Just to add some context, the tour The Cribs are on (well, just finished actually since last night was the end of it all) is an NME tour that is supposed to also showcase three hotly-tipped new bands. It was also a bargain - only £20 for 4 bands.
I think it is fair to say that I had low expectations of this band before they came on. I've read some pretty scathing reviews and I thought it would be yet another two-piece band with no talent. I was partially misguided. The first three songs played, including Fruit Machine and Great DJ, at the very least threw out my low expectations. But, as they continued along their just-under-half an hour timeslot, I felt as if, whilst this punchy, hard-hitting poppy indie rock wasn't as bad as first feared, it wasn't enough to make them stand out of the crowd of similar bands.
DOES IT OFFEND YOU, YEAH?
By far the best support band of the evening. Does It Offend You, Yeah? is a dance act in band form and it works. Not only that but they got the crowd warmed up to the point where you'd even think they were headlining. The band themselves were lapping it up, especially Morgan, the guitarist/synth player, who is a Brixton boy through and through. The songs were awesome too. We Are Rockstars, Let's Make Out and Battle Royale were all favourites with the crowd and they had an impressive lighting show to back the songs up. Towards the end there was a stage invasion with all the other bands on the tour as they proceeded to destroy their guitars and keyboards. They left me impressed and eagerly anticipating their forthcoming debut album.
JOE LEAN AND THE JING JANG JONG
THE TING TINGS
I think it is fair to say that I had low expectations of this band before they came on. I've read some pretty scathing reviews and I thought it would be yet another two-piece band with no talent. I was partially misguided. The first three songs played, including Fruit Machine and Great DJ, at the very least threw out my low expectations. But, as they continued along their just-under-half an hour timeslot, I felt as if, whilst this punchy, hard-hitting poppy indie rock wasn't as bad as first feared, it wasn't enough to make them stand out of the crowd of similar bands.
DOES IT OFFEND YOU, YEAH?By far the best support band of the evening. Does It Offend You, Yeah? is a dance act in band form and it works. Not only that but they got the crowd warmed up to the point where you'd even think they were headlining. The band themselves were lapping it up, especially Morgan, the guitarist/synth player, who is a Brixton boy through and through. The songs were awesome too. We Are Rockstars, Let's Make Out and Battle Royale were all favourites with the crowd and they had an impressive lighting show to back the songs up. Towards the end there was a stage invasion with all the other bands on the tour as they proceeded to destroy their guitars and keyboards. They left me impressed and eagerly anticipating their forthcoming debut album.
JOE LEAN AND THE JING JANG JONGWhy this band were placed above Does It Offend You, Yeah? dumbfounds me. They were what I predicted - a boring, uninspiring indie pop band with no great songs of note. It's also another band who place style and look over substance. Songs like Lucio Starts Fires (apparently a 'hit' in the indie circles) were below-par for me. Not only that but the crowd were pretty flat and were very underwhelmed. If they succeed this year I'll be surprised. But I just see them as another indie band with a crap band name.
THE CRIBS
The Cribs definitely did not dissapoint. They were well up for it tonight and you could see that on stage they can mix tight muscianship with bouncing energy. The crowd went bloody crazy. The no crowdsurfers rule at Brixton Academy completely and utterly broken by the hordes and the hordes who rode the waves.
Setlist wise, it was full of the best cuts from their recent album (Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever) and some older cuts from their self-titled debut and The New Fellas. Our Bovine Public and Girls Like Mystery mixed well with stuff like Mirror Kisses and Another Number. Women's Needs was a highlight, not just for Ryan's spinning around on the floor sideways whilst playing guitar ability. The Wrong Way To Be also featured a good old fashioned trashing of microphones, equipment vandalising and Ryan jumping into the crowd.
And then, Johnny Marr comes out.
THE CRIBSThe Cribs definitely did not dissapoint. They were well up for it tonight and you could see that on stage they can mix tight muscianship with bouncing energy. The crowd went bloody crazy. The no crowdsurfers rule at Brixton Academy completely and utterly broken by the hordes and the hordes who rode the waves.
Setlist wise, it was full of the best cuts from their recent album (Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever) and some older cuts from their self-titled debut and The New Fellas. Our Bovine Public and Girls Like Mystery mixed well with stuff like Mirror Kisses and Another Number. Women's Needs was a highlight, not just for Ryan's spinning around on the floor sideways whilst playing guitar ability. The Wrong Way To Be also featured a good old fashioned trashing of microphones, equipment vandalising and Ryan jumping into the crowd.
And then, Johnny Marr comes out.
Not so much a surprise, since he's done it on several tour dates but it was still an awesome way to finish off the evening. Not only that, but he did five songs with the band, including a cover of Panic by The Smiths. I'm not a massive Smiths fan but Panic is at the very least a tune. Also, Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth made an appearance...on a side screen. He was the vocal contributor to album track Be Safe and, whilst he couldn't make it there in person, he recorded a video clip especially for the tour. Just a shame that someone seeminly forgot to turn up the volume.
What was also fascinating about the whole time that Johnny was on stage was how friendly he was with the band. He and Ryan were playing each other's guitars on Moving Pictures and when he originally came on stage, Ryan just grabbed him for a matey hug. I wondered whether it was friendly enough to even consider in my mind that he is now a member of The Cribs. Then when I got home, I saw this article, which explains a lot.
The setlist:
Don't You Wanna Be Relevant?
Our Bovine Public
Girls Like Mystery
What About Us
My Life Flashed Before Me
We Can No Longer Cheat You
I've Tried Everything
Women's Needs
Men's Needs
Mirror Kissers
Another Number
The Wrong Way To Be
Panic
Moving Pictures
Hey Scenesters!
Be Safe
I'm A Realist
You can check out all of my pictures on Flickr right now!
The Cribs
DIGG IT!
What was also fascinating about the whole time that Johnny was on stage was how friendly he was with the band. He and Ryan were playing each other's guitars on Moving Pictures and when he originally came on stage, Ryan just grabbed him for a matey hug. I wondered whether it was friendly enough to even consider in my mind that he is now a member of The Cribs. Then when I got home, I saw this article, which explains a lot.
The setlist:
Don't You Wanna Be Relevant?
Our Bovine Public
Girls Like Mystery
What About Us
My Life Flashed Before Me
We Can No Longer Cheat You
I've Tried Everything
Women's Needs
Men's Needs
Mirror Kissers
Another Number
The Wrong Way To Be
Panic
Moving Pictures
Hey Scenesters!
Be Safe
I'm A Realist
You can check out all of my pictures on Flickr right now!
The Cribs
DIGG IT!
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