Fighting To Succeed

Another trip to Manchester was required to see metalcore titans, Hatebreed. Why do so many bands not bother with this side of The Pennines anymore?

Sing Along Forever

It wasn’t the warmest evening, so when I arrived at The Cockpit in Leeds I was glad to get indoors and out of the cold. Or so I thought. It was actually colder in the venue than it was outside. It’s safe to say that the only other building in the world which is colder than this is a Swedish ice hotel.

I'm Shipping Up To Manchester

Deciding to go and see Dropkick Murphys in Manchester less than a week before they were due to play there was perhaps a bit impulsive. It was by no means crazy, though. What was crazy was using fly-by-night, brewery-piss-up-failure experts See Tickets to secure a, err, ticket for the event. The ticket was “sent” immediately and should have arrived in plenty of time. It didn’t, so I contacted them and they said one would be left for me at the box office.

2012 Review

“Why haven’t you posted anything on your blog for months?” “When is there going to be something new to read on your blog?” “Aren’t you the bloke who was in 2 episodes of Albion Market?” These are just a few of the questions I’m constantly not being asked when I’m out and about.

Keepers of the Faith

Brudenell Social Club is perhaps not the easiest venue to find. I took the train from Leeds to Burley Park and emerged into a post-apocalyptic landscape inhabited by cockroaches, students and menacing-looking small business owners. Nobody seemed to know where the venue was and even Google Maps was reluctant to help me navigate the mean streets.

Rebellion Festival Day IV

The last day finally arrived. It’s getting to the stage where you expect to see Punxsutawney Phil on this blog (incredibly current film reference). As it was the last day I decided to try and see as many bands as physically possible and to prepare for this, I took a trip to the Pleasure Beach and rode a few vomit-inducing, pant-soiling rides and screamed obscenities really loudly.

Rebellion Festival Day Three

The third day started and long days and lack of sleep were starting to take their toll on me. There were no must-see bands on my list today, so it was all about discovering new stuff. I got talking to a bunch of Lancashire lads outside the venue who were drinking Skol (I had no idea they still made that) and I joined in with the early drinking by dumping a quarter bottle of vodka in my McDonald’s Coke. Notes were compared on bands we’d seen and bands that were still to come.