LIVE: NOMEANSNO – 22/05/2013

– SOUND CONTROL, MANCHESTER – There aren’t many bands that have been playing to mosh pits around the world for longer than I’ve been alive, but NoMeansNo are one of that distinguished few. Having formed in 1979, and released their first record in 1980, NoMeansNo have been a dark undercurrent in the world of rock […]
– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – The punters inside the city’s most opulent venue tonight are at the more mature end of the gig-going spectrum, and they’re stood in rapt silence at Nataly Dawn. Her short blonde hair is swept forward from left-to-right while she flicks at a decrepit looking guitar which could have been […]

LIVE: LORD HURON – 23/05/2013

LIVE: CHARLIE BOYER AND THE VOYEURS – 21/05/2013

 – SOUP KITCHEN, MANCHESTER –  I think we’re all starting to lose count of the number of bands like Charlie Boyer & The Voyeurs who have emerged in the last 2 or 3 years. You know the ones – bands in a perpetual haze of smoke, with brightly coloured imaginations and great swathes of static […]
 – ACADEMY 1, MANCHESTER – This year, electronic pop gods, The Postal Service celebrate the 10th Anniversary of their 2003 release Give Up, the band’s only album. Tonight’s gig at Manchester Academy is the first of only 3 UK gigs on this special tour to mark a decade’s hiatus from the much revered state-side duo. […]

LIVE: THE POSTAL SERVICE – 18/05/2013

LIVE: THE SPECIALS – 15/05/2013

– THE APOLLO, MANCHESTER –  So picture this. Mass unemployment, disappearing high streets, strikes and burning effigies of Margaret Thatcher alight in crumbling pit villages. No, it’s not 1980. It’s 2013, and The Specials have never felt more relevant.  Given the political tension of the last few months, there’s a sense of adrenaline throughout the venue. […]
– SOUND CONTROL, MANCHESTER –  Over ten mock TVs are set up around the stage of Sound Control tonight, each hidden beneath vintage drapery, giving away any and all clues that this gig is going to be so much more than just an audio experience. Surfacing the unearthed propaganda material of the yesteryears, Public Service […]

LIVE: PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING – 14/05/2013

LIVE: HOW TO DRESS WELL – 15/05/2013

 – WHITWORTH GALLERY, MANCHESTER – I’m a relative latecomer to the stylised, lo-fi R&B sounds of How To Dress Well. At first listen, I was all “I really like this boy band”. And there are hints reminiscent of Boyz II Men and R Kelly but not in a bad way.  Rather, he is Chicago-born Tim […]
 – THE ROADHOUSE, MANCHESTER –  In the past few years there has been a rise in bands, in particular American bands, making guitar driven pop music that’s heavy on the reverb and dreamy in its delivery. Brooklyn-born outfit Beach Fossils seem to have been there from the start of this lo-fi invasion, as frontman Dustin […]

LIVE: BEACH FOSSILS – 15/05/2013

LIVE: THE COMPUTERS – 11/05/2013

 – THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER –  I find it hard to be critical of any band that manages to ad-lib ‘Surfin Bird’ into their live set (as part of Rhythm Revue) and so it is with The Computers. I think the term ‘reinvention’ would be a fair description of how they have changed or developed […]
– THE RITZ, MANCHESTER –  **WARNING** This review will be two things: 1) quite gushing, and 2) a bit sweary. Please do read on if you are comfortable with both those things. This is because tonight the magnificent John Grant is in town, and this gig is very, very special indeed.  In fact, I’d go […]

LIVE: JOHN GRANT – 14/05/2013