Crawl blog: Day 1

Get all the latest from the Camden Crawl from our 6 Music News reporters

24 April 2009 - The Camden Crawl 2009 is now underway and will see 150 new and established acts take over 40 venues in north London.

It's known for showcasing up and coming talent and will also see the likes of Kasabian, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Madness perform.

Our roving reporters Adrian Larkin and Victoria Hannaford are in the thick of it and you can read all about their crawl journeys below.

For 6 Music's coverage, pictures and news follow us on Twitter.

Adrian Larkin reporting

10am: Adrian heads off to Camden on his moped to set up.

11am: Punters are already turning up for Camden Crawl and so are the bands. Just got here, sun is shining and The View are off the booze for a few hours - check 'em out - it's a Camden Crawl Tea Party!

11.15am: Just spoke to some music fans who have come all the way from Belfast to see General Fiasco.

11.30am: I'm off to do some interviews now.

12.30pm: Just interviewed Chew Lips. They confirmed they're working on a new album, so will be giving some songs from that a spin tonight at the Dublin Castle as part of Steve Lamacq's night.

They also said they've been touring with The Virgins, who I'll be interviewing later on today. Chew Lips are massive Virgins fans. Hear more from them on 6 Music in the news a bit later.

See a picture of Chew Lips.

1pm: Just chatted to Tommy Sparks, who says he is going to camp it up on stage at his gig this evening. He also said he's going to get into the party spirit - literally - and let his hair down later with a couple of vodka's before going to bed.

See a picture of Tommy Sparks.

2pm: I just caught up with American trio The Virgins, who have just been joined on tour with Chew Lips. There’s a big buzz about them at the moment. They’re looking forward to seeing the Yeah Yeah Yeahs as are massive fans.

Their self-titled debut album is only just out here in the UK but they told 6 Music they want to get in the studio in November to record the next one.

Singer Donald has already had a mishap and lost his sunglasses so said he needs to go and buy a new pair because there's so many goodlooking people knocking about!

See a picture of The Virgins.

Victoria Hannaford reporting

3pm: I’m down here and just sat and had a chat with The Temper Trap. They aren’t from London so it’s all quite overwhelming for them – but in a good way. They told me they’re really excited about playing in Camden and also said it’s got a similar festival vibe to SXSW. They’ve played at the Austin showcase last month and Laneway in Melbourne recently, so it’s their third city festival in a row and they are really excited about it.

They’ve recently been working with the Arctic Monkeys producer Jim Abiss on their album. It’s in the finishing stages, and is called Conditions, due for release in summer. They recorded the bulk of it in Australia with Jim and said at times things got quite tense in the studio, but the result speaks for themselves as any arguments produced results.

See a picture of The Temper Trap.

4pm: I just did an interview with the hilarious bassist, Jeremy, and drummer, Antony, from Hockey. They just recorded Jools Holland this week, which goes out tonight on the BBC. Also on the bill were Bat For Lashes, who they said they were blown away by and Cat Stevens, now names Yusef Islam. The boys said they nearly died they were so beside themselves when Islam said he liked their band.

Hockey kick off a tour with Friendly Fires in Bristol tomorrow which they’re looking forward to. They played a show with them in LA at the Troubadour last week and said they’re going to have to raise their game after seeing them live, Friendly Fires were so great.

See a picture of Hockey.

4.45pm: Just caught up with VV Brown, who revealed she’s just finished her album. It’s going to be released on 16 June and as well as that, she’s been working on a comic book and her vintage clothing line VV Vintage.

She’s looking forward to playing a show for the 50^th anniversary celebrations of Island Records and said she’s inspired by the label and the way it treats its artists. What attracted her to it was the legacy of its artists, namely Bob Marley and Grace Jones.

5.30pm: I'm signing off now to go roaming and check out a load of bands including Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Madness on a bus! Will keep twittering and post my reviews up later on so keep it 6music/news.

6 Music's presenters Adam and Joe, Lauren Laverne and Steve Lamacq are all broadcasting their shows from the event. Read more.

Plus, The Music Week will be bringing you all the highlights and biggest stories from the event on Sunday 26 April at 1pm GMT.

Victoria Hannaford / Adrian Larkin / Georgie Rogers