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Month: June 2012

Pakistani Society Annual Farewell

Written by Ceri Wills on . Posted in Societies.

By Muneeb Sikander
The Pakistani society finally had held their long awaited annual farewell dinner 2012 “Cheraagh” on the 8th of May at Nawabs. The event featured several high class musical and theatrical performances including fusion beats, an interactive session with the seniors, a three course meal and an after party. An estimated 260 people from around Britain came out to Cheraagh making it the biggest event The Pakistani Society has ever hosted.
The annual farewell dinner has been a tradition within the Pakistani society for the past several years involving honoring and well wishing all third years and post-graduate students that will be leaving the university next year. This year was no different and included handing out titles hand picked by all of our seniors friends and a picture slideshow which tried to show how all our seniors spent their time in Manchester.

Live: Live at Leeds

Written by Jon Taylor on . Posted in Music.

Live at Leeds
5th May
Venues across Leeds City Centre
4 stars

The May Bank Holiday weekend saw Leeds city centre awash with skinny jeans and leather jackets as Live at Leeds returned for its 6th consecutive year, with over 100 bands playing at a variety of venues across the city, with most of the action taking place on the Saturday.

The first band to check out were local boys I Like Trains at the 02 Academy, the brooding alternative quartet showcasing their new third full length record The Shallows. Dressed in all black, the band wear their post-punk influences on their sleeves and a fairly busy Academy was treated to an atmospheric and captivating set from the four-piece.

Next up was the short journey to Leeds Metropolitan University to catch electro band Bastille, a blend of synthpop and catchy indie, not to mention a cover of City High’s 2001 hit ‘What Would You Do?’ (You know it, trust me- Youtube it), getting the crowd rocking well, as rocking as they could be for half 3 in the afternoon.

Heading back to the increasingly busy Academy, NME favourites Spector provided one of the best sets of the day, frontman Fred Macpherson’s stage humour and wit earning him a reputation as a young version of Jarvis Cocker- glasses and all. Their short, catchy 3-minute indie tracks are rather Vaccines-esque and judging by the crowd’s reaction today, Spector could well follow in their footsteps with big things expected from them this summer.

It was on to the legendary Cockpit after that to catch the end of S.C.U.M’s gothic-tinged post-punk set and with closing tracks such as ‘Whitechapel’ we can almost forgive frontman Thomas Cohen for marrying Peaches Geldof. Almost.

S.C.U.M were followed by my personal highlights, Minneapolis rockers Howler, their blend of early Strokes indie and 2012 surf rock providing one of the bounciest sets of the day. They even provided some moments of comedy gold in between tracks, with the Americans confusing the drunken Leeds crowd’s drawl of ‘Yorkshire!’ with ‘You’re shit!’ Bless.

As the sun set it was time to head over to Leeds University Stylus to catch the end of  Brooklyn disco-scenesters Friends’ set, before headliners Los Campesinos! took to the stage. Showcasing material from all four of their studio albums, including latest record Hello Sadness, LC! went down a storm with a fairly teenage crowd, at least until frontman Gareth David decided to tell everyone just how much he hates Leeds United- but I think that’s something we relate to here in Manchester.

For those whose feet were not entirely worn out by 11pm, it was time to head to the Brudenell Social Club for a chilled out performance from London’s Ghostpoet, a venue that said yes to stage invasions and- much to everyone’s delight- offered the cheapest pint of the day. The perfect way to end a great day at one of the UK’s most talked about metropolitan music festivals.

Live: New Sounds of the North @ Quay House

Written by Tom Hickman on . Posted in Music.

New Sounds of the North
Quay House
May 18th
1 and a half stars

Before anything else, let this be heard first: Now Wave are doing a brilliant job on the Manchester music scene, introducing great new acts, and providing the baying public – students and music lovers alike – with ample opportunity to unearth some of the hottest musical talent. They rarely put on a bad band. I love them. There I’ve said it. But now I’ve said it, I must say that this evening they got it all wrong.

On paper, the whole night had real potential; PINS had been growing in popularity in recent months and receiving a lot of hype, No Ceremony were bringing their ethereal first-time show to Manchester, and the city’s own Money were sure to impress.

It promised to be a real showcase of the ‘New Sounds of the North’. To top it off, there was the mystery and potential brilliance of a disused office block as the venue. The only downside was surely going to be the sheer volume of peaked-cap wearing morons cluttering up the place. That was the only downside, until the music started.

Sound quality was poor throughout, as sets were littered with feedback and sound errors; whilst if you were anywhere further back than the first ten rows, you were more likely to hear the most minute details of some of the bollocks being spouted from the mouths of the majority of guests, than any of the music. PINS were chosen to play at the most illogically unsociable time of 6:15, whereas Money’s performance suggested an ironical name choice from the band, as I fear that is precisely what this quartet will not be making, if their haphazard, offensive performances continue in the same vein. To top it all off, the elongated wait between No Ceremony and Money was delightfully accompanied by the ten-minute cry of the fire alarm, as only a hoodie draped over the wailing siren served to partially silence the din.

The only saving grace was the headline act. Post fire alarm, Alt-J provided the quality-starved customers with a watertight set crammed with energy and well-sculpted falsetto harmonies. Deciding to forgo the encore for a full-blooded lurch into ‘Fitzpleasure’, Quay House was shaken to its foundations, as the beautiful vocal lines flowed over smoothly disjointed guitar and keyboard shapes to bring the masses together in unified realisation that something listenable still does actually exist.

As I said, this isn’t an attack on Now Wave, or any of the bands playing (apart from Money, that is). This evening just did not work. From start to finish, mistakes littered the show’s entirety. Alt-J were good though.

Preview: Creamfields 2012

Written by Daniel Jones on . Posted in Music.

Creamfields
24/25/26 August
Daresby, Cheshire

Tickets: £145 for the weekend (incl. camping)

Having already been held in Buenos Aires, Lima and Melbourne this year, Cheshire’s own little slice of Ibiza returns on the August Bank Holiday weekend to host some of the biggest names across the dance music spectrum. It coincides with Reading and Leeds, but if you happen to prefer your bangers to your anthems, then I’d suggest checking out the line-up at the very least. It’s also fifty quid cheaper.

The Chemical Brothers, Avicii and Deadmau5 all headline, but it’s the sheer variety of acts over ten stages that is Creamfields’ major selling point. All bases of electronic music are covered, from trance to techno, jungle to electro, dubstep to drum and bass, and everything else in between. The Annie Mac Presents and Pryda stages look pretty big on the Saturday, hosting the likes of Maya Jane Coles, Mele, John Digweed, Erol Alkan and Gesaffelstein. The Sunday roster is just as good if not better; Seth Troxler, George FitzGerald, A-Trak, Loco Dice and Richie Hawtin all fall under the category of ‘must-see’.

Even in the likelihood that it’s grey, miserable and pissing it down, I’m sure the artificial sunlight created by Tiesto’s set will provide enough light pollution to brighten up everything within a 5-mile radius. It might not be everybody’s cup of Carling, but if you’re up for a European-style dance festival with a Scouse accent then there is definitely only one choice this summer.

Visit the Creamfields website for more details.