I promise you, wacky King Khan and the Shrines will be like nothing you’ve ever seen before. Putting on not so much of a live show as a spectacle, the band is famed for its unusual stage performances. Lead singer, Montreal-born King Khan (real name Arish Ahmad Khan) formed the band in 1999, with members hailing from the USA to Germany. Their genre of music is labelled as ‘psychedelic soul’ and ‘garage rock’, if you can try to imagine that combination.

East India Youth are an act that’s got the critics talking. With an intriguing experimental blend of electronic pop, it has led to writers of many musical publications feeling blown away by its creativity and innovation. The man behind it all is William Doyle, Bournemouth-born but residing in London. His debut LP ‘Total Strife Forever’ was released earlier this month by Stolen Recordings and was made BBC Radio 6 Music’s Album of the Day. The Sunday Times also referred to the album as ‘the first masterpiece of 2014’.

Since its recent opening in September 2013, Korova Club has had countless exciting bands lined up for the gig-junkies of Merseyside. Its line-up for 2014 is set to be loaded with the cream-of-the-crop of upcoming bands and we at ManGoneBlog have rounded up 4 of our favourite dates for a humongous ticket giveaway! We’ll be giving away tickets to Matthew & the Atlas, King Khan & The Shrines, East India Youth and Shy Nature.

As my companions and I reached Leaf on an icy cold January night, we were greeted by a queue lining Bold Street. They were all here to see ‘Toronto’s best kept secret’- who happens to be immensely popular on this side of the Atlantic too.

East Village Arts Club welcomed us with a beautifully blue, atmospheric scene. The appropriately named ‘Northern Lights’ show featured time-lapse visuals of the Northern Lights throughout the evening, coupled with a variety of musicians. The Scandinavian-inspired set was lit up like a Christmas tree upon our arrival, making it a visual delight as well as a musical one. Let’s start with the opening act, Norwegian LIPA student Inge Bremnes.

The Lomax is probably a place familiar to most gig-goers in the city. Tucked away on Cumberland Street, it hides away a colourful chapter of Liverpool’s history. The iconic venue boomed in the 90s, when the likes of Radiohead and Oasis took its stage. And it was grimy venues like The Lomax that set these bands on their way to achieving global success, making musical history.

Liverpool’s Zanzibar Club is to be a part of the very first Independent Venue Week, supported by PRS for Music. The week’s festivities will take place across eighteen venues in the UK over the course of six days. It aims to showcase Britain’s fresh new musical talent, honour the UK’s most historic venues, as well as celebrate local music.

A magazine I designed and wrote as part of a portfolio for my Journalism degree.

TV presenter and writer Alex Brooker returned to his roots yesterday when he addressed JMU Journalism students. Alex, who co-hosts Channel 4 show The Last Leg, shared insights into a career in television and his time at LJMU, where he studied for his journalism degree. He told a packed lecture theatre: “My degree’s enabled me to do everything that I’ve done so far. The skills I learnt here are a big part of what I do now. “It’s the stuff you don’t think about that’s ingrained in you by the ti