Jens Lekman, Deaf Institute (& Sandbar!), 2 August 2010

Bit of a treat today, here's a review of what sounds like it could be the gig of 2010 so far, by Mr Noggin....

For a whole week before this gig, I thought I was going to see an singer called Lens Yeckman – such was my criminal lack of knowledge about Swedish singer Jens. He was someone well and truly off my radar, his music was as alien to me as the music of Maurice Ravel or JLS. I think I half heard him the Friday before the big day in Saki Bar during their bi-monthly Underachievers Please Try Harder night; it brought to mind Jarvis Cocker singing a Belle and Sebastian number, with a slightly quirkier accent. This had the potential to be quite good, but I also had the nagging feeling that it might also be terrible.

August 2nd arrived. With Lazy Noggin away in London for a lavish wedding, it was up to me to stand in for her – I’d be the cultured lover of all things zeitgeist and twee – and then I’d report back to her, with sarcastic vitriol, how it was all the same old self aware indie bobbins, with added tweed, unkempt hair, and beads.

The Deaf Institute is an excellent venue. For a sauna. Bad start. It was hot in there – I could feel the sweat dripping down my back. Except it wasn’t mine – it was the person stood behind me. If you want to see a sea of unhappy yet shiny faces, then go to the Deaf Institute before a mildly popular gig. Or just spray paint a stranger silver.

And then Jens Lekman walked out with a gaggle of on stage beauties – male and female – they’re a lovely looking bunch – all cool and accessorised – with brass and string instruments. Needless to say, it was easy to forget about being 70% water when he appeared at the front – he won the crowd over with an effortless charm, a good-natured humour, and some bloody excellent tunes.

Tracks like the disco tinged The Opposite of Hallelujah, floating past like Tigermilk era Belle and Seb; blunt yet funny whimsical soul like A Postcard to Nina; and the heartbreaking The End of the World is Bigger than Love – flew by, seeming like songs I should have heard, should have had in my heart, and should have been singing along to like the rest of the audience.

Jens Lekman is hard to place – he’s pop without being embarrassing, he’s funk without needing marijuana, he’s northern soul without the dance moves. He’d probably slot in your CD collection nicely next to The Magnetic Fields, Kings of Convenience and Loney, Dear – yet he sounds utterly unique.

So there I was, happy, amazed, enchanted. And then the gig was over.

But no, Jens decided it wasn’t – he wanted more. And so did everyone else in the room. After a short break, her led us all over to Sandbar - a pied piper to us indie rats. This is where the true appeal of Jens shone through – he was alone, playing a little acoustic guitar, surrounded by cross-legged doe eyed fans, relying on his songs alone – and he had everyone singing along – he made us all feel like we were part of something special, something amazing – he brought down the barriers between musician and listener – we were all as one. Or maybe it just felt that way after the free booze laid on by the rather magnificent manager of Sandbar.

Jens was a true gent, staying way past 1am to sign autographs, pose for pictures, and engage in banter with people way more pissed than he was.

The only frustrating thing of the whole night was knowing that Lazy Noggin missed it all. Bloody London.

So the night ended, after a nice little lock in, some delicious red wine, and some excellent music – we’d hijacked Sandbar, and Jens, for long enough.

Much like this blog.

Linen, Manchester

Searching for a pre-Inception meal, we thought we’d finally try one of the many offers Linen continually promote. It’s a funny one, Linen. Hidden away at top of Manchester235 casino in the Great Northern development, you have to traipse up escalators, across gaudy carpets and past hardened gamblers to get to your meal. Once in the restaurant, the low brick arched ceilings, white tablecloths, lit up posts and baroque furnishings create a weird space, to be frank. Bit too footballers wives for my taste. It was an early Friday evening, and the room was dead, but in fairness it had picked up a bit by the time we left.

