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ALT ACOUSTISCA TRIUMPHS
16 January 2003 / Tmesis / Manchester
:: Anna Kashfi :: The Beauty Shop :: Jessie Sykes and The Sweet Hereafter ::
In a small, dark Manchester cellar some of America’s (and the UK’s) finest purveyors of melancholic ‘alt-country’ are assembled - and good it is too

IS OLD HAT BETTER THAN NEW ?
31 January 2003 / The Roadhouse / Manchester
:: Everstrong :: Ruined :: L.Lucan :: The Above ::
L.Lucan's set was ironic in the sense that it was the most original sounding music on the night, and his younger contemporaries looking to catch the eye of record labels, certainly need to learn from people like him

REPEATING ECHO
20 January 2003 / Night & Day / Manchester
:: Echoboy ::
Echoboy have been able to hone their sound, smooth out the jagged edges in order to produce, insidious, hooky type pop tunes that lodge inside you brain

DIE DIE DIE
20 January 2003 / The Attic / Manchester
:: 10 Days :: (db showcase) ::
A band that combines Sabbath muscle with Fugazi’s dynamics and penchant for civil disobedience? Maybe. Just maybe

THE NEW DAVID SNEDDON
22 January 2003 / Life Cafe (now see Studio / Chicago Rock) / Manchester
:: Flynn :: Pollen :: Overtone :: The Strange Days ::
With the inevitable Unchained Melody cover still only a twinkle in the cash cow's eye, tonight it is raw talent that will win out

HAVE YOU REALISED ?
16 January 2003 / Academy 1 / Manchester
:: British Sea Power :: The Flaming Lips :: feat: badly drawn boy ::
Wayne Coyne took his troops is hand as they charged through a set of favourites that the more seasoned ‘Lips fans found only too magnetic

ECLECTRICITY JOLTS
09 January 2003 / Courtneys / Manchester
:: The Vanities ::
the band blister through a range of impressive electro pop anthems. “Space Tourist” uses a synth riff to hook the song and the vocals dabble in the Heaven 17 era

TUNING IN
16 January 2003 / The Witchwood, Ashton Under Lyne / Manchester
:: Fi-Lo Radio ::
The promise of brittle head chewing guitars and thumping three minute rock songs, that mix mashed up porch blues with Hope & Anchor punk rock, is just enough ear candy to make me crumble.

ELECTRICS BACK ON LINE
06 January 2003 / Barfly / Masque / Liverpool
:: Nylon Pylon ::
The first sign that this is Pylon 2003 was the Apple Mac perched on top of Danny’s stack of electronics, we've never seen that on stage before...

THE FLAMES ALTO MY YEN
09 January 2003 / Retro Bar / Manchester
:: Les Flames! :: Palo Alto :: The Sonar Yen ::
The guitars are just fat, massive, screeching chords. The vocals are shouty shouty, in your face, scared of nothing. It sounds like a racket at the top of the stairs and sounds fantastic at the front of the stage

CORNFLAKES ALL ROUND
13 January 2003 / Apollo / Manchester
:: Tori Amos ::
it was apparent something special was about to happen - a packed house waited as an air of anticipation swept the audience as the lights dimmed, the curtain dropped and there centre stage was the trademark Bosendorfer grand piano...