The Camden Crawl 2008 - 18th + 19th April

The Camden Crawl is an annual event at which dozens of mostly lesser known and often unsigned artists descend upon the mile-long stretch between Mornington Crescent and Chalk Farm tube stations for two days of performances in intimate venues at which they will try to win over new fans and get their music heard.
This year the crawl has extended to twenty-five venues and has been moved to the weekend for the first time in its history, it was sure to be a memorable one.

Day One

Once we'd picked up our day's schedule and decided what we wanted to see we joined in some of the afternoon's activities by playing some musical bingo. Unfortunately we didn't win.
After that we were ready for our first dose of live music, so we headed down to the Red Bull Bedroom Jam in the hope of catching Bombay Bicycle Club.
The venue turned out to be a little more than a dusty alleyway with a tiny stage somehow crammed in at one end. We emerged to find Hadouken! unexpectedly taking to the stage.

Hadouken - Early Mews - 3.30pm Friday

We soon discovered that Early Mews is the only venue at Camden Crawl that is accessible to under 18's, which explained why there were so many young people around, most of whom seemed to be thirteen or fourteen years old. They may have lacked live music experience, but they certainly didn't lack enthusiasm.
I've never personally been a fan of Hadouken's music but they put on an enjoyable live show. The young 'uns show no fear in kicking up the dust and starting a circle pit so we duly obliged by joining in. Being larger and therefore heavier than most was a definite advantage here, but not so much when it came to attempting to crowd surf.
The energy of the crowd attracted the lead singer of Hadouken who left his band onstage to keep bashing out their indie-electro-punk onstage to join in the fun. Unfortunately this only lasted only for half a song and we were soon being subjected to more of his "rap". To be fair he wasn't helped by the sound, but how good could the acoustics in an alleyway be?

Rating: 6.8/10
Best Part: The same little kid going up crowd surfing at least ten times

Hadouken @ Early Mews


We stuck around for Bombay Bicycle Club who were on next.

Bombay Bicycle Club - Early Mews - 5pm Friday

Bombay Bicycle Club are a group of four teenagers who play knee-jerkingly catchy indie rock from the same school of sound as The Strokes. At their age they must be commended on having written plenty of catchy tunes.
The enthusiasm in the crowd was still there and they showed their appreciation by bouncing around with the mellow tunes, and some songs such as "Open House" somehow spawned a circle pit, which was actually quite annoying as we were just trying to listen. This enthusiasm wasn't really returned by the band, but they put in a good performance anyway and are definitely one to look out for in the future. Besides they were probably tired after their first week back at school after the easter holidays.

Rating: 7.0/10
Best Part: Getting pissed off with the young circle pitters and deciding to mow some down.

Bombay Bicycle Cub @ Early Mews



By then it was time for the evening schedule. We had planned to see Cage The Elephant but we soon discovered a huge queue outside the Earl of Camden so we tried our second choice of Slow Club at The Enterprise. Unluckily we found another unmoving queue there.
Eventually we ended up at the Oh! Bar, just catching the last few songs of Lucy & The Caterpillar, a female singer songwriter with nothing much original to offer.
What we had really come to the Oh! Bar to see were the band that followed her onstage.

Shut Your Eyes and You'll Burst Into Flames - Oh! Bar - 8pm Friday

Shut Your Eyes and You'll burst into flames win the award for the most energetic band of the weekend by miles. From the moment the dance-punk quintet hit their first notes they were flying all over the stage, and one one of the guitarists decides to head out straight into the middle of the crowd and get them all moving.
They are obviously extremely practised at this mayhem because incredibly they manage to avoid any major collisions between members, which seemed inevitable. They put on an extremely loud and fairly impressive show, one of the highlights being an impromptu funk jam whilst some tuning is done. In the middle of the set the singer announces "This next one is a ballad. You don't mosh to a ballad, unless you're Hadouken! fans" - he has obviously spotted some of the band members who have appeared in the crowd to watch. The joke is better than the song which doesn't suit their style and seems flat. Their music is definitely enjoyable but nothing outstanding and their claim that they will bring out the "best British album in years" certainly seems unfounded.
During the last couple of songs audience members are pulled up onto the stage to join in the frenetic dancing whilst the guitarist once again flies off the stage to go take out the Hadouken! band members. A crazy ending to a crazy performance.

