Folly of Youth

Malcolm Middleton hinted earlier this month that he might take a break from his solo recording career. He was quick to explain what he me...

Mr M of South London who secured me that advance copy of Pere Ubu's Bring Me The Head of Ubu Roi radio play has managed many things I ...

My Sad Captains are named after a Thom Gunn poem . This might be enough to scare you off this five-piece London band but it's worth get...

It's only a few months since they were in Manchester last but the prospect of The Wave Pictures at the Deaf Institute still got me gi...

Never meet your heroes. Or email them. David Thomas of Pere Ubu is one of my musical heroes and I have done both, the latter more recently...

I would be tempted to recommend this gig for the band name alone. But there's more to the Edinburgh four-piece than a clever name. When ...

This month in Manchester there are bands from Baltimore, San Diego, Albuquerque, Portland and Loughborough. But this month's compilation...

Link here to 59 minute compilation [66MB]

Despite the rise of the digital download and despite the sprawling mess that is my 'Archive' (unfiled, untidy, upsetting Mrs A) I th...

Clearly the best-gig-in-a-library this year. But this could also be best-gig-of-the-year for me. It's fifteen years by my reckoning si...

With so many gigs this weekend (Akron/Family and Magic Arm last night, Pains of Being Pure at Heart on Friday night - Indie Credential revie...

Carl Newman of the New Pornographers plays The Retro Bar tonight. I hope the sound serves his orch-art-pop well. Advance tickets here but ...

The novelty of going to an early doors 6pm performance soon gave way to a sense of trepidation that this was, in fact, an under 14s performa...

This is the community hall in Norway where Je Suis Animal recorded their debut album: "Incarcerated, due to the risk of being eaten a...

Playing at Academy 3 tonight Andrew Bird . A potentially dingy venue for the " Chicago-based multi-instrumentalist, lyricist and whistl...

Pass the surgical gowns... Despite the wealth of Manchester gigs this week and next, how about this one in Liverpool? Liverpool SoundCity!...

This is clearly not a week for gig-going without incident. No road traffic accidents tonight but we arrived as a six and only three saw The ...

I was happy in the haze of a drunken hour ... but heaven knows I didn't expect to be involved in a late-night road traffic accident on t...

I associate the rather special Alcopop Records with, as their name suggests, fizzy and intoxicating short, sharp shocks (goFASTER, Stars a...

Oh me oh my. A month packed full of gigs and music festivals in Manchester. Overwhelmed by choice and limited of time and resource, you may ...