Live Review
Live: Bearded Theory Festival 21-24.5.15
Catton Park, South Derbyshire, last time I was here I spent 24 hours sweating and panting my way around the park on a mountain bike, supposedly for fun. This time we are here for the Bearded Theory Festival and I was swapping the energy drinks, pasta and anti-chaffing cream, for good beer and great music, …
Live: Fearless Vampire Killers + support, Sound Control, Manchester, 12.05.2015
In the basement of Manchester’s Sound Control tonight are four bands- two of which are looking satisfyingly macabre, all four of which are providing an undeniably great soundtrack of alternative rock and metal to this chilly Tuesday eve. Off to a ground-shaking start are local band, the Dead XIII- who literally look like they just …
Live Review: Django Django at Plug, Sheffield, 14th May 2015
Django Django are the kind of band who have been vaguely just outside my radar for the last few years but seem to be compared to every band I really enjoy at the moment. I always assumed they were newcomers to the scene but was surprised to find they’d formed back in 2009 at Edinburgh …
LIVE: Lisbon Psych Fest ’15 Highlights
First night at Lisbon Psych Fest one could already get a unique vibe from the people attending the shows. Colorful, peaceful and fun-loving, letting the driven guitar grooves and uplifting drums soak in, amazed at how could such a unique atmosphere be created in this city center theater. Highlights of the night were PAUW and …
Live Review: Calexico – Albert Hall, Manchester – 30th April 2015
Calexico made a welcome return to the UK after a couple of years’ absence in support of their brilliant new album – Edge of The Sun – and we were there to see them at Manchester’s Albert Hall. This was only one of three British gigs for Calexico so the venue was packed to the gills with people of …
Live Review: Smoke Fairies – Hebden Bridge Trades Club, 26.4.15
After their second album got mixed reviews Smoke Fairies had a crisis of confidence questioning whether they should go on but this confident show made you glad they did. One of the reasons the critics turned on them was they lurched from a faintly twee folk duo to a full blown rock band almost overnight. …
Gallery: The Orielles – Rocking Chair, Sheffield 29.04.2015
Surf-pop trio The Orielles came to Sheffield this week, along with a bunch of other weird bands, to continue their brief headline tour across the UK’s northern cities. Long Limbs were up first, making me laugh more than I thought I would. They’re a fun band, and the fact that lead singer Peter forgot how the penultimate …
Live Review: The Gluts & White Hills – Bloom, Mezzago (Milano) 25.04.15
Ever since I had first clapped ears on The Gluts‘ debut LP ‘Warsaw’, I had been longing for the opportunity to see them play live. There was the small matter of their being based in Milan, which is only 1475km from Belfast as the crow flies… No matter, when the opportunity for The Gluts to open for White …
Live Review: Nai Harvest / Best Friends / Pins – The Harley, Sheffield 24.04.2015
Friday night in Sheffield saw one of the most explosive, and certainly most popular, gigs The Harley has ever seen. First up were Pins, a female four-piece to be reckoned with. Faith Holgate’s haunting, eerie voice is akin to Siouxsie Sioux, and the Manchester group stirred up the crowd for the two homegrown groups to come. …
Live Review: Hands Off Gretel – Mine, Leeds 23.04.2015
Fast rising grunge band Hands Off Gretel are in Leeds tonight to play Move, Leeds traffic being what it is I arrive slightly late walking in during their song Be Mine. What is immediately apparent is how they sound exactly the same live as they do on record with Lauren Tate’s fierce vocal like razor …