The staff were nice, though the formality felt a bit overdone as they served two diet cokes to us in the empty room. We had been reeled in by the two courses for £10 offer, which whatever way you look at it is extremely good value, and is especially so in a place like this where the kitchen obviously knows their stuff. The mains of sausage and mash and Goosnargh chicken were tasty and well-cooked, but the starter of mushroom pate was a bit flabby and tasteless, and although the chips were temptingly dark, ultimately they were soggy and disappointing.

So, we came away in two minds. Mr Noggin was enthusiastically in favour, and in many ways he’s right: the food is generally good and the price is hard to beat. I’d say the food quality was as good as Choice and a quarter of the price with the deals they have on.

But I just don’t feel any need to go back. It doesn’t excite me. It is missing a certain something that makes me love a restaurant, be it the extravagant décor and unusual flavours of Chaophraya, or the buzz and menu appeal of Piccolino’s. Yes, next time I think I’ll pop round the corner to Dimitri’s.

The Middle East @ The Deaf Institute, Manchester, Friday 25 June 2010

Or

The best gig ever?

Do you know when you almost don’t go to something, but then you do and afterwards you can’t believe you came so close to missing it? Well, maybe that’s a bit specific, but that was how I felt as I supped a post-gig drink in Sandbar. It was almost shellshock, a kind of “how amazing was that” euphoria.

The Australian band has been going for five years now, but it was their recent five song EP The Recordings of the Middle East which brought them to my attention. At the Deaf Institute on a beautiful summer evening the band open with The Darkest Side, which immediately sounds ten times better than the already good album version. There are six men and one woman on stage and the sound they make between them is just sublime. I don’t know whether to be impressed by the band or annoyed at whoever produced their EP that this sound was only hinted at on the recordings. The men harmonise together closely as they play guitars, drums, keyboard and a range of other less recognisable instruments. Then the beauty of the music is lifted to another level as Bree Tranter’s voice enters the fray, high and pure but somehow fitting in perfectly. With so many people on stage I was astounded at how considered the sound is. It would be easy for the sound to become loud, raucous or chaotic sounding, but the arrangement is perfect, with members sometimes singing away from the microphone or playing softly to control the song build-up.

I saw them again at Latitude and although the sound was lost a little on the windy Sunrise stage it was still special and beautiful. Highly recommended – go see!

The Mark Addy, Manchester

Its difficult to know whether the Mark Addy counts as a hidden gem or not. On the one hand its been around for ages, has always done good business, and has been feted by Manchester Confidential quite a lot recently. On the other hand its on the other side of the River Irwell. Like, in Salford. This means that a large proportion of Manchester would never consider going there. But its only just over the river (five-ten minutes walk from Albert Square), and is one of the few places in Manchester/Salford to take advantage of the waterways rather than stubbornly ignore them. If you can walk through the weird brown tunnel thing and down the stairs you will be rewarded with a very charming riverside terrace, which on a hot weekday lunchtime was very welcome indeed.

The Mark Addy has received so much attention from Manchester Confidential because of its executive chef, Robert Owen-Brown. He has to run a number of pubs in the area, all of which were praised for their food, all of which closed. So hopefully he’s on to a safer bet with the institution that is the Mark Addy. The stand-out menu item is the cheese and pate board, which was hugely enjoyed by a number of people in our group. The range of local cheeses was brilliant, and the only complaint was that you could only choose one if you wanted pate too. Why not be generous and let people get two or three cheeses, maybe upping the price if necessary? As it was lunchtime we didn’t really take advantage of the hot mains menu, and most had sandwiches and chips, which were fine, but hardly the stuff of rave reviews. I decided to try one of the tempting starters with chips on the side. I chose the coddled egg with shrimp and soldiers. It was tasty, with the little brown shrimp buried at the bottom of the egg cup. However the pile of soldiers were far too large in number for the size of the dish, and I soon ran out of anything to dip them in. It was of course a starter but a little more generosity wouldn’t go amiss for seven quid. The chips were an inviting brown, but were soggy rather than crispy, and didn’t taste like they’d been made fresh.

