The Unthanks & Katherine Priddy - Albert Hall, Manchester (20/12/23)

Katherine Priddy's opening number is traditional English folk in the vein of tonight's headliners or the songs covered on Anais Mitchell & Jefferson Hamer's 'Child Ballads'. Her voice is lovely, both delicate and dreamy, and the melodies are so calming that I could do with being prescribed them to help keep my blood pressure under control. 'The First House On The Left' is sparse and gentle. 'Letters From A Travelling Man' is more urgent, well as urgent as this style of folk gets anyway. I find myself reminded of Ralph McTell with some of the guitar playing. 'Eurydice' is sang in a slightly lower register and is more melancholic. It is still beautiful though. 'Does She Hold You Like I Did' is a bit more Americana influenced, and she manages to create quite a nice little groove with just a voice and guitar. Captivating.

I often think that The Unthanks' music reminds me of the darker seasons. There are the autumnal songs which sing of fading love and hope, and darker days to come. There are also the wintry songs which evoke images of bleak days and long lonely nights. Tonight, however, is a special show billed as 'The Unthanks In Winter' which will see them singing seasonal songs and carols.

The Unthank sisters enter the stage playing sleigh bells, and this heralds a dark, maudlin 'O Tannenbaum' ('O Christmas Tree'). The melancholy is provided by the violin and sax as the vocals provide small glimpses of hope. It's quite downbeat and bleak but it's very atmospheric, and when you add The Unthanks' distinctive vocals it conjures a certain magic, as demonstrated on 'Gower Wassail' (or should that be magick, as there is a pagan tone to a lot of these songs, even the religious ones). An instrumental 'The Holly And The Ivy' is surprisingly jaunty. By contrast, 'O Come All Ye Faithful' is gloomy and desolate. 'Carol Of The Birds' is chilling, whilst 'Carol Of The Beasts' is hypnotic and not dissimilar to The Swans (who I saw here earlier in the Summer), just not as loud.

Pianist Adrian McNally describes the show as two parts darkness to one part schmaltz. Unfortunately, 'Cherry Tree Carol' is way too schmaltzy for me. 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen' is performed on the vibraphone and is spellbinding. 'The Snow It Melts The Soonest', sang solo by Rachel, is evocative and emotional. I found myself reminded of Nordic Giants' 'Through A Lens Darkly', which makes me think of 'The Last Breath', which in turn makes me cry. That film still haunts me. 'Leaping And Dancing' sees the traditional (for an Unthanks show) clog dancing. 'Nurse Emmanuelle' (sang to the tune of 'O Holy Night') is quite beautiful when all the voices join in. The acapella 'Tar Barrel In Dale' which closes the regular set is equally stunning.

The Unthanks ****

Katherine Priddy ****

Lanterns On The Lake & Sophie Jamieson - Band On The Wall, Manchester (5/12/23)

Sophie Jamieson plays singer-songwriter style material with a slight twist. Although it is just a voice and guitar, it isn't just gentle strumming, it's arpeggiated chords coupled with a haunting voice, not dissimilar to Anna Calvi. It is pretty downtempo but it is also quite moving. Sophie is extremely softly spoken in between songs which adds to her charm. Her voice has a timeless quality and Angel Olsen is probably another reference point. The whole experience is quite affecting.

Lanterns On The Lake are another act which mine the Angel Olsen style of indie pop. Hazel Wilde's voice is rich and evocative, whilst the material has enough hooks to be memorable. Additional instrumentation in the form of Angela Chan's violin adds an extra dimension. I'm not sure they need two drummers though. There's a hint of Hurray For The Riff Raff to them as well, although without the Americana influences. 'Every Atom' has some terrific guitar effects. When their sound gets more expansive, they sound like Mono with vocals (minus the crescendos of noise). New track 'Rich Girls' is a great balance of complexity and accessibility reminiscent of Radiohead. They are truly excellent in those more progressive moments. Hazel is also quietly spoken but she is charming and funny. 'Locust' is sweeping and epic, and is reminiscent of Angel Olsen at her most emotive. it does get quite post-rock at times but the vocals and choruses always make it accessible. Excellent.

Lanterns On The Lake ****

Sophie Jamieson ****

Blood Command & War Stripes - Deaf Institute, Manchester (3/12/23)

War Stripes start their set with shouty indie, although the instruments have a heavy grungy tone which makes them sound like The Libertines if they played through Royal Blood's amps. Their brash indie punk verges on Soft Play/Slaaves at times, especially if they were backed by Big Business. Their final track (which is introduced as being about Gary Lineker) has a 'Babylon's Burning' feel, mainly because of the bassline. This isn't the only old school punk reference as there are little hints of the Sex Pistols at times too. They also lead the crowd in a few chants of 'Fuck the Tories' a couple of times too. Not bad at all.

