Pretty relevant.
Considering the amount of times that The Cribs have played Glasgow and in fact, the amount of live shows the band has clocked up over the past few years, sometimes its easy to be a bit blasé about a Cribs show. Sure, the trio put in all the effort and have a great bunch of singles to their names but when you play so often, how can you keep the element of surprise and make it worthwhile for long term fans to keep coming along.
One potential way is dragging Johnny Marr on-stage with you and including a cover of ‘Panic’ by The Smiths. That in itself would tell you a lot about the entire night but when you add the fact that the band were joined (via video screen) by Lee Ranaldo from Sonic Youth and still fitted in a traditional stage-dive, its pretty hard to comprehend the amount of things that went on a Friday night, where even by Glaswegian standards, things got a little bit crazy.
It was a very young crowd for the NME Tour and kicking the set off ‘Don’t You Want To Be Relevant?’ ensured it all got a bit sweaty rather quickly and gave some kids a harsh lesson in the realities of what gigs are all about. Plastic pint tumblers and alcohol were flying through the air almost constantly and no one could deny there was a strong energy and vibe throughout the set.
Material from the bands latest album sat easily with old favourites like ‘Martell’ or ‘Hey Scenesters!’ and its hard not to get carried away with the infectious energy at a Cribs show, the band have been pretty public with their remarks about how bands should be real and give it everything and at least they are true to their word. Sprawling around on the stage and battering into the equipment may be too much of a workout for some acts but its all part of a days work for The Cribs.
It may not have been the most exciting NME Tour line-up and there was the lack of a major name to appease a more general audience but the night was a success in bringing four bands who don’t usually get a glimpse of the limelight to more prominence which is surely one of the main points of the NME Tours. The Cribs could, and do, sell out venues like The Barras by themselves so there was nothing unusual in the way their boisterous live show triumphed over all the other acts on the bill but yet again, they have shown they can deliver when it matters the most.