Opportunities like this in the North East are particularly rare, this evening we take our seats in the humongous Hall One at The Sage Gateshead. As Arc Iris take to the stage we’re somewhat unsure what to expect, Jocie Adams is a former member of one of our favourite bands The Low Anthem, and, named for their beautiful folk rock, Arc Iris have inherited some of this.

However, Arc Iris posses something slightly different and their live set could be likened to that of The Dresden Dolls. At times it won't feel out of place in a cabaret club, that said we’re left completely dumbfounded by the delicacy and beauty of Jocie’s voice. It’s an odd performance to sum up but it’s befitting of tonight’s bill, as we anticipate the arrival of St Vincent.

Prior to her appearance a notice is played out, appealing to the fellow fans of analogue entertainment asking people to refrain from recording and photographing the show. A message similar to that which Kate Bush issued prior to her comeback performances. The reason we mention this is that St Vincent is something of a modern day Kate Bush.

Annie Clark is not your average musical artist, she shuffles on to stage in what has become a typically robotic fashion. The thick synth line of ‘Rattlesnake’ echoes out through this huge venue, despite her sleek appearance Annie owns the stage. Collecting her guitar and she quite literally slays the close of the track.

Already in awe, Clark bursts in to the unbelievably amazing ‘Digital Witness,’ in our eyes, a particularly brave move. We firmly believe this is St Vincent's best track to date, however we are later proved wrong as this ladies talents have no bounds; this evening’s performance nothing short of phenomenal, Annie’s delicate blend of electronics and virtuosic guitar playing providing an excellent balance to the evening.

Annie’s ability to put on a show is fantastic, her choreography is spot on and her stage presence is larger than life. Even her on stage banter is somewhat off the wall, though no less brilliant with her conversing with the audience about how when adults look at one another they imagine them as babies. Leaving us slightly puzzled yet still appreciating the musical genius whom is quite clearly bearing her soul in front of us.

Tracks like ‘Laughing with a Mouth of Blood’ and ‘Surgeon’ stand out above the rest. ‘Actor Out of Work’ is arguably a stand out from her back catalogue too, and once again she brutally slays this crowd at every turn, we’re truly are completely blown away. They close out their set with ‘Bring Me Your Loves’, firmly replaced itself as our favourite St Vincent track.

It sums up what has been an amazing evening, so few artists have the ability to conquer this huge hall and tonight St Vincent approached it from a completely different angle. Once again with audience in complete awe, Annie returns to the stage alone to play ‘Strange Mercy,’ the final facet of this evening's show, as she delivers a final beautifully heart-wrenching track.

We leave the venue filled with amazement, almost unable to comprehend the phenomenal evening we’ve just had, one which will go down as the greatest show we’ve seen in a very long time. So few artists have the stage presence and the music to back it up, bringing it back to our point about the equally wonderful Kate Bush. To us, Annie Clark is definitely a modern day equivalent.  

Static Shock Records are currently cleaning house when it comes to London hardcore gigs, hosting top notch bands from around the world on a regular basis and stoking a fire within the scene in the process. This weekend they outdid themselves with a Camden line-up headlined by the surf-drenched hardcore punk of New Jersey’s Night Birds. I’d seen them smash it a few years before in a Leeds basement and subsequently start to gain a well-deserved bit of recognition with each new tour and release, so their one UK date of the tour wasn’t going to be one to miss. Adding to the carnage, a Sheffield invasion in the form of Detergents and Dry Heaves brings some welcome Yorkshire hype – the Northern hardcore scene has always produced stellar bands, and these bands both carry that tradition on with style. Detergents open proceedings with a crunching UK82 style raucousness that has people moving from the start. No turning up late for this one, the line-up is strong throughout and the early throng shows that people have realised this. No frills punk music that reeks of spit and cider is exactly what’s needed to kick off proceedings nicely, as is the cold beer which loosens my concrete-battered muscles. Dry Heaves have been honing their biting hardcore under the radar for a few years now and, knowing they can draw a crowd in Yorkshire, it’s great to see the same response in London. Everyone is going off, beer is spilling and the band are ripping through songs from their back catalogue interspersed with a good few new tracks which already sound impressively tight, roll on the new record!

Unfortunately due to a pressing need for non-alcoholic sustenance we miss Atomic Suplex and their garage hardcore madness, which I can only imagine to be next level in such a small space, but make it back just as Night Birds thrash into the first chords of full speed surf instrumental ‘Escape from New York’. From then on things are complete chaos; with no time for niceties such as between song banter they blast through what feels like half of their back catalogue like it was one continuous raging beast. Everything is speeded up a notch compared to studio recordings and the result is one of the most intense punk shows your likely to see, an endurance test that both band and audience are very much ready for. While their recordings are incredible, this is a band that needs to be seen live to appreciate in full force. Singer Brian Gorsegner gurns and twitches like a caged lunatic in a Victorian asylum, while the band up the aggression levels as far as they can take them and still maintain that musical tightness which makes each song stand out. The mic spends as much time in the hands of audience as band members, with songs like ‘Modern Morons’, ‘Born to Die in Suburbia’, ‘Prognosis Negative’ ‘Killer Waves’ and ‘Born of Man and Woman’ clearly imprinted on the brains of every person down the front. Nothing quite tops off a solid day’s skateboarding like a good hardcore show - tiredness and aches washed away in a tide of beer and loud, fast music - and this was as good as it gets. Props all round to promoter, bands and crowd, a solid contender for gig of the year!

