It was pandemonium from the start to the end of the Cribs’ quick and laudably concise show at Brixton. The venue’s “no crowd surfing” policy was repeatedly breached, notably by the guitarist and singer Ryan Jarman, who dived off the front of the stage on to the heads of the audience halfway through We Were Aborted. By the time he rejoined the band his shirt had certainly been aborted. His twin brother, Gary, spent the gig pummelling his bass guitar and sharing the singing duties, while every so often their younger brother Ross indulged a curious passion for playing the drums while standing precariously on top of them.
All this was to be expected from a band that has gained a reputation for a hard and fast performing style that harks back to the punk era. What was different from previous outings was the presence throughout the show of Johnny Marr. The former Smiths guitarist is featured prominently on the Wakefield band’s fourth album, Ignore the Ignorant, which reached the Top Ten earlier this year, and he is now a fully integrated member of the group.
Marr’s guitar playing and backing vocals added a layer of sophistication as well as serious heft to the performance, and just having him up there was enough to ramp up the group’s cool factor by several degrees. For while Marr no doubt looks like a rock star in his sleep, the brothers continue to resemble a bunch of indie-kids who have wandered in off the street and somehow got lucky enough to be in a successful band. It is an endearing trait (to their fans), but along with their militantly lo-fi sound, leaves the group rather exposed to the “indie landfill” tag. However, if they already seem like last decade’s thing in the broader scheme of things, once you were caught up in the excitement of their show such considerations seemed a bit beside the point.
Beginning with a defiant blast of The Wrong Way to Be, they piled through a succession of songs, including Hey Scenesters!, Emasculate Me and Our Bovine Public, that combined smart tunes and words with a knucklehead, terrace-chant delivery. There was a momentary change of tempo as the face of Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth appeared on a back projection to deliver his (recorded) voiceover part for the more reflective Be Safe. Then it was back into the fast, staccato riffing of Mirror Kissers and Men’s Needs, and a feedback drenched finale of City of Bugs. There were no Smiths covers and indeed no encores. Just a bold and rousing statement from a hard-working gang of northerners with plenty to write home about.
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Tomorrow, XFM Winter Wonderland@Academy, Manchester (www.thecribs.com)