Time wounds all heels

Download: Crackerbash "Orion"
Play it: Sean Croghan "It's Gonna Be Alright"
Play it: Satan's Pilgrims "Plymouth Rock"

This past Saturday night felt like the past twelve years were merely a blink of the eye. Portland punk trio Crackerbash reunited recently to play a special one-off show for NXNW (w/ fellow Portland reunited bands Pond, Hazel and Sprinkler) on September 10, 2005. Folks up here in Seattle were extremely jealous, and considering they broke up and ended up cancelling a show up here in late '93 (or was it early, early '94?) it was nice that they finally were able to 'make-up' that gig.

Lead singer/guitarist Sean Croghan came out feigning confusion and asked the audience "what year is it, anyway?" We all yelled out "1993" and bassist Scott Fox kicked into "Human Alarm Clock" to give even more levity to the question of time. It really was like they never broke up... Scott and (drummer) Teddy look exactly the same, and Sean, while as bald as yours truly, had the same fire in his eyes throughout the performance. They ripped through nearly their entire catalogue, and Sean, like old time, tore through his guitar strings like they were ribbons on a birthday gift (I counted 7 strings broken by the time the encore rolled in.)

What I find interesting, is after Crackerbash broke up, the players went on to very un-Crackerbash-like paths. Scott and Teddy formed the surf instrumental group Satan's Pilgrims , and Sean played solo acoustic for a bit (often with fellow P-Land artist Elliott Smith) before forming the shortlived Apegrave (with a horn section!) and then Jr. High. Croghan has a Elvis Costello streak (which Jr. High certainly revealed) and his most recent solo release (From Burnt Orange To Midnight Blue, 2001) went a long way in cementing that influence. I don't know about you, but I don't hear Elvis Costello or The Ventures in Crackerbash at all.

Back to Crackerbash... here's hoping it won't be another 12 years before they play again (they played in Portland again last night.)





tags tags: playlist, music, crackerbash, sean croghan, crocodile cafe, satan's pilgrims