Rating: 7.0/10
Best Part: The band's insane dancing

Shut Your Eyes and You'll Burst Into Flames @ Oh! Bar



From there we headed to the Electric Ballroom, one of the two larger venues that play host to the more well-known artists, to catch one of our "must see" acts of the weekend; Metronomy.

Metronomy - Electric Ballroom - 8.40pm Friday

Over the last year the gospel of Metronomy has been spread by word of mouth amongst various indie crowds all over the country. This is mainly based on their fantastic live show which promises something different to anything else you're likely to see.
They have three synthesizers, touch lights on their chests, choreographed dance moves and a whole bunch of infectiously catchy songs. Combine this with top notch lighting and a crowd who is in the mood to party and you're guaranteed a fantastic show. The fact that they're in one of the main venues means that they can play a longer set than most of the other acts on the crawl and the crowd gladly lap it up,
The band are visibly having fun too except for Oscar who seems a little worried when one of the others tells the crowd to boo him when he plays his saxophone solo. This instantly brings a barrage of rubbish raining down on poor Oscar, which quickly changes the singers mind who tells the crowd to cheer instead.
The ending seems to come far too soon, but the band are off to get even more drunk on free beer and they certainly deserve it.

Rating: 8.5/10
Best Part: The choreographed salute

Metronomy @ Electric Ballroom



Next up is Make Model at Dingwalls which is a small venue situated within the Camden Market. We arrive to catch the last few songs of Eugene McGuinness who is pretty terrible. Trying to sing in a falsetto that is obviously beyond his grasp he delivered run-of-the-mill boring rubbish and we are glad to see the back of him.

Make Model - Dingwalls - 10.30pm Friday

We didn't really know much about the band before we saw them play, but by the time they finished I think I can safely say that we were all fans.
They are an indie-rock sextet from Glasgow in Scotland and they rocked. Playing brilliantly crafted pop songs with lovely harmonies and insanely catchy melodies they had the whole crowd's undivided attention throughout the set. The contrasting male-female vocals were used to full effect and all the guitars (and there were a hell of a lot of them) played a vital part in bringing the songs to life.
As yet it appears they don't even have an album's worth of completed songs so their set was fairly short but this little snippet has convinced me that these guys can go a long way and are definitely one to keep an eye on.

Rating: 8.6/10
Best Part: Everything!

Video: Make Model

Make Model @ Dingwalls



Next up we headed across the road to the Barfly. We caught the end of Eastern Conference Champions who seemed like a decent rock band, but I didn't see enough to judge fully. After enjoying a bit of a dance it was time for Chik Budo.

Chik Budo - Camden Barfly - 12.30am Saturday

Chik Budo are a fairly original band, making dance-rock with a jazz tinge. There were no vocals in this band, they let their saxophones do the talking. This sometimes worked brilliantly but at others was quite grating.
The crowd seemed to be enjoying it, but nobody was loving it as much as the clearly hammered keyboardist who was their biggest fan, which was made clear when he shouted "Whats next? Oh yeah I fucking love this one!!".
The novelty of Chik Budo wore off pretty quickly and their songs seemed to be becoming more and more repetitive towards the end, but they were certainly worth seeing.

Rating: 6.5/10
Best Part: Any time the keyboardist went insane, which was most of the time.

Chik Budo @ The Barfly


Once we left the Barfly, we were all ready for bed in order to regain some energy for day two!