The dreamy location by the river with the sun beating down on us was an all-round winner, and the service was good. Just wish I hadn’t left feeling a bit let down by the food.

Lissie + Alan Pownall @ Night and Day, Manchester, 17 June 2010

Its unusual to arrive at Night and Day on a Thursday evening and find a queue halfway up the street, but it signals that the popularity tipping point may have been reached for Illinois-born Lissie. Real name Lissie Maurus, the 27 year old has her first album, Catching a Tiger, out on Columbia on Monday and the recent single When I'm Alone has been getting quite a lot of airplay. I had been listening to her EP, Why You Runnin' on repeat, and was keen to see if she was as good live as she sounded on record.

But before she came on it was joint headliner Alan Pownall. He struggled somewhat, as a large part of the crowd, who had clearly come for Lissie, talked loudly throughout his set and he had to repeat himself a number of times. A song of his, Take Me, I'd heard previously and he began with the reggae-tinged number. He has a kind of Jason Mraz thing going on combined with a bit of Jack Johnson - whether you see this as a good thing or not is purely down to taste. I can see clear songwriting talent but he wasn't to Mr Noggin's liking. What was clear was that he is being heavily pushed by his label, with flyers and leaflets everywhere, but there was a blandness to some of the songs that contrasted with potential hits such as Colourful Day. To be honest, I probably won't buy the album. No doubt he'll do well anyway.

The crowd were good and attentive for Lissie, who got huge cheers. She started off with my absolute favourite, Wedding Bells, which has strangely not been included on the album. Its a yearning song of lost love which has been known to make girls cry on first listen. The crowd were visibly more animated by single When I'm Alone, and by her popular Lady Gaga cover Bad Romance. As a non-Gaga fan, they left me kind of cold. Much more interesting was the proper country track Oh Mississippi and Everywhere I Go, which gave her a chance to show off her really very spectacular voice.

It was a funny old gig, and I have to be honest, I turned into a bit of a music snob about it. A lot of the crowd maybe didn't go to gigs that often and were really irritating to those who were just trying to hear the music. Plus I had the underlying feeling that both Lissie and Alan had talents that were in danger of being diluted into bland folky-pop in order to appeal to the mainstream. That being said, there was some great spine-tingly moments that I wouldn't have missed for the world, and I will definitely keep an eye on these two.

PS. Apologies for the terrible photos, I blame it on the light!

Chaophraya, Manchester

As we wandered through empty streets we smugly imagined we would have the place to ourselves. England’s first World Cup match was on and pubs and living rooms were packed out with fans, surely we would be the only people heading for Thai food in a football-free space? It says an awful lot about the popularity of Chaophraya that as we were led upstairs we realised the place was still packed out, like some clandestine anti-football protest.

The two storey restaurant has been beautifully decorated with Buddha heads, fresh flowers and floor cushions if you fancy trying out a Thai tradition. It wasn’t my first time there, and I had some favourites on the menu (Paew Wan Pollomai with beef comes highly recommended), but decided to opt for new dishes, to expand my knowledge of Thai cuisine. After trying some Thai-style prawn crackers, we picked the Golden Treasures platter to start, and it came over on a huge plate, placed on a stand on the table. This was impressive stuff, not just in size but in the beautiful presentation and the variety of the food. The somtum salad was just too hot for us, but everything else was a hit. Favourites included the honey marinated pork, strangely dry but still delicious, Gung Chup Pang Tod, a battered prawn dish, and beautifully flavoured minced crabmeat, pork and prawn.

Mains included more prawns – Kung Phu Kao Fui, gargantuan King Prawns cooked in red wine and flambéed in brandy at the table. The prawns were fantastic, although both the red wine and brandy flavours could have packed more of a punch . I had what looked like an odd dish on the menu, a fruity curry with duck, called Gaeng Sii Ruedue. No, I didn’t attempt to pronounce it. Still, it was really tasty, with cherry tomatoes and pineapple cutting through the creamy Thai curry sauce. Plus they let me take the leftovers home and it tasted even better the next day!

