Date: 16/12/07
Rating:
Why aren't more people going crazy about Lupen Crook? With his skull 'n' crossbones t-shirt, eyelined eyes, messy hair and chiselled cheekbones, he is the poster-child for filthy frightening macabre punk-folk. No other performer is as compulsive, capable, raw and downright terrifying to watch – and tonight is no exception. Charisma oozing from every pore, the agitated Crook eyeballs the audience like prey, with intense stares that makes you feel both scared and special.
This is an eleven-song support slot for The Murderbirds, who are full of spirit and vigour tonight despite some technical sound problems. After a couple of weeks of constant touring, the band is very tight and Lupen's voice is on top form – dextrous and evocative, both tender and bile-spitting. It is a shame that the cramped stage leaves the brass duo in the wings, for they are a brilliant foot-tapping addition. There's a cracking sax solo in 'Hardest Way Home' and some inspired trombone/sax duets that bring an authoritative richness to songs like 'Lucky Six'.
After romping through favourites such as 'Matthew's Magpie' and 'Dick Strange and the Nasty Boys', Lupen announces it's time for a slower one and mellows into the gently-picked and soft-voiced 'Here To Be Friends'. When Lupen sings alone, the knife-edge atmosphere he creates makes all hairs stand to attention, before the blood pumps around your body again with the entry of the noisy flock of Murderbirds. This track showcases the group's agile ability to make subtle shifts through melancholy, ire and mystery in a matter of moments; tense moments of stop-start-build-up are the band at their best. However, they're not all about creepy atmospheres and tales of rape and murder – musical jokes and playful solo passages inject a lightness into the set, with surprising moments of humour when Tom 'Bird starts playing saucepans or the Brass 'Birds belt out a cheeky circus tune.
They save the loudest till last with the structured, seething riot of 'Knives And Pliers'. Lupen's voice swells with the rising volume and leaves us, with ringing ears, desperate for more. Lupen Crook And The Murderbirds: thrilling, fulfilling and spine-chilling. With another tour planned for early 2008, make sure you don't miss out.
Holly Dawson
Lupen Crook Official Site
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