MONDAY 31st MAY
Dot to Dot Festival (£25 adv.)
Deaf Institute/FAC251/Academies
Mystery Jets/Los Campesinos!/Washed Out/Liars/more…
Boasting one of the best festival line-ups around, Dot to Dot celebrates it’s first year in Manchester by bringing the city’s month of festivals to a fittingly spectacular close, with bands both new and established playing in a variety of venues, it’s going to be brilliant, even if pieminster don’t sponsor it anymore.
TUESDAY 1st JUNE
£8 Adv.
Deaf Institute
Thee Oh Sees/Mazes
I’d laboured under the assumption that Thee Oh Sees were an upcoming band that had merely recorded a vast body of work through demos and EPs. In actual fact, this year saw them release their 11th album, though admittedly, these have been in a variety of different guises. Pyschedelic garage rock brilliance, and brilliant support too.
WEDNESDAY 2nd JUNE
Wotgodforgot (£8.50 adv.)
Ruby Lounge
Scout Niblett/Ora Cogan/Ed Cottam
Owner of one of the greatest surnames of all time, Emma Louise ‘Scout’ Niblett is famed for her intimate live performances, mirroring her stripped down recorded sound. On tour promoting her latest release ‘The Calcination of Scout Niblett’, there’s support from Ed Cottam, who is likely to make you chuckle and feel as though your skin is crawling at the same time.
A Dette of Gratitude (£9 adv.)
Deaf Institute
Emmy the Great/Beth Jeans Houghton/Race Horses/Special Guests
Witty wordplay, awkward rhymes and a ridiculous amount of mp3 giveaways, Emmy finally made the leap from being a MySpace celebrity to actual real world music star a few years back, and she’s not looked back since. Utterly enthralling live, expect to see a mixture of loved-up couples, the middle aged and perverts in attendance, whilst much fancied Beth Jeans Houghton and welsh whizzkids Race Horses offer support, along with as yet unnamed special guests.
THURSDAY 3rd JUNE
Start knitting a scarf.
FRIDAY 4th JUNE
Postcards from Manchester (£5)
Saki Bar
The School/Hexicon/The Hayley Faye Band
Hyped by Drowned in Sound, Pitchfork and Rough Trade, The School are aching, C86 inspired indie pop at it’s finest. Definitely one to take your dancing shoes to.
SATURDAY 5th JUNE
Now Wave (£7 adv.)
Deaf Institute
The Smith Westerns/Yuck/Milk Maid
Words cannot describe how exciting this line up sounds. Milk Maid and Yuck is an appetising prospect in itself, but the energy and intensity that Smith Westerns have on record can only be more intense live. Fuzzy and brilliant, their debut was one of the best albums of last year, and this could easily be one of the best gigs of this. Do not miss.
SUNDAY 6TH JUNE
Wotgodforgot (£7 adv.)
Ruby Lounge
Mi Ami/Pig Village/Apes Fight Back
Utterly tribal, Mi Ami deal in looped rhythms, utilising an imperceptible depth that is incredibly easy to get lost in. If they’re anything near as loud as their records suggest, this is likely to be one of the gigs that induces tinnitus later in life – but it will be worth it.
Now Wave (£5 adv.)
The Corner
The Swiss
From last.fm: “crisp and snappy drums, quicksand lazer-sludge bass, dizzy pops & flourishes, melody rays and synthesised strings that glide on the thermal currents of life.”
Any missed out? Email mbritton2@gmail.com
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