Sweet Potato & Honey Lamb

Before the twins were born, before Scott and I were married, we were Cracker fans.

The first time we saw the band was shortly after the release of their first CD, at a hotel bar, with only a few in attendance. [Their first hit/iconic anthem "Teen Angst/What the World Needs Now" hadn't really gotten any airplay yet.]

We hung out with the band afterward (which at the time included a blue-dreadlocked, sequin dress-wearing, bass-playing Davey Faragher, who's since made the transition to more subtle attire and has been playing with fellow twin parent Elvis Costello now for years), and forever fans were made.

At this point, we've seen shows too many to count -- shows opened by the Counting Crows, shows opened by the Gin Blossoms, shows Cracker opened for the Spin Doctors, shows with a shared bill of Cracker and Camper van Beethoven (Dave Lowery's former band) -- shows outdoors and shows in the dark and dank but much beloved old 9:30 Club in DC. Memories light the corners of my pre-Mama mind...

While gestating our duo, a Charlottesville Cracker show was the last "real" concert I attended before the babes were born. Soraya -- the then fiancee (now wife) of the wonderful guitarist (and even more wonderful person), Johnny Hickman -- knelt and blessed our babies in-belly.

So Saturday night, Mother's Day eve, we piled the kiddos into the car and headed to Newport News for an open-air Cracker concert.
As we waited for hot dogs and fries in the inordinately long food cart line, the show began. How pride swelled in my heart when after a few opening notes, Sarah turned to me and said, "Mom, they're playing 'Eurotrash Girl!'" Indeed, they were.

Earplugs safely inserted in four ears (please do note how Sarah coordinated hers with her attire) all had a great time...it was a fantastic show...followed by fireworks.

The passage of time since our first Cracker experience seems as if a minute and an eternity simultaneously. We've (Dave, Johnny, and us) all had kids. We've all grown older. We all still love music. As things seem to change so rapidly (first grade is looming large...), sometimes it's nice when a few things stay the same. For us, Cracker is a constant.