LIVE: DOT TO DOT FESTIVAL – 24/05/2019

-VARIOUS VENUES, MANCHESTER- For this bank holiday Friday, Dot To Dot is back in Manchester to celebrate its 15th anniversary. In 19 venues over Manchester city centre, several dozens of artists of different genres are performing. The first gig I decide to see is Northern indie rock band Broke Casino at The Venue. So far, […]

-YES, MANCHESTER- The whistles chirrup, as though there are unseen urban disco crickets stalking the dancefloor of the Pink Room at Yes, rubbing their legs in celebration at the home-coming of Manchester’s A Certain Ratio. Old ravers have oiled their joints well enough to groove at the front; even older Factory heads have their arms […]

LIVE: A CERTAIN RATIO – 24/05/2019

LIVE: JACCO GARDNER – 23/05/2019

-SOUP KITCHEN, MANCHESTER- Jacco Gardner has been known to create swirling psychedelic pop boosted by his rich, resonant and baroque voice but on his third and latest LP Somnium, the vocals are gone and in their place is an equally seamless melodic exploration through instrumentation with a menacing edge. When talking about the album, Gardner […]

-THE RITZ, MANCHESTER- Big Thief can’t quite believe how they ended up here. “This is our first tour on a bus!” exclaims band leader Adrianne Lenker, thrilled by the prospect of actually being able to sleep between city stops. Before the last couple of songs this evening they pause to thank the 17 people who […]

LIVE: BIG THIEF – 22/05/2019

LIVE: ALDOUS HARDING – 21/05/2019

-GORILLA, MANCHESTER- I arrive at the sold out Gorilla venue awaiting Aldous Harding to take to the stage. It’s so hot, and the extremely large fans are churning out mildly cold air, whilst making noises as loud as the current Manchester road works. I think about Aldous’ music style and how these fans might interfere […]

-THE RITZ, MANCHESTER- “C’mon everyone… sing along!” Normally at a charged, fizzing, visceral gig like the Manics in the rather cosy environs of The Ritz, a call to arms such as this would garner an immediate, loyal response. Only, the issue here is that it isn’t the Manics… it’s the support act, Gwenno. And the […]

LIVE: MANIC STREET PREACHERS / GWENNO – 20/05/2019

LIVE: POTTERY / THE BEAR AROUND YOUR NECK / MONK – 14/05/2019

-THE CASTLE HOTEL, MANCHESTER- Monk Dominated by an almost dystopian theme, Monk plough through their set with particularly heavy-handed drumming, guitar tones presumably reliant on pedals and a kind of aggressive sing-speak approach (effects also employed) that tries to convey a sense of despair. The super-serious nature of the music doesn’t particularly invoke the sentiment […]

-ALBERT HALL, MANCHESTER- In front of a sold out Albert Hall crowd, Oh Sees main man and Castle Face Records label boss John Dwyer takes to the stage, to a huge cheer, but hang on a minute, he’s just setting up the equipment – himself. That’s just one of the million reasons to love this […]

LIVE: OH SEES – 18/05/2019

LIVE: WITCH FEVER / FERAL FAMILY / BLEACH BODY – 18/05/2019

-YES (THE BASEMENT), MANCHESTER- When I first saw punk band WITCH FEVER in March, they made such an impression on me that I really didn’t want to miss out on their headline show at Yes (The Basement). In between then and now, they have toured with Lady Bird and GURU, but tonight is their first […]

-NIGHT PEOPLE, MANCHESTER- Charly Bliss appear to be in permanent disbelief at the success of their band. As I wrote when I saw them play The Eagle Inn in 2017, they bounded around the stage as much in shock at the reality of the moment as through the joy of performing their music. Fast forward […]