{"id":4898,"date":"2026-07-19T18:06:01","date_gmt":"2026-07-19T18:06:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=4898"},"modified":"2026-07-19T18:06:01","modified_gmt":"2026-07-19T18:06:01","slug":"review-rock-icon-showcases-lost-90s-classic-during-only-west-coast-dates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=4898","title":{"rendered":"Review: Rock icon showcases lost ’90s classic during only West Coast dates"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

Cracker took a different approach than usual during its long-awaited return to the Bay Area.<\/p>\n

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Instead of just peddling the hits\/fan favorites \u2014 as well as whatever else band leader (and former Bay Area resident) David Lowery was in the mood to play \u2014 these \u201990s alt-rock champs were celebrating the 30th anniversary of their third album, \u201cThe Golden Age,\u201d by performing that 1996 effort in its entirety.<\/p>\n

That was an unconventional choice, in a way, because \u201cThe Golden Age\u201d was far from being a hit album \u2014 either on the charts or with critics. The Los Angeles Times wrote of \u201cThe Golden Age\u201d in a 2 1\/2 star review (that reads more like a 1 1\/2 star review): \u201cAlthough irritatingly self-indulgent and arrogant at times, Lowery occasionally borders on brilliance. It\u2019s possible that someone in the future will delve deeply into The Golden Age and find the portent of Sly Stone\u2019s There\u2019s a Riot Going On.\u201d<\/p>\n

Well, the reviewer (Sara Scribner) got at least part of that right, because \u2014 30 years later \u2014 \u201cThe Golden Age\u201d came across as a lost \u201990s classic while it was being played live before a sold-out crowd at the lovely HopMonk Tavern in Novato on Saturday. (It was the first of two nights at the venue with Cracker, who where also scheduled to celebrate \u201cThe Golden Age\u201d during another KC Turner Presents show on Sunday. For tickets and other information, visit kcturnerpresents.com.)<\/p>\n

These two shows at HopMonk Novato \u2014 which was quickly back in action following a car crash into the side of the building on Monday \u2014 marked Cracker\u2019s only West Coast tour dates of the year and they drew people from all around Northern California and well beyond (with some fans even flying in from other states to see the shows).<\/p>\n

Singer-songwriter-guitarist Lowery \u2014 who first came to fame as a founding member of the outstanding Santa Cruz-rooted indie-rock act Camper Van Beethoven \u2014 and company opened the performance, just like \u201cThe Golden Age\u201d itself, with the era-appropriate, alienating anti-anthem \u201cI Hate My Generation\u201d and then proceeded to run through the rest of the album du jour\u2019s 12 tracks in order.<\/p>\n

At Lowery\u2019s side, of course, was Johnny Hickman, a brilliant guitar player, co-founder of the band and the other half of Cracker\u2019s creative core. The rest of the group\u2019s terrific lineup for these shows included bassist Bryan Howard and drummer Carlton Walker Owens (both of whom have been with Cracker since 2014) as well as violinist Anne Harris and local talent Megan Slankard doing fabulous backing vocals and making all the cool noises on the keys\/computers. (Lowery referred to Slankard as \u201cThe IT department.\u201d)<\/p>\n

The lasting significance and greatness of \u201cThe Golden Age\u201d really became evident as the band continued on through \u201cI\u2019m a Little Rocket Ship,\u201d \u201cBig Dipper\u201d (a song inspired by Lowery\u2019s time in Santa Cruz and seemingly referencing the city\u2019s famed Giant Dipper coaster), \u201cNothing to Believe In\u201d and the album\u2019s title track. For this was the album, that Cracker turned its back on the alt-rock radio format \u2014 to the detriment of the album sales that would, at least initially, follow \u2014 and stopped trying to be anything other than itself.<\/p>\n

