LIVE: TOM HICKOX – 21/05/2014

– THE CASTLE HOTEL, MANCHESTER – “A sunny day in Manchester – cause for celebration!” Tom Hickox says with a knowing smile, connecting with his audience before a single note is struck. While the content of his songs are not always celebratory, the quality of them is certainly worth cherishing. Pitching a look somewhere between […]
Tonight’s not your typical gig, there’s no official tickets or fancy venue; simply an email stating the address, my host for the evening and the option to bring a cushion and a few beers. I have gin in a tin and no soft furnishings; I hope they let me in. I find a rather pleasant […]

LIVE: CLAP YOUR HANDS SAY YEAH – LIVING ROOM TOUR MANCHESTER

LIVE: LA DISPUTE – 20/05/2014

– GORILLA, MANCHESTER –  Special night tonight. One of the most influential bands in the hardcore scene is visiting our town with a sold out show at Gorilla. We’ve had to wait more than two years to see Jordan Dreyer and his band on a Mancunian stage, and the release of their most recent album […]
– GORILLA, MANCHESTER – It is unseasonably warm and Nick Mulvey’s first UK live date since the release of his debut album First Mind is a sold out Gorilla. It’s been only one week since the album release, but having charted at number 10 in the official album chart it has already created a lot of […]

LIVE: NICK MULVEY – 19/05/2014

LIVE: NEUTRAL MILK HOTEL – 18/05/2014

– THE ALBERT HALL, MANCHESTER – Tonight is the second of Neutral Milk Hotel’s two night residency at Manchester’s wonderful Albert Hall, and as we walk to the venue I am engaged in a debate with my friends.  To the uninitiated – me – the Neutral Milk Hotel back-story throws up some concerns.  Said band […]
– THE RUBY LOUNGE, MANCHESTER – I’ve been doing some calculating and can confirm that its been 10 years since I’d fallen for the fuzzy blues rock stylings of Archie Bronson Outfit. I first saw them in Wolverhampton, as an impressionable 15 year old supporting The Black Keys. Oh how time flies! So I’m definitely […]

LIVE: ARCHIE BRONSON OUTFIT – 19/05/2014

LIVE: HISS GOLDEN MESSENGER – 18/05/2014

– SOUP KITCHEN, MANCHESTER – Donning a well-worn Caterpillar hat, Hiss Golden Messenger takes the stage with deck-chair strung aside as the one man band looms threateningly in-front of us. The first song of the night is ‘Daylight’, a song off the masterful yet unfortunate Bad Debt album, which was originally destroyed in the Sony Warehouse […]
– DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – I’m late getting to the venue tonight – yet another title winners celebration in central Manchester – and only catch the end of the opening set by The Scenes.  First impressions are, there are a lot of them: A six piece crammed on the stage, leaving little room for manoeuvre for […]

LIVE: BO NINGEN – 12/05/2014

LIVE: THE HANDSOME FAMILY – 09/05/2014

– GORILLA, MANCHESTER – “It’s kind of weird but stranger things have happened”, quips Brett Sparks, the bearded half of the critically acclaimed husband and wife duo the Handsome Family. He’s not wrong; in the world of this delightful, yet dark and twisted Alt County band – anything is possible. With his lady Rennie Sparks, […]
Saturday turned out to be a typical day for Mancunians; grey and wet and one in which you’re much happier being indoors. But I was off to meet incredibly hip two piece Phantogram, so I braved the weather. Manchester did its best at welcoming the duo from Upstate New York by ensuring it was raining […]

INTERVIEW/REVIEW: PHANTOGRAM – 10/05/2014