LIVE: BEACH HOUSE/LOWER DENS – 19/11/2010

– MANCHESTER CATHEDRAL, MANCHESTER – Manchester Cathedral is perhaps not the most obvious venue for a ‘rock’ concert but then again Beach House are not an obvious ‘rock’ band, if at all. It’s been quite a year for the Baltimore duo who started the year playing at the 250 capacity Islington Mill and now find […]
– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – Finally, I claim a spot on the sofa in the Deaf Institute’s balcony alongside the stage. Vegans support; the singer and guitarist jump energetically about the stage, losing his hat while shouting garage rock in our faces. The drummer is out of my view but makes an impression. They’re […]

LIVE: BATHS – 19/11/2010

LIVE: JOHN & JEHN/DRIVER DRIVE FASTER – 18/11/2010

– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – Driver Drive Faster: Previously known as Polytechnics back in 2008 they reformed in the Spring of 2009 to become Driver Drive Faster. They have, to date, supported Marble Giants which they must have enjoyed as they do resemble the sound of Pavement and by no means a bad thing. […]
– MOHO LIVE, MANCHESTER – The legend, the Master, the Mixmaster. A career spanning 2 decades, winner of the DMC championships for 3 consecutive years, collaborator with an array of different artists (including Ozzy ‘Help me find my penis’ Osbourne?), and who can forget that he represents The Beastie Boys? Gone are his days of […]

LIVE: MIXMASTER MIKE/THE DRUNKEN MUNKS – 16/11/2010

LIVE: GOLD PANDA – 15/11/2010

– THE RUBY LOUNGE, MANCHESTER – The Manchester gig scene is spoiled for choice tonight. For a Monday the line up is truly epic. This may go some way to explaining the lack of heads in The Ruby Lounge tonight. Gold Panda (Derwin) is deservedly receiving heavy praise for his debut album which is likely […]
– LEEDS UNI, LEEDS – Festivals used to be just for the summer but nowadays it seems like the summer never ends. God bless that pioneering genius who first worked out that you could transport the same amount of festive fun back to the city, minus the trench foot. Constellations, a new festival modelled very […]

LIVE: Constellations Festival – 14/11/2010

LIVE: HAUSCHKA/NANCY ELIZABETH – 13/11/2010

– THE LOWRY HOTEL, SALFORD – Let’s get this out of the way. The main reason I’m here is because the venue for tonight’s show is The Presidential Suite in the Lowry Hotel, and I’m pretty certain this is the only chance I will ever get, in my entire life, to spend an evening (let […]
– THE RUBY LOUNGE, MANCHESTER – Let’s get one thing out of the way: ‘The Naked and Famous’ is a bit of a rubbish name. Initially a droney college-rock ‘anthem’ by The Presidents of the USA, their moniker has also been adopted by an overpriced hipster-courting denim company. Still, third time’s the charm, right? Local […]

LIVE: THE NAKED AND FAMOUS – 10/11/2010

LIVE: CLOUD NOTHINGS/VERONICA FALLS – 09/11/2010

– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – Cloud Nothings seem to have been rather busy bees lately, supporting the likes of Real Estate and Woods and even the ever popular Best Coast; they seem to be enjoying some good shows but I admit that I hadn’t heard of them till tonight. They perform a tight show, […]
– ACADEMY 2, MANCHESTER – Divine Comedy is Neil Hannon is Divine Comedy. It’s a Badly Drawn Boy /Damon Gough dynamic which means there will never be different line-ups… unless Neil plans on major schizophrenic schisms. Hannon does sometimes play with a band but tonight it’s only Neil, armed only with a grand piano, acoustic […]

LIVE: DIVINE COMEDY – 09/11/2010