Cracker2 The Band

The Dolphin

Cracker 2 - The Dolphin, Scunthorpe, Saturday 15th July

Fresh from their gig at The Royal the previous night, Cracker 2 took the stage as an unfamiliar 4-piece line up. Mick was unavailable for this gig so Paul Gaskin took over the lead vocal duties and as soon as they launched into ZZ Top's "Tush" we just knew we were in for a good night. "Sweet Home Alabama" followed along with Tom Petty's "Runnin' Down A Dream" and a great version of "Black Magic Woman" in which PG treated us to one of his superb solos with Dave backing him up with some neat "latin american" drumming (as guitarist Ian Leening put it). It soon became clear that these lads were out for a good night and there was plenty of banter with the crowd in between songs.

The sound and overall mix were good with Paul's vocals coming through loud & clear (and most of the words were right too). Its always easy to get over-loud but Cracker 2's sound man got it right. Rod Williams bass had a nice solid feel to it, it was good to see a bass player using his fingers rather than a plectrum and Ian Leening's guitar was always pushing the band on.

The Cracker's 2nd set carried on where the 1st left off with fine versions of "Rosalie", "Honky Tonk Women", "Spirit In The Sky" and "Teenage Kicks". My fave of the night was "Before You Accuse Me" which I thought the band played particularly well and they finished with "Hi Ho Silver Lining". Rather surprisingly there was no encore but the band had enjoyed themselves and so had the crowd. I'd never have known they were a man short - well played lads. Next up - The Gunness Festival!

The Gunness Festival

First up on Friday night come 9 o'clock were Cracker 2, a band we had seen only a couple of weeks ago at The Dolphin. They were without Mick that night, but tonight they they were back to full strength. Paul Gaskin, resplendent in red tee shirt, opened up with a couple of fretboard runs before slotting seamlessly into the opening chords to ZZ Top's "Tush". "Sweet Home Alabama", Floyd's "Another Brick In The Wall" and The Undertones "Teenage Kicks" all followed and The Crackers' between song banter continued as it always does, and to great effect. The only thing that worried me was the sound - I don't know if it was the band's own PA or not and I'm sure its not easy getting a decent mix in a big tent but the overall sound was a bit too top-end for me.

The drums were lost in the mix and Rod's bass was just not cutting through. I was pretty far back admittedly and when I ventured forward the mix did seem much better.

The guys did a good hours set finishing off with Hi Ho Silver Lining then encored with The Small Faces "All Or Nothing" which I thought was particularly good and AC/DC's "Highway To Hell".

Cracker 2 - The Crown 29th Sept

It was a packed house at The Crown in Ashby as we caught up with Cracker 2 on the latest leg of their Coffin Dodgers tour 2007. Its been a long while since we last visited The Crown, so long in fact, that the "stage" area was at the opposite end of the room. But no matter, we'd come to hear some live music.

Over the last couple of years we've seen The Crackers a number of times and what I like about the band is that they're very much "what you see is what you get". They don't take themselves too seriously, know how to have a laugh (usually at each others expense), but they can play and it was no different tonight. In Paul Gaskin of course, they have a top guitarist and tonight he was putting a rather tasty looking silver sparkle Charvel through its paces. - we came in just as he was slipping into the lead break in Chris Rea's "Road To Hell", always one of the high spots of the set for me.

The more I see of this band, the more I like Micky Helps' vocal style, there's a touch of Joe Cocker

about his mannerisms sometimes and of course he's the perfect foil for Ian Leening's acerbic wit. You should never underestimate any bands rhythm section and I'm a big fan of Rod Williams' bass playing. He was sounding good again

tonight with that finger-style of his and combining well with new drummer John Law. John told me how he'd been thrown in at the deep-end without much in the way of rehearsals but you would never know, it sounded like he'd been drumming with these guys for years.

I must also give a mention to sound-man Derek who always seems to get a decent sound for the band no matter where they play (maybe with the exception of The Gunness Festival last year...ooops...sorry Derek). He got a good mix out front, punchy and not too loud.

So, it was another good night of entertainment from the Cracker 2 boys. Plenty of rock'n'roll, everything from Thin Lizzy and ZZ Top to Chris Rea and Rod Stewart mixed with a liberal helping of tongue-in- cheek banter. Unfortunately we had to leave early and missed the end of their set, but if you haven't seen the band, make an effort to catch them soon. It shouldn't be too difficult, they're gigging every week. Go see 'em....treat yourself.