The Underworld

You descend into The Underworld and immediately get it — this is where Camden's actual spirit lives, not in the tourist tat upstairs. The basement venue on Camden High Street has that proper pub glow, all dark wood and low ceilings, packed tight with people who came for the bands and stayed for another pint. It's the kind of place where £4 lagers taste better than they have any right to, where you'll catch unsigned acts that genuinely blow your mind, and where nobody's performing for Instagram. The crowd's refreshingly mixed: locals, musicians, proper music nerds, the lot.