With what seems like a supporting cast of thousands, we arrive early on as DIY indie pop band Martha are just finishing their set, however, we do get the opportunity to catch the last couple of songs. Hailing from the small village of Pity Me in County Durham, these guys are truly on an upward trajectory having toured America and released their debut LP on Fortuna Pop.

Perfectly formed indie pop fills the air and it’s a great way for us to start our evening, these guys are certainly worth five minutes of anyone’s time. Next up is one of Jeffrey’s friends and touring buddies Seth Faergolzia of the band Dufus, he’s full of charisma and doesn’t fail to get the crowd dancing. With a new album recently released, tonight we hear the title track 'Doubting Won’t Do'and many other loop based jams.

Seth hops through a variety of genres, ranging from hyped up and overly excited tracks to something much more chilled out. Time seems to be kicking on but we’re extremely excited as Jeffrey Lewis and his band mates The Jrams take up their instruments. He bounces on to the stage full of beans and ‘What Would Pussy Riot Do (WWPRD)’ makes an early appearance setting the standard for tonight’s set.

There’s a serious message behind a lot of Jeffrey’s songs, but at the same time the way he delivers them he makes them accessible and fun. The best exponent of this has to be ‘A Brief History of Communism Pt. 6’ brilliantly illustrated in Jeffrey’s own inimitable style, he provides what is a funny but educational tour of communism in all of three minutes, proving to us that he is definitely a genius.

Not only can Jeffrey Lewis educate, he also has a variety of songs with a deeper meaning such as ‘Williamsburg Will Oldham Horror.’ It seems to be all about the plight of the artist and has such depth to it we almost believe it’s a nightmare the way in which it ends. So, whilst at times we laugh and at times we have fun this evening, there is a real seriousness to Jeffrey’s work and this track compounds that.

Another stand out track for us is ‘Support Tours’ another about the plight of an artist, this has a bit more of a jovial melody and the lyrics do provoke laughter from the audience. It still has a harsh meaning, Jeffrey’s unafraid to speak out about his life and his chosen career path. We fully admire his outspokenness and completely support him in his endeavours.

As we leave we’re filled with happiness and adoration for Jeffrey Lewis, he’s a phenomenal artist in every sense of the word whether it be his illustration or his music. His genre hopping is never short of amazing, he’s intense yet inviting and we’re always blown away by this genius of a man.

In a summer that has seen the word Glasgow spoken or printed more times by the UK and other media than possibly ever before, the city's cultural highlights are continuing post-Commonwealth Games. The beautifully refurbished Kelvingrove Bandstand, just up the road from the bowling greens utilised by the games, has already this month played host to Steve Earle, Alison Moyet & The Bluebells and The Waterboys as part of the Magners Summer Nights event series. Squeeze have a sold-out show here tomorrow night but tonight it's all about the home team. 

Teenage Fanclub don't play live together all that often (this is their first show in Glasgow in three years), given that they're a bit further from being teenaged and no longer based as close to each other as they used to be, as well as having other projects to work on (Norman Blake's New Mendicants and Gerry Love's Lightships for example). Over the past 20+ years though they've provided me with some of the most enjoyable and emotionally charged gigs of my life to date, none more so than when playing in their home city.

Typically the weather decides the summer's over and so it's a continually windy & none too warm night for seeing an outdoor show but the crowd's enthusiasm is undimmed by the drop in temperature and at least it stays dry. The band take to the stage promptly at 9pm, to tumultuous applause. Kicking off with 'It's All In My Mind' they can't go wrong. In the main tonight's set is comprised of the band's more considered and slightly slower output ('I Don't Want Control Of You', 'Baby Lee', 'Your Love Is The Place Where I Come From', 'Ain't That Enough'), rather than the more raucous material from the likes of Bandwagonesque or Grand Prix so it takes a while for the crowd to fill the gap at the stage front. As the venue seems to offer no bad vantage point that could also explain the lack of a need to get more involved in the proceedings.

Norman's on good form between the songs, whether letting on that the rider contains a mass of Haribos or that he remembers acts of youthful rebellion being perpetrated in the vicinity of the venue (some of which may account for his later memory lapses around what was the band's most successful single and a couple of their more recent albums' titles). Not that anyone's losing sleep over that and soon enough there's the expected seething mass of bodies pressing up against the barriers, bouncing about and singing along to 'The Concept' and 'Sparky's Dream' as the livelier material gets a look-in.

No chance unfortunately of a second encore even in their home for the band as proceedings are wound up as planned around 10pm, although it's clear the crowd don't want to go home that early. They've been well served over the course of the show though and other than the odd numb rear after sitting on the bandstand's concrete benches for the evening there's nothing to complain about. A shorter gap between this and their next show would be most welcome though.

Apologies to support act Linden as the hunt for a more reasonably priced bar kept us away from seeing them in action.