There is a pretty wide range of T-shirts in attendance, covering black metal (Immortal and Septic Flesh), more mainstream metal (Gojira, Jinjer and Anthrax) and punk (Capdown and The Casualties - yeah, that one's mine) which highlights Blood Command's wide ranging appeal.

The band explode onto the stage with high octane, riff heavy, anthemic punk reminiscent of fellow Norwegians Turbonegro, The Good The Bad And The Zugly and Ondt Blod. They get more metallic on occasions, even including some blackened blasting at times. The energy is infectious. They are remarkably accessible, even verging on Paramore style pop punk at times, just much ballsier. The riffs just incite non-stop jumping which reverberates through the floor enough to cause motion sickness. Frontwoman Nikki Brumen is a ball of energy, covering every inch of the stage. She is a magnetic presence who is difficult to take your eyes off, even when she's spitting on herself! The band exits the stage while the hardcore techno of 'Welcome To The Next Level Above Human' plays, and the party continues regardless. One quick costume change into different Adidas outfits and the self-proclaimed 'band with the three stripes' are back on stage raging. There is a hardcore edge to many of these songs and the vocals are reminiscent of Svalbard, particularly on 'A Villain's Monologue'. 'Forever Soldiers Of Esther' is a frantic thrashabout with an anthemic chorus. The final track of the regular set, 'Losing Faith', even has a touch of Eurovision as it is more of a guitar heavy 'City Lights' (Belgium's 2017 entry). Encore 'Ctrl + Art + Delete' even has a hip hop style groove. 'Cult Of The New Beat' rocks out in a Refused 'New Noise' style and closes the show in epic style.

Blood Command ****

War Stripes ***

Extreme & Living Colour - Academy, Manchester (30/11/23)

I first got into Living Colour in 1990 when I bought the 'Time's Up' album. I'm not even sure what prompted me to buy it. I don't remember seeing any videos by them. I don't recall any any stand out reviews. I don't even remember buying it. It just seemed like one day I didn't own it and the next day I did. The album is pretty eclectic and it took a little while for all the songs to grow on me. Sure, the thrashy title track and 'Information Overload', and the more straightforward rockers 'Pride' and 'Type', were favourites pretty quickly but it took longer for tracks like the calypso flavoured 'Solace Of You' to bury themselves into my consciousness.

The track 'Time's Up' has environmentally conscious lyrics. Around this time, I did a sociology project on environmental themes in the media and obviously I chose the medium of music. I copied out the lyrics to 'Time's Up' and also 'Greenhouse Effect' by Testament as part of the project. My friend Eddie found the handwritten lyrics to 'Greenhouse Effect' and asked if they were mine. I don't know what possessed me to lie but I did and I told him they were mine. He said he thought they were really good but said that the title should be 'Environmental Holocaust' instead. I think I kinda agree too. Testament missed a trick there!

Even though I've been a long time Living Colour fan, this is the first time I've seen them live.

They open with an energetic version of Led Zeppelin's 'Rock And Roll'. This is followed by the heavy rhythmic funk of 'Middle Man'. A pacy 'Type' sees Corey Glover's dreadlocks flying everywhere, and the rapid fire climax is great. A brief verse of Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah' shows how good Corey's voice is. This leads into an emotional 'Open Letter (To A Landlord)'. They're still all prodigious musicians, and Vernon Reid in particular hasn't missed a beat. 'Love Rears It's Ugly Head' is played loose and jazzy. A hip hop medley led by bassist Doug Wimbish, featuring 'White Lines (Don't Do It), 'Apache' and 'The Message', is great fun. A ridiculously good 'Cult Of Personality' closes an excellent set.

I don't really have an option not to be here tonight as my wife is a massive Extreme fan. Having seen them a number of times with her has softened my opinion towards them (which probably peaked with me wanting to lob piss at them prior to Donnington '94).

