One-line gig reviews for August 2026

This month featuring, among others: my over-excited Gary Numan nostalgia, Nik Kershaw’s possibly menopause-inducing audience, potentially generational talent Love Spells at the lovely but endangered Moth Club and Jarvis Cocker teasing the end of Pulp.

Marc Almond, Crystal Palace Bowl, London, 6 Aug – This was the first time I have seen Marc performing since the untimely death of Dave Ball, and that added an extra poignance to the already emotionally gruelling Soft Cell songs he played. He seemed in fine form.

Gary Numan, Crystal Palace Bowl, London, 6 Aug – Playing a selection of songs on this tour that even I had to look a couple up as they are from his late-90s dip in fame, I had a brilliant time as ever and was right down the front and got far too drunk and over-excited. The 23rd time I have seen him now.

Seb Wesson, Junction, Cambridge, 20 Aug – I only caught a bit of this. Singer-songwriter with a beard and a bun. Can’t really recall much more than that, sorry mate.

Nik Kershaw, Junction, Cambridge, 20 Aug – I really enjoyed this – a couple of deep cut album tracks from the 80s and also a smattering of some of the better songs he has persevered with releasing in recent decades. He is very funny and self-effacing, with one-liners like “Who wants to hear a song that got to number 27 for one week in 1985”? Bless him.

This evening also featured the amazing moment where one young woman looked absolutely baffled as The Riddle unfolded, and my partner clocked her and said “Look, she’s frightened she’s going to catch the menopause from the rest of the audience”. There were definitely a lot of women of a certain age in the audience.

The Slow Readers Club, Wythenshawe Park, Manchester, 21 Aug – Rather like Ist Ist they are very much part of the Joy Division-to-Interpol-to-Editors sonic pipeline, which is pleasant enough live but I wouldn’t rush to listen to them at home when I can put Unknown Pleasures or Turn On The Bright Lights on instead.

Slowdive, Wythenshawe Park, Manchester, 21 Aug – I have not seen Slowdive for years and years and years and it was nice to hear some familiar old tunes again, although again I would seldom play them at home.

The Cure, Wythenshawe Park, Manchester, 21 Aug – My second Cure gig of the year and it was … gosh, can’t believe I am writing this … fine? I think I was just over-tired with the travel and didn’t really get into it.

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Roxanne De Bastion, 100 Club, London, 22 Aug – Very personable between songs, and trying to get the crowd to sing along with material they don’t know is usually a thankless task but she handled it deftly.

The Anchoress, 100 Club, London, 22 Aug – We got live debuts of some tracks from the new album and plenty of old favourites too, when I thought it might just be the new album in full.

Sparks, Cliffs Pavilion, Westcliff-on-Sea, 26 Aug – My boys!

Love Spells, Moth Club, Hackney, 27 Aug – Every now and again you get the chance to see something that suddenly looks like they might be a generational talent in a tiny venue. Love Spells was amazing. Get on it.

Seb Lowe, Wythenshawe Park, Manchester, 28 Aug – This quite rapidly went from me thinking “Oooh there’s something a bit Baroque rock/pop and Sparks-ish” about the first song I heard as I arrived at the venue, and then quite quickly I was going “Oh god I really do not want to hear a white man rapping over Libertines’ outtakes please make this stop”.

[Picture caption: Ummmm, no thanks mate]

Self Esteem, Wythenshawe Park, Manchester, 28 Aug – The third time I’ve caught her live, and as I always observe, it isn’t quite my thing, but she is a charismatic and compelling performer and it clearly resonates with the audience and I always enjoy it.

Pulp, Wythenshawe Park, Manchester, 28 Aug – Oh Pulp. Jarvis seemed to be making a lot of noises that this was their last big show “for a while” or possibly ever, which nobody wanted to hear; their comeback has been a 10/10 no notes experience of great shows and a very decent late-career album. I’ve seen three of their shows during this “phase” and I will be sad if I don’t get to see them again, but they were so, so good, he is such a showman, and this was very much a crowd-pleasing greatest hits. “Maybe this should be called ‘Do you remember the last time?’” Jarvis said. I hope not.

Last month was a proper epic, featuring Kylie Minogue joining Nick Cave on stage in Brighton, a three-day Ally Pally hat-wearing spree with impunity watching Wet Leg and Super Furry Animals among others, plus a 21-hour marathon day trip to Latitude for David Byrne and Talking Heads bangers. Dive into the full July roundup here, read the standalone Latitude post here, or browse all my previous one-line gig reviews in the archive.

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