LIVE: WILKO JOHNSON BAND- 18/03/2015

Wilko Johnson – THE RITZ, MANCHESTER – “Man, there’s nothing like being told you’re dying to make you feel alive”. Wilko Johnson did mean those words in a recent interview, and we have some irrefutable evidence of this tonight. The gig of his Still Kickin’ tour is short but pretty intense (it barely takes an hour and 15 minutes), like life itself. 67-year-old Wilko Johnson seems more alive and kickin’ than ever. No one would say that the man on the stage,... Read More

LIVE: THE SUBWAYS – 24/03/2015

The Subways – ACADEMY 3, MANCHESTER – The house lights come down and 3 revolving police lights come on, two blue and one red. The room fills with dramatic introduction music and voices greet us in many different languages. It’s not long before The Subways walk out into the flashing light. They receive an enthusiastic welcome and get straight on with ‘We Don’t Need Money To Have A Good Time’. The excitement has been building for the past hour... Read More

EDWYN COLLINS AND WAYNE COYNE TO APPEAR IN CONVERSATION AT LIVERPOOL SOUND CITY

Wayne Coyne   Edwyn Collins and Wayne Coyne will appear as keynote speakers at Liverpool Sound City. The pair will appear in conversation as part of the event’s The Unsung Hero theme, with other ‘mavericks’ and ‘mayhem makers’ set to speak including Mark E. Smith, Julian Cope and Viv Albertine. Former Orange Juice frontman Collins, will talk about how his music changed following a cerebral haemorrhage in 2005, and will also perform live and screening... Read More

REVIEW: KIM GORDON IN CONVERSATION WITH DAVE HASLAM – 18/03/2015

Kim Gordon & Dave Haslam – Photo Francesca Nottola – MARTIN HARRIS CENTRE, MANCHESTER – Go online, check out any Sonic Youth video from the 1990s with Kim Gordon in it and observe her. Any reasonable woman who was a teenager in the 1990s would want to be Kim Gordon. Everything about her was cool: cool band, cool music. We thought she did not care about clothes, makeup, being sexy and smiley, etc. – mainly because she could do and wear anything and she... Read More

TICKET GIVEAWAY: FRANZ FERDINAND AND SPARKS SUPERGROUP ANNOUNCE MANCHESTER GIG

New supergroup FFS, comprised of members of Franz Ferdinand and Sparks, will play in Manchester on August 25. The two bands’ new side project will play at the Albert Hall (25th August), following gigs in Glasgow and London in June. Ron and Russell Mael of Sparks, and Alex Kapranos, Nick McCarthy, Bob Hardy and Paul Thomson of Franz Ferdinand, have recorded an album set to be released later this year. FFS have released a short teaser trailer for the album, entitled The Domino... Read More

LIVE: NICK MULVEY – 23/03/2015

Nick Mulvey – THE ALBERT HALL, MANCHESTER – What a magical thing it is to hold a room like the Albert Hall in the very palm of your very hand.  To own the eyes and ears of everyone present.  To fill this cavernous room with a sound constructed entirely from your voice and six strings stretched over some wood, containing the air necessary to make those strings resonate.  Nick Mulvey does that. There is a relationship, a tension between artist and audience, that builds... Read More

LIVE: WARPAINT – 22/03/2015

Warpaint – Photo’s: Peter Rea – ALBERT HALL, MANCHESTER – An energetic aura surrounds Warpaint – these 4 ladies from LA have together developed a way of conveying a message with deep sincerity and emotion, whether it be about darker times, or simply about having fun. Their spirit of adventure is evidently infectious – there’s disappointment at the door for many, at this, one of Manchester’s largest and most beautiful venues. The... Read More

WHO ARE YA? FALSE ADVERTISING

From time to time, one of our contributors will recommend an artist/band they think deserves  your attention. No record labels, PR companies, bands or band’s management will ever have made these recommendations. It is simply one music fan putting their taste on the line in the hope of sharing good music. The questions are intended to give just a basic introduction to possibly your new favourite artist/band. So without further ado, let’s crack on with another introduction,... Read More

LIVE: CLOUD CASTLE LAKE – 18/03/2015

Cloud Castle Lake -GULLIVERS, MANCHESTER – On Tuesday night, Gullivers was heaving as the crowds swarmed to watch their hometown prodigy Kiran Leonard. Tonight it feel as if the crowd has just left to the last drones of ‘Geraldo’s Farm’ as barely 20 people stand in the audience for Cloud Castle Lake. The hype for this band which has seen them be given several namechecks by the most on tune bloggers clearly hasn’t reached Manchester, of if it has those who would have... Read More

The Silent Radio Show 21/03/2015 Postcards From Jeff (in the studio) & Dutch Uncles (on the phone)

This week we had a double whammy of guests. We were joined live in the studio by Postcards From Jeff (Joss, Ross and Smudger), plus a chat on the phone with Dutch Uncles’ frontman Duncan Wallis. Our radio show goes out live every Saturday 3-5 on Fab Radio International. TRACK LISTING Sleater-Kinney – A New Wave / Bad Grammar – Clown / Lucy Rose – Shiver / Wolf Alice – Moaning Lisa Smile / Hanni El Khatib – Melt Me / Teleman... Read More