LIVE: DJ SHADOW – 17/09/2011

– THE WAREHOUSE PROJECT, MANCHESTER – This is the first night of The Warehouse Project’s final series of events at Store Street. The car park under Piccadilly Station has been an ideal venue for some jaw dropping lineups over the last few years, the abandoned Boddington’s Factory was the first temporary home in 2006 and […]
– SOUND CONTROL, MANCHESTER – It has been a while since I walked into a gig half way through the support act and immediately thought this is good…no, this is great. And glancing across at my partner in crime for the evening, she too is nodding along in complete agreement. I would like to say […]

LIVE: CRYSTAL FIGHTERS – 15/09/2011

LIVE: BRIAN WILSON – 13/09/2011

– BRIDGEWATER HALL, MANCHESTER – After decades of playing huge capacity stadiums and open-air festivals, it seems the creative genius behind The Beach Boys, Brian Wilson, has discovered a penchant for smaller venues. At Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall, with an audience of just 2,300 fans, it is something of a novelty to see him perform close […]
– BAND ON THE WALL, MANCHESTER – Scott Matthews, a relatively unknown singer-songwriter is back on the ‘ole wagon’ to promote his third studio album ‘When The Night Delivers’. Having only heard the track ‘Elusive’ which propelled him into the lime light – although maybe not enough. I signed up to my first ‘session’. consequently, […]

LIVE: SCOTT MATTHEWS – 12/09/2011

LIVE: DAN LE SAC Vs SCROOBIUS PIP – 06/09/2011

– THE RITZ, MANCHESTER – Ooh blimey, I’m not sure which stings the most, the fumes of fresh paint in my eyes, or the £4.20 I’ve just handed over for a pint. But tonight one of these two things is very out of the ordinary, and it’s not being charged London bar prices in a […]
– SOUNDCONTROL, MANCHESTER – If a song is strong enough, it can stand alone without the need for excessive production. José González has proved that point already, so the danger now is, will his songwriting become swamped with the addition of 4 other band members? José shot to fame by providing the soundtrack to a […]

LIVE: JUNIP – 07/09/11

LIVE: Beirut – 06/09/2011

– ACADEMY 1, MANCHESTER – Waltz With Bashir. Ever seen it? It’s an animated film that centres on the Israel/Lebanon war of 1982. At the film’s culmination, Israeli troops move in onBeirut. At night they fire flares into the night sky so that the Christian Phalangists can massacre Palestinians in the Sabra and Shatila refugee […]
– SOUND CONTROL, MANCHESTER – Kurt Vile and the Violators: it’s a great name isn’t it? On hearing it I was convinced that latest album, Smoke Ring For My Halo, was the work of some fuck-witted thrash metaler, but its dreamy acoustic psychedelia and Leonard Cohen-esque enunciation quickly insinuated itself into my best of 2011 […]

LIVE: KURT VILE AND THE VIOLATORS – 05/09/2011

LIVE: TREEFIGHT FOR SUNLIGHT – 06/09/2011

– THE CASTLE HOTEL, MANCHESTER – Support band ‘New Hips’ are a tech-rock four-piece based around young music graduates with all sorts of equipment – two guitars, bass, two keyboards, trumpet, one-and-a-half drumkits, and effects boards all over the place. It’s quite a surprise that they manage to use it all. It’s quite challenging, very […]
My Chemical Romance: They are the first headliners of the weekend, and boy do they kick things off in style. Now many people often slate My Chemical Romance, be it because they are secretly trying to mask their forbidden love for them, or that they really just hate them, but whether you like it or […]

LIVE: My Reading Festival -26-28/08/2011