It’s impossible not to raise questions about how ‘live’ a performance from 2 men with computers and decks really is.

They may not be re-inventing the wheel but The Vaccines have managed to create their own distinctive sound, popular with so many.

ADTR are breaking down borders and redefining genres to create the music they and their fans want.

Think Frankie Cocozza’s the most badass, rock n roll knobhead you’ve ever seen strutting his stuff? You’ve clearly never seen The Darkness then.

Vocal problems hinder FFAF’s overall performance, making for a less than average set.

The Blackout’s underground days seem to have come to an end and with performances like this, it’s not difficult to see why.

If you ever need someone to “break down a party landmine” for you, these are your guys.

The Canadian duo cast aside past differences to deliver a scintillating set at the Academy

Feeder have had a mixed career, from the low points of the unfortunate suicide of drummer Jon Lee and replacement drummer Mark Richardson leaving to rejoin Skunk Anansie to creating their own label, Big Teeth Music, and over 20 Top 40 singles.

White Lies return to Academy 1 tonight after a near two year absence, suffering from a severe case of ‘second album syndrome’. Their sophomore effort, Ritual, has been in stores roughly a month and was met with decidedly mixed reviews; I certainly wouldn’t recommend picking up a copy if you’re hoping for a major departure from their 2009 debut.

Returning to Academy 1 in support of their seventh album, the wonderfully-titled Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will, post-rock veterans Mogwai deliver a stirring, two-hour set that spans their entire career. They showcase a whole host of tracks from the new record, opening with the chirpy and upbeat ‘White Noise’, with ‘Mexican Grand Prix’, ‘I’m Lionel Richie’ and new single ‘Rano Pano’ also aired, the latter brilliantly blending grinding guitars with subtle synths. This is a band capable of conveying an incredibly wide range of emotion in their music, which is all the more remarkable when you consider that the vast majority of it is purely instrumental.

Their new album, The King Is Dead, went to number one in America and tonight’s show is part of their biggest UK tour to date, but the strongest indication of The Decemberists having ‘made it’ surely comes in the form of a pre-recorded message, played before the band take the stage, from the mayor of their hometown of Portland, Sam Adams.

The greatest genre in the entire world is one which many have little experience with; Stoner rock. It’s a style of music which has very few definite articles; at one edge you have psychedelic, technical acts like Monster Magnet or my personal band of 2010 Sungrazer and on the other you have deep, sludgy behemoths such as Electric Wizard and legends of the genre Sleep. Even within stoner rock there are tonnes of sub-genre’s, fuzz, psychedelic, desert and sludge to name but a few, and as spring approaches, some of the finest examples of these bands are rolling through Manchester. So here’s a preview of the four gigs to look out for if the words stoner and rock sound good to you.