Skinny Lister

Skinny Lister

Camden Lock Tavern
Wednesday 25 August 2010

"Gigs, diddles, dancing and refreshments" was how Skinny Lister's Grand Union Boat Tour was billed. An ambitious plan from the eccentric folk fivesome saw Skinny Lister boarding a narrow...

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The Steals

The Steals

The Ruby Lounge, Manchester
Thursday 12 August 2010

Hebden Bridge, hippy centre of the north, full of beautiful cottages, carefree kids and a plethora of super-cool musicians making happy-go-lucky music. That's where you'll usually find Jayn Ha...

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Chapel Club (Lost & Found clubnight)

Chapel Club (Lost & Found clubnight)

The Ruby Lounge, Manchester
Friday 6 August 2010

Having seen Chapel Club last year, on a bill with bands who were quite different to them, I wasn't sure whether it was them I didn't like, or the event itself. Eyes (and ears) wide open and re...

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Lovebox Weekender

Lovebox Weekender

Victoria Park, London
Saturday 17 July 2010

Lovebox Weekender 2010 was bigger than ever before, definitely more efficient (at the ticket gate and bars) with even more stages and commercial stands such as a makeshift HMV. However, in no way did ...

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Hot Club de Paris

Hot Club de Paris

Proud, Camden
Wednesday 4 August 2010

With a crowd space twice as wide as it is deep, Proud Camden is the Venus Fly Trap of London venues. It allows the greatest number of fans to be as close to the stage as possible while giving the band...

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Dum Dum Girls

Dum Dum Girls

Sound Control, Manchester
Wednesday 28 July 2010

God knows what ridiculous, mod-worshipping hole The Long March have crawled out off with their Weller haircuts and shirts buttoned all the way to the neck, but they should return there forthwith befor...

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Mirrors + Run Toto Run

Mirrors + Run Toto Run

Proud, Camden
Saturday 31 July 2010

It was a hen night, multiplied by 15, and surrounded by expensively dressed, expensively drunk dickheads. Other than that, Proud was like any Camden venue. It's a pity the main DJ couldn't mix...

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Indietracks Festival

Indietracks Festival

Derby
Friday 23 July 2010

Indietracks is possibly the most unique festival you'll find on the British Isles these summer months. Combining indie-pop music with steam trains seems like an unusual combination but actually wo...

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The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

Heaven
Thursday 29 July 2010

From sumptuous, alcohol-laden riders to travelling to far flung corners of the world for free, it goes without saying being in a band has its perks and last night Brooklyn indie scamps The Pains of Be...

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Two Thousand Trees Festival

Two Thousand Trees Festival

Cheltenham
Friday 16 July 2010

Two Thousand Trees has only been going four years but for a fledgling festival it's certainly found its feet very fast. It was set up as a reaction against the high-priced mainstream festivals and...

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Cloud Control

Cloud Control

The Luminaire
Thursday 22 July 2010

Despite some pre-gig dinner timing issues involving an amphetamine-deranged waitress and my inability to walk away from half-finished Italian food, we made Cloud Control's Luminaire set just in th...

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School of Seven Bells

School of Seven Bells

The Ruby Lounge, Manchester
Monday 19 July 2010

It's a fair Monday night and a really early start for last-minute substitution support band, The Steals, who replaced the food-poisoning stricken Active Child at the eleventh hour. So early that a...

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Tokyo Police Club

Tokyo Police Club

Scalla, London
Thursday 15 July 2010

Just a quick word before we get down to the nitty Tokyo gritty: Flashguns. Awash with pubescent artlessness and yet optimally evolved in every other way, they turn out an eloquent support set which re...

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Tender Trap

Tender Trap

Rough Trade East Instore, London
Wednesday 14 July 2010

In-stores can go either way - hordes of screaming teenage girls crushing forward to see the latest overly-made up emo band or the sleek new pop performer, or about 40 too-cool-for-school Brick Lane ty...

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Serpentine Sessions - Patti Smith

Serpentine Sessions - Patti Smith

Hyde Park
Tuesday 29 June 2010

There was no diva-ish behaviour or rock n roll arrogance to the legendary Patti Smith's entrance as she arrived promptly at 8.30 to an excited and respectful crowd dressed in a jacket, boots and r...

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Tuung

Tuung

Hop Farm Festival, Kent
Saturday 3 July 2010

With over a two hour delay on the line-up bill, guitarist and singer Mike Lindsay walks on stage sporting a rather dodgy turban, a glazed expression and an understandably pissed off scowl. From not-so...

