The Cribs - Live Review

It's a new year. It's a fresh start. And we're back with a band who sound tracked my university life many moons ago. A great start to January. The Cribs have played bigger places, but there’s something about being crammed in with a few hundred people that makes everything feel a bit more alive. Maybe it’s just me getting older, but this was a proper throwback night.

The brothers were in a good mood, clearly enjoying the fact that they’re in a chart race with Blue of all people. There was a lot of banter about who in the crowd was a diehard and who was just here for the new album hype. At one point, they asked who’d been around since the early days, and the room sort of half-cheered, half-laughed, which felt about right. They also gave a shoutout to Truck Records, who were putting on the show and whose shop is just across the road. A nice local touch.

They kicked off with “Our Bovine Public” and “Girls Like Mystery,” which made it feel like we’d all been dropped straight back into 2007. The sound was loud, a bit rough around the edges, and all the better for it. “Selling a Vibe” and “Things You Should Be Knowing” came next, and Gary started reminiscing about playing this same room with Death Cab for Cutie back in 2004. There was a running debate about whether they’d played here with Johnny Marr too, but no one could quite agree.

The set was short. Just under an hour. But they managed to squeeze in fourteen songs. It felt punky and no-nonsense, like they were determined to keep things moving. There was a quick setlist reshuffle to cover a technical hiccup, but no one seemed to mind. Ryan made a joke about "not being his job, mate", which did make me laugh. When they asked the crowd what to play next, about a hundred different song titles got shouted back, and the band just laughed and said there were too many good ones to choose from. It was that kind of night. Loose, a bit chaotic, but in a good way.

Some of the new songs already felt like old favourites, especially “Never the Same.” “Cheat on Me” made a surprise appearance, and there was a bit where Gary joked about trying to write a TV theme for “Auf Wiedersehen, Pet.” No encore, just a wave and they were gone.

Honestly, it was over too quickly, but that’s probably the point. The Cribs don’t do drawn-out nostalgia. They just get up, play, and leave you wanting a bit more. For a Tuesday night in January, it felt like a small victory: a band still sounding vital, a room full of people shouting along, and the sense that, for an hour at least, nothing else really mattered.

If you haven't already, go buy the album and help their chart battle.

The brothers are back out on tour later this year:

• 18 Mar - Boiler Shop, Newcastle, UK
• 20 Mar - Foundry, Sheffield, UK
• 21 Mar - Albert Hall, Manchester, UK
• 22 Mar – O2 Institute 1, Birmingham
• 24 Mar - Rock City, Nottingham
• 25 Mar - Tramshed, Cardiff
• 27 Mar - Concorde 2, Brighton
• 28 Mar - Concorde 2, Brighton, UK
• 11 Jul - Millennium Square, Leeds, UK
• 26 Jul – Truck Festival, Steventon, UK