LIVE: GLASVEGAS / BIRTHDAY GIRL – 22/10/2018

-GORILLA, MANCHESTER- A slightly subdued start to the evening at Gorilla this evening – Swedish rockers Birthday Girl don’t have the same following as the headliner tonight so the venue isn’t filling up right away but as soon as the first chord hits people are round from the bar, surging forward and paying attention. The […]
-GORILLA, MANCHESTER- Gorilla seems to be the place I go to watch Villagers. Tonight’s gig is their third time there and it’ll be the third time I’ve seen them there, without seeing them anywhere else in the meantime. My journey to the venue takes me passed Manchester Arena, where U2 are preparing to play a […]

LIVE: VILLAGERS – 19/10/2018

LIVE: BC CAMPLIGHT – 10/10/2018

-GORILLA, MANCHESTER- Half way through proceedings – a sweaty, sleazy gorgeous romp of a night – and Brian Christinzio takes off his lounge lizard jacket to reveal a T-shirt with the slogan ‘I’m in a weird place now’. You and me both, mate. You want to try standing here by the stage, as a geographically […]
-GORILLA, MANCHESTER- I’m immediately greeted with the haunting voice of Irena Zilic as I arrive at Manchester underground hot spot Gorilla. Bosnia and Herzegovina native Irena has a wonderful tone and fantastic stage presence, bouncing off her accompanying musician with ease as she opens up the night. It’s already quite busy when I arrive part […]

LIVE: MORCHEEBA / IRENA ZILIC – 08/10/2018

LIVE: JULIEN BAKER – 24/09/2018

-GORILLA, MANCHESTER- If anyone has been following my series of ‘shit, how good are all these incredible young female songwriters at the moment’ reviews, then you’ll know this is approx. entry number 49, with previous editions featuring the likes of Phoebe Bridgers, Soccer Mommy, Florist and Let’s Eat Grandma. There’s just such a magnificent wealth […]
-GORILLA, MANCHESTER- A crucial starting point to any gig, I’m off my tits on Spoons refill coffee. I’m heading to see the performance of my Twittersphere’s latest darling, Mitski. She’s little known to me bar a few enjoyable listens to her latest album, Be The Cowboy. I could be here for that name alone. I […]

LIVE: MITSKI / EERA – 19/09/2018

LIVE: ICEAGE – 09/09/2018

– Gorilla, Manchester – Let’s get this out of the way upfront: I have the biggest man crush on Iceage front man Elias Bender Rønnenfelt. He’s possibly the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen in real life, and his brooding, pouting, strong silent type stage persona (and off stage persona if his interviews are anything […]
-GORILLA, MANCHESTER- We’re in a bit of a golden era for young women making exceptional albums with, gasp, guitars rather than synths and a vocoder, like so many of their male peers. Artists like Snail Mail, Soccer Mommy, Julien Baker, Mitski, Lucy Dacus and tonight’s star turn Phoebe Bridgers are all making brilliant, emotional, funny, […]

LIVE: PHOEBE BRIDGERS – 19/08/2018

INTERVIEW – IDLES (Joe & Bowen)

The Idles boys were back in town, so we (Max & Simon) though it best to have a quick catch up with them, our last meeting was the December of 2016 ahead of their Night and Day Cafe show. Almost 18 months later we’re back stage at Gorilla before they entertain Manchester on a much […]
-GORILLA, MANCHESTER- The steam rising from the oversold and packed crowd gathered in Gorilla on this warm early Summer’s evening is testament to just how huge this band have become in a short space of time. Plus it’s also proof that no matter how much Manchester’s skyline changes with new developments, as the city expands, […]

LIVE: ROLLING BLACKOUTS COASTAL FEVER – 21/05/2018