MOJO Bar - Music for the people

Walking towards the MEN Arena on a cold, wet Monday evening, it was becoming more and more apparent that we were going to be, at best, half the average age of the audience for this event, showcasing two of the world’s most influential and respected songwriters. But, with their combined age of 132, was this [...]

My Gig going continues to increase to the point where I am attending more gigs than buying albums, it is bringing into sharper focus a problem suffered by the not 100% committed music fan. The new or unheard material problem. A recent Metronomy gig left my speechless at its euphoric quality (I knew 1 song), [...]

The Strokes are a firm favourite of mine but I have never managed to catch them live, so to be going to observe this hugely awaited homecoming gig hadn’t quite sunk in until we got to the arena. As soon as I sat down the worry and apprehension kicked in, (this always happens to me [...]

Let us first address the name. It’s rotten. Only marginally  better than Dogs Die in Hot Cars but not by much. Let’s face it though, U2, Coldplay and Elbow are amongst the worst names in Western Europe but they eventually transcended their chosen monikers. It is as it is. We are packed here into the [...]

Tribute Bands, hmmmm. I’d seen covers bands before but had never experienced a fully fledged tribute act. Oh sure, I’d been tempted before, haven’t we all. Buy Jovi for the sheer joy of the name and equally so, Slack Babbath. We approached the Lowry Theatre in Salford with a mixture of regular pre gig excitement [...]

Releasing an album under his own name for the first time, Steve mason was formerly front man with 90’s groundbreakers The beta Band who garnered critical acclaim and a host of celebrity fans before disintegrating under first the weight of Masons depression and fellow member Gordon Andersons drug induced psychosis. Not by the sounds of [...]

The world’s greatest Bar Band (TM) were first brought to my attention with their  heavily lauded 3rd album Boys and Girls in America. A riotous, thumping trip through born to run era Springsteen hailed by Uncut magazine as an Album of the year and Garlanded with 5 star reviews. 2 years later, MOJO staff in [...]

I was pretty, no I have to say, very excited about this release when I read about it several months hence. Even though we’ve been underwhelmed by previous unheard material or bonus tracks added to classic albums, something felt different to me about this Hendrix package. A welter of unheard tracks fired out in a [...]

Field Music is the working title for the  Sunderland based Brewis (Peter & David) brothers who as part of a shiftingly interesting wearside music scene have both at one stage or another been involved with area luminaries, Maximo Park and The Futureheads. After a three album clutch had generated  next big thing accolades an ‘Indie’ [...]

This album see’s the third instalment by the East Midland boys and an altogether more concise musical effort. Kasabian have unfortunately always been lumped in with the ladish/madchester scene; a pigeon hole which has hindered their musical efforts being taken as seriously as deserved. ‘West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum’, the group’s most conceptual work to [...]