Learning to walk, London stylee

Camden Crawl Day 2, Various Venues, Saturday 25^th April 2009

The annual razzle dazzle is in town, cue queues, Red Stripes a-plenty, some armpit gazing and a host of bands you may/may not want to see again...

 

If whispers on the high street speak of unholy queues in the wake of Miss O and co, day one (one girl tells me 4 hours!), then Saturday’s crawlers heed… if you want to see Kasabian, it requires a steak out.

But with the Roundhouse droves’ gain, it’s also their loss. It’s a crawl after all, not a stagnation! Fortunately with plenty more on the bill it’s a brisk, tinny-accompanied trundle down to Koko for The King Blues to charm the pants of the Jamie T fans first. A rude-boy version of The Pogues, they perfectly accompany the summertime cider ‘owzat’ swagger of this Borough, albeit a little lightweight. Not entirely sure we're all on board with this 'fucking pigs' business as the front man tosses off about G20 killings and how people should love one another. He's about 75% right.

From here on in, it’s all about compromise: after all, does anyone really think they can trek The Black Cap (The XX), spin by Dingwalls (Everything Everything) and still make it up for the last of Banjo or Freakout set at The Enterprise? Our valiant 3 were just about up to the task as we witnessed The XX coo a rather docile start, somewhat like Evanescence (yes, yuk indeed) and midday beers make for tired eyes. In this way it takes until the second song for the dour female sexiness to really resonate into a Lykke Li single, heart-beating drum machine that rouses a little more.

Everything Everything prove their popular ‘Suffragette Suffragette’ is rather ear-piercing live with it’s weird momentum, a fancier demonstration of their skill than the remaining melodrama. It forces us onwards, into the comfy hazy guitar-shaped arms of Banjo or Freakout – the miniscule dimensions of The Enterprise feeling even more doghouse-sized with their spin-dry acoustic showers. Sneaking a peek at Alessis Ark, the neon flashing ‘one to watch’ is almost visible as she stuns in more ways than one.

For his umpteenth year at the Crawl, Billy Bragg is holed up in the Dublin Castle and has punters hushing one another mere millimetres away. ‘The Milkman of Human Kindness’, as real as ever, sounds magical - we’re not sure if it’s the beer (it isn't) – with this, Camden Crawl has surpassed itself. Sadly there’s not enough time to fall in love with the old Essex boy, as keeping an ear out for Golden Silvers we race towards Die! Die! Die!

An insane jumble of sweat, characters and dancing, the trio truly cut their knashers with Andrew going ‘walkies’ in a set crammed of guitar and Mikey’s irrefutable drumming on ‘Blinding’. Call me a snob, but if I’d have listened to Kyle Falconer whinging about being unwashed I would feel obliged to spring out an acoustic and regale all and sundry with my student misdemeanours.

Lucky for the buskers of Camden I wasn’t sharp enough in the footwork department to catch The View, but the hot ticket for sure this evening is Kasabian. Shoes are lost, beer is lost, brothers are lost, but the Roundhouse is baying for more. Four newbies make the setlist and their psychedelic turn is mesmerising – only aided one would assume by Tom’s adventures in Wizzadora’s closet – beefy guitar lines are swapped for spindling reverb and a less ‘danceable’ beat… well until ‘Club Foot’ kicks out and everyone is finally allowed to lose their minds.

With enough of a noggin left, Eugene McGuiness rattles out The Ramones ‘Judy Is A Punk’ at 1:30am and makes for a surprise highlight of the weekend. See also new single 'Wendy Wonders' for a dose of the heir to the Brian Wilson throne. 

As irrational as it may seem to spend 48 hours trawling a tourist trap with a can at every stop and a queue a mile long, it’s those rare moments of surprise that make this all so much fun. Next year we just need to bring a few clones to soak it all up.

 

Emily Kendrick