Barfly

With an unlikely number of national outposts given its indie programming, Barfly is where punters are promised 'the stars of tomorrow'. To some extent, the claim is true, the student-friendly venue having staged the young Franz Ferdinand and The Strokes among others. This Camden branch is popular with locals and scruffy music lovers, the pokey 200-capacity upstairs space offering a mixed bill of live bands and after-show club nights as well as Time Out's monthly 'On The Up' sessions, where you can catch the next big things in live and dance music. For a more bar (as in less gig) venue, try Barfly's sister, The Fly, on the smarter New Oxford Street.