Crocodiles + Bleeding Rainbow @ Casa Del Popolo

On February 22nd, Crocodiles (ex-Some Girls, ex-The Plot to Blow Up The Eiffel Tower) brought their lo-fi, noise-pop jams to Casa Del Popolo. It was the band’s second stint in Montreal.

Serving as the sole opener, Bleeding Rainbow is a four-piece Philadelphia band who kicked off the night accordingly. Their psychedelic-rock has elements of shoe-gaze and post-punk; more importantly the Sonic Youth influence is ultra heavy. The band, who previously went by the name Reading Rainbow, use two vocalists at all times, which was a little undistinguishable only because the microphones did not seem even at the beginning. The band brought a healthy dose of energy in their feedback heavy set and did a solid job of getting things going. The crowd was not overly enthusiastic but seemed to like the band; likewise, Bleeding Rainbow were not overly enthusiastic on stage but seemed to be having a little bit of fun regardless. The band played for no more than thirty minutes; shortly afterwards Crocodiles hit the stage.

Opening with “Mirrors”, San Diego’s Crocodiles took the stage shortly after 10pm and played songs from their previous albums Summer of Hate and Sleep Forever. By this time, the venue had filled up with less than a hundred people, making it an intimate and cozy club show. The band was ripping into songs such as “Stoned to Death” with no hesitation and not much crowd acknowledgement. Either way the crowd was into it and danced their way through the band’s set. Frontman Brandon Welchez was quite animated in his stage presence, having fun on the popular “I Wanna Kill.” It is extremely difficult to look past The Jesus and Mary Chain comparisons, even in Welchez presence on stage (comparing him it to Jim Reid). During the set, they played some new songs off of their upcoming album, Endless Flowers, and the crowd enjoyed what they were hearing. The band ended their set after fifty minutes, playing one encore in the form of “Hearts of Love”, capping off a cozy and sweaty show (Casa Del Popolo gets really hot, really fast). The sound was decent but at times fuzzy; it matched the band’s noisy, lo-fi approach. It is not the best venue for sound that the city has to offer but it is certainly far from the worst.

The set was extremely short but it was better that way. Crocodiles put on a good show, however it was far from a monumental one. It was a very clear-cut approach in which they came to the city, played songs and left. There was hardly any interaction between the band themselves and the audience. Fans of the band that missed the show should not feel that bad; it was not a life-changing experience. The band may not come to Montreal often but there is nothing spectacular about the band live. It was fun and short, with no real challenge musically; you know their songs and you know how they are going to play them. There was no mind-blowing moments where one questioned how the musician did that or what that sound was. It was a decent show but if you have seen Crocodiles once, it is plenty.

-Alex G