“I think we have officially played every venue in Camden now!” boasts an exuberant Gary Jarman, as he leads his family band in front of the crowded Camden Roundhouse, home of the iTunes festival and Prince’s live return to the UK earlier this year.
When spectating a Cribs show, it is easy to see how they have stuck around so stubbornly, seeing indie rivals rise and fall in their wake whilst remaining as popular as ever. The three Jarman brothers from Wakefield have an infectious on-stage chemistry and the aura of a band that genuinely love what they do, performing hook-heavy rock singles to boisterous crowds. Their twenty-one song set commenced with ‘Ancient History’, from the bands’ third and most hit-filled album, Men’s Needs, Women’s Needs, Whatever, followed by the hit ‘I’m A Realist’, which was met with huge cheers and backing vocals from a crowd of 3,300.
During the introduction to ‘Another Number’, a track that featured on The Cribs’ debut album, bassist and co-vocalist Gary again led the nostalgia onstage whilst fan-favourite Ryan stayed relatively quiet, “This is the song that got us signed in 2002, when we played it at the Barfly across the road”. Although the retrospective mood quickly passed, it was a poignant moment of reflection; in a world where many acts fail to remain in the public eye past their sophomore album, the Jarman brothers have retained a strong fan-base for well over a decade now, with more passion and fun than ever before evident in their songwriting. The act’s passion was never clearer than during the track ‘Hey Scensters’, which concluded with Ross Jarman, the band’s drummer, stood up on his stool whilst playing, with all the enthusiasm of a teenager playing his first gig.
Many could complain that The Cribs have a lack of range in their tracks, with many of their most popular tracks having very similar melodies and pace. When reviewing the bands’ live setlist however, one can see that their few slower paced singles are worth the scarcity. While the track ‘Be Safe’, which rests on a bed of poetry from Sonic Youth’s Lee Ranaldo, was played, a sea of hands were visible and an array of fans, from tipsy teenagers to middle aged couples could be heard exclaiming the chorus: “I know a place we can go, where you’ll fall in love so hard that you’ll wish you were dead!”
The set closed with iconic indie dance floor filler ‘Men’s Needs’ and ‘Pink Snow’, from their most recent album For All My Sisters, which was met with strobe lighting and confetti cannons. For all of The Cribs’ critics, it was plain to see that, in a time where charts are dominated by overproduced popstars and autotune, there is still an encouraging hunger for real rock acts to smash a guitar up on stage.
Words by Matt Ganfield
@mattganfield