The Cribs / The Magic Numbers - Mercury Lounge / Bowery Ballroom (New York) - Monday, November 28, 2005

by Mick Lewis
29 November 2005

I decided to create my own ‘Family Night’ double bill last night (after my brother Hesh bailed on me) by heading downtown to Mercury Lounge (ML) to catch brothers trio THE CRIBS and then by walking at a brisk pace to nearby sister-club Bowery Ballroom (BB) just-in-time to hear the first song by the double-set brother-sister London quartet THE MAGIC NUMBERS (TMN).

First came The Cribs, who I had previously seen from the balcony at Webster Hall when they opened for KAISER CHIEFS in July. Before that show, I had not heard anything by Wakefield, West Yorkshire’s finest, and knew nothing about them beyond EDWYN COLLINS’s role as producer of their second LP The New Fellas. But by the end of their set, their shambolic exuberance and instant sing-along choruses had me comparing them favorably with early SUPERGRASS and THE LIBERTINES. This time around, I came armed with a thorough knowledge of both LPs, and set my digital camera to movie mode (which is why there are no accompanying photos from the show; unfortunately, the stage lights were so dim that the video makes it appear as if the show took place in a cave, but the sound is good and the excitable energy comes through).

Guitarist RYAN JARMAN started off by warning the audience that drummer ROSS JARMAN had fallen off his kit at Spin’s SPINhouse Live show at the Hit Factory (at which they played shortly before arriving at ML) and to bear with them if “he keeps on slowing down, because he bashed his head pretty bad.” But there was no evidence of any slow down at all; The Cribs packed 10 of their best songs into a 35-minute set (see set list for details) and Ross even showed off his signature style of climbing on top of his drums while playing (with no falling over this time). Members of the near-capacity crowd hopped up and down with glee while shouting along to favorites such as “Martell,” “Hey Scenesters,” and “Another Number,” at times nearly drowning out the raucous two-pronged vocal attack of Ryan and his twin, bassist GARY JARMAN. Prior to closing with a rousing version of “The Wrong Way To Be,” Ryan provided an apt segue for me by promising “to whip The Magic Numbers in a drinking contest after the show.” Notwithstanding his youthful bluster, it seemed highly unlikely that the gaunt guitarist would be able imbibe more than any one TMN’s members with their more formidable girth.

The Cribs’s short set actually worked well for me, as I was left with 10 minutes to hightail it to BB, at which I arrived as The Magic Numbers were beginning their first song. Following my traditional BB late arrival procedure, I made my way up the back stairwell and found a sliver of space stage-left by the exit, after which I was quickly enveloped by the ecstatic crowd. While my first time seeing TMN, when they opened for DOVES at BB in March, had not been as convincing as my first Cribs’s show, I had since warmed up to TMN after listening to their winning debut LP (see my November 27 Top 10 list), and was hoping that they’d be able to show some more of the magic this time. Extensive touring seems to have done them well, and they displayed a confidence that was absent from the March show.

Looking like the spawn of CANNED HEAT, lead singer/guitarist ROMEO STODART was a genial showman, exhorting members of the audience to clap their hands and sing the choruses and harmonies. Sister and bassist MICHELE STODART sported the wide familial grin while cooing flawless harmonies. Their ebullient energy sparkled with a positivity that made it impossible not to be touched by their music. Highlights included a version of TMN’s recent collaboration with CHEMICAL BROTHERS, “Close Your Eyes,” a soulful reading of “Don’t Give Up The Fight,” a song that might make CAROLE KING jealous for not having written it, and LP ‘hidden track’ “Hymn for Her,” which featured a dramatic synchronized xylophone duet between Michelle and other TMN singer ANGELA GANNON (her brother, drummer SEAN GANNON, kept a steady beat throughout the show). The band closed the set with a propulsive version of its best song, “Love Me Like You,” and joyfully shuffled off the stage.

Upon returning to the stage after a thunderous five minute would-be-standing-anyway ovation (BB has no seats on the floor), the Stodarts’s beamed with disbelieving gratitude at the reception New York was granting them. Romeo suggested that they would play “something to get you dancing” and promptly launched into what surely must have been the first acoustic cover of BEYONCE’s “Crazy in Love” – it stood up well done so, as great songs tend to do. They followed it with three more songs and seemed as if they would be willing to play for eternity in front of such an adoring audience.

The Cribs
The Magic Numbers

Filed under concerts indie-rock