LIVE: HOOKWORMS/CARLA DAL FORNO – 02/07/2017

– PAVILION THEATRE, MANCHESTER – Loud doesn’t really cut it. According to Twitter someone in the crowd clocked Hookworms playing at 124.8 decibels tonight, which Google describes as “tinnitus inducing, ringing in the ears, permanent hearing loss”. It’s an absolute fucking blast. Hookworms play as part of the Manchester International Festival at the Pavilion Theatre […]
– THE RITZ, MANCHESTER – Before I talk about Manchester’s new favourite sons and their Cabbage Patch Kids, I want to briefly mention how good The Blinders and Strange Bones were as support acts tonight. It’s not easy supporting one of the most exciting live bands in the UK but both clearly knew what the […]

LIVE: CABBAGE – 01/07/2017

LIVE: SAMPHA / PAULI – 05/07/2017

-ALBERT HALL, MANCHESTER- When you’re a well blogged about, up and coming artist, it’s very easy to get carried away in a whirlwind of hype, but singer/songwriter Sampha hasn’t let any of this consume him. Forever humble and always focused, the South London based musician delivered an outstanding debut at the start of the year […]
-CASTLEFIELD BOWL, MANCHESTER- The Levellers transported their own-curated festival North and to quote another band they brought the weather with them. The good sort that is. It was Beautiful Days meets Sounds of the City in the perfect surroundings of Manchester’s Castlefield Bowl. The Irish folk band, Beoga get the day’s proceedings under way and […]

LIVE: LEVELLERS / THE WATERBOYS / BILLY BRAGG / DREADZONE – 02/07/2017

LIVE: REAL ESTATE – 28/06/2017

– THE RITZ, MANCHESTER – Well… it was certainly a set! Hello, I’m Connor Ryan and today I’m going to talk about how one band so chilled and sunny on record, can in the flesh become a different beast entirely. I’ve had mixed feelings on Real Estate ever since I was notified of their existence […]
– GORILLA, MANCHESTER- Manchester International Festival returns with one of its most eclectic and strongest bills since inception in 2007. The last event 2015 passed with barely a whimper but a new creative director has breathed much needed life into one of Manchester’s greatest cultural happenings. The esoteric Dark Matter series curated by Mary Anne […]

LIVE: HOLLY HERNDON – 30/06/2017

LIVE: THE MACCABEES – 27/06/2017

–  APOLLO, MANCHESTER – Travelling from the promised land that is Warrington to a city of extreme hustle and bustle called Manchester, two things are crossing my mind. The first, could I have done more to keep The Maccabees from “calling it a day”? The second, I wonder how I’m going to deal with the […]
– GORILLA, MANCHESTER – Sadly gone are the days when bands would routinely have local poets or comedians come on stage as their opening acts – the idea of John Cooper Clarke or John Shuttleworth warming up a crowd before The Damned or A Certain Ratio is something that the kids will have to read […]

LIVE: SPOON / ADAM BUXTON – 27/06/2017

LIVE: MARK LANEGAN BAND / DUKE GARWOOD – 21/06/2017

– THE RITZ, MANCHESTER – Did I mention it’s hot? I seem to spend half the day moaning about how nice the weather is at the moment, but at least I’m not off to spend an evening in a sweaty mosh pit, as Mark Lanegan’s newer material is more measured than his work with Screaming […]
– CENTRAL STATION, WREXHAM – I’ve been given license by the Silent Radio grandees to leave our Manchester stomping ground for unexplored North Walian pastures. Having been cruelly ruled out of the Manchester show with work commitments, I’m in Wrexham to watch The Wedding Present perform George Best in its entirety. Album shows are a […]

LIVE: THE WEDDING PRESENT – 20/06/2017