The service at Chaophraya is legendary, full of smiles and kindness. They have an above average number of staff and you rarely wait long for anything. They have the knack of giving you an expensive-feeling restaurant experience, and then surprising you with a reasonable bill. Go now, but don’t expect it to be quiet - this place is no longer a secret, and rightly so.

Chaophraya is on Chapel Walks, off Cross St. You know, near where Grinch and the chophouse are.

Dette of Gratitude w/ Race Horses, Emmy the Great, Beth Jeans Houghton and Field Music @ The Deaf Institute, Manchester, 2 June 2010

It was as if the gig gods knew I needed something good after the mediocre-fest of Dot to Dot. I was having a read of some blogs and noticed this post. Emmy the Great at the Deaf Institute this week? How had I not clocked that one? So tickets were duly bought and we moseyed on down after work at around 8pm to get some quality Trof burgers before the show. As we walked in though we noticed the line-up posted on the door: The Acorn were starting imminently, followed by a band called Race Horses, Emmy the Great, Beth Jeans Houghton and topped off at 11 with another chance to see Field Music. That is a ridiculously good bill! As it turned out, the event had actually been put on as a surprise leaving party for a local lady called Bernie Phillips. Over the years she has accommodated bands playing and recording in the city in her home, and is now heading off to live in Canada, so there was a very sweet tone to the whole evening, even if we did feel a little like gate crashers!

The need for food unfortunately took precedent, and we missed The Acorn, which was a real shame. But we got upstairs in time to catch Race Horses and I am so glad we did – they were delightful. Although they hailed from Cardiff they had a Liverpool Beatles-esque sound, with a dash of the Wombats (that’s a compliment!). They were full of energy and smiled throughout the set, and they had some beautiful harmonies – I do love a male harmony. They really impressed the crowd and got a great reception. We bought their album so will get a review up here soon.

Emmy the Great was up next, and she was as remarkable as I expected. She read out a message to Bernie from the Howling Bells before cantering through some tracks from First Love. Although she was on stage on her own for most of the set, the songs sounded as great as they did on the album because her voice is so flawless. Highlights of a brilliant set were the candid We Almost Had a Baby, and Absentee with its hymn-like refrain Kyrie Eleison reminding me of mass as a child.

The evening was turning into one of the best gigs I’d been to in ages. It was lovely to sit in the wonderful Music Hall with a perfect view of these truly talented people performing little half hour sets. A friend once argued that 40 minutes is the most he ever likes to watch anything for, be it music or any other performance, and I’m starting to see his point.

It was difficult to imagine how you could follow Emmy’s set but wow, did Beth Jeans Houghton impress. I had heard a track or two of hers on the radio before but never had a proper listen, but she’s next on my list for back-catalogue buying. After a few words from Marc Riley paying tribute to Bernie and the evening which was apparently Beth’s idea, she came on in an Dolly Parton style outfit and wig and with a band dressed in a messed-up Marie Antoinette get-up. The set was song after joyful song combining traditional guitar and drums with trumpet-playing, Jarvis-style spoken word and a wonderful cover of Devil in Disguise. I loved every second of it and did not want it to end.

Finally the special guests Field Music came on. Having described them as bland in my Dot to Dot review, I was ready to put that down to a bad day, and in some ways I was able to. They were four lads who could play their instruments very well and obviously enjoyed playing with each other. They mentioned that this was their first gig in three years without a set list and they really had fun with it, improvising as they went along. The drum beat is the focus of most of the songs, which makes the sound somewhat flat and repetitive, and I can’t help thinking three guitars makes it too heavy, but although they’re not my thing the crowd liked them and they were a good end to an excellent night. The whole evening had been a real treat – Bernie must be pretty special.

