Throw Me the Statue & Visqueen Feed the New Croc

Walking into the new(ish)ly-reopened Crocodile Café for the first time was a bit of a shock for me. The dilapidated old dive of yore’s been shined up and turned into, ahem, a genuine high-class venue, with a more audience-friendly main hall (no more wooden beams obstructing the stage view), fancy rock-star photos and gig posters lining the walls, an upstairs level, and an adjoining swanky pizzeria/bar. It’s right purdy, though the old knuckle-dragger in me sorely misses the funky, punky, ramshackle vibe of the old Croc.

Thankfully, the club’s continued to book quality local acts, three of which took to the stage on October 3. Newcomers Throw Me the Statue shared a record release party (for their sophomore long-player Creaturesque) with one of this town’s most beloved power-pop ensembles, Visqueen. Power trio Little Cuts anchored the opening slot.

The latter warmed up the audience capably serving up the kind of meat-and-potatoes loudness that this region breeds so well—scrappy garage rock with a pinch of punk-rock pissiness. Lead singer Dave Hernandez laid out the Sonics-cum-Fugazi power chords like a champ, and the rhythm section mashed it down with bare-bones purpose. Catch ‘em live if possible: Hernandez belts it out with a lot more force and the band’s attack benefits from the looseness (and ear-splitting volume) of a face-to-face gig.

Middle-slotters Visqueen have always played like a well-oiled machine, delivering Rachel Flotard’s sublimely catchy power-pop gems with concise sharpness, and last Saturday proved no exception. Visqueen pretty much played all of their excellent new long-player, Message to Garcia in sequence, and the band matched the disc’s fizzy precision slug-for-slug. "WARD" (Garcia’s most addictive rocker, with a "Come on, Come on, Come on" refrain that will never leave your head once heard) sparkled live, and the T. Rex lope of Garcia’s title track got a grand workout.

Why these guys ain’t huger than huge eludes these ears: They’re tight as Tom Jones’ slacks live, the songs rule, and Flotard is one of the most likeable frontpeople on the planet: With her impish sense of humor, unforced tomboy cuteness, and vocal/guitar chops, she’s exactly what you’d want Marian Ravenwood from Raiders of the Lost Ark to sound like if she fronted a rock band. And that’s a big compliment.

Speaking of Raiders of the Lost Ark references, Throw Me the Statue have haunted my skull for a couple of weeks with the wonderful "Yucatan Gold," an insanely catchy (and dead-sexy) dance track that sounds like a lazily-horny Beck trapped in Giorgio Moroder’s old ARP synth. It’s sheer butt-shaking deadpan genius, so I was intrigued as all get-out to hear the band in person.

They’re sharp instrumentalists live, and are exploring an interesting, eclectic sound that combines roller-rink new wave and indie-rock with sturdily-versatile real drumming and a dash of world-music percussion. "Yucatan Gold" sounded fab, and TMTS have managed to capture lightning in a bottle twice in the form of a second great single ("Lo-Fi Goon" sounds like Weezer fronted by synth-toting Muppets, and it too came off aces live). Frontman Scott Reitherman bounced like a super ball the whole set, and the band displayed energy to burn.

If Throw Me the Statue possess an Achilles Heel, it’s their overall body of material, a solid enough mix of styles that don’t quite gel into a cohesive identity yet. There’s more than enough promise here to portend true greatness around the bend, though…and "Yucatan Gold" has yet to loosen its grasp on my groove thing.