THE CAMDEN CRAWL

Having been to the Camden Crawl last year for the first time, this was always going to be a little different. Firstly it was beautiful sunshine, thick with humidity and offering plenty of chances for sitting in the street drinking between bands last year. This year it was thick with clouds and offering plenty of opportunities for attempting to get into packed non-Crawl pubs before settling for a Holsten drank in an alleyway behind the Camden Tup (something that we actually did on the Saturday). Another difference was that I knew a lot more about the bands playing this year, which meant that we wouldn't end up seeing bands like I Am Kloot again and I'd also be able to tell, to an extent, which bands were likely to command a queue and so were worth avoiding. One thing that we did insist upon keeping was the facial reviews, something that is bound to become a tradition at festivals for us now (however it seems that my limited ability with blog sites means that I cannot put the photos up without breaking the review. So if you want to see the photo reviews then head over to my myspace at http://www.myspace.com/thesimpson). But yes, the review:

FRIDAY

Having spent the morning playing computer games and experiencing my town's brand new Nandos (not bad but the layout is really awkward), we arrive at just before 16:00 to find that the queue for the wristbands is daunting. We join the end and wait until after fifteen minutes we have our wristbands and have started sifting through the programmes for our list of bands to see. With so much choice we decide on our first act, SLOW CLUB, and head to the venue - luckily The Enterprise as they have downstairs seating and a good selection of lagers to choose from - for a few beers and a seat so as to plan the rest of the day.

I have seen SLOW CLUB many times this year (including once in this venue previously) and they have never been short of superb. Their music is simple anti-folk but executed with smiles that make you wonder if they're ever going to tire of playing live. I sure hope that they don't as currently these giggles and banter make their live performances rate amongst the most uplifting and warming around. To take most of their songs from an as yet unreleased (possibly even unrecorded) album and yet manage to hold the attention of everyone in the room and have people queuing on the stairs praying people to leave just to allow them the opportunity to catch a song or two of their set, there must be something special about them. After the first song of their set they stop and Rebecca (drums and vocals) addresses the crowd with the statement, "I'm really sorry we were planning to go straight into the next song and be all cool," to which Charles (guitar and vocals) responds whilst chuckling softly, "We'll never be cool." The rest of the room let out a sigh of relief.

From The Enterprise we took a walk towards the NW1 where Operator Please were due to play. However, after turning the corner into Parkway we noticed the queue going round the block. Now our main rule with the Crawl is to not queue if it can be avoided and so we decided instead to head to Bullet Bar for two of the bands on the Drowned In Sound stage.

Up first was SKY LARKIN fan, nodded enthusiastically at my comparison confirming my ambivalence. Songs like 'Matador' go some way to change my opinion and if you like your indie music progressive, intelligent, and lacking in singalongs but full of hooks, then SKY who I had seen earlier in the week supporting Los Campesinos! but, due to the strange pact made by everyone in the crowd not to talk about the show, I had been unable to review properly. As it is I'm not overly bothered either way by them. They remind me of bands like Stapleton, a band that I feel that I should really love but who never manage to excite me. Stephen Davidson, lead singer of Tellison and massive Stapleton fan, agreed so if you like that kinf of band then Sky Larkin are worth a listen. I will inevitably continue to listen in hope of finally falling in love with them.

JOHNNY FOREIGNER took to the stage shortly after, a little too short in fact as they were soon asked to postpone the set for ten minutes as their slot wasn't due yet. People complained pantomime-like at first but as soon as the band were allowed to start everything was forgotten. Alexei's ability with a guitar is really only matched by his song-writing skills, and this band are going a long to way to becoming my favourite UK band. Yelped dual male-female vocals, thrashed guitar solos and the skill to change tone and tempo with aplomb are all qualities to jump straight into all playlists that I produce. JOHNNY FOREIGNER are frantic and melodic, chaotic and yet precise, they make me think of a time in a science lesson where we found a dead wasp and, using our power packs, put thirteen volts of electricity through it, making it shake amongst sparks. Watching this band I feel like that wasp.

