Camdon't.

Our last show was at the Purple Turtle in Camden with Mischeif Brew. Before I even get going about the show (which was awesome and I will get to that) lets talk about Camden. I got into a conversation with a local Birmingham band (whilst i was in....Birmingham) who play a pretty modern style of indie/punk that has that quality about it that makes it pretty NME friendly. You know the sort. They told me how keen they were to get out of Birmingham and said they wanted to play Camden because its where all the good bands play and its legendary. It's really hard to explain to someone outside of London that Camden is a myth. Despite being the Paris of "alternative" music and having the history and the legends and the endless stories that make up "rock and roll history", it's a myth. Every single night it is swamped with a few dozen bands who play to a few dozen people and then everyone goes home again and it all happens again the next night. It's a perpetual cycle. Getting a gig in Camden is not the achievement it sounds like it should be and the truth is a lot darker than it sounds. Some of the venues there, the ones that have the "name", have policies like this:

If by stage time on the night it is apparent you have not attempted to reach your MFB (minimum fanbase quota) quota we will pull your set EVEN IF YOU ARE READY TO PLAY! (its not fair others make the effort & you steal thier audience)

That is a direct cut+paste. Imagine driving from Birmingham to Camden. You have hyped the shit out of your gig on the internet, driven half your mates down in your van and you only manage to pull 8 people. Goodbye! Go home! No gig for you! I don't know wether they would actually pull your set like that, but the message is clear enough regardless. Most of the venues have a policy of paying you once a minimum number of people has been pulled at the door for your band. This is usually around 25 people. Only then are you likely to get any money, and even then it would be around £1 per person. There is the possibiluty that despite getting 50 people to come see your band you would walk away with £25. If every person who came to see your band bought 1 drink, the bar would pull something like £150. It's crazy.

Of course, it's not all negative. There are awesome venues in Camden that put on really good shows and if any band got the chance to play an awesome venue with a band they love, even knowing they would get nothing for doing it, its understandable that they would take it. The larger shows at the better venues are really good and the Sainsburys stays open late, which is excellent.

Enough myth-busting for now.

Mischeif Brew were awesome and I fell in love with their band after seeing live. I was a bit so-so about the records, but live they carry a certain energy, but they wear it like it hangs on them effortlessly. Like a seasoned band that have done endless tours but still have that drive to play hard and have fun. I can't place it, but it got me stoked. We arrived late, messed the bill order up and played third to a pretty full room. A guy called Benji from France came over to see us play because he was on holiday in the UK. He had to leave right after we played and said he just came to see us. I hardly got to speak to him or buy him a drink, but I appreciated the effort. Thanks Benji. We don't have anything on for a while, we're trying to sort some new songs and save some money because the end part of this year is definitely going to break us.

Don't forget about us.