LIVE: THE PARROTS – 10/10/2015

– THE SOUP KITCHEN, MANCHESTER – Promoters Strange Days are known for bringing a wide variety of international guitar musicians to Manchester, ranging from solo acoustic folk, to manic garage rock. Tonight, our headliners are Spanish fun-loving surf garage 3-piece, The Parrots. They’ve recently released a split 7″ of covers on Burger Records with Hinds, who […]
– THE OLD PINT POT, SALFORD – Curiosity has brought me out tonight. I have little to no knowledge of the bands, whether that makes for an unbiased neutral review or just reveals an incompetent lack of research is up to you. There were two elements that convinced me. The revamp of the Pint Pot […]
Chaika

LIVE: CHAIKA / THE BEAR AROUND YOUR NECK / JOHN HAYCOCK – 09/10/15

LIVE: JANE WEAVER – 08/10/2015

– GORILLA, MANCHESTER – Thank you to those who bought The Silver Globe! Jane Weaver merrily says a few songs into the set, her blonde hair half-covering the facial glitter around her eyes. It’s strange to hear an artist thank their audience, in a quite genuine manner, for a purchase made in the age of […]
– SOUND CONTROL, MANCHESTER – “Get involved!!!” screams Jim Jones to the audience who are just a few centimetres from the stage, asking us to get even closer. Yet, there are some fellows amongst the crowd with their shiny smartphones and cameras, trying to digitally grab the moment. I understand the temptation, souvenirs for the future. But […]

LIVE: JIM JONES AND THE RIGHTEOUS MIND – 01/10/2015

LIVE: NADINE SHAH – 30/09/2015

– GORILLA, MANCHESTER – Despite having stuffed myself into oblivion more than once at Gorilla with vegetarian breakfasts and heavenly halloumi burgers, strangely enough it’s my first time at Gorilla as a venue, and I really like its size and the stage background studded with something that looks like thermometers but probably is not. Near […]
– CAMP & FURNACE, LIVERPOOL – After very much enjoying a number of smaller Psych Fest’s in Manchester, the idea of taking it to another level seemed a logical step. Just an hour’s train ride away, over 75 acts have congregated in this annual celebration of ‘music of drug-induced origin’. The truly international line-up is […]

LIVE: LIVERPOOL PSYCH FEST – 25+26/09/2015

LIVE: SUMMER CAMP – 28/09/2015

– NIGHT & DAY CAFE, MANCHESTER – It’s a cold September night. I arrive at my destination, squeezing past two chaps busking quite literally on the door step of The Night & Day Café. It’s one way to get yourself on the bill I suppose. ‘You must be freezing,’ I say. ‘You must be mad,’ […]
– THE CASTLE HOTEL, MANCHESTER – I like it when the stars align the right way. I mean, is it a coincidence that Randolph Swain and The Red Lights almost sing to the latest ‘Blood Moon’? Don’t think so. I want to believe. The truth, in this case, is inside The Castle Hotel in Manchester. […]

LIVE: RANDOLPH SWAIN AND THE RED LIGHTS – 26/09/2015

LIVE: BLANCK MASS – 24/09/2015

– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – Blanck Mass is in a good mood tonight. He takes to the Deaf Institute stage to the sound of the hulking main sample of ‘Loam’, the opening track of this year’s stunning album Dumb Flesh. It’s stretched out to hypnotic length, a powerful, throbbing sound that fills the room […]
– THE RITZ, MANCHESTER – So, why after two years (-1 day) have I decided to dust off my writing pad and make the time to review tonight’s gig? The simple answer, Sleaford Mods have excited me more than any other band in the last twenty plus years. As it happens, tonight’s support comes from […]

LIVE: SLEAFORD MODS / STEVE IGNORANT’S SLICE OF LIFE – 23/09/2015