02
BIPOLAR SUNSHINE £10
03
GHOSTPOET £13
04
GIT AWARDS 2015 £invite
10
OVERTHROW w/ SEA WITCHES + ESA
SHIELDS + MORE £3
14
RAT ALLEY RAVE w/ ENGINE DJS
(Matlock) £2
15
DRENGE + PINS £12
17
LIVERPOOL ARABIC ARTS FESTIVAL:
TAMER ABU GHAZALEH £8
19
POLAR BEAR £15
21
OF MONTREAL £14
23
WIRE £18
27
PORTICO + SNOW GHOSTS £10
28
THE TWILIGHT SAD £12
29
MANU DELAGO HANDMADE £6/10
30
JAMES HOLDEN (LIVE) £13.50
The last time Newcastle native RICHARD
DAWSON played in Liverpool, it was before
an audience of perhaps thirty at Static Gallery
in a performance unforgettable for all who
witnessed it. Since then, Dawson’s most
recent record, Nothing Important, has been
Important
released by Domino Records to widespread
critical acclaim, culminating in this, the final
date of an intense, short tour. Before the show,
Dawson explains to me how close he came to
cancelling the last couple of dates of the tour
due to a bad throat and broken voice. He feels
happy, and lucky, to be here now that he’s in
fine shape to perform.
He begins his set with two a cappella
numbers, one of which is The Brisk Lad, a
haunting piece that has this packed room
bristling with imagery. The crowd are hanging
on his every word. It’s as if he’s delivering coded
secrets through his music – those present are
lost in the mystery. He picks up his guitar and
treats us to tracks Wooden Bag Black Dog In
Bag,
The Sky and the instrumental The Bamburgh
Beast. During the more recent Judas Iscariot
Iscariot,
his guitar style remains visceral but somehow
still delicate and beguiling. This is possibly
the loudest folk music you can experience;
his voice bellows through the speakers during
more a cappella pieces such as Poor Old Horse.
Dawson finishes his set with The Vile Stuff,
Stuff
his recent single and the breakthrough track
for this new phase of his career. He seems to
have a strange reaction when his mention of
the track receives loud applause. He doesn’t
seem comfortable with the prospect of his
rising renown. Unfortunately for him, if he
keeps playing as expressively as he has done
tonight, that renown seems unstoppable.
Christopher Carr
BLOSSOMS
The Vyrll Society – Hidden Charms
EVOL @ The Kazimier
If there’s one thing Stockport five-piece
BLOSSOMS are not, it’s deceptive. With a
dress sense described by the Manchester
Evening News as “turtlenecks and jewellery à
la Derek Trotter”, there’s no hidden heavy rock
sensibilities or the like; tonight we’re getting
a healthy dose of indie psych. Thankfully,
Blossoms are not an act which require any
sort of deception; their take on a well-worn
style has involved them taking it apart and
rearranging it as they see best – a sentiment
with which I’m sure every single one of the
mop-topped lads assembled would be quick
to agree.
Equally adoptive of a style of yesteryear is
HIDDEN CHARMS. Sucking the sixties for all it’s
worth, the instrument-swapping, old-school
rock’n’rollers from London inject the Kaz with
some early unexpected vigour. The pace is
sedated a little by THE VRYLL SOCIETY, though
only due to the fact their entire sound is
doused in a numbing aesthetic haze. Lead-man
Michael Ellis sways and croons like the Ian
Brown of old, and there is certainly more than
a customary Stones tint to their music, though
it betrays no sense of overt idolisation. Their
approach to a style since gone is admirable,
and reflects tonight’s headliners perfectly.
It doesn’t take long once the set has started
for Tom Ogden (Vocals/Guitar) to have qualified,
visually at least, why Blossoms have been
compared to the likes of Arctic Monkeys as
well as The Doors. Partially hiding behind a
split mask of long, brown locks, he struts from
one side of the stage to the other. You Pulled A
Gun On Me sees the band at their most Turnercum-Morrison esque, as Ogden opens with the
most tantalising of questions: “won’t you make
love to me?”
Like every band tipped by the likes of
NME, Blossoms have a couple of those
songs in their locker. The sort that sound like
everything you’ve ever listened to before,
but simultaneously stand in their own hazy,
distinctive spotlight. As such, Cut Me And I’ll
Bleed and a particularly rousing rendition of
Blow elicit the most convincingly mumbled
participation from the crowd. However, the
most touching moment comes courtesy of