Newcastle

THIS was a storming gig – but one that came perilously close to not happening. Two hours before we watched Justin Young and company, a massive power cut meant we were stranded in a scene reminiscent of wartime Britain. Westgate Road in Newcastle was bathed in darkness, with only car headlights producing any kind of [...]

Corona Extra, is giving up-and-coming DJs in Newcastle the unique opportunity to catapult their career onto the international house music scene, alongside some of the world’s leading house legends. As the prestigious annual search marks its 11th anniversary, The Empress Bar in Newcastle will play host to a Movida Corona qualifier party on Thursday 25th [...]

A BAND who are gradually becoming one of the biggest post-hardcore acts around have a date on Tyneside this weekend. Architects, who have recently been winning new admirers in Australia, are home for an 11-date tour. It kicks off in Manchester on Friday, and calls at the O2 Academy in Newcastle the following night. The [...]

THIS was the hottest ticket in town, with many of those expecting to be able to pay on the door stuck outside crying into their iPhones to friends inside the full-to-capacity venue. It feels like Little Comets have been making waves for years, but this was the night they convinced me 2011 is their year. [...]

NEW Jersey rockers My Chemical Romance have long had a love for our shores. They’ve toured here relentlessly in the past, and have often talked said their British fans mean the most to them. Whether that’s true or not, the fans don’t care, and the sea of MCR T-shirts that greeted the band, as well [...]

A ROCK band from Whitburn and Cleadon has won the race to play a high-profile gig in the region next week. Boy Jumps Ship will be at Newcastle’s O2 Academy in Westgate Road on Monday as part of the Rock Sound Xposure Tour. The gigs, organised by music magazine Rock Sound, aim to promote the [...]

IT’S been 12 years since the Zombie last visited our shores, and that’s a long time to wait for any fan. That every show on this six-date tour sold out in a matter of hours shows the loyalty fans hold for this music legend. The unenviable task of warming up the crowd went to Skindred, [...]

IT’S a great misfortune that a band with such a wealth of exciting material should, after seven years, still be on the margins of mainstream success. It highlights an endemic flaw in the music industry today – that it is more preferable to make a quick buck on a tangoed pop princess, than invest money [...]

THE year may still be young, but it has already spawned some great music, and the creators of one of its best records were in town last night. Welsh trio The Joy Formidable released their debut LP The Big Roar last month, and if it’s anything to go by, they won’t be playing in venues [...]

THE annual NME tour rolled into the Academy on Monday night, and, as ever, the line-up did not disappoint. First up were The Vaccines, who charged through a set including soon-to-be classic Post Break-Up Sex and two-minute wonder Wreckin’Bar (Ra Ra Ra). These guys are shifting the rules of the game and making a bid [...]