Camden Rocks Festival 2014

Camden Rocks has to be the best value for money festival of the year - if you don't count free ones.

Around 200 bands spread over 20 venues - all within a few minutes walk of each other. Some well known names on the rock and indie scene, a load of new up-and-coming bands, and a bunch you won't have heard of. Yet. If you listen to stations like Team Rock and Planet Rock you'll have heard a lot of these bands on the radio already - a good example is the first band of the day that I see, although I didn't plan on seeing them first...

Needless to say, there are a few clashes with the stage times of bands I want to see - Tax The Heat weren't supposed to be the first band I saw - that honour was meant to fall to either Healthy Junkies or Charlie and the Band of Demons - who pulled out at the last minute for reasons undisclosed. leaving me standing in an empty Monarch at midday. I hot-footed it round to the Lockside Lounge to catch Healthy Junkies who were supposed to be on at the same time. I needn't have rushed - I found some of the band outside the venue waiting for the promised backline to arrive. Orange were supposed to be supplying all the backline amps but there seemed to be some sort of cock-up and they hadn't turned up. An hour after the band were supposed to be on stage there was still no sign of the vital Orange items arriving so I headed off to Dingwalls to catch ...

Tax The Heat look bloody awful in their hideous mismatching hipster 'suits'. Fortunately, they don't sound anything like they look - I can only assume this is deliberate.

In spite of their indie hipster appearance, this is a full on rock band - and a pretty good one too. They play very well, sound great and they have good songs. Just a shame they look so terrible.

I had hoped to catch Mia Klose at The Enterprise but she clashed with Tax The Heat and her venue was further away from where I found myself at that point. So I headed back to Camden Lock and found that the amps had finally turned up and Healthy Junkies had finally been allowed to start their set over and hour and a half late - through no fault of their own.

Lockside Lounge was an odd venue to see a rock 'n' roll band in broad daylight - with curious tourists and randoms peering through the windows from the market outside to see what was going on - but of course they couldn't get in without a wristband. Camden Rocks festival sold out incidentally.

Healthy Junkies still managed to turn in a good set in spite of the circumstances, but due to the amp/timing cock-up there weren't many people in the small lockside venue to see them - some people couldn't find it, and many others gave up waiting and went off to see other bands not knowing if Healthy Junkies were even going to play at all as the amps hadn't turned up. I missed over half their set myself as I wasn't going to hang about and maybe miss several other bands waiting for one who might not have even played.

The band were good though, and I'm glad I got to see them in a different venue than The Unicorn for a change - it's just a shame circumstances outside the band's control stopped many people from seeing them at this festival which I'm sure they had been looking forward to playing at. Unfortunately the amplifier fiasco and subsequent lateness of Healthy Junkies buggered up my schedule and led to me missing Peckham Cowboys at the Electric Ballroom as I was watching Healthy Junkies around that time.

The next band I did manage to see was The DeRellas at the  rather packed Good Mixer.

They were good fun as usual with their brand of punky rock 'n' roll! Unfortunately The DeRellas clashed Voodoo Vegas and Stereo Juggernaut at other venues. I'd already missed part of their set by the time I'd got to the Mixer after seeing Healthy Junkies, and then I had to rush off early and make my first visit of the day to BrewDog for my first decent beer of the day. I didn't leave the DeRellas early just to get a some proper beer - I'm not that much of a piss artist! Honest.

The actual reason I went to BrewDog was to see Chris Catalyst from Eureka Machines (more of them in a bit) playing a solo acoustic set in the basement bar. However, it was packed and there was a queue to get in - it looked like it was already one-out/one-in and there were quite a few people who had been there a lot longer than me so I could see I wasn't going to get in. I had to give this one up as a bad job and head off elsewhere - a shame as I had been looking forward to this. I'm not normally a fan of acoustic sets, but as well as being a terrific musician Chris is also very funny and there is always highly entertaining banter from him at gigs. At least I got to enjoy some tasty beers at BrewDog! This wasn't to be the only set of the day that I didn't get in to see because of the venues being far too small for the artists playing in them....

I can't remember (five months later) where I went after BrewDog - there is no photographic evidence of me seeing any other bands between The DeRellas and Eureka Machines. So, I manage to get to the Electric Ballroom before Eureka Machines start their set - the only part of the day which has gone according to plan thus far.

