The Camden Crawl

I went on the Camden Crawl last night. I didn't managed to see all the bands I would have liked especially at the end of the night slot which saw The Wedding Present, The Subways and The Buzzcocks competeing against each other.

We started in Lock 17 where we saw Art Brut. I found them entertaining without liking them although they did close their set with the best two songs they have got, "We Formed A Band" and "I've Got A New Girlfriend".

Next off we tried to see the Mystery Jets but could not get in. We ended up at the Canaervan Castle to see The Kooks. They reminded me of The Stairs with their retro pop but without the class. At least their girlfriends enjoyed the set, bopping away at the front. We then proceeded to walk the length of Camden to get to the Koko. We popped in to the Ballroom to see the frankly awful Motley Crue wannabees The Towers Of London. I stomached two songs before we exited stage left.

At The Koko we caught the last four songs of Maximo Park's set. They were excellent. Do yourself as favour and pick up their "Apply Some Pressure" single which is out now. The next band on were The Magic Numbers. I have really had enough of these folky inspired bands. What makes me laugh is watching people, hooked by the hype, forcing themselves to like them. Yet if they heard The Mamas & Papas they would turn their noses up. People The Magic Numbers are the Mamas & Papas for gawds sake! That said the new single, the title of which escaped me, was pleasant enough but in general I, along with those I was with, were not impressed and we made our way back down Camden High Street.

The Canaervan castle was rammed so that ruled out The Subways so we headed back to Lock 17 to see a glorious set by The Wedding Present. Hopefully you all know, that with the exception of Gedge, this line up bears no resemblance to the classic line up of old and is in fact the last line-up of Cinerama. However don't let that detract from what was a mighty performance. As well as new material the band played "Kennedy", "My Favourite Dress" and more surprisngly "Once More" which was the bands debut from 20 years ago. I have to say though that the mosh pit consisted of the oldest moshers I have ever seen and I was lucky to dodge the zimmer frames. Absolutely fantastic and I will have to get some tickets for the current tour.

Overall a good night!