Bringing you all the Live Reviews that matter since 1998

NEW YEARS REVOLUTION
28 December 2006 / The Castle / Oldham
:: Danny Mahon :: The Amber Club :: Juno Ashes ::
...a splendid tune that seems to somehow transplant the soul of Bruce Springstein into East Manchester

DAMAGED GOODS
28 December 2006 / Star and Garter / Manchester
:: Fucked Up :: The Great St Louis :: Self Destruct ::
A whole lot more than brute force and the odd shock tactic

A (SKINNY) DOG'S FOR LIFE...
20 December 2006 / Academy 3 / Manchester
:: Cranebuilders :: I Am Kloot :: Indigo Jones :: Peter & The Wolf :: Guy Garvey ::
Clearly the old saying's right, and a (Skinny) Dog's for life not just for Christmas. (Sorry...)

FAR FROM HIGH AND DRY
17 December 2006 / Retro Bar / Manchester
:: Foy Vance ::
A larger than life-size Jack Daniels picture hangs over the flat-cap wearing Irishman Foy Vance

SNAKE CHARMER
14 December 2006 / Star and Garter / Manchester
:: Kling Klang :: The Drebin :: Stranger Son ::
"Cosmic Scousers!" shouts one punter

OUT OF ALBION
12 December 2006 / Academy 1 / Manchester
:: Babyshambles :: Johnny Bramwell ::
The terms waste and the derivation of it, are never far from descriptions of the Babyshambles’ centrepiece

ANIMAL MAGIC
13 December 2006 / Academy 3 / Manchester
:: The Melvins ::
Melvins turn up with perhaps one of the bands mightiest line ups.

BLACK SUNDAY AT SATANS HOLLOW
10 December 2006 / Satan's Hollow / Manchester
:: The Horrors :: Zombina & The Skeletones :: The Guillotines ::
Somewhere across the stage a Cure circa 1988 bird's-nest appears, its owner Joshua Von Grimm and his guitar emitting a searing wail

SEASIDE SMILES
09 December 2006 / The Empress Ballroom / Blackpool
:: The Longcut :: The Charlatans :: The Twang ::
Two hours later as a train pulls back into Piccadilly, everyone getting off is still smiling.

THAT'S THE L'ATTITUDE
08 December 2006 / The Globe / Glossop
:: Gillan Edgar :: Crash My Model Car :: King Kayak ::
If you're making the trip out from Manchester it's well worth making a night of it and having your tea there...

WRESTLEMANIA
07 December 2006 / 235LIVE / Manchester
:: Rambo And Leroy :: The Tides :: DC10 ::
A zeal that that almost demands that they should fly off the ropes as they slam down hard on your head with their brand of Mucha Lucha Metal...

STREET FIGHTING MAN
07 December 2006 / Night & Day / Manchester
:: Jesse Malin ::
Rambunctious and utterly convincing street anthems....a series of livewire, fist-pumping "pep talks"....some other stuff probably happened too....you can only take so many notes.

SOME ENCHANTED EVENING
05 December 2006 / Night & Day / Manchester
:: Damien Jurado :: George Thomas & The Owls :: J Tillman ::
Fragile portraits of human life played delicately and with incredible guitar dexterity

POPCULT'S HOPE FOR THE STATE
04 December 2006 / Star and Garter / Manchester
:: Blocks :: Tim And Sam's Tim And The Sam Band With Tim And Sam :: Troubles ::
This is something of a coup for PopCult, who bring most or even all of the former members here tonight of the former HOTS

GOOD WHITE EVERYBODY
02 December 2006 / Czech Bar / Manchester
:: Robin Nature-Bold & Band(ism) ::
White top hats, white gloves and white tails make Band(ism)look like refugees from a Daz advert..>>

CHANGING THE LAY OF THE LAND
02 December 2006 / Academy 1 / Manchester
:: Levellers :: 3 Daft Monkeys ::
The industry sorely needs a return of the musical potency that the Levellers surely still possess?

CHAPTER AND VERSE
01 December 2006 / Night & Day / Manchester
:: GoodBooks :: My Architects :: The Ending Of . . . ::
A short, nimble, eminently likeable set topped off with oodles of naive charm.

CALLING ACROSS THE YEARS
01 December 2006 / Academy 1 / Manchester
:: Buzzcocks ::
A set that features more classics than most bands could only dream of