doubleshiny (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
doubleshiny) wrote2007-12-19 10:50 pm
doubleshiny) wrote2007-12-19 10:50 pm
Entry tags:
Cribsmas Day 1
Well, I wasn't sure if I'd make it when this was announced. Everyone, but everyone wanted a ticket. A few early mornings with people on standby at the computer, work forgotten, a few favours and a begging email to my boss to let me have the time off and at 4.30pm on Wednesday December 19th I'm off to Leeds.
My room mate at the luxurious (!) Comfort Inn is Mia aka Backseat Driver from the official forum, which I where I seem to have been living recently. She's already booked in and there's the small matter of the bill which has to be paid up front. Now I've stayed in hotels all over the place and never have I been asked to pay for the whole stay on the first night. Quite a hole in the old beer fund but then it is the Brudenell we're going to.
Mia's lovely and we have to get to know each other in the taxi queue. I have to give a spare ticket I got to another girl from the forum, Kelly, who's waiting for us outside. She's grateful to say the least, I've never been hugged so much by a perfect stranger in my entire life, but then I like being hugged so I feel more Christmassy straight away. The lovely bustling ladies at the bar are charging something like 12p for a pint and my liver seems to kick me internally as if to say "Calm down!". Us three girls and Kelly's mate set up on a table in the lounge and we're soon accosted by two Scottish lads with absolutely impenetrable accents. I catch the odd word, like 'Cribs' and 'pissed' but the rest means nothing to me, we're just all smiling and nodding at each other. Mia, who's Estonian, managed to catch more than me, what does that tell you?
Having previously been determined not to spend a fortune this week I've already passed £18 quid over for a wrongly spelled Brudenell tshirt and a Cribsmas badge. I'm beginning to regret bringing my very bulky, very expensive leather jacket which is much to hot to wear inside this place. As we queue and go into the gig room my core temperature shoots to about 400 degrees and I have to carry it round all night.
It feels a bit weird to actually be here. Feels like I've been building up to coming for years when it's actually just over 6 weeks. Inside my Team Jarman tshirt has attracted a few other forum members (it's also my avatar), including Lizzy from Durham who comes to hang out with us as we soak up the carnival atmosphere. As The Cribs come out and run through their early demos and get to I Gotta Go To LA I'm transported back to when I first hear them in 2003, when this was one of the few songs I could get hold of off Limewire. After that mini-set they're off to recuperate and we're going to play Bingo with Jonny. It's very exciting, but I never win at Bingo,I can't actually remember what the prizes were but I think they were probably good. Gary's calling the numbers with the help of Jonny's professional looking LED board.
Franz Ferdinand are on next, I feel like another trip to the bar as it's calmed down a bit, I'm just ordering my pint when out of the corner of my eye I see two people snogging each others faces off. Being a nosey cow, I have to have a little look and lo and behold if it isn't Ryan and Miss Kate Nash. It's hypnotic actually, hard to tear yourelf away, especially when the said tongue action is so close to your head that you can hear each individual smacking sound. With pint in hand I go and stand at the back of the room where it's a bit cooler while Franz are on. I'm aware of a slight commotion next to me and Ryan and Kate, having stopped kissing, are being accosted by the very same Scottish lads that we encountered earlier. Amazingly, Ryan seems to understand every word that's being said, it's still a mystery to me. Meanwhile, one has broken off to invite me to spend Christmas with his family.
As Franz Ferdinand are closing I'm about to head down the stairs before my Drunk Brain says "Hey, Kirst, why not go and say hello to Ryan? I'm sure he's love that!". Didn't quite work out like that, what actually happened was I said "Ryan?", he looked at me, and at this point my Drunk Brain bailed out, and all I could think of to do was kiss him, so I did. Then I looked at Kate Nash and thought, "He's her bloke, I'd better kiss her too". Thanks Drunk Brain! You're super! Now I'm going to stand in a corner and bang my head against the wall.
Onto round one of Barman VS Jarman with Mr Gary Jarman facing...someone, I can't remember. There's no point in trying to get anywhere near the bar as word has got round that they'll be giving the beer pulled away for free. I gather that it was indeed the Barman and not the Jarman who was victorious. There follows a rather raucous game of Pass The Parcel where Cribs signed records (not by them) and dog toys are won by needy children. The music playing sounds like the Star Wars Christmas Special.
The Cribs come on for act 2 and damn it if they aren't wearing their old 'costumes' from back in the day. There's Ryan in his Gitanes shirt, and Ross in his spangly waistcoat, and Gary in.....well, the kind of stuff he still wears I suppose. The set was obviously the first album chronologically, accompanied by some reminisces about Squirrel Records, Russell from the Research on keys and an emotional crowd surf where the legendary Gitanes tshirt was ripped from Ryan's torso and destroyed. "You should be ashamed of yourselves," says Gary, "he's had that t-shirt for 30 years......Since before he was born."
A highlight for me was Things You Should Be Knowing, my favourite Cribs song, the first one I ever heard, and a particularly special one when it's being sung by The Cribs faithful at this kind of event.
