30/3/2008 Various Camden gigs of a Sunday...

Subject	Various Camden gigs of a Sunday...
PostedDate	3/30/2008
	A busy Sunday. Late afternoon see’s me arriving at Tommy Flynn’s in Camden to catch Rockworkz. It’s the first time I’ve seen them in this comparatively intimate pub venue. The audience is a mixture of rock fans and pub regulars - it’s not packed but it’s a nice relaxed atmosphere with everyone enjoying the music. It seems a bit strange when it’s still broad daylight outside though, and the rest of the world can be seen going by outside the windows. It’s free to get in and the beer is reasonably priced so it’s a nice place to pass the time on a late afternoon/early evening on a Sunday. The set is a mixture of the usual hard rock standards by AC/DC, Led Zep, G’N’R, etc - but played very well by musicians who obviously enjoy what they are doing. Most members of Rockworkz are regularly seen in other bands in the Camden area playing original material. They finish around seven o’clock and I head off up the road... I arrive at the World’s End to find a band called Pistols At Dawn playing. I’d never heard of them but they turn out to be rather good. Like the gig I was just at down the road, this one is also free.  Beer at decent prices too - rather a nice pint of Directors in the World’s End.  Camden is a nice place to be for a music (and beer) lover on Sundays.  The band are giving away free CDs too. It’s only eight o’clock and I’m doing well so far - two free gigs and a free CD. It’s all good!  Then I’m off round the corner to Bar Monsta, where I actually have to pay to get in for the first time today!  It’s only £2.50 though - less than the price of a drink. This is an acoustic night - I don’t normally patronise such things, but I’m in the area and Stu from Vamps ’N’ Gypsies is playing a few songs. He’s playing his own stuff tonight and it’s rather good. He’s also a pretty decent singer, although you can’t really tell from his backing vocals at Vamps ’N’ Gypsies gigs as they tend to get lost in the mix. The other acts tonight are of variable quality, but none of them are bad. This gig makes me question my whole concept of ’acoustic’ shows - one act is a Scottish girl playing a solid body Daisy Rock electric guitar through an amp and effects pedals. So how is this ’acoustic’? Some artists seem to think that all you have to do is sit on a stool instead of stand up and a performance magically becomes ’acoustic’ - even if you are playing electric guitars!  This girl doesn’t even sit down, and her guitar sound is distorted on most songs. That said, she is rather good. King Lizard are due to perform an acoustic set later which sounded interesting, but I had to leave beforehand as I had promised someone I’d meet her at the Metalworks gig round the corner at 10.00... I arrive at the Witheredprunes pub in Chalk Farm road to find Metalworks in full swing. The place is usually packed when this band play here on Sunday nights, but for some reason it’s only half full tonight.  The band are all excellent musicians, but they play virtually the same set every week (which might explain why not so many people turned up?) and I’ve already heard half the songs in another nearly pub only a few hours ago - and didn’t have to pay a fiver to get in there either! Still, it’s a good atmosphere and the beer isn’t bad - plus I don’t have work tomorrow so it’s not a bad place to be around midnight. Strangely enough, after trying (and failing) to see bands at three different venues in one night recently - this time I’ve managed to get to four gigs in one night - without even trying!  The many hours of drinking that this involved have taken their toll though, and shortly after getting off the night bus I somehow manage to fall flat on my back in the front garden and nearly knock myself out. Funny, as I felt OK up til then! Oh well.