Cracker
Gentleman's Blues
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It was a raucous St. Patrick's Day crowd that turned out for the opening date on Cracker's latest tour in support of their forthcoming greatest hits package Garage d'Or. Head cracker David Lowery and the band got off to a good start with the shout rocker "100 Flower Power Maximum" from 1996's The Golden Age and the punky roar of "I Ride My Bike" with its primal drumming, extended spoken word break and false endings. They slowed things down with an accordion-driven "Dr. Bernice" from the self-titled debut record. Crowd favorite "Eurotrash Girl" followed which showcased the sinewy guitar leads of Johnny Hickman. He then took over lead vocals for the cajun-flavored "Lonesome Johnny Blues" from 1993's Kerosene Hat. A couple of rather lame and fairly tame mosh pits sprung up around the club during a nicely-harmonized "Seven Days" from 1998's underrated Gentleman's Blues.

But the band seemed to hit their stride late in the main set as they reeled off three from the 1992 self-titled debut. "Mr. Wrong" featured honky-tonk piano. "This is Cracker Soul" became a riff-a-rama anthem for the band. And "Teen Angst (What the World Needs Now)" again proved itself as one of the band's best straight ahead rockers. "The Good Life" from Gentleman's Blues is one of the best songs Lowery has written in recent years and it was also a highlight of the evening. And "I See the Light" showcased more excellent harmony vocals. A pummeling, overlong version of the Nirvana-like "Another Song About the Rain" threatened to stop the band's momentum, but they quickly righted the ship with a set closing version of their hit "Low."

A somewhat lackluster encore was highlighted by an acoustic "Trials and Tribulations" from Gentleman's Blues with Hickman on vocals and Lowery on tambourine. Perhaps owing to the newness of the tour, there were a few too many long pauses as the band decided which songs to play. Fortunately the versions of the songs they did play were ultimately worth the wait. And while Lowery disappointed some by not dipping into the catalogue of his former band Camper Van Beethoven as he had in recent west coast dates with other Camper members, he did show that the Cracker catalogue has more than a few gems of its own.

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