Chaos ensued in Camden on Sunday as Clash Magazine’s Sunday Sessions returned to the Lock Tavern with a capacity-full crowd stuffed in to see a rousing return from The Thrills.
The day began at lunchtime with the Clash DJs warming up the dining crowd upstairs in the hip Camden boozer, before the stage was christened with the presence of Remi Nicole.
Remi, a former employee of this fine establishment, wowed the crowds with her impassioned tales of young London. Glowing on stage with her pink cardigan, she drew all attention to her caustic lyrics and reality bites, and set the scene perfectly for the hours ahead.
Read all about Remi Nicole in next issue’s Ones To Watch.
Next up, making their DJ debut, Ninja and Kaori from The Go! Team took to the decks for an hour of blistering disco and dancefloor classics. Must have been beginners’ luck as the two lovely ladies got feet moving and turned in a blinding set to usher in the evening.
The next live performance came from Grand National. The trio, armed with only their acoustic guitars, ran through stripped versions of favourites from ‘Kicking The National Habit’ as well as choice cuts from their B-sides and rarities CD, as well as a specially chosen cover for the day, a sublime reading of Neil Young’s ‘Old Man’.
The Clash DJs filled in for an hour before it was time for the penultimate live act – George Demure and his Demurettes. The electrobilly icon stole the show with his eccentric crooning, and the backing singers held their own in the sweet call-and-response songs that brought adulation from the by now well-juiced crowd.
The action then moved downstairs in preparation for the headliners. It had been over 2 years since The Thrills had played in London, and it was wholly the pleasure of Clash to welcome them back exclusively to reveal their new material live ahead of their third album release in July.
The band were anxious about their appearance, having kept this music to themselves for so long, and of course not having faced a crowd in some time. But such worries disappeared instantly as they picked up their instruments in front of a packed room and heard the cheers to welcome them back.
Punters stood wherever they could to catch sight of the band in action as the pub swelled to capacity – those unlucky enough not to make it in peered in through the windows from the downpour outside, desperate to see their heroes in such a rare and intimate performance.
Their set was predominantly made up of the newer material, testing it out in this live setting, but of course it was peppered with old favourites that was met with total elation.
Lead singer Conor Deasy thanked the crowd and was genuinely touched – as all the band noticeably were – by the night’s reaction, and thanked the audience for being so supportive and patient.
The full set list ran:
‘The Midnight Choir’
‘One Horse Town’
‘This Year’
‘Big Sur’
‘The Irish Keep Gate-Crashing’
‘I Came All This Way’
‘Whatever Happened To Corey Haim?’
‘Nothing Changes Around Here’
‘Santa Cruz’
All photos by Emilie Fjola Sandy
