Good gigs.

I’ve got some great gigs booked in over the next few weeks… even if I do say so myself! Get some tickets bought and come and have a nice time:

To Kill A King + Fran Muriel
The Olde Young Tea House in Middlesbrough
Sunday 14th April – 3pm – All Ages – £5 adv
Tickets available from the tea house only.

Acoustic matinee gig from the wonderful To Kill A King:

More info: www.fb.com/events/412985832120317/

The Physics House Band + Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaind
Mixtape at The Keys in Middlesbrough
Tuesday 16th April – 8:30pm – 18+ – Free
www.mixtapekeys.co.uk

Unbelievable math-rock for fans of Battles, Mars Volta and Pink Floyd:

More info: www.fb.com/events/540701542629500/

Gaz Coombes + Spring Offensive
The Georgian Theatre in Stockton-on-Tees
Sunday 21st April – 8pm – 14+ – £12.50 adv
www.seetickets.com/go/gazcoombesgeorgian

Former Supergrass hero Gaz Coombes is bringing his brilliant new live show to The Georgian:

More info: www.fb.com/events/505464806150890/

Temples & Drenge + Goy Boy McIlroy
The Westgarth Social Club in Middlesbrough
Wednesday 24th April – 8pm – 14+ – £6 adv
www.seetickets.com/go/templesdrengeboro

Incredible double bill featuring two of the UK’s most hotly tipped new bands:

More info: www.fb.com/events/499651016758603/

Wolf Alice + Dressed Like Wolves + Dead New Blood
The Westgarth Social Club in Middlesbrough
Wednesday 22nd May – 8pm – 14+ – £5 adv
www.seetickets.com/go/wolfaliceboro

Ace scuzzy indie-rock for fans of The Breeders, Daughter and PJ Harvey:

More info: www.fb.com/events/598835920144102/

 

There’s also some other good stuff coming up at Mixtape at The Keys from the likes of Rossi Noise, Auction For The Promise Club and Eeves. Great live music every single Tuesday!

Wolf Alice

Pleased to be announcing another great little gig for the Westgarth… here’s some blurb:

Wolf Alice + Dressed Like Wolves + Dead New Blood
The Westgarth Social Club in Middlesbrough
Wednesday 22nd May – 8pm – 14+ – £5 adv
www.seetickets.com/go/wolfaliceboro

Fresh from touring with Peace, North London’s Wolf Alice are heading to the Westgarth Social Club in Middlesbrough as part of an extensive run of dates to coincide with their brand new single ‘Bros’, which will be released via Chess Club Records on the 20th of May.

The new string of dates, running through May and June and including anticipated appearances at UK festivals, compose the band’s longest tour schedule to date. They’ll be making their first trips to Scotland, Wales and the north east of England, as well as a European date at Tolhuistuin, Amsterdam.

‘Fluffy’, the band’s recent single, was received to rapturous acclaim, resulting in Wolf Alice being touted as one of the finest new acts breaking through in 2013. Built on its gloriously twisted take on rock and backed by the touching ‘White Leather’ on its flipside, the quartet found themselves topping the Hype Machine charts, in BBC Radio One sessions with Huw Stephens and championed by magazines such as NME, The Fly and Clash.

With the release of ‘Bros’ and this new run of dates, soon the joyfully infectious nature of all things Wolf Alice will be impossible to ignore.

For fans of: Daughter // PJ Harvey // Pavement // The XX // Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

Support on the Middlesbrough date comes from Dressed Like Wolves and Dead New Blood.

www.seetickets.com/go/wolfaliceboro

Temples and Drenge

Pretty chuffed to be announcing a co-headline gig from two of the UK’s most exciting new bands…

Temples & Drenge + Goy Boy McIlroy
The Westgarth Social Club in Middlesbrough
Wednesday 24th April – 8pm – 14+ – £6 advance
Temples
With a neo-psych sound that has seen them compared to the likes of Tame Impala, The Byrds and The Coral, Temples have become the support band of choice for such luminaries as The Vaccines, Kasabian and Suede. They’ve already been confirmed for Leeds & Reading and you can expect to see them at plenty more Festivals this summer. Do not miss this chance to see them in a tiny venue!
Drenge are big favourites of Zane Lowe, who made their recent single “Bloodsports” his Hottest Records In The World on Radio 1. Fresh from a co-headline tour with Deap Vally and opening for The Cribs at Brixton Academy, this young brotherly duo are starting to make quite a name for themselves with their infectious, anthemic, razor sharp garage rock. Raucous and relentless, fevered and furious… you have been warned!
Local support comes from Darlington quartet Goy Boy McIlroy whose dark, brooding alt-blues is a righteous racket sitting somewhere between The Doors, Joy Division and Captain Beefheart. Unmissable.
Only 80 tickets available so advance purchase STRONGLY recommended:

Eliza and the Review

There was a nice review of the Eliza and the Bear gig I put on in last Friday’s Evening Gazette. If you missed it, you can read it online courtesy of the LoveMiddlesbrough blog:

http://blog.lovemiddlesbrough.com/eliza-and-the-bear-in-boro/

Cheers to Rob and Tracy for coming down! Was a good gig, like. All three bands were spot on.

The 1975

I had the pleasure of putting The 1975 on at Mixtape last night. I’ve booked a fair few buzz bands over the past few years and it’s fairly rare that they actually live up to the hype – The 1975 managed to though!

Huge, anthemic, festival-ready tracks with a strong 80s vibe (almost Prince-esque in places!?) – every song sounded like a single. I’ll be pretty surprised if they don’t go on to do some pretty big things… good luck to ‘em!

Blue Monday

Apparently today is Blue Monday; the most depressing day of the year. The weather is certainly doing its best to assist with that, but music isn’t! What a treat today has been for my ears.

This Town Needs Guns - 13.0.0.0

First up, the brand new This Town Needs Guns album has been released and blimey, what a cracker. I had the misfortunate of reading a review which gave it 5/10 and provided inaccurate reference points such as Foals and Two Door Cinema Club. Let me tell you this – it’s a strong 9/10 and if you’re in need of some reference points, may I suggest Pinback, Braid and of course, any Kinsella project such as Owls, American Football, Make Believe et al.

With 13.0.0.0.0, TTNG have really taken things to the next level, helped by Henry Tremaine’s exceptional vocals. I’m biased here, because not only has Henry got a great first name, but he’s also one of my favourite people – and one of my favourite singers. Don’t just take my word for it – give it a listen (and then go and buy it):

Today has also seen the release of a brand new single from The Chapman Family. It’s free to download, and you should definitely go and do just that. It reminds me of bands like Pavement, My Bloody Valentine, Sonic Youth, The Pixies and Sebadoh, but courtesy of Kingsley inimitable vocals, it sounds very much like The Chapman Family. Which is a relief. It’s a tremendous song and has made me very excited about hearing more of their new stuff this year.

Last, but by no means least, Sunderland super-group B>E>A>K have also released a new track today. It’s probably my favourite song of theirs to date and is the first to feature vocals:

So yeah, Blue Monday can do one!