After their set we headed to Bar Monsta for TELLISON. This band are consistently brilliant and make some of the poppiest, smart indie music around garnering comparisons to bands like The Futureheads (but I'd argue only really the Self-Titled Futureheads). They were also the band that I was most intrigued about seeing as the crowd at a Tellison show in London or Kingston is largely made up of the same people. Once you find Tellison you fall in love with Tellison, but tonight only those with wristbands would be here and I was certain that I'd be standing with a room of strangers sharing in breaking their Tellison cherry. As it was there were a fair amount of norms there and I stood with them and clapped, shouted and drummed along with them with perfect synchronisation. They aired three new songs tonight and all three sounded impressive but stand out in one of their sets as a Tellison song without a singalong just doesn't sit right. A good set despite the guitars being a little too low in the mix and the keyboards way too loud. After looking around the crowd tonight and noticing new faces amongst them I was happy to see smiling mouths moving along to the lyrics.

From here we ditched our friends in a hurry and made our way to queue outside the Underworld for The Noisettes. It had only just gone 23:00 and we were due an hour and a half wait for the band to come on, but the queue was already relatively large. It wasn't long before we were inside and the DJs were playing classic hip hop songs with the odd classic metal song thrown in. Risky mix but it worked well and the crowd really loved it. I wasn't drunk enough to go for it completely and was already tired of waiting at the start, but it sure helped the time fly by.

THE NOISETTES are a band that I like some songs by on record but had always wanted to see live through reputation. I wasn't really taken with them here. As a collective they are all talented musicians, their songs have potential and they seem entertaining enough to watch, but I'm left with an empty detached feeling throughout. No matter how many times Shingai throws her seductive legs around a guy or takes walks through the crowd I cannot see any impulse in these actions, instead seeing sharp, rehearsed moves that fail to grab me. A very competent rock 'n' roll band with one of the best female vocalists in the UK indie scene currently, but I won't be making an effort to see them again.

SATURDAY

We made sure to head up a little earlier on this occasion, partly because Lawrence wanted to see his friend from work's band, Winners, play the World's End, partly because we wanted to see some other fringe events, but mainly because we wanted to get 2 for 1 at Wagamamas before it got packed. After eating we went looking for a pub that was not too packed for a couple of pints before we started the day. Sadly, due to the Crawl, all of the pubs that are taking part tended to be closed until the event kicked off and so the other pubs were rammed. This wasn't helped either by the decision to have the festival on the Friday/Saturday this year rather than Thursday/Friday of last year, meaning that you had the normal Saturday crowds in the pubs too. After drinking a can in the street while getting rained on, we decided to just brave the crowds of the World's End for a drink and Winners.

WINNERS really aren't the type of band that evoke any feeling in me at all. Musically they sound like an indie Status Quo, while the singer switches between sounding like Johnny Borrell and Ian Dury. Basically they're a pop rock song with everything falling into shape throughout their songs with suitable predictability. For what they do though, they are not actually bad, and, looking at the other people in the crowd, seem to be a it of a hit with those who are fans of that kind of music.

From here we made our way, with some haste, to Koko to see LOS CAMPESINOS!, and the band were on within minutes after having had to queue outside. Los Campesinos! are the kind of band that seem to be having so much fun that you can't help but smile whenever you hear them. With this being the third time that I saw them within a week it would have been very easy for them to bore me, but their brand of twee, danceable indie had me nodding my head, tapping my toe and slapping my thigh within seconds of them taking the stage. This seven piece seem to be hitting their mainstream stride at just the right time as summer is the perfect season for their invasion.

We missed the end of Los Campesinos! so that we could make our way to the Underworld to see ELLE S'APPELLE. The Liverpool three-piece consist of keys, bass and drums which makes for a very 60s feel, and they manage to sound like what The Animals might have sounded like if they had the pop hooks of The Beatles and a female vocalist. And when they can unleash songs like their single Little Flame and provoke the first good natured, dancing, indie moshpit that I'd seen at the Crawl, kids with face paint and another who's shoe was thrown onstage and confiscated by the band for the rest of the set dance-moshing together with happiness smeared across their face, you can't help but enjoy yourself. One of the best new bands that I saw over the weekend for sure.

From here we headed to the Earl Of Camden in the hope of seeing Ipso Facto but there was a queue when we arrived that seemed large enough to give little chance of seeing them and so we headed to The Purple Turtle, spotting Julian Barrett on the way wearing a rather dashing cream polo neck, in the hope of seeing The Answering Machine but they too had a queue. We then decided to go and see JIM GIPSON at the Camden Tup, mainly because Lawrence liked his name. We listened to three quarters of one song and then left. He was given the title: 'The Yorkshire Jeff Buckley' in the little booklet about the Crawl , but instead he sounded like every other generic acoustic singer-songwriter out there made even worse by having a backing band. It is probably too harsh to have even written this much of a review on him and so I've decided against putting the facial reviews up for him. And so, after leaving the Tup we opted for the Electric Ballroom to go and have drinks with a friend working the bar there. After a bunch of double mixers each we headed back to the Underworld and their extortionate bar prices.

