The Bullet Bar is a venue that has seeped into the city’s consciousness over time, offering a consistent and prolific flow of indie-rock bands that largely pass under the radar of the mainstream.

Their success is partly down to where they are. Sitting pretty (well, not quite pretty) in Kentish Town, the Bullet Bar is able to both associate itself with the congested Camden community of venues when necessary, yet forge its own identity thanks to the fact it is a good ten minutes walk up Kentish Town Road from Camden Town tube.

While the whole vibe to the place is distinctly (and attractively) free of the chaotic electricity of its Camden neighbours, the Bullet Bar did get on board for the Camden Crawl, and from many reports was the standout venue of the mini-festival.

Over the weekend they hosted Wild Beasts, Johnny Foreigner, We Are The Physics, Lovvers and Fanfarlo among others, with this packed-out venue with exemplary sound nothing short of a revelation. So sometimes being part of Camden is a bonus after all.

Up until about two years ago, this bar was called The Verge, a bar that while trying its luck with live music, was something of a non-event. Since taking over as Bar Manager, Toby Mansourian and his team have taken a venue on its knees, dressed it up a bit, and made it into a flourishing space with a reputation for credible new bands.

“It was a dying dinosaur when we took it over a year and a half ago,” says Mansourian, “and its gone from strength to strength since, by concentrating heavily on promotions on both MySpace and our own web page. Now we get about 15 requests a day (from promoters), so I think the hard work’s paid off.”

The result of that hard work is an average of four bands a night, six or seven nights a week. The type of band to play here varies – there are acoustic and open-mic nights – but overall this is a place for trendy, guitar-heavy, attitudinal rock of the indie/metal variety.

“We are famous for alternative music,” explains Mansourian, “but we have tried a variety of jazz on an ad hoc basis. It works, but that’s not the business we’re in. We’re about up and coming alternative indie bands. It’s a variety of people who have been here, bands from the States, Australia, New Zealand as well as Europe.”

In carving out its new identity, The Bullet Bar has had to be clear about what it’s not as much as what it is. Unlike many venues eager to expand the range of what brings the customers in, this place is strictly music only.

“We are a live music venue, full stop. We take pride in our sound quality, our sound engineers, what we serve. That’s all. We are not a gastro pub. We don’t open during the day and we don’t do food.”

Nevertheless, an effort has been made to make the interior as attractive as possible. Sofas, wooden floors and a warm red colour scheme make the place very welcoming indeed – a far cry from the veritable dive that used to sit on this site in days of old. Gentrification is not always a bad thing… And in a refreshing move for such a small venue, Mansourian and his management have invested in a truly excellent sound system, something not always a priority for places of this size.

As for how The Bullet Bar fits in with everything going on down the road, Mansourian sees the venue as firmly part of that community.

“I want to be able to complement the whole neighbourhood, everyone tries their best and so do we.”