Check out a selection of our past live reviews

 

Editors

Venue: Leeds Cockpit. It’s into the arches for us, suprisingly though it’s in the small room rather than the main venue, it’s intimate yes but as it’s sold out it’s obviously rammed and thus rammed and hot as hell. Support: I forward Russia! Local band making waves down in the big smoke so expectations are high. You do get the feeling that their front man can’t really decide in which camp to fall in, should be shouty or tuneful? In fact in the end it’s neither, The Fall have a lot to answer for! Main Attraction: Editors. There’s been quite a buzz surrounding Editors so Shadders took a reci up to Middlesborough recently to see what it’s all about and were sufficiently impressed to be fighting our way through the pack tonight to hit the front. Now there’s a fully fledged classic album to back up the press boasts is probably the reason why the touts are patrolling the streets, it’s a fair bet they won’t be playing this small room again. So anyway lets down to brass tacks here, are they really this good? God yes, one thing you can guarantee from Editors blood, sweat and tears, especially the sweat, my god that there singer must have a huge stock of disposable t shirts the amount of energy he expels during this evening phenomenal set. The music too is literally electric, it’s obviously dark brooding guitar pop at heart but it seems to have enough of a beat running through it to get the blood pumping. Take ‘All Sparks’, up lifting like top notch Joy Division but with that natty groove through it. To be fair to Editors there ain’t a duff track tonight, ‘Munich’ and ‘Blood’ are starting to sound like true anthems and that’s not really a word we use lightly in shadders. The only downside of this cockpit performance isn’t really Editors fault; it’s the crowd. To say it’s packed is truthful but it really never gets going off stage. There’s energy a plenty on stage but not really off it, there’s a few old guarders but there isn’t much youthful exuberance, more here we are now entertain us. You can’t fault Editors for that, they do their part and do it bloody well and if anyone mutters a bad word after this is deaf, blind or indeed both! So it’s praise all the way especially as this sector is really buzzing at present with Doves, Elbow and the mighty Coldplay all doing good business but as Editors finish with an extraordinary ‘Fingers in the Factories’ it’s got to be said that this lot are really up there fighting it out with the best of them, all that blood sweat and tears has really paid off.

The Magic Numbers

Venue: Sheffield University. A bit strange this, with the runaway success of ‘Love me like you’ you’d expect this one to be at the bigger Octagon, especially as the sold out signs went up virtually immediately, think the Uni have probably lost out on a few quid there. Anyhow, it’s in the more ‘intimate’ Foundry venue, which is not the best place but is okay. First Support: Misty’s Big Adventure. Care in the community has a lot to answer for, years ago this merry bunch would have been slung in padded cells and they keys thrown away for good. But now they roam around our cities forming lo-fi pop bands and no doubt planning to take over the world, all over a shared chicken pop noodle that is. Eight appear on stage, you’d expect Misty to be the rather odd looking singer, receding hair on top, mad wizard like down the sides but it transpires he’s actually called Gareth! Misty therefore is obviously the six-foot bloke with the painted blue face in a red smock with a hundred or so blue hands sewn onto it, I guess he is out for one hell of a big adventure. Apart from looking a bit odd they at times sound a bit weird too, at best they verge on the pop sublime but too often they enjoy floating beyond the ridiculous! Gareth can actually sing and they do knock out some quality indie pop but as Misty gets more hyper they fall into cartoon pop. It’s not all fun though as Gareth gives us a bit of political comment, dissing Georgie Bush and even dedicates a song entitled ‘Evil’ to him, apt methinks. As they finish with a song about how awful it is to have to go to the disco and all you have to worry about is your hair Misty is virtually in the crowd and they leave to plenty of applause and happy faces. It’s true to say without fear of contradiction that the crowd have been entertained, one big adventure indeed. Second Support: M Craft and the Dark Circles A lazy, laid back melodic vibe with delicate vocals and some nice pleasant tunes. Main Attraction: The Magic Numbers. I’m sure you must have noticed that The Magic Numbers have had a cracking time of late and they look pretty pleased with themselves as the appear to the packed crowd. One thing must be laid to rest is that in the flesh they do look a little weird, like an Amish community or one big Lincolnshire family outing! Fortunately they don’t seem to be missing vital digits as they kick on, although there’s nothing actually wrong early doors the performance don’t light no fires. That all changes when they take on a Neil Young cover (a blatant style icon and musical influence), apparently it’s only the second time they’ve attempted it but it’s absolutely cracking and lifts the whole place, on stage and off. Obviously we get all the singles, ‘Forever Lost’ gets a fine reception but the place goes potty for ‘Love me like you’ and so it should. These two are great examples of how to write the near perfect pop song; great melodies, nice easy influences and as tonight testifies good to sing along to. The encore is even better, they come back to a rapturous reception and decide to have a bit of a laugh and do a rather excellent rather non r n’ b version of Beyonce’s ‘Crazy in love’, it works and the crowd decide to have a good dance to it. They follow this with ‘Wheels on fire’ and it turning into a real party, nobody wants to leave a party early so they carry on and on! They have to leave eventually, even Uni’s have curfews, and they are beaming from ear to ear, a feeling that seems to have passed from band to crowd and back again. Job done, good tunes and a good time had by all. Magic!

 Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

Venue: Sheffield Leadmill. Still cool and packed, nuff said. Supports. Pass, it’s in and out for Black Rebel so sorry but no idea! Main Attraction: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. There’s much been said and written about ‘Howl’ the comeback and saviour album, a bit of a Dylanesque turnaround, leaving their trademark sound behind to become… folky! It’s no surprise then as they begin with just one black rebel on stage and an acoustic guitar, it strangely works but soon they rest of the band join in and they are in full flow. ‘Shuffle your feet’ has a dark gospel vibe to it plus is as catchy as hell even the harmonica works and ‘Howl’ itself with haunting keyboards compels the crowd to take note. Whereas ‘Ain’t no easy way’ ups the tempo without having crank up the amps to eleven! The tracks from ‘Howl’ the album do showcase their raw talent, back to the bone with no guitar feedback to hide behind. It proves that Black rebel have real soul and is a huge success for that. However, in the live arena Black rebel are best at the raucous, feedback fuelled black guitar noise best, that’s the trademark Black rebel sound. Therefore it has to be said that the highlights have to be the bass laden ‘Love spreads’ and more so ‘Whatever happened to my rock n roll’, live it adds even more buzzing guitars and attitude to the mix, black magic. It’s anyone’s guess where Black Rebel Motorcycle Club go from here if they continue in their current vein or move back to their feedback and anger guitar roots. Either way they are still one of America’s most compelling guitar bands and as such will continue to be a decent live draw.

Stephen Fretwell

Venue: Sheffield Fez Club. One of a raft of new venues popping up in this re-generating city. It’s small, well decked out and pretty damn cool. On the down side this isn’t a place to come to if you want to get trolleyed, it’s ten deep at the bar early doors and then later they run out of lager! Supports. A couple of low key acoustic supports just to warm up the crowd and keep them mildly entertained before the main attraction. Two piece Hush with an album to plug are pleasant enough and their attractive lead singer has quite a endearing voice and seem to impress enough to keep most quiet. Main Attraction: Stephen Fretwell. Stephen is an odd one, that’s not meant in a nasty way, it’s just he does seem to be a square peg stuck in a round hole. For one he doesn’t look much like a star with his odd looks and wayward hair and to be fair there isn’t too many stars to come out of Scunthorpe! Fortunately he managed to escape the run down steel town to Manchester fairly early which was as well as he complained it had no soul, his destination was the north west’s hotbed, Manchester. His past catches up with him a bit tonight as Scunthorpe is closest to Sheffield on his current tour and there’s ‘Iron’ chants aplenty, fortunately for Stephen they don’t hold grudges for his possible slander! The Manchester air seems to have done his songwriting no harm at all and his debut long player ‘Magpie’ is fair testament to that. Back to that square peg them, does the music in the live setting fit neatly into the round hole? At times no, sometimes he can appear a bit laboured but on the main yeah and when he get’s it right it’s pretty much spot one. He seems to have found that soul he was missing back across the Pennines and fit’s in nicely with his singing. He is obviously buoyed by the great turn out, the Scunny boys, his friends and family, he even asks at one point if there is a person left in the crowd he hasn’t dedicated a song to! The singles obviously get the best response, a bit more tellingly that this is a knowledgeable crowd is that ‘Run’ is preferred to ‘Emily’, it’s sung back to him perfectly word for word. You’d expect ‘Emily’ the big single to get the best response but no, it goes down all right but is further eclipsed by the encore of ‘New York’, expletives and all. To be fair it is his best song, sounds fantastic and delivered with, well, I suppose some soul. So still a square peg then? Well yes anyone who picks up an acoustic guitar tends to be viewed a bit like that anyway and it wouldn’t do if everyone fit neatly into that round hole anyway!