LYKKE LI is a Swedish songstress with a childlike voice and penchant for very adult-like lyrics. Her voice gives her songs a very disco feel and her dance moves make her look like a grime star, but really she is just a great alternative popstar about to burst through into the charts with the kind of indie credibility that Kate Nash works so very hard to try and gain. Watching her is a rather strange feeling, she appears fragile on stage, as though she really is putting herself out there entirely, and you almost want to give her a big hug. Her set is almost ruined by the appearance of Robyn for set closer I'm Good I'm Gone. Putting aside my dislike for Robyn anyway, when someone comes to join in with backing vocals on a few lines for the chorus they should not require a piece of paper that they put to their face every time her moment comes round to remember them. Still, Lykke Li is someone you have to see if you like pop music.

Now, with one last slot left at the festival and with few options as to who we would want to fill it and none of the big names tickling our fancy, we decided to go with a sure shot. And so, for the second time and to bookend the Crawl perfectly, our last band of the official Crawl was SLOW CLUB again. Tonight, at the Oh! Bar, they seemed more relaxed than ever, laughing joking, playing a song that I had never heard before, covering the first part of Apologize by One Republic before going into Slow Club Summer Shakedown; the band seemed to be even more comfortable on stage than they normally are. Probably my favourite band around at the moment and the perfect way to get me in a good mood to go party afterwards somewhere.

As it was, Lawrence's friend from Winners, a thoroughly nice guy called Nick had offered us passes for the after-show party at Dingwalls. Of course we were happy to oblige and made our way to The Monarch where he was apparently hanging out with The Mighty Boosh. When we arrived, however, there were no members of The Boosh and Nick was at the front dancing along to this band:

THE DIRTY FEEL are like The Commitments but not as good. Covering things songs like Superstition by Stevie Wonder and announcing before every song that "this is a perfect Saturday night party song" or something like that, they manage to sound like a weddings cover band, although I'm not sure if they played some original material too. I was in a good mood however and danced along with Nick and Lawrence at the front and found them inoffensive enough. Talented musicians pushing a style of music that will not attract the masses but they seem to enjoy what they're doing.

After The Dirty Feel's third or fourth encore encouraged by the guy who had arranged this fringe event, Nick led us upstairs to where the free beer was meant to be. There was an empty trough with some plastic beer rings floating in shallow water. No problems, as Nick had the free passes and the party promised free alcohol and, regardless, we had been expecting to buy drinks all night anyway. So, when Nick went to the cashpoint to get money for his friend, Lawrence and I bought some drinks and sat down to wait. People started dismantling the stage and two girls, the kind that wear black with white polka dots, red lipstick and powder their cheeks, started playing classic Americana mixed with other great oldies. The Monarch had emptied a whole lot by this point and, having never been packed before, there were only around twenty people left in there and most stood at the bar. This meant that the few who decided to dance (we were amongst them) had room to actually move their feet without worrying about who you might bump in to. It wasn't anywhere near the way we had imagined ending the Crawl but I couldn't have thought of a better alternative as I danced, hands in back pockets, to The White Stripes. Nick came back soon after and it started to become apparent that you actually required a black wristband to get into the after-show party. Nick had one but he only had band passes for us. We went along anyway and, as expected, he was allowed in and we weren't. Deciding against attempting any of the other clubs, we made our way home via KFC.

With a week's retrospect, and after writing this review, I really enjoyed the Crawl this year. Yes I could have probably seen all of the bands that I saw play their own gigs with longer sets and for the same collective price as the wristband, but it isn't all about the bands. The Crawl may now find itself in the industry's grasp but, bar waiting for The Noisettes, I saw little of that. What I did see is lots of people having fun and chatting to others and generally treating this like a festival. You don't get that at gigs. Another interesting feature was the emergence of females in good bands. I am a big fan of male and female dual vocals and my this review shows that, but I like that these girls are now part of the scene in such a positive way. I said on the Saturday night that I probably wouldn't be back next year; I retract that now.