LIVE: NADIA REID – 31/08/2017

-DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER- Nadia Reid is one of a string of female folk artists, think Julie Byrne, Julia Jacklin, and Aldous Harding, that have broken through this year. The distinct silence that meets Nadia’s question of how many people were at her last Manchester concert in February just shows how quick her rise has been. […]
-DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER- “Living on the road, my friend, was gonna keep you free and clean/But now you wear your skin like iron and your breath’s as hard as kerosene.” Townes Van Zandt – ‘Pancho and Lefty’ If Courtney Marie Andrews’ admiration of Van Zandt’s records goes back far enough, to when she was 16, […]

LIVE: COURTNEY MARIE ANDREWS – 24/08/2017

LIVE: FRANK TURNER / FELIX HAGAN & THE FAMILY / OUR FOLD – 24/08/2017

-THE RITZ, MANCHESTER- Scrolling through tweets when I get home from the bang that was the Big Issue North Street Noise, I find a post that sums it up perfectly. The body of the tweet said something like “Yeah a quiet acoustic Frank Turner gig, that’ll be nice and chill.” Embedded in the post, a […]
-DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER- The artwork adorning the Culture Abuse T-shirts and hoodies for sale at the merch table depicts harsh wire fences, but the San Francisco Bay Area five-piece is at heart a party band, and the price list placed alongside the merch states that booze and weed are accepted methods of payment. Second of […]

LIVE: CULTURE ABUSE – 23/08/2017

LIVE: ROB CROW’S GLOOMY PLACE / SWEET DEALS ON SURGERY / MINNA – 22/08/2017

-DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER- Something which has never happened in the history of live music is happening: a gig is running early. Yes, early. This means that we miss a couple of Minna‘s early offerings, but they make a tremendous racket. Information is non-existent on the presumably local trio, the drummer in a constant whirr while […]
Often, despite writing poetry, I don’t know where the line is between poetry and song lyrics. Thankfully the mumbled spoken word of Ghostpoet stops the questions and starts the listening as he oscillates between the depth and meaning of poetry and experimental electronic sounds. I don’t know what the genre tag is for his music […]

ALBUM REVIEW: GHOSTPOET ‘DARK DAYS AND CANAPES’

LIVE: Y NOT FESTIVAL – 27-30/07/2017

– PIKEHALL, DERBYSHIRE- Having recently changed ownership, this year’s Y Not Festival looked set to be an incredible weekend with strong headline performances scheduled from The Vaccines, Stereophonics and Two Door Cinema Club along with other big names filling up the bill such as Slaves, Jake Bugg, Happy Mondays, Manic Street Preachers, Frank Turner and […]
-NIGHT & DAY CAFE, MANCHESTER- It’s another cool Summer evening and the Night & Day Café awaits us, tonight playing host to a few of the North-West’s freshest and exciting bands. Kicking off tonight’s proceedings are The Attic Doctors, who embody a strong indie aura, with all the traits and sounds reminiscent of the many […]

LIVE: THE 99 DEGREE / GOA EXPRESS / MANALISHI / THE ATTIC DOCTORS – 05/08/2017

LIVE: FALSE ADVERTISING / PEAKS / GRACES / HAPPY ANIMAL – 04/08/2017

-CASTLE HOTEL, MANCHESTER- No excuse is needed for Manchester’s best band to put on a show at a top venue like the Castle Hotel on a Friday night in early August. Friday nights that don’t have False Advertising gigs can only be described as a waste anyway. But on this occasion, there happens to be […]
-THE RITZ, MANCHESTER- Ok. I’m just going to put it out there. I want to be best mates with Kate Nash. Seeing her live has only cemented this and I am now convinced we could be total #squadgoals. Heading along to The Ritz for her Made of Bricks 10th anniversary show on Friday night, I […]

LIVE: KATE NASH / SKATING POLLY – 04/08/2017