Camden Crawl News Review Blog - Day 2
And so the Crawl returns to Camden, bigger and better than ever in 2008. Like any festival, you’ll never catch everything so here’s Xfm’s guide to who rocked North London, complete with news, reviews and general drunken babbling...
The excesses of Day 1 of the Camden Crawl aren't anything that can't be cured with a decent fry-up and a liquid lunch. One more unto the breach, dear friends...
18:00 “Xfm Throws Parties…”
Kicking off Xfm’s second night of live music from Koko are Cardiff’s Los Campesinos! [MySpace] who, despite their knowing ragged edges and wild yelps of abandon, have actually grown into something of a force to reckoned with.
With singers flitting around the stage and the rest of the seven-piece Welsh collective scream and jerk along with him as they raise massive cheers with ‘Please Don’t Tell Me (To Do The Math)’ and numerous other art-rock gems. However, time's pressing. We must run... [JF]
19.10: What's My Name?
Down in the Underworld, Liverpool three-piece Elle S'Appelle [MySpace] are a guitar band that have hit upon the novel notion of having no guitars. Whereas such tactics would be enough to put off lesser bands, Elle S'Appelle's brand of electropop combines keyboards, drums, bass guitar (see what they did there?) and harmonies to create a joyful noise that's enough to create the first moshpit of the night. [JM]
19.20: Xfm's Running The Show
Make Model [MySpace] sound like a cross between Arcade Fire and Belle And Sebastian, and that can't be a bad thing, we likey. Xfm's night at KOKO is pretty heaving once again and its time to start getting the drinks in, we've got some catching up to do. Can't help giggling thinking about the interview we did with them earlier at by Dingwalls with The Mighty Boosh's 'Eleanor' (Bob Fossil) sex pesting the life out of them and showing them her new sex tape (Check back soon for the exclusive video). [LB]
20:00 No Bull...
Over at NW1, the much-lauded Thecocknbullkid [MySpace] is drawling out a super slowed version of Talking Heads’ classic ‘Psycho Killer’. Anita Blay, for that’s her real name, comes decked in a bright blue satin all-in-one and a sultry demeanour, and mixes a soulful voice with a sound that’s somewhat less revolutionary than early reviews have suggested. Regardless it’s all impressive enough and props have to go to the fact that she overcame the venue’s lack of dressing rooms to get changed in the toilets and still had time to sign the odd autograph. [SS]
20.00: The Tail, Not The Finger...
Over at the Dublin Castle, a serious and compelling case is being made for the re-introduction of smoking in public places because somewhere in the crowd, one unfortunate individual is dropping his guts to such a fearful extent throughout Pull Tiger Tail's [MySpace] unannounced gig that it's almost impossible to concentrate as to what's happening on stage. Time for some air and fast! [JM]
20.20: It's All Greek To Me
The Earl Of Camden is justifiably rammed for Ipso Facto's [MySpace] hypnotically compelling set. The all-girl quartet are fully aware of the value of Duane Eddy's twanging guitar, swirling Farfisa runs, primeval drums dredged up from rock'n'roll's primordial ooze and a set of Louise Brooks bobs. The net result is a psychdelic trip to the garage that provides the best set of the evening thus far. [JM]
20.30: Ladies Night
Another all girl get up, this time in the shape of Brooklyners Effi Briest [MySpace]. We get in just in time to catch their last two songs and my lord is it memorable. Named after German novelist Theodor Fontane's revered masterpiece - a novel in the form of three stories, each a tragedy around the theme of adultery told from the point of view of a female - these girls conjure up the book's sentiment beautifully, writhing around on the floor and emitting haunting wails whilst dressed all in black. [LB]
20.40: The Truth, The Whole Truth And Nothing But The Truth
White Lies [MySpace]. Off the HOOK! These boys have played a grand total of three gigs (tonight being the fourth) and yet they command the entire 2,000 capacity Electric Ballroom like pros. This feels as epic as a Muse stadium show which doesn't make sense! They should be just about finding their feet but they look like they've been doing this for years. This has the definite whiff of big things to come. Plus, the fact their lead singer is painfully beautiful and looks like Sam Riley in Control doesn't hurt their cause. [LB]
21:15 A ‘Little Bit’ Of What You Fancy
It’s a strange old bill at the typically-rawk Underworld with Scandinavia’s latest electronic-pop hope Lykke Li [MySpace] mixing with the likes of Kentucky blues-rocksmiths Cage The Elephant (more from them later). Regardless, one year on in the venue that launched Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip’s commercial assault, Ms Li looks set to follow with a unique piercing voice and a way with a catchy hook.
The star of the show was always going to be the hypnotic ‘Little Bit’ with its production as simple yet addictive as Rhianna’s ‘Umbrella’, and just as capable of “crossing over” into the pop charts and making Lykke Li and massive star. Not to mention the fact that her peer Robyn is in attendance not just to watch but also collaborate on stage. One to watch. [JF]
21.20: You're Name's Not On The List, You're Not Going In!
Future Of The Left [MySpace] at Bar Monsta? Forget about it. So rammed is the tiny bar that even those of us with special door privileges are turned away. [JM]
22.00: Let's Dance To... The Wombats!
Fresh from their European tour the boys first gig back in the UK is an absolute cracker. With the longest queue we saw at the Crawl for the entire weekend snaking out from The Electric Ballroom Xfm luckily manages to sneak through the backstage door to catch the show. Launching into 'Moving To New York' there isn't a person in the crowd who isn't singing back every single word to them. This is one seriously popular gig, The Wombats [MySpace] are here to stay.
