Event Reviews

The guys behind the sound desk at Bristol Academy deserve medals. Every venue is prone to issues with mixes at one point or another, but tonight it’s spot-on for every single band that plays which means there’s a buzz in the air not felt for a long time. We even …

There are few people in the music business to whom the term “living legend” can, and should, be deservedly applied.  As far as the the Irish rock scene is concerned, there is one gentleman to whom that descriptive does not even begin to do justice – and that is Mr …

This weekend, Wales played home to the heavily anticipated ninth cycle of Hard Rock Hell Festival, delivering yet another extraordinary event filled with die-hard fans, a copious level of booze, and over fifty bands from across the globe ready and willing to perform to thousands of rockers, all confined to …

As gig lineups go this was always going to be a hard one to beat.  Megadeth, Lamb of God, Children of Bodom and Sylosis, so it’s no surprise that there was a good turnout tonight.  The night kicked off with Sylosis.  They only get a short set tonight, but they …

There are occasions when you go to a gig genuinely not knowing what to expect.  Having witnessed the lunacy that is an Evil Scarecrow show for the first and only time at Bloodstock last summer, your PM team had a rough idea of the madness that was about to descend …

Back in May this year I travelled up to Dames of Darkness Festival which was hellishly brilliant, whilst I was there I picked up Control The Storm‘s debut release Beast Inside.  I gave it a spin on my long drive back and fell in love with the album; Control The …

The night kicked off with Divine Ascension, an Australian band here on their first trip to the UK. Sadly as is often the case with opening acts at midweek gigs, the venue was only half full for their set, but the fans who were there were definitely the lucky ones …

For the band and fans alike, Y&T‘s annual end of year UK tours have become something akin to a pilgrimage.  Despite being more than four decades into their career – and not having released any new material in a little more than five of those years – Dave Meniketti and …

It was like Halloween in Manchester for this second time this year when German Horror Punk band The Other played at Tiger Lounge, a small basement venue on Cooper Street, near Manchester Town Hall and conveniently close to one of Manchester’s Wetherspoons pubs The Waterhouse. Although The Other have been …

The combination of it being a Monday night – and the coldest and stormiest one of the year so far – and the fact that half of Belfast’s metallians had decamped south of the border for the first of the Megahuff/Lamb Of God co-headline arena shows did not initially bode …

Whenever you hear that Pat McManus is playing, it is safe to say that an instantaneous excitement forms in the air.  It doesn’t matter where you are or what you are doing, that come hell or high water you will be in attendance for ‘The Professor’ for an education and a night worth remembering.  Pat McManus is widely …

Last year I went to see Vintage Trouble for the first time and they played one of the most memorable gigs I’ve seen in a long time, featuring a piper, a marriage proposal, Ty Taylor climbing a balcony and all of this in an old church hall.  Since then they’ve …

The drive over to the Sanctuary Rock Bar in Burnley was more spectacular than usual, as the night sky was lit up with plenty of firework displays. Tonight, Sanctuary were playing host to the decadent Knock Out Kaine, who were once known better for their genuine party hard antics – …

Halloween is probably my favourite holiday of the year. All-dayers are a lot of fun – I like to celebrate music and support the local scene, so when I heard of the Halloween all-dayer held at Manchester Rebellion in aid of The Sophie Lancaster Foundation, I jumped at the chance to go. …

Sometimes you go to a gig and everything just comes together and gives you an absolutely brilliant night.  I’ve been critical of the O2 ABC2 in Glasgow before, having been to gigs where the lighting and sound were so bad I wished I hadn’t bothered going.  Last night however I …

The Vintage Caravan were founded in Iceland in 2006 by singer Óskar Logi and former drummer Guðjón Reynisson, who were only 12 years old at the time. In 2012 they were joined by Alexander Örn on bass and released their second studio album Voyage in their home country, before it …

Tonight’s show started with Dan Patlansky, a South African blues guitarist.  His music is very different to Satriani’s, but what they have in common is that both are great guitarists.  Despite that I wasn’t sure how well Dan Patlansky would go down with the Satriani fans, but happily they weren’t …

In contrast to the previous morning, the third and final day of Rockingham dawns crisp and bright, as the PM team join several hundred fellow fans in heading for the hallowed confines of Rock City for another eight bands over 11 hours. The beautiful afternoon outside is complemented by the …

As I already had plans to go down to The Big Smoke to see Spike and Tyla’s Hot Knives, and inflict myself upon my brother, I was pleased to see that The Poodles were doing a one off UK gig in Camden the same weekend. I haven’t heard much of their …

The second morning of the inaugural Rockingham fest dawns overcast and mizzly, but that doesn’t darken or dampen the spirits of the early risers making their way from all directions for the slightly earlier start to Saturday’s proceedings (well, we have gone from six to seven acts performing over the …