LIVE: ANE BRUN – 08/11/2011

– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – Norwegian folkstress Ane Brun is back in the UK to show-off her new album It all Starts With One. This is her forth studio-release, which has reached the top spot across Scandinavia, hooking up with the likes of Joe Gonzalez, Ron Sexsmith and Peter Gabriel on the way. Yeah, […]
– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – Manchester is Cashier No.9‘s second port of call on their 13 stop tour of the UK. The Belfast band have received rave reviews for their debut album ‘To The Death of Fun’, from myself included (link), and it’s always a pleasure to see a band who’s on the verge […]

LIVE: CASHIER NO.9 – 09/11/2011

LIVE: TWIN SISTER – 07/11/2011

– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – It seems I’ll be spending half of November at The Deaf Institute, their gig list for this month is right up my street and hopefully, by December, the bar staff will all come to know what I drink. Wot God Forgot have brought together the 3 performers tonight, all […]
– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – Oklahoma five piece Other Lives have arrived in Manchester once more in what frontman Jesse Tabish describes as ‘one of his favourite places to play’. Promoters Now Wave and Hey Manchester have worked together on this one, spoiling the close to capacity crowd with the bonus of an extended support […]

LIVE: OTHER LIVES & YOUNG GALAXY – 30/10/2011

LIVE: GHOSTPOET – 09/10/2011

– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – Receiving a Mercury Music Prize nomination is one of the biggest and ultimate accolades a UK act can receive. Coventry-born Ghostpoet bestowed the respected roll of honour this year, for his debut album Peanut Butter Blues & Melancholy Jam. Even before the nominees were announced, GP was named as […]
– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – “You’re cool!” This adoring yelp erupts mid-crowd of this packed room of the Deaf Institute. Johnny Marr carries on tuning up, having not even plucked note 1 of tonight’s set.  Then he looks up and whispers into the mic: “I know.” And you know what – he is.  He […]

LIVE: JOHNNY MARR & THE HEALERS – 04/10/2011

LIVE: BETH JEANS HOUGHTON/STEALING SHEEP – 01/10/2011

– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – On a typical early autumn evening (28 degrees, hello?) I wait for my sister outside Sand Bar enjoying a cold pint, almost dreading the prospect of a static folk gig in a warm, crowded club. I know little about Stealing Sheep and Beth Jean Houghton so that is the […]
– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – The musical landscape created by Connan Mockasin is full of childlike innocence and a sense of wide-eyed wonder. It’s a world inhabited by Unicorns, Dolphins and Snats (a snake/rat hybrid in case you were wondering) all pitched against a backdrop of perfectly constructed, off kilter psychedelic pop. You would […]

LIVE: CONNAN MOCKASIN – 26/09/2011

Sparrow and The Workshop

LIVE: SPARROW AND THE WORKSHOP – 18/09/11

– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – I saw Sparrow and The Workshop at The Roadhouse back in May. My enthusiastic review concluded with me wrongly predicting that their return to the city would be greeted by a much larger audience. Unfortunately, the majority of the crowd tonight is comprised of the support bands and staff. The […]
– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – Now Wave have built a great reputation in Manchester, their events always appear to provide large crowds and great support acts to supplement their exciting, current and fresh headliners. Tonight is no exception, I’ve regrettably been unable to leave the house earlier due to too much Sunday roast and […]

LIVE: WILD NOTHING – 21/08/2011