Hamish Hawk
Mark Rowland at The Scala in London watches rising singer-songwriter Hamish Hawk play an exuberant post-punk set to promote his new album ‘Angel Numbers’.
Idles
Mark Rowland watches Idles play a remarkable three set lockdown session over two days at Abbey Road Studios in London.
Ryuichi Sakamoto
Mark Rowland at the Roundhouse in London watches Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto and electronic artist Alva Noto play a show of tense, but enormous emotional impact to promote 'Summvs', their fifth collaborative album
Pere Ubu
Mark Rowland watches an enjoyably different and visually striking show from Pere Ubu in which they merge music, theatre and animation at a gig to promote their 'Long Live Pere Ubu' album at Blackheath Halls in London
Passion Pit
Mark Rowland discovers Massachusetts-based electronic band and former bedroom act Passion Pit to have an increasingly comfortable stage presence at a gig at ther KOKO in London
Deerhunter
At the Scala in London, Mark Rowland watches Atlanta punks Deerhunter play an impulsive, yet charismatic and powerful set
Animal Collective
At a keenly anticipated, strikingly visual show at the Forum in London, Mark Rowland watches pioneering electro act Animal Collective play a set which completely splits its audience
Of Montreal
At the London KOKO, Mark Rowland finds Athens, Georgia-based band Of Montreal's eccentric form of orchestral rock and stage theatricals occasionally becoming too pretentious for their own good, but overall totally riveting
Leonard Cohen
At a gig at London's Victoria Park to promote their 'In Rainbows' album, Mark Rowland watches Radiohead play an enthusiastic, eco-friendly set to an ecstatic crowd
Bob Mould
In front of an appreciative crowd at the KOKO in London, Mark Rowland watches former Husker Du and Sugar front man Bob Mould prove that he is still able to carry a rock show like a man half his age and play a fiery, rapid fire set of Greatest Hits and new songs
Sebadoh
Sebadoh are not known for being a dynamic live force, but Mark Rowland finds the reformed American indie rockers compelling at a Don't Look Back gig at the KOKO in London in which they revisited their 1993 album, 'Bubble and Scrape'
Wedding Present
At an audience largely dominated by over excited middle aged men, Mark Rowland watches the reformed Wedding Present play a flawless set to an exuberant crowd, but sees David Gedge's Cinerama songs go down less well
Cure
At the Move festival in Manchester Mark Rowland enjoys sets by the Cure and former James frontman Tim Booth, but finds himself totally enthralled by the Pixies, back together after an absence of more than a decade
Million Dead
One of the rising punk bands , Million Dead recently toured Britain. Mark Rowland watches "one of the better new rock bands in Britain at the moment" put on a rabble-rousing show at the Carlisle Brickyard
Trumans Water
Mark Rowland's dislike of London's Camden area was recently intensified when he was robbed in the street there, but, despite this, he still manages to forget temporarily his troubles at a post-punk night at the Underworld
Candies
Since interviewing frontman Giulio Calvino for the first time, Mark Rowland has waited almost two years to see Italian post-punk trio the Candies, but finds the experience well worth the wait at the London Garage
Miscellaneous
Always an experience, the Reading Festival probably had the best line-up of all the British music festivals this year. Mark Rowland has an an exhausting, but exciting three days
Miss Black America
...but Mark Rowland at the same gig , despite finding much of its emphasis on fashionablity unbearable, in contrast enjoys the experience much more
D4
In the second of our D4 live reviews of this month, Mark Rowland at a show in London finds the New Zealand punks to be the ultimate live experience
Alec Empire
The missing link between hard dance and punk metal, Alec Empire and his Digital Hardcore label now have a legendary cult following. Mark Rowland watches the Atari Teenage Riot frontman play a "spectacular" solo show at the Mean Fiddler
Tomahawk
Controversial, uncompromising and sometimes downright disgusting, Mike Patton's new band Tomahawk prove to be all this and more on their debut British tour at the London Astoria