LIVE: MARGO PRICE – 30/08/2016

– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – Margo Price was born into a life on a corn-and-soybean farm in Buffalo Prairie, a place name so Northern American that it almost must be fictional, as if Price is a character in a movie about an up-and-coming rockabilly star. Her life-so-far story truly has taken on cinema-worthy credentials from her […]
– BIG HANDS, MANCHESTER – When you finally get to see two bands you’ve been listening to for months, it’s hard not to be somewhat starstruck when the frontmen are running the door and queuing next to you at the bar respectively. Big Hands takes the small venue dynamic to another level, with no noticeable […]

LIVE: THEE MIGHTEES / THE BELLYBUTTONS – 27/08/2016

LIVE: KIRAN LEONARD – 25/08/2016

– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – Kiran Leonard is Greater Manchester born and bred, but he is far removed from the brit-pop indie stereotype that many Mancunian musicians have followed. Perhaps it’s because he was too young to have grown up engulfed by the likes of The Stone Roses and Oasis, his style is nothing […]
– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – The Deaf Institute is a more sophisticated place than normal tonight. Decked with four rows of chairs and soundtracked by some choice ambient music between acts, the chatter rarely raises beyond a murmur. There’s certainly no crowd noise during opening act Tiny Leaves. The project of composer Joel Nathaniel […]

LIVE: JULIANNA BARWICK – 23/08/2016

LIVE: MORRISSEY – 20/08/2016

– MANCHESTER ARENA, MANCHESTER – Before I venture to the Manchester Arena I stop off at my favourite pub on Oldham Street, Gulliver’s. I cannot be arsed paying a tenner for a couple of Fosters when I get to the venue, the worst fucking lager going. With a lovely San Miguel sat off in my belly, […]
– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – Connecticut’s Miracle Legion became a fixture on the campus radio stations run by college and university students in North America during the 1980s. Since my teens in Manchester I’ve been retrospectively in love with their contemporaries from the ‘college rock’ days, bands like R.E.M., Hüsker Dü, The Replacements and […]

LIVE: MIRACLE LEGION – 18/08/2016

LIVE: EXPERT ALTERATIONS  – 27/07/2016

– MONO, MANCHESTER – Having had what seems like daily band practices in a friends cellar over the last 3 weeks, I arrive at Mono wondering how I’ll react hearing some music played in a space where you don’t feel like you’re constantly obscuring someone’s view no matter where you stand. However I soon realise […]
– NIGHT & DAY CAFE, MANCHESTER – Deap Vally from California make abrasive rock music, combining the riffs of Arctic Monkeys’ humbug days with vocals not unlike those of Alabama Shakes. Their songs are instantaneous, with catchy choruses smacked right up against razor teeth sharp guitar shredding. Just three songs in, Lindsey Troy the lead […]

LIVE: DEAP VALLY – 26/07/2016

LIVE: BEAT-HERDER FESTIVAL (2) – 15-17/07/2016

PART TWO With music being only part of the attraction of Beat-Herder, we walk around what feels like a wacky carnival. Past the sweet stalls and barber  shop, we end up in The Church dancing to a DJ dressed as a nun, spinning Wheatus’ ‘Teenage Dirtbag’. It is the highlight of my weekend, really.  She changes her tune and the […]
– THE RIBBLE VALLEY, LANCASHIRE – Ah yes, the return of Beat-Herder. The Ribble Valley’s own dance-in-the-forrest fest has grown in its 11 years from a mere 2,000 capacity to a bustling 10,000+ turnout, so really, they’ve gotta be doing something right. The event has become somewhat of a Lancashire institution over the last few summers and […]

LIVE: BEAT-HERDER FESTIVAL – 15-17/07/2016