{"id":50434,"date":"2019-06-11T14:52:49","date_gmt":"2019-06-11T13:52:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/?p=50434"},"modified":"2019-06-12T17:41:20","modified_gmt":"2019-06-12T16:41:20","slug":"the-size-of-a-cow-bumper-camden-rocks-2019-review-featuring-frank-turner-glen-matlock-suzie-stapleton-ash-carl-barat-and-the-wonderstuff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2019\/06\/the-size-of-a-cow-bumper-camden-rocks-2019-review-featuring-frank-turner-glen-matlock-suzie-stapleton-ash-carl-barat-and-the-wonderstuff\/","title":{"rendered":"THE SIZE OF A COW – Bumper Camden Rocks 2019 Review featuring Frank Turner, Glen Matlock, Suzie Stapleton, Ash, Carl Barat and The Wonder Stuff"},"content":{"rendered":"

Expanded this year into a two-day festival, Camden Rocks is fast snowballing in both size and influence.<\/strong><\/p>\n

From humble origins 10 years ago, it’s becoming an urban Goliath, attracting bigger names and longer line-ups every year.<\/p>\n

2019’s roster featured a mind-boggling 400 bands crammed into 20 venues – a logistical nightmare roughly on a par with Brexit.<\/p>\n

That the whole thing went off with barely a hitch is to the considerable credit of organiser Chris McCormack<\/strong> (The Professionals<\/strong>) and his team.<\/p>\n

With the smorgasbord of talent on offer, reviewing such a massive event was a considerable challenge.<\/p>\n

Undaunted, EPs Matt Catchpole<\/strong> (words) and Sam Wells<\/strong> (pictures) took up the cudgel – fearlessly braving the bars, taverns, gin palaces and nitespots of Camden to bring you this report.<\/p>\n

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Frank Turner – picture by Trudi Knight for Camden Rocks<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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With time perilously short on the Saturday (don\u2019t ask!), I headed down to a packed Electric Ballroom<\/strong> to catch a bit of the night\u2019s headline act Frank Turner<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The bearded bard of Meonstoke is something of a phenomenon, shifting units aplenty with his affirmative take on punk folk.<\/p>\n

It’s not easy to find new paths on a road well travelled by the likes of Billy Bragg\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0The Levellers<\/strong>, but with seven albums under his belt Frank’s certainly making a decent stab at it.<\/p>\n

And there\u2019s no doubting his power as a performer.<\/p>\n

Watching him hold a rapt audience in the palm of his hand – armed with just a microphone and an acoustic guitar was something to behold.<\/p>\n

Overjoyed to be back in North London, he was clearly among friends, with the audience eagerly helping him out with the lyrics for songs old and new.<\/p>\n

Tragically I left before the stagediving, but there were a couple of bona fide rock icons I wanted to catch on The Fest\u00a0<\/strong>stage at Stables Market.<\/p>\n

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Glen and Earl – Picture by Svenja Block (www.svenjablock.pixieset.com) – do not reproduce without permission<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
Glen Matlock<\/strong> was the bassist in The Sex Pistols<\/strong> – you might have heard of them. Earl Slick<\/strong> was the man who stood to the left of David Bowie<\/strong> as they toured the world\u2019s megadomes.<\/div>\n
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Yet here they were playing their hearts out on a tiny stage to an indecently small audience, whose average age must have been pushing 60.<\/div>\n
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But with age comes wisdom and judging by the stupefied grins on the many of the faces around me, it was clear that those who’d managed to drag themselves away from the Champions League Final, couldn’t quite believe their luck.<\/div>\n
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Always an engaging character<\/span>,<\/a> Glen’s on fine form and it’s wonderful to be to see Slick up close and personal.<\/div>\n
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Improvising wildly, the stick thin guitarist adds gloss to Glen’s down and dirty rock ‘n’ roll rhythms.<\/div>\n
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There are some well chosen covers, such as Scott Walker<\/strong>‘s\u00a0Montague Terrace In Blue<\/strong><\/em> and\u00a0Richard Hell<\/strong>‘s Blank Generation –<\/strong><\/em> which Glen calls “the most punk song ever written”.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Keep On Pushing\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>– the lead track from latest album\u00a0Good To Go – <\/strong><\/em>gets the joint jumping as we build to the inevitable big finish, Pretty Vacant,<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0Glen’s single greatest gift to the Pistols.<\/div>\n
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A fine set, which had the added appeal of feeling like a secret show.<\/div>\n
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The only downer was the guy who spent virtually the whole gig filming on his mobile – his selfie stick shoved about two inches from poor Glen\u2019s grizzled fizzog. <\/span>Please don\u2019t do that again – it\u2019s incredibly disrespectful.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Suzie Stapleton – picture by Sam Wells<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Sunday started small – up and coming Aussie artist Suzie Stapleton <\/strong>kicking things off on the \u2018punktastic\u2019 Good Mixer<\/strong> stage.<\/p>\n

I say small, there was a danger the Mixer\u2019s bar staff might outnumber the audience when Suzie’s trio first plugged in.<\/p>\n

But they soldiered on, steadily winning new friends with finely crafted songs of real depth and passion.<\/p>\n

