Live music in Liverpool this week: 25-30 Aug

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... 

Thu 25 Aug

Grime mainstay Kano's fifth album Made in the Manor dropped earlier this year in a flurry of excitement and critical acclaim, and on the strength of singles like This is England and T-Shirt Weather in the Manor, it's not difficult to see why. A charismatic rapper with a knack for an addictive hook, he visits the Arts Club this Thursday for what's certain to be a packed-out show. Miss him at your peril.
Arts Club, 7.30pm, £20

London-dwelling pop-punkers Small Pond Big Fish pop into Maguire's for their first Merseyside visit – they've drawn understandable comparison to the earlier, spikier work of Paramore, which pretty much serves as a decent explanation of what to expect. Appropriately bouncy local support comes from the impressively pacy Lost in Translation, expansive rock types Gyrus and the soaring epics of NESH.
Maguire's Pizza Bar, 7.30pm, £4 adv/£5 OTD

Following the Wave Machines' break-up in 2014, former drummer Vidar Norheim has been tinkering away quietly at his own material. Tonight he unveils his debut solo EP at Buyers Club, showcasing a richly immersive electro-pop that's not entirely unlike The Postal Service on a downer following an italo makeover. Blind Carbon Copy was recorded with Outfit's Dave Berger – catch it in the flesh alongside Manchester songwriter David O'Dowda and the thoroughly absorbing electronic murk of Lo Five.
Buyers Club, 7pm, £4

Fri 26 Aug

Largely famous for terrifying the nation's youth at the 1992 Brit Awards, thanks to a blazing collaboration with The KLF, hardcore legends Extreme Noise Terror head up an excellent line-up of crust, grind and d-beat: what better way to start the weekend? Co-frontman Dean Jones remains the sole original member in the line-up, but last year's self-titled effort proved the current gang have still got it. Veteran Welsh metallers Desecration are also on the bill, alongside the ear-shredding assault of Auralskit and the gnarly death metal of Kryocell.
Magnet, 7pm, £12.50

Friday also marks the start of a three-day affair, courtesy of Antipop and Bitchicism. The Merseyside Punk Rock Bank Holiday Weekender does everything you'd expect it to from that title, with a huge line-up including (deep breath): Down & Outs, Epic Problem, Flat Back Four, Pardon Us, Queen Zee & The Sasstones, Rash Decision, Matilda's Scoundrels, Chewed Up, No Ta, Wanweird, 2 Sick Monkeys, Revenge of the Psychotronic Man, Stuck in a Rut, Random Scandal, Crash Mats and Meet the Robots (phew!). Weekend tickets are on sale now, with day tickets available on the door.
Maguire's Pizza Bar, 26-28 Aug, from 6pm, £16 for 3 Days

Sat 27 Aug

Madrid's favourite garage rockers The Parrots are no slouches when it comes to keeping busy. Endlessly touring and recording, they're now ready to unleash their debut album Los Niños Sin Miedo upon the world, and as a band renowned for raucous shows with stage invasions aplenty, you can bet this launch show will be wild. Punk sleaze merchants Ohmns, rickety psych noiseniks Psycho Comedy and Wirral fuzz-groovers Jo Mary round out the bill, while Carl Combover of The Shook-Ups and Doktor Combover takes over the decks to spin classic sounds.
Magnet, 7pm, £6

Sun 28 Aug

There's another hefty bill on offer this Sunday, as the Hillsborough Truth and Justice Concert comes to the one-time crown jewel in the city's live music venues: The Royal Court. A charity affair, raising money for the Hillsborough Justice Campaign and other Mersey charities, plenty of local heroes (both old and new) will be performing to lend their support.

Take your pick from Starsailor's James Walsh, Ian McNabb, The Real People, Western Promise, Gary Clail Sound System, Ian Prowse and Friends, The Sums, Dave McCabe, Chris Kearney, Mark Coyle, Joe Symes And The Loving Kind, Oranj Son, Jamie Deary, Beatnik Hurricane, Phaedra, Stevie Thompson And The Incidents, Paul Replay Leay and Jamie Webster – a good night for a good cause.
Royal Court, 4pm, £26

Mon 29 Aug

There's a treat in store to cheer the close of the bank holiday weekend: golden age hip-hop survivors Pete Rock & CL Smooth head on over to the Arts Club! Best known for their 1992 hit They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.), they reformed in 2010 following a 15-year split, and have been making up for lost time with an impressively busy tour schedule ever since. Make no mistake, this is a guaranteed treat in a week packed full of them.

Now Booking

Amanda Palmer, photo: Pete Dunlop

Fromer Dresden Doll and all-roun creative inspiration Amanda Palmer drops into the splendid surrounds of Central Library on 23 Oct for an evening of songs and... well, who knows. Stories? Performance art? It'll be an intense spectacle, whatever happens. The show sold out almost as soon as it was announced, but if you can find a way to grab a ticket then we strongly recommend you do.

Meanwhile, Red Bull Music Academy heads to Merseyside between 6-9 October, with a star-studded cast including Jamie Woon and Moodymann and Krept & Konan. Pick up tickets here.