Morning Runner

Venue: York Fibbers. York’s fabulous Fibbers, god you’ve gotta love it. It looks crap from the outside but get inside and it’s a great venue with a cool vibe and a decent pint of black sheep, excellent. Support: Vib-Gyor. Local lad’s who get their apologies in early doors having played four gigs in the last forty-eight hours but to be fair they haven’t got anything to be sorry for as they put in a solid display. Despite the dodgy name they have a good lot to offer, good honest dark moody guitar stuff that’s well worth a look. Main Attraction? Morning Runner. Morning Runner as we all know are major label sponsored Coldplay support act and are much pushed and touted pop rock wannabies but saying all that are they any bloody good? Well in a not answering that difficult question they manage to pull plenty of punters through the door! Only trouble is that they never real get the crowd on their side, people don’t really seem moved by it. There isn’t really a great deal wrong with Morning Runner but it never builds up to the ‘roaring guitar chords calmed by colourful piano’ as advertised on the gig’s flyer. They even complain that they have been likened to Keane, they may not be the best band in the world but they aren’t that bad! There are worrying signs too, they can’t even be bothered to do the full booked forty five minute set leaving the stage after little over half an hour and that for a new headline band asks rather big questions about how much quality material this lot have. So the record company may well be happy with Morning Runner now but I suspect they are starting to make comments about their long term longevity. Then what of the fan’s, well it wasn’t a classic and you can bet the Coldplay t shirt wearing punter will think twice about coming out next time for such meagre returns.

3RD DAN

Venue: Doncaster Leopard. Hey it’s a fleapit but it’s our local fleapit! Support: Err it’s all gone pair shaped! Now the deal is there is meant to be three bands on the bill tonight but the other two have pulled out for whatever reason. Fair play to the venue they gave the option to 3rd Dan to pull the gig but they opted to play. The Leopard respected that decision, made it a free gig and got some punters through the door. Attraction: 3rd Dan. Those who made the trip up from the bar wouldn’t have been disappointed neither, this four piece based in Manchester but assembled from all over the shop have created a natty line in quality indie rock. To be fair to them it isn’t much different to what we’ve seen before; the usual mix of guitars keyboards and drums but there’s good tunes and all that really matters. Apparently they’ve put a few hours in on the live circuit and it does show, they look the part and it all sounds dandy. Unusually for a band they also seem very well prepared as they set list provided to us suggests. Andy – Drums. Dan S – Bass & Backing Vox. Rory – Guitar, Keyboard & Main Vox 1,2,4,6. Dan J – Guitar, Main Vox 3,5,7. 1, Coffee – Fast Tempo. Rory Main Vox. 2, Katy – Fast Tempo. Rory Main Vox. 3, Guess I wanted more – Medium tempo. Keyboard drum beat. Rory – Main Vox. 4, Be comfortable – Slow Tempo. Dan J – Main Vox. 5, Flux – Fast Tempo. Dan J – Main Vox. 6, Fall from Grace – Medium Tempo. Rory – Main Vox. 7, Three Weeks – Fast Tempo. Dan J – Main Vox. No Keyboard.

