LIVE: THE MYSTERY LIGHTS – 01/10/2019

-NIGHT AND DAY CAFE, MANCHESTER- New York’s The Mystery Lights grace Manchester’s Night and Day Café on a brisk evening signifying the end of the summer but the kick start to the usual autumn plethora of gigs around the city. They are currently mid-way through a mammoth two-month tour of Europe that’ll conclude at the […]
-GORILLA, MANCHESTER- “Thanks for coming out guys, we haven’t really done much since last time so we really appreciate it!” says Camp Cope leader Georgia McDonald in her distinctive Aussie drawl, to much whooping from the crowd. People don’t care that the band haven’t released any new music since their brilliant 2018 LP How To […]

LIVE: CAMP COPE – 25/09/2019

LIVE: NATALIE EVANS / BONNIESONGS – 22/09/2019

-THE CASTLE HOTEL, MANCHESTER- There is a dreamlike start to Bonniesongs’ set. An array of ethereal layered vocals are intertwined. It is vast, especially for a singular artist on stage. It is like a Sigur Ros track, transporting you to a tundra, or mountain top but wrapping you warm in the expanse with Bonnie’s enticing, […]
– ALBERT HALL, MANCHESTER – “Don’t think twice ‘bout whatever keeps you itchin’. Ice water, flyswatter gonna get you through the day.” Lyrics I could not relate to anymore, after a summer of working in a pub in the middle of nowhere, getting bitten by insects daily. Flyswatter is the first of the band’s original […]

LIVE: EELS – 15/09/19

LIVE: MODERN NATURE – 17/09/2019

– YES BASEMENT, MANCHESTER – Modern Nature who take their name from the late film director Derek Jarman’s garden diaries arrive at Manchester’s Yes venue on the back of their recently released debut album ‘How to Live’. A flowing and at time meditative record which is destined to feature in many end of year critic […]
-GULLIVERS, MANCHESTER- Tin Mole Experimental is a label difficult to define, but it appears Deco have rummaged the attic for a few of the more warped figurines you’d be wise to inspect before touching. Dominated by menacing bass lines, Tin Mole succumb to the irresistibility of synthesisers as they purge onward, almost as though a […]

LIVE: TANGERINECAT / SLOW KNIFE / FACTORY ACTS / TIN MOLE – 07/09/2019

LIVE: GLOVE / CHINA MOON / FURROWED BROW – 06/09/2019

-THE PEER HAT, MANCHESTER- Furrowed Brow With additional personnel and two months of gigging since their live debut, Furrowed Brow has (much to my predication) significantly gained in confidence and cohesion, akin to a unit of conscripts surviving the very skirmishes that would make or break their service. Having a more technically proficient guitarist (albeit […]
-YES (THE BASEMENT), MANCHESTER- Sweet relief. The basement in Manchester’s finest establishment Yes is a safe haven tonight, a place to take refuge from the bonkers weather that has plagued this city on this early autumn day (and plagued the England cricket team all day across the city at Old Trafford), and a place to […]

LIVE: SASAMI – 04/09/2019

LIVE: MANCHESTER PSYCH FEST 2019

-VARIOUS VENUES, MANCHESTER- As the title shows, the event primarily caters towards a genre half a century in age, although that didn’t stop the promoters from cherry picking enough non-psych bands to give off the impression it was a name only title. I mean understandably you need a healthy balance of differing styles and realistically […]
-GORILLA, MANCHESTER- Gorilla is sold out for The Beths tonight. We arrive a little later than most and the crowd is already one pensive mass of energy and anticipation. Managing to find a corner at the top of the stairs, we have a clear view of the whole scene, the stage and audience. Jackpot. It […]

LIVE: THE BETHS – 31/08/2019