Dot to Dot, Manchester

When it came to writing this review, I was struggling. The problem could be down to a number of things: the uninspiring Academy venues, the dodgy sound and organisation, the downgrading of the shows from Academy 1 so that most shows were packed to the rafters, the nice weather that meant it was a shame to be crammed into a sweaty dark basement at 6pm or the festival decisions that have to be made by committee. It was probably a combination of all of these but the fact remains: the memory I have of the inaugural Manchester Dot to Dot is of a series of mediocre gigs. I feel terrible saying that as it is rude to the many, many talented and hard-working bands on the bill, and there were some highlights, but as a festival? It didn’t work for me.

When you go to a festival with a group of people, unless you are happy to spend the day alone, sacrifices have to be made. A few days before the Bank Holiday Monday I had decided to forego the lovely folky line-up at the Deaf Institute – Alan Pownall, The Crookes and Lissie – to stick with friends who were keen to see the rest of the line-up at the Academy venues. From what I heard on the day a lot of people made this decision, leaving the Deaf Institute crowd a bit sparse.

So the day began with Goldheart Assembly (above) in Academy 3, who were really quite good. They’ve been around for a little while now and this came across in their confident show. They look hairy and intense, but there is a surprising lightness of touch to their songs, my favourite being the gentle So Long St Christopher which was released last year. The band was a popular choice and the room was packed and hot, but this couldn’t spoil the enjoyment.

We then wandered downstairs to Club Academy to have a listen to Washed Out, which was nice in a chilled out, background music kind of way. Again, venue was packed so we sat it out in the bar area at the back. Still, Club Academy is vying with Ruby Lounge and Islington Mill for worst designed venue in town.

We spent the rest of the evening wandering up and down the stairs between Academy 2 and Club Academy. Blood Red Shoes were loud and enthusiastic, and could have easily filled the main Academy. Field Music were bland in my opinion, as were Liars, but friends of mine would beg to differ as Liars were a favourite of the day and there was a lot of love going round for lead singer Angus Andrew. Watching Twisted Wheel (above) was like being at an underage disco full of twats, but the acoustic song the singer performed was a welcome break for the ears.

And so to the only band who gave me that good gig feeling: Beach House (above). I’d seen them at Islington Mill early in the year and they were spectacular, and Teen Dream is shaping up to be one of my favourite albums of the year. They didn’t disappoint at Dot to Dot, Victoria Legrand’s vocals are soulful and dreamy, and the crowd sang along to Take Care, Norway and Used to Be.

We decided that this couldn’t be topped, and sloped off home soon after. On reflection, the line-up would have to be pretty special to tempt me next year - I think I’ll leave it to the students.

Photography with Aidan O’Rourke, Manchester, Sunday 23 May 2010

I recently saw a post over at this excellent blog, publicising a photography day put on by Cityco, a not-for-profit who manage and market Manchester’s city centre.

On a tangent, Cityco are a new organisation to me, but I rather like their work – they organise things like the free city shuttle buses and street cleaning and generally try to make the centre a better place and get people to go there. I hear they have their eye on King St, which is looking more and more forlorn these days, so good for them.

Anyway, back to the photography day. Cityco paid for a number of high-profile Manchester photographers to take amateur photographers on a two hour tour round the city centre as part of their campaign to make Manchester photographer-friendly. This comes after increasing reports of photographers being challenged by the police or security firms for taking completely legal photographs. I applied, and was allocated to Aidan O’Rourke, which was a complete bonus as I have admired his cityscapes for a while.

So I wandered over on the very hot Sunday just gone, and met up with around 20 other shy looking people with big camera bags. Pretty much everyone had DSLRs, mostly much better than my entry-level Canon, but one couple did have point and shoots. I really felt for them as they sheepishly hid them in their pockets for most of the tour!

