Camden Crawl 2005

Spanning ten sweaty venues and promising more than 40 of the hottest prospects for 2005 (and a free CD) for just £15, the apprehension on the Northern Line is understandable. Amid all the excitement, though, there is a nagging feeling that it has to be too good to be true.

And unfortunately, it is. Yes, you only pay £15. And yes, you get a free CD featuring all of the bands that played (unless you're on a press ticket). But as for the bands? Four would be more accurate. The organisers start ten bands in ten venues at exactly the same time, synchronised watch wearing officials making sure the bands change over like clockwork once an hour. For four hours. Which means that while hilarious hair-metal rockers Towers of London try and destroy the Electric Ballroom, or The Chalets reveal their latest stage outfits at the Dublin Castle, we're stuck watching Maximo Park at Koko.

Wild and 'ker-azy' teenage girls wet themselves all around as the band walk on, the lead singer adjusting his tie and smoothing down his greasy comb-over, dancing along to the repetitive keyboard riffs and monotonous drums. 'I Want You To Stay' is reassuringly familiar, and single 'Apply Some Pressure', which comes late enough to dissuade deserters, is the first killer track of the set. Guitars and keys meld together with blissful coherency, the singer exerts himself for the first time in his life, and Maximo Park even reveal some nice harmonies. A few more bland tracks hint at a one hit wonder band, until 'The Night I Lost My Head' shatters any daydreams, its stop-start rhythm and lush harmonies showing they have more than just 'One Song'. As they walk off though, the DJ kicks in with a Bloc Party tune, almost of a reminder of what they're up against in the current crowded market, and how far they have to go.

And so it's on to the mean streets of Camden, dodging hot dog sellers and dope dealers to catch Tom Vek at the Underworld. And here we run into Camden Crawl's other main problem. A queue, snaking round the World's End pub, and off into the darkness. Having spent ten minutes at the back we cut our losses and head to the Electric Ballroom, wincing at the thought of anyone who's trying to see Graham Coxon playing at the 100-odd capacity Dublin Castle.

On stage at the Ballroom, a teenage boy murmurs from behind long, wavy locks as two guitarists play to a drum machine. This is The Longcut, what initially sounds like an inventive tribute band to The Music, whose singer Stuart Oligivie splits his time bashing a tambourine and clambering behind a drum kit to add thunderous beats to their wall of sound. Although this is a good gimmick when he's playing, it come across a bit 'poor man's drum kit' and breaks up the sound too much. Some thought has gone into the electric sequences though; this is no li-fi Casio beat bullshit, and the pounding bass drum and intricate cymbal breaks keep it interesting. On top of this the guitar player coaxes some maniac whines from playing his guitar like a violin, building the song up to a climax. (Current single 'Transition' is in no way the stand out track, but then The Longcut isn't really a singles band).

Although the line up elsewhere is awesome (Coxon, The Wedding Present, Hope of the States, Le Tigre and many others), the Ballroom is filling up fast and the tension is building as we wait for this years 'surprise act', the Buzzcocks.

"We've got no new album to promote; this is just the hits" announces singer Pete Shelley, before they launch into a non-stop note-perfect rendition of exactly that. The hair might be thinner, the faces saggier, but neither the band nor the crowd care, as both the tireless barrage of three-minute punk missives and the flying crowdsurfers prove. 'What Do I Get' and 'Orgasm Addict' still have the energy they used to, even if the latter feels like getting sex advise from your grandad. Shalley still has that melodic voice that put them above so many of the band's punk peers and which makes the songs so durable, especially on the final song that sends the rabid moshpit into a frenzy, 'Ever Fallen In Love'.

As the crowds disperse, heading for one of the four post-gig club nights or a handful of aftershow parties, and we find ourselves in the toilets with members of The Others, Towers of London and Art Brut, one thing becomes clear: Camden is still the high court of rock n roll London. With its innumerable markets and gig venues, and its array of goths, punks, metallers, freaks and touts, it is like a permanent festival. Shame then, that the organisers of its 'official' event can't quite pull it off.