John goes to the Casbah part one: Ross Jarman's grassroots campaign for a better tomorrow.

The Casbah is a San Diego/scene icon. "world famous," goes the cliche. I'd never been there before but I heard good things.

But first- the beginning.

I was surfing for porn at 1:20AM and I had Conan on in the background. I was also in a drug induced stupor but that is neither here nor there. (two more weeks on this stuff for what it's worth.)

I was doing my best to focus on my google search for "big boobies" but an overpowering english accent stole my attention for a moment.

The band, whoever they were, finished their song and Conan said "The Cribs, everyone! Thankyougoodnight."

I was charmed enough to stop my current search and instead I sampled some of their music. Very catchy stuff. Wikipedia said that they're a band of brothers from Wakefield, England. Myspace said they're on tour. And they would be in San Diego on Monday the 23rd.

An hour later I had tickets.

Me and Kevin went, and inadvertently showed up on time.

The Casbah struck me as unusually small, and it was completely empty as the doors opened. We got a game of pool in and still no one showed up for the first band. The Hugs eeked out about five songs, and appeared to be around 15 or 16 years old. They were short one member, as he was kicked out of the band for stealing equipment.

After the Hugs left the stage, some roadies got up and started tweaking the gear and practicing music. Some of them were playing really well. It then occurs to us that the "lead roadie" is actually Sean Tillmann of Sean Na Na, and the rest of the roadies are his band. These guys are probably confused for roadies a good deal. Their first song is awesome, but the rest are sort of murky due to the way the sound technician was handling things. Sean expressed his dissapointment in the sound on numerous occasions.

After Sean Na Na plays, I decide to go pick up a Cribs t-shirt. I go up to the table and I ask the dude selling shirts if I can buy a white one. He gives me a surprised "sure" as if I'm the first person in the history of shirts to ask for a white one. The guy on his left says, "Hi. I'm Ross." I shake his hand and then I realize. "Oh shit. I say. Hi!" Ross is the youngest brother of the group, and plays drums for The Cribs. Gary Jarman and twin brother Ryan play Bass and Guitar, respectively.

"At the risk of sounding cheesey," I can't believe I'm prefacing this statement out loud, "would you sign this?"

Ross says sure, and not only that, he rounds up the rest of the band and they all sign it too. I have a moment to bullshit with them about nonsense. I'd be a horrible interviewer because I'm not really interested in talking about music.

John: How do you like being a twin?
Ryan: It's not bad. Do you have one?
John: Nope.
Ryan: How do you like that?
John: It's good.

(Ryan and Gary leave for a moment.)

John: Did you guys get to hang out with Conan?
Ross: Yeah, we got to meet him for a bit.
John: What was that like?
Ross: He's massive, first off. (Ross raises his hand high above his head.)
John: I heard like seven feet.
Ross: Yeah, and he's quite wide. And he wears a lot of makeup.
John: Oh yeah, you've gotta, with the HD stuff and what not, you know It's sweeping the... *trails off.*

We discuss The Streets, cockney rhyming slang, roadies and etc. Ross shakes my hand and goes to set up his gear.

I come back to my seat (we had a bar table right in front of the stage) and I show Kevin my shirt. These guys just made a fan for life by taking the smallest bit of time out to talk to me. I hope they blow up. In the exposure sense, not the explosive sense.

Something interesting: When you have twin brothers who are both doing vocals, you can create some really bizzare sounds. It's like having one extremely talented lead singer. They have the exact same voice- I wouldn't have guessed that it would work so well. It sounds like one guy harmonizing with himself.

The Cribs knocked over their gear several times during the show. Mics and cymbals and other equipment hit the floor on various occasions, and the band played right through it. Their loyal roadie did his best to keep things standing up.

They played really well and the crowd definitely got into it towards the end. They finished by creating tons of feedback and walking off stage. Ryan, the lead gutiarist, literally ran out the door and wasn't seen again.


All in all it was a great show, and I was really impressed by the band. I like how the Casbah works- the bands are having drinks right next to you before they perform. It's a very Cheers-esque thing. They're just normal people that happen to be playing some music.

My ears are still ringing from the feedback.

Go listen to the cribs.

http://www.myspace.com/thecribs