LIVE: TOKYO POLICE CLUB – 30/03/2014

– THE RUBY LOUNGE, MANCHESTER – I must admit, I am slightly sceptical ahead of tonight’s show as Canadian indie pop outfit Tokyo Police Club play their first UK show in years in support of their new album and first in four years. Because Tokyo Police Club seem to be a band that had their […]
– THE RITZ, MANCHESTER – In advance of new album Himalayan‘s release on 31st March, Band Of Skulls are the headline act tonight at the Ritz. As I arrive, support act Coves are already on stage playing their cover of Chris Isaak’s ‘Wicked Game’. The crowd seem quite underwhelmed by the few songs I witness […]

LIVE: BAND OF SKULLS – 25/03/2014

LIVE: FRANZ FERDINAND: 22/03/2014

– ACADEMY 1, MANCHESTER – Franz Ferdinand released their self titled first album in 2004. That’s the same year as Rammstein’s Amerika and Snoop Dogg’s Drop It Like It’s Hot. Feeling old yet? Ten years later they’re headlining Manchester Academy, supported by the Eagulls, soaring into their new single ‘Bullet,’ a raucous sing-along performed with a higher […]
– THE CASTLE HOTEL, MANCHESTER – Described on their website as a “very exclusive intimate gig”, Ellen & The Escapades come to Manchester to road test some new songs. It feels like The Castle have tried to create a dual purpose gig venue and sauna this evening. I don’t think it works too well though, […]

LIVE: ELLEN & THE ESCAPADES – 15/03/2014

LIVE: JOHNNY FOREIGNER – 16/03/14

– GULLIVERS, MANCHESTER – Gullivers is fast becoming one of my favourite Manchester venues. With its chandelier-esque light fixings, deep red walls and mustard coloured drapes, it feels like I’m in a David Lynch movie every time I go in. Today, it plays host to an all-dayer presented by Manchester based lo-fi label Cheesus Crust […]
– BAND ON THE WALL, MANCHESTER – Read anything about Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry and you will undoubtedly encounter the words ‘genius’ and ‘insanity’ and with good reason; Perry is credited as the catalyst of dub music, wrote and produced hits for The Wailers, The Congos and Max Romeo (amongst others) and has maintained a prominent […]

LIVE: LEE ‘SCRATCH’ PERRY – 15/03/2014

LIVE: THE NOTWIST – 15/03/2014

– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – “Ve Are Notvist” are the first words from lead singer Markus Acher, who sports glasses along with a host of other members from the German veteran band. Expectations are diverse tonight , varying from those expecting skull-crashing drums often associated with German bands, to those expecting the glacial calm […]
– THE RITZ, MANCHESTER – If Metronomy’s primary lyrical concern is the closed-mindedness of the parochially trapped and entrapping, then music, their music, is the escape route. Even as the protagonists in songs like ‘The Look’ and ‘Corinne’ turn their woes over and over without resolution, the music tears off in a direction that is […]

Live: Metronomy – 16/03/2014

LIVE: WE ARE SCIENTISTS – 09/03/2014

– THE RITZ, MANCHESTER – It’s Sunday night at The Ritz, and a pretty much packed house are eagerly anticipating effortlessly cool American indie rockers We Are Scientists. Then it happens. Out of the speakers blares the distinct 80’s stadium rock styling of soft rock aficionado’s REO Speedwagon, with their smash hit ‘Keep on Loving […]
 – ST. PHILIP’S CHURCH, SALFORD – Any gig in this venue, which sparkles with beauty, takes on a certain significance but none more so than one, that is the culmination of what has been in preparation for over a year, and truly sees the launch of a debut album by a band in their home […]

LIVE: PATTERNS – 07/03/2014