Tonight starts with a singalong to the warm up tape, a near perfect rendition of Blitzkrieg Bop with a few flurry’s of “Yorkshire Yorkshire”, followed by a hilarious attempt at Berlin’s 80s classic ‘Take My Breath Away’ (most of the audience being breathless trying to hit the those notes). It’s all light entertainment though compared to the chaos as Wakefield’s finest hit the stage and for 90 minutes that brute force barely lets up. I’d be lying if I said this was an amazing Cribs set, but it was pretty bloody good and even the songs that didn’t land quite as well, sounded great in Gorilla tonight. This venue isn’t the best, the sound is just okay, but The Cribs make sense in rooms this size and enjoy pushing the PA right to and probably a bit over it’s limits (it’s been a while since my ears rang like this). Any sound inadequacies though don’t matter, this band sound better raw and any flaws are covered by the crowd. Ryan and Gary needn’t bother with backing vocals for starters, the sold out crowd have it covered, allowing them to have even more fun, Ryan in particular looking every part the modern day rock star, with moves so angular they match his cheekbones. They’re back next year Gary tells the crowd, supporting Foo Fighters at the Etihad, their first Stadium gig. Will it be as good as tonight? Maybe not, but after all these years the Jarman’s know it’s not the size of the gig that counts, it’s standing on a stage, screaming your heart out while the room lovingly screams back at you. I took myself down the front tonight, something I don’t often do these days preferring to hold steady to my pint, but pints were thrown with wild abandon, throats left sore through singing, legs tired through jumping and it was bloody marvellous.
The Cribs are from Yorkshire, but tonight they owned Manchester.
