17 Oct – Keane, Captain, John Roderick

Keane eh? It's funny. All the recent talk's been about another Keane, y'know, that Irish bloke who's doing some kind of miracle in Sunderland. Whoever he is.

Anyway, the Keane i'm on about were cracking last night, really good and well worth the money (21.50 - well they best had have been good for that price). Got to Hull at around 5:30, doors opening at 6:30. There was already a bit of queue, but I wasn't too fussed about not getting to the front of this one, because a few rows back, as…

12 Oct – James Dean Bradfield, Vega 4

Ah, now I know why I must see the Manics before I die.

All three of them, mind you, i'm not just on about each of them seprately, but this gig, seeing just omne third of them makes me think all three will probably be something that i won't wanna miss.

Getting there was a problem this time. Bloody roadworks on the A1 held me up for ages before I could finally get off the A1 and onto the M1 via the A57. Damn stupid bloody roadworks. What riled me even more…

09 Oct – Sandi Thom, Phil Campbell

And take heed of that title you Sandi haters. Jack, it's specifically aimed at you, because I personally feel that you more than anyone else has got completely the wrong end of the stick about Sandi. I reckon that if you'd have come with me, you'd have actually enjoyed it, and for lots of good reasons. I know for certain you'd've liked the support act cos it was right up your street - A solo who played acoustic guitar and piano, very similar to Colin MacIntyre! Similar sound and everything! But not just…

04 Oct – Maxïmo Park, Love is All, Hot Club de Paris

You just can't beat a good gig. And having been to as many as I have, I know what a good gig is.

This one was better than most I've seen both a) in Sheffield and b) the whole year. In fact, I'd be quite happy to stick this in at #5 all time behind The Pipettes at the Leadmill, The Like in Manchester, Oya Festival and The Like in Rock City. It was proper good.

Night started off with a trip to Meadowhall. Great though that was,…

30 Sep – The Pipettes, The Hot Puppies

Hehe. Excuse the title - it's a play on a lyric from a Pipettes b-side.

But y'know, after seeing the Pips for the second time, I know why I'm a HUGE fan, and so, naturally, the title is something Pipettes based. Anyway, to the customary review o' the night, and first, I want to make it DAMN CLEAR to anyone who thinks the Leadmill is a dodgy venue (mentionaing no names, but if he is reading this, he should take note) is totally and utterly wrong. Twice I've been there now and…

05 Sep – The Subways, The Sunshine Underground, Wry

Ahh…long time no blog.

But a damn good reason to write something fresh. The Subways last night, my first gig since the adventure that was Norway. Second time i've seen this lot and it was every bit as wild as the first time, last year at the Leadmill.

Me and Devine, actually, can't decide which was wilder actually, cos the Rock City crowd was every bit as mental as expected. Night started off pretty good. Got to Nottingham early, played a bit o' pool in a bar before heading to Rock…

12 Aug – Oyafestivalen

My title of this blog entry says it all, I suppose, but you know I aint gonna just leave it at that. There's a full review of it all coming up right here, right now.

And lets start with a whinge, to get it out the way. I feel for all the people who've been shafted and shunted and pissed about over flights these past few days. Cancelled flights and delayed flights are nasty at the best of times, but when you've got terrorists planning to blow up planes, it's a different matter. So yes, I…

09 Aug – Howling Bells, The Cinematics, The Guild

Howling Bells were excellent again in Sheffield last night. Not really much else to say. They were backed up by two of the best support acts i've ever seen, in once again, The Cinematics, and this time, a local band called The Guild, who were fucking brilliant. So much so, I just HAD to buy a copy of their single which was on sale at the back.

Good set from them. They had four members that looked liked chalk and cheese. The front man was a guitar-slinging, fiddle-playing, keyboard thrashing singer…

06 Aug – Howling Bells, The Cinematics, Sky Larkin

Well, as nights go, this one was eventful.

Got to Leeds waaaaay too early. I'm making a habit of getting to gigs far too early these days. I did it at The Pipettes gig. You just know I'm gonna do it again in Norway. Mind you, I suppose there, it don't matter.

Anyway, far too bleedin' early I got to The Cockpit. Managed to find it alright, my memory served me very well. It was about 5:30pm when I rolled into the car park, didn't think it'd be too bad, cos…

11 Jul – Giant Drag, The Situationists, Screaming Minnie

You can always count on a good show when Giant Drag are about. I understand their brand of grungey-indie rock isn't everyone's favourite, but all that doesn't matter when you've got Annie Hardy fronting the band. She's a fucking legend.

Witty as ever, she mentioned, and joked about lots of things, from current events on Big Brother ("all the ugly ones should be thrown out!") to Tesco and it's "refreshing" drinking water, her hatred at singing one particular song ("My throat won't like this one. If I spit blood and chewed…