THE XFM New Music Award – 08/02/2012

– THE RITZ, MANCHESTER – There’s been a flurry of excitement around Ren Harvieu on the radio. Touted as the Salford lass with the big voice, she’s getting plenty of attention with her new single ‘Through the Night.’ We get into The Ritz at 8, and as I’m trying to get 2 pints poured our […]
– THE RITZ, MANCHESTER – Yes it’s cold, yes it’s snowing and yes, you could be easily convinced to stay in. Or so you’d say on other nights. Personally, I’ve been looking forward to witnessing the guys that are on tonight for quite some time now. Having grown out of their, now notorious, Monday Murkage […]

LIVE: MURKAGE – 04/02/2012

LIVE: NEW MODEL ARMY – 15/12/2011

– THE RITZ, MANCHESTER – I like gigs at the Ritz in Manchester. They’re more like events, the ones you should have been at. They are the ones your mates talk about in the pub while you look glumly into your beer. It must be something to do with the history of the place. It’s […]
– THE RITZ, MANCHESTER – So here I am at the Manchester Ritz and while I’m not a die hard fan, I’ll confess right now to have a bit of a liking for The Drums and so as it turns out, there were a number of surprises in store. It hit me immediately how much […]

LIVE: THE DRUMS – 10/12/2011

LIVE: THURSTON MOORE – 30/11/2011

– THE RITZ, MANCHESTER – First thing’s thirst.  How much? Four-twenty for a bleedin’ pint?  The Ritz has come a long way (it thinks) from its sticky floors and pound-a-pint student days.  Now that HMV has got its grubby paws on the place. Perhaps the stricken, shrinking giant is making its last desperate grasp for […]
– HMV RITZ, MANCHESTER – With night organisers Hit & Run proclaiming that they refuse to be “pigeon-holed and categorised”, tonight’s headliners Submotion Orchestra offer a diverse enough spectrum of influences to uphold their ethos. The Monday ‘Quality Bass Music’ night, now in it’s 5th year, has moved on from it’s Mint Lounge residency to spend […]

LIVE: SUBMOTION ORCHESTRA – 03/10/2011

LIVE: DAN LE SAC Vs SCROOBIUS PIP – 06/09/2011

– THE RITZ, MANCHESTER – Ooh blimey, I’m not sure which stings the most, the fumes of fresh paint in my eyes, or the £4.20 I’ve just handed over for a pint. But tonight one of these two things is very out of the ordinary, and it’s not being charged London bar prices in a […]
– THE RITZ BALLROOM, MANCHESTER – It’s Thursday night. It’s November and it’s The Ritz. Technicians potter about on the stage. Pow! They’re not techies – its the band with attention grabbing start! It’s a welcome sucker punch, and they slide effortlessly into the first number before we can recover. Looks like its going to […]

LIVE: WHITE BELT YELLOW TAG – 12/11/2009

LIVE: AIRBORNE TOXIC EVENT – 12/11/2009

– THE RITZ BALLROOM, MANCHESTER – No, not a euphemism for a trouser trump, the name of this band actually refers to a section of the novel White Noise by Don DeLillo. And as such, it underpins the literary intent of the band, and specifically singer Mikel Jollett, himself a writer who was in the […]