Wednesday 21st November 07 - Circus Envy and Stickpin at Durty Nelly's (2/2) By Martin Wellbourne

(1/2), (2/2),

The same claim may be made by the headline act, Circus Envy (they seem like obliging lads, after all) but it's hard to care. Though clearly a lot more experienced and polished than Stickpin, their rather bland delivery of generic mandolin-and-guitar-based fauxlk didn't really do it for me. They were lucky enough to play after the final nail had been hammered into England's coffin, so received more attention from the suddenly receptive and undiscriminating audience, and while their songs were lively enough - twiddly-twiddly-diddly-hey-nonny-ho-na-nay-etc - their reliance on the usual hackneyed themes of the genre (new love, old love, booze, and such-like) seemed a rather tepid and thin stew when put against the rich, piquant bouillabaisse of genuinely inspired and relevant songwriting.

Inoffensive fun if you like that sort of thing, though. Martin Wellbourne has been a freelance journalist for many years. His articles, reviews and interviews appear frequently in - amongst many others - Sight and Sound, Mojo, and The Guardian.

Comments System Prototype Version 1.0 by Mo

Music Reviews - Monday 2nd July Amy Macdonald at The Lamp Hull By Michelle Dee
	Monday night I went to see Amy Macdonald www.myspace.com/amymacdonald at the lamp in Hull. She came recommended to me by a good friend but I hadn't actually heard anything by the Glaswegian singer/songwriter signed to Melodramatic Records. Now I can't stop singing the gloriously catchy Mr. Rock & Roll her new single out Read more...

Music Reviews - 28th June 07 Jelly V Club NME South Central (DJ Set) Welly Hull By Michelle Dee Pictures by Kate Langan
	Thursday arriving early before all the prom kids arrived we slid into the lounge downstairs at the Welly. Drinks in hand we grooved to the Latino sounds of the Spanish Hustle and kudos to the DJ downstairs for spinning the Junior Jack track featuring The Cure's Robert Smith. As more prom kids came in, ready to party, the sounds Read more...

Music Reviews - Friday 22nd June 07 - ThisisUll Live at New Adelphi Club By Guest Reviewer Kane Fulton Photos by Michelle Dee
	I'm sweating like a bitch was a common utterance echoing around the Adelphi - the nightmarish toilet sauna that is the most, like, punk venue Hull has to offer. Does this detract from the enjoyment? Well, not as much for the punters, but most of the bands look practically in agony on stage. At £2.40 for a pint of Labatts (albeit deliciously chilled Labatts) Read more...

Music Reviews - Saturday 19th May Great Green Concert Featuring cowfisH, Talamasca and Shindigg At Beverley Green Fair By Michelle Dee
	In the evening after the majority of stalls and stands had been taken down at the Green Fair in Beverley, the Great Green Concert took place. It was held in the darkened confines of the auditorium in Longcroft School between 8pm and 10.30. The audience who'd travelled from York/Hull and the surrounding area were treated to some top class Read more...

Music Reviews - Friday 11th May 07 - Jesse Malin at Fibbers, York By Steve Rudd
	It might have been raining outside, the weather comprehensively showering a sense of profound doom and gloom upon the grand old city of York. Fortunately, inside the cosy confines of Fibbers, Jesse Malin fired out a ninety minute set of sheer joy, as the New York singer-songwriter extraordinaire returned to the venue for the third time in his career Read more...

Music Reviews - Saturday 27th May 07 - The Who, The Ordinary Boys and Jackson Analogue at KC Stadium By Julian Thorley Photographs By Roland Standaert
	The 'classic' British summer and the 'curse' of the KC Stadium looked to have struck again on the evening of the 26th May, when The Who played in Hull. It rained yet again. Not the torrential downpours of past gigs there, but it was chilly and damp enough to make it uncomfortable for those out in the open. It just goes to show though that a bit of lousy weather Read more...

Music Reviews - Saturday Night at Jack Rabbit Slims By Cilla It's Showtime!
	Jack Rabbit Slims bar on the corner of Holderness Road and Wincolmlee seems an unlikely place for a night out - during the day you'd barely notice it as you pass by. Saturday night is where that all changes; the neon lights burst into life and it's time to get ready for a rock n roll extravaganza! The first thing I noticed as I walked in was a bunny girls serving drinks. Read more...

