The Cribs are back on top

The Cribs are a band of many contradictions. They are a band who pack their shows with huge choruses that bring the roof down whilst also getting long poetic spoken word pieces into one of their songs; they are a band who manage to satisfy those fans who want the more visceral punk rock side of the spectrum whilst also inspiring devotion in pop purists; they are a band who have never really belonged to any trends but, with the release of their latest album In the Belly of the Brazen Bull, also seem as relevant as ever. Despite these many contradictions, or perhaps because of them, it seems that the Cribs are as vital as they have ever been before.

The Wakefield boys are the type to inspire true devotion in their fans, and tonight was not to be any different. The Q Awards show at the HMV Forum in Kentish Town was a touch on the expensive side in my view, with tickets coming in at around £30 each, but the Cribs’ loyal following turned up in

... they are a band who manage to satisfy those fans who want the more visceral punk rock side of the spectrum whilst also inspiring devotion in pop purists

droves to watch their favourite indie heroes. Edywn Collins (of Orange Juice fame) started the night off in fine form. ‘Losing Sleep’ and ‘ A Girl Like You’ went down very well but it was ‘Rip It Up’ which really blew me away. It is an extremely simple song containing a maximum of about twenty words but it is a piece of pop perfection. You can tell that Edwyn Collins is a complete don because he manages to include a cheeky saxophone solo without making me want to claw out my own ears. Also, anyone who can look cool with a cane is okay in my book. Kudos to you sir!

The Cribs bounded on stage with total authority, it was clear they knew that tonight was going to be a great show. I felt that around the time of Ignore the Ignorant (largely ignored in the setlist tonight) the band had become somewhat of a homage to their former selves but now with the release of In the Belly… it was clear that they had recovered that essence which made them such a thrilling proposition. With five albums worth of material to choose from there was not space for any lulls tonight, only electrifying pop hits fuelling mayhem on the dancefloor. It has been so long since I have seen so many crowdsurfers at a London show, so often a city plagued by chin strokers and plaid-shirt bloggers; tonight was made to bring hipster London out of its esoteric coma with a blast of indie rock and a whole lot of infectious energy.

At a time when so many people are whining that guitar music is dead, I would refer these idiots to the fantastic trio of songs near the beginning of the set which really set the tone for the evening: ‘Our Bovine Public’, ‘Glitters Like Gold’ and ‘Back to the Bolthole’. The crowd was going absolutely

With five albums worth of material to choose from there was not space for any lulls tonight, only electrifying pop hits fuelling mayhem on the dancefloor. It has been so long since I have seen so many crowdsurfers at a London show

ballistic for the massive choruses and even sang every word back of a lesser known b-side. When ‘I’m a Realist’ started up, the crowd erupted into further frenzy and the band lapped up the adoration coming their way. One of the highlights of the night was the spoken word epic of ‘Be Safe’. As an album track it is a strange proposition but live it makes perfect sense; the slow burning anger of Lee Ranaldo (from Sonic Youth) backed by an epic thrash of guitars. I was captivated and it was only slightly marred by technical disruptions with the video feed but the song was so powerful that no-one seemed to care.

The night came to a climax with some of bigger hits in the Cribs’ armoury. ‘Hey Scenesters’ is always a joy to watch and ‘Men’s Needs’ was a rallying cry for everyone to throw their ridiculously expensive pints in the air. The relatively newer song ‘Chi Town’ had an amazing energy about it; Ryan’s punk leanings asserting themselves on this balls-out number which could have come straight out of the Ramones’ catalogue (and this is perhaps a perfect complement to give.) By the end of the night Ryan was ended up dressed in various bits of clothing thrown to him by the audience including some sort of sweat doused cape. He exclaimed to that crowd that he didn’t mind sharing bodily fluids with them because that is the bond which they had. This image of him stood wailing his heart out dressed in disgusting sweaty rags embodied everything I have come to love about the Cribs; they don’t care about looking cool, they only want to make amazing pop songs for people to jump around to and, most significantly, they were having so much fun that I wanted to be in their gang. As I said at the beginning, the Cribs are a vital band once again, but I did not realise just how vital they would be.