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\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThe Golden Age,\u201d an ironic title to give an album that really marked the end of Cracker\u2019s commercial era, was the point where Cracker really found the groove \u2014 based on Lowery\u2019s introspective\/observational lyrics, punk-meets-Americana sounds, and smart-meets-smart-alecky vibe \u2014 that would color the next 30 years of its career. Sure, you can find all of those elements on the band\u2019s first two sensational albums, 1992\u2019s \u201cCracker\u201d and 1993\u2019s \u201cKerosene Hat,\u201d but \u201cThe Golden Age\u201d is really where Lowery and Hickman drew the line in the sand as to what they wanted to be \u2014 and what they were willing to be.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Golden Age\u201d spotlight came to a close with two of the album\u2019s best \u2014 the all-time-great Cracker offering \u201cHow Can I Live Without You\u201d and \u201cBicycle Spaniard\u201d \u2014 but the show was far from being over.<\/p>\n

Lowery and company knew the capacity crowd wanted to hear the hits and they\u2019d definitely deliver them \u2014 plus some other offerings \u2014 during a bonus seven-song segment that included such powerhouse numbers as \u201cSt. Cajetan\u201d (featuring some of the best work of the night from Hickman and violinist Harris), \u201cTeen Angst (What the World Needs Now),\u201d \u201cLoser\u201d (Cracker\u2019s popular cover of the Jerry Garcia\/Grateful Dead classic) and, of course, the radio smash \u201cLow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Guitarist Greg Lisher, Lowery\u2019s pal from Camper Van Beethoven, would join the Cracker squad for a number of the bonus tracks, adding his own fretboard fireworks to those coming from Hickman on \u201cLoser\u201d and the show-closing \u201cOne Fine Day.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

We\u2019d also get to see the amazingly talented Lisher perform during a really nice opening set, handling the axe as part of an outfit dubbed \u201cDavid Lowery & Friends\u201d \u2014 basically Lisher and everyone from Cracker not named Johnny Hickman \u2014 in a performance of Camper Van Beethoven material.<\/p>\n

Cracker setlist:<\/strong>
\n1. \u201cI Hate My Generation\u201d
\n2. \u201cI\u2019m a Little Rocket Ship\u201d
\n3. \u201cBig Dipper\u201d
\n4. \u201cNothing to Believe In\u201d
\n5. \u201cThe Golden Age\u201d
\n6. \u201c100 Flower Power Maximum\u201d
\n7. \u201cDixie Babylon\u201d
\n8. \u201cI Can\u2019t Forget You\u201d
\n9. \u201cSweet Thistle Pie\u201d
\n10. \u201cUseless Stuff\u201d
\n11. \u201cHow Can I Live Without You\u201d
\n12. \u201cBicycle Spaniard\u201d
\n13. \u201cGuarded by Monkeys\u201d
\n14. \u201cSt. Cajetan\u201d
\n15. \u201cTeen Angst (What the World Needs Now)\u201d
\n16. \u201cLoser\u201d
\n17. \u201cLow\u201d
\n18. \u201cEuro-Trash Girl\u201d
\n19. \u201cOne Fine Day\u201d<\/p>\n

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David Lowery revisits Cracker, Camper Van Beethoven material during concert tour stop at HopMonk Tavern in Novato.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4897,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-things-to-do"],"yoast_head":"\nReview: Rock icon showcases lost ’90s classic during only West Coast dates - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=4898\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Review: Rock icon showcases lost ’90s classic during only West Coast dates - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"David Lowery revisits Cracker, Camper Van Beethoven material during concert tour stop at HopMonk Tavern in Novato.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=4898\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-19T18:06:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=4898#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=4898\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"headline\":\"Review: Rock icon showcases lost ’90s classic during only West Coast dates\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-19T18:06:01+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=4898\"},\"wordCount\":954,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=4898#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/fcb1b8e32f3e2adfe847e889edb07400.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Things To Do\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=4898#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=4898\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=4898\",\"name\":\"Review: Rock icon showcases lost ’90s classic during only West Coast dates - 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