LIVE: PAUL DRAPER – 01/03/2018

-THE RITZ, MANCHESTER- I wasn’t sure I’d ever see this to be honest. Paul Draper, former lead singer of britpop heroes Mansun, on stage, not only armed with some solo material but also ready to deploy the entirety of Mansun’s debut album Attack of the Grey Lantern (AOTGL) for the first time after a it […]
-THE RITZ, MANCHESTER- Jane Weaver’s new album, Modern Kosmology, is an absolute belter, high up on album of the year list good – I personally think it’s a step up from her Piccadilly Records album of 2014 The Silver Globe. The first thing I heard from it was the sublime ‘Slow Motion’ when I was presenting […]

LIVE: JANE WEAVER – 30/11/2017

LIVE: THE DIVINE COMEDY – 28/11/2017

-RITZ, MANCHESTER- Northern Ireland’s The Divine Comedy have to come to be affectionately known as an orchestral pop band. Formed in 1989 and fronted by the ever enigmatic Neil Hannon, the band has seen an ever evolving line up with constant changes in personnel. Having an impressive 11 studio albums under their name, they arguably […]
-THE RITZ, MANCHESTER- The Lemon Twigs couldn’t care less about what you think is cool. The objectionably young brothers Michael and Brian D’Addario have evidently been force fed the uber-melodic AOR 70s rock of ELO, Supertramp, Todd Rundgren and Wings since the dawn of their ability to absorb sound, and have been churning it over […]

LIVE: THE LEMON TWIGS – 10/11/2017

LIVE: MOUNT KIMBIE – 28/10/2017

-THE RITZ, MANCHESTER- Electronic duo Dominic Maker and Kai Campos have been making music as Mount Kimbie since 2008, formed out of the awfully named ‘post-dubstep’ movement that also saw the rise of one James Blake, who went on to be quite the big deal himself. Their debut Crooks and Lovers was an instant classic, their […]
18 months since they made their London debut, with a headline show at The Lexington, Cigarettes After Sex are set to return. CIGARETTES AFTER SEX NOVEMBER 2017 TOUR DATES Sun 12 – Nottingham – Rock City Mon 13 – Leeds – Stylus Tue 14 – Glasgow – QMU Thur 16 – Belfast – Limelight Sun  19 – […]

CIGARETTES AFTER SEX UK TOUR TO START NEXT MONTH WITH MANCHESTER RITZ SHOW

LIVE: LOYLE CARNER – 12/10/2017

-THE RITZ, MANCHESTER- It’s commonplace for fans to attend concerts dressed like their hero onstage – we’ve all done it – and the plethora of vintage football shirts in honour of South London rapper Loyle Carner is a pleasing sight. His recent guestlist-for-retro-footy-tops (international, size L) offer has made the press recently, as has his […]
-THE RITZ, MANCHESTER- Walking into any building to see Ultimate Painting tuning up, and knowing you’ve got five hours of great music ahead of you, is enough to get even the most dour Mancunian hack excited, and that was what we were in for on Saturday Night. Strange Waves II, a festival hosted at The […]

LIVE: STRANGE WAVES II (PARQUET COURTS, OMNI, BEACH FOSSILS, DEAD PRETTIES, ROLLING BLACKOUTS COASTAL FEVER, ULTIMATE PAINTING) – 02/09/2017

LIVE: FRANK TURNER / FELIX HAGAN & THE FAMILY / OUR FOLD – 24/08/2017

-THE RITZ, MANCHESTER- Scrolling through tweets when I get home from the bang that was the Big Issue North Street Noise, I find a post that sums it up perfectly. The body of the tweet said something like “Yeah a quiet acoustic Frank Turner gig, that’ll be nice and chill.” Embedded in the post, a […]
– THE RITZ, MANCHESTER – Before I talk about Manchester’s new favourite sons and their Cabbage Patch Kids, I want to briefly mention how good The Blinders and Strange Bones were as support acts tonight. It’s not easy supporting one of the most exciting live bands in the UK but both clearly knew what the […]

LIVE: CABBAGE – 01/07/2017