Oxford Road’s Academy 3 welcomes the Wayward Sons back to Manchester this evening for their eagerly awaited headline shows of 2021. With the recent release in October of third album “Even Up the Score” to promote, and with a ridiculously low ticket price of £12 and quality T shirts for just £15, where else would you rather be on a wet Tuesday in November?
Read MoreLive music on a Saturday night? On my birthday? In Manchester? Yes please. I might be gigging alone but as I enter the venue I remember what a great little space Academy 3 is.
I go back through the files in my brain and as usual (obviously my age) I draw a blank as to the last band I saw in here but I’m thinking maybe Clutch but that was a LONG time ago (before they were well-known and after I saw them originally with one of my favourite bands Corrosion of Conformity). Even further back in the annals of time I saw Jerry Cantrell in this room and what an absolutely mind-blowing experience that was…
Read MoreIt’s my first time reviewing at Victoria Warehouse, although I’ve seen plenty of stuff here as a punter, and as I join the long queue there’s plenty of anticipation for the great night of varied metal ahead. I catch our photographer Ryan before he’s able to use his photo pass to duck the queue (damn him!), but actually everyone is chatty and in high spirits for the night ahead despite having to stand around in the cold with COVID passports at the ready.
Read MoreSome things in life will inevitably never change. Stuff like death, taxes, and of course The Quireboys. OK that’s maybe a little tongue-in-cheek but for over 30 years now, The Quireboys have been up there, out there, doing what they do best. Bouncy fun-time rock and roll, with a hint of country and a lot of bonhomie. The lineup may have changes slightly over the years but the core of Spike (vocals), Keth (keyboards), Guy (guitars) and Paul (guitar) seem to have settled into a groove that is almost a canyon. Well-worn, familiar and somehow comforting, The Quireboys are the pipe and slippers of rock music these days.
Read MoreTo say the music scene has taken a battering over the past eighteen months or so is somewhat of an understatement at the very least. So much so that this iconic bastion of the North West almost closed its doors for good; but like the proverbial phoenix rising from the ashes, thankfully it didn’t and appears to be bigger, better and bolder than ever before with a new stage and mixing desk and the ‘small venue with a massive attitude’ continues to throw its doors open to welcome a variety of international and local acts. With its impressive array of memorabilia and posters adorning its walls and ceilings, selection of real ales and good food, it’s exactly the sort of place to enjoy a gig such as this one this evening. Headliners VEGA need no introduction to those familiar with this hard hitting melodic 6 piece, those who have seen Revival Black pop up on numerous support tours for the likes of Mason Hill will no doubt have been suitably impressed.
Read MoreWalking into Academy 1 felt normal until I got to the front and suddenly it hit me... I’ve not stood here in literally YEARS. Even before lockdown I had been to gigs in Academy 3 but I could not tell you my last gig in 1, probably pre-2017 (Machine Head? – it’s actually starting to annoy me!) And now here I am at my second gig since lockdown lifted, but unlike at Devin Townsend I am not flying solo and have some companions with me
Read MoreTonight I have travelled on the Highway To Hell. No really. The M6 is not my favourite place at the best of times, but tonight it exceeded itself to make my life miserable. Some of it was flooded. Some of it was on fire. This meant the bits of it that weren’t closed were moving incredibly slowly, oh and just for laughs there was also torrential rain to contend with. Deep joy. 2 hours later and I am in Blackpool just in time to catch most of openers Heartbreak Remedy’s set.
Read MoreIt used to be so clear cut. You either liked metal or you liked pop. They were two polar opposites, existing in different and wholly incompatible worlds. You never crossed the beams or even contemplated being able to like both, that was, frankly, heresy. Somewhere along the way, the younger generation have blurred the battle lines that we saw as being so uncrossable. They ignored our protests that pop and metal don’t combine, and you end up with nights like this.
Read MoreDread Sovereign tread an impressive line between punk and doom. They are a chaotic and wonderfully ramshackle live experience, a million miles from the smooth professionalism of Nemtheanga’s day job Primordial. It is that raw kinetic energy that makes Dread Sovereign such a fantastic live proposition. Nemtheanga and guitarist Bones career around the stage (and into each other) like Tasmanian devils on speed.
Read MoreBands talk of shows being special and unique, and then precede to play the same set in about a dozen other cities. However, tonight is the real McCoy. This is a one off, never to be repeated gig packed to the brim with emotional resonance. Originally scheduled for 2019, this was initially conceived as a celebration of the life and works of Mike Alexander, Evile's late lamented bassist who tragically left us in 2009. However, it has taken on additional significance, as last year Matt Drake made the decision to step away from the band and music all together. The band (now fronted by his brother Ol) have already forged on without him, but Matt was never going to miss this performance and tonight’s tribute to Mike now also serves as his last hurrah with the band he led for so long.
