Bright Eyes
Academy 1, Manchester
Thursday July 14, 2011
It’s like an Oasis concert. I thought I was going to a hipster gig, where hipsters who like Bright Eyes (because all Bright Eyes fans are hipsters you know) could politely convene and wallow in our misunderstood anxiety and marvel at Conor Oberst.
Death Cab for Cutie
Academy 1, Manchester
Monday July 4th, 2011
The Washington four-piece’s breakthrough long-player Transatlanticism still casts an enormous shadow over everything they do, with opener ‘The New Year’ and the title track book ending tonight’s performance.
Björk
Campfield Market Hall, Museum of Science and Industry, Manchester
Monday June 27, 2011
When I first heard that Biophilia was going to be the world’s first app-album, recorded partly on an iPad, my heart sank a little. However, hearing new songs such as ‘Virus’, ‘Moon’ and ‘Crystalline’ justifies the choice.
Ryan Adams
Bridgewater Hall, Manchester
Thursday June 23rd, 2011
Someone down the front suggests whisky. [Adams] answers: "No, tried that, didn’t work out too great for me."
The Chapin Sisters
Night & Day Café, Manchester
Monday June 13, 2011
Going to see a folk duo with the ‘sister’ suffix that isn’t these two kind of feels like I’m committing some sort of music adultery, but the theme is pretty similar.
Emmy the Great with Grace Petrie
Sacred Trinity Church, Salford
Monday June 6, 2011
The feeling that are watching an artist who has developed significantly over time is then reinforced when the band present a reworked 'We Almost Had a Baby' with Emmy’s guitar completely removed in favour of a drifting background of electric guitar picking and keyboards.
Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti with John Wiese
Koko, London
Friday May 13, 2011
'60s psych-pop vibes flow through laid-back onlookers while a hardcore of fans dance and sing along to every last word.
Team Ghost with Daniel Land and the Modern Painters
The Castle Hotel, Manchester
Wednesday May 18, 2011
Proceedings begin to stutter very quickly, however, as technical gremlins force long delays between early songs and the momentum stalls somewhat after a promising start.
Noah and the Whale
Stanley Theatre, Liverpool
Monday May 9, 2011
If the London-based outfit weren't so damn charming, it would be easy to become jealous of their live prowess. They have cut themselves adrift from the mildly twee acoustic sounds of their debut and taken a more populist approach [but demonstrate] that whatever musical treatment those tracks are given, they have a timeless appeal.
Twin Shadow
Kings Cross Scala, London
Wednesday, May 11th 2011
There’s something even more absorbing in the elegantly composed and sartorially refined presence of a bandleader at home on stage, and there’s no doubting George is that man tonight.
