– THE RUBY LOUNGE, MANCHESTER – I guess being the son of one of the most iconic musicians of the 20th century and an internationally renowned avant-garde artist, brings with it a lot of expectation concerning your creative talents. Sean Lennon, whose godfather is Elton John – who appeared in Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker – who co-wrote […]
– SOUP KITCHEN, MANCHESTER – I have to confess, there was a period where I fell out of love with Marissa Nadler. I was pretty obsessed with her 2009 album Little Hells which, in my eyes, is about as perfect as a singer songwriter album can possibly be. Then she released a couple of so-so albums […]
– BAND ON THE WALL, MANCHESTER – Perfume Genius, or Mike Hadreas as his friends probably call him, has the audience of a sweltering Band On The Wall in the palm of his hand. Every person in the room is silent, in absolute awe of the beautiful, frequently devastatingly show he’s putting on tonight, and […]
– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – So I’ve just spent the weekend traipsing around a field in Bristol for ArcTanGent festival, geeking out over riffs, reverb pedals and weird time signatures; that’s right, ArcTanGent is the UK’s only math/post rock festival. I’ve been pretty much on a post rock binge since returning back to reality, […]
– THE RUBY LOUNGE, MANCHESTER – Good grief. Even the most seasoned gig-goer would be forgiven for taking an extra moment to process proceedings when Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O. (to give them their full title) roll into town. The veteran free-form progressive psychedelic experimental rock group, or as they would have […]
– FALLOW CAFE, MANCHESTER – Despite being scheduled for the Ruby Lounge, tonight’s festivities instead take place at Fallow Cafe. The stage at Fallow Cafe is tiny, last time I was here even the two piece bands on the bill looked a bit cramped. The people of Fallow Cafe have tonight extended their stage slightly, […]
– GORILLA, MANCHESTER – We had to wait less than a year to to see one of the most active underground bands nowadays. The San Francisco quartet Deafheaven, loved, hated and criticised by the media and public, is unique in style. Their look seems to be the one for a standard indie band, but their […]
– THE STAR & GARTER, MANCHESTER – I’m still unsure about gigs at The Star & Garter. To me, that venue is The Smiths Disco. First Friday of the month, a gang of folk young and old gather upstairs in the (let’s be honest) grotty venue to sing and dance along to classic Smiths/Morrissey tunes. It’s not […]
– ALBERT HALL, MANCHESTER – Back in 2006, one Zach Condon started his own solo musical project which soon expanded into a band, now known as Beirut. Fast forward to the present, the American band has three studio albums under their name and a massive fan base with their multi-elemental indie folk rock music. The […]
– GORILLA, MANCHESTER – Possibly the best band currently signed to Sub Pop, although that might depend on your preference for angular, heavy, noisy, punk rock or Fleet Foxes. Pissed Jeans seem able to create sonic landscapes, themes and soundtracks to the irritations of life and the minutiae of the daily grind. They create an […]