Reviews by...
Jess
John
Mike Kiser
Kevin
Shay
apeville
jill
Setlist:
1. Strange
2. Been Around the World
3. Eurotrash Girl
4. Mr. Wrong
5. Teen Angst
6. Lonesome Johnny Blues
7. 100 Flower Power Maximum
8. Loser
9. This Is Cracker Soul *
10. 7 Days
11. Get Off This ("fuck the slice I want the pie" mix)
12. Wedding Day
13. Sweet Thistle Pie
14. Dr. Bernice
15. I Want Everything
16. Still Waiting for You Girl
17. Bring Us Down (AKA to fans as "Florida")
18. Low
19. One Fine Day
*encore*
20. Movie Star
21. Happy Birthday to Me
22. Sweet Magdelena
* = broken string on David's guitar
notes...
Really great show! The sound was absolutely amazing. Crystal clear. Energy was high and songs like 100 FPM and Movie Star came off great because of it. It was wonderful to be able to hear I Want Everything. Kenny had an amazing keyboard solo on Loser. Sweet Thistle Pie featured a DL/BW guitar duel and a bit of virtual sex thrown in for good measure. [;-)] At the end of Still Waiting for You Girl, David used his half empty bottle of Pale Ale as a slide on his guitar... One Fine Day is F*cking AMAZING live! Johnny was wireless on his guitar all night with n visible problems. David ended by thanking Asheville, "the Santa Cruz of Appalaccia"
Jess
The band that opened is Apelike, and they are from Knoxville. I couldnt believe Cracker's luck in getting a monkey related band to open for them. : )
Turns out it was just chance though ...
Cracker's set was just as good if not better than the Pit show on Friday. Highlight-wise, it was pretty similar though. Same arrangement for Wedding Day, Kenny was still lugging the fancy accordian, Kenny was still hidden behind stuff, ...
Some differences - they did I Want Everything. I think some cell phone calls were made to let others hear this particular one. They did the same four new songs - Strange, Florida, One Fine Day, and Magdelena - but this time David used his electric for Magdelena (at the Pit he used his black acoustic).
All in all, yet another great show - and it's amazing that they havent played together in front of a crowd in over 6 months - they didnt miss a beat.
John
Now a quick story....
The first encore number was "Movie Star", and the band lit into powerful hard, especially Johnny. It ended, and Johnny was noticeably winded. David looked over and said, off mike, "are you all right?". A touching moment I wanted to share.
Johnny was fine, and we talked to him briefly after the show. He said that the new album's release is pretty much up to Virgin. If Virgin gets it in time, they'll release it this fall as part of that whole Christmas music push we've all come to know and loathe. If not, it'd be next spring.
On an editorial note, commerce wields way too much influence over our lives these days. Something's gotta give.
Charlotte speed street show was about one hour fifteen minutes, no encore, great show
Asheville music zone a little over two hours excellent show! I had never heard "Movie Star" live before. One encore (Movie Star and One Fine Day). Brandy got REALLY pissed off last song before encore someone must have blown smoke in her face and right before they left the stage she told the guy she didn't appreciate it in no uncertain terms over the PA. They seem to be feeling really good and rested after 6 months off.
At both shows David jokes about the law suit that their record label has with Uncle Crackers' record label, saying yeah when he was thinking about a name for the band he would like to have called it..... Uncle Led Zepplin. Got much laughter.
Kevin
First up was The Pit in Kill Devil Hills. Venue was really packed and VERY hot. They played lots of new songs, Ain't That Strange, One Fine Day, Florida, and Magdelena. Really wonderful energetic set. As was mentioned before Kenny had his "other" accordian and the poor thing was hidden behind all this equipment at the back of the stage when he wasn't out front playing it. Got lots of pictures from this show which should be available for public consumption very soon.
