LIVE: RADICAL FACE – 10/11/2013

– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – Radical Face is the pseudonym of musical act Ben Cooper, who hails from Jacksonville, Florida. I’d been listening to him since his 2007 release Ghost, which contains a song (‘Welcome Home, Son’) that most of you have undoubtedly heard while watching a Nikon advert either in the cinema or at […]
– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – There are three types of gigs: those you wish you hadn’t been to; those that are exactly the same as listening to the album in your front room; and those that blast away your expectations. Ghostpoet at Deaf Institute most definitely falls into the latter category. Speaking of categories, […]

LIVE: GHOSTPOET – 19/10/2013

LIVE: THE GROWLERS – 26/10/2013

– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER –  On a dark October evening as Manchester slides into winter, who wouldn’t want to take one last chance to reflect in a Californian sunbeam before it’s too late? There’s a storm warning on the radio, the clocks turn back tonight, and yet all that fills the Deaf Institute air […]
– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – Taking to the stage with a four-man band, who Bill branded as “the most under-rehearsed band on the planet” on his Twitter page just hours before the concert in an unashamed honest use of social media, with no view to ticket sales. This unashamed honesty was soon reflected in […]

LIVE: BILL RYDER-JONES – 22/10/2013

LIVE: LANTERNS ON THE LAKE – 15/10/2013

– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – My introduction to Lanterns On The Lake was a few weeks back, when I reviewed their latest album, Until The Colours Run. I thoroughly enjoyed the majority of the tracks and made a mental note to catch them when they play Manchester. So naturally, I was pretty stoked to […]
– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – Daniel Woolhouse aka Deptford Goth, is a downbeat kinda guy. Cut from the same cloth as Active Child, How To Dress Well and Perfume Genius, he makes what I’ve come to term as ‘mopey RnB’. And lord knows, I like me a bit of mopey RnB. I saw him […]

LIVE: DEPTFORD GOTH – 17/10/2013

LIVE: LIAM FROST – 4/10/2013

– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – OK, cards on the table… I am a Liam Frost fan.   A huge Liam Frost fan.  As huge as he once himself, was, when I saw him play at the opening of the 235 Casino…. Many moons, and many drained bank accounts past.  What he has lost in weight […]
– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – I am prepared for a No Age show. Or at least I think I am. I have heard about their ferocious live reputation, Dean Spunt and Randy Randall melting the eardrums of everyone in attendance with their incredibly loud drums /guitar combo, sending punters home covered in sweat and […]

LIVE: NO AGE – 10/10/2013

LIVE: SPACEHOG – 6/10/2013

– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER –  Many things were lost in the noise of Britpop and grunge – bands that otherwise would have stood out as special were overlooked in the search for the next Oasis, the next Nirvana. Spacehog are a band who straddled the Atlantic with a toe in each of these scenes, […]
– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – “Do you know who the support act are tonight?” “Radstewart.” “ROD STEWART?!” “No, Radstewart.” I can’t pretend I’m not slightly disappointed that the support act for tonight’s gig isn’t Rod Stewart. Sadly he’s headlining arenas in Glasgow for fifty quid this week, not playing the support slot at Manchester’s […]

LIVE: SKY LARKIN / BAD GRAMMAR – 30/09/2013