Music Reviews - 16th May 07 Soulflame Cowfish at Goose and Granite George Street Hull By Michelle Dee Pictures By Natalie Dudding
	Astounding, incredible sounds from both bands due in some part to the excellent work by Dr. Mike Shindigg at the sound desk. For award-winning five piece band Cowfish www.cowfish.me.uk tonight was a rehearsal for their headline appearance at the Great Green Concert in Beverley the coming Saturday. So aside from telling you that Simon (Cowfish keyboards) Read more...

Music Reviews - Thursday 10th May 07 - The Meatloaf Trilogy With Steve Steinman At Hull New Theatre Reviewed By Steve Rudd
	It makes for a rare treat when a tribute act is almost as amazing as the real thing. In many respects, when Steve Steinman 'does' Meatloaf, the net effect is sometimes even better. A couple of years ago, Lancashire singer Steve toured with a show called The Meatloaf Story in which he sung a whole host of classic tracks as Read more...

Music Reviews - From Sleepers To Yo-Yo In Three Bottles Of Red (dis-ably assisted by Cilla) By Michelle Dee
	It was only supposed to be a quick drink down Newland. At the most a glass or two until the sun set over the railway bridge turning the terracotta road a fiery orange; a pleasant fiction indeed. In reality it was turning a trifle cold and clouding over, there might even have been a few drops of spring rain dotting the pavement as we turned the corner of Ella Street. Read more...

Music Reviews - Thursday 4th May 07 - Ray Davies at the Grand Opera House, York By Joe Malarky
	A familiar gap toothed grin greeted the assembled audience of the bijou Grand Opera House in York. Ray Davies, founder member of The Kinks, original mod and songwriter par excellence, stood and smiled as the rest of his band took their places alongside him. The familiar punchy chords of 'I'm not like everybody else' rang out and the tone of the Read more...

Music Reviews - Friday 30th March 07 - Pure Techno 3rd Birthday at The Welly Club By Tom Lewis Photographs by Tom Lewis, Michelle Dee and Cilla
	March saw Pure Techno, one of Hull's leading innovators and celebrators of new electronic music celebrate its 3rd birthday at the Welly Club. After the (really rather sad) demise of the Rhythm Room earlier in the year, Pure Techno was forced to relocate its base of operations to the Welly Club, the birthday celebrations on the Read more...

Music Reviews, Galleries - Live Music - March 07 - The Paddingtons Studio Demo Session By Darren Rogers
	Sometimes we get photos without a review but they are just too good to miss out on publishing so checkout this photo gallery of The Paddingtons March 07 - at Studio Demo Session By Darren Rogers. Checkout Darrens Featured Writers page here. /writers/darrenrogers.html Read more...

Music Reviews - Lecorum at Dublin Castle, London By Rachel Sanderson
	One band who really caught my eye when browsing myspace was Lecorum. Having closely watched their progress over the last 6 months since they formed, I thought it was about time to get down to a gig. Seeing that they were playing just 5 minutes down the road from me, I figured this would be the perfect opportunity. Arriving at Dublin Castle Read more...

Music Reviews - Wednesday 18th April 07 - The American Four Tops Motown Show At The Crown, Holderness Road, Hull By Jane Foster Photographs By Mo
	Get Ready , cos here they come...The American Four Tops Motown Show at The Crown pub, Holderness Road. A perfect night for my first visit to The Crown (Witham being as far as I'd previously ventured East for a night out). I soon found that it exceeded my expectations. The Crown is a large capacity venue built in the 1920s, Read more...

Music Reviews - Monday 26th March 07 Karl and The Gimps Musicians Night Adelphi Hull By Michelle Dee Photos By The Gimps
	Readers with a reasonably good memory will know that Karl Whiting received something close to local cult status last year with his art work. By the medium of pen and paper he produced on the spot drawings of live bands. See some of his work here /art/211914090_karlwhiting.html His creative style is akin to the Scottish Colourists Movement, in that rather than showing clear Read more...

Music Reviews, Galleries - Friday 26th February 07 - We Are Scientists at Asylum at Hull University By Kate Langan
	Sometimes we get photos without a review but they are just too good to miss out on publishing so checkout this brilliant photo gallery of We Are Scientists at Asylum at Hull University By Kate Langan www.katelanganphotography.co.uk Read more...

Music Reviews - Thursday 29th March 07 - Barenaked Ladies at Leeds University Union Words and photographs by Julia Grant
	It only took us just over an hour of queuing in the cold to secure our place in the front row. Tonight's show wasn't sold out, whilst back in the States the band can sell out stadiums no problem. In a selfish sort of way, I kind of like that though. Their talent and ability to put on one of the best shows you may ever see is somewhat of a secret here in the UK, Read more...