LIVE: JAPANDROIDS – 14/11/2009

– MOHO LIVE, MANCHESTER – 6pm is any self-respecting gentleman’s favourite time of day. Tea time shows off the remnants of hunter-gatherer in the male psyche, and although I hadn’t gone out and clubbed anything to death, a Grade A spicy chicken broth had been defrosting on the kitchen top all afternoon, its inert heat […]
– ACADEMY 1, MANCHESTER – Manchester Academy feels different since its refurbishment in 2008; cleaner, brighter, with a shiny new frontispiece. Alice in Chains re-formed in 2005 with new frontman William DuVall, after the death of lead vocalist Layne Staley. I’m looking forward to watching them, but like the new Academy, I’m prepared for the […]

LIVE: ALICE IN CHAINS – 14/11/2009

LIVE: WHITE BELT YELLOW TAG – 12/11/2009

– THE RITZ BALLROOM, MANCHESTER – It’s Thursday night. It’s November and it’s The Ritz. Technicians potter about on the stage. Pow! They’re not techies – its the band with attention grabbing start! It’s a welcome sucker punch, and they slide effortlessly into the first number before we can recover. Looks like its going to […]
– THE ROADHOUSE, MANCHESTER – BY ANTHONY THORPE So then, what to say about Memphis born singer songwriter Jay Lindsay, otherwise known as Jay Reatard? Well the first thing is, his set tonight started way too early! Being onstage at 7.45pm until 8.30, when advertised for an 8 o’clock start is not preferred for starters! […]

LIVE: JAY REATARD – 12/11/2009

LIVE: AIRBORNE TOXIC EVENT – 12/11/2009

– THE RITZ BALLROOM, MANCHESTER – No, not a euphemism for a trouser trump, the name of this band actually refers to a section of the novel White Noise by Don DeLillo. And as such, it underpins the literary intent of the band, and specifically singer Mikel Jollett, himself a writer who was in the […]
– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – BY JASON BOARDMAN Sat pondering the Institute of Joy which is the Finglands boneshaker No. 43 on my way to the Deaf Institute on a cold Monday evening in Manchester (not always the healthiest signifier for a gig), surrounded by the inane crackle of students heading to their next […]

LIVE: MOUNTAIN OF ONE – 09/11/2009

LIVE: BIFFY CLYRO – 07/11/2009

– THE APOLLO THEATRE, MANCHESTER – With one of the city’s typical downpours dousing spirits on this year’s de facto Bonfire Night, it’s down to Atlanta quintet, Manchester Orchestra, to raise them again inside the famous Ardwick theatre. Squeezed tightly to the front of the stage by an enormous black curtain, birthday boy frontman, Andy […]
– MANCHESTER CATHEDRAL, MANCHESTER – Today I realised that in the last 3 days I had completed visits to the only unholy trinity of history’s big businesses. It started with Daniel Johnston at the town hall on Tuesday (political), Grizzly Bear at Manchester cathedral last night (religious), and today I went to Tesco (commercial). Truly […]

LIVE: GRIZZLY BEAR – 04/11/2009

LIVE: DANIEL JOHNSTON – 03/11/2009

– TOWN HALL, MANCHESTER – I come as a complete newby to the eccentric world of Daniel Johnston so you’ll have to forgive me for coming to this show with the eyes of an uninformed fool. I’m going to treat you too like a similar fool, and as a result this review may come across […]
– TOWN HALL, MANCHESTER – Rumour has it that Laura Marling was paid just £200 a show for the honour of supporting Daniel Johnston on his current tour, and this does not even take into account that she is paying for her own crew and transport. I can’t help but feel that one day someone […]

LIVE: LAURA MARLING – 03/11/2009