Bringing you all the Live Reviews that matter since 1998
SPIRIT OF INDEPENDENCE
31 August 2010 / An Outlet / Manchester
:: Jo Rose :: Red Tides ::
Some of the most interesting sounds coming out of
Manchester this year have been courtesy of Debt
Records: here we drop in on their single launch to
find out more about this exciting and fiercely
independent label.
CAUTION: THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN FLOWERY GIBBERISH
30 August 2010 / Night & Day / Manchester
:: Her Name Is Calla :: The Monroe Transfer ::
There are possibly more musical instruments than
there are people in Night & Day this Bank Holiday
Monday, but these are bands who officially don't
take shortcuts...
SAKI SPACE LAB
28 August 2010 / Saki Bar / Manchester
:: Laboratory Noise :: Insect Guide :: Emperor Zero :: The Paraffins ::
Our favourite Saturday night out goes a bit fuzzy
and spaced-out on us, and not just because of the
cocktails...
NOT WASTING OUR TIME AT ALL
27 August 2010 / The Roadhouse / Manchester
:: Plague Doctors ::
Three years after MM followed a cryptic message
leading us to the back room of a pub, the men with
the scary masks are as brilliant and indeed funny as
they ever were...
POST-HARDCORE UPROAR
26 August 2010 / Night & Day / Manchester
:: Rolo Tomassi :: We Came Out Like Tigers :: Deaf To Van Gogh's Ear :: Brontide ::
With sufficient metallic attack to satiate the
hardcore contingent and the sort of twisting,
sprawling tunes beloved of post-rockers, Rolo
Tomassi always leave you wanting more - even if it
is gone midnight on a Thursday.
FESTIVALS 2010: BIG CHILL - SUNDAY
08 August 2010 / Eastnor Deer Park / Herefordshire
:: Newton Faulkner :: The Magic Numbers :: Lily Allen :: James Yuill :: Roy Ayers :: Paloma Faith :: Rinky Dinks :: Norman Jay ::
Day three and our heroic scribe, for reasons best
known to himself, decides to endure both Newton
Faulkner and Lily Allen. Above and beyond the call
of duty by anyone's standards, that.
MIDWEEK LOTTERY
25 August 2010 / The Roadhouse / Manchester
:: The Hayley Faye Band :: Death To The Strange :: Maxwell Watts ::
Unbranded up-and-coming bands nights can be a bit of
a gamble, which makes it all the more satisfying
when you land on a good one...
FESTIVALS 2010: BIG CHILL - SATURDAY
07 August 2010 / Eastnor Deer Park / Herefordshire
:: Patrick Wolf :: M.I.A :: Kirsty Almeida :: Easy Star All Stars :: Tinie Tempah :: Kelis :: Jolly Boys :: Andrew Weatherall :: ::
Day Two and our intrepid reporter still can't find
the cider bus, but does find himself surprisingly
enjoying chart-topping rapper Tinie Tempah. Mind
you, with lines like “I’ve bin to Southampton but
I’ve never bin to Scunthorpe” who wouldn't?
FESTIVALS 2010: HALDERN POP DAY THREE
14 August 2010 / Festival / Haldern, Germany
:: Blood Red Shoes :: Nils Frahm :: The Black Atlantic :: Moss :: The Low Anthem :: Villagers :: Sleepy Sun :: Dan Deacon ::
Imagine for a second 20 or so sweating teenagers and
assorted oldsters running round a traditional German
village looking for... a pianist?
FESTIVALS 2010: HALDERN POP DAY TWO
13 August 2010 / Festival / Haldern, Germany
:: Beirut :: Mumford & Sons :: Laura Marling :: Delphic :: Gary :: Wendy McNeill :: Triggerfinger :: Fyfe Dangerfield :: Rox :: Esben And The Witch :: Daniel Benjamin :: Serena Maneesh :: Owls ::
...the drummer lacked any kind of rhythm, or any
appreciation of what songs he was playing. Other
band members were either counting him in or
persuading him not to drink, or stare at the huge
picture of the cow being milked behind him...
FESTIVALS 2010: HALDERN POP DAY ONE
12 August 2010 / Festival / Haldern, Germany
:: Beach House :: Cymbals Eat Guitars :: David Ford :: I Blame Coco :: Seabear :: Chapel Club ::
For most of the year Rees-Haldern is an unremarkable
little town in North Rhine-Westphalia, about the
size of Glossop - but for one weekend in the middle
of August it's home to one of Europe's best loved
small indie festivals.
EVERYONE LOVES A BREAKDOWN
15 August 2010 / The Deaf Institute / Manchester
:: Grammatics :: Brontide :: Der.Die.Das ::
Gradually the instruments fade like the lights of a
house being switched off one by one, and after
they've gone the words seem to echo around the
emptying hall - Grammatics bow out with a quite
stunning performance.
FESTIVALS 2010: BIG CHILL - FRIDAY
06 August 2010 / Eastnor Deer Park / Herefordshire
:: Akala :: Thom Yorke :: Massive Attack :: Explosions in the Sky :: Martina Topley-Bird :: LoneLady :: Kirsty Almeida :: Delta Maid :: Gallops :: Mondo Cane :: Black Seeds :: Kruder and Dorfmeister ::
A six foot plastic duck, tea in real china cups,
jazz-folk, fabulously diabolical trip-hop, wind
chimes, Mike Patton playing 1950s Italian pop, and a
lake: there is nothing particularly normal about The
Big Chill.
CALM AFTER THE STORM
12 August 2010 / Ruby Lounge / Manchester
:: The Steals ::
Like the changing and unpredictable weather, their
extraordinary blend of dense sonic experimentation
and seductive folk insinuations eschew any sense of
prediction, artificiality or conformity.
WORKING ON THE SIDE
10 August 2010 / Dulcimer (Chorlton) / Manchester
:: Motorifik :: Driver Drive Faster ::
The words side-project can strike fear into the
heart of any music fan - but what if the band is
Working For A Nuclear Free City, a band so
experimental that it's a shock if two consecutive
gigs are in the same genre?
SIMPLY DIVINE
09 August 2010 / Hard Rock Cafe / Manchester
:: The Divine Comedy ::
The greatest intellectual dandy bohemian-on-the-
edge-of-the-mainstream pop star of our generation
visits Manchester for an exclusive and intimate
performance that actually lives up to the promise.
MINIMAL MAXIMAL
03 August 2010 / Ruby Lounge / Manchester
:: Pantha Du Prince :: D/R/U/G/S :: Szare ::
Don't get me wrong, guitars are great and all that,
but there's something about the sound of chips and
wires and circuit boards and oscillators that - in
the right hands, of course - just taps into the
nervous system.
FESTIVALS 2010: KENDAL CALLING (SUNDAY)
01 August 2010 / Lowther Deer Park / Penrith
:: The Switch :: Chickenhawk :: Jo Rose :: The Subways :: British Sea Power :: Micky P. Kerr :: These New Puritans :: The King Blues :: ::
For a festival pitching at the outer edge of the
mainstream it's actually been an impressively
eclectic line-up: a miniature and very northern
microcosm of the Glastonbury ideal.
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