Sweating profusely, we get outside pronto and get a cab back to the Leeds Hilton for a brew and one of those brown biscuits you only get in hotels. I'm absolutely knackered but ready for the next night, here comes The New Fellas.......
My room mate at the luxurious (!) Comfort Inn is Mia aka Backseat Driver from the official forum, which I where I seem to have been living recently. She's already booked in and there's the small matter of the bill which has to be paid up front. Now I've stayed in hotels all over the place and never have I been asked to pay for the whole stay on the first night. Quite a hole in the old beer fund but then it is the Brudenell we're going to.
Mia's lovely and we have to get to know each other in the taxi queue. I have to give a spare ticket I got to another girl from the forum, Kelly, who's waiting for us outside. She's grateful to say the least, I've never been hugged so much by a perfect stranger in my entire life, but then I like being hugged so I feel more Christmassy straight away. The lovely bustling ladies at the bar are charging something like 12p for a pint and my liver seems to kick me internally as if to say "Calm down!". Us three girls and Kelly's mate set up on a table in the lounge and we're soon accosted by two Scottish lads with absolutely impenetrable accents. I catch the odd word, like 'Cribs' and 'pissed' but the rest means nothing to me, we're just all smiling and nodding at each other. Mia, who's Estonian, managed to catch more than me, what does that tell you?
Having previously been determined not to spend a fortune this week I've already passed £18 quid over for a wrongly spelled Brudenell tshirt and a Cribsmas badge. I'm beginning to regret bringing my very bulky, very expensive leather jacket which is much to hot to wear inside this place. As we queue and go into the gig room my core temperature shoots to about 400 degrees and I have to carry it round all night.
It feels a bit weird to actually be here. Feels like I've been building up to coming for years when it's actually just over 6 weeks. Inside my Team Jarman tshirt has attracted a few other forum members (it's also my avatar), including Lizzy from Durham who comes to hang out with us as we soak up the carnival atmosphere. As The Cribs come out and run through their early demos and get to I Gotta Go To LA I'm transported back to when I first hear them in 2003, when this was one of the few songs I could get hold of off Limewire. After that mini-set they're off to recuperate and we're going to play Bingo with Jonny. It's very exciting, but I never win at Bingo,I can't actually remember what the prizes were but I think they were probably good. Gary's calling the numbers with the help of Jonny's professional looking LED board.
Franz Ferdinand are on next, I feel like another trip to the bar as it's calmed down a bit, I'm just ordering my pint when out of the corner of my eye I see two people snogging each others faces off. Being a nosey cow, I have to have a little look and lo and behold if it isn't Ryan and Miss Kate Nash. It's hypnotic actually, hard to tear yourelf away, especially when the said tongue action is so close to your head that you can hear each individual smacking sound. With pint in hand I go and stand at the back of the room where it's a bit cooler while Franz are on. I'm aware of a slight commotion next to me and Ryan and Kate, having stopped kissing, are being accosted by the very same Scottish lads that we encountered earlier. Amazingly, Ryan seems to understand every word that's being said, it's still a mystery to me. Meanwhile, one has broken off to invite me to spend Christmas with his family.
As Franz Ferdinand are closing I'm about to head down the stairs before my Drunk Brain says "Hey, Kirst, why not go and say hello to Ryan? I'm sure he's love that!". Didn't quite work out like that, what actually happened was I said "Ryan?", he looked at me, and at this point my Drunk Brain bailed out, and all I could think of to do was kiss him, so I did. Then I looked at Kate Nash and thought, "He's her bloke, I'd better kiss her too". Thanks Drunk Brain! You're super! Now I'm going to stand in a corner and bang my head against the wall.
Onto round one of Barman VS Jarman with Mr Gary Jarman facing...someone, I can't remember. There's no point in trying to get anywhere near the bar as word has got round that they'll be giving the beer pulled away for free. I gather that it was indeed the Barman and not the Jarman who was victorious. There follows a rather raucous game of Pass The Parcel where Cribs signed records (not by them) and dog toys are won by needy children. The music playing sounds like the Star Wars Christmas Special.
The Cribs come on for act 2 and damn it if they aren't wearing their old 'costumes' from back in the day. There's Ryan in his Gitanes shirt, and Ross in his spangly waistcoat, and Gary in.....well, the kind of stuff he still wears I suppose. The set was obviously the first album chronologically, accompanied by some reminisces about Squirrel Records, Russell from the Research on keys and an emotional crowd surf where the legendary Gitanes tshirt was ripped from Ryan's torso and destroyed. "You should be ashamed of yourselves," says Gary, "he's had that t-shirt for 30 years......Since before he was born."
A highlight for me was Things You Should Be Knowing, my favourite Cribs song, the first one I ever heard, and a particularly special one when it's being sung by The Cribs faithful at this kind of event.
Sweating profusely, we get outside pronto and get a cab back to the Leeds Hilton for a brew and one of those brown biscuits you only get in hotels. I'm absolutely knackered but ready for the next night, here comes The New Fellas.......