THE BOXER REBELLION / DOGS / THE RAVONETTES

Venue: Nottingham Rescue Rooms This rather cool venue is one of the better places to catch gigs in the East Midlands that has popped up in recent years. It’s well designed, cool décor and a great vibe about the place. Crowd: It’s a packed venue even by the time the first band take the stage. Pretty good-natured stuff probably thanks to the cheap booze thanks to a certain yankee spirit manufacturer. Your starter for ten: The Boxer Rebellion It’s still a major surprise just how underrated this lot are, they ply some of the best dark, melodic, epic guitar tunes around. However, it gets off to a bit of a shaky start as the first couple of songs fail to hit the heights but as the big aussie guitarist remarks afterwards the sound was all over the place early doors so we’ll give them that. Fortunately once the sound is back into their favour they really start to kick on and show what they are made of. ‘Watermelon’ has been knocking around for a while but still sounds as fresh as ever, driving hard into epic territory. Fortunately they haven’t been sat on their laurels; new single ‘All you do is talk’ sounds pretty mean too. They tout around much of their debut album ‘Exits’, which has apparently been given a highly respectable eight out of ten from none other than Alan McGee, it sounds pretty promising to us too. All in all after a dubious start it turns into a class start to the evening by a band who can only add to their growing reputation. Next… Dogs Second on the bill are new English turks Dogs. Now it’s gotta be said that with a name like that you’d expect some dodgy metal merchants but fortunately you’d be way of the mark. Dogs are one of those bands who have been listening to the best in English music over the last forty odd years, mixed it up and given it a huge injection of verve, spirit and energy. Their frontman is classic, the looks and the voice to match, sometimes sounding like Johnny Rotten and always compelling but nearly overshadowed by the Dogs’ guitarist; part Liam, part muppet on acid, manic and sensational! I’m sure that this isn’t the first time this has been written, nor will it be the last but you can complete this yourself, it’s the Dogs……..! Finale! The Ravonettes Unfortunately after two cracking bands the veneer starts to peel off the evening in the shape of The Ravonettes. Now they should be right up there if they were sum of all their many parts but to be honest it just doesn’t quite add up. They have the lovely blonde singer, competent backing band and some pleasant tunes but it just seems to be too formulaic and after a few songs a bit samey. But you can’t have it all; two out of three ain’t band!

 DOVES

Venue: Leeds University It’s been said before that this isn’t one of my favourite venues however we manage to get hold of guest passes which gain us access to the upstairs balcony which gives a cracking view of proceedings. Judging by the punters as they leave it’s a hot and sweaty one downstairs. Setlist: Obviously there’s most of the new album, ‘Some Cities’ but you’d expect that as they are out on the road promoting it. More unexpected is the great chunks of ‘The Last Broadcast’ which goes down a treat and then there’s a few real oldies thrown in for good measure too in the shape of ‘Seasong’ and ‘The Cedar Room’. Unfortunately former finale ‘Spaceface’ is dropped to the bench for this tour which is a shame. The Band: Seem in good spirits, there’s a bit of banter between songs but really what Doves are about live is the fucking killer sound and tonight is no disappointment on that front. The Gig: You never know when a band takes a while out in the studio how they will sound when they get back onto the road but there ain’t no worries with Doves. They are true sonic masters, not much to look at which they try and side step with films and cracking lights. However, early doors during a rip-roaring ‘Black and White Town’ the visuals crash leaving them first in the dark then with just red light for company. It matters not it just sounds even better and surreally looks chillingly good! The new stuff sounds pretty good live, the aforementioned ‘Black and White Town’ is awesome in fact, ‘Some Cities’ goes down a treat and ‘Walk in Fire’ one to look out for. The films do work intermittently so we are treated to the excellent northern soul backdrops during ‘Here it Comes’ when they do the usual band vocal / drum swap. Highlights and Lowlights: Apart from the crashing visuals and lack of ‘Spaceface’ they aren’t any lowlights, it’s all highs from beginning to end. Of the ‘Some Cities’ material it has to be emphasised just how corking ‘Black and White Town’ sounds live. The new finale of seemly everyone’s favourite ‘There goes the fear’ is pretty damn fantastic, there’s even an additional set of drums just to give the ending extra kick! But to my mind the real highlight has to be ‘The Cedar Room’ it was just awesome, spine tingling in fact. Conclusion: If anyone came out of this gig not buzzing they need a bloody good shot of adrenaline cause they’re probably dead! Guitar music doesn’t get much more vital than Doves. One of the gigs of the year. Shadders rating: It don’t get much better than this, a moody yet uplifting 9 from 10.

