LIVE: MANIC STREET PREACHERS – 28/04/2018

-MANCHESTER ARENA- Manic Street Preachers are a band of mythologies. They were born as hard-line punks, so devoted to their ideology that their original bassist Flicker left because he felt the band were betraying their roots. That was in 1988. At times tonight, some three decades later, the Manics look and sound every bit a […]
-NIGHT PEOPLE, MANCHESTER- There is a nice little three band line up on at Manchester’s Night People for a Monday night, courtesy of Manchester Rocks. Boltonians The Papashangos open with an enthusiastic performance with props including customised money and ponchos that goes on just a little too long, but the limited audience seem to enjoy […]

LIVE: BLACK DOLDRUMS / THE DEE VEES / THE PAPASHANGOS – 23/04/2018

LIVE: RECORD STORE DAY LIVE – VULGARIANS / MUTABASE / STRANGE FRIENDS – 21/04/2018

-SOUP KITCHEN, MANCHESTER- Record Store Day is a time for people to get together to celebrate their love of records, all the while supporting their local music stores. The Northern Quarter in Manchester is the hub where all the action takes place. As soon as I step off the bus in Shudehill I am met […]
-GORILLA, MANCHESTER- It’s three days since I was last in exactly the same place, and four since I conked my head on, of all places, the floor. On my way in the bouncer also knocks his head, on the less ridiculous place of the brick arch he is standing under at the entrance to Gorilla. […]

LIVE: HINDS – 17/04/2018

LIVE: THE ORIELLES – 14/04/2018

-GORILLA, MANCHESTER- Disclaimer: yesterday I hit myself on the head embarrassingly forcefully. With that mild concussion in mind, I’ll be keeping this brief. The album sleeve for The Orielles’ Silver Dollar Moment is smears and dabs of bright colours. For myself, and maybe others, the record came along without warning. From nowhere, the chimes of […]
-GORILLA, MANCHESTER- Idles have not been an easy band to see in Manchester since they caught fire at the tail end of 2016. Their only appearance last year was at the Neighbourhood Festival in October, their Spring tour curiously skipping Cottonopolis. It all means that the anticipation tonight at Gorilla as they take the stage […]

LIVE: IDLES – 18/04/2018

LIVE: FLORIST – 16/04/2018

-THE CASTLE HOTEL, MANCHESTER- The Castle’s small side room and Brooklyn band Florist are the perfect match. The music Emily Sprague and Jonnie Baker make is quiet, beautiful and intimate, and with the exception of the squeaky door (guys, get some WD-40 on it!), the room in the Castle has similar qualities. Tonight it’s packed, […]
-NIGHT & DAY CAFE, MANCHESTER- The stage is rather full tonight for a support act consisting of only one man. An array of crazy devices and fascinating instruments litter the stage. Wires are entwined through a complex range of synth modules, hi-hats have what appear to be goblets stuck to their upper halves and an […]

LIVE: SNAPPED ANKLES / PADDY STEER – 10/04/2018

LIVE: FRANK TURNER & THE SLEEPING SOULS / ARKELLS / THE HOMELESS GOSPEL CHOIR – 13/04/2018

-ACADEMY, MANCHESTER- Frank will always be one of my favourites so heading down to Manchester Academy on Friday night it feels like I’m coming home, and I bounce in to the delightful sounds of The Homeless Gospel Choir, much to my ear’s delight. The ironic satire of Derek Zanetti is reminiscent of early Tenacious D, […]
-DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER- Aaron Maine’s Porches project has been one of my favourite acts of the last few tears. When his album Pool came out in 2016 I was in Miami alone and spent the balmy evenings wandering the neon streets listening to his brand of downbeat, sad-boy synth pop, songs like ‘Be Apart’ and […]

LIVE: PORCHES – 13/04/2018