LIVE: WOMEN/ZOLA JESUS/IDIOT GLEE – 02/09/2010

– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – Idiot Glee is on stage as I enter The Deaf Institute’s top floor live room. James Friley from Kentucky sits alone in his cardigan behind a school type desk that supports a keyboard and other electronic gadgets. His sound is reminiscent of the Animal Collective, his voice has been […]
– NIGHT & DAY CAFE, MANCHESTER – It’s a lazy bank holiday Monday and it seems like Manchester’s music fans are recovering from the excesses of the weekend, as there is only a small crowd to witness Her Name Is Calla promote their second album, The Quiet Lamb. Her Name Is Calla are obviously disappointed […]

LIVE: HER NAME IS CALLA – 30/08/2010

LIVE: GIDEON CONN – 26/08/2010

– BAND ON THE WALL, MANCHESTER – This is the first live music venue I’ve been in that sports a carpeted floor since I last went to a karaoke night. It feels strange, but warm and comforting nonetheless and we position ourselves at the top balcony for a birds eye view of the stage. First […]
– THE NIGHT & DAY CAFE, MANCHESTER – On an evening when the England football team faces Hungary in the first match since the national side’s woeful showing at World Cup 2010, it is unsurprising that the crowd at Night & Day Café is larger than it might have been on any other Wednesday. Yes, […]

LIVE: THE DOMINO STATE – 11/08/2010

LIVE: NASHVILLE PUSSY/VOIVOD – 10/08/2010

– MOHO LIVE, MANCHESTER – There’s a reet posh fancy tour bus outside Moho tonight because double headliners Nashville Pussy and Voivod are American and they can afford it. It begs only one question… why are all roadies fat guys in shorts??? There is no barrier in front of the stage tonight and the place […]
– MOHO LIVE, MANCHESTER – It’s my first time down at Moho, and I’m pleased to see that in the apparent current trend, there is another thwacking great pole right in the view of the stage. Good times. But there’s more… there are stairs. That don’t go anywhere but up… hmmm. Anyway, first up on […]

LIVE: THE DWARVES – 09/08/2010

LIVE: KENDAL CALLING 2010 – DAY 3

– LOWTHER DEER PARK, PENRITH – The last day blues that the weekend is almost is over are now upon me, but at the same time thoughts of home comforts are also crossing my mind. As I meander past the main stage Erland and the Carnival are making sure that any overnight cobwebs are blown […]
– LOWTHER DEER PARK, PENRITH – Well it’s the second day and as is to be expected I’ve had very little sleep, even though I thought that last beer before bed might help. Anyway the weather isn’t too bad and after a bite to eat and probably the worst brew I’ve ever tasted, I’m ready […]

LIVE: KENDAL CALLING 2010 – DAY 2

LIVE: KENDAL CALLING 2010 – FRIDAY

– LOWTHER DEER PARK, PENRITH – Now I’m not one for moaning unnecessarily, alright that might not be totally true, but my start to this year Kendal Calling experience is not the best, and it is the same for some of the other folk that used the shuttle bus from Penrith train station to the […]
– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – There’s surely much been said about the irony of housing a musical venue within a former deaf institute (ad nauseam). However, upon telling someone recently that I was attending a gig at The Deaf Institute they seemed equally amazed and interested before earnestly enquiring whether the band would be […]

LIVE: GRAND ARCHIVES – 03/08/2010