Venue of the Week: The Bullet Bar
- Posted on March 8, 2007 4:34 PM
- 0 comments
The Bullet Bar, Camden Town 7 March 2007
By Peter Coulston
The Bullet Bar is located on Kentish Town Road opposite Royal College Street and has been up and running for about a year in it’s present form. It is midway between Camden Town and Kentish Town tubes on the Northern Line and I am not sure about parking as I left my car at Balham. The venue is one large room with an equally large bar, decorated in red with a number of comfortable chairs and sofas scattered around. This is a popular layout these days and works very well. The audience was very friendly, if a little noisy, and I felt very comfortable there.
Now there was a time when the entrance to Camden Town Underground Station after dark was home to every drunk in a ten mile radius, which allowed me to embellish any revues of gigs in Camden with jokes at the expense of the drinking classes. I revelled in mocking the afflicted and displaying dubious taste, while linking the remarks to subjects such as extended licensing hours and former leaders of political parties. Unfortunately, in an obvious attempt to bury my creative talents, someone has decided to clean the place up. Either Camden Council, the Transport Police, or both have transformed this once vibrant centre of social cohesion into what can only be described as a normal, functional Underground Station. Next thing, they’ll be banning smoking in pubs!
To return to the matter in hand, the Bullet Bar hosts an Acoustic Night with Open Mike on Wednesdays. Presented by AJS Music in the form of compere Aaron Short and his mum, the evening consists of exactly what it says on the tin (not to mention the flyer). It starts at 8pm, runs until midnight, costs £4 to get in, and is jam packed with good music. For more information, visit www.myspace.com/openmicuk. I arrived around 8:30 and enjoyed a couple of acoustic songs from Dan Myers. This was followed by Fleet Street, a very slick outfit with a strong lead singer who do an excellent job on soulful ballads. I don’t know how long they’ve been together but they still need to tighten up a tad. Keep at it, guys; you have a nice band there. Elmo Guns did some excellent acoustic work blending major and minor keys with another strong vocal. I particularly enjoyed “One Last Time”.
Next up was Earl Okin, musical genius and sex symbol, who can always be relied upon to entertain, despite suffering a cold. Earl is essentially a jazz guitarist when he is not fooling around, and is actually about to join Jamie Cullum’s record label. On live appearances he plays the role as previously described, dressed on a black formal suit and spats. His first song, “Come To My Room”, spoke for itself and allowed him his first opportunity to use his voice to very effectively mimic a muted trumpet. He followed with a lovely ballad, a bossa nova version of “Teenage Dirtbag” and the classic “Georgia On My Mind”. Don’t miss a chance to see this guy, he is an original. The headline act was the very competent Rushmore, an acoustic lineup with strong songs and faultless harmony vocals. Neil and Edward Ormandy front the band, which on this occasion included James Sims on bass and Adam Faulkner on an improvised percussion setup. All the songs were upbeat and “Alone” and “Last Chance” stood out. With such good harmonies, it’s a shame they don’t include some ballads in their set. You can find them on myspace. It was all about good songs and harmonies again with Tumbling Dice. With a guy and a girl fronting this acoustic package, his solid lead vocals were complimented by her faultless harmonies and incredible range. The lead guitarist deserves credit also for fine interpretation and clarity. Great songs such as “Girl Next Door”, “Staying Together” and “Falling Down” made this band a pleasure to hear and see.
When I left at 11:15, there were still six acts to go. Maybe next time I’ll drive all the way; there must be somewhere to park and there’s no fun to be had at Camden Town tube any more. Whatever route you take, give this venue a try any Wednesday. It does not disappoint.
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