LIVE: THE COLD ONE HUNDRED – 25/06/2010

– NIGHT & DAY CAFE, MANCHESTER – It’s not easy growing up in the world The Cold One Hundred’s dark pop alludes to, with its tedium and disenchantment, but for source material, it doesn’t sell them short. The hanging gloom of the Night & Day stage is a perfect setting for the live rendition of […]
– ST. PHILIP’S CHURCH, SALFORD – As we shuffle into St. Phillip’s Church in Salford there’s a feeling that we’re the cool kids in the know: This is a warm up gig for the band’s upcoming tour as support for The Coral. On come our heroes, entering without pretension and after a quick “y’alright?” they […]

LIVE: CHERRY GHOST – 21/06/2010

LIVE: PARKLIFE 2010 – 12/06/2010

– PLATT FIELDS, MANCHESTER – There’s something intractably lucky about any festival on Platt Fields. Despite the weather’s reputation for pissing on Mancunians day in day out year in year out – though it didn’t save a friend of a friend getting literally pissed on during Fake Blood’s set – every time there’s a festival […]
– FAC251, MANCHESTER – This is a night in which the old goes head to head with the new. Across the city at Platt Fields, Ian Brown is playing Stone Roses tunes to Manchester’s indie community, but here at Fac251, the future is taking shape. With Oasis gone for good and The Verve in statis, […]

LIVE: EXIT CALM – 11/06/2010

LIVE: THIS CITY IS OURS – 11/06/2010

– SACRED TRINITY CHURCH, SALFORD – Since its conception, I’ve been a fan of This City Is Ours. Pushing boundaries in the right direction and shrugging off stereotypes is an approach most events lack – more content to fall in line with their cheap drinks and latest flavour of the month sounds. This evening saw […]
– CLUB ACADEMY, MANCHESTER – Male Bonding have been making a name for themselves in London over the past couple of years releasing a truckload of singles and constantly playing gigs. They managed to get themselves signed to Sub Pop who put out their wonderful debut album ‘Nothing Hurts’ last month. It’s an album full […]

LIVE: MALE BONDING – 10/06/2010

LIVE: BAND OF HORSES – 08/06/2010

– THE RITZ BALLROOM, MANCHESTER – It’s been a long time since I last visited the Ritz. Many a Monday night of my youth (I) was recklessly wasted there before I was old enough to get into real clubs. It’s hardly changed – by which I mean: ‘they appear to have done no maintenance whatsoever’. […]
– BAND ON THE WALL, MANCHESTER – Band On The Wall is a classy venue that attracts quality acts for genuine music lovers. The first support Dan Whitehouse sings alone onstage with his guitar to an attentive, silent audience. After the song he comments on how nice it is to finish a tune and realise […]

LIVE: THE MISERABLE RICH – 08/06/2010

LIVE: AGAINST ME – 02/06/2010

– ACADEMY 3, MANCHESTER – In the eight years since the release of their debut album ‘Reinventing Axl Rose’, Against Me have gradually transformed from the angry anarchist darlings of the underground punk scene, into fully fledged rock stars. The shift to a more mainstream sound and the commercial success that comes with it has […]
– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – One of my favourite bands of the last couple of years, Thee Oh Sees have been building into something much more than another side project from the prolific and prodigious talent of San Francisco’s John Dwyer. The last time I saw them, around two years ago, they packed out […]

LIVE: THE OH SEES – 01/06/2010