NEW YORK TIMES (NYC daily) – Show preview.
Camper Van Beethoven (Saturday) Professional pop-folk-ska split personalities since 1983, this Northern California quintet marks 13 remarkably placid years reunited. Wait for its famous remake of Status Quo’s “Pictures of Matchstick Men,” a no-holds-barred take on one of the best, most succinct riffs in 1960s rock. With Cracker. At 7 p.m., Highline Ballroom, 431 West 16th Street, Chelsea, (212) 414-5994, highlineballroom.com; $22 in advance, $25 at the door. (Anderson)
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/13/arts/music/pop-and-rock-listings-for-jan-13-19.html?_r=1
VILLAGE VOICE (NYC weekly) – NYC “Recommened Events” show preview
David Lowery has been pulling double-duty with his two bands, quirky indie-rock heroes Camper Van Beethoven (“Take the Skinheads Bowling”) and alternative-era MTV darlings Cracker (“Low”), at concerts and in the studio since 1999. Somehow he’s kept it all straight, even putting out a solo album last year, despite the differences between the groups but thanks to a few common threads: his sardonic wit, the groups’ unpredictable solos, and catchy choruses. Tonight he’ll be in be sputtering out his tongue-in-cheek lyrics about Euro-trash girls and other forms of ear candy with both groups.
http://www.voiceplaces.com/cracker-camper-van-beethoven-new-york-3281492-e/
NY DAILY NEWS – Show preview with Cracker file photo.
Cracker & Camper Van Beethoven
Saturday, Jan 14 (2012) 7:00p
at Highline Ballroom, New York, NY
CRACKER
In the mid-’80s in Santa Cruz, California, singer-songwriter David Lowry formed Camper Van Beethoven, and the band’s track “Take the Skinheads Bowling” became an instant college radio staple. When CVB disbanded on tour in Sweden following its second major label release, Lowery formed Cracker with his longtime friend, guitarist Johnny Hickman. Cracker’s emergent sound had less in common with Camper’s exotic excursions and was more in sync with the Kinks and Southern roots music.
Cracker released its self-titled debut on Virgin, and following the No. 1 modern rock hit “Teen Angst (What The World Needs Now),” the band became a minor commercial sensation. The platinum-selling Kerosene Hat (1993) contained the enormous, era-defining hit single “Low,” as well as “Get Off This” and “Eurotrash Girl.” When the dust settled, Cracker found itself with an ever-growing, devoted following both in the Us (where fans refer to themselves as Crumbs) and throughout Europe. Today, the band stays well-connected to yet another generation of fans via internet, many of whom were kids when these alt-rock godfathers were first ruling rock radio. The group’s latest release, Sunrise in the Land of Milk and Honey (2009), weaves decades of influences into an eerie yet strangely soothing story of escapism, apocalypse, and renewal that is still relevant as ever today.
CAMPER Van BEETHOVEN
At the time of its 1985 debut, Camper Van Beethoven’s merging of punk, folk, ska, and world music was truly a revelation. Self-described as a “surrealist absurdist folk” outfit, the band formed in Santa Cruz, Ca, and the 1985 re-release of its debut, Telephone Free Landslide Victory, made the Top 10 in the 1986 Village Voice Pazz and Jop poll. The group’s next albums, II & III (1986) and Camper Van Beethoven (1986), followed suit. After two major releases on the Virgin label – Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart (1988) and Key Lime Pie (1989), CVP had taken the music as far as it could go and disbanded.
In 2002, CVP reunited for a nationwide tour on what seemed like a whim. The tour must have gone really well, because unexpectedly, the full band trooped into the studio to record a new album, titled New Roman Times – a release that, surprisingly enough, stands with the group’s finest work. A loosely connected semi-rock opera telling the story of a Texas teenager who joins the military after a 9/11-like event, becomes disillusioned, and joins an anti-government militia, the disc is the most explicitly political record of Camper Van Beethoven’s career, resurrecting and amplifying the themes that colored the band’s previous two albums. The album is proof that CVP pulled off an exceptional trick. It not only reunited – it picked up exactly where it left off.
http://events.nydailynews.com/new-york-ny/events/show/216858885-cracker-camper-van-beethoven
THE L MAGAZINE (NYC free daily)– Brief show preview with Cracker photo.
