LIVE REVIEW – BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE: MANCHESTER ACADEMY – 13/09/2026

Broken Social Scene are less of a band and more of a family. That is simply one of the best ways to describe their dynamic. Over thirty years ago founding members Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning met in 1999, since then they have been collecting members, with the latest addition being Hannah Gerogas who joined […]
-ACADEMY, MANCHESTER- Devonshire’s Metronomy have released a whopping six albums. One steady string running throughout is their eccentric, envelope-pushing electric pop. What has changed however is their relationship with music. Their latest release, Metronomy Forever, has hints of the previous decades, the colossal 17 tracker adding whole song instrumentals for good measure. Metronomy’s recent blurring of identity […]

LIVE: METRONOMY – 09/11/2019

LIVE: NEIGHBOURHOOD FESTIVAL 2019 – 12/10/2019

-VARIOUS VENUES, MANCHESTER- It’s the morning after my best mate’s 21st birthday and believe you me, my body is feeling it. The beautiful sight of a sunny Manchester (which is rare these days) is slowly curing my soul, and the inevitably incredible Neighbourhood Festival is the light at the end of the tunnel. The day […]
-ACADEMY, MANCHESTER- Last time I saw The Cinematic Orchestra was at Soundwave, Croatia in 2010, just down the coast from Zadar – which Alfred Hitchcock described as having the “most beautiful sunset in the world”. Tonight’s concert starts with the rolling, rising, boiling crescendo of ‘Lessons’ and then golden lights wash upwards over the crowd, […]

LIVE: THE CINEMATIC ORCHESTRA – 30/03/2019

LIVE: SLEAFORD MODS – 15/03/2019

all photos courtesy of Ric Harris (aka @landwomble) -ACADEMY, MANCHESTER- What can we say about Sleaford Mods that hasn’t been said already? I think we’re all on the same page really. There’s no one quite like them and we bloody love them for it. The tenacious twosome from Nottingham haven’t really stopped since their formation […]
-ACADEMY, MANCHESTER- The atmosphere in the Academy feels like we are at the Pyramid stage of Glastonbury tonight as Hobo Johnson and The Lovemakers enter the stage. I have never heard a crowd so loud. But luckily the crowd still have enough juice in their lungs to emphatically sing along with the opening song, ‘Romeo […]

LIVE: HOBO JOHNSON & THE LOVEMAKERS – 26/01/2019

LIVE: MILES KANE / CABBAGE – 23/11/2018

-ACADEMY, MANCHESTER- When it comes to deciding on a support band, Miles Kane couldn’t have gone for a better choice than Manchester’s own Cabbage – especially in a Mancunian venue in which their energetic, self-proclaimed ‘semi punk’ performance has the crowd on each other’s shoulders and pitting within two songs of their set. Somehow they […]
-ACADEMY, MANCHESTER- A boxing ring full of black belts with the overpowering aroma of cigarettes and alcohol, it’s Saturday night and the anticipation of Slaves coming out on stage begins to spill over despite the ironic pre-gig soundtrack playing cheesy 90s pop hits. Laurie and Isaac stomp onto the stage with the intentions of making […]

LIVE: SLAVES – 17/11/2018

LIVE: TOOTS & THE MAYTALS – 19/10/2018

-ACADEMY, MANCHESTER- Toots and the Maytals cured my knee! Well almost. After years of gigging, my left knee has seen better days. But peace, love, a bit of dancing and one incredible voice took away this pain for a few hours. Toots Hibbert emerges from the rafters dressed almost like a Rastafarian Pearly King. Styling […]
-ACADEMY, MANCHESTER- “‘The Holy Mothership’ is a means of transportation that can take you through not only space, but time, and we’re still travelling,” speaks all-star sonic architect and Parliament-Funkadelic founder George Clinton on his alter-ego Dr. Funkenstein’s musical voyager that was used as a primary means of mass-deliverance to a world that was unable […]

LIVE: GEORGE CLINTON & PARLIAMENT FUNKADELIC – 07/07/2018