Magic Numbers, Cambridge Junction, October 2005

These people love what they do and they're having a very good time - consequently, that meant I had a great time! Their voices have to be heard live to appreciate how gorgeous they are. High points? There's too many to mention them all but, their cover of Beyonce was way up there. See them live if you can - you won't regret it.

Bloc Party, Cambridge Corn Exchange, October 2005

The atmosphere at this gig was fantastic-the crowd were desperate for the band and the majority of them loved every minute. I, on the other hand, didn't. The sound was pretty dire-Kele's vocals and Matt's drums were way too high in the mix for most of the night. Having said that, the stand out tracks on the album really blew me away but the bad sound made the "album filler" tracks pretty much unbearable. My photos are dodgy because I couldn't get anywhere near the stage to take a decent shot!

Editors, We are Scientists, The Cinematics, Cambridge Junction, October 2005

My Camera decided to pack up on me at this gig so no photos - grrrrrr! Caught the last two tracks from The Cinematics and they sounded promising. Solid, tight guitars and all that. Have heard great things about We Are Scientists and I'm pleased to say I wasn't disappointed. They managed to mix poppy vocals with angular/spikey guitar sounds well. Lots of their songs start off sounding like one thing and then morph halfway through into another - then they go back again! All very interesting. Comes across great live but not sure how it will sound recorded. Editors were on fighting form. They seem to be able to adapt their sound to suit the size of the venue and it was amazing to hear them fill the Junction with a cacophony of sound. Trouser flapping bass, ear splitting guitars, smooth vocals and militaristic drums - perfect! They make it all seem so easy too.

Elbow, Blueroom Studios, Manchester, May 2005

Part of the Carling live event in Manchester, this gig was in Elbow's recording studios. A beautiful place which was great for filling with beautiful music. If you don't know any of Elbow's stuff, shame on you - get out there and listen to some - they will blow you away with their power and emotion. Incredible musicians and songwriters like these are few and far between.

Doves, Cambridge Corn Exchange, March 2005

A much bigger gig and I think the sound was all the better for it. Doves have such a huge wall of sound that trying to cram it into a small space can make it lose some of it's impact. (I got to jump around a bit more because there was more space too which is always good!).

Doves, Nottingham Social, November 2004

This gig was mental - upstairs at the Nottingham Social which is about as big as a normal pub back room. They played lots of new songs from the then, unreleased, Some Cities. I think that they may have been extremely nervous but they managed to pull it off.

Rob Gretton tribute, Manchester Ritz, May 2004

Here are some photos from the gig - 3 Doves and 1 ACR with Peter Hook. Doves played acoustic and the sound was great. I was particularly excited when Bernard Sumner joined Doves onstage to sing Bizarre Love Triangle!