@ Barrowlands, Glasgow, on Tue 20 Oct 2015
The Barrowlands is made for bands like the Cribs, who describe it as ‘one of the best venues in the world’. Both are rough around the edges but revel in their imperfections. There is literally nothing polished or gimmicky about the Jarmans, but this is what makes them so exciting live. Kicking things off with the unlikely Ancient History, they blast right through to the next song I’m a Realist. At this point pints are thrown across the venue and the place erupts into chaos.
The carnage doesn’t seem to end from this point onwards, as the Cribs rattle through a set full of career-spanning material. Early favourites are We Were Aborted, Come On, Be A No-One and the pop-tastic Different Angle from For All My Sisters, their latest album that ‘embraced the poppier side of the band’. From the outset it is clear that the security guards will have their work cut out for them tonight as waves of crowdsurfers make their way to the front.
One particular highlight is when Ryan Jarman responds to the crowd’s chanting and launches into the popular guitar riff from cult-classic Another Number. The Jarman brothers are truly happy to be here and it shows; it is hard not to be swept up by the overwhelming sense of mutual admiration in the room. To add to the celebratory tone of proceedings, it is twin brothers Ryan and Gary’s birthdays, so it is only fair that they are treated to a Happy Birthday singalong by the crowd. The only problem they have now, says Gary, is that the tour will inevitably go downhill from here.
The frantic pace of the gig continues in true Cribs fashion as they thrash through the roaring choruses of You’re Gonna Lose Us, the anthemic Hey Scenesters! and the brilliant ramshackle Our Bovine Public. Interestingly though, a real highlight of the night comes when the pace drops during Be Safe, a spoken-word number, which rather ominously rumbles around the venue with its synth-heavy bass. Similarly, Shoot the Poet provides a sweet acoustic moment from Ryan Jarman and a break from the frenzied guitar thrashing.
Not ones to follow silly conventions or to parade themselves with gimmicks, there is no encore. The set finishes with one last burst of adrenaline from the ever popular Men’s Needs and finally, the epic Pink Snow, a fitting finale which culminates with an impressive jamming session.
This is easily one of the Cribs’ finest performances in years, proving why they have outlasted so many of their contemporaries. When they are on top of their game like this, the brothers from Wakefield are hard to beat.