Day Two

The second day started off with a stroll down to the Spread Eagle to catch some acoustic sets. We walked in to find a girl called Kerry Leatham playing her last song which happened to be a very nice rendition of Radiohead's 'Blow Out'.
Shortly up after that were a trio known as Naked and the Boys.

Naked and the Boys - The Spread Eagle - 1.30pm Saturday

We had never heard of Naked and the Boys but this stripped down set was a very nice little showcase of their bluesy-folk songs.
Backing up the lead singer who also played acoustic guitar was a double bassist who thickened out their sound and strengthened their songs.
The singers voice suited their music very well which in turn suited their chilled out surroundings and it made for very pleasant afternoon viewing, and a nice slow start to the day.

Rating: 7.0/10
Best Part: A very nice and relaxed atmosphere

Naked and the Boys @ The Spread Eagle


The main reason we had come down to the Spread Eagle was to see Noah and the Whale, who we were expecting to see next, but we were duly informed that a scheduling change meant that they would now be appearing at Bar Vinyl instead so we hot footed it down there.

Noah and The Whale - Bar Vinyl - 3pm Saturday

It appeared that the schedule change had not only confused us but the band as well, who turned up to the venue with an obscene amount of gear only to be presented a tiny platform for a stage, causing one of the band members to turn to another and ask "Is this supposed to be acoustic?"
After a bit of deliberating they decided that since they'd brought all their gear with them they might as well use it.
The crowd was small due to the unannounced change and this meant that the show was the definition of intimate. It was a real delight seeing this band in such a small room, on a stage that was visibly shaking under the weight of the six of them and their many instruments, which the singer likened to "playing on a trampoline".
The main source of illumination for the show came from a skylight above the stage that perfectly suited their natural sounding songs that ebb and flow beautifully from one verse to the next. Emboldened by the trumpet and trombone their songs sore and capture the imagination of the listener. A definite highlight of the crawl.

Rating 8.6/10
Best Part: The equipment shaking violently as they played.

Video: Noah and The Whale

Noah and the Whale @ Bar Vinyl



We didn't really know what to do next so we decided to head up to the Roundhouse to check out the 'Future Shorts' project.

Joana and the Wolf - Camden Roundhouse Freedm Studio - 4.15pm Saturday

The idea of the future shorts is to present a rock show in more than one media, namely for the bands to play songs in time with videos which are played on the background.
Evidently this was quite different from everything else we saw this weekend. The crowd was sitting down to watch the show which saw the band split in half with two members at either end of the stage so that the view of the screen was unhindered. It was also strange to see the band taking cues from the videos, which were very diverse and strange, from chases through woods to cartoon car crashes.
As for the music itself, it wasn't very exciting or original but I felt that it did fit the videos quite well. The vocals were often just shrieks which possibly meant to double up as another form of bringing the videos to life, but seemed to fail in that effort.
Overall it was nice to see something different, but it may have been achieved better by another band.

Rating: 5.8/10
Best Part: The climax of one of the videos which saw a father catching his teenage son kissing his own reflection in the mirror.

Joana and the Wolf @ Roundhouse Freedm Studio


After that it was time for the evening schedule to begin so we headed right to the other end of Camden to the other larger venue; Koko.

Los Campesinos! - Koko - 6pm Saturday

I saw Los Campesinos! earlier in the year at the Astoria and they were good then, but they were even better today. The main factors in this were a better atmosphere and lead singer Gareth appeared to be in a good mood where as last time he had seemed somewhat uninterested.
Since releasing their debut album Hold On Now, Youngster earlier in the year Los Campesinos! have garnered a decent fanbase, quite a few of which appear to have turned up for this performance.
The seven band members put their all into recreating the buoyant sound of their album on the stage and the crowd bobbed up and down in appreciation.
When it came to the final two songs the band and crowd stepped up a gear to blow the roof off with 'You! Me! Dancing' causing a ruckus in the crowd followed by a whole hearted sing along from the fans in the crowd for 'Sweet Dreams Sweet Cheeks'. By now even members of the crowd that hadn't heard them before must have considered themselves fans.

