David Gray Runs A Tight Ship At Royal Festival Hall
For a popular musician, it’s a simple equation: bigger venue = more casual listeners = bigger demand for the hits. So, say, U2 wouldn’t be able to play most of their latest album from start to finish at Wembley Stadium. But put them in a club in front of 250 rabid...
Wilko Johnson: Going Back Home
I’ve written on these pages before how were it not for former Dr Feelgood guitarist Wilko Johnson, I wouldn’t be photographing live music. I won’t labour the story again now, though if it’s of any interest, you can read about it here. Suffice it to say that I love the...
The Struts Raising The Temperature At Shepherd’s Bush Empire
Yesterday was the hottest February day on record. The sky was a deep blue from horizon to horizon, I’d cracked open a tee-shirt and shorts, and a wild-fire blazed on Saddleworth Moor. Come the evening though, as the sun gave way to stars twinkling through crystal...
Maggie Rogers Illuminates London’s Brixton Academy
A full moon shone down on South London’s Brixton Academy ahead of Maggie Rogers’ appearance at the iconic venue, the final night of her sold-out UK tour before heading off to Europe. The 24-year-old’s catapult into the public eye is well documented. An alumna of New...
Sweet Not Sour Lemonheads Live @ Forum, London
Grunge rockers take it down a notch to celebrate the songs that have influenced them and tour new covers album Varshons II. Remember the ‘90s? It was longer ago than you think. Those heady summers rocking out to grunge, going to music festivals wearing clothes that...
Mayday Parade & The Wonder Years Doubled The Energy In Birmingham
As people were winding down from Valentine’s Day, whether it was celebrated with a loved one or alone, there was still one thing for rock fans to look forward to: the co-headline show of American bands Mayday Parade and The Wonder Years at Birmingham’s O2 Academy2 to...
White Lies Believe It At Kentish Town Forum
As far as stirring singalong choruses go, “Let’s grow old together and die at the same time” wouldn’t seem the likeliest choice. Yet the line from To Lose My Life, shouted by over 2000 people in unison, is almost the loudest of an already exuberant night. It also...
Giants Of Rock Kicks Out January Blues
Some say that January is the longest month of the year. It's mostly gloomy, thanks to the bad weather and sad. Just look of your post-Christmas bank account. But, believe me, there is a remedy: Giants Of Rock, a three-day music festival in the heart of West Somerset,...
Live Snakerattlers Will Destroy Your Soul
Hauling in from Yorkshire, Snakerattlers are this weird super villain duo from "THE NORTH". Think Pinky & The Brain in a band. Armed with a guitar and stand up drums and their only goal is to destroy the audience with their gritty and dynamic performances....
Enter Shikari Stop The Clocks At The Cambridge Junction
We were worried the day before the gig that it may not take place as the Beast from the East was threatening. As it turned out, the night before only brought the Flurry from Surrey. A hardy group of individuals queued outside The Junction well before doors at 7pm on...
The 1975 Make The Human Connection At The O2
Jack White insists that fans hand in their phones before a show so they can have a “100% human experience”. Prince had men on stage armed with flashlights to blind anyone holding up their mobile. And, even less subtly, Nick Cave has been known to call out people who...
Def Leppard Pour Some Sugar On Wembley Arena
Hysteria wasn’t the easiest album to make. Its three-year gestation was marked by false starts (including aborted sessions with Meat Loaf collaborator Jim Steinman), a near-fatal car crash (costing drummer Rick Allen his arm), and a mindset so meticulous that mixing...
Ginger Wildheart Throws A Huge Birthday Bash
Thankfully Ginger Wildheart is still with us and capable of playing. It's a fact he underlines several times during his annual Birthday Bash show, casually saying he hadn’t intended having a birthday this year (which might sound a touch melodramatic). But, as he has...
Wolf Alice Bring Visions Of A Life To A Close At The Brixton Academy
London rock outfit Wolf Alice have had an incredible 18 months with what was always going to be the challenging successor to breakaway hit debut record My Love Is Cool. That debut saw the North London-based four-piece realise years of hard work and building up their...
No Fun At All MasterClass in Punk Rock @ New Cross Inn
Our special relationship with the U.S has afforded us a rich bounty in musical imports. Many of us will have spent our formative years engrossed in the sometimes raucous, and often melodic punk rock of Bad Religion, Pennywise, and No Use For A Name. And frankly, we...
Luna Bay Are No Smoke And Mirrors At The Camden Assembly
It’s been quite the ride for the as yet unsigned London-based Luna Bay, their following growing month on month as they’ve taken their indie sound on the road this year along with American band The Aces, reaching across the UK and into Ireland with stops at Glasgow’s...
Burn The Dancefloor – Fireball’s Fuelling The Fire Tour
As the chilly London nights draw in, what better way to warm both body and soul than a punk-themed night on the Fireball – Fuelling The Fire tour? Shepherd's Bush Empire played host to the first night of this ten-date British tour. The Fireball-branded drum kit and...
Singing The Praises Of Shame @ Forum Kentish Town
Fresh from a punishing US Tour Shame return to their hometown ready to prove that they are no longer a weekend garage band. In the four years since the band started, they have grown from teenagers to young men, and their repertoire and fan base have grown with them. ...