There are shades of compatriot Nick Cave\u00a0<\/strong>and the dark blues of\u00a0The Gun Club\u00a0<\/strong>in Suzie’s songs and it’s a rare pleasure to find a singer-songwriter, who can actually sing,<\/p>\n

She’s no mean guitarist either, blending psychedelic elements with pulsating solos on songs like\u00a0Hit<\/em> <\/strong>and feverish set closer\u00a0We Are The Plague<\/strong><\/em> (see what I did there).<\/p>\n

Yep, she’s definitely got some chops, has Suzie, and with a new album in the works, if she’s not playing bigger places by this time next year, I may have to eat my laptop.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Ash’s Tim Wheeler and Mark Hamilton – picture by Sam Wells<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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Ash<\/strong>\u2019s Tim Wheeler<\/strong> seems remarkably youthful for someone who\u2019s been doing this music biz thing for the best part of a quarter century.<\/p>\n

Then again, given he was just a teenager when Ash first hit the airwaves in 1996, it\u2019s perhaps not quite so surprising.<\/p>\n

Strapping on his trademark Flying V he bashes out a couple of deafening, distorted power chords and it’s clear from outset – Ash are here to rock.<\/p>\n

The hits fly by at quantum speed, Wheeler and bassist Mark Hamilton<\/strong> nonchalantly blending subtle skill with brazen showmanship.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d honestly forgotten how good they were, but I was in a minority of one, as The Electric Ballroom bounced and sang along to such guaranteed crowd-pleasers as Oh Yeah<\/strong><\/em>,\u00a0Annabel <\/strong><\/em>and their salute to chop-socky, Fu Manchu<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n

Endearingly geeky with their love of martial arts, cartoons, sci-fi and video games, Ash are like The<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>Big Bang Theory<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>of rock.<\/p>\n

Given the ecstatic reception they got for\u00a0The Girl From<\/strong> Mars<\/strong><\/em>, we might yet see the revenge of nerds enter the next generation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Carl Barat – picture by Sam Wells<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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“To Camden we will crawl” The<\/strong> Libertines<\/strong> sang on Fame and Fortune<\/strong><\/em> and Sunday’s Dingwalls\u00a0<\/strong>show certainly felt like a homecoming for Carl Barat<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Match fit and brimming with confidence after a series of tour dates, Barat and his band tore into the set like a pack of rabid dogs.<\/p>\n

Playing a career-spanning mix of Libertines, Dirty Pretty Things<\/strong> and Jackals<\/strong> tunes, Carl’s the epitome of cool throughout.<\/p>\n

At one point he even gets a punter in the front row to hold his guitar while he takes off his leather jacket.<\/p>\n

The music clatters along with a familiar rambunctious swagger, the heavier Jackals’ songs like Glory Days <\/strong><\/em>and\u00a0A Storm Is Coming<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0delivered with conspicuous attack.<\/p>\n

I was less taken with the solo acoustic bit towards the end, not so much because it smacked of self-indulgence, (though it did!), but because it sucked the momentum out of a hitherto blistering half hour.<\/p>\n

Happily, things soon pick up again, once his excellent band rejoin him on stage and a performance of real star quality reaches a triumphant climax. Over to you Pete Doherty<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The Wonder Stuff – Picture by Sam Wells<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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With the festival drawing to a close, we made one last journey to The Underworld\u00a0<\/strong>to spend some time in the jovial company of The Wonder Stuff<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Frontman Miles Hunt<\/strong> is another seemingly immune to the ravages of time.<\/p>\n

Indeed, with his shock of red hair and rustic green waistcoat – I was half expecting a white wizard to gallop on and whisk him off on a quest for the one true ring.<\/p>\n

Thankfully that didn’t happen and instead we were treated a peach of a set, chiefly culled from the band’s absurdly catchy first three albums.<\/p>\n

Genial and accommodating, Miles knows exactly what his audience wants and is more than happy to deliver.<\/p>\n

Promising never to utter the words “we’ve got some new stuff to play you,” he leads the band on a nostalgic ramble through their best loved songs, including Golden Green<\/em> <\/strong>and\u00a0Size of a Cow<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Miles and Erica – Picture by Sam Wells<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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“This used to be my boozer for five years in the ’90s,” he remembers, “I’ve been in some states in here!”<\/p>\n

Funny and charming throughout, he pays a moving tribute to the late Kirsty MacColl <\/strong>by way of introduction to Welcome To The Cheap Seats <\/strong><\/em>– violinist Erica Nockalls <\/strong>elegantly filling in for Kirsty on vocal duties.<\/p>\n

With original guitarist\u00a0Malc Treece<\/strong> back in the fold – the band sound as good as they ever have, Erica’s vibrant fiddle adding extra sheen to their infectious melodies.<\/p>\n

Now, 52, Miles may jokingly wish they’d written more ballads like Piece of Sky<\/strong><\/em>. but he’s a ball of energy, the absolute beating heart of the band.<\/p>\n

When we reluctantly take our leave to the closing strains of Don’t Let Me Down Gently<\/strong><\/em>, it feels like the Stuffies could go on all night.<\/p>\n

Six shows in two days and we barely scratched the surface of what was on offer.<\/p>\n

New, established, nostalgic and legendary – Camden Rocks 2019 had a bit of everything. Roll on next year.<\/p>\n