ThereÔÇÖs only so much hype that music media can use to convince you that a bandÔÇÖs worth their salt. Yet, on the last date of a tour with both Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes and Blackhole, the real proof is right there in the flesh. ItÔÇÖs a cold October evening, a fine mist of rain in the air, itÔÇÖs an hour before the doors open at Clwb Ifor Bach and the only three people in the barren queue are sporting Creeper merch in the form of t-shirts, purple shoelaces and back patches. They look like a gang, a cult if you will. The front row of Clwb Ifor Bach this evening is not a feverous collection of Frank Carter fans, rather all members of the Creeper Cult.
As Creeper stride onto stage, backs to the crowd, their black denim and leather each emblazoned with massive Callous Heart back patches it seems there are only a handful of people in the room that have some idea of whatÔÇÖs about to go down.
Creeper rip through a 7 song set, which includes the majority of their current material. A band that arenÔÇÖt afraid to wear their hearts on┬átheir sleeves, frontman Will Gould even announces a cover by ÔÇ£the greatest band everÔÇØ before tearing through AFIÔÇÖs ÔÇÿSacrifice TheoryÔÇÖ.
This is a punk band. They may be dressed in black, Gothicised from tip to toe, with lyrics and drama that invoke a sense of pantomime more than a pit. But, this is most definitely a punk band. Will gropes around the stage with a theatrical strut that can only be compared to a young Mr Gerard Way in the days of ÔÇÿThree Cheers For Sweet RevengeÔÇÖ when there was a real bite to his performance. His onstage persona is completely juxtaposed when his nervous self is revealed whilst humbly thanking Frank Carter for giving them a shot on the tour. ThereÔÇÖs a shake in his voice, which is quickly done away with as the fantastical characters of each member thrusts into their next extravagant anthem.
If there was even a grain of doubt that Creeper may not live up to the hype that they have earned off the back their outrageously strong EPs, their live show has destroyed it. The band are a cohesive entity, their performance is slick in the most punk way a show can be and their songs clearly already mean so much to so many people. This is the Creeper Cult and thereÔÇÖs nothing you can do to stop them.
JACK GLASSCOCK