LIVE: LOCAL NATIVES – 08/11/2016

– ACADEMY 2, MANCHESTER – Remember when things seemed a little more optimistic? When everything hadn’t seemingly gone to shit? When Prince was still funky and Bowie was still confounding expectations? When actual politicians were in charge of major countries? When hate wasn’t the ruling emotion? When the baby boomers weren’t making terrible decisions in […]
– THE CROWN AND KETTLE, MANCHESTER – To be able to see two bands of such high calibre playing for free in a pub says a lot for the quality of the music scene in Manchester in 2016. Having seen both these bands previously at venues spanning my twin hometowns of Sheffield and Manchester, for […]

LIVE: DIRTY HEELS / THE HIPSHAKES – 06/11/2016

LIVE: PREOCCUPATIONS – 06/11/2016

– GORILLA, MANCHESTER – I’ve seen this band a couple of times before, but this is the first time I’ve seen Preoccupations. I won’t rake over old ground, but this band have been through the mill a little bit of late, having to change their name from Viet Cong when people started complaining, not only […]
Friday the 4th of August saw Off The Record, a new music industry conference and emerging talent showcase burst onto the Manchester scene. By day a meeting of those involved in the music business willing to share what they know with those that don’t, or just want to know more. This included DJs, label owners, […]

REVIEWS OF MANCHESTER’S NEW MUSIC CONFERENCE & EMERGING TALENT SHOWCASE

LIVE: MERCHANDISE – 03/11/2016

– THE CASTLE HOTEL, MANCHESTER – “Welcome to the public library” quips Carson Cox as he shuffles about the dimly lit stage in the bowels of The Castle Hotel. Merchandise, hailing from Tampa, Florida are about to take us on a journey of eighties influenced nostalgia. The original line-up was a three-piece playing with a […]
– APOLLO, MANCHESTER – Time passes slowly when waiting in a queue for drinks at the Apollo’s Circle Bar with your favourite musical discovery of the year due to be on stage in five minutes. I’m starting to wonder whether everyone in line ahead of me is ordering extravagant cocktails. As I’m about to abort […]

LIVE: CHRISTINE AND THE QUEENS – 04/11/2016

LIVE: WOODEN SHJIPS – 29/10/2016

– GORILLA, MANCHESTER – Marbled acid-fade projection paints the tin-foil armoured synth tower looming monolithic over Manchester’s Gorilla. ‘American Girl’ is playing, and ultra-fuchsia beams cross themselves in waves of vapour – fighting for air with the mixtape that is most-likely titled ‘1977-1992’. This is clearly an environment that’s been groomed by bearded galaxy-eater Ripley […]
– GULLIVER’S, MANCHESTER – My first thoughts about this evening are that there is some impressive lipstick on display – probably from the same stick by the looks of things. Melbourne’s Oh Pep! are Olivia Hally and Pepita Emmerichs – so that’s ‘O’ and ‘Pep’ – backed tonight by a male drummer and bass player, […]

LIVE: OH PEP – 01/11/2016

LIVE: MAXWELL – 30/10/2016

– MANCHESTER ARENA, MANCHESTER – Now this isn’t the type of gig you usually see reviewed on these pages, and it’s not really the type of thing I spend my Sunday nights at. But when the opportunity to see two of the all time RnB titans together on the same night came up, I jumped […]
– SOUP KITCHEN, MANCHESTER – “We don’t really celebrate Halloween in the Netherlands, but tonight we’ve come as people dressed in glitter,” states Utrecht’s Annelotte De Graaf  aka Amber Arcades, clearly misunderstanding the dress code. Glitter though is a good representation of the dream pop made by Amber Arcades, which, while feather light, manages to […]

LIVE: AMBER ARCADES – 30/10/2016