DANIEL ROSSEN (London Union Chapel, 26/08/14)

Although I still await the day I finally get to see a fully-fledged Department of Eagles show, this gorgeous solo performance from my favourite Grizzle Bizzle member went some way to fulfilling my dream, featuring as it did some of the best tracks from his 2008 masterpiece "In Ear Park," as well as an excellent Townes Van Zandt cover, "Yellow House"-era GB tracks and some more recent material. As "man with an acoustic guitar" shows go, it was pretty excellent.

OTHER LIVES (London XOYO, 19/08/14) 

Beautiful, richly orchestrated indie-folk from a bunch of hairy Okies. Was feeling a bit ill throughout so didn’t fully engage (plus I can’t bring myself to truly enjoy a show at XOYO), but was pretty impressed by their musicianship nonetheless. Fans of Grizzly Bear and Wild Beasts will find a lot to love here.

NEKO CASE (London Union Chapel, 15/08/14)

Bit of a weird one, this. Severe technical issues meant that Union Chapel had to resort to a substandard rental PA, plus Neko and her band were obviously suffering from major tour fatigue which resulted in a show that, whilst still perfectly enjoyable, wasn’t as memorable as it should have been. That said, “Night Still Comes” was still bloody brilliant, and support act Jeffrey Lewis once again converted an initially ambivalent audience into fans of his erudite, politically conscious, frankly brilliant folk poetry.

FLAMINGODS (London Lexington, 08/08/14)

Review: HERE

NIGHT ENGINE (London Old Blue Last, 31/07/14)

Essentially  Franz Ferdinand covering the Talking Heads - and that’s 100% a compliment. Looking forward to hearing more from these guys in the near future.

CHILLY GONZALES (London Roundhouse, 29/07/14)

Chilly Gonzales has always been a fan of educating as well as entertaining his audiences, so a two-hour tutorial on basic piano and music theory is not as weird a concept as you may initially think. It truth, it’s not that much of a departure from last year’s Cadogan Hall show (although his crude but hilarious raps are less frequently showcased), but his witty and intelligent mix of compositional lectures, audience participation and recital remain as peerlessly engaging as ever.

GEORGE CLINTON & PARLIAMENT/FUNKADELIC (London Kentish Town Forum, 26/07/14)

George Clinton’s lost the rainbow dreads, dyed his beard and dug out his sharp suits from Parliament’s 60’s heyday, but the Parliament/Funkadelic experience is still as anarchic, self-indulgent and utterly unique as ever. There’s no set list as such, just an endless medley conducted by whim by Clinton and that results in an extremely uneven, if colourful performance. But when they crack out the impassioned majesty of “Maggot Brain”, perhaps the greatest moment of solo guitar in musical history, it’s possible to forgive them pretty much anything.

EELS (London Barbican, 24/07/14)

I’ve seen Mark “E” Everitt five occasions now, and each performance has been completely different from the last. From string-drenched classicalism, to gospel revivalism, to dour acoustic minimalism, to balls-to-the-wall rock and roll, it’s hard to predict where he’s going to take his live set-up next, even if the mode of his songwriting never changes all that radically. This time round, he’s gone for a Leonard Cohen vibe, all xylophone and tubular bells and richly orchestrated arrangements, which rather fits the more sober demeanour of the now fifty-something indie veteran. Sure, the set’s a little short not least because of the lack of trademark “surprise” encores, but at least there’s room for a shedload of classics – not least Last Stop This Town, 3 Speed, My Beloved Monster, It’s a Motherfucker and A Daisy Through Concrete. A most agreeable evening, in all.

LATITUDE FESTIVAL 2014 (Henham Park, Suffolk, 18/07/14-20/07/14)

Review: HERE

DEAP VALLY (London Madame Jojo’s, 15/07/14)

Heavy riffs, bluesy vocals, no nonsense. Deap Vally don’t do anything that’s not been done before, but for reliably excellent, unpretentious blues-rock, they’re hard to beat.

KING KHAN AND THE SHRINES (London Shoreditch Blues Kitchen, 11/07/14) 

The punk-drenched lovechild of Sun Ra and James Brown, the riotous Canadian-Indian-German King Khan can make even the boho hellhole of modern-day Shoreditch seem like an appealing Friday night out. Lots of brass, lots of sweat, lots of fun.