This band are brilliant! Clever, and entertaining with songs that have loads of people singing along. Three albums in and this band are now at the stage where they are having to leave some really good songs out of their set because there just isn't time to fit them all in. Eureka Machines could also tell Tax The Heat a thing or two about how to look good wearing suits on stage! Like the badly dressed Bristolians I saw at Dingwalls earlier - this is a band who don't sound like they look - but this Northern mob show the West County hipsters how to do it properly.

Eureka Machines are both heavy, and poppy. Not a million miles away from the The Wildhearts in that respect, but this band have a very strong identity of their own. There is heavy Wildhearts type riffing and pop melodies, with the odd Slayer riff thrown in sometimes just for fun. The band are well drilled - choreographed and very tightly rehearsed musically. I still maintain this is the best live rock act in the UK - why aren't this band massive? Charisma and star quality abound. The Electric Ballroom is the largest venue of the Camden Rocks festival, but as Eureka Machines play it quickly fills up to a surprising degree - the word is spreading - this is a 'must see' band.

This band have worked hard to get to where they are now and it hasn't been an easy road - especially for a band from out of London. Check out this video for an insight into their attempts to be 'Pop Stars'. I think maybe they are finally starting to get noticed a bit as I've heard them on Team Rock Radio a couple of times recently and their last couple of gigs in London have easily sold out in advance. They even got to play at Sonisphere this year, but mainsteam radio continues to ignore them. The PledgeMusic campaign for their third album succeeded massively, but the BBC and other mainsteam media seem to pretend crowdfunded bands don't exist - maybe because they don't have big record company $$$ to buy their way onto the radio? Eureka Machines turn in a terrific performance as they always do, and it's great to see them on a bigger stage at a larger venue where they deserve to be - this is the set of the day so far as far as I'm concerned.

After Eureka Machines there is yet another timing clash - Toseland at The Barfly or Bleech at Dinwalls? I opt for the later as I figure the Barfly will probably be packed. Fortunately all the Camden Rocks venues are within a few minutes walk of each other, but even so there is no way I can get from the Electric Ballroom back to Dingwalls in time to see all of the set from Bleech.

The band were in full flow and rocking out big time when I got to the venue. There may be only three of them in the band but they make a big and very loud noise. Bleech are progressing a bit since their earlier days and moving on from a grunge influenced sound into something nearer to classic rock.

The band are looking more confident and sounding more powerful these days. Well worth checking out if you get the chance - I hope to catch their full set next time I see them.

Bumping into some friends I am persuaded to head for the Hawley Arms. It's rather crowded and there are some indie kids rocking out upstairs - I think they are the Dirty Harrys.

Only catching the end of their set and I am off on my travels again - this time heading back to BrewDog. I actually manage to get in downstairs this time and get to see a quick bit of singer/songwriter Matty James performing a solo acoustic slot.

If you like bands like the Quireboys and Dogs D'Amour then you'll probably like this guy too. Unfortunately this is another set I can't stay to see and I'm soon off again - this time to catch The Howling at The Underworld. This actually clashed with seeing Deadcuts at the Hawley Arms which I would have liked to see, but it was packed with indie kids and hipsters when I was in there earlier and the Underworld was closer.

Although I actually arrive at the venue just before the band's published stage time they are already playing. The venue is packed, and there seem to be more idiots in there than at any other show I attend all day - barging around and shoving into people with no consideration for anyone else. At least I'm not bothered about anyone spilling my pint - at well over £4 for a bottle of Newcastle Brown I'm not drinking. The crowd and idiot factor don't make for good conditions for taking pictures so a couple is all you'll get.

The Howling turn in an energetic and entertaining set, with (ex-Towers Of London) The Rev on good form on guitar and (ex-Red Star Rebels) Blacky giving it plenty - and doing without any shit headgear for once! There is less emphasis on electronic jiggery-pokery and more on rocking out with guitars than the previous times I have seen this band - this I like.

Escaping from the dreaded Underworld I then have some time to kill before my next port of call only a couple of minutes walk away. Fortunately BrewDog is only a minute's further walk from there - problem solved!

