LIVE: THE LUCID DREAM 11/09/2015

– SOUP KITCHEN, MANCHESTER – Tonight at Manchester’s Soup Kitchen, we are in for something special. Not only is it the last gig of the year for psych favourites The Lucid Dream, but we are being treated to an amalgamation act known only as The Boris Johnson Massacre. Taking to the dimly lit stage, The […]
– SOUP KITCHEN, MANCHESTER – Our editor told me to use the word ‘magic’ in this review, so that’s that over with. Wand are a 4-piece from LA who are about to release their 3rd album in the space of 14 months. ‘Ganglion Reef’, on Ty Segall’s God? label, showcased an impressive, unique blend of psych, prog and […]

LIVE: WAND – 10/09/2015

LIVE: DRINKS – 09/09/2015

– SOUP KITCHEN, MANCHESTER – Lights dance off the audience’s head, an ear piercing twang sounds from the guitar and Cate Le Bon stands to the side of Tim Presley, the White Denim bassist, with an unnerving presence. If this band didn’t consist of musicians of such pedigree, who knows if Soup Kitchen’s basement would […]
– ACADEMY 1, MANCHESTER – You just know the night’s going to be good when – even before you’ve stepped foot inside The Academy – someone undercharges you for a beer, Rooney beats Bobby Charlton’s goal scoring record and you bump into old, old friends, long lost, somehow having got away from you.  So I […]

LIVE: FUTURE ISLANDS – 08/09/2015

LIVE: HAIKU SALUT – 08/09/2015

– HALLE ST. PETER’S, MANCHESTER – I’m not a religious man, so I don’t know off the top of my head where the Halle St Peter’s church is. A cursory Google informs me it’s deep in the heart of Ancoats, outside the comfort blanket of the usual Northern Quarter gig stomping ground. As it happens, […]
– THE RUBY LOUNGE, MANCHESTER –  Cuz is a collaboration between Mike Watt of The Stooges and Sam Dook of The Go! Team. The pair met whilst with their respective bands at a festival in Australia in 2006, became friends and went on to release a full-length record as Cuz last year. I had initially […]

LIVE: CUZ – 03/09/2015

LIVE: OUGHT – 02/09/2015

– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – Well summer’s over, the tent is packed away and the sun cream remains unused. Don’t shed a tear though, because dark nights drawing near ushers in months of fantastic gigs. Two days into September and we’re already under way, another stellar line up from prolific promoters Now Wave. Headliners […]
– GORILLA, MANCHESTER – Ty Segall’s drum kit, Chad Ubovich’s Bass and Charles Moothart’s guitar simultaneously explode into life, igniting a feisty crowd who are chomping at the bit. Like rabid dogs who had finally broken free from their leads, a wave of enthusiastic teens surge forward and drag each other about during the first few chords, […]

LIVE: FUZZ – 01/09/2015

LIVE: THE KVB / PINS / MENACE BEACH – 28/08/2015

– SOUP KITCHEN, MANCHESTER – So, its just gone 7pm on this Friday night and I’m stuck in work. I have that Friday feeling though so all is good! I get a text from my mate to say that the first of three bands that I’m due to go and see after work, are on […]
– THE ALBERT HALL, MANCHESTER – Musical collaborations are often viewed with scepticism and fraught with the apprehension that it’s the band that are getting more out of the project than the audience. The overall feeling is that something isn’t quite right and the sooner things return to normal the better. FFS must have had […]

LIVE: FFS – 25/08/2015