The theme Aidan had set was the changing and unchanging city, and we wandered around the Whitworth Street West area taking photos, all aware that there was an opportunity to get a photo in an exhibition at the Triangle if we were lucky. This made it feel a bit competitive, and when 20 photographers are all taking pictures of the Refuge Assurance building at once, its hard to know how to make your photograph different. Practical photography tips were thin on the ground, though I was reassured by Aidan that he doesn’t use a tripod for city photography, which was interesting.

Still, it was good to get out on a sunny day and use my camera, and the photos I like the most are below.

If you prefer to look at photographs than take them, there a couple of good exhibitions on right now:

A World Observed 1940 - 2010: Photographs by Dorothy Bohm is on at Manchester City Art Gallery at the moment, and is brilliant, I thoroughly recommend it. A lifetime of photographs is quite something. Til 30 August 2010

Shaped by War: Photographs by Don McCullin is on at the Imperial War Museum North, and is showcasing 50 years of the world renowned war photographer’s work. Til 13 June

Jesca Hoop @ Band on the Wall, Manchester, 24 May 2010

The first time I went to see Jesca Hoop was at the Deaf Institute back in February, and I almost didn’t go. It seems incredible now, but I was tired and it was the night before I flew to Amsterdam. And now after seeing her twice? I wouldn’t miss a gig for the world. I have every intention of catching her for a third time at Latitude, and maybe even a fourth this year at Summer Sundae.

So, Jesca, how do I love thee? I shall count the ways:

1. Hoop has a wonderfully endearing stage presence. She flirts with the crowd, telling us how, as a California girl she has been won over by British treats such as Marmite. She tells a peanut butter joke. She apologies for taking time to tune her guitar. She talks about her mother’s illness and her Mormon family. And the audience fall for her bit by bit until they leave, totally head over heels.


2. You just know she would throw a good party. Songs like Out the Back Door and the brand new Kitchen Disco (complete with strobes) are just so damn cool I want to hang out after the gig and ask her to be my friend.


3. Angel Mom, despite the title, is one of the most beautiful songs I think I have ever heard. It demonstrates the purity of Hoop’s voice perfectly, and makes me cry a little bit. And I love a cry.


4. Jesca puts it all out there to give you a gig well worth your money. The music veers from blues to folk to…God, I want to say funk, but its more like some kind of new genre she has invented. There are strikingly beautiful backing singers, telephone theatrics, encores and a completely A Capella song that simply stuns the crowd.


5. Oh, and Guy Garvey came out to sing with her. Did I not mention that? You know it’s been a good gig when Guy Garvey is an afterthought.

Bubble Cafe, Manchester

If you read food blogs from around the world, you can build up food envy for products and restaurants that aren’t available in the UK. For example I can only fantasise about Meyer lemons being made available in the UK as I read blog after blog singing their praises, and I peer at photos of exotic looking Vietnamese food, until recently unavailable in Manchester. But the latter has been rectified by the opening of the Bubble Café, above Red Chilli on Portland Street. It’s a casual, neatly decorated place with two long tables with stools if you want to eat in, although there was a brisk takeaway trade while we were there.

The menu is rather mysterious to a person with no knowledge of Vietnamese food, and I am no expert myself. The name of the café comes from the Bubble Tea they serve. This can come hot or cold, and is a tasty drink, either fruit or milk based, with the surprising addition of tapioca pearls in the bottom, black balls visible through the glass. The tea is served with a large straw, wide enough to suck up the pearls as you drink. The taste of the pearls is hard to pinpoint as the chewy, gummy texture is the most prominent sensation, and is rather enjoyable in a strange way! Mr Noggin had a banana milkshake he described as the best thing he’d ever tasted – I suspect it’s down to the Movenpick ice cream they stock.

There is a short food menu of around seven items, including salads and noodle soups. We ordered the prawn and Vietnamese ham spring rolls to start, and then the Bubble sandwich as a main.

The spring rolls were different but brilliant; huge, cold, wrapped in a paper thin casing and packed with juicy prawns, veg and noodles. They were perfect dipped in the accompanying hoi sin or fish sauce.

