LIVE REVIEW – THE DARKNESS: MANCHESTER APOLLO – 31/03/2025

Smoke machines. The neon ‘The Darkness’ logo above the stage. Stage lights that will blind you temporarily. The dramatic entrance accompanied by ‘Rock and Roll Party Cowboy’ can only send shivers and excitement into the onlookers as The Darkness show the audience how a rock n roll entrance is made. The intro to ‘Growing on […]
Having just moved from Manchester to London in 1995, excited but terrified at the same time, embarking on an new adventure working in for an independent record label, little did I know then that one band, more than any other would come to define my time in the capital. ‘Pure Phase’ released in March 1995, […]

LIVE REVIEW – SPIRITUALIZED – APOLLO 24/03/2025

LIVE REVIEW – ANTHONY SZMIEREK: ALBERT HALL – 21/03/2025

Unlike comedian Louis CK (CK for “Székely”), Anthony Szmierek has the chutzpah to stick with his given name, and also the confidence to almost single-handedly bring back the faded-in perm and banging ‘tache combo. It shouldn’t really work, but boy does it. Just like an English teacher from Hyde mixing spoken word delivery with phat […]
“It’s just rock ‘n’ roll, you won’t die!” If there’s one thing The Dare, also known as Harrison Smith, knows how to do, it’s open a show. On the night of his 29th birthday, Smith walks out onto the stage with snippets of ‘Open Up’ ringing out through the venue, he’s greeted with screams and […]

LIVE REVIEW – THE DARE: NEW CENTURY HALL – 19/03/2025

LIVE REVIEW – MICHAEL KIWANUKA: MANCHESTER APOLLO – 13/03/2025

“How does it feel when it’s quiet and calm?” Is there such a thing as the “perfect venue”? A venue designed to host live entertainment, Theatre, Live Music, Comedy, can that venue be so intrinsically in tune with the acts it puts forth? Can a venue simultaneously look and embody it’s chosen acts? …well sadly […]
“I appreciate a few songs ago I told you to sing ‘open your eyes’ and now I’m asking you to sing ‘shut your eyes’… but… fuck it.” To be honest Gary Lightbody could ask this crowd to sing ‘Half a Pound of Tuppeny Rice’ and they would gladly comply. And that’s quite something when you […]

LIVE REVIEW – SNOW PATROL: MANCHESTER CO-OP LIVE – 22/02/2025

LIVE REVIEW – ANNA B SAVAGE: MANCHESTER NIGHT AND DAY – 13/02/2025

Sixteen years ago, Anna B Savage played her second ever gig in a former band at The Night and Day.  “I was stood in the same spot, shitting myself. Nothing has changed.” she jokes. However, much is different. Tonight is sold out, reward for a voice of cherry blossom-like gorgeousness and bracingly autobiographical lyrics. It […]
Imagine if you took a picture of your heart outside your chest and the very next day, more than 3,000 people were wearing it on a chain around their neck. This goes some way to describing how Inhaler must be feeling as they’re pumped on stage to find that the lyrics of their new album […]

LIVE REVIEW – INHALER: MANCHESTER APOLLO – 08/02/2025

LIVE REVIEW – FIELD MUSIC: BAND ON THE WALL – 06/02/2025

Last time I saw Field Music was on 28 February 2020 at the Dancehouse in Manchester. They were doing a tour of seated venues accompanied by visuals in support of their ‘Making A New World’ album which had arisen out of a commission for the Imperial War Museum. Those who were taking Covid seriously sensed […]
I’ll be honest, I didn’t anticipate there being that much of a turnout for this show. In actuality, the Kikuoland concert at Manchester Academy was sold out, but I had made the easy mistake of assuming that, as the music of the headliner is relatively niche and enjoyed particularly in communities whose interactions are mostly […]

LIVE REVIEW – KIKUOLAND: MANCHESTER ACADEMY 2 – 01/02/25