The Crimea frontman Davey MacManus

Indie wonders wow ’em among the bowling lanes

REVIEW - THE CRIMEA
Bloomsbury Bowling Lanes

IT’S been a rocky road of knocked out teeth, bowling balls and trendy scouse fans for the Crimea.
They’ve been around the musical block a few times, with a few dead and buried bands in their closets, but they’ve come a long way – and even performed at the biggest festival of the year, T in the Park, last month.
Last Thursday’s ‘secret’ gig proved they are a popular outfit – with just a tip off on their website, people had travelled the length of the country to watch these indie hopefuls who have a whiff of superstar about them.
Even a mixing desk from hell and the kind of start that would send a perfectionist spiralling into a twitching fit couldn’t blow them off course.
Frontman Davey MacManus, he of the above mentioned missing tooth, is all vulnerability, with a haunting voice that floats above the music – if not the reverb.
Their music is a cross between fellow-Irish band Ash – unsurprisingly Myspace buddies of The Crimea – and, I thought, The Beach Boys in a harmonising tuneful way.
And new single Baby Boom has been stuck in my head since that night, all woo-wah guitars and lamenting lyrics, something about Tarzan and babies.
But for me, one of the best moments of my gig-going life so far, was their cover of John Lennon’s Jealous Guy – it got me all hairs on arms shivery and feeling emotional at the bar.
The way Davey, who lives in Camden with some of the band, tackled the hurt and paranoid lyrics was genuinely moving.
Their new album, Tragedy Rocks is worth a tenner, what else you gonna spend it on? An hour’s bowling? Shame – if you’d come you could’ve done both.

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