Cracker, Camper Van Beethoven
Sat., Jan. 14, 6 p.m.; $22, $25 at the door
212-414-5994
Music: Rock, Pop and Hip-Hop
But before getting completely swept up in a year’s worth of here-today-gone-tomorrow buzz bands, let us remember that the songs “Euro-Trash Girl” and “Take the Skinheads Bowling” are about as good as they come.
Highline Ballroom
436 W 16th St., between Ninth and Tenth Aves (map)
Chelsea
212-414-5994
http://www.thelmagazine.com/newyork/cracker-camper-van-beethoven/Event?oid=2202394
TIME OUT NEW YORK (NYC weekly)– Brief “Must See” positive preview
The weekend’s must-see concerts
SATURDAY
Cracker + Camper Van Beethoven at Highline Ballroom
Tonight David Lowery bounces freely between his ’80s outfit, Camper Van Beethoven, and his more straightforward ’90s band, Cracker.
http://newyork.timeout.com/things-to-do/own-this-city-blog/2479775/the-weekends-must-see-concerts
BROOKLYN ROCKS (NYC music blog) – NYC show preview with CVB photo.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Camper Van Beethoven Will be Debuting New Material @ Highline Ballroom on Sat., Jan. 14th
DOWNLOAD: Camper Van Beethoven – Live at The Independent, San Francisco, CA 12-28-11
Cracker & Camper Van Beethoven’s annual year-end California trek is underway and the last night of this run of shows is Dec. 29th in Petaluma. After which, Cracker heads further north to Portland on December 30th for a special one-off with bluegrass jam band Leftover Salmon, where the two bands will perform their highly-lauded 2003 album O Cracker, Where Art Thou? together in its entirety.
The following night, Cracker & CVB will be in Chicago for a celebratory New Year’s Eve bash at Chicago’s House Of Blues. Camper Van Beethoven will open, followed by Cracker ringing in the new year, and then Big Head Todd & The Monsters playing into the wee hours.
Then Camper Van Beethoven will start off the year with their own headlining shows in Milwaukee, Madison and Iowa City, before hooking up with Cracker again for shows in St. Louis and Minneapolis. The two bands will then head east for their annual winter run through the Northeast. As David Lowery (frontman for both bands) told the Boston Herald earlier this year,”We always do it in January when it’s really cold and not many bands go up to the Northeast. It started from the fact that it was the only time that was slow for the Camper Van Beethoven guys who have real careers. Then we accidentally figured out nobody else is touring, so it’s seen as this mid-winter cabin-fever kind of party.”
Both Cracker and CVB will be running through their career-spanning canons of hits and fan favorites, while, perhaps even more exciting, Camper Van Beethoven will be performing a handful of new songs slated for their new studio album – their first in over seven years!
http://brooklynrocks.blogspot.com/2011/12/camper-van-beethoven-will-be-debuting.html
NEWSDAY (Long Island, NY weekly) – Simple show listing in their best of the week column “BACKSTAGE PASS: THE LIST”.
CRACKER/CAMPER VAN BEETHOVEN, “Teen Angst.” At HighLine Ballroom Saturday.
http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/music/backstage-pass-1.811987/intro-1-9-12-videos-from-lights-resolve-patent-pending-lemonheads-and-more-1.3438180
DNA INFO (NYC online A&E site)– “Gigs of the Week” show preview
Gigs of the Week
Saturday January 14
Also tonight: Scratch that late-’80s-early-’90s itch with Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven at The Highline Ballroom. Remember Cracker’s 1992 hit “Teen Angst (What The World Needs Now)”? The common thread between these two bands is singer/guitarist David Lowery. He formed the more straight-ahead rockers Cracker after spending the ’80s leading the self-styled “surrealist absurdist folk” band Camper Van Beethoven.
http://www.dnainfo.com/20120111/manhattan/kaki-king-santigold-girls-play-manhattan
THIS WEEK IN NEW YORK (NYC A&E site) – NYC show preview with Cracker photo.
