Live Reviews

In the middle of the rows of cluttered shops - sticking out like a real tan in Essex - is the Troxy Theatre in Limehouse, London. This diamond in the rough, art deco theatre really is such a special venue and tonight it couldn't match its host, City and Colour, more beautifully.

If you aren't familiar with the annual hootenanny that is the famed Kerrang! Tour then where have you been? Living under a rock! Every year those dudes bring us the best of the best in our generations new blood bands with a mix of rock royalty, we checked out this year's festivities as the tour rolled into Manchester's prestigious Albert Hall.

Watching The Front Bottoms play a show is watching them at their most comfortable. They are, through and through, a DIY touring band who know how gain fans live and convert even the most sceptical spectator. We’re excited to see that the new opportunities presented to these guys have already kicked their live up a notch; making it the best it’s ever been.

It’s been a little while since the UK has had the pleasure of a full headlining Mayday Parade tour, so when it was announced in the summer we knew we had to be there. Half a year and a venue change later, there we were at The Troxy, in a sea of teenage girls, waiting for the show to start.

This show was meant to be taking place a night earlier; moved from Shepherd's Bush Empire to Koko a couple of months before. Camden was the location of both of Basement's last shows before their hiatus - and their return - and now it's where they perform what they referred to as their 'biggest headline show'.

There's no debate about it; Beach Slang's heartfelt performance made the whole evening feel fun and special, like getting punched in the gut by your best friend (in the best possible way, if that makes any sense).

Set away from the wandering eye, down two dingy sides streets and decorated in what looks like a Sons of Anarchy’s Motorbike collection is Camden’s hidden gem of a venue, The Black Heart. Tonight we are here to welcome Canadian rockers The Dirty Nil to their first ever UK show! With its usual broody buzz, on top of a free show on offer, the venue is filling up nicely for a Thursday night.

Following the release of their debut EP Come Get Some, tonight saw punk outfit Counterfeit playing their debut show in London’s O2 Islington Academy. With support coming from Dead! and Straight Lines, this sold out show looked set to be an early Christmas treat.

Just under a year on from their sold out show at Electric Ballroom, Japanese quartet One OK Rock made their return to London. With this being the final date of their UK run of shows this year we had high hopes, especially with support coming from Dead! and We Came As Romans.

A dull Friday night in Bournemouth looked set to be turned around when we walked into O2 Academy for Scouting For Girls tour date in support of their Still Thinking About You album. We’ve made it no secret that we’re fans of the band having been at their previous Bournemouth show when we had a chat to them beforehand, so we knew tonight was set to be memorable.