If you’ve not had at least one evening of your life wailing along to ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’ in a dingy karaoke bar after 5 tequilas on a work night out, you’ve just not lived properly. Sorry.

Guns N’ Roses were one of the most important – and iconic – rock bands of the 80s and 90s. Although they’ve had numerous lineup changes, ego-fuelled bust-ups, rock drama and other assorted bits of utter ridiculousness over the past twenty years, they’re still out on the road.

Axl Rose and his band (whoever they are now – we’ve lost track) are heading to the Arena on Sunday (20th May) and we’ve got a couple of pairs of tickets to give away to SevenStreets readers.

We’ve made entry as simple as possible if you’re feeling lazy: email us with the subject ‘Welcome To The Jungle’, Like this Facebook post or retweet this. We’ll select winners at random at lunchtime on Friday 18th May.

John Carlos’ salute – along with Tommie Smith – came at a turning point for American racial politics. Muhammed Ali is most frequently mentioned in the sport-and-politics field of the time, but the simple gesture of Carlos and Smith will be a defining image for centuries.

Carlos will be at FACT for an In Conversation piece as part of his tour of the UK. Needless to say he has a book out – The John Carlos Story: The Sports Moment That Changed the World.

Such boasts are common in biographies. In the case of Carlos’ book it’s not an exaggeration. And while the years afterwards were tough for him his part in that Olympic moment, and the aftermath, have ennobled him.

Looking again at that picture, while Smith is defiant Carlos looks neither defiant nor angry. He looks sad, perhaps as if aware of the maelstrom into which he was headed.

As we wind up for an Olympic celebration of our own it’s hard to imagine an era when the stakes were so high – or when sport counted for something beyond running quickly.

John Carlos in Conversation
FACT
18.00, Friday 25 May

He was the glue that kept a city’s crumbling emotional edifice together, he somehow – somehow – carried and personified and cradled and shouldered the grief felt by 96 families, 96 mums and dads and brothers and sisters whose families were torn apart.

In a pre-Diana time when things were done differently, he did what was necessary very quietly, very beautifully and with the minimum of public acknowledgment. He didn’t do it for publicity – he did it because it was right.

The word ‘King’ falls a considerable distance short when considering the man’s emotional strength, courage and importance during that time.

We all know that in the end it took its toll – like it would anyone else – as he resigned his Anfield position in February 1991, haggard and weathered and dragged down by the pressure he was under on and off the field.

He was worn out. He was cried out. Go and look it up on Youtube – he looks older then than he does now.

But what that demonstrates is just how genuine Dalglish’s own grief was; it underlines the scale of the man’s integrity, the depth of his humanity.

So despite the shock of his resignation, Liverpool’s fans at the time could safely assume that Dalglish’s legacy and reputation were carved into the hardest stone. His prestige was immovable, his image irreplaceable.

Ah, not quite.

The past 18 months have slowly, bit by bit, inch by inch, chipped away at the granite of Dalglish’s reputation. It has been painful to watch. Dalglish has been raging against the dying of the light, against the media, against referees and fictional foes at the FA.

He has been raging in the face of common sense (Evra/Suarez) and he has been raging against anyone who does not buy into Liverpool Football club with the same passionate fervour as himself. And it has not been pretty.

Dalglish’s press conferences had become almost farcical within weeks of him getting the job full-time. Fully reasonable, legitimate and well constructed questions were huffed, puffed and rebuffed. Dalglish appeared to think he could operate like he had once done at Anfield when the press pack was a fraction of the size of today’s.

This is not the time to debate the rights and wrongs relating to the explosion in media outlets. But that is not going to change anytime soon. And no-one bothered to tell Kenny that. Every manager in the Premier League has to speak to the media – it’s as much a part of the job as putting the cones out and trying to keep a straight face when Steve Kean is about.

Yet Kenny’s default answer has been no. He has been uncooperative, pig-headed and plain obstructive for no other reason than he thought he could. That set a tone that has helped nobody.

Some of you reading this will say “good, the media are this, that and the other” and there is an element of truth in this. But Kenny’s reluctance to help himself and to help rehabilitate Liverpool’s reputation (the T-shirts, dear God the T-shirts) highlights that he has become a man either incapable or unwilling to manage within the parameters of the modern game.

As time has gone on – and the likes of Carroll, Henderson and Downing have turned into the high-cash flops every pub expert had safely assumed they would – Dalglish has looked increasingly out of step.

