Camden Rocks' atmosphere is electric!

Camden Rocks 2013

Saturday 1st June 2013
various venues Camden, London, NW1 8AN, England MAP
early bird £20

Daily capacity: 4,000

So what can be said about Camden Rocks? It's a one day music festival in (My personal favourite suburb of London) Camden, spread across 12 venues its hosts over a hundred bands ranging all the way from the mellow Fleetwood-esque sounds of Kerri Watt, all the way to the Rock'N'Roll madness that is Turbowolf. To say that it caters to all tastes would be a massive understatement, and the atmosphere it must be said, was electric! Its very rare to see a gig go off the way these did, but I'll get onto that later in the review. All in all, a fantastic summer's day; fantastic live music in a variety of venues, beer gardens, barbecues, and an atmosphere which is almost tangible. There's not much more than that you can ask for from a one day festival.

To start the day I visited The Lock Tavern the Northampton based Ocasan. Having just finished recording their second album the day before they started their set with a few of their new tracks. Definitely a different sound from their first album 'Ricochet', the three piece band have definitely gone back to their rock roots. With a slightly more mainstream sound than a lot of the acts I heard that day, hailing from Northampton and starting the set with 'Elixir', you could tell they have gone back to their guitar based rock roots, and further away from the pop punk sound of their first album. After playing tracks from both their old and new albums the stand out track for me had to be 'London Town', vaguely reminiscent of the clash, an old fashioned rock song with a catchy riff and a rhythm that just makes you want to dance, not to mention the harmonies, as soon as they kicked in it was almost impossible not to sing along.

Onto the The JazzCafe next firstly to watch Charlie Simpson, who, as always, put on a good show. Playing tracks from his album 'Cemetery Gates' the folk based rhythms of his music are a far cry from his previous days in both Busted and Fightstar. Personally, I really enjoyed his show, the music is definitely a more heartfelt, and mature sound than his previous efforts, and this translates nicely on stage to create a sound which is more than pleasant to sit down and listen too. The one thing I might say though is, given the nature of the music (more sombre and mellow) than his previous acts, it would have been nice to see a bit more crowd interaction. As it is, the set came off as slightly robotic, just moving from one song to the next. This though isn't a criticism of the music itself, as like I say, it's a pleasure to listen to, and it's definitely played with a lot of energy.

At the same venue, Itch was the next act on. Starting off his set by saying how this is his first ever show in Camden, you could tell he was set out to prove himself. With the same level of energy as his previous band The King Blues, he filled his set with a brand new set of passionate, anti establishment songs. With a mix of dubstep, punk, rock, and reggae you could instantly tell his new songs are designed to get the crowd dancing and involved in the atmosphere. Itch himself filled his set with his usual antics (If you're a fan of The King Blues this type of thing won't be unfamiliar) which included, using the bar as his own personal stage, and an opportunity to down crowd members' drinks during instrumentals, starting off a circle mosh pit and ended with him stage diving off a second floor balcony. Having been a fan for a while I was bound to enjoy his set, but even from an outside perspective, its very rare you'll come across an act that’s quite so energetic and passionate as Itch, his is a show not to be missed.

The second to last act of the day were the popular Rise To Remain. Quite possibly the most established band on the bill, it was instantly recognisable that this was a polished act. With pounding metal riffs, intricate drum beats, skull shaking bass lines, and a mix of melodic and screaming vocals, they jumped and moshed around stage with ease and energy whilst remaining technically tight. Regailing the crowd with stories, and joining in the crowds moshpits, (alongside the usual climbing of speaker stacks and singing on the bar), I have to admit they did put on one hell of a show. Playing their second year at Download they're well worth a watch.

Last but certainly not least were the up and coming band The Computers. Having gathered quite the fanbase in the Indie world it was quick to see why. All dressed in brick red suits, with mod hairstyles, and an ancient looking organ, charismatic could be the only word used to describe this band. With tracks in their set such as the instantly recognisable 'Disco Sucks', the crowd soon started skanking and moshing to the bands unique indie sounds. Throughout the show the lead singer delved throughout the crowd and ended this by playing his last two tracks standing on the bar, pulling up members of the crowd to sing and dance with him, and ended the days live music with a crowd dive from the bar, mic stand and all. Once again, another band I won’t be forgetting anytime soon.

So all in all, a fantastic day of music, spread across some great, intimate venues, and as a whole, a fantastic crowd to boot. All in all, it was well worth a few mosh pit bruises to experience some of the most energetic gigs I've experienced in a while.

review by: Lawrence Wheeler

photos by: Lawrence Wheeler