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Seth Lakeman

Seth Lakeman

Jazz Cafe
Thursday 1 July 2010

I first saw Seth Lakeman play at the Shepherd's Bush Empire to a packed-out crowd of salivating women and young couples. I was struck then by the incongruity of such an audience for a folk artist,...

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Foals

Foals

Camden Roundhouse
Sunday 4 July 2010

Great venue - check. Great line-up - check. Free tickets - check. As music festivals go, iTunes' month-long residency at Camden Roundhouse certainly takes some beating - as the impossibly youthful...

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Kings Of Leon

Kings Of Leon

Hyde Park
Wednesday 30 June 2010

Ever since Oasis' acrimonious split following Noel and Liam's bitter tête-à-tête in Paris last year, there's been a Gallagher-shaped hole waiting to be filled by a band with similarly l...

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Jerry Dammers' Spatial A.K.A. Orchestra

Jerry Dammers' Spatial A.K.A. Orchestra

West Holts Stage, Glastonbury Festival 2010
Saturday 26 June 2010

The name of ex-The Specials keyboardist Jerry Dammers' Spatial A.K.A. Orchestra is a deliberate play on words; a reference to his old band (who were also known as The Special A.K.A.), and to the e...

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Vampire Weekend

Vampire Weekend

Rockness
Sunday 13 June 2010

"This is a great day for American-Scottish relations," a perky Ezra Koening beams at the last night main stage crowd. Err, well it's no musical Entente Cordiale, but if transatlantic con...

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The Maccabees

The Maccabees

Rockness
Sunday 13 June 2010

Having never before experienced The Maccabees' live, but been deeply impressed by armchair-bound transmissions of previous festival showings, their closing day set on the main stage is must on my ...

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Hadouken!

Hadouken!

Rockness
Saturday 12 June 2010

Taking on the baton in the Clash 'Sunday Best' arena from what bizarrely turned out to be one of the largest crowd-draws of the weekend - Kevin 'Scottish Comedian of the Year' Bridges ...

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Avi Buffalo

Avi Buffalo

The Deaf Institute, Manchester
Thursday 24 June 2010

"Hello Manchester United" Clearly connecting the nation's music and football capital in one, California's Avi Buffalo arrived at Manchester's delightful Deaf Institute ready to t...

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The Strokes

The Strokes

Rockness
Sunday 13 June 2010

Soooo whaddaya know? The prodigal sons of New York have returned. Kill the fatted calf. Or hedge your bets until the fervour of four years' anticipation, and polite enquiries about the whereabouts...

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Paul Heaton

Paul Heaton

The Original Oak, Leeds
Friday 21 May 2010

"Welcome to my garden!" With the barbecue smoke billowing, the temperature rising, and the beer flowing steadily into the (mostly) heavy guts of tattooed Yorkshire folk, this pub garden gig ...

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Blondie

Blondie

Rockness
Sunday 13 June 2010

I'm hella nervous. Shouldn't be - I've been here before. But that was two summers ago at Latitude, when Dirty Harry and her man minions were playing under canvas and my buddy was conductin...

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Friendly Fires

Friendly Fires

Rockness
Friday 11 June 2010

The last time I saw Friendly Fires was at Leeds Fest two summers ago in one of the more modest sized tents in the arena- you know, the ones where you fire up a cigarette, security spots you, makes you...

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Rockness Festival

Rockness Festival

Loch Ness
Friday 11 June 2010

DAY ONE: FRIDAY Having chewed up and spat out a good 400 miles of tarmac (Nottingham to Inverness = one tank of fuel, boom!) we rolled into the summer's largest north-of-the-border knees-up - Rock...

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RPA & United Nations of Sound

RPA & United Nations of Sound

Shepherd's Bush Empire, London
Wednesday 16 June 2010

I'm surprised a bunch of clipboard-grasping scientists haven't scrutinised water samples from the 1960s and early 1970s in the Greater Manchester area for a devilish record label exec hoping t...

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Hotpants Romance

Hotpants Romance

The Chemic Tavern, Leeds
Friday 4 June 2010

Hotpants Romance are a fucking shambles in the best possible way. If you're the kind of person who thinks just because a band have been together for a few years they should be able to play their i...

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Mi Ami

Mi Ami

Nation of Shopkeepers Leeds
Friday 4 June 2010

The guitarist from Hookworms is unpleasant to watch. He spends most of the group's set tonight crouched at the crowd's feet, twisting and contorting, rubbing his body against his guitar while ...

