Reviews by...
John Finch
Jess
Driving down Kill Devil Hills' main drag on the way to the show...no lights on anywhere...uh, oh...next, three explosions that looked like fireworks (there were fireworks going off over the beach), but somehow different...burning transformer on power pole...got to the venue...in darkness...David gets off bus and cheerfully decides to wait and see what happens...less than an hour later, power back on, we're back in business....
...On the billboard outside, announces Cracker and Nat__ Recording Artist...Apparently there was some consternation on the band's bus...What was "Nat" short for?...did this have anything to do with the Nazi memorabilia on display in the Port O'Call? :-)
...good turnout from this list: John B, Jessica, Chris, Nancy, Karen, Anne (sporting firecracker red/pink hair - very cool - and Port O'Call "trinklet" ), Sara on merchandise, Mark and Australian guest, Matt and Bill from NYC, Tony, myself and daughter Megan (who worked the early shift at Busch Gardens so she could attend the show), am probably forgetting some, but there were probably some of you I did not recognize; what did you look like?...Hope you met the other C2Kers...
...biggest surprise of the night: how much Brandy is adding to, and in a subtle way, changing the group...Have not seen her since Atlantic City, and I was just blown away at her musicianship and professionalism...playing so hard that she was seen holding a cold water bottle on her right plucking hand at one point...she is really well integrated into the band now, and I hope she remains so for a long time...great choice, David and Johnny...her vocals make a terrific difference, I would love to hear her try some of the hidden tracks that LP etc. sing...what more can I say? In the words of daughter Megan: "Brandy ROCKS!"...
...Brandy's mom was looking fondly on throughout the show...
...Johnny is redefining the word "showboating" in the dictionary...actually climbing up onto his monitor sometimes and lunging into the eye-level crowd...then taking his wireless guitar up a spiral staircase at stage left and walking up to the balcony...security guy (who had been having a fun night telling people what to do) didn't know what to do when one of the band broke his rules....Johnny playing lucky 7 Les Paul, the whole night, I think...
...Unbelievable Johnny/Brandy duet on "Wedding Day", DL on bass...
...David wearing board shorts and flip flops...Jimmy Buffet chic seemed to work at the beach location...David was juggling in-ear monitors, and finally gave up on them. Are they new?...
...Frank is growing...hair!!!...keeping it hidden under the trademark hat, though...Frank is the human click track, which is meant as nothing but a compliment...
...Sold out crowd mostly well behaved and friendly, obviously a high proportion of true fans, not just tourists going to see "that band who does Low"...
...Phillipe's record for longest fan pilgrimage smashed by Mark's friend (and list member) Joey (sp?) who came all the way from Brisbane, Australia for the gig (or that's what she said anyway :-)...
...Kenny strolls out front with his accordion, even if he had no space to do it. Shared solos with Johnny, but hard to hear from where I was...it's a tough instrument to mike up I guess...for you gearheads, Kenny is using the VOCE B-3 simulator, controlled by his Roland keyboards to get that killer Hammond sound...he uses another VOCE simulator for Whurly electric piano sounds...Kenny is pretty psyched about the possibility of working with legendary producer Tony Visconti (T.Rex, Bowie etc. etc.) as part of Rogues March...he described meeting Marc Bolan's son Roland Bolan at a recent gig...oh yeah, and for all the VW "pink moon" commercial, johnny-come-lately Nick Drake fans, Kenny still has his original vinyl copies of Nick's albums...
...the band were clearly very hot and tired after a long show (except for Kenny, who looked like he had just come from a pleasant stroll along the beach), but took time to come out and chat with fans, sign stuff and pose for pictures afterwards...we should NEVER take this for granted...
...Tony's new CD artwork looks great...the tapes (OK, MD's) sounded good...
...some good natured grumbling about a below-par tour bus, their usual chariot was not available...DVD's on board though...
...I'll let someone else do the setlist...my high point was "Sweet Potato" with David rapping something...anyone know what?...oh yeah, just so that this list contains the mandatory constructive criticism element, "Be My Love" is a good song, but not the best song to start with IMHO...
...then we went home...roll on Virginia Beach!!
JF
setlist in order plus comments:
1.Be My Love (Kenny as "Liberache (sp?))
2.Been Around the World
3.Eurotrash Girl (Kenny does an accordion solo and Johnny sneaks back to play a bit on his keys)
4.Lonesome Johnny Blues (Kenny's from Wilmington @the end Kenny pulls on Johnny's trem. bar
5.Dr. Bernice
6.This Is Cracker Soul
7.Teen Angst (DL: "crazy shit always happens when they play at the beach")
8.Wedding Day (DL on bass, JH and BW on acoustics, Kenny on accordion)
9.The Good Life
10.How Can I Live Without You
11.Sweet Thistle Pie
12.7 Days
13.Trials and Tribulations (they choose to play this one David says "because I'm fucking hot"
14.Mr. Wrong
15.Sweet Potato (with "fuck the slice I want the pie" outro)
16.Pictures of Matchstick Men
17.Movie Star
18.Low
*encore*
19.I See the Light
20.Get Off This (with "fuck the slice I want the pie" outro and some neat getting quiet and then getting loud
again nah nahs)
21.100 Flower Power Maximum (Johnny strolls up the spiral staircase on the stage playing his solo and comes
back to do a quasi "virtual sex" duel with Brandy)
that's about it... personal notes on the show... before hand, we strolled out on the beach and I got soaked by a
wave to the point that I got sand in my undies... not quite comfortable the rest of the night, to say the
least... um... before the show some pranksters had re-arranged the marquis to say "Cracker Nazi Artists" instead
of "Cracker Nat Artists" which had everyone slightly amused considering the Nazi memorabilia on display at the
place... in sound check Johnny and Kenny were playing around and had an interesting accordion version of Teen
Angst going... The bar at POC gives out free coffee if you ask. The opening act Boxwood sounded very Dave
Matthews-y... I was really hot... and packed... um and there was this girl there... kinda a chunk who was really
eyeing johnny... she was up on a stool dancing for him and groping herself during some songs... lots of fans hung
out after the show to get autographs and talk with the guys...
jess