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Sit down gigs – a bit weird if you ask me, but occasionally you have to embrace the weirdness (sometimes too readily on my part) to get to the goods. So here I am seated at the back of this here music hall in order to experience the sublime yet earthbound wonder that is King Creosote and Jon Hopkins.

Review by Rob Wright

WYSO are Leeds’ premier non-auditioned orchestra and tonight they’re playing a selection of vaguely American stuff complete with interval serving up customary tea and biscuits (don’t get that at a Hawk Eyes gig) and an audience unafraid to break the tedious faux pas of not clapping between movements – purists will be pissed, but sod ‘em.

Review by Tim Hearson

Some kind of pre-Christmas riff-mass celebration this, fuelled by cheap whiskey and the biggest crowd ever seen in Santiagos, no doubt attracted by one of the final whites-of-their-eyes sightings of Hawk Eyes before they go global. Probably.

Review by Steve Walsh

You could say that Explosions In The Sky get a bad rap these days.  Over the course of three remarkable albums the Texans finessed a uniquely evocative take on a tiring format, yet as the years have gone by this has seemed like less and less of an achievement...

Review by Greg Elliott

It says a lot when at 18-years-of-age, you feel like you need to leave it to the young’uns. I entered Leeds Academy with a suspicion that I would be one of the oldest crowd members there, and I was right.

Review by Jenessa Williams

It was a foolish, misinformed Edwardian gentleman by the name of Oscar Wilde who suggested that to be a true artist, one must be dull and unassuming in person, so as to channel every ounce of beauty into their work. As Laura J Martin daintily took the Brudenell stage, she quashed his theory with a flourish of her flute and a bat of her eyelashes.  

Review by Benjamin Maney

Henry Rollins is, in his own words, a ‘work slut’. It is three decades since he traded in his Joe-job to join Cali-punk berserkers Black Flag, and there are no signs of him slowing down just yet. 

Review by James Archer

The Magic Band, missing the departed Captain Beefheart, couldn’t be accused of only being in it for the money. Where most bands would sound tired and lost without someone of the Captain’s presence, they rip into their songs like a pack of wolves. 

Review by James Archer

There’s no denying that The Vaccines rise to fame has been a quick one and whether you like them or not, you have to appreciate how well they have done in the past 12 months...

Review by Emma Quinlan

Descending onto the stage, the leather clad and loud mouthed Motley Crue transported us back 30 years to 1980’s LA where it all began.

Review by Stacie Lloyd

Here's a selection of reviews of summer festivals from 2011 that didn't make it into the magazine - Tramlines in Sheffield, Bingley Music Live and Limetree Festival.

Reviews by Laura Collinson, Tom Bailey, Luke Yates, Cat C and Tim Hearson.

Ushering in the beginning of the year’s most irritating non-holiday is a special treat (no, expectant reader – I will not be pandering to your obscene taste for Halloween themed puns, add your own damn ‘trick’ ) in the form of Toronto’s finest hardcore punk outfit Fucked Up.

Review by Tim Hearson

Washed Out by name, washed out by nature? For many acts it’s hard to walk that line between elegant nonchalance and surly disinterest. The opening couple of songs from electronic sentimentalist Ernest Greene could be accused of landing in the latter. However, although the set may be slow to start perhaps this is to be expected when trying to create the complex and mesmerisingly atmospheric sound that Greene is going for. ..

Review by Katie Rowley

Strange gig this one. Second night of a brace of celebratory hometown blowouts that couldn’t seem to decide if it was a festival date (the ‘big hits’ set approach) or an al fresco big venue tour date to promote the new album. No matter, the setting was certainly stunning and despite the presence of several thousand people, it felt surprisingly intimate. 

Review by Steve Walsh

Britain is currently enjoying a boom in the female singer songwriter genre and Anna Calvi is one of the better ones. Her dark, intensely brooding songs from her Mercury Prize nominated self-titled debut album provide a mouth watering proposition for tonight’s live show. 

Review by Mike Price

What is Tindersticks? Over and above the mixed musical style (lounge jazz, chamber pop, chanson – difficult to pin down, truth to tell), it’s all about the voice. So when Stuart Staples comes on stage and says “I was hoping to sing for you tonight but I’ve got laryngitis”, it’s a bit of a disappointment .

Review by Cactus

Skacore Anti-Vigilante kicked off the show with the energetic set that they’re becoming known for, and their unique blend of ska and punk hit the spot for the folks who had turned up in time to catch them... 

Review by Alessandra Gritt

After two successful support slots with The Subways, it was time that three of Irelands finest took to the road for themselves. Touring all over this fine country of ours, they came back Leeds to give us a show that was even better than the first one at the Brudenell Social Club back in June ...

Review by Rochelle Massey

The first night of Brainwash Festival began with a scattering of revellers and a two-piece band called These Blue Arms, who had a drum machine tonight in place of the real thing. They played hard-hitting punk with emphasis on the bass and despite the lack of audience, it was a very commendable performance. It would have been good to see something wonderfully innovative with just two guitars, but this was an extremely agreeable way to open a festival. ..

Review by Ellie Treagust, Tim Hearson and Mike Price

Cornwall folk-punk band Crowns opened the night with a set of what should be sing-a-long classics. I’m surprised they don’t have a bigger following – one of them accosted me after the show, shouting that I probably hadn’t watched their band, but to have a sticker anyway... ....

