CAMDEN CRAWL - ARE YOU READY? ESSENTIAL SURVIVAL KIT TIPS

THE hour is approaching – the Camden Crawl Festival, our annual ramble through territories familiar and not so, begins tomorrow and we’re doing a reverse rain dance in anticipation.

While some are still recovering from the London marathon, we Camden types are in training for our very own Camden-style athletic challenge – a 3-day test of endurance comprising miles walked, queues joined, decibels tolerated, venues visited, pints drunk and all in skinny jeans and suspension-averse ballet shoes. Bring on the gold medal.

Headliners Glasvegas

There’s not enough room to tell you every name, venue or activity programmed so here are the basics. A weekend ticket can buy to Saturday and Sunday (May 5 and 6), hundreds of singers, artists, comedians and the first ever Crawlternative Media Expo at St Michael’s Church. Ghetts, Admiral Fallow, Clock Opera, Glasvegas, Lady Leshurr, The Futureheads, Alabama 3, Gaz Coombes and so, so many more will feature over the weekend, while the full list of artists, venues and details of the Crawl’s daytime programme can be found at www.thecamdencrawl.com Tickets for Friday’s launch headlined by Death in Vegas at Koko, can be bought separately.

To help you on your way, here’s my Camden Crawl survival kit.

1) Phone charger. Pack one for times when you want to check out SBTV’s Electric Ballroom urban takeover while your gig buddy would rather check out the record fair at St Mark’s Church or an acoustic act way down the other end of Camden High Street. If your phone has the misfortune to have a short iPhone battery, take every opportunity to charge it along the way – or risk spending the rest of the Crawl alone, or worse, unable to tweet.

2) Plan your timetable. Some acts, like Baxter Dury and Ellen and the Escapades play both days while there’s only one chance to catch others.

3) Plan for queues. You can’t always see everything, so be realistic. If there’s a real must-see band, get there early.

4) Comfy shoes – two days trekking up and down Camden High Street will leave even the most hardy feet feeling battered and bruised, perhaps finally an excuse to dig out that unwanted Christmas foot spa?

5) Layers and light waterproofs – We don’t want a repeat of the great Camden washout of 2010 when every inch of every layer of our clothing was drenched before the (cold) sun had gone down.  

6) Waterproof eyeliner / guyliner / mascara – there’s no shortage of heavy make-up in Camden, just make sure it’s of the waterproof variety, so it can withstand both the sweaty heat of a mosh pit and any potential torrents sent to try us.

7) Research the line-up – you can’t possibly have heard of every band on the line-up. Look up the unfamiliar ones, find the hidden gems lurking in the small print, they may be the next big thing. That’s how we saw Florence and the Machine some time back and Rizzle Kicks last year.

8) Keep your eyes open, listen out for the buzz and monitor Twitter. There are always surprises, guest appearances and random musicians – usually called Pete Doherty – wandering the streets.