IN-DEPTH REVIEW: FESTIVAL NO. 6 – DAY 2

After a sleep of sorts it’s a new day and the weather is holding out again as it did yesterday. First things first and it’s time for breakfast then time for me to see what all this Portmeirion Village fuss is all about. From where we are camped it’s maybe a three or four minute […]
As we all know, all good things must come to an end, and not only is Sunday the last day for Festival No 6, but also the dry weather has decided to pack up a day early and head elsewhere. The rain isn’t leathering it down, but it’s enough to warrant that the waterproof coat […]

IN-DEPTH REVIEW: FESTIVAL NO. 6 – DAY 3

LIVE: JENS LEKMAN – 19/09/2012

– THE RUBY LOUNGE, MANCHESTER – “This album was a cycle that I had to go through.” That, explains Jens Lekman before the final song of an emotionally resonant night, is the most satisfying way to describe this confusing point in his career. Having built up a passionate following from his first two albums proper, […]
– THE KINGS ARMS, SALFORD – Well there’s tension in the air. Something of a first is happening to me tonight, I’ve bagsied the chance to see one of my musical heroes. He maybe an unlikely candidate for many, but Euros Childs was lead singer in one of my favourite bands, Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci. Let […]

LIVE: EUROS CHILDS – 05/09/2012

LIVE: ALLO DARLIN / BUTCHER THE BAR – 07/09/2012

– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – I really like the Deaf Institute.  To me it’s a nice intimate little venue and I want all its quirky decorations in my house.  Whilst having a drink downstairs I am surprised to hear that this gig has sold 200 tickets already, and that’s not even a sell out.  […]
– SOUP KITCHEN, MANCHESTER – Haunting and spellbinding songs  in a basement as it draws close to midnight.   The Brighton trio’s band name acts like a book title, alluring to its contents, which stray uncompromisingly away from anything mainstream. Grimes are playing a sell-out gig at The Ritz tonight across town, and so I […]

LIVE: ESBEN AND THE WITCH – 30/08/2012

LIVE: GRIMES – 30/08/2012

– THE RITZ, MANCHESTER – On arrival at the Ritz, I‘m quite puzzled by the apparent appeal of the ‘Vagina Rings’ on sale at the merch desk – replicas of Grimes’ very own lady parts [“one size fits all” but it’s a bit tight for me, natch!]. I feel a little bit uncomfortable just browsing, […]
– SACRED TRINITY CHURCH, SALFORD – Half a dozen weeks before the release of their third album ‘Who Needs Who’, Dark Dark Dark come to Salford for an intimate set in the cosy Sacred Trinity Church. Nancy Elizabeth is playing solo when I enter the space, I’ve no choice but to wait just outside the […]

LIVE: DARK DARK DARK – 19/08/2012

LIVE: BRITISH SEA POWER – 03/08/2012

– THE RUBY LOUNGE, MANCHESTER – Krankenhaus Mankenhaus! British Sea Power take the fun and frivolity of their monthly Brighton residency on tour as they venture north for the first Krankenhaus to be staged outside of East Sussex. The intriguing line-up includes a DJ set from Duncan of Dutch Uncles, a ventriloquism act from locally based BBC 6 Music radio hero […]
– SOUP KITCHEN, MANCHESTER – It’s certainly the night for a mind-altering statement. At the very same time as one great Mancunian artist is subverting all expectations in front of a global audience, another group of them are tapping into the dark recesses of our imaginations on a far smaller scale. But whereas Danny Boyle […]

LIVE: PLANK! / HOOKWORMS – 27/07/2012