The Knowhere Guide

Going Out in Camden, Greater London*

Camden, Greater London Clubs, Music Venues, Cinemas

Clubs (Dance Music) and Music Bars

• Koko - CAmden Palace as was - great indie club nights
• Blue Nightclub Inverness is the place 2 b, music is bangin, people r off there heads on some drug, and u cnt go 2 blue if u r nt off your head.
• try the dublin castle for late night fun. Bands on all the time in the back room, once they clear away, a dj will usually fill in until closing time.
• the oh bar on a friday, resonance. 9-2am cool atmosphere lively dj's and no attitude! rnb, hip-hop ragga and old skool. oh, and a little bit of rnb line dancing too!
• the Underworld, saturday night. get down into the pit (which they hopefully call the dancefloor) and jump until your legs break!
• peach, non cheesy??! its bloody awful!! it seems to be an unwritten rule that u have to be k'd up to your eyeballs, armed with poppers, dummys, vicks + tiger balm ready to compete with a christmas tree due to an excess of flashing lights all over that ridiculous cyberdog gear. and as for all that smelly cheesy reach for the lasers upliftin utlimate extreme euphoria dave pearce wank music??!what a joke.
• Electric Ballroom on Saturday nights is so much fun...if you're a fan of disco. They play 70's, 80's and 90's dance music that everyone can sing along to, and there is another room upstairs with more garage-style music for those who aren't so into Abba or Michael Jackson. The atmosphere is light-hearted and fun, and it's pretty easy to pull, if you're looking for that...
• Under BarSolo on Inverness Street on a Thursday night rocks, otherwise it's dodgy sweaty indie at the Monarch on Fridays & Saturdays til late, including large numbers of Scandanavian types, or Purple Turtle (mornington crescent) on Saturdays for a full-scale trance sweatbox that's free to get in.
• Electric ballroom on fridays... downstairs for goth/EBM/synthpop/techno/hardhouse, upstairs for the nu-metal and rock classics (pass the sick-bag). Be warned you always end up spending a fortune there!
• The Purple Turtle Club has good music at the weekends, but don't go if you're a pothead as a bouncer will rip your spliff up as they're sponsored by Smirnoff Ice.
• The best club in London is FULL TILT at the Electric Ballroom on Fridays, playing the best industrial, goth, techno and metal around!! And only 4 quid if you're a member!!
• Complex in Angel, Bar Rumba on a Thursday night for some wicked drum + bass
• feet first at camden palace - good lights + music, some strange people who are impossible to understand. bands are crap, though, and lots of men pinch your arse.
• Bloody Peach at the Palace on Fridays. Banging uplifting choons for non cheesy house freaks. Everybody is 'avin it at Peach!
• Supermarket has moved to the Monarch, and alas, The Mack is no more. It's now the Livin' Room, a big beat night.
• -HQ's, Camden Lock on wednesdays for some jazzy-house sessions -WKD on Fridays/Saturdays for funk/disco/hiphop sessions -Jazz cafe is quite good during the WE after 11pm (until 2am): try to get some flyers outside during the afternoon -Electric Ballroom on Sat. nights: free to get in if dressed up in 70's stuff
• Feet First Supermarket Laurel Tree: heaven for a girl like me loves Britpop/indie, lives in crap US.

Live Music Venues

• Koko - fantastic music policy has made this the most exciting venue in London, never mind Camden. In the last twelve months I've seen Julian Cope, ESG, Roxy Music, Mylo and Babyshambles there - they really know what they're doing...
• The Underworld is a great venue, bands tend to be goth/punk/metal/ska/indie...mainly stuff which makes alot of noise and that your parents wouldn't like :) It has a cloakroom which is only a quid but its a right pain going there at the end of a gig cos you end up getting squashed!! There is also the KoKo which has a huge variety of stuff playing there, its over 18s and does tend to be a bit expencive buts its a good place! Purple Turtle also has loads of local bands playing there so its good to check out the local talent :P
• dingwalls doesn'e exist anymore, neither does HQ's dingwalls is now a permanent comedy venue. and HQ's, for those of you who remember that place with a shudder, you will be glad to know that it is no longer a sweat box full of scowling people. neither are there black walls covered in a nasty stinking slimy coating. it has been miraculously transformed into a cool, classy and sophisticated-but not snobby, condsending or exclusive- bar, with live djs and a totally laid back atmosphere and friendly staff. it's cool and private in the week, and mad on a friday night.
• Best place to see fairly big bands is Dingwalls, great venue, great sound. Otherwise of the toilet stops (Dublin Castle, the Verge, the Monarch & the Falcon) the Monarch is probably the best, although the greatest gigs I've ever seen have been at the Underworld by the tube.
• The Underworld plays host to some good artists. It is a pretty awful venue though with many strategically placed pillars spoiling the view from pretty much anywhere you stand.
• The Underworld has good metal bands playing often
• The Fusilier and Firkin, opposite the entrance to the indoor market, has live bands 5 nights a week and wekend afternoons!
• Theres this place in Camden that I cant remember the name of but they give out flyers by the station, on a wednesday they have a paris london hip hop connection night with freestyle rappers from all over France and England - its fucking wicked and pretty cheap too. (about 3 quid.)
• The Camden Falcon is excellent for "up-and-comings" and secret gigs
• The lovers of rap-reggae-acid/jazz-funk music will be delighted by the grim atmosphere of the WKD Cafe (Wisdom Knowledge Destiny), Kentish Town road, next to Sainsbury's. It's a very good venue (quite cheap) during the WE and there is a club afterwards
• Barfly at The Falcon - £5 to hear loads of bands you've never heard of - can be surprisingly good or mind numbingly bad
• Isn't the dublin castle just the greatest? My uncles band 'bette davis and the balconnettes' played there, and it was top. I met Graham from blur outside the mixer that day. Fancy blur playing at the Dublin castle eh? who'd've thought it?
• Electric Ballroom
• Underworld.
• Monarch
• Laurel Tree
• Dublin Castle
• The Jazz Cafe: One of the place to go in Camden Town; the best concert in the best atmosphere. Even though it's a bit expensive.

Cinemas

• v average Odeon cinema...
• Theres an odeon near the station which i never realised was there until i walked from camden station to london zoo! ive never been in there but i assume its alot like most other london cinemas. expencive.
• Odean's pretty good, tend to show foreign films that don't get aired in other cinemas.
• showcase cinema, wood green(not camden but worth the trip). HUGE ROCKING( as in like literally rocking chair, rocking!!!) seats, more like individual armchairs! totally comfortable and dirt cheap. catch a 29 bus straight there frm outside sainsburys camden road.
• OK cinema. Often some good arthouse films at the ODEON on Parkway.
• Odeon camden- the number one room is a fair size, but otherwise don't bother...
• Camden Odeon Parkway
• Theres a cinema in Notting Hill where you can puff while you watch the movie, ive never found it so email me and TELL ME WHERE IT IS!
• Well we could notice the Odeon, Parkway, opposite to the Jazz Cafe... they do concessions for the late shows. 1min. walking from Camden tube.
• There is only one - Odeon on Parkway. They destroyed the original Parkway Cinema for this??

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Last updated: 2007-05-21