We need more luck, we need more respect from officials, people need to respect our Carling Cup win. We need, we need, we need.

The bottom line is that Dalglish came back – was brought back – because Liverpool’s fans and hierachy bought into the idea that he had the Midas touch. He could simply Dalglish Liverpool to victory, to the top four, to glory. Yet results this season have shown that has not been the case and watching Dalglish trying to find the answers has been painful to all those who love football.

So the news that he has been sacked should please the club’s fans because nobody wants to see Dalglish, a Giant of Merseyside, reduced to what we have seen in recent times.

Dalglish has been Elvis bursting out of his jumpsuit, he’s been Sinatra requiring cue cards, he’s been Ali getting a late-career pasting by no-marks he would once have shrugged off before brushing his teeth in the morning.

Do not be miserable that he is gone. Be thankful that he went before the Dalglish that deserved to be remembered was replaced by the Dalglish that would have been.

Eas-eh! Eas-eh! Ease-eh!

If you’re anything like us those words will transport you back to Saturday lunchtimes and fish and chips the best part of three decades ago. The obese, white-haired, seemingly-ancient Big Daddy would be taking on his arch nemesis, the corpulent, bearded and genuinely massive Giant Haystacks.

Both men were icons of 80s British television, an era that had just the four TV channels and any prime-time star could expect to earn a lot of money. But while the wrestling may have been fake the egos, the pain, the small-time villainy and the pathos were not.

Track down Pure Dynamite, the gripping autobiography of Britain’s Dynamite Kid if you can bear such a litany of woe – and if you doubt the very real world that wrestlers inhabit. Or, on the flip side, try Mick Foley’s books for an honest, touching and achingly funny portrait of US professional wrestling.

The story of Haystacks and Big Daddy and the phenomenon that was British wrestling in the 80s is a story just begging to be told, so luckily a production that revolves around the two giants comes to Runcorn’s Brindley next week – we’re hoping Haystacks versus Big Daddy marries the best of the comedy and drama of the set-up.

Skip forward 30 years later an there’s an altogether more physical manifestion of British wrestling at the 51st State of Emergency a week later in the opulent surroundings of Renshaw Street’s Grand Central.

Some of the UK’s best young wrestling talent will be on show – including the Baby-Faced Pitbull – to take care of business (that’s wrestling by the way). The psychology may be similar, but the athleticism is in a different world to ITV’s World of Sport.

Wrestling, as is often observed, is soap opera for men. It is all of that – and it is more. For two very different nights out that bridge the world of British wrestling we recommend both.

Big Daddy vs Giant Haystacks
The Brindley
19:30, Wednesday 23 May 2012

51st State of Emergency
Grand Central, Renshaw Street
18.30-22.00, Saturday 26 May 2012

Written by Seth Grahame-Smith and John August (The Corpse Bride), the film follows the misfortunes of young Barnabas Collins (Johnny Depp) and his family. Leaving Liverpool in the mid 1700s they arrive in Maine in the New World, establishing a fishing industry and the town of Collinsport. Following the death of his parents (Ivan Kaye, Susanna Cappellaro) Barnabas becomes the rich and powerful master of Collinswood House until he breaks the heart of Angelique Bouchard (Eva Green), a powerful and vengeful witch. Dark magic condemns Barnabas to live in shadows as a vampire, before Angelique turns the town against him resulting in his imprisonment until he’s accidently released two centuries later in 1972.

Although all the elements for a Burton classic are here; quirky characters, Johnny Depp (The Rum Diary, The Pirates of the Caribbean), extensive makeup and hyper-real visuals, the characters lacked depth and the film meanders inoffensively from start to end. Depp is particularly guilty in his latest dressing up part, which is hard to distinguish from many of his previous painted heroes.

The film gets into its stride when Barnabas is introduced to the remnants of his 1970’s dysfunctional family: matriarch Elizabeth Collins Stoddard (Michelle Pfeiffer), her daughter Carolyn Stoddard (Chloë Grace Moretz), Elizabeth’s brother Roger Collins (Jonny Lee Miller), his disturbed son David Collins (Gulliver McGrath) and David’s live in alcoholic psychiatrist Dr. Julia Hoffman (Helena Bonham Carter). Collinswood House’s caretaker and Renfield-esque Willie Loomis (Jackie Earle Haley) adds some much needed comedy to the Munsters-like household. With the Collins ancestral home in disrepair and much of the family’s wealth gone, Barnabas endeavours to return the family to its former position, only to be thwarted by an old foe.

