camden crawl diary - part one

The presence of various busking acts during the afternoon confirmed that this was more than just your average Friday afternoon in NW1 - and an impromptu performance of ’Dreaming Of You’ outside the Earl Of Camden saw a few punters double-taking to make sure it wasn’t The Coral themselves, fallen on hard times. Early evening saw a large crowd descend on the Early Mews for a raucous performance by Hadouken!, after which prodigiously-talented Crouch End youths Bombay Bicycle Club put in their first of two gigs to a hugely appreciative crowd. This being the sole open air venue at the Crawl, guitarist Jamie MacColl is feeling chilly, exclaiming “I can’t feel my fingers!”, but the melodic indie of ’16’ and ’Ghost’ soon warm everyone to their charms. The Electric Ballroom’s opening gig of the weekend saw a queue stretching almost up to the fire-damaged Hawley Crescent to welcome chart man-of-the-moment Sam Sparro. Arriving on stage in a space-invader adorned poncho and sparkly leg-warmers, his 80’s revivalist electro-funk kept the crowd interested. The relatively plush surroundings of the Roundhouse’s Freedom Studios offered Hatcham Social the opportunity to captivate a crowd with their scratchy guitar tunes, tribal drumming and co-ordinated cardigans. A quick about turn to the other end of town -The Crescent pub - enabled your scribe to witness an engrossing set by Moshi Moshi-signed The Wave Pictures. The stand-out track ’Now You Are Pregnant’ led the band into weepy ballad territory, held together by the humorous banter between singer and bassist, before they finished with more of their exemplary mid-tempo indie-pop. Against all ethics of the Crawl, but needing transport desperately, I hopped a tube up to Chalk Farm in an attempt to catch Welsh twee-punks Los Campesinos!, only to be greeted by a genial doorman informing the gathered hopefuls that ’no chance’ was the likelihood of witnessing their performance. A short trot down the road to the Barfly turned out to be a great decision as Eastern Conference Champions were just taking to the stage, their brand of hook-heavy rock ‘n roll proving just the ticket for a headline act - and whipping the upstairs room into a sweaty frenzy. Despite not witnessing their no-doubt rammed set at the NW1, I couldn’t help humming The Answering Machine’s ‘Lightbulbs’ on the way home, the Manchester quartet’s chirpy guitar pop offering the perfect antidote to the night bus blues. READ PART TWO