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

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 […]
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 […]

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

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

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 […]
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 […]

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

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

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 […]
For Ingrid Blood in your pee? Contact your GP practice. NHS’s memento mori. Quick wee before the start of the gig.  From Canada, Debby Friday opened the night accompanied by her DJ. As @IngridKern338 commented on Debby Friday’s 1/17 Youtube video:  Catchy music, exuberant joyful singing, love those clouds rollin’ on by, and extremely cute […]

LIVE REVIEW – SPELLLING: YES PINK ROOM – 10/06/2025

LIVE REVIEW: WET LEG – VICTORIA WAREHOUSE: 29/05/2025

Victoria Warehouse has always been one of my favourite venues. The exposed brick, the industrial charm, the rawness of it all – it’s the kind of place that brings out the best in a band. Or at least, it should. When Wet Leg first burst onto the scene, they were electric, weird, witty, offbeat and […]
“You seem like a rowdy northern crowd if that isn’t too much of a stereotype.” From the roars of the boisterous crowd, they relish Ezra Furman’s description. Record shop in store shows can be strange events. Audiences tend to be more restrained as they are often clutching CDs or vinyl, precious cargo compared to the […]

LIVE REVIEW – EZRA FURMAN: LIVERPOOL ROUGH TRADE – 21/05/2025

LIVE REVIEW – SUPERGRASS: MANCHESTER ALBERT HALL – 16/05/2025

I miss Britpop. I wasn’t there – about eight years too late – but I miss it. Its optimism, rugged energy and ability to weave between storytelling and subtle social commentary all still translates today. Perhaps now though we reflect on it with the bittersweet notion of nostalgia, longing to return to a time where […]
What can I say? Flying cars, floating boxing gloves, and a heartfelt finale—I fear I have become a massive Bryan Adams fan. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t expecting this performance to be very similar to Frankie Valli’s from 2023. You know, the almost ventriloquist act with overly enthusiastic backing singers doing most […]

LIVE REVIEW – BRYAN ADAMS: MANCHESTER ARENA – 09/05/2025