No-one ever came up with a better name for it than nu-rave did they? No-one came up with an alternative that stuck anyway. Who cares what’s in a name anyway? If the original rave scene hasn’t been reborn by a bunch of indie kids with drum machines and

In time-honoured fashion I turned up too late to catch any of the support acts, but only barely. I got to the top of stairs to find myself dodging sweat-covered, panting kids making their way back from the stage. I couldn’t help feeling I’d missed something so I

Everyone that plays at the Glee Club comments on how quiet and polite everyone is. It’s not that all Brummies are naturally diffident, it’s that the staff seem to be pretty sharp on their ‘behaviour in the club policy’ which points out that customers aren’t spending a

I have to say I didn’t used to like The Maccabees. In fact I didn’t dislike them. I nothinged them. They were another one of the wearying stream of bands that have nothing but a tenuous USP to distinguish them – the one with their dad in, the ones

I have a pretty dreadful record when it comes to catching support acts. When I think about it it’s a pretty irrational thing, I mean, I’m all in favour of value for money and live music for live music’s sake and a support act gives you both.

It’s a funny business going to a gig specifically to review it, especially when you only have a fleeting familiarity with the band you’re going to see. Often instead of losing yourself in the music, jumping around like a loon and enjoying yourself you’ll stand there trying

“Over 14’s?  I reckon I can pass for that” – message on the Hadouken! fan forum. Yep, the kids were out in force for this one and that, for any grumpy old men out there, was no bad thing. There was a palpable sense of excitement in the venue and

Kicking off a season of open air concerts in June is a brave move as the early summer weather can be an unruly beast, but the Midlands Arts Centre are seasoned in this game by now so for the opening night it should have been no surprise that the forecast

You readers may have seen a piece on this site back on 10 May titled Introducing Basia Bulat, heck, you might even remember it – there was a reference to the new ‘Canadian sensation’ signed to Rough Trade, a clutch of tracks to listen to and a handful of live dates.

While the Arctic Monkeys prefaced their album launch telling every magazine, newspaper and passer-by that would listen how publicity-shy they are, Madeleine Peyroux’s thoughts on the trappings of fame are likely to be much more illuminating but much less likely to be heard. Following up an album that was