LIVE: THE ORIELLES – 05/03/2020

– The Ritz, Manchester – This is being billed as a homecoming gig of sorts for The Orielles. By ‘homecoming’, I think people mean ‘big gig up north’, as the band hail from Halifax on the wrong side of the Pennines to Manchester, but we’ll let that slide; the excitement amongst a near to sellout […]
-THE RITZ, MANCHESTER- Playing their self-titled debut album in its entirety, The Futureheads have filled out the Ritz with an eager crowd of all ages. With an album that is as quick and snappy in length as the guitar riffs that fill it, it is a concern whether they will fill the evening. But, with […]

LIVE: THE FUTUREHEADS – 15/12/2019

LIVE: THE CHATS – 10/12/2019

-THE RITZ, MANCHESTER- (Insert: Opening statement about how, like everybody else, I discovered them through a certain viral hit that appeals to anyone with a sense of humour regarding inhaled narcotics.) The obvious appeal with this particular 3-piece is the straight forward, 3-chord mimicry of classic punk which is tied in with their Australian background […]
-RITZ, MANCHESTER- Dear Reader, this is going to be one of those reviews where I say how great someone has been before declaring ‘I don’t understand why they’re not a massive pop star’, because that is exactly, one hundred percent what I have witnessed tonight. Shura (real name Alexandra Lilah Denton), has electro-pop bangerz and […]

LIVE: SHURA – 18/11/2019

LIVE: DEERHUNTER – 06/11/2019

-RITZ, MANCHESTER- Walking into the Ritz on this bitterly cold Wednesday night, I could not help but feel a rather morbid atmosphere, no one looked like they had paid twenty-five pounds a ticket to be stood there. The weird yet at points interesting collaboration between front man Bradford Cox and support act Cate le Bon, […]
-VARIOUS VENUES, MANCHESTER- As the title shows, the event primarily caters towards a genre half a century in age, although that didn’t stop the promoters from cherry picking enough non-psych bands to give off the impression it was a name only title. I mean understandably you need a healthy balance of differing styles and realistically […]

LIVE: MANCHESTER PSYCH FEST 2019

MANCHESTER PSYCH FEST RETURNS THIS WEEKEND

With both local and external talent alike forming the nucleus of this year’s line-up, Manchester’s annual commemoration of all that is paisley has once again returned to the forefront. The seventh annual edition of Manchester Psych Fest takes place across five stages in three great Manchester venues on Friday 30 August. Alongside an eclectic mix […]
-THE RITZ, MANCHESTER- With a title as pompous as displayed above, flattering claims about the performers and MIF’s growing international esteem enticed me enough to think I could actually withstand 6 hours of standing (I did). Largely ignoring the initial DJ set by the event curator, I start to take notice when the first live […]

LIVE: QUEENS OF THE ELECTRONIC UNDERGROUND – 20/07/2019

LIVE: MEMBRANES ALL-DAYER – 08/06/2019

-THE RITZ, MANCHESTER- Support Acts Taking the opportunity to cover an all-dayer is a measure designed to challenge both myself as a journalist and the battery life of my ageing iPhone; to my horror I am to discover that the real challenge is not showing solidarity with my departing friends and staying behind to cover […]
-THE RITZ, MANCHESTER- Big Thief can’t quite believe how they ended up here. “This is our first tour on a bus!” exclaims band leader Adrianne Lenker, thrilled by the prospect of actually being able to sleep between city stops. Before the last couple of songs this evening they pause to thank the 17 people who […]

LIVE: BIG THIEF – 22/05/2019