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Rage Against the Machine

Rage Against the Machine

Finsbury Park, London
Sunday 6 June 2010

We all remember where we were when we heard the news. I was travelling back from Ealing after having a pre-Christmas meal with the family. Then it was announced on the radio. Rage Against the Machine ...

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Dum Dum Girls

Dum Dum Girls

Brudenell Social Club, Leeds
Saturday 15 May 2010

Californian four-piece Dum Dum Girls have been making waves ever since their first single on Sub Pop last year. 'Jail La La' was an intoxicating compound of lo-fi fuzz and 60s girl-group glamo...

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Big Chill House - Step In

Big Chill House - Step In

Big Chill House
Sunday 30 May 2010

Despite scheduled headliner DJ Silkie pulling out, and a 12-midnight rather than 3am close, the remaining line up at Big Chill House did not let down the crowd with a series of sets encompassing a mix...

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Dot to Dot Nottingham

Dot to Dot Nottingham

Various
Sunday 30 May 2010

With my most recent 24-hour intensive festival experience being the Camden Crawl 5 years ago (slept in a beer garden followed by the tube station. Oof) I am practically a born again one-dayer virgin. ...

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The Middle East

The Middle East

Mercury Lounge, New York
Wednesday 19 May 2010

The Middle East have got something brewing. Their only release to date has been The Recordings of The Middle East, a five track EP. Yet in tonight's hour-long set the Australians from Townsville p...

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A Place To Bury Strangers

A Place To Bury Strangers

The Deaf Institute, Manchester
Sunday 23 May 2010

The Deaf Institute has three floors. The floor that you immediately face when you walk through the expansive Church-like doors is the groundfloor cafe bar - a relaxed and cosy but trendy place. Above ...

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The Brute Chorus

The Brute Chorus

The Big Chill House
Thursday 20 May 2010

Sex, quiffs, swamp'n'roll - no other sobriquet really fits The Brute Chorus, who in this multi-leveled bar up in King's Cross launched their latest single, 'Could This Be Love?'. B...

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Teenage Fanclub

Teenage Fanclub

Manchester Academy 2
Thursday 27 May 2010

Indie-loving cattle; that's what we were. Crammed into Manchester Academy 2, the Fannies' fans delighted when they took to the stage on the first night of their Shadows tour, although I couldn...

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Stornoway

Stornoway

Manchester Club Academy
Wednesday 12 May 2010

Fresh from recording a session at the BBC studios for Marc Riley - a required stop along the path to acceptance into the indie-folk-pop canon - Stornoway played their second Manchester date this year ...

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Yeasayer at Shunt

Yeasayer at Shunt

Shunt
Wednesday 19 May 2010

The first clear thought I had watching Yeasyer at Shunt last week, slightly skewed on Peroni and slightly weirded out by essentially being inside a dungeon, was "how ridiculously talented is this...

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Dinosaur Jr & Built to Spill

Dinosaur Jr & Built to Spill

O2 Academy Newcastle
Friday 14 May 2010

The O2 Academy in Newcastle smacks of Northern Soul with its mirror ball and expansive wobble-board dance floor that has you buoyantly riding a crest of zeal as a few hundred indie boys and girls bop ...

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Turzi

Turzi

Pure Groove, London
Wednesday 12 May 2010

Copies of Le Figaro, French rock mag Les Inrockuptibles and the appearance of Alsace beers on the specials board set the scene for music label Record Makers tenth anniversary London bash, part of Pure...

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CocoRosie

CocoRosie

The Regal, Oxford
Friday 14 May 2010

The last time I was at the Regal, I hid in the toilet with a friend for half an hour because we were being chased by a drunken, topless idiot dressed as a smurf. So it was with a head held high that I...

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Deerhunter

Deerhunter

The Cockpit, Leeds
Wednesday 5 May 2010

Crikey, Deerhunter fans are miserable sods. As Soundblab wanders into the less-than-salubrious surroundings of Leeds' Cockpit, the only things visible through the gloom are a stage empty but for s...

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The Pipettes

The Pipettes

Fibbers, York
Friday 7 May 2010

The Pipettes have been away so long you'd be forgiven for forgetting what they look like. Actually, it wouldn't matter if you really had forgotten, since the line up of girls who provide both ...

