CAMDEN CRAWL: Who were the hits and missses at this year's big live music weekend?
James Allan during Glasvegas’s afternoon performance at the Holiday Inn with Regent’s Canal in the background
Published: 10 May, 2012
by ROISIN GADELRAB, ALLAN LEDWARD, DAMIAN O’LOUGHLIN, NORMANDIE HOCHE, TRISTAN HARPER and JON SQUIRE
(click here for Camden Crawl pictures special)
(click here for a round-up of our reviewers' favourite acts from the Crawl)
SOME have suggested Camden Crawl 2012 lost its allure to the more happening East with few stellar headliners, integral venues gone AWOL, hardly any queues, several cancellations, no alarms and no surprises.
Yet, these potential minuses were in many cases turned on their head by the lesser known but equally talented acts of all genres bursting out of every participating venue.
Crawl organisers may have foregone the populist approach but they proved their ears were as finely tuned as ever to the sounds of tomorrow, having signed up guitar bands of the acoustic and heavier variety, a huge number of urban and dubstep/electro/house acts as well as the UK’s best spitter, Lady Leshurr, who could confidently step up against any challenger and walk away defiant.
Where the big stars were minimal – Glasvegas, Gaz Coombes, Alabama 3, The Cribs and The Futureheads among the exceptions – reflected by lesser numbers attracted to the festival, there was more time to focus on those not yet covered in stardust but who no doubt soon will be.
With almost zero-queuing time and front-row access to almost every gig, many shows had a more intimate and exclusive feel, and the Camden Gardens sets, under the railway added a sense of edgy drama.
At times it did feel like the Crawl’s soul, so much entwined in the institution that is the Dublin Castle – a Crawl staple but not participating this year, and the scene of many a surprise appearance – had been slightly trampled on.
There was little cause to expect special guests or stunts such as the time Madness played Camden atop a double decker bus, the notable absence of Amy Winehouse (last year pulling pints behind the Dublin’s bar, other years playing the pub’s back room) and the mysterious non-participation of venues such as the Good Mixer and the Spreadeagle, the Forum and the Roundhouse main stage.
This, together with disappointed launch night reviews – Death In Vegas’s much-heralded headline set falling flat – dampened expectations for the weekend, as did the weather forecast.
But, as the rainclouds mostly abated, so did the muted anticipation, as gig after gig exceeded expectations – Clement Marfo and the Frontline (generous, beloved and infectious), Baxter Dury (gleeful Franco-Cockney delights) and Theme Park (babyfaced indie-pop) standout examples.
Our only plea to Crawl organisers is to stagger next year’s timetable to eliminate dead time between sets, in turn reducing scrambles to see multiple acts in the same time band.
Our reviewers wore down their shoes in search of the best the weekend had to offer.
Here’s the verdict: Koko’s opulence should have been entirely apposite for the ceremonial launch of this year’s festival, but many bewildered Crawlers found themselves out on Mornington Crescent pavement before 10pm on Friday, feeling a little spat out.
Death In Vegas’s set was short and underwhelming.
By the time they played the excellent Hands Around My Throat the moment was lost.
The sinister sparkle of their rock-electro cocktail had fallen flat and the enigmatic Richard Fearless headed for an early night.
DiV were preceded by Engine Earz Experiment, who, despite looking like a group of strangers, compensated for their incoherent dubstep with unrelenting zeal.
Parkway’s participation in this year’s Crawl extended only halfway up what is one of Camden Town’s landmark musical thoroughfares, but the Earl of Camden revelled in the extra attention.
Andy Ross Presents featured acts undaunted by tricky early Saturday slots.
A highlight, the precocious Kit Richardson, a bossy pianist and singer-songwriter, orchestrated her band with an infectious effervescence.
Next, the grammatically tangled Jim’ll’s Brain wore the novelty label well.
Topless, in a blue cape, and painted orange, his folky story-telling, with a recurring stalking theme, won a warm response. In the style of a dysfunctional Billy Bragg, he sang: “I’m going to take pictures of you while you’re not looking”, and, “you can take me to court, but the doctor says it’s not my fault”.
As always, Birmingham-born spoken word artist Polarbear was a favourite, spitting out his trademark modern fairy tales.
Every syllable that comes out of the Smethwick poet’s mouth is clear and precisely conveys his message of nostalgia, hard times, hope and, above all, pride.
Anyone who has heard his sincere and insightful words will wonder why Polarbear’s time in the sun hasn’t come yet.
Grooves is sure fame and a chance to become the next urban puppet to sit next to Simon Cowell while he feasts at the “talent” trough doesn’t enter into Polarbear’s thinking, which may be the answer to the above question.
The Futureheads played a crystal clear a capella session at the Holiday Inn early Saturday, an indication of how far they have come.
Sadly, after a strong start at their later headline set at a packed Koko, the a capella approach lost out to a rowdy worse-for-wear crowd incapable of shutting up long enough to hear a single note of the guest choir.
The deflated and frustrated band shrugged their shoulders, let the choir escape the indifferent reception and resigned themselves to playing biggest and most popular hit Hounds of Love, ending by saying: “I hope you enjoyed getting fxxxxxx wasted tonight, we tried to do something different...”