Rating: 8.2/10
Best Part: Crowd sing along of "One blink for yes! two blinks for no!"

Los Campesinos! @ Koko


The crowd was sad to see them go but there was plenty more to do, which for us was a voyage to the Underworld.

Elle S'Appelle - The Underworld - 7pm Saturday

The scouse trio of Elle S'Appelle play a simple synth and bass oriented brand of bouncy indie pop songs. Today they are in a jovial mood as they infect the crowd who seem to be enjoying their colourful music in the dark environment of the Underworld.
They switch between male and female vocals for different songs but none of them really seems to bring anything much exciting for me. Though some of the crowd seem to be throughly enjoying it, jumping up and down unceasingly throughout the upbeat moments.
In the end I can understand the appeal fo Elle S'Appelle but their songs all seemed far too similar and quite generic.

Rating: 5.8/10
Best Part: When a sock was thrown on to the girl's synthesizer to her disgust

Elle S'Appelle @ The Underworld


Once we escaped the underworld we were off to visit the Purple Turtle to see a band called The Answering Machine who had been highly recommended by some people we'd met.

The Answering Machine - The Purple Turtle - 8pm Saturday

The answering machine dressed like the quintessential indie band, white shirt, skinny tie, jacket. They produced general indie music, but it was extremely enjoyable. Similar to that of The Wombats or The Rumble Strips, their jagged guitar lines and simple choruses worked very well to produce some interesting indie pop.
They responded well to the jam packed room getting everyone moving to their songs and playing up to the crowd well. They seemed genuinely happy to have drawn such an enthusiastic crowd and to play their songs for them. The crowd responded in kind by giving them handsome applause for all of their songs.
There was nothing original about The Answering Machine, they're just another product of the current indie scene, but they have written some songs that have a heart and a purpose, which is more than a lot of bands out there.

Rating: 7.8/10
Best Part: When it appeared a crazed fan had jumped onstage, only for it to turn out to be the singer's mum (see video).

Video: The Answering Machine

The Answering Machine @ The Purple Turtle



From there we had a walk to the furthest venue of the Crawl to catch our last two acts of the weekend.

Fanfarlo - Bullet Bar - 9.15pm Saturday

Fanfarlo are a London based band that play a kind of pop-folk. They have plenty of good lyrics and good melodies to bring them to life.
They are similar to Arcade Fire in their number and use of instruments, but don't really sound anything like them, though their songs do have the same amount of heart and commitment poured into them.
They also have an experimental side which is shown tonight when the female multi-instrumentalist pulls out a saw, upon which she plays like a violin to produce a strange high-pitched metallic wailing sound., which is very different indeed.
Thier songs are mostly upbeat and get the crowd bobbing and swaying. Unfortunately some of the songs are hindered by some brutal feedback but the band are indifferent and keep playing, clearly having a good time.

Rating: 7.5/10
Best Part: The female member playing an impressive amount of different instruments

Fanfarlo @ Bullet Bar




Luckily having walked this far the next act we want to see is playing at the same venue, so we can give our legs a much-needed rest by sitting on the stage and waiting for M83.
Unluckily it becomes obvious early on during the setting up of the equipment that there is a problem when they abruptly stop plugging in various different instruments and disappear outside for a long time.
They are supposed to be on stage at 10.30, but this quickly passes with little more happening on stage. Shortly after the compere announces that there is a problem (as if we hadn't noticed), they have left a vital piece of equipment in France.
Instead of canceling altogether Anthony Gonzalez decides the show will go on, if not exactly as planned.
He spends a good amount of time re-programming the keyboards and finally at 11.10 (40 minutes late) they are ready to begin.

