2013. The Proclaimers played the night before and the Australian hard-rock band Airbourne the night after.
Were prices given for the Crocks shows in this announcement?
No. The post named the acts and dates only, and sent readers to a Facebook calendar for the complete schedule. Prices, where they were published, sat with each show's own entry.
Where is Crocks?
Crocks stood at 16 Cumberland Street South in downtown Thunder Bay, close to Lake Superior. The post itself called the area Downtown PA, the shorthand for Port Arthur.