Live music in Liverpool this week: 12-18 Oct

Another hectic week for live music in Liverpool: Johnny Foreigner, Gorgon City and MØ number among the highlights, but that's merely the tip of the iceberg...

Preview by Will Fitzpatrick | 12 Oct 2016

We dive into the listings to bring you the essential guide to gigs in Liverpool this week – plus the latest news on festivals, tour announcements and more. Think we've missed something? Hit up will@theskinny.co.uk with the details... 

12 Oct

A bit of glamorous indie rock'n'roll to kick things off: Welshpool quartet Hitchers aren't shy about their Cribs fandom and it shows, but the band's easygoing approach to melody and nagging, fuzzy guitar lines offers a charm of its own. They're joined by local hard rockers Shogun (not to be confused with the Scottish grime wunderkind) and stirring rockers Azura Kings for a more-then-affordable bout of midweek shenanigans.
Maguire's Pizza Bar, 7pm, Free entry (PWYW donations)

13 Oct

Manchester duo The Hyena Kill began making waves with debut EP Gush in 2012, but their riff-soaked, blood-splattered approach to hard-hitting rawk is fast becoming a firm favourite of mosh fans across the UK. Having released their first full-length Atomised in May this year, they now take to the road in search of more lost souls to add to their collection. By which we mean 'to play at you, loudly'. Rival Bones and Trauma System open up.
Arts Club, 7pm, £7

14 Oct

North London producers Kye 'Foamo' Gibbon and Matt 'RackNRuin' Robson-Scott make up Gorgon City, a UK garage outfit renowned for their hits Real and Ready For Your Love. This year's double album Kingdom has cemented their reputation for dancefloor bangers and house classicism, emphasising their strengths and buoyed by a variety of guest vocalists including one Wyclef Jean. Catch 'em in the flesh for a guaranteed party.
O2 Academy, 7pm, £16

They're a little bit country, they're a little bit rock'n'roll... they're Ward Thomas, the sisterly twosome of Catherine and Lizzy Ward Thomas, and they come to bring a little British perspective to that most American of genres. Formed in Hampshire, they released their second album Cartwheels earlier this month, and with their fanbase growing with every tour, you can bet the atmosphere in the Arts Club will be one of sheer adoration.
Arts Club, 7pm, £13.50

The Travelling Band, meanwhile, have been at this game for ten years now, and they're showing no signs of stopping. Their often raucous, always affecting take on folk-rock has thus far resulted in three albums and a whole lot of touring (that name's no coincidence), and this latest jaunt sees them previewing tracks from Pinhole Sounds Volume One, a compilation 10" curated by the band that also features new music from A. Dyjecinski, Barbarisms and Jo Rose & Pit Pony. Nifty.
Magnet, 7.30, £10

And then there's Real Terms. 'Who?' we hear you ask, and not without good reason: this is the first show from a Liverpool four-piece that's guaranteed to attract an eager crowd. David, John and Lynny used to comprise three quarters of much-missed math-rockers Vasco da Gama; this new outfit is similarly, excellently complex but with a newfound appreciation of space and melody. Perky Broadstairs trio Fish Tank and singer-songwriter Ste Forshaw provide sterling support.
Maguire's Pizza Bar, 8pm, £5

15 Oct

Tastefully elegant sounds await anyone lucky enough to catch Field Studies this Saturday: much beloved of Huw Stephens and Tom Robinson, they've cited influences as diverse as Explosions in the Sky and The National, but their expansive, atmospheric take on what you might just about call indie rock is far more than sadboy post-rock worship. They'll get right under your skin, and you'll love it.
Shipping Forecast, 7.30pm, £5

On a louder, more familiar guitar pop tip is Jordan Allen, the Bolton songwriter whose songs feel like a series of nods to the hugely-popular likes of the Arctic Monkeys and Jake Bugg. Lyrically he pulls from similarly observational fare to those two acts, and he has a neat way with a knowing line that offsets his strident anthemia. If lads in winkelpickers with a penchant for Strokesian riffs are your bag, this is definitely for you.
Buyers Club, 7.30pm, £5

Alternatively, what about an evening of hardcore punk to get the ol' adrenaline flowing? Peterborough's metal-infused Vendetta have been around for 18 years, but this trip to Maguire's marks their first visit to Liverpool. Fleshing out the line-up, Depraved State hail from North Wales and deal in exhilarating crust-tinged hardcore, Colwyn Bay's Habits do Revolution Summer riffs and neat ideas, while local boys Code Break lace their brand of post-hardcore with nuance and subtlety: catch this rare live appearance while you can.
Maguire's Pizza Bar, 7pm, £5

16 Oct

The welcome return of Johnny Foreigner should provide every reason you need to come out on a Sunday night. The self-described "Mandy Morbid of indie rock", their hyper-melodic smarts are evident in every last note splashed across latest record Mono No Aware. They're also bringing fellow Birmingham nosieniks Sunshine Frisbee Laserbeam along for guaranteed fun, while local newbies Forever in Debt and Salt the Snail get things off to a smashing start.
Maguire's Pizza Bar, 7.45pm, £6

18 Oct

On their Bandcamp page, London's Beach Baby describe this year's single Ladybird as "an evocative blend of British post-punk and 80s new wave peppered with hints of noisier grunge, shoegaze, and lo-fi indie rock," which sounds like rather a lot to swallow. We'd politely suggest it's sweetly moreish guitar pop with enough deliciously swoonsome qualities to keep you hungry for more, but maybe that's just us.
Studio 2, 7pm, £8

Looking for a decent way to spend your Tuesday? is a pretty damn good option. Hailing from Ubberud in Denmark, the electropop whizkid has collaborated with Iggy Azalea and Major Lazer while drawing comparison to Grimes and Twin Shadow; new track Drum (co-written with Charli XCX) foreshadows the release of her eagerly-anticipated second album, and it's another of those bangers we mentioned earlier in this column. She's ace, basically.
Arts Club, 7pm, £14.50

Now booking:

Clinic have been unveiled as the headliners of Liverpool Music Week's closing party on 4 Nov! Read the full details here, and book tickets here.