Read MoreIn a small sleepy suburb of Liverpool something primal has awoken. The true spirit of rock n’roll has arisen and has once more taken physical form. Like a pulsating parasite, it has crawled out of the primordial ooze and taken new human hosts. The ancient spirits of sex, drums and rock n’roll have been with us since the dawn of time and they chosen this moment, this day and this place to manifest themselves once more. They have chosen the decaying bodies of six (seven if you include the dynamic super sub drummer) aging homosapians from which to once more dominate the four corners of the known world. For a fleeting but pivotal moment Allerton has become the rock n ‘roll centre of the universe, the very eye of a tempestuous storm.
Read MoreI’m late and lost. Ancoats is a labyrinth-esque playground for mancunian’s hip and trendy twenty-somethings. Given that I am soon to enter my sixtieth decade on this planet, I haven’t got a clue where I am going. I finally discover Halle St. Peters to find it bathed in reverential hush. Local lass Elle Mary is bearing her soul and you can hear even the very inkling of a dropping pin. I surreptitiously creep in, awakening memories of trying to sneak in late to assembly without catching the headmaster’s eye.
Read MoreYou know what my first thought was about tonight’s bill when I was asked to come out and watch it? Any of the three bands playing could actually be headliners. Despite their different styles and their different strengths and weaknesses,I am genuinely amazed at the quality of some of the bands knocking about on the club-sized venue circuit in the UK at the moment. Tonight we are treated to three who are all different, yet also share an eagerness to make music and perform it, a keenness, a hunger. It’s good to see that although not a sell-out there is a decent-sized crowd gathered, and also good to see that most of them get in early and stay to watch all three acts.
Read MoreIt’s always nice when you see bands that are starting to do well for themselves give a hand up to those coming up behind them, and that’s exactly what Gin Annie have done on this tour. Although White Raven Down have been their support on most of the dates, they have also opened up a third slot at some venues, which has gone to a local band.
Read MoreIt’s been a while since I’ve been along to The Live Rooms in Chester. Yes, yes I know there’s been a pandemic or something going on, but even factoring that into the equation the churn of heavy or alternative metal bands going through Chester remains limited. The schedule leading up to the turn of the year seems to be putting a change to that. This is a Sunday night gig though, and it’s been moved to the front bar rather than the main room. A small stage houses the bands to an attentive and decently sized crowd and atmosphere.
Read MoreLike dawn slowly unfolding itself across a field of corn, the Manchester music scene is beginning to awaken from its enforced hibernation. Parklife returned last weekend, the arena spluttered back into life Friday night just gone with Stockport “finest” The Blossoms and on the way in I pass a fully functioning Apollo (Dodie. No, me neither). Here at the Academy complex (basically the students union) it very much business as usual. The students are back and the cheap(er) beer of the main bar is being lapped up by packs of Wagons t-shirt adorned aging rockers, determined to prove to the young whippersnappers that they don’t have a monopoly on having a good time.
Read MoreTonight is not the night I’m expecting to have. There’s bad news on the drummer front for all the bands playing, and even the addition of an extra band to the bill can’t quite shake off the bad vibes. Said band are a bunch of reprobates from California called Falling Doves. Yep, even in these days of covid restrictions and quarantines this band plus Porcelain Hill have sneaked in under the radar to tour together. How’s that working out for ya boys?
Read MoreFirst up are Aleya who impress with their varied take on tech-metalcore. They’re straight into it, with no introduction to the crowd, delivering their brand of Bury Tomorrow style song-process, through Blood Youth new nu-metal heaviness, out to Northlane or Erra influenced tech-metal. In fact, Erra are the closest match to this young band of any potential ‘for fans of’ suggestions. This is a young band finding their feet, but there is definitely something here with these guys.
Read MoreTonight, is all about the redemptive and restorative power of rock n’ roll. You see, initially the signs aren’t good. This is the first major rock tour to hit the highways and byways of this fair country since we exited lockdown. The trepidation and uncertainty of the “mature” crowd is evident, for many this is the first post pause experience of an indoor crowd and there is an uneasy feeling in the room. The hall is never more than half full, with many of The Wildhearts faithful deciding that they are not quite ready to go back into battle. In fact, to start with, the crowd is so sparse that there are more members of openers The Middlenight Men on stage than there are people watching them which to be honest is a crying shame as they are as about good time rock n’roll as you can get.
Read MoreThe last time I was in this iconic venue it was the mid-nineties. It was called Paradise Factory and I had jettisoned metal in favour of a brief but passionate fling with hardcore rave. The main reason we are here tonight is that Rebellion is still out of action (thank you national rail) and the metal community has taken an “any port in a storm” attitude to what is now ground zero for Manchester’s commercial dance scene. This is an intriguing quadruple bill of four acts flirting with black metal but taking it off in all sorts of immersing and alien directions. Its promoted by the manc metal juggernaut that is Badgerfest, which means we can forgive the indomitable Badger for placing his very own projects in two of the four available berths.
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