Northwest Gig Highlights – December 2013

Christmas be damned – there remains plenty to look forward to across the Northwest’s live scene as 2013 draws to a close, providing the opportunity for merciful respite from the festive markets. There's a slew of superb bookings at Manchester's Gorilla, with an appearance from soulful troubadour Night Beds on 6 Dec and, on 8 Dec, the return of the always fun Los Campesinos!, who play in support of their finest full-length yet, No Blues. Sandwiched in between on 7 Dec is the veritable assault on the senses that is the Factory Floor live show; Liverpudlians can also catch them two days earlier (5 Dec) at The Kazimier, as they finally get around to touring a debut record that took far too long to reach the shelves.

It’s a strong opening week at the other end of the Mersey, too, with Everything Everything playing a rescheduled date at Liverpool O2 Academy on 5 Dec – but the real treat comes a day earlier on 4 Dec at East Village Arts Club, when New Jersey veterans Yo La Tengo, who just released a deluxe reissue of their terrific Fade LP, will play two sets, one acoustic and one electric, with no support. It's the latest in a string of unusual approaches to their live shows – they once opened a gig with a full onstage run-through of the Contest episode of Seinfeld – and it was a tactic that paid major dividends at their tremendous Manchester show back in March.

In chart-friendlier territory, HAIM hit Manchester on 8 Dec for a gig that was quite clearly booked long before their debut record, Days Are Gone, topped the album charts in October; The Ritz will surely provide the most intimate confines you’re likely to see the LA sisters in any time soon. The recently reunited Quasi play The Deaf Institute the same night; expect a career-spanning set from the once-married pair, alongside choice cuts from their excellent new album, Mole City. You could also catch legendary drug user and occasional Strokes guitarist Albert Hammond, Jr. on the other side of town that night, playing a low-key solo show at the Night & Day.

Events out in Trafford at The Warehouse Project take on added significance in the wake of the announcement that the series will take a break in 2014, with just a handful of special shows to plug the gap. The venue’s final full programme for a while has saved some of its biggest hitters 'til last, though, including The Prodigy making their live return with a three-night stand at the venue (18-20 Dec), with Jaguar Skills supporting on all dates and a special 'Warrior’s Dance' show promised. Fans of old-school ravers can choose to double up that week when Primal Scream play Manchester Academy on 15 Dec; expect Screamadelica classics as well as tracks from this year’s criminally overlooked More Light.

There’s plenty more excitement this month with shows from a clutch of the the region’s most exciting crop of new bands for a long time. Local boys Dutch Uncles play their biggest headline gig in town to date at Academy 2 on 6 Dec, with support from Liverpool’s excellent Outfit guaranteeing an all-Northwest affair. Now Wave bring the mysterious No Ceremony to Soup Kitchen for a sold out show on 9 Dec, with PINS following suit at The Deaf Institute on 13 Dec; the four-piece are currently on incendiary live form on the back of supporting Warpaint in October. There is, however, a more serene option down the road that also involves Manchester natives; the now-veteran I Am Kloot follow up March’s two-night stand at The Ritz with a Friday the 13th headline at the O2 Apollo.

Those looking to get into the spirit of the season would be well-advised to head to Slow Club’s intimate show at Manchester's Night & Day (6 Dec), part of their now-customary Christmas tour; last year’s outing at Gorilla was riotously good fun, and with their third full-length expected early next year, it’s safe to assume there’ll be some new material aired. There’s an understandable dearth of great gigs in the second half of the month, but with an already-exciting January schedule lined up, it’ll be a nice breather – particularly if the Northwest live scene remains as healthy in 2014 as it has been this year.

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DO NOT MISS: Kurt Vile, Manchester Academy 2, 14 Dec

Kurt Vile is a man who’s done very little wrong in recent years; his decision to limit his contributions to old band The War on Drugs in favour of a solo career paid off in spectacular fashion two years ago, with the terrific Smoke Ring for My Halo meeting with rapturous critical acclaim and bothering many an end-of-year list. Follow-up Wakin' on a Pretty Daze, released back in April, paid less attention to traditional songwriting structures than its predecessor and features some sprawling, spaced-out tracks, including two ten-minute bookends. Incredibly, the more self-indulgent Vile seems to get, the better he sounds, making attendance obligatory at his only Northwest show. He’ll bring his backing band The Violators to the old debating hall for a set that’s likely to be noisier and heavier than his blissed-out records and stoner persona would have you expect; there’s the opportunity, too, for him to play tracks from new EP it’s a big world out there (and i am scared).