Live Review

Live Review Wild Flag

Four-piece who include two ex-members of Sleater-Kinney play a storming set at The Cockpit

Wild Flag delivered a master class in US alt rock full of passion and great tunes. That’s hardly surprising as this indie supergroup bring together former Sleater-Kinneys Janet Weiss and Carrie Brownstein, plus Helium guitarist Mary Timony and Rebecca Cole from The Minders.

From the off this band of 40-something riot grrrls were taking no prisoners, ripping into a no-nonsense ‘Electric Band’ from their critically acclaimed debut album. The centrepiece of their sound is the wild drumming of former Elliott Smith and Steve Malkmus & The Jicks band member Jane Weiss, who launches assault after assault on her kit.

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Live Review M83 Stylus, Leeds University Union

Shoegazing electro-types keep the Stylus audience in raptures

The bar area was deserted. The dance floor was full. Those who couldn’t fit on the dance floor stood around the edges and on the upper level, every head turned towards the stage.

There were a few mumbles but no one looked like they were attempting conversation. The air was filled with anticipation.

As a detached observer, it was a powerful scene. There was an acute sense that something really special was about to happen. And to all of those M83 fans on Friday 20^th January standing jam-packed in Leeds University Union, pushed against one another to make sure…

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Live Review Alabama 3, O2 Academy Leeds

A politicised set from a very eclectic band before the release of their new album Shoplifting for Jesus

When asked what The Sopranos, The Simpsons and Eastenders all have in common, a pop, punk, rock, blues and “country techno Situationist crypto-Marxist-Leninist electro band” from Brixton, may not be the first thing that springs to mind. Yet, the music of Alabama 3 has featured in each programme, and last week the motley crew appeared in the flesh, in Leeds, before the release of their album, Shoplifting for Jesus.

Such an eclectic band will never make it simple to find a suitable support act, but at least The Jar Family had numbers on their side. Comprised of seven men, four…

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Live Review Brew Records Christmas Party

Local noisenik record label assemble an excellent line-up to celebrate the upcoming holiday.

This year’s Brew Records Christmas party was held at the Brudenell Social Club and apart from the message of ‘Merry Christmas’, one message may be appropriate for all artists, but was a little more obvious tonight. No matter how strained or in pain you look, as long as you have an instrument in your hand, it is acceptable.

The room was full of fans who looked anything but Christmassy and the bands played on the floor rather than the stage, which Tom from the record label calls "punk rock".

Kicking off the festive celebrations were Double Muscle - one of…

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Live Review The Ting Tings, The Cockpit

The Manchester duo return after two years out, and it's like they've never been away

The return of The Ting Tings could hardly have been more low-key. A short tour of small UK venues after being away for two years may seem strange for a band who received so much critical acclaim. However, Katie White (vocals, guitar, bass and gong) and Juan de Martino (drums, lead, piano) seem perfectly happy in this compact and bijou setting.

The set tonight is split evenly between tracks from the debut album We Started Nothing and material from their forthcoming album Sounds from Nowheresville. They kick-off with new songs ‘Give It Back’ and ‘Hang It Up’. Both songs are…

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Live Review The Damned

The legendary punks come to the O2 Academy to celebrate 35 years of raucousness

The Damned are touring the UK to celebrate 35 years of punk rock shenanigans. The O2 Academy is packed with fans spanning the different incarnations of the band. They are entertained with some sound-bites from 35 years ago, until Captain Sensible takes to the stage in his famed multi-coloured furry monster suit, with a cheery, “This is the kind of shit we had to put up with…”

This was always going to be a show of two halves. Two of the definitive Damned albums played back to back. Their debut, Damned, Damned, Damned is first up. They hurl themselves…

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Live Review Adam Ant

The theatrical popstar brings a huge set of songs to the O2 Academy, even if some fans just want the hits...

Adam Ant brought a slice of nostalgia to a packed O2 Academy in Leeds. His Good, Mad and Lovely tour sees him arrive with a whole posse in tow. There is no shortage of visual entertainment in an Adam Ant performance, with the focal point for this being the man himself. Tonight he is wearing an eclectic ensemble of cavalry jacket, admiral’s hat chunky glasses and pirate boots. The look tonight landed somewhere at the extreme end of piracy, I imagine this is how Jack Sparrow would look at a fancy dress party. This is not just your normal…

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Live Review Wednesday 13 & Michael Monroe, O2 Academy Leeds

A full on rock'n'roll double-header from former Murderdolls and Hanoi Rocks frontmen

The double headliner of Wednesday 13 and ex-Hanoi Rocks frontman, Michael Monroe, should have been a mouth-watering rock morsel. The collective appetite of Leeds gig-goers does not seem to have been whetted though. The O2 Academy is barely a third full, perhaps the smallest crowd of the year here. This may have prompted a venue move is some circumstances, but these two acts are not light packers. They have brought along a full rock and roll show and seem determined to deliver it for the small but perfectly formed gathering.

Michael Monroe is first up, and throws himself into…

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Live Review Middleman

The Leeds band put on a special intimate show – in their living room – supported by Soulmates Never Die and She Makes War

Gigs in Leeds come in all shapes and sizes, from the wide open and slightly theatrical O2, to the outrageously cool Brudenell Social Club to the sweaty rooms in The Cockpit, but none smaller than someone’s living room - Middleman‘s living room, to be exact.

With the sofa pushed back, the drum kit minimised and the band huddling at the front of the room like penguins, it was only right that the people living there would open the show. Although they were the hosts, and it was familiar territory, they seemed a little uneasy of the situation.

They broke the…

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Live Review The Unthanks

The folk sisters celebrate the works of two of their favourite artists – Antony and the Johnsons and Robert Wyatt

Fake folkies Mumford and Sons may get all the headlines but it is traditionalists The Unthanks who are doing by far the more interesting work with a series of offbeat gigs.

Sisters Becky and Rachel’s latest project is a concert celebrating two of the great iconoclasts – Antony and the Johnsons and Robert Wyatt. They chose to play in Yorkshire’s most bohemian town, rather than Leeds, due to their long standing relationship with the local Trades Club who booked them from day one.

The first half is dedicated to the other worldly genius of Antony Hegarty and as fans…

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