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Crystal Antlers

Crystal Antlers

The Cluny 2, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Saturday 1 May 2010

There's an inauspicious start to the night when the words "You're not on the list" are casually muttered by the young lady tempering the doorway. Her eyes drearily inspect a crude sh...

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LCD Soundsystem

LCD Soundsystem

O2 Academy Leeds
Tuesday 27 April 2010

This is Happening, LCD Soundsystem's soon-come third album is apparently their last. It follows, then, that this will probably be LCD Soundsystem's last UK tour. Of course, we all know how tod...

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Fuck Buttons

Fuck Buttons

Manchester Club Academy
Thursday 22 April 2010

Returning to Manchester University 'basement' venue Club Academy for the first time since my ears were pulverised by the fine band Isis last year, the signs are ominous for a repeat of tinnitu...

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Bear in Heaven

Bear in Heaven

The Brudenell Social Club, Leeds
Sunday 25 April 2010

The appallingly named Juffage has a clever trick. He plays everything himself. And he does it right there in front of you. He's got one of those loop peddles which have been a godsend for control ...

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Wooden Shjips / Uprights / Hookworms

Wooden Shjips / Uprights / Hookworms

The Brudenell Social Club
Sunday 18 April 2010

Here we are, Sunday evening in The Brude, the best music venue in Leeds. I forgot to bring any money so I am on the council pop. Good start. First up we have Hookworms. This young set-up are riding on...

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Banana Klan Bashment Ensemble

Banana Klan Bashment Ensemble

The Book Club, Shoreditch
Friday 23 April 2010

As the band takes the stage at The Book Club in Shoreditch, Rodney 'Roots Manuva' Smith prepares the audience: "This is an experimentation in dub manipulation....are you ready to go banan...

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Polar Bear

Polar Bear

The Front Room, Queen Elizabeth Hall, London
Friday 23 April 2010

I've never seen such as long queue outside Queen Elizabeth Hall. Clearly their appropriately named 'Friday Tonic' gig series has been a success. Taking place in the Front Room at 5.30pm on...

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These New Puritans/Party Horse

These New Puritans/Party Horse

The Leadmill, Sheffield
Saturday 17 April 2010

It's not a particularly big stage that awaits These New Puritans tonight. It's certainly not big enough for them to recreate the earth-shatteringly fearsome and diverse noises they produced on...

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Last Harbour

Last Harbour

Royal Park Cellars Leeds
Wednesday 7 April 2010

One of the good things about Royal Park Cellars is that, as a gig venue, it gets full up pretty quickly, which makes a band feel they're playing to a larger audience than they actually are, while ...

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Her Name is Calla and Worriedaboutsatan

Her Name is Calla and Worriedaboutsatan

Manchester Nexus Art Cafe
Friday 26 March 2010

It's Friday night and it's a debut trip to Manchester's Nexus Art Cafe, a strange place in the basement of a city centre building. The room is adorned with sofas, random lamps, odd artwork...

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New Young Pony Club/Is Tropical/Teeth

New Young Pony Club/Is Tropical/Teeth

The Cockpit, Leeds
Sunday 21 March 2010

Teeth sound like the gawky synthpop of early Duran Duran mashed up and reconstituted by electronica boffins Autechre with added vocals from the Yoko Ono-via-Teletubbies lead singer of Deerhoof. That i...

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The xx and These New Puritans

The xx and These New Puritans

Manchester Academy 2
Saturday 6 March 2010

Two bands that have been hotly tipped for greatness for some time on the same bill, yet bar this and their relative youth, there is very little crossover between them that could fit on a Venn diagram....

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Japandroids

Japandroids

The Cockpit, Leeds
Wednesday 24 February 2010

Great duos in pop music? The White Stripes, that's one. Simon & Garfunkel? Pet Shop Boys? Er, Chas & Dave? There's something refreshing about watching a band with only two members. Perhaps it'...

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Cymbals Eat Guitars

Cymbals Eat Guitars

The Cockpit, Leeds
Monday 22 February 2010

Cymbals Eat Guitars/This Many Boyfriends @ The Cockpit, Leeds, Monday 22/02/10 Hotly tipped New York four piece Cymbals Eat Guitars set out on their first European tour earlier this month, and now the...

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Beach House and Lawrence Arabia

Beach House and Lawrence Arabia

Brudenell Social Club, Leeds
Friday 12 February 2010

It's often difficult to pinpoint that moment when a band passes from cultdom into the indie mainstream; to judge by this sold out gig, Beach House seem to have crossed that particular threshold. Where...

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