Kyla La Grange @ Edge Hill Rose Theatre 25/10/12

 Anyone who has had their heart broken at least once will understand the mix of both anger and sadness that it brings. On her debut album, Kyla La Grange battles with both feelings, singing with all the power and fierceness of a woman scorned, mixed with the fragility and honesty of someone pained. Nothing is by halves, and in the world of 'Ashes', love is a matter of life and death.

Tonight Kyla brings her dark melodrama to Edge Hill's Rose Theatre, and as she takes the stage dressed all in black she has an allure and mystery surrounding her that is difficult to pinpoint, making Kyla herself intriguing and intense to watch. With a voice both strange and beautiful, she harnesses all the power of her lungs on opening track 'Walk Through Walls', a song that seems to suffer from poor production on record but translates live to a huge, enchanting, multi-layered track that sounds bigger than the amphitheatre it's being performed in. A hypnotic guitar riff brings us into most recent single 'Been Better' as Kyla confidently takes control over a past lover, belting 'I took the lead instead of being lead'.

But it's through the stripped back songs that Kyla really shines.The lights are plunged into darkness, leaving only a spotlight and a few scattered fairy lights as she breaks into the haunting 'To Be Torn'. Led only by a slow piano, every tremble and ounce of honesty can be heard in her voice as she stuns the room into silence. ‘I’m sorry that I failed’ she pleads with desperation and a lump in her throat, as the confident powerhouse from before appears now as a small, lone figure on the stage. A moving and mournful moment before Kyla picks up her acoustic guitar to finish on ‘Vampire Smile'. Although at times the album can feel claustophobic and despite the fact there is nothing overly ground-breaking to find, it’s obvious that Kyla has clear talent and interesting potential, ultimately making for a curious live act that will no doubt be one to watch for the future.

Dry The River @ Liverpool Kazimier 24/10/12

Dry The River are difficult band to pin down. Despite bearing all the hallmarks of folk (the elemental name, beards, acoustic guitars and even a violinist) the five-piece harbour a background in hardcore and post-punk bands that really comes to fruition in the live show.

As they enter the stage, frontman Peter Liddle stands barefoot, with his long-blonde locks hanging loose, looking almost like a fragile woodland creature. No hint of the absolute overwhelming voice that he is about to unleash. A quiet ripple of guitar opens into 'Shield Your Eyes', a song encased in the biblical and classical language that is all often found often in the band's writing, and when combined with the right amount of heavy guitar and the passion in Peter's vocals it really does create something magic. The band powers through old EP favourite 'New Ceremony' before slowing things down. Stripping back to just an acoustic guitar and a violin, Peter breaks into the heartfelt and fragile 'Bible Belt' wherein he recounts an emotional tale of a family ravaged by alcoholism. This leads straight into most recent single 'No Rest', and as Peter almost screams the final chorus of 'I loved you in the best way possible' the crowd can feel every ounce of passion and heartache.

The band step back from their mics for 'Weights & Measures' which begins a capella before plugging back in mid-way to end in a wild goose bump inducing crescendo, showing their ability to take a song from quiet strings to full blown euphoria in a matter of minutes. The set is brought to a dramatic close with 'Lions Den', a giant wall of sound with passionate shouting vocals and thumping bass that is returned with an equally loud response of cheers and applause from the audience which doesn't end even after the band have exited up the stairs behind them. And just as people think the night is over, the curtains are drawn back and we find the boys sat, dangling their legs above the stage. 'Since you've been so amazing we thought we'd sing you one more from up here if that's alright' bassist Scott Miller announces as they slowly break in to a completely a capella flaws-and-all version of 'Shaker Hymns'. The most magical end to the most magical evening.

Spector @ Liverpool O2 Academy 16/10/12

Currently slap bang in the middle of their mammoth UK tour, Spector tonight bring their indie-synth sounds to Liverpool's O2 Academy. The night begins with a throwback to the 90's thanks to first support band Swim Deep who bring their beach grunge vibes to the proceedings. As the entire crowd are already dancing with drinks in the air to last song 'Honey', I know it's going to be one of those nights. Next up, continuing the theme are grunge revivalists Splashh who leave everybody suitably warmed up for our final act on the bill.
      Harnessing their experience from a tour with Florence + the Machine and an entire Summer of festivals, Spector pull out a tight, high-octane set that is brimming with charisma and energy. Opening on 'Twenty Nothing' frontman Fred Macpherson and crowd alike engage in a bout of reckless jumping and flailing that rarely slows down throughout the night. The room becomes a hot, sweaty mess as the band powers through singles 'What You Wanted' and 'Chevy Thunder' only slowing down for Fred to introduce album track 'No Adventure' by teaching the crowd the backing vocals, resulting in a mass gospel singalong mid-segue. Finishing on the massive 'Never Fade Away' Fred announces that tonight's audience has been the best he's seen at a Spector gig and as they leave the stage to huge applause, a lasting chant of 'you know I'll never fade away' continues from the crowd. And judging by their performance tonight, I'm pretty sure that Spector are going to do anything but.

