LIVE: THE INVISIBLE – 26/09/2016

– SOUP KITCHEN, MANCHESTER – The Manchester rain is unrelenting this Monday evening. It’s as if nature has given us an unusually long summer in order to reserve all its rain for the time new students move to the city, giving them a true taste of what they’re in for. In most cities, this would […]
– CAMP AND FURNACE, LIVERPOOL –  It’s 3pm on a schoolday and the walls are cracking, the ground is fracturing, and my brain is thudding against my skull – it must be the fifth edition of the Liverpool International Festival of Psychedelia. Over 100 bands are assembling over two days across four stages in the […]

LIVE: LIVERPOOL PSYCH FEST – 23+24/09/2016

LIVE: GUADALUPE PLATA – 15/09/2016

– THE CASTLE HOTEL, MANCHESTER – I’m surrounded by lots of exceptionally tall men. A mix of the Irish. And a spattering of Spanish. I wonder if the Spanish and Irish have a general population filled with extremely tall people. It’s making it extremely difficult to see, anything. I couldn’t particularly tell you then exactly […]
THE ULTIMATE MIDDLECLASS FUCKFEST Arriving on a gloomy Friday morning in the land of dragons, sheep and people who hiss, Festival No. 6 instantly comes across as the sort of festival I shouldn’t be at. The quirky signs welcome you in as the weight of 20 cans teases a crippling crush on my struggling wrists, […]

LIVE: FESTIVAL NO. 6

LIVE: DANNY AND THE CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD – 06/09/2016

– GULLIVERS, MANCHESTER – “I love camaraderie” asserts Danny George Wilson. Attending a live show with his fantastic band (The Champions of the World, no need to be humble at this point) is enough to prove his point. The always warm and cosy venue at Northern Quarter’s Gullivers is quite packed, mostly with a nice […]
– ACADEMY, MANCHESTER – Ska is sadly mourning when Toots & The Maytals arrive at Manchester’s Academy. Prince Buster has just died and a vivid legend is born. What a better way to pay tribute than with a superb performance by ‘Toots’ and Co.? This is a special show for another reason too: it’s the […]

LIVE: TOOTS AND THE MAYTALS – 10/09/2016

LIVE: STRANGE WAVES PRESENTS KING GIZZARD AND THE LIZARD WIZARD – 09/09/2016

– THE RITZ, MANCHESTER – It seems like barely a day goes by without us at Silent Radio extolling the virtues of the Psych revival. This is not by design; Manchester and seemingly everywhere else is aboard a kaleidoscopic juggernaut unable and unwilling to stop it. Both floors of The Ritz are in use for […]
– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – New York’s Sunflower Bean became one of the hottest tip bands after their release of their debut album earlier this year. A potent mix of attitude and great songs, it made for a listen that harked back to days long gone yet still managed to look forward with an […]

LIVE: SUNFLOWER BEAN – 10/09/2016

LIVE: KLAUS JOHANN GROBE – 07/09/2016

– THE CASTLE HOTEL, MANCHESTER – I’ve never looked at someone and thought ‘definite Klaus Johann Grobe’ fan but tonight I’m surrounded by people eulogising about their supposedly intense live show. A band from Switzerland with a German name, nothing really makes sense about this band as Kraftwerk sounds merge with disco and straight out […]
– GULLIVERS, MANCHESTER – The band lay bare their emotions and feelings right from the very start tonight.  Entering the stage they begin with their pre-show pep talk with the crowd as witness, hugging in a circle, laughing, warming up and getting in the mood.  I have never seen this before, usually done out of […]

LIVE: LISTENER – 30/08/2016