LIVE REVIEW: Fight Like Apes – 05/05/2011

– THE NIGHT & DAY CAFE, MANCHESTER – Sombre and introspective, Man Made cuts a lonely figure on the Night & Day’s stage. The nameless troubadour radiates his glumness through the venue like a black hole gobbles light, chopping away at his guitar from the elbow and mercilessly zapping any remnants of joy from the […]
– THE RITZ BALLROOM, MANCHESTER – I like Noah and The Whale but during this virtuoso display at Manchester’s Ritz, I decide I don’t like their crowd. The five piece don’t set a foot wrong all night: every harmony, hook and holler is flawless. But they’ve attracted seemingly serious types who aren’t interested in letting […]

LIVE REVIEW: Noah and the Whale – 03/05/2011

LIVE REVIEW: Sounds From The Other City #1 – 01/05/2011

– CHAPEL STREET, SALFORD – Silent Radio believes just one person covering SFTOC is quite simply just not enough, so this year we send two of our finest to take in Salford’s Chapel Street all day non-stop music event. Review #1: It’s not often that everything stops for the sake of creativity in Salford and the city […]
– CHAPEL STREET, SALFORD – Silent Radio believes just one person covering SFTOC is quite simply just not enough, so this year we send two of our finest to take in Salford’s Chapel Street all day non-stop music event. Review #2: Deaf To Van Gogh’s ear proved an attractive first foray into Sounds From The Other City’s […]

LIVE REVIEW: Sounds From The Other City 2011 #2 – 01/05/2011

LIVE REVIEW: Timber Timbre – 28/04/2011

– The Deaf Institute, Manchester – Timber Timbre (that’s one ending in an ‘er’ followed by one ending in an ‘re’ – how Pan-Atlantic of them) are spooky. And spooky is ostensibly really rather cool these days. Unlike say, Zola Jesus, whose Kate-Bush-meets-Lady-Haversham schtick one suspects extends beyond her on stage repertoire,  Timber Timbre seem […]
– Club Academy, Manchester – It’s easy to tell with one quick sweep of the room whether you’re at a major gig in Manchester. Major as in must-see, not large, as the city’s musical elite are a fussy, discerning lot. Tonight’s gig, however, has earned their full approval and the regular faces are out in […]

LIVE REVIEW: Best Coast – 26/04/2011

LIVE REVIEW: GZA – 22/04/2011

– MOHO LIVE, MANCHESTER –  Me:  “Hi, I’m on the presslist” Mr Charlie Big Potatoes: “No you’re not” Me:  “Could you just check?” Mr Charlie Big Potatoes: “All the press are in and I didn’t put you down.  I’m the promoter.  I run the show” Me (a bit flustered, showing him my phone):  “But look, […]
– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – If you like a bit of garage rock, one man who shouldn’t need any introduction is Kid Congo Powers. Legendary sometime guitar slinger with The Cramps and co-founder with Jeffrey Lee Pierce of The Gun Club, and later six string hombre with Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, Kid […]

LIVE: KID CONGO POWERS & THE PINK MONKEY BIRDS – 19/04/2011

LIVE REVIEW: THE JIM JONES REVUE – 17/04/2011

– CLUB ACADEMY, MANCHESTER – The hardest working rock n roll band in the UK  are back in Manchester tonight, and the plaudits and column inches that they have been garnering have attracted a sizable crowd in the Club Academy. I think in some ways the name, or rather the ‘Revue’ part is a misconception, […]
– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – Wow. Good evening from The Deaf Institute – the venue that laughs in the face of health and safety. The venue that scoffs at the idea of personal space. The venue that puts the ‘mmmm’ in intimate. Seriously, there’ll be no cat-swinging here tonight, so tightly jammed in are […]

LIVE: STEVE MASON – 12/04/2011