Young Colossus @ Corsica Studios 5/9/12

This year Orlando Weeks, along with friends Nic Nell and Alessi Laurent-Marke (of Alessi's Ark) released a wonderful limited edition 6 track EP under the pseudonym of Young Colossus all compiled into a beautifully illustrated book by Robert Hunter. The EP and book combined tell a sweet coming of age story
with a soundtrack that gives hints of Karen O & the Kids, Fever Ray and Animal Collective so if (like me) you like that kinda thing you should definitely give it a listen.

Being a huge fan of the project, when a one off live show was announced I knew I had to be there. And so once again I find myself on a train down to London's Elephant and Castle district to the quaint (and bloody hard to find!) Corsica Studios. As I'm walking down the street I hear an 'OI, SCOTT!' from across the road and to my surprise it's Felix White from The Maccabees who tells me he's been called in last minute to play some guitar parts. 'I've got no idea what I'm doing man but it's gonna be fun!'. Fe isn't the only friend Orlando has drafted in to help tonight, as joining himself, Alessi, Rob & Nic on stage we also have Louis & Sami from La Shark.

Given the visual element of the project it's no surprise to find that this has translated to the live performance too. The room itself is shrouded in mist and fog and as I make my way through the scattered leaves and hanging vines to the giant illuminated moon at the end of the room it feels like I've walked not into a tiny studio but rather into another world. Tonight we're treated to every song from the EP, some given extra verses and extended instrumentals to make up for the short length of the record. The eerie, glimmering sounds fit perfectly with the surroundings, and highlights for me are the beautifully monotonous 'Franky', the bizzare 'Monster's Dance' and the never-before-heard demo 'Hope'. After the last song, Orlando thanks everybody for coming and announces that to commemorate the special one off occasion everybody is being given a stunning B2 poster designed by Robert Hunter to be collected at the box office on the way out. The icing on the cake to what has already been a very special evening. Here's hoping to another Young Colossus venture in the future.

The Maccabees @ London Alexandra Palace 8/6/12

And there I was thinking that I'd already seen the band for the last time this year when they go and announce a one off gig at London's mammoth Alexandra Palace. It was no doubt going to be a defining moment in the bands career, and was I going to miss it? Of course not. Running late (due to getting extremely lost in London) I quite honestly didn't think I would make it to the palace before doors opened but just as I left my hotel I got a phone call from a friend telling me that I was now on the VIP guest list which meant I would no longer have to queue and that I would have access to the intimate after show party after the gig. Frankly, I couldn't believe my luck.

      Making the huge pilgrimage up the hill amongst the hundreds of other gig-goers, the buzz and excitement was already growing for what we were all about to experience in the ginormous building up ahead.  Inside I met up with my friends in the holding court and it wasn't long until they open the giant double doors into the main room and everybody flooded in rushing to get to the front. Before long the first support act of the night Baxter Dury made his entrance. Having never heard of him before I wasn't sure what to expect, but his music recalled early Blur and he was enjoyable enough. British Sea Power were up next, the highlight for me being 'Waving Flags' with an epic extended outro that included a guy in a bear suit dancing on stage and culminated in the lead singer throwing up his guitar and flooring himself whilst catching it. All good. And before I knew it it was time for the boys themselves.

       The 10,000 capacity venue behind me was now full and I couldn't help but feel almost somewhat emotional that the band I'd followed for so long had made it to this point and that I was there to witness it. Backed by a ginormous screen that pictured their every move, the band took their place on the stage, each member illuminated by an orange glow from a floodlight. Entering into opener 'Child' and screams of applause, the night had begun. To reflect the special nature of the night, everything had been taken up a notch. The crowd were insane throughout and the highlights for me were the addition of 'Young Lions' (one of my all time favourite Maccabees songs), the use of three ginormous disco balls to make the entire room glow during 'Glimmer', the anthemic singalong during 'Go', a new version/mash up of of 'Latchmere' & 'About Your Dress', 'Heave' being played for the first time, Felix making the entire crowd jump in unison during 'Can You Give It', the amazing light show and lasers during 'Unknow', the crowd being louder than Orlando during the chorus of 'Precious Time' and of course the finale of 'Grew Up At Midnight' wherein people knew it was the last song and just let themselves go in a giant bout of euphoric jumping and flailing. Looking around me I could even see a few tears.