After some more rather tasty (and strong) beers I head off to the Jazz Cafe to see Ginger play an acoustic set. Well that was the plan anyway. Not for the first time of the day I find the festival organizers have massively underestimated how popular some artistes would be and put them into a venue far too small. The queue to see Ginger went right down Parkway, round the corner, and some distance down the High Street! Ginger was due on stage in about ten minutes and the venue was already full and operating 'One out-One in' on the door.  I found some people I knew in the queue - Stereo Juggernaut are big Ginger and Wildhearts fans and had been in the queue for an hour or so and it was obvious they weren't going to get in either. I obviously didn't have a hope in Hell of getting in so I had to resort to Plan-B. This was originally going to be a clash with Ginger, but now I find myself at The Black Heart to see The Dogbones.

This Queen Adreena offshoot band also features former members of Daisy Chainsaw of Love Your Money fame.

Interestingly, guitarist Crispin Gray/Johnny Orion is wearing a Queen Adreena T-shirt and the '11' on his guitar is a reference back to his earlier band Daisy Chainsaw. The Dogbones are a completely different band though, with all new songs.

One thing that hasn't changed from his previous bands is Crispin's viciously jagged and distorted guitar sound. There is quite a grunge influence, but the attitude is much more punk rock. This band is loud and in your face!

Crispin hands over guitar duties and swaps the mic with Nomi for a song or two - looking like he's enjoying fronting the band briefly.

Dogbones gigs tend to be chaotic affairs and a lot of wine tends to be involved, but they are always entertaining as Nomi is a bit of a loose cannon and you never know what is going to happen next.

After a worthwhile and enjoyable set from The Dogbones I head back to the Jazz Cafe - this time I actually get in straight away. This time I'm there to see The Graveltones. I'm expecting the venue to be pretty full after all the radio play and press this band have been getting but it isn't packed - just comfortably full.

This duo are terrific! Duos seem to be the 'in' thing in the rock world at the moment with bands like Royal Blood also following down the Black Keys/White Stripes/Winnebago Deal route. The Graveltones don't sound like any of those bands. Instead of relying on multitracking/doubling/extra amps and octaving effects etc to get their 'Big' fat sound they rely on power and the pure energy of their very spirited performance. One amp and a drum kit is all they need to rock out big time. Instead of hard/heavy rock the main influences seem to be blues, R&B, and old school 1950's rock 'n' roll - their song 'Catch Me On The Fly' could easily have been written in 1956. The Graveltones are great fun and play with a pure joy that shows they absolutely love what they are doing.

By the time the Graveltones have finished their set it's around nine in the evening and the festival is starting to wind down - not that many bands left to choose from for the last hour or so. I've heard Team Rock banging on about The Hell so I wander back to the Black Heart to check them out. They are wearing scarves over their faces and they sound fucking dreadful! If my band was that bad I'd want a disguise as well.... One minute of their dire racket is more than enough - I'm out of there.

I'm tempted by Nine Black Alps as Dingwalls as the one or two songs I've heard on the radio sounded OK, but I decide in favour of The Subways at the Electric Ballroom as I quite liked the song or two of theirs that I've heard but don't really know anything about them.

This turns out to be a very good choice as The Subways are really good! Obviously a lot of other people think so too because the Electric Ballroom is packed. I only recognize a song or two, but a large proportion of the crowd are singing along to most the songs.

Billy Lunn the frontman looks totally unlike a 'rock star' or musician of any sort but is actually very good at his job. He is full of energy and great at working the crowd up. He scores extra 'Cool Points' for playing a Gibson ES-335 guitar as well  - as did Jennifer O'Neil of Bleech earlier. Bassist Charlotte Cooper is a whirling ball of non stop energy and manages to play bass really well while hurtling around all over the shop and headbanging!

The Subways songs aren't too shabby either - catchy and bouncy - pop with a rock edge and full of life. I don't know how this lot have slipped under my radar for so long.

After really enjoying the Subways set in spite of seeing them 'cold' there is only one other band left to see, so I head back to Dingwalls to catch the last part of the Virginmarys set.

There is a certain tension and excitement they bring to this small venue. They are certainly not the best sounding or most polished band I've seen all day, but there is a certain energy there along with one or two memorable songs like 'Dead Mans's Shoes' and 'Just A Ride' - the latter standing out particularly when I've heard it on the radio.

Well that was the best £20 I've spent all year. I managed to catch some or all of the sets by twelve bands, and apart from one they were all worth seeing. Bumped into lots of friends at the various venues and bars, but had surprisingly few beers - mainly because most the venues had shit bars so I spent my money mostly at BrewDog instead - rather than deliberately pacing myself as would have been the wise option. Must try harder next year...