The sandwich I had read about in blogs as Bahn Mi, and is a baguette filled with pork, liver pate, and a pickled salad. The Bubble Sandwich was good, but had an overriding taste of salad cream, which was a bit of a shame as it drowned out the other flavours.

The whole meal came to around £16 for two, and you can currently get free frozen yoghurt after your meal if you mention Manchester Confidential. It’s a very cool little place with charming staff and I cannot recommend it enough.

PS. I have just had a scout around on Google and it appears my guesswork was a bit wrong – Bubble tea originated in Taiwan, and is common across a lot of Asia now, so not strictly Vietnamese as I thought.

Dot to Dot Festival

Going to a small day festival like Dot to Dot is very different from the luxurious musical experience of say Glastonbury or Latitude. Although I was excited about seeing Beach House again and Los Campesinos, there was a long list of bands that I didn't know from Adam. So I spent an afternoon systematically going through their myspaces, and although there was a lot of chaff I present some rather lovely wheat:


Alan Pownall is a great singer from London whose debut album True Love Stories comes out in July. He comes from a folk background but his more recent songs have a more of an indie-pop upbeat feel. Take Me is a catchy tune with a reggae tinge and he has plenty of other good tunes to back it up.

Lissie is an american songer who's debut EP Why You Runnin' has me totally hooked, Wedding Bells is one of the most enchanting songs I have heard in a long time, recounting a tale of lost love. She's touring with Alan Pownall while they're in the UK so you can catch them at Night and Day in Manchester in June and plenty of other dates round the UK if you miss Dot to Dot.


Goldheart Assembly have been around for a while so I'm very slow on the uptake here but their sweet sound is very beguiling. Am particularly enjoying So Long St Christopher from their new album Wolves and Thieves.

And now for something completely different: Wax Fang, a Kentucky epic-rock band with drama and ambition. World War II (Part 2) is a very enjoyable romp.

The next month in music

There seems to be rather a lot of interesting live music in Manchester coming up, despite the fact that we are entering the traditionally slow summer season. Here’s my pick of the best stuff:

1. Antlers @ St Philip’s Church in Salford, Thursday 20 May:
Don’t know much about this band, I’m going with a fan, but always look forward to a gig in this venue. Seeing Hurts do their debut gig here was very special

2. Jesca Hoop @ Band on the Wall, Monday 24 May:
Seeing Jesca for the second time. She was mesmerising at the Deaf Institute, her songs are like a kind of wonderful soul-folk and she has quite a stage presence. Her ridiculously good-looking backing singers were crowd-pleasers last time as I remember. Her popularity is increasing rapidly, I would expect her to be pretty well-known by the end of the festival season



3. Dot to Dot Festival, various venues, all-day, Bank Holiday Monday 31 May:
Booked tickets for this before the line-up was announced, and the first batch of bands was a bit disappointing. Zane Lowe? But things are looking up, I’m especially looking forward to Wild Beasts, Beach House, Wolf Gang and Lissie – the latter’s EP I have has on repeat for a week or so, brilliant stuff. Booked the next day off work – for the best after a bank holiday all-day session.

4. Lau @ The Trades Club, Hebden Bridge, Friday 4 June:
Bit out of the area this one, but actually surprisingly easy to get to – there are regular trains to and from Victoria, and it’s nice to have a change of scene. Lau won Best Group at the 2010 BBC2 Folk Awards, and have some beautiful, more traditional folk songs.

5. Ian Brown @ Platt Fields, 11 June:
Is anybody not going to this? Have taken the afternoon off work to fully enjoy the line-up. Only mildly looking forward to Ian Brown himself, but with the park-based fun starting at 4:30pm and UNKLE, A Certain Ratio, Mr Scruff and Now Wave DJs also on the line up, I’m anticipating it to be one of the events of the summer.

Reviews to follow!