CRACKER / CAMPER VAN BEETHOVEN
431 West 16th St. between Ninth & Tenth Aves.
Saturday, January 14, $22-$25, 7:00
212-414-5994
In what has become a very welcome annual event, David Lowery will be doing double duty on January 14 as he brings both Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven to the Highline Ballroom. The evening generally begins with a rousing look back at the history of seminal indie rockers CVB, dominated by Lowery’s politically tinged lyrics and Jonathan Segel’s virtuosic violin playing. Expect such favorites as “Take the Skinheads Bowling,” “Eye of Fatima,” and “Joe Stalin’s Cadillac,” along with some cool covers, including the Status Quo’s “Pictures of Matchstick Men,” which was an MTV hit for CVB more than twenty years ago. Then Lowery switches gears for the more amiable, freewheeling Cracker, the Virginia-based band that has scored such hits as “Teen Angst,” “Low,” “Get Off This,” “Turn on Tune in Drop Out with Me,” and one of the great live songs of all time, “Euro-Trash Girl.” Lowery will tell some funny stories, guitarist and cofounder Johnny Hickman will look resplendent, and then the two groups will jam out on an interstellar finale. Nothing but good times, guaranteed.
http://twi-ny.com/blog/2012/01/14/cracker-camper-van-beethoven-2/
LONG ISLAND PRESS (Long Island, NY weekly) – Dave Gil de Rubo confirmed a show preview.
PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER (Philadelphia daily) – Brief show preview.
Cracker
Led by Camper Van Beethoven frontman David Lowery, Cracker’s post-punk, country-tinged songs earned some hits in the early ’90s with ‘Low’ ‘What the World Needs Now’ and ‘Get Off This.’
Also appearing: Camper Van Beethoven
Where:
World Cafe Live
3025 Walnut St.
Philadelphia, PA 19104
http://www.philly.com/philly/calendar/135534358.html
PHILADELPHIA WEEKLY – Stock show preview with Cracker photo.
Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven
A brief rundown of Cracker’s history: Lowery, in the mid-80s, in Santa Cruz, California, formed Camper Van Beethoven, and their “Take the Skinheads Bowling” became an instant college radio staple. When CVB disbanded on tour in Sweden, following their second major label release, Lowery formed Cracker with his longtime friend Johnny Hickman. (The pair had met on the local music scene as teenagers in Redlands, CA.) Cracker’s emergent sound had less in common with Camper’s exotic excursions and was more in synch with the Kinks and Southern roots music. They released their self-titled debut on Virgin, and following the #1 Modern Rock hit “Teen Angst (What The World Needs Now),” the band became a minor commercial sensation (complete with then significant MTV exposure). The platinum-selling Kerosene Hat contained the enormous, era-defining hit single “Low,” as well as “Get Off This,” and “Eurotrash Girl.” When the dust settled, Cracker found themselves with an ever-growing, devoted following both in the U.S. (where fans refer to themselves as Crumbs) and throughout Europe. Today the band stays well connected to yet another generation of fans via internet, many of whom were kids when these alt-rock godfathers were first ruling rock radio.http://tickets.worldcafelive.com/eventperformances.asp?evt=3297
Friday, January 13, 2012
World Cafe Live
3025 Walnut St.
Philadelphia PA 19104
215-222-1400
http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/events/135963311.html
THE ONION / AV CLUB (Philly weekly) – Stock AV Club show preview with Cracker photo.
Cracker
Also Playing: Camper Van Beethoven
Cracker’s David Lowery is getting to the age where it’s customary for modestly famous rockers to drag themselves out on tour looking bitter and bloated. Instead, Lowery and guitarist Johnny Hickman have done basically the opposite lately, touring as a stripped-down (but non-seated) rock duo and preserving the smart-assed songwriting voice Lowery established with Camper Van Beethoven. It helps that the band’s most recent work, including 2009’s Sunshine In The Land Of Milk And Honey, beefs up the setlist with songs that work well alongside the early-’90s stuff, and that they don’t seem to mind playing hits like the not-entirely-characteristic “Low.” After taking most of the ’90s off, CVB reunited in 1999 and has toured periodically with Cracker, giving Lowery fans the chance to hear all their favorites in once convenient place.
World Cafe Live
3025 Walnut St.
Philadelphia PA 19104
215-222-1400
Fri Jan 13
http://www.avclub.com/philadelphia/events/cracker-and-camper-van-beethoven,281399/
BOSTON EXAMINER (Boston online A&E site) – Feature w/ David interview and photo to preview show
Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker at the Middle East, Sunday 1/15/12
Dan Davis
Boston Indie Rock Music Examiner
David Lowery’s two bands, Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker, make their annual mid-January visit to the Middle East this Sunday night.
