LIVE: BLACK MOUNTAIN – 15/09/2010

– ACADEMY 3, MANCHESTER – Black Mountain are about to blow my brain out the back of my head and then reassemble it differently, like some epiphanous trip that I will never understand. Afterwards I will see that they have the wisdom of the gods. For reasons unbeknown to me, the band skulk past the […]
– BAND ON THE WALL, MANCHESTER – Expectations are high tonight; three of the northwest’s finest contemporary, yet traditional music acts are on the same lineup. Homelife are playing as I walk in. Paddy Steer is tucked in the corner, in amongst a large selection of percussion and electrical equipment. Anton Burns sings with his […]

LIVE: DENIS JONES/NANCY ELIZABETH/HOMELIFE – 09/09/2010

LIVE: NEON INDIAN – 04/09/2010

– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – In case you don’t know Neon Indian are a hotly tipped band from Texas, producing ‘chill wave’. Chill Wave is, from my experience of it, what we used to call ‘ambient electronic music’ and actually sounds a little like the score to films like ‘Ladyhawke’ or ‘Labyrinth 2’ from […]
– THE RUBY LOUNGE, MANCHESTER – What a difference five years makes. Rewind to 2005 and The Like were a very different outfit. Looking like they had wafted in from the set of The Virgin Suicides, the Cali-London three-piece swooned their way through ‘Are You Thinking What I’m Thinking?’, a veritable pick n’ mix of […]

LIVE: THE LIKE – 03/09/2010

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