LIVE: BO NINGEN – 12/05/2014

– DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – I’m late getting to the venue tonight – yet another title winners celebration in central Manchester – and only catch the end of the opening set by The Scenes.  First impressions are, there are a lot of them: A six piece crammed on the stage, leaving little room for manoeuvre for […]
– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – Backstage at The Deaf Institute, The Twilight Sad frontman James Graham leads me to a tiny room containing three bunk beds and room for nothing else. “It is like when you were wee and your pal came to play PlayStation” he says with a smile. Hailing from Glasgow, The […]

INTERVIEW & REVIEW: THE TWILIGHT SAD – 02/05/2014

RECORD STORE (SHOP) DAY: WHAT’S ON WHERE

Here’s a bit of a low-down on some of this Saturday’s RSD action in Manchester. INSTORE AT PICCADILLY RECORDS DJ sets: 12pm-1pm: Ben Ward (Sways Records) 1pm-2pm: Eccentronic Research Council ft. Maxine Peake 2pm-3pm: Nev Cottee 3pm-4pm: The Emperor Machine 4pm-5pm: Smoke Fairies Exclusive live performance: 5.30pm-6.00pm: Smoke Fairies COMMON AND PICCADILLY RECORDS PRESENTS THE 3RD ANNUAL […]
With bands and record stores around the country revving up to celebrate what is already the seventh Record Store Day in the UK, venues around Manchester are getting set to provide the platform for festivities all around the city. As such, The Deaf Institute has announced its annual Record Store Day Party lineup. For this […]

NEWS: DEAF INSTITUTE ANNOUNCES RECORD STORE DAY PARTY

LIVE: THE NOTWIST – 15/03/2014

– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – “Ve Are Notvist” are the first words from lead singer Markus Acher, who sports glasses along with a host of other members from the German veteran band. Expectations are diverse tonight , varying from those expecting skull-crashing drums often associated with German bands, to those expecting the glacial calm […]
– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – Phew! It’s warm in The Deaf Institute again tonight. What’s the deal with that? I was here last week for a gig and was actually quite pleased when a lad carrying a couple of beers overhead through the crowd accidentally tipped half of one down my back. Never has […]

LIVE: JOHN MURRY – 26/02/2014

LIVE: KESTON COBBLERS’ CLUB – 10/02/2014

– DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER –  Coming out onto stage to open with ‘For, Words’ tonights headliners Keston Cobblers’ Club have attracted a crowd with a good mix of ages, though since this is the Deaf Institute the lower limit is of course 18. The opening song gets the performance off to a good start and […]
– DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – I’ve been listening to Fanfarlo since their debut album in 2009, so this gig has definitely been a long time coming. The indie/alternative electro-pop band are based in London and was formed by Swedish musician, Simon Balthazar. Throughout the years, Fanfarlo has racked up an impressive discography of three studio […]

LIVE: FANFARLO – 09/02/2014

LIVE: FOREST SWORDS – 08/02/2014

– DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – It is typically busy upstairs at The Deaf Institute and with good reason; Forest Swords, aka Matthew Barnes, is in town for a rare headline show. Fresh from supporting Mogwai in Europe, there is a sense of anticipation in the room long before a note is played.  Fortunately, punters don’t […]
– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – I rarely ever mention support acts in a review, but only one man has led me to break that mould – Frank Fairfield. With a barely comprehensible Southern American accent, baggy trousers and a belt buckle which would take Alex Turner’s belt buckle efforts to town, he sits on […]

LIVE: CASS MCCOMBS – 10/01/2014