LIVE: NITIN SAWHNEY – 20/11/2015

 – GORILLA, MANCHESTER – I once heard a theory that it takes an average of seven years to master a trade or profession. Translated into musical instruments by this premise, Nitin Sawhney must be at least 300 years old. The impossibly talented singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, actor, screenwriter and in recent years radio show host, […]
– GORILLA, MANCHESTER – I first encountered the ‘Ezra Furman’ concept through this picture: feline sunglasses, pearls, lipstick, a falsely shy smile, sinuous pose and a Chanel-styled jacket from the 1960s certainly stolen from my mother. My subconscious went: Mum! My professional superego said: mmm, let’s check this musician out. Then the music came. It was […]

LIVE: EZRA FURMAN – 16/11/2015

LIVE: THE MOUNTAIN GOATS – 15/11/2015

– GORILLA, MANCHESTER – I’ve been thinking all weekend about the horrors of the gig two nights ago at Le Bataclan, so it’s with mixed emotions that I head over to Gorilla to see one of my very favourite bands, The Mountain Goats. It’s a strange feeling to be going to a concert in the […]
 – GORILLA, MANCHESTER – It’s hard to believe it’s been almost two years since I last saw Half Moon Run, as they became the first act to headline Manchester’s newly refurbished Albert Hall in November 2013. Back then, their debut album Dark Eyes was barely off my playlist and it was easily my favourite album […]

LIVE: HALF MOON RUN – 28/10/2015

LIVE: HEALTH – 27/10/2015

 – GORILLA, MANCHESTER – HEALTH like to take their time. Their third studio album Death Magic was released this summer a full 6 years after their sophomore effort hit the shelves. Granted, in between then they released a remix album of their second LP and a full soundtrack to the computer game Max Payne, but […]
– GORILLA, MANCHESTER – Thank you to those who bought The Silver Globe! Jane Weaver merrily says a few songs into the set, her blonde hair half-covering the facial glitter around her eyes. It’s strange to hear an artist thank their audience, in a quite genuine manner, for a purchase made in the age of […]

LIVE: JANE WEAVER – 08/10/2015

LIVE: NADINE SHAH – 30/09/2015

– GORILLA, MANCHESTER – Despite having stuffed myself into oblivion more than once at Gorilla with vegetarian breakfasts and heavenly halloumi burgers, strangely enough it’s my first time at Gorilla as a venue, and I really like its size and the stage background studded with something that looks like thermometers but probably is not. Near […]
– GORILLA, MANCHESTER – Ty Segall’s drum kit, Chad Ubovich’s Bass and Charles Moothart’s guitar simultaneously explode into life, igniting a feisty crowd who are chomping at the bit. Like rabid dogs who had finally broken free from their leads, a wave of enthusiastic teens surge forward and drag each other about during the first few chords, […]

LIVE: FUZZ – 01/09/2015

LIVE: DEERHOOF – 24/08/2015

– GORILLA, MANCHESTER – Deerhoof are 20, and remain edgy. That’s quite an achievement. The 4-piece band, born in San Francisco, have survived a few line-up changes over the years, but the current members have performed onstage together since 2008. Maryland drummer Greg Saunier was joined in ’96 by Tokyo singer Satomi Matsuzaki, and Guitarist John Dieterich (2001), was later joined […]
– GORILLA, MANCHESTER – Galeforce winds and stormy skies have freakishly, and most likely temporarily, been replaced by something that resembles ‘summer’ in Manchester today. It must be the presence of the Allah-Las. This LA band have used their musical knowledge, honed from spending time together as record store employees, to come up with a pretty successful […]

LIVE: ALLAH-LAS – 04/06/2015