Reviews by...
Shelbyy
Brendan
Matthew
Erik
It helped that my friend was in a wheelchair, we were seated right up front in the VIP section - great view of the stage, with Jonathan, Victor, David Immergluck and Dan Vickrey passing in front of us many times. David I and Dan V even played on stage too.
I didn't keep track of the setlist but highlights were Eye of Fatima I&II, Dixie Babylon, Mr Wrong, and is it Don't F Me Up? (I can't remember the name but it rocked so hard) and Trials and Tribulations - wow.. that was truly awesome. I could've heard that 2 or 3 times in a row... Johnny is so wonderful... I danced so hard I think I hurt my foot again :)
My friend and I looked at each other at one point and said "We will probably never experience anything like this again" and truly meant it. David broke many strings during the show and said how much they enjoyed performing in LA, but refuse to listen to the requests... if we wanted to hear "the beef" they would play what they wanted (or something like that)
I chatted with Bugs a couple of times, he was sweet to remember me at the end of the show.
We waited after the show for the band to come out but the HOB manager said they were planning on leaving right away. Then she took our stuff back stage and had it signed! She came back saying "everyone wanted to sign this one the most" (Golden Age sticker)
I had this Monks of Doom "Forgery" press photo that I got David Immergluck to sign earlier, but I sent it back with the manager and Victor signed it too, at least I THINK that's who it is :) ... and someone drew halo's and devil horn's on everyone in the picture - God I just love that!
It was so terrific! Such a treat to see everyone up there performing, I hope I don't have to wait too long for another show!
I really loved CVB when I was younger and got into Cracker because Lowery was in it, but I've gotten sick of Johnny and Dave. David has the stage presence of a beercan and Johnny Hickman spends his time mugging for the audience during competent but predictable guitar solos...he always seems very self-satisfied. I'm glad to see another music fan refer to Lowery as an asshole.
One of Dave's only comments for the L.A. audience, "We really love playing L.A., but you guys always request the worst songs." Personally, I thought "Don't Fuck Me Up..." was a pretty good request, but what the Hell do I know? Also, I thought it sort of laughable (and, I hope, tongue-in-cheek) that Dan Vickery's entrance as second guitar for the show-ending "Low" was called an "all-star cast." Dan Vickery of Counting Crows? Spare me.
This is the third time I've seen Cracker and I've had my fill. The first time I saw them perform was at the Coach House in support of Kerosene Hat. Counting Crows (who had just released their debut) opened and were excellent. Lowery smiled a lot and gave two long encores and seemed like he had a lot of fun---but based on the last two shows at the House of Blues, I'm done with them.
In other news, I bought Krummenacher's "Saint John's Mercy" and sort of liked it. Then, when I saw their opening, I was thoroughly impressed. Jonathan Segal has GENUINE stage presence and the band seemed like they had fun...I even preferred Lisher's dour attitude on-stage to Lowery's. And Krummenacher's voice was BETTER in concert than on the recording--something I have NEVER encountered.
Make Mine Krummenacher...
Here's the setlist:
1.Been around the world
2.7 days
3.eurotrash girl
4.lonesome johnny blues
5.dr bernice
6.tania (this was aborted due to a number of technical difficulties)
7.Payed Vacation: Greece (I think)
8.Eye of Fatima I and II
9.Big Dipper
10.Golden age
11.mr wrong
12.cracker soul
13.teen angst
14.100 flower power maximum
15.pictures of matchstick men
16.tania
17.movie star
18.take me down to the infirmary
19.nostalgia
20.low
21.trials & tribulations
22.sweethearts
23.turquoise jewelry
24.i want out of the circus
25.shiner song
---
26.dixie babylon
27.take the skinheads bowling
28.mao reminisces about his days in southern china (I'm sure about this one, I
asked Victor)
I have to run, it's almost noon and check-out time at this lovely motel is 11:00.
Yours,
mjr
My personal highlights from the show was the always rockin' 100 Flower Power Maximum, and the first encore song played, Dixie babylon, sounded really good. I went to the show with a friend of mine who lives down the hall from me at UC Santa Cruz, and he wasn't really a huge Cracker fan, but he likes Low, of course, but he really enjoyed the show, he called it one of the best he had ever seen! I had to agree. And Johnny really played to the crowd, it was great!
I just had a quick question about the opening numbers that Greg and Vic and Jon played, who wrote those songs and do they appear on any albums? Were any of those Monks of Doom songs? I really liked the last four they played. Well, I better get going, I just loved the show last night, and I hope they play just as well on Friday! I hope everyone in the SF area goes, I wouldn't miss it for anything!
Erik