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| David Lowery |
When the quirky alternative country rock band Camper Van Beethoven disbanded in 1990,
vocalist/guitarist David Lowery
began developing songs with his childhood friend, guitarist Johnny Hickman, in Richmond, Virginia. They
recruited area musicians to form a more guitar-driven roots rock and country
rock band with oddball lyrics, and chose the name Cracker by 1991. In 1992 Cracker issued a self-titled album, which
featured the radio novelties "Teen Angst (What the World Needs Now)"
and "Happy Birthday to Me." A year later, Cracker's platinum-selling
1993 album, Kerosene Hat, included
the hit songs "Low", "Euro-Trash Girl" and "Get Off
This," as well as a cover of the Grateful
Dead's "Loser." The band has released 10 studio albums. The
band's newest studio album, the double Berkeley
to Bakersfield, was released December 9, 2014; Berkeley is the rock disc, and Bakersfield
is the country disc. Camper Van Beethoven reformed in 1999 and opens for
Cracker on tour; Lowery performs in both bands.
At B.B. King's Blues
Club & Grill tonight, Camper Van Beethoven included four of its six
members from the 1980s — Lowery, lead guitarist Greg Lisher, violinist Jonathan
Segel and bassist Victor
Krummenacher — and performed old
songs and new. After a brief intermission, Lowery returned on stage with
Hickman, CVB's rhythm section and several additional musicians. Cracker
revolved around Lowery's singing and Hickman's playing, although Hickman also
sang a couple of songs. Unlike contemporary singer-songwriters, Lowery spent
little time on vulnerable lyrics and crooned instead to largely light-hearted
lyrics, including "Low", "Teen Angst", "Mr. Wrong"
and the political satire of "March of the Billionaires." Cracker
opened with about a half hour of country songs, showing its Bakerfield side,
and then rocked the Berkeley side for another 45 minutes. The approach to the
two genres was radically distinct. Both the country and the rock songs
independently were standard fare party tunes, but the few songs that blended
the two genres inclined towards innovation. Diehard fans were treated to a
surprising encore, when the accomplished accordionist Kenny Margolis joined Lowery and Hickman to form a trio for
"Dr. Bernice" and "Been All Around the World." Overall,
enjoying the Cracker concert required a sense of humor and an openness to
diverse music.
Visit Cracker at www.crackersoul.com.
