Camden Rocks 2015 Review - Mind Noise Network

Camden Rocks 2015

by Daniel King - reviews,

Luci Greenway - reviews

&

James Salt - reviews and photos

In the heart of London's most vibrant community, with the hustle and bustle of Saturday life continuing as if nothing was happening and traffic flowing without a care in the world, Camden Rocks 2015 kicked off with little more than a slightly long queue at a pub blaring out Metallica and the like. Here's what we got up to in London:

In the Black Heart's tiny upstairs music venue, Fake The Attack bombard a small, but lively crowd with their brand of punked-up rock n roll. Frontwoman Ashlyn Marshall has a nervy, but good stage prescence as she stalks the tiny stage, encouraging the early punters to come closer and get involved. Musically it's very tight for a place so small, every note is as clear as every word that's sung. Still very early on in their career, keep your eyes out for Fake The Attack as the future seems bright for the Hampshire quartet.

My day started at The Jazz Café to watch the charismatic Birmingham quartet that make up Broken Witt Rebels. For a band billed so early on in the day you do have to wonder what that following half hour might bring. Well, these guys almost nearly knocked my socks off! I was warned that their songs would have me reaching for the whiskey bottle and musing about humid nights in the Deep South. I was not left disappointed. Danny Core’s amazing depth of voice combined with the slick performance from the rest of the band really accentuated the dirty blues vibe they created. While a little more Kings of Leon than Muddy Waters, these guys are thoroughly enjoyable and really rocked the place to its core.

Rising from the ashes of Rise To Remain, Austin Dickinson's new project, As Lions, have a had a slow and steady start to their career. We haven't heard an awful lot from them, but the boys have kindly leant their services to Camden Rocks by playing this early show, before they play with Wovenwar later on in Bristol. The Black Heart is absolutely jam packed and can only be described as a sweat shed. It doesn't take long for the pits to open and the crowd to start singing along, which is a great sign with these songs being barely older than a few months now. Tracks such as The Fall and The Sacrifice sound particularly great. They blitz through their half hour slot, announcing their EP is out in June which is definitely going to be worth checking out after this set. It looks like there is definitely life after Rise To Remain.

Again with Brawlers I had been given a tiny prelude in what to expect. They weren’t as heavy or punky as I first expected, but they were as pumped up and testosterone fuelled as I was warned. After a few catchy but nevertheless poorly performed songs, lead singer, Harry George TooManyNames, managed to offend half the crowd on the balcony and proceed into an even worse comedy routine. Whilst there was slight improvement musically throughout the set, unfortunately, the band were almost eclipsed by the size of Harry's ego. Worth a listen on YouTube but don’t worry about catching them live until someone sticks a pin in him.

Coming on slap bang in the middle of the afternoon, the Downstairs at the Barfly saw Press To Meco, seeming veterans of the festival scene despite the young age of both band and members, take to the stage to what was a pleasingly full room. They soon had fans new and old nodding along to their rocky tones. Vocal duties are shared between the whole band and there are some fantastic harmonies on show. For a three piece they fill the room with their sound and their interactions with the crowd are ridiculously natural. Their debut album is just finished so keep your eyes peeled for that one.

Meanwhile in the Electric Ballroom Polar are absolutely laying waste to a near full room of young fans. It takes barely two songs for vocalist Adam Woodford to dive into the fans and cause even more chaos. Over the past year or so they've managed to prove themselves as one of the very best bands on the British scene. The sound in the Ballroom is pristine and this lends itself well to the riffs of Fabian Lomas and Tom Grenn sounding much heavier than on record. It's a short set of only half an hour that left the crowd begging for more. By the time their set is over the venue is rammed which is a testament to how well Polar sounded and performed. Well worth checking out if you get the chance.

The word obviously was spread that The Graveltones were on as The Jazz Cafe was packed to the rafters. For a band comprising of only two members, they made music that was truly brilliant - this was groove rock at its finest. As there are only two guys upon on that stage they need some pretty exciting equipment to perform with and Mikey Sorbello’s drums were truly beasts! The even better thing about this was these musicians really know how to use their instruments and not have to rely on them. With rhythms that are ready to blow your mind and vocals that delve to the depths of rock and soul, these guys were definitely one of the top bands of the day for many people.

Upstairs at the Barfly sees Hands Off Gretel, a band featured in our Introducing pages recently, bring their grunge inspired sounds to Camden. Vocalist Lauren Tate quips that they've "never played to this many people before", which with the ease to which they took to their set you'd find hard to believe. Lauren has all the hallmarks of a natural frontwoman, that or someone that Camden Market threw up on, and guitarist Sean McAvinue looked like the grunge was flowing through him. There didn't seem to be too many people in the room that knew these guys when they went on stage but, after tracks like Be Mine, they won't be forgetting them.

