David Lowery, Camper Van Beethoven, and Cracker Novato Tickets, HopMonk Tavern - Novato, 18 Jul 2026

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Venue

HopMonk Tavern - Novato

224 Vintage Way, 94945, Novato, CA, US

www.hopmonk.com/novato/

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Additional details

Doors open: 18:00

Price: US $45.00

Concert in your area for Rock, Indie & Alt, and Country.

Find out more about Rock and Country.

Cracker biography

FInding success in the 90s with their left-field rock riffs melded with a country twang, indie-rock outfit Cracker grew out of the ashes of Camper Van Beethoven, having being formed by frontman David Lowery in 1991.

Aft the end of the 1980s, Camper Van Beethoven's alternative rock output had come to an end, embarking on a long hiatus in 1990. Lowery instead put together Cracker, along with guitarist Johnny Hickman and bassist Davey Foragher. They quickly got to work recording music, gaining a record contract with Virgin Records by the end of 1991.

Cracker recorded their debut album in their native state of Virginia, US, in Richmond, with the self-titled release appearing in 1992. The album helped establish Cracker's sound with driving riffs and bourbon-soaked vocals. With the single, "Teen Angst (WHat the World Needs Now)," they achieved a number one single in the rock charts. Their second effort, "Kerosene Hat" built on the success of the debut, featuring crossover hit, "Low," which charted in the UK as well as America's mainstream pop charts. The album was soon certified Platinum, becoming a commercial success.

However, after 1996's "Golden Age," the band's lineup began to crumble with bassist Faragher being replaced by Bob Rupe with the drummer spot occupied by a revolving roster of three musicians, Charlie Quintana, Eddie Bayers and Johnny Hott. After touring in the support of the album, Lowery returned to Richmond, US to set up a recording studio, Sound of Music, recording the likes of Joan Osborne, Lauren Hoffman, Magnet Fightng Gravity and Sparklehorse.

Having again solidified their lineup, finding a permanent drummer in Frank Funaro, as well as adding keyboardist/accordion player Kenny Margolis, they got to work on a new record, releasing "Gentleman's Blues" in 1998, hosting a more southern rock/blues oriented sound. Lowery's Camper Van Beethoven surprisingly reformed shortly after, putting Cracker on the back burner for a couple of years as the band toured.

Cracker returned in 2001 with the live album, "Travelling Apothecary Show & Revue," followed by 2002's "Forever" and a collection of country covers with "Countrysides" in 2003. It was three years before new music would again surface, having signed with UK based indie label, Cooking Vinyl, bringing forth "Greenland," bolstered by guest additions David Immerglück and Mark Linkous.

2009's "Sunrise in the Land of Milk and Honey" brought Cracker back into the charts, breaking into the Billboard 200 Chart. In 2010, the band went on tour with Camper Van Beethoven, for their "Travelling Apothecary Tour." Four years later, the core Cracker lineup, with drummer Michael Urbano and keyboardist Thayer Sarrano, released "Berkely to Bakersfield," an ambitious two-disc effort that featured more prominent country influences alongside there alternative rock sound.

Live reviews

Camper Van Beethoven is a group that doesn't settle for just one sound. They are also a group that shows no limitations on which sounds they place together. They have taken hardcore-punk and country music and integrated these far from related genres into a polarized and interesting mix. They have also done hoe-down covers of Black Flag and Sonic Youth, which on paper sounds utterly absurd but heard live sounds incredible. There will not be one moment of boredom at a Camper van Beethoven show. Unlike many of their predecessors and contemporaries they are a band who are open to all forms of music and stylistic change and this trait is heavily seen throughout their live shows. The group's ability to skip from sound to sound and mix them all together is part of the reason why their concerts are so fun to go to.
As a band that was born into and developed in the California hardcore punk scene you are going to expect to hear traces of that sound in their music and they certainly do not deprive their audience from this. They practically always play the classic punk hit "Take the Skinheads Bowling". At the show I attended there was not one still figure during the performance of this song. The entire crowd happily joined in and belted out the chorus while simultaneously lifting up their hands.
Camper van Beethoven is also not a band that is surviving solely on the status they had built for themselves in the past. They are continuously evolving as a band extracting, adding and modifying their sound. During their performance at the 40 watt club in Athens they showcased several new songs from their 2013 album "La Costa Perdida". These particular tracks saw them moving away from their bluegrass and punk roots and embracing a more soft rock jam oriented sound. One of the songs even incorporated a very beautiful gypsy themed fiddle solo. At any Camper van Beethoven show you can expect a good mix of old and new material and a consistently interesting variation in sound.

Report

wjmcc

Cracker is a band that was formed after Camper Van Beethoven had broken up earlier. The lead singer David Lowery went on to form Cracker, with Johnny Hickman on guitars and Davey Faragher on bass, playing alternative rock that was slightly less oddball that its predecessor.

This band lives to play their instruments. It is not uncommon for them to just get up on stage and play the instrumentals for periods of time. The pace of the music is on the slow side and is almost a mix of country, rock and blues. The music also seems like if comes from the heart and actual experiences from the band members. The band travels all over the country. They are well known from coast to coast in the United States. They are also known for playing "I Hate My Generation" on Conan's Late Night Show. The group started playing together as young men in the mid 90’s and continued to play for a long period of time.

You'll find all kinds of fans at Cracker shows - country, rock, grunge lovers, people that play the guitar or try to master the art of the air-guitar in their free time, people that are looking to rock out and have a good time.

Anonymous