Rumble Strips, Illustrated Youth - The Crescent, London - Friday 20th April 2007

Although the Camden Crawl proper does not start until the early evening each day, there is always going on in Camden during the afternoon. And, because the big crowds have not descended yet, it is often more intimate, entertaining and exclusive. Yesterday saw the incredible Babyshambles gig in the afternoon, and today we were promised an exclusive affair at the Crescent pub during the afternoon. Unlike the evenings, where queues are the order of the day, we walked straight into the pub just after the doors opened at 2:30.

The first band on were a young four-piece from London called Illustrated Youth, who certainly looked the part - especially the drummer, who was a dead ringer for a young, clean-cut Pete Doherty. They played a 20 minute set which was a classic example of how to win over a crowd that has never heard of you. I wouldn't have thought that anybody in the pub had heard of them when they came on, but by the end of their set, everybody wanted to know who they were, and to grab a copy of their CD. Their music was classic guitar indie, with good riffs and catchy tunes. The applause at the end of their set was huge, and I'll definitely look out for them playing in London again soon. A real gem of a band to discover, so thanks to whoever spotted them and put them on!

After Illustrated Youth had done their stuff, the Rumble Strips played the headline set - starting at about 4pm. The sun was properly streaming through the pub windows at this point, and it was very strange to be watching a band play whilst it was so sunny outside. I had been very undecided on the Rumble Strips before, so was interested to see what they were like live.

Happily, the Rumble Strips set was also very good indeed, they were certainly not going to allow their young support band to upstage them! A band of multi talented, multi skilled musicians, they put on a riot of a show, which showed off all of their musical creativity. The bassist doubled up as a second drummer at one point, putting a tambourine on top of a drum, and hitting it with all the strength he could muster. The singer fell over his wires, prompting a huge reaction from the crowd, and lots of good banter. There were horns galore, as trumpets and saxophones made appearances in a number of songs. And, when they weren't doing all of this, some of the songs were just very good rock songs.

Throughout the show, a crowd was forming outside the pub, looking in through the window and trying to catch a glimpse of what was going on in the small stage area. You could sense that the band were attracting a buzz outside, as the pub reached capacity there were quite a number crowded outside. And with very good reason, I was very impressed by the Rumble Strips all round, and can see why people were craning their necks for a glimpse. The NME were there too, and so were Gigwise, along with a pub full of very happy but sweaty people by the end of the gig. As we streamed out of the pub into the sunshine, ready to start the Camden Crawl proper, it struck me what a perfect summer band the Rumble Strips could be - horns, pop songs, and drinking in the sunshine - roll on Glastonbury!