Camden is a weird place; in fact it's almost like a seaside town in some ways. Tourists flock through the busy high street which is flavoured by the smells of cooking and the yodelling of buskers, making their way into the stables where hundreds of stalls sell everything from handmade furniture to vintage clothing and custom made art.
We're not here for shopping today though; we're here for Camden Rocks festival. Now in its second year, Camden Rocks sees around 200 bands play in 12 venues dotted throughout the North London borough which was once a home to The Clash's Rehearsal Rehearsals practice room -- situated just inside of the Stables entrance to Camden Town Market.
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Upon first glance, the line-up for Camden Rocks festival is an odd mix of bands. They clearly have a wide target market and there's something for everyone in the lineup with big indie names like Reverend and The Makers and The Subways to Orange Goblin and Hacktivist, for those with a heavier pallet. We try to get a mix of bands into our schedule but being so spread out, and such a hot day, the idea of taking a punt on a band the other side of town becomes a little less appealing.
We began our day by wandering to the Barfly to catch Gnarwolves. We were a bit early though so we went and grabbed some Chinese food from the market and returned to find out the venue had reached capacity in our absence. It was disappointing not to see Gnarwolves but no surprise considering the success they've had in the past year, or so. We dug out our timetables and headed over to The Black Heart to catch Crazy Arm.
Crazy Arm has a reputation as one of the best live acts in UK punk rock and it's truly deserved. Darren John's band of merry men are dressed in black and really command the stage, sounding somewhere between Fisherman's Friends and Fugazi. The riffs are techy but not high-brow, and though the lyrics are political they certainly aren't without conviction. The band finishes up with a song that sums them up musically, "Broken by the Wheel." The whole crowd sings along, claps thunderously and then leaves as quickly as they entered so as not to melt in the heat.
After a short interval the room fills back up in preparation for Apologies, I Have None. Their last full-length, London received great reviews and the fantastic music videos that accompanied the songs helped springboard AIHN on to some great shows with the likes of The Gaslight Anthem, Joyce Manor and Less Than Jake. They recently released a new EP titled "Black Everything" and having lost and replaced their guitarist Dan, I was excited to see how the band sounded without the dual vocals.
Apologies have had a big line-up change once before, recruiting a full band from their beginnings as a two-piece and they navigated it magically. Well, the new Apologies sound has once again taken a different direction and it's a dark one. Seriously. Where London was largely upbeat and summery, the new songs are heavy, angst ridden but just as god-damn powerful, it's got that kind of Brand New eeriness about it.
After Apologies finish we take a walk down to the Electric Ballroom to check out Turbowolf, they have a big crowd and good facial hair but don't keep our attention. We wander a little further down the high street towards the Monarch to catch the last two songs from Bleach Blood.
Bleach Blood is the new project from former King Blues guitarist, Jamie. They play bouncy pop rock that's super melodic, energetic and reminiscent of some of TKB's later work. The Monarch is one of the smaller venues but they have a good crowd and the low-rise stage suits their vibe, you can tell the band are all really into the songs and they seem to be having lots of fun.
We hang around the Monarch for a little while then return once again to The Black Heart to check out The Hell. We'd heard good things about these guys and we later found out that a couple of them used to play in Spycatcher (such an underrated band).
Proving their superhero skills, they take to the furnace-like stage of the Black Heart wearing bandana face masks and proceed to play a set of parody hardcore songs that seem to go down well.
As the night drew to a close, we stagger over to the Brew Dog for Crazy Arm's acoustic set. They play in a small basement which quickly fills up and play the countrified versions of their songs to a busy room full of fans. Having toured constantly over the past few years, Crazy Arm's musicianship skills really raise the bar above many UK punk bands, given the wide appeal of their songs it's frustrating that they aren't playing to much larger crowds by now because they've certainly earned their stripes. They finish up with a cover of Johnny Cash's "Jackson," inviting Helen Chambers to play the part of June Carter. It's a lovely end to the night and the festival.