After establishing their first base in suburban Epsom, Surrey, where they helped launch the careers of KT Tunstall, Jamie T and Rufus Hound among others, ambitious arts collective Native Tongue has opened its second outpost, this time close to Smithfield Market. Concentrating on nurturing new acts, again spanning comedy and live music, the collective’s motto is “everything has to start somewhere, and that somewhere is Native Tongue!”.

The Venue
Native Tongue is an unpretentious downstairs cellar bar with brick walls. The stage dominates one end, but there are low slung sofas to recline on at the other, and one bar for drinks in between. There’s room for 80-100 people at a stretch, and a gig with 40 punters will seem busy enough.

The Atmosphere
The gigs tend to be populated by younger indie folk and metallers, depending on who is playing, while the comedy crowd which comes in earlier (typically for a prompt 7.30pm start) tends to be a little older. There’s no hint of attitude on the door and the bar staff are friendly, plus the audience seems to be relaxed - often friends of the bands - and poseur-free, which in this part of town is relatively unusual. Obviously the gigs are nicely noisy - the sound system isn’t huge but for the compact size of the venue it’s more than adequate.

The Entertainment
By nature of its status as a breeding ground for new talent many of the names will be fresh to you, but the Crack Comedy nights also feature relatively big names like Scott Capurro, Will Smith and Otiz Canneloni. Band-wise, the London venue has played host to the widely tipped - and rightly so - frenzied indie stylings of Edit/Select, and with an average of four bands on per gig this is the perfect setting for catching the rawest, newest acts before everyone else.

The Drink
The bar, like the venue, flies in the face of all the clubs around it by offering a range of drinks at pub rather than nightlife prices. Jager Bombs/Skittles come at a knockdown two for £6, double vodka and Red Bull is £4, a bottle of house wine is just a tenner and at £3.50 for a pint of Becks Vier and Guinness at £3.60, the beer is reasonably pitched too.

The Last Word
They’ve earned their spurs and proved their foresight by nurturing the right acts in Epsom, and look sure to do the same in London, as well as offering a relaxed, down to earth alternative to its showier neighbours dotted around Fabric.

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