The Strokes' Secret London Gig Causes Venue Website to Crash

Time was that secret gigs were just that; a secret. A band would roll up for a festival or a major gig, get in touch with a local promoter or club, said promoter or club would then get in touch with its regulars and -- hey presto! -- everyone was a winner.

But now the news New York's symbols of all that is achingly hip and cool, the Strokes, were to play a warm-up gig at Camden's intimate Dingwalls venue on Wednesday, June 9, spread across the blogosphere faster than melted butter on hot toast. Indeed, such was demand for the 500 or so tickets for the gig at the North London venue that the venue's site crashed on Tuesday night.

Rumours soon spread that the few tickets to see Venison went on sale an hour earlier than advertised which prompted Dingwalls to issue a statement denying this. A message on the venue's website reads, "We are sorry if you did not get a ticket for the Venison show but demand was so high that tickets sold out in a few minutes and then the websites were jammed as we are sure you all know. Tickets did not go on sale at 8PM but at 9PM as was stated on this website. We are only a small venue so if you were lucky enough to get a ticket then enjoy the show."

Rumours had been growing for days that a show was in the offing after the band tweeted "Good Morning London" on Saturday, June 5, which was then followed by a picture of Camden Lock on Tuesday with the message, "Why don't you come over here..?" To heighten the sense of anticipation, a logo for Venison in the band's usual typeface appeared on both the Strokes' and the venue's respective websites.

The Dingwalls gig will be the Strokes' first UK appearance since 2006. The band are set to headline the Isle of Wight festival on Saturday, June 12.