Of all the acclaimed "alternative rock" albums that came out in the early 1990s, Cracker's rootsy entry Kerosene Hat holds up as one of the most solid. Released in '93, the LP became an unlikely chart success thanks to the video for the stoner-friendly single "Low" (remember watching Sandra Bernhard box?) which garnered heavy airplay on MTV. The album also contains, as a hidden track, the fan favorite "Euro-Trash Girl." Over the years, front man David Lowery has managed to keep Cracker going — their 2006 release Greenland garnered strong reviews — in between reviving his other band, the alt-country precursor Camper Van Beethoven, and co-running Sound of Music Recording Studio, in Richmond, Va. Word has it Cracker put on a memorable show when they played the Skipperdome a couple years ago. Our pal Scott Harrell and his twangy power pop outfit Nessie open.
Cracker w/Nessie, Fri., June 22, 8 p.m., Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa. $15 adv/$20 day of show. —Wade Tatangelo
Another Band by the Colonel
Col. Bruce Hampton has been given many titles. The Grandfather of Southern Alternative Music. The Father of the Jam Band Scene. Zambi (self-proclaimed and based on character from Being There whose simplicity is mistaken for enlightenment). And he's earned every one. Hampton founded one of Atlanta's first significant (though not successful) rock groups, the Hampton Grease Band in 1968, and since then has managed to influence everyone from Phish to Derek Trucks to the Rev. Jeff Mosier. He's pioneered any number of bands — most notably, Aquarium Rescue Unit — though he tends to abandon them as their popularity peaks to "retire," a feat he seems unable to entirely accomplish. Even having a heart attack and undergoing an angioplasty last spring hasn't kept the man down; after leaving The Codetalkers due to health reasons, he was back on the road with his new outfit, The Quark Alliance, less than a year later. They bring their jazzy, R&B-infused rock to the tiny Dunedin Brewery this Saturday.
Col. Bruce Hampton & the Quark Alliance, Sat., June 30, 9 p.m., Dunedin Brewery, 937 Douglas Ave., Dunedin, $8 in advance/$10 day of. —Leilani Polk
The Day-Before-the-Day-Off Show
Celebrate the middle-of-the-week holiday by partying down this Tuesday night during the 3rd of July Shenanigans concert at Crowbar. An eclectic bill of local and regional bands are set to take the stage: The Julius Airwave, a Jacksonville indie rock quintet that performs moody, New Wave-influenced pop rock with thoughtful lyrics and subtly lovely harmonies; Winter Park-based History, a rather unremarkable rock band with a vocalist who seems to be channeling Maynard Keenan; and the Bay area's own Poetry n' Lotion and GreyMarket, the former marked by mandolin, the latter marked by laptop. Daniel Martinez and Ryan Hastings of Candy Bars, and Shawn Kyle of The Beauvilles are also scheduled to perform, and rumor has it that Crowbar owner Tom DeGeorge will be serving up some tasty barbecue. What more could you ask for?
3rd of July Shenanigans w/The Julius Airwave/History/Poetry n' Lotion/GreyMarket/others, Tues., July 3, 7 p.m.-3 a.m., Crowbar, 1812 N. 17th St., Ybor City. $7 (all ages). —LP
This article appears in Jun 27 – Jul 3, 2007.
