LIVE: EMMY THE GREAT – 23/01/2015

– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – Emmy the Great is at a pivotal moment in her career. Six years after debut album, First Love, established her on the bustling London anti-folk scene, and just months before the release of her third full-length, she remains to this point a somewhat peripheral figure. In those six years, […]
– THE RITZ, MANCHESTER –  Pushed by this January night’s icy wind and rain, and pulled by the prospect of live music from Mark Lanegan Band, I am more or less sucked in through the open doors of The Ritz. The interior climate is immediately to my liking, and I do not instantly melt from […]

LIVE: MARK LANEGAN BAND – 23/01/2015

LIVE: ALVVAYS – 21/01/2015

– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – “Just in case there is any confusion, it’s pronounced ‘Always!’” laughs singer Molly Rankin, offering the same clarity everyone who has ever written about the band is obliged to cover. With their kitschy name and capacity to count Real Estate and Pains of Being Pure at Heart as past […]
– THE RUBY LOUNGE, MANCHESTER – My friend and I arrive at The Ruby Lounge very early, so we are able to enjoy watching the flow of the incoming crowd, with the sounds of Pavement and Sonic Youth in the background. The gig is sold out and the venue starts getting populated after 7.30. While […]

LIVE: J MASCIS / LULUC – 10/01/2015

LIVE: CHERRY GHOST – 21/12/2014

– BAND ON THE WALL, MANCHESTER –  Since fate conspired against me last year and made me miss Bolton’s Cherry Ghost playing a couple of Christmas-time concerts at Hallé St. Peter’s, I’m grateful for the opportunity to make up for it tonight at Band on the Wall. Billed as a ‘festive special’, hopefully a seasonal […]
– THE CASTLE HOTEL, MANCHESTER – The traditional start to Christmas for many Mancunians these days is the first trip to the Christmas markets, sampling undercooked sausages and over-priced Gluewein.  But for the more discerning reveler the real spirit of Christmas is to be found at The Castle Hotel, where the Brown Brogues’ annual “Bro  […]

LIVE: BROWN BROGUES / ABJECTS / DIRTY HEELS – 20/12/2014

LIVE: KASABIAN – MANCHESTER ARENA, 12/12/2014

I’m starting to run out of superlatives to describe Kasabian as a live band. To many they are the best British live band around after conquering the Sunday headlining slot at this year’s Glastonbury festival. The group are sometimes criticised for their qualities on record but as a live act they really do come into […]
Close your eyes, and it could be 1983. It is exactly the kind of nostalgia that Mark E Smith hates, so I did not expect to be joined by him at the Ruby Lounge for the debut performance of Brix and the Extricated. And I wasn’t, despite my dreams of the former husband and wife […]

LIVE: BRIX & THE EXTRICATED – THE RUBY LOUNGE, MANCHESTER 13/12/2014

LIVE: THE XCERTS / KAGOULE – SOUP KITCHEN, MANCHESTER 12/12/2014

It feels nice to be stood in Soup Kitchen this evening, a pint in hand, knowing I have the weekend ahead and not much else on the agenda apart from watching bands and drinking beer. Sadly, Soup Kitchen seems a little on the quiet side as I eagerly await tonight’s support, Nottingham outfit Kagoule. It’s […]
I’m heading down Oxford Road and feeling festive. Students abound in Christmas jumpers, work do’s are spilling out of Kro and Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott are playing a charity* gig at Academy 2. Not even Scrooge himself could turn down a mince pie. The Beautiful South duo reunited this year for the underrated ‘What […]

LIVE: PAUL HEATON & JACQUI ABBOTT – ACADEMY 2, MANCHESTER 12/12/2014