The bands (who share not just Lowery but also drummer Frank Funaro, and have in the past shared bassist Victor Krumenacher) have braved the New England winters and played the Middle East on MLK Day weekend for the past several years. A year ago, they performed an album show, with Camper performing their underrated gem “Key Lime Pie” in its entirety, and Cracker following with their biggest hit album, “Kerosene Hat.”
David Lowery’s two bands, Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker, make their annual mid-January visit to the Middle East this Sunday night.
The bands (who share not just Lowery but also drummer Frank Funaro, and have in the past shared bassist Victor Krumenacher) have braved the New England winters and played the Middle East on MLK Day weekend for the past several years. A year ago, they performed an album show, with Camper performing their underrated gem “Key Lime Pie” in its entirety, and Cracker following with their biggest hit album, “Kerosene Hat.”
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This time the both bands will be playing songs from their respective catalogs, and Camper might even have some new material in their set list. Lowery said that the band have written enough songs for an album, their first since their 2004 reunion rock opera “New Roman Times.” Camper has been performing on weekends and recording the new material during the week when able, and Lowery expects the new album to be released later this year.
“Camper has always had an element of prog rock, and with this album, we’re not hiding it,” he said. While known more for their faux-ethnic instrumentals, post-punk attitude and clever songwriting, Camper Van has also been known to cover Pink Floyd’s “Interstellar Overdrive” in concert, so the prog direction isn’t unprecedented.
Lowery released a solo album last year, “The Palace Guards,” and Cracker’s “Sunrise in the Land of Milk and Honey” came out in 2009. After this year’s new Camper release, Lowery said another Cracker album should be next in line.
Lowery noted that the bands try to play some different songs each time they come back to town, going back over past setlists and making changes to keep the show fresh and surprising. Both bands have deep catalogs of album tracks and indie rock staples to choose from, so it should be interesting to see what they come up with on Sunday.
Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven at the Middle East, Sunday 1/15. 18+ $20 Advance / $22 Day Of Show. Doors at 8pm, Camper Van Beethoven should hit sometime around 9:00, Cracker following at around 11:00.
http://www.examiner.com/indie-rock-music-in-boston/camper-van-beethoven-and-cracker-at-the-middle-east-sunday-1-15-12
BOSTON PHOENIX (Boston weekly) – “Editor’s Pick” show preview Cracker
Cracker + Camper van Beethoven
Jan 15
Middle East Downstairs
David Lowery is going to be pretty busy tonight. He’ll be doing double-duty, playing with both his bands — Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker — at the Middle East. But we suppose he’s used to it by now. Neither the genre-straddling ’80s underground rock vets nor the ’90s alt rockers have released a new album within the last three years, but that only means you’ll be treated to old chestnuts like Camper Van Beethoven’s signature wry hits “Take the Skinheads Bowling” and “Club Med Sucks.” Let’s just hope Lowery has maintained his rock-and-roll stamina after all these years.
http://events.thephoenix.com/Boston/Events/147234-Cracker-Camper-van-Beethoven/
BOSTON MUSIC SPOTLIGHT (Boston A&E site) – Show preview with Cracker photo.
Cracker & Camper Van Beethoven plot co-headlining tour
Boston Music Spotlight, Staff
Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven have revealed plans for their annual co-headlining tour. David Lowery will lead both bands back to Massachusetts for a show at the Middle East Downstairs in Cambridge on Sunday, January 15. Tickets for the show are now on sale through TicketWeb for $20.
Fans can expect both bands to perform career-spanning sets of hits and fan favorites. Camper Van Beethoven will also preview a handful of new songs slated for their new studio album. The new release will be their first in over seven years. Cracker s last studio release was 2009 2s Sunrise in the Land of Milk and Honey. Lowery, who fronts both Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven, released his first solo album The Palace Guards in February.
http://www.bostonmusicspotlight.com/news-cracker-camper-van-beethoven-plot-co-headlining-tour-massachusetts-concert-january-2012/
THE PATRIOT LEDGER (South Boston daily) – Brief show mention in ‘Upcoming Best” shows
Sunday night has the always interesting two-fer of David Lowery’s most iconoclastic bands, Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven, at the Middle East in Cambridge.
http://www.patriotledger.com/entertainment/x117256880/IN-THE-CLUBS-Parties-shows-and-nightlife
