Remake, remodel
The Camden Crawl felt a lot smaller this year. Not only in terms of its physical size – the long trudge to Kentish Town was missing – but also in terms of venues used, the bands that were playing and the people packing out the pubs and clubs to see them.
2012 has been the fifth Crawl I’ve been to in a row, and if there’s one observation I can make it’s that in that time it's that he Crawl has taken a similar trajectory to the Batman movies. The first one was fun, the second one was a complete riot, the third one, (which is the one where MTV took over the Roundhouse and put on the Sugababes) was ridiculous, and the last one wasn’t really worth mentioning. This year, it really feels like the Crawl has gotten a bit of a re-boot. Gone is the heavy, in-your-face branding and people trying to get you either to look at their crappy blog or drink their over-priced ‘youth-marketed’ energy drink. In its place was a rather more subdued festival that mostly comprised London-based acts playing Camden’s smaller venues, interspersed with walking and heavy drinking.
I don’t think I could have managed a more rounded Crawl experience even if I had tried – the past three days involved all of the things that make the Crawl annoying and amazing in roughly equal amounts. All of the traditional dilemmas popped up, like not being able to see one band as they clashed with thirteen others, leaving halfway through a set because the next band you want to see are on at some pub near Chalk Farm, and not being able to get into some shows because the bouncers have decided to operate a one-in-one-out policy for the whole venue. But there were some moments of magic as well. From the guy in the cowboy hat yelping along to Blacklisters, and the expectant crowd leaning in to watch Virals' first ever live gig, to Chelsea fans singing along to Echo Lake and going nuts to Bo Ningen at The Monarch on the Saturday, there were still places where the old sparkle returned.
The resulting rollercoaster of highs and lows has left me with some real mixed emotions about the Crawl. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve always loved the idea and ethos of the festival as both a testing ground for new acts and as a place where punters can see someone really big play somewhere really special. But this year felt a bit confused. It might be down to the packed summer schedule, or it could be one of the effects of the corporate slash and burn of previous years, but it really felt that there was a distinct lack of big bands and special headliners.
To make my point, 2011’s line-up boasted a secret show from OFWGKTA, Graham Coxon playing some tiny bar somewhere and headline sets from the Killing Joke, Simian Mobile Disco, The Lemonheads, Saint Etienne and SBTRKT, while this year could only muster up The Cribs, The Futurheads and a Friday night show from Leftfield. I’m not complaining – it was great for music nerds like me to be able to wander the streets and watch people like Actress play some tiny pub – but if I was a regular punter who had shelled out £60 for tickets and god knows how much on beers, Jägerbombs and flaming sambucas, then I would really have to ask some questions.
Ultimately, and not to sound like The Economist here, the Camden Crawl is now standing at a crossroads. As conspicuous as the absence of big bands was the refreshing absence of big brands and I cannot help but feel the two are related. If the Crawl is to survive in the face of modern marketed-to-the-hilt festivals, then it needs to rediscover what it was good at in the first place. Unintentional or not, 2012’s stripped down fest showed the way – a further tooled down, new music-leaning showcase à la SXSW could well be the way to go. But the kids also really like to party, so maybe working on longer licensing and a more prominent clubbing and electronic programme could be the answer.
Whatever the organisers decide, I do hope that they manage to recapture the hype, buzz and spirit of discovery that made The Crawl so special in the first place. If this year proved anything it was that even after ten years of corporate blood-sucking, there's life in the old girl yet.
http://www.thecamdencrawl.com/
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