Thursday saw Liverpool’s Camp and Furnace hold one of Creeper’s latest cult meetings, summoning followers from all over. Supported by Naut and Zetra, the band electrified the Scouse warehouse, leaving each and every attendee wanting more.
Under red and purple flashing lights, the crowd falls silent. Waiting, and erupting when Jake Fogarty (drummer) mounts the stage, throwing his arms in the air in what seems to be glory. Will Gould (lead vocalist) presents himself in his standard leather jacket and sunglasses, and everyone goes wild, singing along to ‘Cry to Heaven’ as soon as it kicks off the show. Arms are raised in the air, and the crowd is jumping. The standard of the night is already highly set, but will the rest follow?
‘Poison Pens’ comes next, bringing just as much energy. Will’s charisma alone brings everyone’s hands up, waving along with his own. It’s obvious why they call their following a cult – everyone is on the same page, embracing themselves in the music alongside each other. ‘Lovers Led Astray’ takes the torch afterwards, falling on red lights. Hannah Greenwood (vocalist) brings in the slow section of the song, refusing to let any of the crowd’s energy slip through the cracks. By the end of ‘Lovers Led Astray’, the audience is gasping for a break after the three intense tracks that have already passed, but they are pleading for more.
“Liverpool!” Will screams, and the crowd returns. “Let’s do this Hannah,” he declares, as the band begins a soft version of ‘Hiding With Boys’, returning to the usual, heavier version after the first chorus.
‘Cyanide’ keeps the crowd screaming back every single lyric, and flows quickly into ‘Napalm Girls’. Everyone is so clearly taking in all that Creeper has to give, with few phones to be seen, something that is so rare in live music nowadays. Each member of the audience is committed to giving this band everything they can. Voices are echoing the lyrics throughout the room, people are clambering over others while crowd-surfing, and Creeper is smiling as they watch and play.
Will aims the microphone towards the right side of the room, and then the left, creating an eruption of screams. Announcing that Liverpool may be the loudest city of the tour, the singer creates a challenge, and it shows when ‘The Ballad of Spook and Mercy’ begins. The band can barely be heard over their followers. Not even a slow song can stop them, as they continue to scream for guitarist, Ian Miles, while he plays his flawless riff.
“Let’s keep this going,” Will encourages. Fists are pumping in the air, bringing in ‘Teenage Sacrifice’ with the band. The crowd seems to be losing their energy, until the lead vocalist calls out, “How are we doing Liverpool?”, getting nothing but screams in return.
Will hits a comedy streak, telling the crowd to talk amongst themselves while he casually contemplates switching belt buckles with a member of the audience. “It says ‘Grim Reaper’ on it,” he ponders.
Hannah moves the show on with ‘Ghosts Over Cavalry’, followed by ‘Crickets’, while the crowd continues embracing the band, as if that’s what they were born to do. Hannah softly sings to an acoustic guitar, and they still don’t lose a single person. The stage, the crowd, and everything else in this room belongs to Creeper tonight, and they do not pass up any opportunity to use it as their own.
Will returns, proudly singing the title ‘Down Below’, and the crowd reciprocates, successfully building back the energy from the acoustic ballad. The full song takes over, and it seems that Will’s attempt to heighten the audience’s volume has worked incredibly. ‘Down Below’ finishes, and Will stands steady in front of the crowd, raising his arms for the audience to scream back to him, as if what they’ve already given isn’t enough.
Denying the crowd’s begging for ‘VCR’, Creeper kicks back off with ‘Chapel Gates’, moving swiftly into ‘Black Mass’. The energy is bouncing off the walls at this point, and dancing can be seen throughout the crowd. Creeper’s cult is hooked, screaming, “I love you!” relentlessly.
Being asked by Will to jump for the next song in honour of drummer, Jake Fogarty, ‘Annabelle’ has all feet off the floor, including those of the consistent crowd-surfers. The lyrics, “You’ve got to live a little when the world just wants you sad,” in particular, hit the audience hard, creating even more energy.
‘I Choose To Live’ brings a new feel to the room. Blue lights reflect the solemness of the lyrics, and the crowd sways, singing the chorus for the band. Will’s desperate voice falls over the room throughout the verses, leaving the cult in a calm stillness.
Creeper exit the stage, and the now-red lights, along with a steady bass-line hold the attention of the crowd, keeping them in their positions until the encore hits with a smooth instrumental, heading into ‘Further Than Forever’. Cheers and whistles come from every inch of the room.
Will holds his hands in a heart for the crowd, while begs for ‘VCR’ creep back into the venue. Introductions for each of the members and crew act as the band’s heartfelt ‘thank you’ for the assistance of their ‘12 Days of Night Tour’, and the audience are still feeding off the band’s energy.
‘Misery’ takes the finale of the show, as everyone in Camp and Furnace sings softly. A peaceful, and loving sense of community has cult members holding each other, swaying to the music. Creeper pauses their playing, allowing their supporters to take the lead on the song’s bridge, seeing ‘Misery’ to the end.
And with that, Creeper closes off their Liverpool show, and their ‘12 Days of Night Tour’. They are a band that are so clearly grateful to their supporters, and their supporters so clearly loving of the band. The bond shared between every single person in Camp and Furnace during the show was something so unbelievably beautiful. Creeper are not only talented in their musical abilities, but in their ability to show their love for what they do and the people they do it for. This has been a night to remember for many.