Back in the dressing room and the boys try to convince Xfm that they were Boy Kill Boy (their trusty wombat mascot gives them away) and even manage to write a special doo wap ditty all about Xfm and the Camden Crawl. Check back soon to see the video of that! [LB]
22.30: Welcome Back, Grapple Fans
Depending on your view and state of intoxication, London three-piece Let's Wrestle [MySpace] are either the greatest band in the world or the biggest pile of steaming garbage to have been pumped into the Enterprise. For the most part, Let's Wrestle sit in the former camp. Their aura of suburban boredom is rammed home by an attitude that displays as much contempt for what they're doing with the lives they have to lead. Driven by rudimentary riffs and an air of studied ineptitude, Let's Wrestle are compelling in the way that news footage of natural disasters are; you really don't want to look but it's impossible to turn away. [JM]
22:30 “Welcome To The Jungle”
Still in The Underworld, it’s back to the sound the venue’s more familiar with as Kentucky’s Cage The Elephant [MySpace] stride on stage bedecked in Harley Davidson’s T-Shirts, tight jeans, dark glasses and big hair. And they’re f*cking great.
A breath of fresh air in a sea of indie smaltz, this sort of thing could be easily disregarded as derivative, but it’s obvious that CTE aren’t exactly at the cutting edge of dubstep. This is just how they are. And they’re f*cking great.
With staccato riffs, heavy beats and an ungodly holler singer Matt Shultz spends much of the gig drawling from behind shades while the rest of the band jerk and flail like their lives depend on it. It’s an absolute pleasure to see a band so dedicated to putting on a performance and a packed Underworld absolutely laps it up. Quality stuff. [JF]
22:30 Heading South
Over at the Cuban Bar, South Central’s [MySpace] live incarnation (the singer and electronics wiz also DJ as a pair) is thrilling to watch. Backed by a live band, the temperature of the already-at-capacity Cuban Bar is going through the roof as their rock-tinged electro beats the living daylights out of the PA system.
Despite a power cut midway through the regimented black hoodie-clad South Central process the sounds created on stage – including vocals – as tracks like ‘Golden Dawn’ and a final looping ‘The Wheel’ draw a massive response. With Partyshank up next, Cuban Bar looks in no danger of stopping dancing any time soon… [SS]
23.00: For All Other Enquiries Please Press...
Operator Please [MySpace] are blowing up the Barfly with an ease that borders on the indecent. Whip-smart and lean, their spunky power-pop is the sound of rottweiller puppies fighting in a canvas sack filled with candy floss and several spoonsfuls of rifined sugar. The resulting buzz ensures that 'Just A Song About Ping Pong' is dispatched with a force equal to a megaton or two. Their cover of Devo's 'Whip It' jerks and stutters while their own 'Get What You Want' ensures the perfect finish to a long day. [JM]
23.35: We LOVE Robots In Disguise
Our favourite electro-punk girls rip up an absolutely ram jammed Black Cap tearing through tracks 'Sex Has Made Me Stupid' and 'We're In The Music Biz'. Completing the dancing entourage on stage were The Mighty Boosh's Bob Fossil dressed as 'Eleanor', main man Noel Fielding and adding a bit of Hollywood flavour Courtney Love all dressed in black. This gig was hot, in more ways than one. Check back soon for the exclusive video. [LB]
00:30 What A Fox...
Over at Oh! Bar, Fox Cubs [MySpace] are playing, in their own words, their biggest gig to date, and have hit the stage confusingly 45 minutes early. Regardless, they sound amazing mixing math-rock-lite guitar hooks with a touch of Forward Russia falsetto, especially on debut single ‘Beasts Of England’ and after a brief chat with the crowd, a deal is struck that they’ll play an encore; A rarity for Crawl bands.
The band leave the stage, everyone cheers more and Tim Baggott leads his men back on stage to play the only song they have left. Glorious stuff indeed and a real milestone for the five-piece. [JF]
00:30 One Last Party
Two guys, a shed loud of electronics and a massive electro-moshpit. Like the now defunct Death From Above 1979 Partyshank’s [MySpace] brand of full on electro is uncompromising and, with South Central looking on supportively, the pair take the Cuban Bar to the next level.
Somehow, there’re even more people here than an hour ago and as the London duo abuse switches and buttons and a talkbox it’s clear that there’s only one option. Dance. Hard. Again. [SS]
Julian Marszalek, Jon Ford, Lliana Bird, Sapna Sanghvi
Tagged as Camden , Festivals, Live
add your comment
Login to xfm+
latest videos
-
Xfm at Glastonbury: The Video
Xfm took residency on the fields of the Glastonbury for five glorious days of music and partying and work, of course. See what happened here...
-
Xfm's All Day Breakfast Part 1
A 24-hour breakfast show combined with 24 hours of gigs around London.
-
Xfm's All Day Breakfast - Part 2
A 24-hour breakfast show combined with 24 hours of gigs around London.
-
Ebony Bones 'Don't Fart On My Heart'
Latest Xfm Sessions
-
We Are Scientists Live From Leicester Square
Americans We Are Scientists came in to Xfm for some classic Live From Leicester Square action. Listen here.
-
Mystery Jets Live From Leicester Square
Taking just a few hours out of their crazy busy tour schedule, Mystery Jets popped in to Xfm for another superb Live From Leicester Square Session. Listen here.
-
Does It Offend You... Live From Leicester Square
Bam! Another great Live From Leicester Square session. This time from smash-and-grab electro-rockers Does It Offend You, Yeah? It does, but we don't mind...