The Cribs - Bowery Ballroom (New York)/Union Pool (Brooklyn) - Thursday, August 9 and Sunday, August 12, 2007

by Rachel Pesin
15 August 2007

I’ve seen THE CRIBS 11 times in various places and settings. I’ve seen them play an art museum in Iceland, an Urban Outfitters clothing store in Austin, a huge venue in London, and in a handful of venues in New York City. Their raw, pop-punk always translates into an excellent, energetic show, but the audiences (except for the London crowd) have always been tepid and indifferent, which affects the band’s performance.

They don’t like to play to jaded, crossed-arms hipsters. They usually comment on this during their shows by voicing their disappointment that a majority of the crowd can’t find the motivation to dance and jump around to their music. I’m not sure what changed since I last saw the band in New York, but the crowd certainly was atypical; they actually moved around instead of standing there, and that made all the difference. What was even more amazing was the fact that all the crazy fans at these shows weren’t ex-pats or U.K.-ers on holiday, but were actual New York fans.

The Bowery show was the band’s biggest US headlining show to date. The band’s aggressive set inspired an all-out mosh pit in the crowd, which resulted in a few near-fights. The show was even stopped for a few moments and guitarist and co-vocalist RYAN JARMAN asked, “Am I going to have to come down there?” to stop the fight. The anger subsided and the show got back on track.
The crowd at the much smaller Union Pool in Brooklyn wasn’t quite as rowdy, but they still enjoyed themselves as much as the New York audience, as evidenced by the numerous crowd surfers. And I think it’s safe to say that even Jarman was impressed by the audience, as he too took a turn, diving straight into the audience.

At both shows I witnessed something rarely seen at a show in New York: smiling, happy faces. Strangers were jumping around together, singing and dancing along, looking one another in the eyes and smiling at one another. The Cribs have always put on a great show. With the audience finally on their side, their live performance went from fun to unforgettable.

Photo credit: 1, 2, 3

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