 GOOD CHARLOTTE

Venue: Nottingham Rock City One of the most famous rock venues, firmly fixed on the rock circuit and for good reason. Crowd: By eck it’s full of kids, who it has to be said are well up for it. The security are having to pluck people out the front even before the support band comes on! By the way it’s compulsory to wear black and only black! Support: First up are The Explosion, yankee power punk by numbers, yawn. They do get a polite response though which is a bonus for them, although saying that they are cheering the security guards too! Main support is from Swedish pop punk maestro’s Millencolin. Now it has to be said that this lot have got a decent reputation and for good reason, there are a few hardy souls here just for them and they aren’t going to go away unhappy tonight. Now it can’t be said that this lot are the most original band on the planet but they know who they are and are bloody good at knocking out a decent rock song with a bit of an edge. Unfortunately mid set they have major ‘technical’ problems but rather than throw in the towel they enjoy a joke or three till the problems are fixed and then back to it, dedicated to the Millencolin cause. Also strangely enough they do a varied set from down the years rather than just pluck songs from their rather fine current long player ‘Kingwood’. Obviously there’s plenty of energy and some moments of pop power quality, everyone’s in agreement good stuff. The Main Event: By the time Good Charlotte hit the stage the atmosphere is absolutely electric, you can almost feel the anticipation and from the off the band really know how to play the crowd. Here’s a band who are really at one with the live circuit and can put on a real show, the kids love them for it. I think it’s common knowledge that this lot can write a decent pop tune, some punk pop gems have come out of the Madden armoury but possibly a surprise is the connection between band and fans, there’s a real visual bond. Yeah, it’s all a bit Mcfly for the disaffected generation at times, Joel comes out all in white to contrast to the rest of the band in trademark black, there’s girl’s with handmade message boards in the crowd and then they play cheering competitions between various sections of the audience! But forget all that shite cause they kick it big time. ‘The Anthem’ is knocked out early doors as the energy levels hit the roof, there’s a slight lull mid set as the air some mid tempo offerings from latest lp ‘Chronicles of life and death’ but it would be pretty difficult to keep up the pace for the full near two hour set. Joel appears later in a lovely ‘Made’ hooded top, nice bit of product placement that, as they finish off in some style. It’s a massive jump along to ‘I just wanna live’ and then obviously ‘Lifestyles of the rich and famous’, by this time it’s getting late and the kids have one eye on the stage the other towards their lifts home! Fortunately the parents are still waiting patiently outside in their MPV’s and SUV’s to be reunited with their unhappy youths. They can be happy in the knowledge that their offspring have had a good safe rock romp and they’re miserable on the outside but no doubt smiling on the inside! Shadders rating: A poptastic, gothtastic 8 from 10.

ATHLETE

Venue: Leeds University Not a great venue; it’s long, narrow and doesn’t particularly give many people a great view. When Athlete take the stage it’s stiflingly hot too. Support: Stephen Fretwell is part Scunthorpe, part Manchester singer songwriter. He takes the stage with a small band and knocks out some laid back acoustic tunes. It’s nothing flash, just old fashion honest songs. Although you do get the impression that you could pop to the bogs and when you got back he’d still be playing the same song! Setlist: A clever mix of tracks from both albums, you always expect to hear current album tracks but it’s always nice to hear some old fav’s. The Gig: Now one thing you shouldn’t expect at an Athlete gig is crowd surfing, it ain’t that kind of band nor it has to be said that kind of crowd either. What you should expect however is a group of people who are completely on the same wavelength giving an hour or so’s good quality entertainment, with a good deal of panache. They started the melody heavy pop legacy with ‘Vehicles and Animals’ and have taken it up a gear or too with ‘Tourist’. Everyone with a decent ear loves ‘Beautiful’ or ‘Westside’ but they are more than equalled by newie ‘Half light’. Highlights: There’s only one real contender here, ‘Wires’ has everything a great song should have. It has the melody, the real life story with fortunately a happy ending and you can really feel the emotion in the vocals. It’s a near perfect pop song. Conclusion: Another vintage performance by one of England’s finest purveyors of sugar coated pop tunes. Shadders rating: A solid and entertaining 8 out of 10.