M83 - Bullet Bar - 11.10pm Saturday

They were supposed to play as a full band, but due to the technical hitch only two of them take to the stage. Instead of playing the electro-pop songs of recent album Saturdays = Youth they play us some of his "experimentations" similar to what can be heard on 2007's collection of ambient work Digital Shades Vol. 1.
This is not what the crowd had expected to hear, but after such a long delay they are glad to hear anything at all and it is also pretty decent. Gonzalez seems to be for the most part improvising, or he is not used to playing these songs live.
What they produce is hypnotic and brilliant and has the crowds full attention. Gonzalez is hulked over his keyboards swaying with the noise and feeling each beat as if it were that of his own heart.
To the crowd's anger they finish after only three songs, not by their choice but they are forced off due to the regulations of the venue.
At least while it lasted it was extremely enjoyable.

Video: M83

M83 @ Bullet Bar





It was a somewhat disappointing end to what was otherwise an amazing weekend of live music. From there we were off back to Koko to enjoy the Buttoned Down Disco.

Portishead - Hammersmith Apollo - 10th April 2008

The fact that Portishead can sell out the 5000 capacity Hammersmith Apollo over ten years after they last released a studio album proves just how important this band are to the British music scene. Their Mercury prize winning debut 'Dummy' is the most well known album in the short-lived but not forgotten "trip-hop" genre, that came out of the Bristol area in the early-mid 90's. Therefore it's not a surprise that the announcement of a tour and a new album, simply yet appropriately entitled 'Third', has brought a buzz to every music message board on the internet. Those old copies of 'Dummy' and their second eponymous album have been found and played once more in preparation for what is surely one of the most anticipated comebacks in recent times amongst music fans.

Judging from tonight's audience Portishead have not only reignited the passion of their old fans, but have also won over some new ones in their absence, with many younger faces seen in the crowd.

As soon as the lights go down and the symbolic P that can only stand for one thing on this night appears on the screens there is ecstatic applause, many of the crowd have been waiting years for this moment. The band appear on stage and once their instruments are ready to go the crowd are instantly attentive.

A Brazilian monologue is played and signifies the beginning of 'Silence' the first track for the forthcoming album, with strong South American influenced drums running throughout that gets the crowd moving their feet. This is followed by the slower 'Hunter', but the first big cheer of the night comes as soon as the opening notes of old favourite 'Mysterons' are played by Geoff Barrow on guitar. The accompanying blue and green lights suit the mood of the song perfectly and Beth Gibbons' vocals seem much stronger than on the first two songs. Hearing a song they know and love, the crowd is finally getting into it.

Unfortunately at this point proceedings are called to a halt and the band must leave the stage for five to ten minutes whilst some technical difficulties. The crowd takes this in good stead and return to chatting amongst themselves whilst they wait.

The band returns shortly after and have it all to do again as the crowd seems to need re-exciting once more. They perform this amiably. They play an equal mix of old and new songs, and they seem to be working better together than ever. This is signified by the fact that whenever she is not singing Beth decides to turn away from the crowd and enjoy the show being put on by the rest of her band mates, which encourages the crowd to do the same. The new songs seem to go down well amongst the intrigued audience members, 'Magic Doors' and the pounding sounds of lead-off single 'Machine Gun' are extremely well received, but there's no doubt that the older songs are the certain highlights.

These include a stripped down version of 'Wandering Star'. Beth who sits down for this song and seems to be lost in her own world as her vocals and Geoff's spooky guitar over the thumping bass bring a poignant beauty to this song about depression and self loathing.

The bands heads off stage for what seems, to me at least, to be a premature end to the main set, but maybe this is because I am just enjoying it too much.

This disappointment is cast aside when the band returns for a magnificent encore. 'Threads' is even darker and more threatening than on record and it seems as if Beth is going to burst a lung towards the end as she puts her all into it. 'Cowboys' and the epic 'We Carry On' see out the night. Towards the end Beth shows her gratitude by running into the crowd and hugging as many as possible.

