Northwest Gig Highlights – August 2014

Get out of the sweaty sun and into the cool darkness of our best gig venues to see the likes of Action Beat, Pissed Jeans and Lower. If it’s sun you’re after though, we’re praying for plenty at our Do Not Miss event

Preview by Simon Jay Catling | 29 Jul 2014

The sun’s overrated; it leaves you a sodden, sweaty mess, results in sunburn and causes endless showering following any slight activity – and then how much sun will you really get? Not much, what with all that showering you’ll be doing – best to stay inside and watch the following instead.

The rise of FKA twigs has been so sudden that anyone who knew her when she was simply known as ‘Twigs’ is a downright liar. The most hyped thing to come out of Gloucestershire since their world-famous cheese-rolling competition, a pair of delicately manipulated R’n’B EPs on Young Turks suggest that we should be quite excited about her playing the Dancehouse in Manchester on 30 Jul.

One band who’ll never need an ‘FKA’ in front of their name are London-based repeato-industrialists Shit and Shine. The sort of fellows to gleefully bludgeon you with the same sledgehammer hook until you either give in or give up, they’re joined by the similarly wired Gnod at the Roadhouse on 3 Aug.

Manchester dominates the first half of August’s calendar – on 6 Aug, new Matador signings Lower mix taut post-punk with Leonard Cohen-esque poetry at The Castle, in support of debut LP Seek Warmer Climes. The night after that (7 Aug) sees Joan Wasser’s Joan As Police Woman play Gorilla. Twelve years into her solo project and the former violin-specialising punk still fizzes with the energy of a fresh-faced newbie. New record The Classic is an irrepressibly colourful mix of orchestral soul and retro pop.

Liverpool really gets going towards the back of the month, but stalwart promoters EVOL break cover on 9 Aug for their annual FestEvol. Headliners among an array of local talent at the Kazimier include the off-kilter dream pop of Stealing Sheep and Bird. By the Sea also play ahead of the release of debut LP Endless Days, Crystal Sky.

Back in Manchester, new night PurpleSky launches in style at the Roadhouse on 12 Aug, with the help of Sweden’s Sad Boys. The Sad Boys come fronted by teen rapper Yung Lean, who stylistically sits somewhere between Odd Future and Clams Casino, and he's fond of creating cavernous synth-led soundscapes to underpin his words. Moody.

Hookworms are back on 14 Aug, but this time as support to the mighty Pissed Jeans at their Gorilla gig. The two acts have much in common, with both coming from DIY scenes either side of the pond. Whereas the Leeds five-piece revel in elongated repetition, though, the Sub Pop-signed Pennsylvanians’ scything punk hasn’t an ounce of fat on it.

It was as recently as May that Gruff Rhys was in Liverpool, for SoundCity. However, so enjoyable was his deftly witty, PowerPoint-aided solo trawl through latest record American Interior – about the life of Welsh explorer John Evans – that a return to Merseyside at Camp and Furnace on 15 Aug is welcome news indeed.

Only a couple of notable gigs within the M60 remain, before Liverpool really takes over. Known to swell to lineups that include four drummers and six guitarists, Action Beat are a nightmare for sound techs but riotous fun for everyone else. Playing Kraak on 16 Aug for their tenth-anniversary tour, the rhythm-heavy noise group are a must-see. On 17 Aug, meanwhile, the legendary Sun Ra Arkestra play Band on the Wall as they celebrate what would have been the 100th year of their late great bandleader, Sun Ra.

To Liverpool.

The Kazimier host a triple-whammy of rock’n’roll depravity on 18 Aug, in the form of Californian slacker-psych group Growlers, the ramshackle grot-pop of Fat White Family and fuzzy Heavenly signings The Wytches. Good luck cleaning up the backstage after that. August 23-25 heralds Liverpool International Music Festival’s free Summer Jam event, featuring the seminal, err, Shaggy. However, away from the main stage the lineup blossoms, with local freak-out merchants Clinic, Ninja Tune rapper Kate Tempest and Scottish leftfield innovator Rustie all worth your time.

If none of that suits, then head to the Kazimier on 24 Aug and immerse yourself in the psychedelic reel of nomadic sonic explorers Acid Mothers Temple. The Kazimier have a busy summer programme in their Garden again too, and this month’s pick is undoubtedly Shangaan Electro forbearer Nozinja on 27 Aug. ‘World music’ is a patronising term, but the South African-born producer’s sound really does trawl the globe, as well taking in native Tsonga disco and Kwaito house.

The peerless St. Vincent, this issue's cover star, sees out the month, playing the O2 Academy in Liverpool on 28 Aug, arguably in the live form of her life. Continuing to promote the fantasy pop of her self-titled LP, Annie Clark’s hyper-choreographed show is mesmerising, while she’s also unafraid to add some real guitar clout to counteract her dreamier side.

See? Being outside’s rubbish.


Do Not Miss

Do Not Miss: Beacons Festival, Heslaker Farm, Skipton, 7-10 Aug

Being flooded out at your first attempt would probably be enough to send most new festival bookers running. However, the team behind Beacons have persevered and gradually built themselves a reputation as one of the most carefully-curated events in the summer music calendar.

Unlike other festivals, where the financial demands of big headliners can leave a paucity of talent underneath, the quality of Beacons’ lineup is evenly spread. Towards the top of the bill there’s the likes of post-punk veterans The Fall, the spatial guitar pop of Daughter and Darkside’s brilliant union of techno and more textural exploration. Elsewhere there’s a strong punk bite to proceedings, with Sub-Pop power trio Metz, local guttural guitar group Eagulls and melodic fuzz-pop troupe Joanna Gruesome all dropping in over the weekend.

Where the festival really impresses, though, is in the diversity of its electronically-minded lineup. From the live euphoria of Glasgow’s Golden Teacher and Leeds’ Galaxians, to renowned DJs like Erol Alkan and Andrew Weatherall (here with his project A Love From Outer Space) and the evolutionary techno of Jon Hopkins, everything is geared up for a party – one no amount of rain can stop.