Photos: AetherLight Photography

Gardiner Music’s new series of live music nights in Whelan’s continues with Waterford’s The Dead Heavys. Opening group The Mantells are from Manchester and are touring their new EP Can't Stop Won't Stop.

Drummer Lewis Moran sings harmonies with lead vocalist and guitarist Tom Barrow, while Dale Moran rocks a sexy looking 5-string Ibanez bass with gusto. He gets up on a nearby table during ‘Payday Playboys’ and the whole band deliver a cover of Hot Chocolate’s ‘You Sexy Thing’ that gets the whole joint grooving. Barrow’s songs owe a debt to hometown heroes’ Oasis and The La’s and the tunes are short and to the point. They could do well here.

Gardiner Music’s Caoimhe Ní Riagain takes the stage to remind us that gig is in aid of SVP’s homelessness campaign, raising awareness and funds for the organisation, and that they are releasing a single called ‘Shelter’ by Katie Jenkinson for the cause.

The Dead Heavys are a six piece groove band with a dedicated percussionist driving the funky tunes. The Waterford sextet have three vocalists singing over some super groovy bass. The drums and percussion keep the vibe going between the rhythm-lead songs. They have a Spin Doctors vibe with Britpop-sized choruses. Their debut EP was produced by Jagz Kooner and there’s talk of an imminent album release to follow.

The keyboardist toys with atmospheric samples leading into current single ‘Lazarus’ before his piano takes over for the upbeat dance intro. The two guitarists harmonise like Crowded House’s Finn brothers on the next song and the trumpet comes out for the elegiac outro, an outro that quickly changes time and becomes a Mescalero’s version of ‘She's So Heavy.’ It's a brave move by any non-ska group to feature the trumpet so prominently but The Dead Heavys have understandable confidence in their abilities, individually and as a group. It's tricky enough to write a decent song, trickier again to make music that gets people dancing. The ability to do both simultaneously is a rare talent and should be treasured when it is found. Even through the thick funk rock fug, layered vocal lines reminiscent of José Gonzalez break through and elevate these songs from generic dance sludge. These guys are on another level.

In his book, This Will End in Tears: The Miserabilist Guide to Music, Adam Smith-Houghton details the various hormones released by the hypothalamus when the brain processes sad music. Chief of these is prolactin. In a delicious pleasure/pain symmetry, prolactin is released both when the brain tries to cope with emotional trauma and also, tellingly, post-orgasm. Tonight at St Johns Church in Hackney, Scott Hutchinson and Frightened Rabbit are here to make sure we get a good dose of the emo boohoos, and A WHOLE FUCK TON OF PROLACTIN. The teenage boys crying along to The Midnight Organ Fight back in 2008 are now adult boys. They have beards. They have plaid. They want that prolactin.

A church is a fittingly sombre venue for a band so intent on laying their (albeit secular) feelings bare, and one feels Scott Hutchinson, self-excoriating misrerabilist extraordinaire might just feel as at home on a cross as he does on a stage. Frightened Rabbit walk on to a rapturous scream from the crowd, and begin a set of old songs and new. Hutchinson begins with a reflection on his audience “keeping up with the times”, looking forwards and looking backwards. After musing on the subject for a while, he settles on the latter: “Fuck what all your friends from Hoxton are listening to… come and see Frightened Rabbit in a church.”

The band begin with the barnstorming emo-opener from their latest album - ‘Get Out’, and after a characteristically polite “thank you, thanks, cheers”, launch into Pedestrian Verse’s ‘Holy’ and Midnight Organ Fight’s ‘Modern Leper’. At that point the people standing up in the pews next to the sign that says ‘no standing’, stick their fingers in the air. “I used to fucking hate Winter of mixed drinks” Hutchinson confesses of the band’s slightly overdubbed, much maligned, quite brilliant third album, before beginning the first of five songs from that album - ‘Living In Colour’, ‘Things’, ‘Footshooter’ and ‘Nothing Like You’. We then get the hey-nonny barn dance of ‘Old, Old Fashioned’ from Midnight Organ Fight, and a rendition of the astonishingly awkward ‘Keep yourself warm’ sung from the church pulpit.

It’s nice to see that the black dog of melancholy still stalks Scott Hutchinson despite his move to the sunny climes of LA, and that Frightened Rabbit continue to function on the ‘if it ain’t broke…’ mantra is probably the main reason they have kept their dogged and obsessively loyal fanbase over the last decade. The band return for an encore to end on ‘The Loneliness And The Scream’, a fist-pumping Winter of Mixed Drinks standout full of ‘woahs’ and seemingly constructed entirely in order to make a crowd sing along. Needless to say, it has the desired effect.

Today we’re at Sound Control Manchester for emo revivalists Moose Blood. Hailing from Canterbury, the band are doing the UK proud with a refreshing, hard hitting sound.

From the get go the place is packed with people waiting for the first signs of movement on stage. Kicking off the proceedings are the quirky outfit Grey Wind who smash it and get the crowd engaged as much as possible for the forthcoming emo kings. The only thing I wanted to hear more of was some backing vocal harmonies to support the already strong vocal of Steph O’Sullivan. Winter’s Passing take to the stage next, their sound engineer appearing to doze off as the levels don’t seem suited at all. This persists all the way through their set but the songs still manage to shine through and we can see their song writing abilities are on top form. The call-and-return vocals between to the front two are great and the intricate guitar work adds to make their band’s sound something to keep your eye on.

