Finally an entire day of sunshine. Camden's streets are full of rockers and hipsters, nutters, crackheads, dealers, evangelists, tourists, goths, old punks and the masses of all the above hauling themselves around the Camden Crawl. They've all taken on a sunnier aspect, where possible. In the midst of it, good old Tommy Flynn's decides to offer a free all-day gig, with no paid-up crawlers' wrist bands necessary —as a result it's swarming like an ice-cream dropped on the sunny pavement outside. The vibe is that fabulous London-sun vibe, with punters, musicians and gig-goers all crushed into one upbeat mass, climbing over each other, buying and spilling pints, while bands load and unload their equipment on the venue's tiny stage in an endless stream of bleached hair, ringlets, blazers, tattoos, winklepickers and cowboy boots, changing with the genre and generation of each act.
We step in from the outside world where an old Northern-Irish man is shaking his fist and railing at empty space, apparently taking issue with the name of the pub itself, demanding to know who Tommy Flynn is and whether he's an IRA man. We manage to arrive five minutes before the act we've come to see — London indie-rock four piece Kingsize — and step into the deafening and heaving camaraderie of the place.
When Kingsize take the stage, it's with a Londoner swagger-and-grace that the crowd can empathise with, and when the tunes kick in the whole room is dancing. It's not just the weather either. Kingsize don't mess about. The whole show is infused with a positive punk energy that is heartfelt and infectious, whilst hanging on to that neat mod sonic sensibility that a lot of bands can't muster. The songs take you through romantic upheaval, heartache, insanity, and talking about the demons in your head, but remember that while you're tackling all that, you're better off if you're 'sipping a glass of red.' For a band that hails The Kinks as a major influence, this is the perfect sunny afternoon. The songs share that carefree take on situations that spiral out of control, but end up leaving you with all you really needed in the first place. Elation in the face of it all from Kingsize: just what London needs.
Kingsize's debut album, 'Love, Lust and Other Disasters' is out now on Weekender Records.
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