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The Cribs’ latest addition, guitar legend Johnny Marr, certainly raised expectations of a memorable gig from a band with an already solid live record. The venue, the Ritz, was fitting, having been the location of the first ever Smiths gig. His arrival in the Cribs’ lineup comes after a fantastic performance on Modest Mouse’s 2007 album, We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank. The set boasted the inclusion of many new songs written with Marr as a sneak preview to the album to be released later this year. The band did not disappoint, with a short, but stunning set.
The wonders of public transport meant I arrived to catch only the last few songs of the support, The Thermals. The American trio were warmly received by the crowd and had attracted a large gathering. Their sound was loud and anthemic, the band punching out three chord wonders with aplomb.
After a long interlude with the bizarre music choices of Cyndi Lauper and T’Pau blaring out of the speakers, a wave of relief and excitement hit the crowd when the headliners finally took the stage. From the start, all sections of the diverse audience were enthralled by the appearance of Johnny Marr, the adulation for the former Smiths’ guitarist ever present after decades have passed.
The set was a relatively good mix of new and old songs. After being warned that the oldest songs barely feature at Cribs gigs, I was pleasantly surprised at the inclusion of several favourites from the first album: 'Another Number', 'What About Me' and 'You Were Always The One' . Still, seeing as the Cribs were not promoting an album, it would have been good to have seen more songs from their debut effort. Well known material such as 'Hey Scenesters!', 'I’m a Realist' and 'Men’s Needs' was interposed with new songs. The new material was impressive, with 'Cheat On Me' a personal highlight. Throughout the gig the sound was tight and Marr adapted well to older songs originally composed for a three-piece. Marr’s addition to the band led to a fuller, richer sound but this did not mean the band compromised on the raw energetic sound that made it so popular.
The Cribs’ great performance was aided by a fantastic visual display; lighting was used to great effect, complementing the band’s frantic sound. And Marr was rivalled by another guitar hero at one point, with Sonic Youth’s Lee Ranaldo featuring on a screen delivering his spoken word contribution to the song 'Be Safe'.
Frontman Ryan Jarman formed an easy rapport with the punters, receiving cheers every single time he shouted, “We’re The Cribs and we’re from Wakefield”. Stage malfunctions were unable to faze him: when faced with a projector screen coming down midperformance he simply tore it down to the ground, before adding “I’m not paying for that!” This came across as a reasoned approach compared to some of the advice from the crowd which included “Piss on it!” and “Burn it!”.
After a blistering hourlong set, The Cribs departed the stage to a soundtrack of feedback and reverb. It had been a fantastic gig, the only weakness being the lack of an encore, which provided an anticlimax after such an exhilarating build-up. This aside, on the basis of this performance, The Cribs’ new album is set to be a triumph.
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