Strings broken by David count...1
Saturday night was a show at a festival in Charlotte, part of the big race car weekend they were having down there. I'm usually pretty leary of festival shows, (too much pushing, too many obnoxious drunks) but this one turned out really well. Appeared to be a lot of folks in the crowd who actually came to see the band and had not just wandered into to see who ever was there. They lead off with Ain't That Strange. The only other new song that night was One Fine Day, which was just amazing! Lots of Johnny solos on this one that night.
Strings broken by David count...1 (Get Off This)
Finally, Asheville, the Music Zone. Apparently this is a relatively new place in Asheville. The stage is a little odd in that in is L-shaped instead of straight across, but other than that your pretty standard little club. New songs for the night...Ain't That Strange, One Fine Day, Florida. Really great rendition of Sweet Thistle Pie. I was also very psyched to hear Movie Star, which I hadn't heard live before.
Also, seemed to be a little experimenting going on. Offhand can't remember which song it was but Johnny and Kenny had a rather long interlude testing some riffs out back and forth. David also decided at one point a beer bottle might make a nice sound against the strings of his guitar.
Kenny was once again hidden behind equipment, but got lots of reaction from the audience when he came out for his accordian solos.
Strings broken by David count...Yet another one! Poor Jeff :)
That's about all my sleep deprived brain can remember right now.
So great to see everyone again and some new faces too!
Shay
We showed up at the club early and decided to go do what bands do that show up early. Have beer. And eat. And that we did.
When we got to the club Cracker had already loaded in and was doing soundcheck. And hell, it sounded great. I could have left after that and had my money's worth. Be My Love and two others. Sorry, I wasn't taking notes.
We did our show, went over pretty good and got the hell off and started drinking so we could enjoy ourselves and relax.
The band came on right on time, looking relaxed. They were in good spirits and the sound and mix were spot on. They opened with a new tune (sorry, I wasn't taking notes, just sips) and launched in to some favorite such as Eurotrash Girl- which totally sounded like a wall of sound when the chorus kicked in. Brandy seemed happier than usual and was giving it the good uh-huh vibe. Johnny and Dave were linked in like Mik and Keef might have been locked in years ago-- and the rest of the group keep the music alive and pumping, yet not overbearing.
I didn't keep a setlist, I never do. I can't. I won't. It's distracting me. But I remember very well the vibe. Cracker, as it were, proved once again they are a great american rock band. The songs have a great combo of Randy-Newman like observatory power with the absolute power of great rock music. Johnny (as he proved on Lonesome Johnny Blues) is the knobs of the band, the cajones & David is the mind. It's the perfect balance, the yin and yang, the sacco and vanzetti, the don and phil, the peas and cornbreads. Their amps and words equally blaze off each other.
The songs are put together like they were all intended to be singles. And when they do the singles (Low, Teen Angst) the crowd jumps for joy. Like Ellington and Hodges up there bringing out the jive in an audience that migth never get this kinda of thrill on a Sunday night anywhere else in North Carolina. But the band doesn't loose a beat doing more obscure cuts (Dr. Bernice, Happy Birthday to Me) and anything off Gentlemen's Blues reminds that I've waited for years for a album that has the same UMPH and repeat play of NRBQ's best.
By the end of the set the band is sweating, the audience is dancing and sweating, everybody who can (and some who can't) sing along. Encores are sweet and Brandy puts a ciggarette smoker in his place for blowing smoke up her bass. The music takes you away. You forget you are covered in Smoke and Sweat. You're having fun like the fun you had playing at the beach as a kid. Everybody forgives everybody for whatever.
The band finishes off and hangs around for chats and such. The cracker fans from around the east coast (Philly, Virginia, etc.) are some of the nicest folks ever. Fans but not obsessive types. Intelligent types who can still have a decent conversation at two in the morning. We laugh and joke some more with everybody. Johnny actually can name some songs we played and we talk about those. We finally pile into our van, them into our bus, the fans into their cars for long drives up 81. But everybody has the exact same smile on their face, irregardless of who's driving and where they are going, happy to have gone where they just have been.