This Is Lancashire | Reviews

Review: Diana Vickers @ The Ruby Lounge, Manchester

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 10:51:08 +0000

THE ‘new’ Diana emerged with a powerhouse showcase revealing songs from her new album.

Review: Classical Spectacular @ MEN Arena, Manchester

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 16:01:02 +0000

For those who stayed home to watch Strictly Come Dancing or The X Factor — shame on you. Still it was your loss.

Review: Steve Earle @ Academy, Manchester

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 14:16:51 +0000

SEVEN wives, time in jail, problems with addiction - you name it Steve Earle has done it.

Review: The Rat Pack Vegas Spectacular @ Albert Halls, Bolton

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 14:18:04 +0100

A SLICE of Las Vegas was served up in Bolton to the delight of a packed Albert Halls last week.

Review: John Gomm @ Octagon, Bolton

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 14:16:56 +0100

DRUMS, bass and acoustic guitar and bongos — who would have guessed all of these sounds could, simultaneously, and played by just one man, come out of one instrument?

Review: Ramsbottom Music Festival 2011

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 12:40:00 +0100

WITH GALLERY: Thousands of fans flocked to Ramsbottom Cricket Club over the weekend for the town’s first music festival.

Review: Andrea Glass @ The Met, Bury

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 16:25:35 +0100

“SEAMLESS” is probably not the word to describe Andrea Glass’ homecoming set at The Met, despite her cheeky insistence on using it regularly while talking to the audience.

Review: Dolly Parton @ MEN Arena, Manchester

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 16:12:38 +0100

DECKED in rhinestones with the sort of blonde curls that would make any Essex girl jealous, the Queen of Country Dolly Parton could never be described as understated.

Review: Double Scoop Sundae Festival @ Heaton Park, Manchester

Thu, 28 Jul 2011 18:10:33 +0100

We went along for the Saturday and found something that was more like the ultimate summer fete than a festival in the conventional sense.

Review: James Taylor @ MEN Arena, Manchester

Fri, 08 Jul 2011 17:08:46 +0100

WOULD it work? The legendary James Taylor, the man with a guitar who has written 150 songs, be able to hold an audience at the huge MEN Arena.

Review: Dr Dee: An English Opera @ Palace Theatre, Manchester

Fri, 08 Jul 2011 10:46:48 +0100

FORGET Pop Star to Opera Star on the TV, this is the real thing.

Review: Flaming Lips @ Jodrell Bank

Thu, 07 Jul 2011 16:55:10 +0100

IS science the new rock and roll?

Review: Sinead O'Connor @ Manchester International Festival

Mon, 04 Jul 2011 10:15:51 +0100

THE shaven headed, elfin-featured waif may have long disappeared but the talent and that voice remain undiminished.

Review: Bon Jovi @ Lancashire CCC, Old Trafford

Mon, 27 Jun 2011 14:32:20 +0100

The boys from New Jersey settled into their compact stage set and quickly pleased the damp crowd with opening song ‘Blood on Blood’ and’ You Give Love a Bad Name’.

Review: Take That @ City Of Manchester Stadium

Thu, 09 Jun 2011 17:00:55 +0100

FANS might have waited for a decade-and-a-half to see the country’s biggest “manband” tour once more as a five-piece.

Review: Rush @ MEN Arena, Manchester

Fri, 20 May 2011 08:39:56 +0100

RUSH is one band that can certainly fill an arena, and they certainly did so in Manchester and the faithful fans came out to see their heroes in concert once again.

Review: The Monkees @ Apollo, Manchester

Mon, 16 May 2011 14:56:44 +0100

WITH the iconic Monkeemobile parked outside, a timewarp enveloped the Apollo as Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork and Davy Jones reminded a sell-out crowd just exactly what Monkeemania was.

Review: I Am Kloot @ The Lowry, Salford

Thu, 12 May 2011 15:20:49 +0100

GIGS in theatres are always slightly odd. The natural urge is to be somewhat reverent in such a grand setting, and so there’s little singing along and even the end-of-song applause is always polite.

Review: Rumer @ Bridgewater Hall, Manchester

Wed, 06 Apr 2011 14:56:03 +0100

RUMOUR has it. . that Rumer's next album will eclipse her Seasons of My Soul debut masterpiece that made her the fastest-selling new artist of 2010.

Review: Kylie Minogue @ MEN Arena, Manchester

Mon, 04 Apr 2011 15:10:41 +0100

IT’S often said that Kylie’s longevity is due to her talent for “reinventing” herself.

Review: Glasvegas @ The Soundhouse, Bolton

Fri, 01 Apr 2011 13:08:52 +0100

It’s always a good sign when most of the audience can sing along to entire songs — strong Glaswegian accent included — as they did to favourites My Own Cheating Heart, Geraldine and encore Daddy’s Gone.

Review: The Wanted @ O2 Apollo, Manchester

Thu, 31 Mar 2011 16:35:22 +0100

IF the screams of nearly 3,000 teenage girls are to be believed — and having heard them it is difficult not to — The Wanted have made it into the big time.

Review: Cee Lo Green @ Academy, Manchester

Mon, 28 Mar 2011 13:42:14 +0100

FRESH from his capture of Best International Male at the Brit Awards, the American hip hop star turned pop phenomenon Cee Lo Green is the hottest ticket in town.

Review: Elbow @ MEN Arena, Manchester

Mon, 28 Mar 2011 13:41:43 +0100

For 20 years, Guy Garvey and his band have sung hymns to the rainy streets of Manchester, and to lovers and friends found and lost there.

Review: The Stranglers @ Academy, Manchester

Mon, 28 Mar 2011 13:45:17 +0100

COMING as it did as the last gig of a three-week UK tour, it was perhaps inevitable that something unexpected might happen.

Review: McFly @ MEN Arena, Manchester

Tue, 22 Mar 2011 19:14:34 +0000

There were giant beach balls, a flying stage, fireworks, a bizarre but equally impressive rap, guns firing T-shirts into the crowd, and at the back of the stage, a gas-powered flaming sign that threatened to engulf the drummer.

Review: The Australian Pink Floyd Show @ Apollo, Manchester

Mon, 14 Mar 2011 16:13:55 +0000

BEGINNING with the obligatory Shine On You Crazy Diamond, The Australian Pink Floyd Show proved yet again why they are widely lauded as the ‘best tribute band in the world’.

Review: Solid Silver 60s Show @ Palace Theatre, Manchester

Sat, 12 Mar 2011 12:11:48 +0000

NOW in its 26th year, this sixties revue shows no sign of slowing down if the reaction of the audience – and their numbers - is anything to go by.

Review: Beady Eye @ Apollo, Manchester

Tue, 08 Mar 2011 11:49:44 +0000

LOUD, brash and at his arrogant best - Liam Gallagher is most certainly back.

Review: 10cc @ Lowry, Salford

Thu, 03 Mar 2011 16:31:46 +0000

We may be a decade into the new millennium, but it was a delight to step back into the sounds of the Seventies with veteran rockers 10cc.