NED’S ATOMIC DUSTBIN

SO WHO THE FUCK ARE NEDS ATOMIC DUSTBIN THEN? Were you alive during the 1990’s? That’s where this story begins. Ned’s came storming out of Stourbridge on the coattails of PWEI and The Wonder Stuff. They found the magic mix rock and infectious pop hooks and made two memorable albums, debut ‘Godfodder’ and the fabulously titled ‘Are you Normal’. But that difficult third album, changing musical tastes (ie Britpop & Oasis) plus record company politics proved to be their downfall. Once their third album ‘Brainbloodvolume’ hit the stores they had split, shame it was a damn fine album. SO WHY BOTHER NOW THEN? Call it nostalgia, call it unfinished business, call it a laugh, in fact call it what you fucking like but three of the original five are back with a couple of mates for good measure. THE VENUE. The Sheffield Boardwalk is a good quality old-fashioned music venue, good acoustics and good beer. THE CROWD. The whole tour has sold pretty well, a couple of dates in London and one in Glasgow sold out well in advance and there’s a near capacity crowd in here too, let’s face it retro is pretty good business. Ned’s always used to put on a good show and the crowd are up for a good night out. SETLIST. Unsurprisingly its hit’s galore. Most are here to hear early stuff from the ‘Godfodder’ era and they are aren’t disappointed plus there’s hit’s from ‘Are You Normal’ too included ‘Intact’ and ‘Not Sleeping Around’. They also slip in a few tracks from the ignored third long player which is nice as most would never have heard them live before. Just to keep it fresh and more real for the new lads there’s a couple of new tracks too. THE GIG. From the first intro it’s obvious that both band and fans are well up for this and it kicks right off, big time! Jon the singer has grown his hair back and really rolls back the years, the new lads seem to fit in okay and enjoying it as much as the next man as the old favourites are kicked out in some style. The energy of the band is the same as the good old days and the crowd respond in kind, the moshing is frenzied and much crowd surfing and stage diving is well in evidence. In fact one lad nearly hacks off a leg when diving a little too close to the roof fan badly positioned just above the moshpit! HIGHLIGHT? Difficult to pinpoint, it’s a truly cracking gig. All the hits are winners, ‘Intact’ is top, ‘Happy’ a singalong a wonder but there’s one track just like the old days the crowd really give it up for and it’s the cult classic and old indie disco fav ‘Kill Your Television’ – awesome as ever! CONCLUSION. Oldskoolnewfuckingcool! SHADDERS RATING. Retro is king! A glorious 10 out of 10!

Graham Coxon - Sheffield Leadmill

Lets get up to speed with the recent past history. Boy finds guitar, guitar boy meets singer boy, boys form indie pop combo, pop combo sell shed loads of records and then singer boy throws a strop and sacks guitar boy. Guitar boy goes it alone and becomes Graham Coxon! So that’s the background sorted and just to clear up the question, no, it’s Coxon tonight not blur so don’t think it’s going to be a night of ‘Song2’ or ‘Popscence’! Unlike other legendary guitarists who take up singing as a new sideline Graham Coxon can actually hold a tune which is nice and let’s face it Damon Albran was hardly likely to win many awards for his vocal style! As for Coxon you can see from his solo work how much he actually contributed to the blur success story, fortunately though this isn’t just a watered down blur by numbers job. Coxon looks good too, his usual moptop haircut, stripy T-shirt and trademark guitar. Tune wise it’s a varied and mixed bang, his influences are as wide as the Thames esturery. There’s real rythym and blues, rock, punk, blatant indie all held together by Coxon’s leftfield pop sensebilities. So as blur continue to look a pale shadow of their former selves and Damon continues to ponce around in cartoon bands who is actually missing who? I think it’s Coxon who’ll be having the last laugh if tonight is anything to go by.

Cathy Davey  - Sheffield Leadmill

A bit of a strange one this, Cathy Davey for one isn’t you normal fanzine fodder, in fact I dare say she’s featured in more of the Sunday supplements than fanzines. But here at Shadders we pride ourselves in featuring music we like and I must say I like the pop tunes that her debut ‘Something Ilk’ has to offer. Harking from across the Irish Sea explains the slightly unusual vocals but they do something seem to slip too close to Catatonia for comfort which should be best avoided! On stage too it’s pleasant indie pop which could explain why there’s a member on Verve on stage in the shape of Simon Jones on bass. This actually is a double edged sword, he’s great and has personality to burn but does seem to take the limelight away from Davey, at present she’s happy for this but it’ll be interesting to see how long that lasts. There are minor problems with Cathy live too, she could lose a couple of songs mid set as it does drift a little and ‘Old Man Rain’ sounds like a tiresome folk song. On the flip side when the pop tunes are good they are saccharine sweet, ‘Swing it’ is lovely with the like’s of ‘Come Over’, ‘Clean & Neat’ and ‘Coldman’s Nightmare’ all worth popping out midweek to the small bar at the Leadmill for. Not perfect then but if you like your blonde, Irish pop singers then Cathy Davey could be the one for you, she also appeared on Elbow’s ‘Grace Under Pressure’ and you’ve got to trust their judgement, haven’t you!