LIVE REVIEW: SCOUT NIBLETT – 13/05/2011

– ISLINGTON MILL, SALFORD – Preceded by former-Gowns singer, EMA, touring her debut album Past Life Martyred Saints and generally strutting around like a preening mental patient – Scout could only go on to raise the bar. Scout enters wearing a high-visibility jacket – the only piece of clothing that quite literally says ‘notice me’. […]
– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – I’m here tonight in the ever cool surroundings of The Deaf Institute’s music hall on the strength of one single. Is this right or is this wrong? Who knows, but Moon Duo’s last single ‘Mazes’, has been played to death on my walks to and from work and has […]

LIVE REVIEW: Moon Duo – 12/05/2011

LIVE REVIEW: Gang Gang Dance – 11/05/2011

– THE RUBY LOUNGE, MANCHESTER – Brooklyn act Gang Gang Dance seem an obvious choice to play Manchester’s annual FutureEverything festival. The Festival is a celebration of digital culture, with a strong emphasis on innovation and breaking new ground. Over the course of five studio albums Gang Gang Dance have displayed a willingness to experiment, […]
– ISLINGTON MILL, SALFORD – There is activity across the city/cities tonight owing to this year’s Future Everything Festival which is running throughout the week. In fact, I could’ve been somewhere else tonight as Gang Gang Dance are over at the Ruby Lounge (also reviewed on the site). But there are very few things which […]

LIVE REVIEW: Group Doueh/Brothers Unconnected – 11/05/2011

LIVE REVIEW: Hugh Laurie – 07/05/2011

– ROYAL NORTHERN COLLEGE OF MUSIC, MANCHESTER – It is worth remembering that before Hugh Laurie was the debonair Dr. House, glibly diagnosing obscure ailments and generally maintaining a detached air of alluring misanthropy, he was one half of Jeeves and Wooster. And before that, A Bit of Fry and Laurie. And of course, Blackadder. […]
– CENTRAL METHODIST CHURCH, MANCHESTER – The queue for Manchester’s Central Methodist Church stretches all the way down Oldham Street to Piccadilly Gardens, and consists of people of all ages and backgrounds, all braving the sporadic sudden downpours in anticipation of spending an evening in the company of one of the most widely revered and […]

LIVE REVIEW: Bill Callahan – 06/05/2011

LIVE REVIEW: Psychedelic Horseshit – 05/05/2011

– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – I wasn’t too sure what to expect this evening at the Deaf Institute. I get the impression that the point of Psychedelic Horseshit’s lo-fi pop, or ‘shitgaze’ as the band has pleasantly christened it, is that the music is more important than the presentation. Recording most of their records […]
– THE LOWRY THEATRE, SALFORD – So there I am at The Lowry Theatre in an all seated auditorium wondering how good a gig can be in such plush settings. A grand, cinematic sound sweeps in and Kloot enter to an appreciative, albeit theatre crowd, welcome. There’s the three maestros themselves plus backing musicians: guitar, […]

LIVE REVIEW: I Am Kloot – 04/05/2011

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