       So it ended and I left bruised, bleeding from two fingers, my face and hair wet with sweat and feeling very, very proud. After a while we made our way down in the VIP area and being totally unaware, all the people here were dressed up for a party and I stood out like a sore thumb (excuse the pun) with my post gig sweaty fringe and scuffed up backpack. Despite feeling very out of place I took the plunge and went inside. It was extremely dark and I could barely recognise my friends let alone anybody else but I kept wandering about on the lookout for any of the boys. Eventually I found Felix and after chatting for a while I passed him a gift that I'd been working on for a while to thank The Maccabees for everything they'd done for me and generally for just being such nice blokes. He seemed completely overwhelmed and his reaction (almost crushing me with a string of hugs) just proved that he really is one of the nicest people I've met and that they deserved everything that was happening to them. And so after one last giant hug we parted ways for now and went off to enjoy the party.

 As I left to join the queue at the bar to grab a drink I started to feel a lot more relaxed until I spotted some of the members from Florence + the Machine already at the bar in front of me. Now it isn't hard to decipher that I am a pretty big Florence + the Machine fan and I've followed them for a very long time. No sooner had I thought to myself ‘no way can she be here’ did Florence herself walk through the door in all her ethereal glory. Realising it would probably be the only time I’ll ever get to meet her in this kind of environment I took the plunge and went over, introduced myself and said I was a huge fan. She was extremely sweet and polite and we chatted for a while. I brought my friend with me who has a Florence related tattoo, to which Florence went crazy for and even took out her phone to get a photo of it (not before fist bumping it to give it 'the Florence power'). A very bizarre but extremely lovable lady.

       The rest of the night went like a blur. I had the traditional few cigarettes with Hugo (who was very drunk or very high at this point and kept hugging me and everyone lots) and spoke to a few other very lovely people before deciding to call it a night at about 2.30. We went round all the Maccabees thanking them and saying our goodbyes. Before we left my friend asked when we would be seeing them again, and a little birdy may have told me the boys will be setting out on another tour from this September. And I for one won’t be missing any of it for the world.

Lucy Rose @ Liverpool Eric's 25/5/12

After a cancelled train and 3 painful bus rides, my night wasn't exactly going as planned, but eventually I made it to Liverpool and thankfully it was so worth it.

After a quick scout in town, flanked by the famous Cavern Club, I found Eric's club and walked down into what can only be described as a pretty cosy cellar. Surprisingly I only found about 20ish people there (I guessed this was because it was an 18+ gig and I noted people at the door being refused for lack of ID) but it made the whole gig extremely intimate and like you were watching something really special all to yourself. The show began with everybody sat awkwardly near the back on stools but Lucy joked into the mic that she felt a little intimated with everyone being so far away so in a sign of respect the entire room in unison stood up and shifted forward leaving us only 2 ft away from her as she was singing. A beautiful experience to say the least. Opening with an extended version of 'Middle Of the Bed' Lucy's voice sounds beyond perfect, and it continues throughout the night as she debuts a large chunk of material from her upcoming album. Each song sounded great (in fact there wasn't a single dud song on the setlist) and the night ends with Lucy getting the audience to participate in a shouting part during 'Bikes'. It was a beautiful evening and I for one will definitely be there on the next tour (which will no doubt be in much larger venues than tonight) and I'm no doubt sure when she hits the big time everyone from tonight will one day be recounting 'the time I saw Lucy Rose play in a dingy cellar back in the day....'

The Maccabees @ Wolverhampton Civic 19/3/12

(via @lasharkband)

Having been here a few times now I have to admit the Civic Hall is one of my favorite venues in England. It's large enough to hold a decent sized crowd but also small enough to retain an intimacy with the band without managing to seem cramped. About half the room is already full when La Shark make their entrance and, judging by the looks on the faces of the people around me, the sudden influx of tie-dye tshirts to the stage, electronic hooks and theatrics of front man Samuel Deschamps were not what they were expecting. Despite their in-your-face attitude and downright strangeness, La Shark are all kinds of fun and near the end of their set at least most people seem won over. Definitely a band to be experienced live at least once.

And once again, it's time for The Maccabees themselves. Knowing tonight was the last date I was able to go to I couldn't help but feel pretty sad that the UK tour has finally come to an end, so to see it out me and my friend got a little drunk and pushed our way to the second row. Proving their consistency, the boys are on point as usual and all thoughts of a lazy Sunday evening are erased as the entire room is jumping in unison only 2 songs in. Along with all the usual set-list regulars, we're given a special outing of 'Ayla'  for the first time this tour and as the glimmering piano riff leads into the all too familiar last song 'Grew Up At Midnight' I knew the night was almost over.  I danced like an idiot, gained many bruises and had beer poured all over me but it was the perfect ending to a perfect tour. It was a night I won't forget and I left reminded once more why The Maccabees are my most beloved live band.