Of all the places in London one can visit , Camden is a babe of a destination.
So on the announcement of the Camden Rocks lineup, I quickly bought my ticket and planned my day. - First mistake , don't plan and expect to stay on schedule.
It was ever so much fun, wandering around and going, " I know him... And him... don't I ?" and a little moment later realising that you'd been standing near The Struts before they played their set (which was rather good).
Though as I had a review-writing-session in mind, I decided that getting there early would be a good vibe. - Second mistake , when I was über exhausted and was on the tube at the reasonably early 23.00, all the noises I heard were like gobbling of Turkeys.
I've seen more and more people wearing earplugs to gigs, and have always been (until now) quite skeptical and frowny when I saw such cases; however, after the hours of bombardment I now consider them a rather clever idea.
What is rather strange, is that gigs seem to have gotten more relaxed in a possibly awkward way - you've come to see a band you like the music of and run around and dance in your room to, yet when they play, you and most audience members stand and nod along (rather like a prog rock or Frank Zappa gig as you try and appreciate the complicated riffs and solos). The Struts felt the need to address this and try and get us to dance, which was really quite thoughtful and cute in my opinion. I think people were a bit reserved at earlier gigs (they played at 17:00 at Camden Proud) because of all the other gigs later on which were at different venues across roads and dodging market-goers. It did feel rather strange having my first pint as soon as I got my wristband, as later leaving the gig to see the early noon sky.
Back to the awkward dancing- isn't always the case, as there is often a lot of tentative dancing/swaying when the band play new tunes (oh so excited for The Xcerts new album), but all the same, the band want the audience to show their love for the music in a more obvious manner.
This was not the case for The Hell as all us audience members turned up to the gig prepared to scream profanities at the band members, which we readily did. (There was also a rather fabulous mosh pit to shame all other small-venue mosh pits.) Before the set even properly started the singer (cannot remember corresponding nickname) came into the audience pit and started up the vibe... And got a beer poured on him.
There is also the scheduling, as sometimes bands start late, take a long time setting up, have technical issues, or just don't seem to turn up... I may have been in the wrong place... it's hard to, and useless, get to each venue as the bands set begins. I may have been looking at the time far too frequently at this time, but in truth we don't go to gigs for punctuality.
As I'd been wandering around for near 11 hours, I said goodbye to my friends and voyaged home in the dark, taking these words with me (as my dear friend retold the advice given to her by another friend) "there is nothing wrong with being horizontal sometimes".
And oh, aren't lie-ins the best.
My favourite sets:
Stereo Juggernaut (14:00 Black Cap)
The Struts (17:00 Proud)
The Xcerts (18:00 Jazz Café)
The Hell (21:00 Black Heart)
Messenger (22:00 Purple Turtle)
So on the announcement of the Camden Rocks lineup, I quickly bought my ticket and planned my day. - First mistake , don't plan and expect to stay on schedule.
It was ever so much fun, wandering around and going, " I know him... And him... don't I ?" and a little moment later realising that you'd been standing near The Struts before they played their set (which was rather good).
Though as I had a review-writing-session in mind, I decided that getting there early would be a good vibe. - Second mistake , when I was über exhausted and was on the tube at the reasonably early 23.00, all the noises I heard were like gobbling of Turkeys.
I've seen more and more people wearing earplugs to gigs, and have always been (until now) quite skeptical and frowny when I saw such cases; however, after the hours of bombardment I now consider them a rather clever idea.
What is rather strange, is that gigs seem to have gotten more relaxed in a possibly awkward way - you've come to see a band you like the music of and run around and dance in your room to, yet when they play, you and most audience members stand and nod along (rather like a prog rock or Frank Zappa gig as you try and appreciate the complicated riffs and solos). The Struts felt the need to address this and try and get us to dance, which was really quite thoughtful and cute in my opinion. I think people were a bit reserved at earlier gigs (they played at 17:00 at Camden Proud) because of all the other gigs later on which were at different venues across roads and dodging market-goers. It did feel rather strange having my first pint as soon as I got my wristband, as later leaving the gig to see the early noon sky.
Back to the awkward dancing- isn't always the case, as there is often a lot of tentative dancing/swaying when the band play new tunes (oh so excited for The Xcerts new album), but all the same, the band want the audience to show their love for the music in a more obvious manner.
This was not the case for The Hell as all us audience members turned up to the gig prepared to scream profanities at the band members, which we readily did. (There was also a rather fabulous mosh pit to shame all other small-venue mosh pits.) Before the set even properly started the singer (cannot remember corresponding nickname) came into the audience pit and started up the vibe... And got a beer poured on him.
There is also the scheduling, as sometimes bands start late, take a long time setting up, have technical issues, or just don't seem to turn up... I may have been in the wrong place... it's hard to, and useless, get to each venue as the bands set begins. I may have been looking at the time far too frequently at this time, but in truth we don't go to gigs for punctuality.
As I'd been wandering around for near 11 hours, I said goodbye to my friends and voyaged home in the dark, taking these words with me (as my dear friend retold the advice given to her by another friend) "there is nothing wrong with being horizontal sometimes".
And oh, aren't lie-ins the best.
My favourite sets:
Stereo Juggernaut (14:00 Black Cap)
The Struts (17:00 Proud)
The Xcerts (18:00 Jazz Café)
The Hell (21:00 Black Heart)
Messenger (22:00 Purple Turtle)
No comments:
Post a Comment