LIVE: JAMIE WOON – 03/03/2016

– GORILLA, MANCHESTER – Here’s a little list of things that are widely considered to be smooth: glass; mirrors; velvet; caramel; baby’s bottoms; Jamie Woon. Seriously, the dude is smooth AF. Tonight, in Manchester’s brilliant Gorilla, Woon seduces the crowd with his unbelievably soulful, funky RnB, and we are all, collectively, both a little bit […]
 – NIGHT & DAY CAFE, MANCHESTER – The simplistic red fairy lights strung up along the walls of the cosy Night and Day Café make the perfect setting for tonight’s intimate affair. All of the proceedings from tonight are split and donated to charities close to the heart of current events. The first charity is […]

LIVE: MAN MADE – 02/03/2016

LIVE: PALEHOUND – 01/03/2016

– GULLIVER’S, MANCHESTER – Palehound is the alias of Ellen Kempner – an unflinching female guitarist and singer unafraid to lay bare her insecurities and imperfections through her music. Tonight is both a strange and special night for Ellen and her band, special as it is their first ever show in the UK, strange as […]
 – GULLIVER’S, MANCHESTER – Heady psychedelia & Southern sweet-sour blues? I can’t think of a better match. Apart from gin & tonic, I mean. We are getting far from 9.30pm at a cramped Gulliver’s Victorian ballroom, when a silent guy with a plain ‘Maine’ cup enters the stage and starts checking the keys. He disappears […]

LIVE: ALL THEM WITCHES – 29/02/2016

LIVE: FUN LOVIN’ CRIMINALS – 26/02/2016

 – MANCHESTER CATHEDRAL – “You must be crazy coming to see the Fun Lovin’ Criminals in a church on a Friday night, but that’s what I like about you,” the charismatic Huey Morgan says to the massed ranks of his congregation. Crazy or not, there is no hotter ticket in town tonight – the touts […]
– THE ALBERT HALL, MANCHESTER – ‘Hello Manchester, we’re Blossoms from Stockport.’ A swelling of lights, then smoke fills the bosom of The Albert Hall. From the balcony, straps that hold the bulge of the room, I scream back ‘SK2’.  This is postcode code.  We can locate Blossoms more precisely than Stockport.  These blossoms sprouted […]

LIVE: BLOSSOMS – 27/02/2016

LIVE: RICHARD HAWLEY – 24/02/2016

– THE APOLLO, MANCHESTER – It’s only a short trip from from Sheffield to Manchester, but a gig anywhere here always feels like a home-from-home for Hawley. It was a quick return to the city for Hawley who played his “beloved Manchester” back in November. It was a set that borrowed heavily from his last […]
– ALBERT HALL, MANCHESTER – The chances of being bored at a Savages gig are small, but when we arrive at the Albert Hall and situate ourselves in the upper echelons we’d be forgiven for thinking we’re at a Daniel O’Donnell concert. Shining out through the gloom are lots of little lights with people staring […]

LIVE: SAVAGES – 22/02/2016

LIVE: CAGE THE ELEPHANT – 20/02/2016

 – THE RITZ, MANCHESTER – Bone rattling bass lines and spine tingling guitar riffs echo throughout the heart of The Ritz and threaten to burst the eardrums of anyone within a five-mile radius. In an explosion of rock and roll chaos, the whole night proves to be one giant tailspin towards a mind blowing finale. […]
 – THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – Warming up the crowd tonight are two four pieces called Beach Baby and FEWS. For me, both sets are very similar but nevertheless great openers for those kings of spring. A driving rhythm section paired with swirling yet aggressive guitar playing from Beach Baby is enthralling to say the […]

LIVE: SPRING KING – 19/02/2016