It must be an amazing feeling to still have this kind of reaction from fans after ten years away, and with a new, truly amazing new album on the way it seems as if Portishead are truly back, and we're more than happy to have them.

Rating: 9.1/10
Best Moment: The beginning of 'Mysterons' when the crowd cheered, the song kicked in and the green lights roved over the crowd.

The Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra and Tra La La Band- Scala - 8th April 2008

The Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra started off as a happy accident for lead singer Efrim Menuk. Taking time out in 1999 from his then current band Godspeed You! Black Emperor, he started it as a project through which he hoped to learn to read music. He soon gave up on this original plan, but A Silver Mt. Zion continued as a side project and has now lived on beyond the recently disbanded Godspeed You! Black Emperor, to become arguably the most recognised band in the post-rock genre.

There wasn't always seven members in the band, originally there were only three, but tonight, as they play their 143rd gig, it's hard to imagine any of the members missing, each has a key role to play in carrying out the mammoth songs that the band writes and records.

They kick off with a new song "I Built a Metal Bird and Fed it the Wings of Other Metal Birds", which on first listen seems like an uncharacteristically conventional song for Mount Zion. Eric Craven on drums holds down a steady rock beat whilst the rest of the band drive the song through several minutes of balls out rock that even seemed to contain a verse-chorus structure, something rare in the Silver Mt. Zion catalogue.

From there they play "Black Waters Broke/Engine Broke Blues" which starts off slowly but with one strong strum of his double bass Thierry Amar turns a gentle breeze into a full on tornado of sound. From here Mt. Zion are in their element, creating chaotic yet beautiful noise that extends for minutes on end. The strings create havoc over the top of the din being created by the rest of the band. They seem lost in a chaotic music storm and are furiously inviting the crowd to join in . Harmonies that seemed to falter in the first song are now pitch perfect. A brilliant performance.

As if to salute those imaginary comrades who didn't make it through the last song "1,000,000 Died to Make This Sound" is up next. This sees most of the band on vocals, producing ghostly harmonies that sound as if they could be sung by corpses. A truly eery effect that builds into a dizzying rock out that sounds as if it is soundtracking a gruesome and epic battle. This is a certain highlight.

Their music may be serious but we are glad to learn that they are down to earth and humorous people. The band are glad to engage the crowd in a conversation that goes off on more tangents than a circle, from water to giants to Pantera to New Jersey and finally ending up inexplicably on New Labour. This enjoyable little excursion produces much laughter from both sides and helps to bring the crowd and the band closer together.

They complete the rundown of their most recent album "13 Blues for Thirteen Moons" with the title track followed by "Blindblindblind". The latter is the certain highlight of the night. Menuk stands back from his microphone to produce powerful, wailing vocals that make you wonder if he actually needs it all. The song builds up into a crescendo like no other with all band members playing furiously to create a melange of noise that works against all odds. The crowd seem to be really getting into it, the majority of them furiously head banging in time with Amar's pounding bass lines that hold the band together and pin the song down. At the very finale six of the seven members are on vocals repeating the lines "Some hearts are true and some hearts aren't true" for several minutes in perfect harmonies. A truly breathtaking finale that stuck in my mind all evening. This is a great way to end the main set.

They return to rapturous applause to perform "Microphones in the Trees" from the "Pretty Little Lightning Paw EP", which sees more experimentation when violinist Sophie Trudeau sings into her violin to spooky results and sees out the song nicely. They leave the stage once more, but aren't gone for long, the crowd wants more.

They finish off with another new song "There is a Light". An extremely pretty song that rises and falls several times to great effect. Violin and cello take centre stage through this one, a song that is extremely delicate and will certainly be a highlight on their next LP.

What amazes me about A Silver Mt. Zion is that they have found in each other people that share enough talent and vision to produce songs as they do, of such grandiose and epic form, which is surely rare. Even more impressive tonight is the fact that they can carry off these songs on stage with just as much precision and even more energy than on record, often losing themselves in the music, but never losing sight of where they are heading.

