Tag: newcastle
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Psychedelic Porn Crumpets live at NUSU review – rapid-fire riffs hit like a drug
Kick-starting their umpteenth UK tour, the Crumpets are very much a well-buttered machine these days. A strong ninth album has only bolstered their set list of precision-tooled riffs and prog rock neck-breakers. NUSU’s paltry sound system simply couldn’t keep up.
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RPO/Petrenko at the Glasshouse review – high octane Shostakovich sets the heart racing
Tom Borrow’s solidly unassuming rendition of Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto was a little heavy-handed, but nonetheless a worthy scene-setter for Shostakovich’s whirlwind Tenth Symphony, a timely piece about Stalin’s authoritarian regime that sounded viscerally shocking under Vasily Petrenko’s assured baton.
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Every Mercury Prize 2025 nominee, ranked
The Mercury Prize is back, and a new album will be crowned as the UK and Ireland’s best in Newcastle on Thursday 16 October. To celebrate this year’s competition, Undertone listened to all 12 nominated albums. Which is the best, and which has the best shot at winning? The verdict is in…
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Friday Night Club with the Unthanks review – beautiful ballads, evocative prose and a full-face gremlin mask
Debuting a brand new series of variety shows at Gateshead’s Glasshouse, the Unthanks were warm and welcoming hosts for this feast of North East culture. Tim Dalling was hilarious and the RNS Quartet were predictably compelling, but it was Clara Mann’s devastatingly elegant songs that stole the show.
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Black Country, New Road live at the Glasshouse review – not what it once was
The boundary-pushing Cambridge band have boldly ventured forth into a third album after departing frontman Isaac Wood left a gaping hole in the lineup. Three years on, the band’s spectacular glory days still cast a long shadow over this middling live set in Gateshead.
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Ichiko Aoba live at the Glasshouse review – perfect serenity from the Japanese isles
Ichiko Aoba’s virtuosic guitar playing proved the main draw for a night of deeply beautiful experimental folk pieces from Japan, prefaced by one of the most extraordinary support acts I’ve ever witnessed.
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Adwaith live at the Cluny review – Welsh indie trio are worth rooting for
The pioneering Welsh-language trio had plenty of quality material from their recent double album to dig into in Newcastle, although the scuzzy guitars and restless basslines were occasionally let down by Hollie Singer’s limited vocal performance.
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Sam Fender: People Watching review – the Geordie Springsteen delivers a classic
Valorised Geordie hero Sam Fender paints a vivid picture of ordinary working-class life in this extraordinary third record. Never has Fender’s trademark brand of melancholic beauty sounded so potent.
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RNS/Ólafsson live at the Glasshouse review – quite possibly the best pianist in the world right now
Beethoven’s flamboyant Emperor concerto was an odd choice for this master of pianistic introspection, but Ólafsson nonetheless proved his world class status following a typically daring and dynamic first half from Sousa’s Royal Northern Sinfonia.
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Confidence Man live at NX review – ludicrous dance-pop tears the roof off
Fresh from releasing their third – and finest – album, there’s simply no room left for duds in Confidence Man’s supremely silly live show. Even by Newcastle’s high standards, Saturday nights out don’t get much more ecstatic than this.
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Maruja live at the Cluny review – an extraordinary plunge into hell
The Manchester noise merchants provided all the expected thrills – tempestuous drumming, atmospheric saxophone, sharp-tongued poetry – and added sweeping improvisations and stupendous operatic climaxes. This tepid Newcastle crowd was spoiled rotten.
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Soft Play live at NX review – shirtless punks ignite a brutal mosh pit
The hardcore Kent punks are noted for their unusual lyrical vulnerability, but in truth this gig was all about deafening, apoplectic rock bangers. The resulting mosh pit chaos left this reviewer floored – literally.
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The Last Dinner Party live at O2 City Hall review – red hot girl group come off the boil
Five piece indie rockers The Last Dinner Party were Britain’s most talked-about band during their meteoric rise last winter. The strength of the songwriting remains undeniable, but frontwoman Abigail Morris gave a noncommittal performance on a faintly disappointing Monday night in Newcastle.
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Fast Blood: Sunny Blunts review – a wallop of modern punk
After discovering that Fast Blood were the chosen opening act for Mannequin Pussy’s live show at The Grove in Newcastle, Alex Walden decided to give their latest album a deep dive to hear just what he missed out on. It’s safe to say that he was not disappointed.
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Thundercat live at O2 City Hall review – virtuoso bassist goes full jazz fusion
Thundercat may be one of the world’s most respected bassists, but in this exhausting set of samey solos his technical wizardry was largely lost to City Hall’s booming acoustics. Alex Walden and Bertie Kirkwood jointly report.
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