Review by Alessandra Gritt

The Howard Assembly Room is a lovely venue and as we sit waiting for everything to begin, we wonder if it already has – ambient noodling fiddles through the room. Is it a joke – the performance has started but we don’t know?  

Review by Cactus

Now in its ninth year, Supersonic Festival still hasn’t shaken off the glib misconception that it’s ‘just’ a ‘metal’ festival. In case you missed it, over the last 20 years metal has arguably become a diverse, multi-faceted crucible for musical creativity that’s second to none. And not content with providing an annual showcase on the state of metal, organisers Capsule are quite content to chuck in plenty of folk, electronica and banging dance music to stretch the ears of your average modern metalhead. ..

Review by Steve Walsh

A wise man once said: “Don’t. Don’t don’t don’t, don’t believe the hype. Nyuyeaheaheah.” Words I live by on a daily basis. So it is with trepidation that I approach two-thirds of this night: Then Thickens is presented to me as ‘Kong’s normal band’ and Stalking Horse as Wu’s new project, featuring members of These Monsters, Grammatics, Dolphins and... er, James Kenosha. Now I’ve been stung by perfect cast lists before, and this has the stink of supergroup all over it. 

Review by Rob Wright

For a Lancastrian living in New York, it is brave thing to do to make landfall in the home of the White Rose on a Brainwash night. I’ve just re-read that sentence. It makes no sense at all. Anyway, Greg Holden, formerly of From The Wreckage, is making a flying visit to the land of the red lights. Nope, still not making sense... 

Review by Rob Wright

When you go to a Bowling for Soup show, you expect two things: a really fun night and a lot of penis jokes. The latter was covered when I immediately spotted two people dressed in penis suits (the Penis Twins), but the bands definitely didn’t disappoint on the former. 

Review by Alessandra Gritt

Some gigs you expect greatness from and others you have no expectations. Tonight, is the latter of these, after only seeing A Day to Remember once before at a festival and in rather hazy and drunken circumstances. Tonight, they are the headliners of the last ever Eastpak Antidote tour. 

Review by Emma Quinlan

The Kabeedies/Just Handshakes (We’re British) @ Milo, Leeds

Milo is one of Leeds’ best kept secrets. It’s compact and bijou, so even if you’re watching a band starting out playing in front of a small following, it can seem like the place is packed out...

Dressing up as Superhero or a giant vegetable on an evening is just the kind of behaviour that would get a person thrown into a psychiatric ward but on the weekend of Halloween these kinds of get-ups are perfectly normal street fodder.

Everything Burns/Road To Ruin/Project Metropolis @ Cockpit, Leeds

Trying to command a crowd that consists of only 20 people is not an easy feat to manage, but this is not an issue that seems to phase Leeds metallers Project Metropolis. Crushing riffs and boisterous grooves sound all around the Cockpit’s smallest room and their bruising melodies are not easy to ignore. Led by their charismatic frontman Jordan Long, Project Metropolis are a homegrown talent to watch and listen to in the near future...

Emma Quinlan

The town may be a bit isolated, stuck as it is midway between Greater Manchester and Leeds/Bradford, but over the past few years the arty set that famously resides in Hebden Bridge has set up a thriving arts community that spans all the disciplines. When it comes to music, local promoters are getting pretty good at attracting some big names to play this tiny (capacity 180) venue. For example, Was Ist Das, promoters for this pretty unique gig have Julian Cope booked   ...

Steve Walsh

This gig had to be moved at the last minute when the new manager at the original venue summarily cancelled all events booked there, so it’s thanks to the commitment of the promoter (British Wildlife), the bands involved and those accommodating chaps at Milo that it took place at all. 

Steve Walsh

Dance to the Radio darlings Holy State kick the gig off, and I was a bit underwhelmed. Don’t get me wrong, they’ve got the chops and the swagger, it’s just I’m not convinced Garage Indie and Rolo’s brand of Hardcore go all that well together. Mix it up with the pre-pubescent scenesters down the front and their ‘My Little Pony’ moshpit and annoyance begins to set in.

Tim Hearson

The Cardigan Arms is slowly becoming the venue of choice if you want to see the more sonically enterprising and musically adventurous bands in Leeds just now. The Cardy may be stuck half way up Kirkstall Road but it’s only a short stagger from the usual LS6 haunts, slackers.

Steve Walsh

Famously, singer songwriters present their art alone to the world, baring their innermost thoughts and feelings to the scrutiny of a room full of strangers. It must be a scary place to be and not one for the faint hearted.

Review by Steve Walsh

This gig was the first in a short series designed to provide a potential solution to the lack of anything like a permanent home for improvised music in Leeds. The upstairs room at The Fox & Newt is one of the more recent additions to the maze of venues in Leeds (so recent in fact that you could still smell the paint) and its low stage and snug proportions make it ideal for improvised music.

Review by Steve Walsh

Ah, the sticks, the sticks. Halifax on a Saturday night, so much to answer for….

Thee Cuss Words give the gig a proper kick start. A wildly overdriven guitar and drums duo, the band make a furious if undifferentiated noise and throw extreme, almost cartoon like shapes but that’s about it.

Review by Steve Walsh

Fuck the Royal Wedding; this is the real deal – that hideously bronzed pig-in-a-dress Brew Records about to walk down the aisle to meet the podgy, over-gelled records/management behemoth that is Dance to the Radio.

Review by Tim Hearson

By the time you read this, Christmas will be but a memory, but tarry a while and cast your mind back to the season of... goodwill. Then think about lovely music instead.

Review by Rob Wright