Rating: 8.4/10
Best Moment: The epic finale of "Blindblindblind" with six part vocals.

Gogol Bordello - Brixton Academy - 2nd April 2008

On this chilly Wednesday evening in London, each and every pub will be packed to the brim with boozed up football fans causing a ruckus as they cheer on their respective teams as the quarter finals of the Champions League unfold, but not so far away in one of the nation's most popular venues another different type of crowd is gathering, and this one is even louder than the football fans.

Tonight the New York based Ukraine/Russian/Israeli/Ethiopian/Thai/Chinese/Scottish/American self-proclaimed "gypsy punk" outfit Gogol Bordello are in town once again and they've pulled their biggest British crowd yet down to Brixton Academy for an evening of ear-drum splitting entertainment.

Ever since appearing on stage with Madonna at last summer's Live Earth concert at Wembley Stadium, Gogol Bordello have attracted quite a following and judging from tonight's audience they are not restricted to just one age group or type. People from their early teens up to the middle-ages have come down for the show tonight and amongst them punks, rockers, hipsters and of course gypsies. But here, unlike in the pubs, there is no rivalry between the different groups, everyone here, band included, is of the same mind: let's have some fun.

As soon as Eugene Hutz steps on to the stage there is a storm brewing, and that storm is in full swing when the band kicks into 'Ultimate', the opener of their most recent album 'Super Taranta!'

The crowd is quickly warmed up and in the mood to dance for the first few songs, with Hutz entertaining the crowd by donning a long blonde wig and prancing about the stage during 'Zina-Marina'. As soon as the first bars of recent single 'Wonderlust King' are played the crowd is heated to boiling point. Jumping around like a man possessed Eugene Hutz leads the crowd, who are absorbing his energy and sending it right back to the band a thousand times stronger, not one member of the crowd can resist the urge to jump and sing. From here on in the band are in party mode. Hutz is not the only one enjoying the enthusiasm of the crowd, Rybatsev, Lemeshev and Gobena often come forwards to the front of the stage to play up to the crowd and soak in the atmosphere. For some of the louder songs the band are joined on stage by their two additional female members who add extra backing vocals and percussion as well as adding to the excitement of the crowd

The set spans their entire discography and the different genres of music within it, from the neo-metal '60 Revolutions' which encourages some members of the audience to express their appreciation by opening up a circle pit as vicious as any one might find at a Korn or Metallica gig to the slower songs such as the African influenced 'Tribal Connection' for which Benji Webbe, lead singer of support act Skindred joins them on stage.

Where Gogol Bordello really triumphed on this night was in their more upbeat songs that the crowd could sing along to, particularly 'American Wedding' and breakthrough hit 'Start Wearing Purple'. The latter gets the whole crowd pogoing up and down higher than at any other point in the night, particularly the ones who have worn something purple specifically for this moment. This is followed by 'Think Locally, Fuck Globally' which sees all eight members on stage again and Hutz playing on his signature bucket hung over his microphone which brings a raucous ending to the main set.

The crowd didn't get any quieter from the moment that the band left the stage until the point when Hutz takes to the stage once more to do "something special", a brand new acoustic song, at which point the crowd is quiet and attentive once more. This quickly subsides into another quiet slow burner; 'Alcohol' and fellow members of the band gradually rejoin their leader on stage to build up to the climax of the song.

From there Gogol Bordello see out the rest of the night with what they do best, more favourites including 'Harem in Tuscany' and to finish off a ten minute epic 'Baro Foro'. By the end Gogol Bordello are just a couple of elephants short of a carnival, but rarely do people return home from a carnival this tired, sweaty and overall enthralled.

Rating: 8.8/10
Best Moment: The First Chorus of 'Start Wearing Purple', the whole crowd jumping wildly.