LIVE IN PICTURES – GHOSTWOMAN: LEEDS BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB – 25/10/2025

Ghostwoman is a Canada and Belgium based duo who produce a potent brew of garage psych, country, Krautrock, blues and Americana. Following the September release of their seriously impressive ‘Welcome to the Civilized World’ album, they are on tour and came to Leeds Brudenell Social Club on 25 October. Mat Coffey was there to photograph […]
When my Editor invited me to this event and stated that I’m in for a good night filled with original punk rock bands, they were not wrong! This gig couldn’t have been more perfect for my own comeback in reviewing, since moving into the outer skirts of Manchester I crave going back to the city. […]

LIVE REVIEW – THE STRANGLERS + BUZZCOCKS: MANCHESTER APOLLO – 18/10/2025

LIVE: THE WEDDING PRESENT – THE RITZ, MANCHESTER 10/10/2025

The Wedding Present are one of those bands who have soundtracked a vast part of my life, from dancing at indie discos as a teen to well pretty much doing the same around the kitchen at a recent 50th birthday do. It’s safe to say the huge crowd assembled in The Ritz tonight probably identify […]
It’s a mundane Monday, and the humdrum normality of everyday life is reaching out for some form of escapism. Seeking music as the solution, I, along with just over 2000 other people will congregate within the walls of Manchester Academy, where Rebecca Lucy Taylor (better known as Self Esteem) will perform for the third (sold-out) […]

LIVE REVIEW – SELF ESTEEM: MANCHESTER ACADEMY – 29/09/2025

LIVE IN PICTURES – LA WITCH: LEEDS BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB – 23/09/2025

There is an old saying about a picture being worth a 1,000 words so by that measurement, here is a dissertation length photographic review of LA Witch. Dive in and capture the atmosphere as the trio blast out their melange of darkwave, punk and psychedelia through Mat Coffey’s photos.  
A young man with long hair stands right at the front of the crowd, centre stage. He sings every word of every song, seeming to conduct the band, his hands as batons. He looks like he got to the Albert Hall about a week before the gig and would have willingly fought anyone in the […]

LIVE REVIEW – BLACK COUNTRY, NEW ROAD: MANCHESTER ALBERT HALL – 13/09/25

LIVE REVIEW – HAYDEN PEDIGO: ST MICHAELS, ANCOATS- 28/08/2025

From the front, Hallé St Michaels is an inconspicuous building: nestled in a picturesque residential area of Ancoats, it is easily missed or, if seen, mistaken as any old church. ‘Any old’ it is not, though, given the concert it hosted on Thursday 28th August. As one would expect in an old church building, this […]
Sometimes things don’t go to plan. Sometimes you’re the perfectly-decent support act Soapbox and this reviewer gives you five measly words to save space for the rest of the review. Sometimes, though, things just come together and blow your mind. I’ve never heard a note of Melbourne punks Press Club before (so forgive me for […]

LIVE REVIEW – PRESS CLUB: YES PINK ROOM – 09/07/2025

LIVE REVIEW – SPARKS: MANCHESTER APOLLO – 22/06/2025

David Bowie’s 1972 appearance on Top of the Pops with ‘Starman’ is usually cited as the ultimate transformative performance on the show. As someone who was a couple of years too young for Bowie, Sparks’ debut with ‘This Town Ain’t Big Enough for Both of Us’ seemed similarly iconic. Whilst the seven-year-old me might not […]
When an artist has been in the public eye for nearly four decades like Kim Deal, her audience brings a bundle of memories to her shows. In my case, that includes a first encounter in spring 1988 when Pixies were touring with Throwing Muses. In hindsight, it seems unimaginable that such a dream double bill […]

LIVE REVIEW – KIM DEAL: NEW CENTURY HALL – 17/06/2025