LIVE: MIDLAKE– 10/04/2022

– Albert Hall, Manchester – How does a band who haven’t released a record in nearly a decade until very recently, haven’t toured for nearly as long, and no longer have their OG frontman who performed some of their most beloved songs, mount a credible comeback that people will be bothered about? The answer lies […]

– Albert Hall, Manchester – The band are playing so softly, the loudest thing you can hear during the introduction of opening song ‘Song In Seven’ are drummer Gwion Llewelyn’s cymbals. The vocals come in after a few moments and take the crown of the loudest sound source, but everything remains gentle. Not that any […]

LIVE: VILLAGERS – 15/10/2021

LIVE: CARAVAN PALACE – 31/01/2020

-ALBERT HALL, MANCHESTER- While waiting in line for a drink, I overhear several conversations about the dramatic turn that Caravan Palace have made with their most recent album Chronologic. These conversations were not ecstatic at the departure from the electro swing of old. I have to say, I share their apprehension as to whether the […]

-ALBERT HALL, MANCHESTER- Touring in support of their greatest hits album Maximum Rock n Roll released earlier this year, the bar was already set high with anticipation for a gig fuelled with Primal Scream’s finest. Not that hearing a band’s latest album cuts is any less appealing, but there’s just something that makes you that extra […]

LIVE: PRIMAL SCREAM – 26/11/2019

LIVE: EZRA FURMAN – 12/11/2019

-ALBERT HALL, MANCHESTER- Ezra Furman played the Albert Hall on 12th November and I can confirm myself that it was an excellent show that was well worth watching. The American frontman helped to play a bunch of recognisable songs from his numerous albums over the last few years. The disabled facilities must be praised at […]

– Albert Hall, Manchester – Upon entry, I walk upstairs through a building that could pass as a mental idealisation of a natural history museum; the high ceilings and dated decorum compliment the main hall which itself could easily house a selection of skeletal theropods; reinforcing my abstract visualisation. The seated area has a vague […]

LIVE: SUNN O))) – 27/10/2019

LIVE: RICHARD HAWLEY – 07/10/2019

-ALBERT HALL, MANCHESTER- In the words of Chandler Bing, could things BE anymore Manchester, as I step out of my apartment building and step pretty straight into John Thomson, walking into the Dakota Hotel opposite. It’s a scene from Cold Feet (and indeed my street was in one of those luxurious pan shots across the […]

-ALBERT HALL, MANCHESTER- In these dark and troubled times, it is somewhat reassuring to be in the presence of Bill Callahan. He enters the stage with his relaxed preppy college prof demeanour to greet the large audience, in one of his rare visits to the UK to support his recent double album, Shepherd in a […]

LIVE: BILL CALLAHAN – 02/10/2019

LIVE: EELS – 15/09/19

– ALBERT HALL, MANCHESTER – “Don’t think twice ‘bout whatever keeps you itchin’. Ice water, flyswatter gonna get you through the day.” Lyrics I could not relate to anymore, after a summer of working in a pub in the middle of nowhere, getting bitten by insects daily. Flyswatter is the first of the band’s original […]

-ALBERT HALL, MANCHESTER- Belle and Sebastian have always had a devoted, loyal fanbase and they’ve turned up in their droves tonight. It’s so packed and steamy in the Albert Hall, we overhear people next to us mention that some fans can’t even get into the room, and are almost on the stairs outside, luckily we […]