Live Review - Camden Crawl
19th - 20th April 2007
Day Two
Collecting our timetables for day two, we're disappointed to find that everyone we want to see appears to be playing at the same time, so we quickly formulate a plan, resign ourselves to an evening of running around, and head off to the Dublin Castle to catch Cardiff quintet The Hot Puppies. The place is already packed, (Travis are playing later and we reckon people have learnt from yesterday's queues) but we grab a spot by the stage to enjoy the first half of a sexily delivered set of sci-fi spiked indie-pop, fronted by the alluringly bashful and unashamedly feminine vocals of lead-singer Becky Newman.
After three tracks, however, it's time to get running and head over to Bullet, the furthest away venue by far, to catch the second half of London-based folktronica collective Tunng. After hearing a lot of good things about the band over the last few months I'm, yet again, not disappointed, as they offer a down-tempo set of lovingly produced and exquisitely mastered folk inspired electronica on a par with the likes of The Beta Band or Kieran Hebden's Four Tet. Again, it's a rather strange venue and the large windows let in a little too much light, reminding us all that it's still sunny outside and we really shouldn't be gallivanting around smoky, dingy venues on a day like today.
The Hot Puppies
Nevertheless, we stick around for the much talked about New York duo Shy Child, but after twenty minutes of waiting it looks like they've cancelled, so, not wanting to waste any time, we shoot off to The Electric Ballroom to see Danish alt-rockers The Kissaway Trail and, just a few minutes into the first track, we're more than glad we did. They're an imposing sight from the word go; with three guitars, bass and drums, they play in one long line, utilising all five vocals in an impressive display of alternative rock turned upside down and inside out, then played hard and fast but perfectly in tune, with some great melodies to boot. Think Pixies meets The Beach Boys and you might be somewhere close by.
We manage to catch up with the band after their exhilarating set, and have a quick chat with them about British music and the Camden Crawl; 'We've had an amazing time tonight,' they tell us 'The Electric Ballroom is out of this world as a venue and it's been a great festival.'
The Kissaway Trail
We're so impressed and excited by our new discovery, that we decide not to wait the half hour in the Ballroom for Billy Bragg as planned - we want to go and find new music! And quick! A swift look at the programme reveals that indie-rave duo I Was A Cub Scout are playing at NW1, so we rush over, push our way through the hottest crowd ever, borrow a glow stick or two and get our dance on down the front with the trendy kids.
But we can't stick around too long; we're determined to see The Charlatans at KOKO later in the evening and, learning from yesterday's mistakes, figure we'll get there, say, an hour and a half early, just to be on the safe side. Ha! The queue has already reached the back door but we grit our teeth, put on our jackets and join it. Twenty minutes later, we still haven't moved and when a bouncer kindly comes to tell us we're wasting our time we realise it's probably sensible to make a decision now. Stay here and not see any more music bar the guy whistling behind us, or shoot off quick and try to catch someone else.
[none]Figuring that Travis and BRMC will be just as bad (they're in much smaller venues too) we decide that we need an alternative headliner and, on the recommendation that they're 'the next Klaxons' we make our way to the Purple Turtle to see nu-rave four-piece Late Of The Pier. Not being a huge Klaxons fan, and having a certain amount of reserve for the new indie-rave craze, I'm a little cautious at first. But as they bash and battle their way through an electrifying set of dance-inspired indie and DIY rave, my disappointment at missing out on the big-names begins to wash away as the crowd around me sways and surges until it explodes into one big messy mosh pit of madness.
So we've seen the bands, we've taken in the sights and we've endured the long queues and overpriced drinks; now we're ready to party. Except this is where Camden Crawl finally lets us down; the last bands finish at twelve and after that, all we're offered is a selection of 'Guest DJs'. Still, we try and make the most of it and stick our heads into the The Underworld and the Electric Ballroom, but it's a pretty dismal sight, like the tail end of a party where the CD's got stuck, everyone's fallen asleep and there's one guy dancing on his own in the kitchen. It's been a long but happy couple of days; we're tired, our feet are killing and it's going to take about two hours to get home, but we've seen some great music, discovered some incredible new bands and we're more than ready for the rest of the festival season.
For more information on UK festivals this summer, check out the Ents24 Festival Guide.
Words: Meg Rowell
