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Gym Class Heroes - Academy 2
Not necessarily a bad gig, but by no means anywhere nearly as good as they have been in the past and could easily be in the future |
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The Academy Is... - Academy 3
A truly fantastic and energetic gig from five very promising young musicians and it is a mystery why this band has not had the same radio success as their peers |
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N*E*R*D*/Chester French - Academy 1
Pharrell and Co have proved that they are still one of the best hip hop acts around and no matter how successful you are, partying with a few Mancunians is always best |
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Jack Johnson - MEN Arena
The MEN Arena may not be his natural habitat, but this was still a fun and entertaining gig from one of the most laidback performers you'll ever see |
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Radiohead - LCCC
An excellent performance, even though this often felt like a stadium rock show without a stadium rock band |
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Leonard Cohen - Opera House
An incredible evening spent in the rare presence of a true music legend, who gave his all to make it a performance to remember forever |
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Alphabeat - Club Academy
Lively fun pop with a self awareness that makes listeners warm to it. Good as an album track on the soundtrack to the summer |
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Sinatra - Palace Theatre
Ol' Blue Eyes is back like he’s never been away, strutting his way through a collection of his finest hits |
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Matchbox Twenty - Apollo
Too one-paced to be truly memorable, Rob Thomas and Co provide a decent night's entertainment, but one lacking any real spark |
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Jamie Lidell - Academy 3
An entertaining, funky and soulful gig from a great live performer, but one that still begged the question, who exactly IS Jamie Lidell? |
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The Long Blondes - Academy 2
Simply putting the style, glamour and panache back into live music seems not to be enough, they now seem intent on world domination |
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Sia - Club Academy
A welcome return and another fantastic show from the daffy, fun and engaging Aussie star and her stunning voice |
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Scouting For Girls - Academy 1
If you like good music with an upbeat nature and self awareness you should go and see Scouting For Girls live as you won't be disappointed, certainly no one-album wonders! |
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The Feeling - Academy 1
The Feeling are on top form and with a number one album in the UK Charts, they should not be missed |
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Kate Walsh - The Lowry Theatre
She may be getting mostly ignored by the mainstream music crowd, but this was another lovely show full of nice folk music for nicer folk |
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Paramore - Apollo
There are no doubts that Paramore are an amazing live act, however this is clearly the “Hayley Show”; her band lack charisma, other than the occasional acrobatic leap through the air, or choreographed swaying. |
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Take That - MEN Arena
While it didn't feel quite so much like A Big Event as the last tour, this was another warm and spectacular homecoming show from the local heroes |
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Kanye West - MEN Arena
A stunning show so electrifying and entertaining throughout that a shock Jay-Z cameo was barely even one of the major highlights |
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Kaiser Chiefs - MEN Arena
With a stage show that wouldn’t have been out of place at a U2 gig this band have certainly graduated from the School of Rock |
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Sia - Night & Day
Her eccentricities and wackiness might alienate some people, but she puts on a wonderful show and the new material sounds great |
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McFly - MEN Arena
An almost faultless performance from an extremely talented band that have come a long way in a short time. As long as they don’t get too big for their boots, McFly will be around for a long while yet |
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UNKLE - Academy 1
Superb visualisations mixed with live dance and rock performed
by a group on form in front of an adoring crowd |
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Alexisonfire - Academy 1
A surefire way to blow away the cobwebs, Alexisonfire is a band whose live career could become so much more successful... |
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Heaven & Hell - MEN Arena
The Ronnie James Dio-era Black Sabbath line-up reunite for a storming and very noisy set of classic heavy metal |
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David Jordan - MEN Arena
On the basis of this support slot, he is a young, fresh, sexy, soul singer who is fast on track to set the pop music industry alight! |
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Ash - Academy 1
A half-full crowd in a half-built venue made for a slightly underwhelming glimpse of the future for Tim Wheeler and Co |
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Elliot Minor - Academy 2
Both bands, while certainly not bad, never quite rose to the occasion and there are other bands that do the same thing far better |
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Ray LaMontagne - Apollo
It may have been his second visit of the year, but LaMontagne can keep coming back as often as his likes if he plays like this every time |
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Tunng - Academy 3
This was a great performance from a band that almost gave you a big musical hug. Quiet is the new loud – it’s official |