From only watching Max Raptor the once I’m pretty sure they’re going to be pretty big news. The crowd they pulled in to the Upstairs of the Barfly, loved them, the energy the band inspired in the room was awesome. With their mix of melody and ‘out and out’ rock style, this gig was definitely worth the Camden Road walk. The band were cohesive and clearly knew and enjoyed their craft, which led to a fun and seemingly effortless performance. Watch out for anthems coming your way from these guys.

A short walk around the corner and there's a small bar called The Stillery, I arrive and there's barely 30 people in the room when New Zealand natives, Rival State, take to the platform (I refuse to call it a stage!). Straight away they get the room bouncing with their unique sound, vocalist Luke Van Hoof has a gripping raspiness to his voice which you can't help but lend your ears too. By the time they reach their second song, theres well over 100 people in the room as Van Hoof lunges in amongst the fans with the band on stage looking like they're having a great time too. By the time they wrap up their set, there's no question they've earnt themselves some new fans.

Back in the Ballroom, Black Spiders hit the stage to a thunderous ovation from their adoring fans, the room smells a lot more masculine than when I was in here for Polar and it's a few hundred people busier too. Opening their set with Stay Down they've got the crowd singing along and bouncing up and down. Before getting stuck in to Just Like A Woman Should in typical BS fashion, we get the middle finger salute and a wail of "Fuck You Black Spiders" filling the venue. One thing is for sure at a BS show, and that is you will always be sure to have a good time. Songs such as Balls and KISS Tried To Kill Me provide some great singalongs and stick out as particular highlights. After closing their brilliant set on Blood Of The Kings they leave the stage, closely followed by the abrupt emptying of the Ballroom itself.

After heading to the Underworld early to catch Heaven's Basement we were greeted by The Dictators NYC doing their thing on stage to a packed room of mostly 50+ men. After supposedly getting back together due to the huge demand I could see that that wasn't entirely untrue. Unfortuntely, their music sounds dated now and their performance was lacklustre and pretty boring. A shame as I'm sure in their prime these guys would have kicked some serious ass.

Once Heaven's Basement hit the stage things took a slight upwards turn. The energy in the room shot up and the buzz was infectious. Unfortunately, Heaven's Basement seem to be getting bored of their own material now. Their debut album, Filthy Empire, as good as it is, is a few years old now and the setlist is starting to feel predictable and worn out. This is reflected by Aaron Buchanon's vocal performance, lacking the edge it normally has. Heaven's Basement are still on of the best young British rock bands around, but band and fans alike are in need of new material from them though.

In the smaller, more exclusive acoustic setting of the Fifty Five bar, The Dirty Truth seemed to be a nice breather from the sweaty, rammed and impersonal venues. I didn’t count on this being the best set of my day though. I was honestly taken aback by the quality and sheer enjoyment of possibly the most disastrous event of the day. With the amp of one of the guitars giving up before they even got going it was down to Johnny Cash and Elvis covers to get us through and the impromptu entertaining of a stag party meant that the best man got a chance to practice his unwritten speech. With the skills and ingenuity of Will O’Donnell, Shaun Hewitt and Aldo Ziranek Wilson, the crowd were up laughing and dancing. The incredible vocals and lyrics of the original Dirty Truth songs were of a different time, a romantic era which bathed the streets of London in an evocative nostalgia. I can highly recommend this band live, recorded and acoustic, take them any way you can.

Closing today's festival in the Electric Ballroom is a band requiring no introduction. At one point seemingly dead cert Download Festival headliners, Bullet For My Valentine are playing their first UK show in 18 months. The Ballroom is so busy a queue of around 500 people outside aren't allowed in and the atmosphere is filled with excitement inside. Bullet walk on stage to a deafening ovation, bursting straight into their new single No Way Back. The front row is practically passing out and the floor is vibrating from the pits. Second song Your Betrayal provides a good singalong for the fans before all hell is let loose when 4 Words (To Choke Upon) is played. I don't think Matt Tuck & Co. could have predicted just how triumphant this return to the UK live scene would be, but with an incredible back catalogue of tunes such Scream Aim Fire", Waking The Demon and a medley including Hearts Burst Into Fire, Riot and Hand of Blood all making an appearance in the setlist, is anyone surprised. Typically ending the night on Tears Don't Fall sends everyone home happy and Camden Rocks 2015 is officially brought to a close.