LIVE: CLASH MAGAZINE PRESENTS – 10/03/2009

– THE RUBY LOUNGE, MANCHESTER – Clash Magazine prove their worth tonight with a line-up of three acts they are backing to go on to bigger things in the near future. First up on tonight’s rolling headline tour at the Lost & Found clubnight, are the Norwegian analogue masters Casiokids with their deep electronic dance […]
– THE ROADHOUSE, MANCHESTER – With only 10 minutes to go before Underground Railroad take to the stage, there are possibly no more than 20 people populating The Roadhouse. Which is unfortunate, not necessarily for the Parisian trio that are providing the support tonight, but mainly for anyone that missed out on this chance to see […]

LIVE: FIGHT LIKE APES/UNDERGROUND RAILROAD – 01/03/2009

LIVE: SCHOOL OF SEVEN BELLS/APACHE BEAT/KYTE – 27/02/2009

– THE NIGHT & DAY CAFE, MANCHESTER – The first band to take to the stage tonight at The Night & Day Café, are Apache Beat. This five-piece from Brooklyn, New York, fronted by the Siouxsie Sioux-esque Ilirjana Alushaj, give us a short but powerful set of their punk-wave style. Even though Ilirjana is a fixating […]
– ACADEMY 3, MANCHESTER – When Imelda May takes to any stage, it is hard to see how anybody could possibly see past this vision of beauty that stands before you and concentrate on anything else, but this is soon put aside with the amazing talents that Imelda and her band members individually possess. Dave […]

LIVE: IMELDA MAY – 23/02/2009

LIVE: JOHN COOPER CLARKE – 13/02/2009

– THE DANCEHOUSE THEATRE, MANCHESTER – It’s gone 10pm when our very own Broughton Bard strides gingerly on stage at Manchester’s Dancehouse Theatre. Clutching a bottle of water in one hand and tatty carrier bag in the other, there is no mistaking this instantly recognisable skinny figure. As the years have passed since his support […]
– THE ROADHOUSE, MANCHESTER – The boys behind Manchester’s bi-weekly Contort Yourself night at The Roadhouse managed to pull a rabbit from the hat tonight. The decks this evening are adorned by Rachel Barton (BBC Radio 1), Emma Chibuku and Natalie Esquire (Murkage). If for one moment you think this all-girl line-up could not be […]

LIVE REVIEW: La Roux – 07/02/2009

LIVE: HALF MAN HALF BISCUIT – 30/01/2009

– ACADEMY 1, MANCHESTER – On arrival at Manchester’s Academy 1, it is clear to see that Half Man Half Biscuit are very much a boy’s band (not boy band), or maybe I should re-phrase that to a man’s band. Blokes in their late thirties and early forties make up a large percentage of this […]
– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – Sometimes a gig is just a gig, but on other occasions they can be much much more. Tonight’s sold out performance on the top floor of The Deaf Institute is by far, the latter of the two! Before Peter Wilson, A.K.A Duke Special and his percussionist ‘Temperance Society’ Chip […]

LIVE: DUKE SPECIAL – 25/01/2009

LIVE: THE ONLY ONES – 24/01/2009

– ACADEMY 3, MANCHESTER – Over the past few years, we have seen an abundance of bands reforming. Some have worked and some have not. So there is always an air of anticipation when heading to one of these gigs, and tonight is no exception to this. Slightly later than expected, Peter Perrett and Co […]
The de-balled prisoner in The Tower of London (the BBC) has named Delphic in the BBC Sound of 2010 Longlist.  It’s a highly credible choice. By replacing the guitar with the synth (and hopefully the keytar) they have the sound of a band preparing to shoot themselves into the future by rehashing and splicing together […]

SINGLE: Delphic – Doubt