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WHIPPING UP A FRENZY
29 February 2012 / Club Academy (Academy 4) / Manchester
:: The Whip ::
Always one of those bands that feeds off crowd enthusiasm there's plenty of fuel for the trio tonight.

VISIONS OF SUNSHINE
24 February 2012 / Ruby Lounge / Manchester
:: Superhero Eugene & the Orange Juice Sunshine Band :: I See Angels :: Jon Kenzie :: ( Kraak & Ruby Lounge) ::
The spring blossoms seem to mirror the flourishing number of gigs that crop up after the January lull

NO DEADLINES
27 February 2012 / Sound Control / Manchester
:: War On Drugs ::
You’re a bit rowdy for a Monday...but you’re all looking beautiful...

MANCHESTER'S GREATEST UNDERACHIEVERS
24 February 2012 / The Roadhouse / Manchester
:: The Longcut :: Victories At Sea ::
As we enter another year awaiting new material from a band that have been a major source of inspiration for the current local music scene, the prospect of witnessing them head out of hibernation makes tonight a must-see event.

SOMETHING GOES RIGHT
23 February 2012 / The Ritz / Manchester
:: SBTRKT ::
Booked into Islington Mill, sold out, upgraded to the Ritz and sold out again: proof that even in a crowded and often derivative genre, true class will be noted and acknowledged.

GLASGOW STROKE CAPITAL
23 February 2012 / Gullivers / Manchester
:: Post :: Death To The Strange ::
Stroke Club welcomes some spectacularly good visitors from Scotland

BETA THIS!
18 February 2012 / The Castle (Oldham St) / Manchester
:: Citizens! :: The Lottery Winners ::
This collective seem to have plundered the seventies' and eighties' musical styles, with the drummer displaying a Ron Mael pencil tache and the main singer adopting a dramatic delivery performance in the manner of Tony Hadley...

SUNSHINE AND SURF... IN FEBRUARY
19 February 2012 / Ruby Lounge / Manchester
:: Grouplove :: Two Wounded Birds ::
Rockabilly surf punk kids or happy clappy hippies - which is best? There's only one way to find out... by spending Sunday night in Ruby lounge, obviously. Why, what were you expecting us to put there?

GHOST IN THE HOUSE
18 February 2012 / Sound Control / Manchester
:: Ghostpoet :: ∆ (alt-J) :: Lulu James ::
Two decades after trip-hop redefined the sound of the British urban landscape, its 21st century echoes are present throughout tonight's bill - three very different acts all pushing boundaries in their own ways.

WE'RE NOT SUM 41
15 February 2012 / Academy 1 / Manchester
:: New Found Glory :: The Blackout :: Letlive :: While She Sleeps ::
Injured bands, boos and big noises from the raucous Kerrang tour ...

NME MINE
10 February 2012 / Academy 1 / Manchester
:: Metronomy :: Two Door Cinema Club :: Tribes ::
With a curated list of happening bands, it’s difficult to disengage from the excitable, happy atmosphere in the room

MONKEY MAGIC
17 February 2012 / TV21 (Northern Quarter) / Manchester
:: Monkeys In Love :: Shirokuma :: David Gaffney featuring Sarah Clare Conlon ::
....yes, it's a big kitten face with glowstick whiskers! Two hours ago this would have definitely been a "what the fuck?" moment, and now it just seems to make perfect sense....

GOT THE VAUDEVILLE BIG BAND JAZZ STEAMPUNK BLUES...
13 February 2012 / Band On The Wall / Manchester
:: Louis Barabbas And The Bedlam Six :: Blind Atlas :: Alabaster DePlume ::
There is a parallel Manchester superimposed on the one we know, or underneath it, inhabited by fantastic characters with names like Louis Barabbas and Alabaster DePlume, ringmaster and warm-up man for this fine evening

NEW PAINTINGS
11 February 2012 / The Roadhouse / Manchester
:: Daniel Land And The Modern Painters :: Mozart Parties ::
Despite their undoubted class on record, there’s a lot to be said for the live setting being the ideal place to see Daniel Land and the Modern Painters. And tonight is glorious in every single respect.

TWILIGHT'S BREAKING DAWN
10 February 2012 / Ruby Lounge / Manchester
:: The Twilight Sad ::
The Twilight Sad can write their own rules now...nothing need necessarily limit them apart from their own wills and wishes...

THE SOUND OF NOW
08 February 2012 / Islington Mill / Salford
:: Patterns :: Niki & The Dove ::
Within the space of their first track they've covered bases from dark 21st century post-trip-hop to weird cut-up Europop, spooky oddness with a distorter mic and dance music you can't really dance to...

MURDER ON THE DANCEFLOOR
03 February 2012 / The Ritz / Manchester
:: The Janice Graham Band :: The Sundowners ::
The timing is right for the Janice Graham Band and tonight is a celebration of how far they have come in such a short space of time

HMV HOST XFM - MORE NEXT BIG THINGS HIT MCR
08 February 2012 / The Ritz / Manchester
:: [All the Young] :: Willy Moon :: Ren Harvieu :: Spector :: Dry The River ::
Whilst the annual XFM awards tour still seizes the same popularity, its partnering with HMV's Next Big Thing is providing a new and even better rising platform for bands...

BIG GIRL'S BLOUSE
06 February 2012 / The Castle (Oldham St) / Manchester
:: Blouse :: Golden Glow :: Gnarwhals ::
Blouse... BLOUSE? Seriously? I'm sure that was one of the imaginary bands me and my student housemates dreamed up...