Crocodile cafe shows rescheduled

When the Crocodile Cafe closed suddenly last week, there were still shows scheduled, so these artists had to quickly move elsewhere. A lot of shows moved to the High Dive in Fremont, a few to others; here are details.

The X-Ray Eyes, The Deepsleep Narcotics Co. 9 p.m. Dec. 29. ToST, 513 N. 36th St. Suite E, Seattle. Free. 21+. 206-547-0240. www.tostlounge.com.

The Believers, The Smile Ease, Slow Skate. 9 p.m. Jan. 12. Café Venus/Mars Bar, 609 Eastlake Ave. E., Seattle. $6. 21+. 206-624-4516. www.cafevenus.com.

Ingrid Michaelson. 8:30 p.m. Jan. 21. Nectar Lounge, 412 N. 36th St., Seattle. $12 advance. All ages. 206-632-2020. www.brownpapertickets.com.

The Decemberists. 8 p.m. Jan. 30-31. The Moore Theatre, 1932 Second Ave., Seattle. $28. 206-467-5510. www.ticketmaster.com.

Pela, Liam Finn. 8 p.m. March 4. High Dive, 513 N. 36th St. #G, Seattle. $8 advance. $10 at door. 21+. 206-632-0212. www.brownpapertickets.com

Atlas Sound (Bradford Cox of Deerhunter), White Rainbow, Valet. 8 p.m. March 6. High Dive. $10 advance. $12 at door. 21+. 206-632-0212. www.brownpapertickets.com

Born Ruffians, Cadence Weapon. 9 p.m. March 22. High Dive. $10 advance. $12 at door. 21+. 206-632-0212. www.brownpapertickets.com

DJ Spinderella Spinning in Seattle

DJ Spinderella of Salt-N-Pepa fame spins tonight at The War Room in Seattle. The mixtress was the backbone behind a lot of the iconic female duo's beats. Doors open at 9 p.m. The address for The War Room is 772 E. Pike St., Seattle. $10 at door or free admission with RSVP at www.thewarroomseattle.com/rsvp. For more information, check out www.thewarroomseattle.com.

Kwanzaa celebration at Winterfest

Also today, celebrate Kwanzaa at Seattle Center's Winterfest. Check out the free interactive performance and cultural exhibit on the African-American harvest festival, from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Center House.

New owner for Comet Tavern

This item just in from Seattle Times nightlife reporter Tom Scanlon:

The new owner of the Comet Tavern is Brian Balodis, a banker by day who said he does not plan any major changes at the legendary Capitol Hill dive bar and rock venue.

"I'm going to have the same booking agent [Mamma Casserole], the same staff — I just want to continue pretty much building upon the success of the place," said Balodis, a first-time bar owner.

Balodis said he was not a regular at the Comet before getting interested in buying it. "I've gone out up on Capitol Hill, and I was aware of the Comet, but quite honestly it was not a place I visited on a regular basis — but I have friends who do. When I started looking for a bar [to purchase] and I heard that one was available, I got some feedback from my friends that it's a great scene, and it's a prime location."

Tom Scanlon: 206-464-3891 or tscanlon@seattletimes.com

Chop Suey hosts 2 benefits for Crocodile employees

There are two Crocodile Cafe employee benefit concerts at Chop Suey. (The Croc unexpectedly closed earlier this month.) The first is Sunday and will feature band members from Fleet Foxes, Peter Parker, the Pale Pacific, J. Tillman and Pleasureboaters. Doors open at 7 p.m., and the show is 21 and older. Ticket price is to be announced.

Seattle music Web site Three Imaginary Girls is sponsoring a second Crocodile Cafe employee benefit on Jan. 4, also at Chop Suey. Performing that night are the Coconut Coolouts, the Intelligence, the Girls and Das Llamas. There is a $6 donation requested. Doors open at 8 p.m., and it's 21 and older.

Chop Suey is at 1325 E. Madison St., Seattle. For more information, check out www.chopsuey.com or call 206-324-8000.

Seattle band wins MTV2 Contest

MTV2 has named Seattle indie rock band the Myriad the "Dew Circuit Breakout '07" winner.

Four thousand bands tried out. Previous winners include such popular alternative-rock bands as hellogoodbye, Yellowcard, Taking Back Sunday and Hawthorne Heights.

The Myriad battled two other finalists at the MTV Times Square studios in front of a live audience on Dec. 15 and a panel that included Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz, Cobra Starship's Gabe Saporta and Ultragrrrl of Stolen Transmission. Fans then voted online for the winner.

In addition to owning the title, a video from their finale performance will air on MTV, MTV2 and mtvU. One of their songs will also be available to download sometime next year on the Rock Band video game.

Kirkland Arts Center appoints new executive director

Christopher Shainin has been appointed the new executive director of the Kirkland Arts Center, one of the Eastside's oldest arts organizations.

Shainin starts mid-January, when previous director Quinn Elliott leaves after five years. Elliott will be the project director for Monroe Madison.

As the new executive director, Shainin will be overseeing the center's gallery and arts-education program and raising funds for the center.

Previously, he was the managing director of Bainbridge Performing Arts. Shainin was also a co-founder of the Seattle Creative Orchestra.

Marian Liu: mliu@seattletimes.com