Camden Crawl: Day 2

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Day two of the Camden Crawl kicked off at lunchtime today (Friday) at Bar Monsta for the XFM Sessions, and naturally MTV.co.uk was there to check out three of our faves.

First up were Glaswegians Biffy Clyro, collectively sporting enough facial hair to make 300 Spartans proud, and lesser men weep.

They performed a short, somewhat subdued acoustic set, opening with their hit Saturday Superhouse, followed by three more tracks, including My Recovery Injection. More used to seeing them in rock-out mode, their set sounded strangely melancholy without roaring guitars, but they lifted the mood with some cheeky dedications.

The crowd didnt know what to make of it when they announced they were dedicating Saturday Superhouse to Wesley Snipes, who they claimed had died in a car crash earlier that day. But when they dedicated their second track to Pete Doherty, who died driving a train from Camden to Zimbabwe today it dawned on everyone that they werent being entirely serious.

Next on our must see list were Rumble Strips, and they didnt disappoint. Their diminutive frontman Charlie looked deranged as they blasted into their opener Hate Me You Do. With trumpet and sax blaring there was more than a hint of Madness about them, and blended with indie guitars they were irresistible.

"Theyre f***ing great, mate!" said the bloke next to me. I wasnt about to argue. This time we got five tracks, the highlight being the superb Alarm Clock, an anthem for anyone whos ever been unemployed.

And finally the band the mob had clearly been waiting for, judging by the hordes queuing outside: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.

Monsta hadnt exactly been a cool, airy, fragrant environment before, but now, packed to the rafters, the venue reached new levels of humidity and odour as the Yanks took to the stage.

The set was being broadcast live on XFM and the band wasted no time in getting straight to the point, opening with the explosive new single Weapon Of Choice. The crowd were obviously a few beers further down the line and the response was suitably frenzied " hard to believe the sun was still blazing outside.

They powered through six tracks, barely stopping for breath, and finished with the classic Spread Your Love, which fans had been calling for throughout the set. Awesome - my ears are ringing and its not even tea time.

JH
20/4/2007