Heaven Is Indeed A Place On Earth

The Cribs / The Thermals / Jack Lewis and The Fisherman Three
London, Heaven 10/02/2009


So I’ve managed to make it across to London after missing the train by a minute and found the venue, stood in the que with a nice cup of tea and then had security chuck my crisps away. No midnight snack for me then on the way home. The bank gets broken paying for a pint and then I make my way over to the stage for Jack Lewis & The Fishermen Three.

Here is where the fun starts, Im familiar with the other Mr J Lewis’ work but the only taster I’ve heard of Jack is a quick listen off myspace and well I shouldn’t off bothered because that doesn’t really give this man the justice he deserves. Its hard not to compare him to his brother but this is a bit more folky and some of the solos are even a bit country sounding, this is not a bad thing though as its brilliant. The thing to see here is Jack’s playing, his fingers just seem to elegantly roll over the bass strings and I got a bit lost just watching him play. Minus the jokes, this was a great little set and I was truly impressed.

Next up was The Thermals, and if I’m being honest here I was looking forward to these most tonight, mainly as since seeing them the last time they supported The Cribs I became hooked and can you blame me? Those catchy post-pop-punk tunes or whatever genre they’ve defined them self as is just well darn good, so I will forgive them for interrupting Pink Steam by Sonic Youth as they came on stage. Kicking off with Returning to the Fold I may actually be in Heaven, especially when later in the set when Pillar of Salt begins. O yes. And how do you top Pillar of Salt? With No Culture Icons, this song sounds so dirty on record and well comes across even better live. I didn’t think it was possible to like this band more but it is, as I now love them.

In these 8 months which have passed since I last saw The Cribs take to the stage in The Kasbah, I forgot the charming cheesy tunes which the audience is graced with before they take to the stage and tonight is no exception, “Girls just wanna have fun” then goes into “These Boots are made for walking” as The Cribs walk on stage and then launch into “We Were Aborted”. Good Start! I’m liking this heavier sound due to the extra guitar courtesy of Johnny Marr who may I add is stood a few feet in front of me, yes my teenage guitar hero is playing within spitting distance of me (not that I ever would spit on Johnny Marr). The set continues mostly consisting of their third album but that’s what the majority of the crowd is here for and it does go down well, but for me this is not why I’ve travelled 100 miles I’m here for the new stuff and fingers crossed some 1st album outings other than Another Number. This wish paid off – What About Me! Yikes! I’m slightly struck as to why I didn’t noticed this instantly but then I realised Marr is also playing, this is not a bad thing, its given it a different edge, again its heavier, the guitar riff is not as in your face and the bass stands out more and even though I’ve heard this song a fair few times that bass line is pretty nifty.

My theory on the different sound on previous cribs tracks is that on the 3rd album Marr plays the keyboard parts so this doesn’t really effect the overall sound of these songs it gives the songs extra depth live, where as on the first two records there is no keyboard parts to play and as you cant kick a band member off stage or have them stand there doing nothing for a few songs Marr seems to play some bass-like chords which drowns out Ryan’s guitar a tad which is effectively a third of the music. This of course may just be a load of bollocks and just what I’m hearing over the speakers, which is obviously not the best way to comment as they are a bit shit. So back to the reason this tour is going on - road testing new material. In total there were 5 or so new songs played the stand out track for me was Hari Kari, the bit in particular was the chorus where Johnny, Ryan & Gary all were stood at the front of the stage screaming into the mics, and it looked so good! If only I could actually reach into my pocket to take a picture but I’m pretty pinned against the barrier and I’m starting to get the feeling from the security that any sudden movement may involve me being thrown out. There really was no need for that amount of force they obviously are used to dealing with some rough boys in the usual club nights, but this is just a bunch of sweaty kids having a bit of harmless fun. Nevertheless this was a great insight into what to expect from the new album – it’s exactly how they described it The Cribs playing with Johnny Marr only now it’s just The Cribs.