– THE RITZ, MANCHESTER – Kurt Viles’ music for the gentle outlaw is a soothing painkiller for these days of daze and outrage. Some kind of warm beneath your iced bones. The Ritz is packed and I can’t help smiling as in a happy-go-lucky TV commercial. It’s just great to see that we all gathered […]
– SOUND CONTROL, MANCHESTER – After the post-punk revival scene of the noughties was knocked six feet under by bands more emotionally-complex, Palma Violets have been praised for resurrecting venues all over the country with their energetic live performances. Tonight it’s Sound Control which graces their presence and a dividing line soon creates two camps: […]
– THE ALBERT HALL, MANCHESTER – This year has marked the tenth year anniversary for a lot of records that shaped my youth. 2005 saw me in my mid-teens, old enough to go to some gigs without a dad and finally earning a few more bob than the paper round so I could go and […]
– SOUND CONTROL, MANCHESTER – An immediate shock greets everybody that enters Sound Control tonight. The venue, utilised less and less by touring bands as its years drift by, has cordoned off its natural upstairs setting, and instead has compressed the night’s events into its downstairs bar area. Like others, my instinct is that this […]
– GORILLA, MANCHESTER – I first encountered the ‘Ezra Furman’ concept through this picture: feline sunglasses, pearls, lipstick, a falsely shy smile, sinuous pose and a Chanel-styled jacket from the 1960s certainly stolen from my mother. My subconscious went: Mum! My professional superego said: mmm, let’s check this musician out. Then the music came. It was […]
– LONDON FIELDS BREWERY, LONDON – Fuzz Club Records are undoubtedly the best known record label within the psych circuit and this weekend they have something special planned with their first festival offering. Opening proceedings this evening we have Italian noise merchants Throw Down Bones. The duo are hotly tipped to go down a storm in […]
– GORILLA, MANCHESTER – I’ve been thinking all weekend about the horrors of the gig two nights ago at Le Bataclan, so it’s with mixed emotions that I head over to Gorilla to see one of my very favourite bands, The Mountain Goats. It’s a strange feeling to be going to a concert in the […]
– ACADEMY 2, MANCHESTER – It’s a typical damp and rainy evening in Manchester and Scottish rockers The Fratellis are in town. It’s my first time at the Academy 2 and it’s an incredibly weird venue. To me, it seems like an old library from the outside and then once you venture up the stairs […]
– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – This is the most fun I’ve had at a gig in a long time. Titus Andronicus, the world’s greatest punk rock bar band have brought their show supporting their 92-min, 3 LP/2 CD rock opera about mental illness (yes, really) The Most Lamentable Tragedy, to Manchester’s Deaf Institute, and […]
– SOUP KITCHEN, MANCHESTER – When you walk into a Jenny Hval show, you know it’s going to be weird. Last time she graced a stage in Manchester, there were pouting girls, live iPad visuals and some fun karaoke competitions. So, tonight when she walks on stage in a yoga outfit clutching a half deflated […]
GIG GUIDE
Our gig guide is handpicked and every act has been listened to before making it onto the list.
See this month's guide
ALBUM REVIEW - DAVID GALAS: THE NIHILIST
LIVE REVIEW - ALABAMA 3: MANCHESTER RITZ - 05/12/2025
EP REVIEW - RED IVORY: PLEASE LEAVE, I NEED TO WAKE UP NOW
ALBUM ROUNDUP DECEMBER 2025
LIVE REVIEW - WOLF ALICE: MANCHESTER ARENA - 28/11/2025
GIG GUIDE - DECEMBER 2025
LIVE REVIEW - THE LAST DINNER PARTY: AVIVA STUDIOS - 26/11/2025
ALBUM REVIEW - JANE REMOVER: REVENGESEEKERZ
ALBUM REVIEW – EMMA POLLOCK: BEGGING THE NIGHT TO TAKE HOLD
LIVE REVIEW - ROYEL OTIS: VICTORIA WAREHOUSE - 28/11/2025