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Damien Rice - MEN Arena
Better than could be expected, Damien Rice’s shows are the epitome of Folk-Rock. Better still were panicked expressions painting the yellow-coated steward’s faces as the crowd vacated their seats for front of stage |
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Fightstar - Club Academy
With a performance as strong as this, Charlie Simpson should never have any regrets about walking away from multi-million dollar record deals, sold-out arena tours or appearing on T4 every Sunday morning. He looks happiest in an intimate setting, not singing about how he’d visited the Year 3000 |
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Maps - Roadhouse
Despite an initial lack of confidence and charisma both the band and the audience warmed to each other to create an entertaining night out |
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Maximo Park - Apollo
Loud but enjoyable Maximo Park are a band for all ages. Definitely worth catching a live performance if possible |
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The Puppini Sisters - The Ritz
Great kitsch entertainment for anyone who fancies spending a night in the 1940s, and having it in the Ritz was just perfect |
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Brian Wilson - Palace Theatre
His amazing band put in another sparkling performance, but Wilson's new work That Lucky Old Sun was the real star here |
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Gwen Stefani - MEN Arena
A bright, colourful and fun stadium pop show from a consummate live performer and a great way to end this stage of her career |
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Alabama 3 - Academy 2
An occasionally patchy show from London's finest bunch of American outlaws is still better than most other groups could manage |
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The
Go! Team - Ritz
The power, the energy, the swagger, the enjoyment and the tunes made this one of the best parties you could ever go to |
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The Dead 60s - Roadhouse
A relatively average gig on all accounts from a band that
are capable of producing excellent material |
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Scissor Sisters - MEN Arena
Amadou & Mariam were sadly mostly ignored by the masses, but a great headline set meant that everyone more than enjoyed themselves |
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Gym Class Heroes - Academy 2
Gym Class Heroes are able to put on a very tight live performance and bring together different types of people who would not necessarily meet in such circumstances. However, I was left with the feeling that there was something missing and more elements were needed to project their live performance even further. |
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Kanye West - Apollo
Kanye West is a striking live artist who can definately makes the most of his presence onstage from both an entertaining and promotional perspective |
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Lou Reed - Apollo
Berlin may not have gone down well when it came out but this stunning show brought it to life with great sound and visuals |
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Knowsley Hall Music Festival
Heavy rain, loads of mud, long queues for the bar and toilets and a storming set from The Who. It was just like Glastonbury but a lot closer... |
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The Sounds - Academy 2
The rough 'n' ready, yet at the same time sleak and sincere Neil’s Children and the ranging rock foragers of Good Books set things up for The Sounds to produce a party
full of spirit and catchiness |
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Pet Shop Boys - Apollo
It was hard not to be swept up in the party atmosphere as the Pet
Shop Boys showed they are not past it just yet! |
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The
Twang - Academy 2
Whether you like it or not, The Twang are going to be huge, and on the basis of this electric show, that's going to be a very good thing |
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The Dykeenies - Academy 2
A fairly good show from a band that as yet have not got a particularly large following. For those people that did see the set, were treated to a competent show. If the band can get more people to see them, maybe they have the potential to be quite big |
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MySpace Secret Show - Roadhouse
Everything you’d expect Gossip to be - provocative, catchy-beating, energetic, eccentric, frivolous and good humoured - CSS were... |
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The Wildhearts - Academy 2
GU Medicine were an impressive and popular support act, but
The Wildhearts are a cut above everyone else and this was another
fantastic show from Britain's best rock band |
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Jamie T - The Ritz
See ya later Alligator is Jamie-T’s message to modern bands who believe that just because they only have one album out, it gives them the right to produce a robotic thirty minute set |
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Paolo Nutini - Apollo
He's been an overnight sensation, but the fear for Nutini is that it could all be too much too soon for him to become the kind of artist that he has the potential to be |
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The Pipettes - Academy 2
They are the Pipettes and if more bands out there were as fun as they are, the world would be a much better place |
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Madeleine Peyroux - Bridgewater Hall
She's not the most conventional live performer and can be disastrous, but the modern-day Billie Holiday was in fine form with this occasionally spine-tingling show |
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Damien Rice - Apollo
This show emphasises the point that you can embrace commerciality and still be closer (pardon the pun), to your roots, love of music and performing than ever before |
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