With the support over it's time for Moose blood who hit the stage full throttle. I’ve heard their new single ‘Honey’ in the past few days and didn’t really feel too strongly about it at first. Until I heard it live that is… It’s brilliantly catchy and judging by the crowd’s reaction to it’s a sure fire winner. A few crowd-pleasing oldies get chucked in after words by way of 'I Hope Your Missing Me’ and ‘Cherry' sending the crowd wild. There seems to be nothing this band can do wrong and the crowd seem to hang on every word Eddy Brewerton say’s, singing at times louder than the frontman himself.

By the time final song ‘Gum’ is played, you really get the feeling that this band could be huge in the coming years. With such a large dedicated fan base already growing and a new album on the way I can see them going far. Who knows what’s coming next but surely for these guy’s it won’t fall short of arenas and world domination. Not only that but they’ve already announced tickets for another Euro/UK tour later this year so if you missed out this time, then get your arse in gear and buy some tickets.

While festivals were once reserved for rural locations, it seems recent years have seen a proliferation of inner-city events across the length and breadth of the country. From Brighton's Great Escape to Sheffield's Tramlines. Liverpool Sound City to Stag and Dagger in Glasgow, these inner-city festivals are a far cry from the three-days of debauchery your more traditional festivals offer and instead provide a single day of venue hopping across your city of choice.

One of the most reputable of these single day showcases, is Live at Leeds. Often the start of many people's festival calendar, it's a sure fire way to find favourites for those festivals it precedes, providing punters with a veritable who's who of the year's most promising acts, a slew of home-town heroes and a few names you'll see a lot more of over the coming months. Ahead of this year's festival, we've selected 12 acts you need to see if you're attending.

TRASH

Not from Leeds, but signed to one of the city's best DIY labels, (CLUE Records) TRASH have rapidly made a name for themselves with their brand of heartfelt slacker pop. Rich in melody and self-deprecation, TRASH will kick off festivities on the Too Many Blogs stage (Oporto) at 12pm.

Natalie McCool

Liverpool-based songstress Natalie McCool brings her effortlessly elegant alt-pop the length of the M62 in order to play an early set at Nation of Shopkeepers. Creating a surprisingly full sound for a solo artist, Natalie's refusal to be bound by pop conventions allows her idiosyncrasies to bleed through in to her records and her live shows.

NARCS

The second band from the CLUE Records' roster, NARCS hit the DIY stage at Leeds institution The Brudenell Social Club at 1pm. Having caught the band at last year's Leeds Festival, we know they're not ones to be missed. And if you have a thing for all things CLUE, you'll be able to run from TRASH in time to catch them. Your legs won't thank you, but the band sure will.

Kagoule

Another band who quickly made a name for themselves last year, Kagoule's wonky indie pop recounts the heady DIY days of the '80s and '90s, completely belying their relatively young years. The band follow NARCS on the DIY stage, so if you make it all the way up there, stick around, you won't be disappointed.

Fizzy Blood

Fusing together the grunge for which the city has become synonymous, with classic rock flavours, Leeds locals Fizzy Blood promise to tear up The Key Club early on. Having already earned somewhat of a reputation with those in the know, their set promises to be a rammed and raucous affair.

The Jacques

After signing to 25 Hour Convenience Store a little over a year ago, The Jacques began to quickly make a name for themselves thanks to their indie oikishness and a sound reminiscent of The Libertines. Now heading in to their second season of festivals you can catch The Jacques at 2:30 at The Faversham.

Holy Esque

Fresh of the back of their debut LP At Hope's Ravie, Scottish rockers Holy Esque promise to bring a set of monolithic proportions to the Too Many Blogs stage at Oporto. Coming across as a more brooding Augustines, this is introspection at its most anthemic and not something to be missed.

Carnabells

Local lads The Carnabells will be a familiar sight to anyone who frequents Leeds' various venues. Their upbeat and punchy indie pop is sure to brighten even the gloomiest of days, providing the jangle-pop of the1980s with a distinctly contemporary twist. They play the Gigwise Stage at 5pm.

Where Fires Are

Leeds-based Where Fires Are create an atmospheric brand of alt-rock whose lyrical themes are matched only by the musical ambition. Intricate and intelligent, the quartet fall somewhere in between Biffy Clyro and Everything Everything and will take to the Briggate stage at 4pm.

Colour of Spring

Quickly following are local shoegazers Colour of Spring. A four-piece who manage to encapsulate the spirit of the scene that celebrates itself without being derivative. With a penchant for exploring dynamics, the band segue from lush dreampop to towerings walls of noise effortlessly. They play Briggate at 5pm.

Forever Cult

The last band from the Clue Records stable, Forever Cult make the leap from opening proceedings at Key Club last year, by taking to the Leeds Beckett stage at 5:30. Perfectly encapsulating the city's grunge scene from which FC come, their blend of warped slacker rock and weighty riffs will leave a lasting impression.

Los Campesinos!

One of two bands on the list that shouldn't really need any introduction Los Campesinos! are old hats in comparison to much of the line-up. As a result, their live shows are some of the best we've seen from bands of their size and will prove to be a hit at this year's festival. LC! play the Gigwise stage at 8:45.