Extreme open with the high energy, hard rocking 'It ('s A Monster)'. Gary oddly looks like he's had an accident, in his headband and bizarre shades with an X on the lens. An excellent 'Decadence Dance' follows. It is clear from the first few numbers that Extreme are nowhere near as soft as people think they are. Sure, they're not Pantera, but then again we're thankful for that. Despite being a mid paced track, the Hendrix meets Beatles flavoured 'Rest In Peace' keeps the energy up. The vocal harmonies on 'Hip Today' are really impressive. A high octane 'We Will Rock You' leads into an amazing 'Play With Me'. The summery West Coast vibes of new track 'Other Side Of The Rainbow' adds a nice change of pace. The country stomp of 'Hole Hearted' is brilliant and really gets the crowd involved. 'Thicker Than Blood' has a heavy, grungy sound. Nuno's solo acoustic spot on 'Midnight Express' shows how unbelievably talented he is. 'More Than Words' sees everyone singing along and it is joyous. Things go from the sublime to the ridiculous, as a fantastically harmonised 'Fat Bottomed Girls' leads into 'Banshee' where Gary Cherone's vocals seem a bit flat on the verses. He was never the greatest of singers and time hasn't changed that but he is a great frontman. Nuno's 'Flight Of The Wounded Bumblebee' is where he really gets to show off, but then again I'd probably show off if I was that good. Flashy bastard! They end in the show in a suitably rocking fashion with arguably their strongest track, the new song 'Rise' which features THAT ludicrous solo. Another great reminder of what a solid rock band Extreme still are.

Extreme ****

Living Colour ****

Cavalera & Incite - Academy, Manchester (10/11/23)

I grew up supporting Oldham Athletic. The greatest day in our history was when we won the 2nd Division Championship in 1991. We had already won promotion, but to win the title we had to beat Sheffield Wednesday (who had also been promoted and were third in the table) and hope that the leaders West Ham lost to Notts County (who were fourth and also got promoted through the play offs). We were 2 - 0 down, before coming back to level the game and then Neil Redfearn scored a last minute penalty to seal the title. Glorious. Unfortunately I wasn't there to see it. I had given my season ticket up for that game so that I could go on a date with a girl I met at a party. She didn't show up. I found myself in the nearby town of Stockport (where we had arranged to meet), miserable because I had been stood up, with nothing to do. I decided to have a walk around the shops to kill time. I found a really cool record shop with a really good metal section so I started browsing the vinyl section to see if I could find something cool to make the journey worthwhile. I found the recently released Sepultura album 'Arise' which had been getting great reviews from the metal magazines. I pored over the monstrous Michael Whelan cover art of a hideous mutated beast with crab-like limbs and a prominent eyeball staring out beyond the record. I looked at it a number of times (that cover is hypnotic), debating whether I should take a chance on the record or not (I had seen the video for 'Inner Self' from the previous album but it hadn't really grabbed me). In the end I opted for something more tried and trusted and bought an Overkill album that I didn't have instead ('Taking Over', which is also a great album). It was a year or two later that I finally discovered the majesty of 'Arise' but I always associate this ritual humiliation with that album, mainly because of that striking album cover.

Tonight sees Max and Igor Cavalera bring their celebration of Sepultura's early days into town, playing 'Bestial Devastation' and 'Morbid Visions' in full.

Incite (who feature Max Cavalera's stepson Richie on vocals) open the show. They play heavy metal with a certain amount of groove, not dissimilar to latter day Machine Head. The guitar solos have a big Dimebag Darrell influence. They aren't as impactful when they play faster, which seems much more generic. Richie works hard to try and elicit a reaction from the crowd but it comes across as a little too tryhard. Hearing him roar 'fucking moooooove' gets rather tiresome after the tenth time. They do veer a little too close to Pantera on occasions for my liking too. Serviceable.

Cavalera's sound is a bit thin when they are blasting through the fast parts. This is a bit of a problem for opener ' Bestial Devastation' and the whole of that first Sepultura EP, although the chunky mid section of 'Antichrist' sounds great. 'Warriors Of Death' is where it finally starts to click. The thrash seems much more focused and powerful. 'Sexta Feira 13' follows and this highlights what an absolute powerhouse Igor still is behind the drumkit. Orff's 'O Fortuna' then plays to precede 'Morbid  Visions' and this is great music to build tension. The less primal 'Morbid Visions' material sounds better, and both the title track and 'Crucified' are good. The second half of 'Crucified', after a slow creepy interlude, is particularly savage. 'Empire Of The Damned' is pretty insistent, whilst 'Escape To The Void' is thunderous. A 'Chaos A.D.' medley is hit and miss, as 'Refuse/Resist' lacks its usual bite but the slower groove of 'Territory' hits hard. The band rip through a metallic cover of 'Protest And Survive' with Shane Embury on guitar and JJ from Discharge on vocals. They also fit in a cheeky cover of 'You Suffer' too. There are a number of good moments but, sadly, tonight never really catches fire.

Cavalera ***

Incite ***