There are a couple of enjoyable cameos with iconic Dracula actor Christopher Lee (Hugo, Season of the Witch) as Captain Clarney and Alice Cooper does an amazing job playing his younger self, but much of the comedy is based on the premise of a man out his time and many of Barnabas’ lines are predictable. Even the attempted dark elements are undermined by clumsy and laboured scenes.

Burton’s visuals are always a joy to watch but with little else added to the canvas, movie classics like Edward Scissorhands are nothing but a distant memory. Dark Shadows’ final scene disappointedly borrowed from films like Ghostbusters, Death Becomes Her, Harry Potter and Terminator III and the film finishes with a less than subtle sequel set-up.

Depp and Burton obviously love working together but on the evidence of this film their collaborations have run their course and Burton’s films are in desperate need of a new leading man.

Dark Shadows
Screenings at FACT and ODEON Liverpool One

You know what’s great? When Liverpool pretends, just once a year, that’s it’s a continental city that has more to offer past 5pm than restaurants and vertical drinking.

We’re joking, of course. Because Liverpool’s brilliant. And this week’s Light Night – that rather magical time when you can tour public buildings, go and see some art and catch some music at a venue you never knew existed, all after you’ve finished work – is a perfect example of the direction our city should be heading.

Exhibitions, plays, tours, talks, walks, gigs – you name it. Liverpool really comes alive on Light Night, with many of the usual suspects around town participating – St George’s Hall, Tate Liverpool, FACT, the Walker, the cathedrals – and some less likely ones too.

Of course there’s far more stuff on that it’s possible to see, brilliant under-the-radar stuff, brilliant on-the-outskirts stuff.

This list is not exhaustive and it’s not confined to the things we really want to see – more a reflection of what is theoretically possible in the few hours we’ve got. But this is what we’ll be making the effort to take in. Our picks, if you will. Good Night. (For a full run-down of Light Night’s offerings, head on over to its official website).

The Bold Street Market (Bold Street)

Buy stuff, eat stuff, watch stuff. Sometime we forget how cool Bold Street is. Go and celebrate it, cobbles and all.

inside:OUT (Metropolitan Cathedral)

Kaleidoscopic projections (above, right) on the exterior of Paddy’s Wigwam. Oh yes.

LightNight at the Bluecoat (The Bluecoat)

Exploring the Bluecoat is a joy in itself. On nights like this it becomes a grotto of unexpected treasures, with a multitude of great things dotted around inside and out.

Polly Morgan – Live and Stuffing (Victoria Gallery and Museum)

Stuffed birds (below, left), courtesy of of taxidermist Polly Morgan is the evocative surroundings of the VC&M. Sounds a bit sad, but very cool.

Bumper Night at the Anglican (Liverpool Cathedral)

Anything in the cathedrals is wonderful, but how about being part of a massive choir, reverberating around the walls of the Anglican Cathedral? Plus a ceilidh and taking in the twilight from the top of the tower. Nice.

LightNight at the Town Hall (Liverpool Town Hall)

A rare chance to have a look inside the place where those blokes in the Echo shout at each other. Stunning building.

Impropriety’s Journey To The Yet Unknown (St George’s Hall)

The improv troupe brings St George’s Hall to life – or death. Sounds spooky to us – and a heap of fun.

Stuff at The Walker (The Walker)

Tours around the museum plus a sneak peak at Rolf Harris’s excellent, highly anticipated new show. Pshaw to your cynicism – we’re going.

Light and Sound Light Night Afterparty (LIPA, Seel Street)

Noises from the excellent Clinic and Kazimier Krunk Band, with accompanying things for your eyes. A sensory feast.

Light Night Liverpool
18 May 2012
Various venues across the city

You can have it all in music. Being great and successful are not mutually exclusive. Elvis Costello & The Imposters proved this and more at a packed Liverpool Empire last night.

The Birkenhead bard brought his Spectacular Spinning Songbook across the Atlantic and treated his adopted hometown to a night of hits, horsing around and high art.

The concert is a return to Costello’s late 80s concept of inviting members of the audience on-stage to spin a giant wheel to decide what the band play next.

The stage is dressed up with vaudevillian props and the singer is on double duty for most of the night, moonlighting as cheesy MC Napoleon Dynamite and keeping the show moving, as his tight-as-a-pair-of-skinny-jeans band groove on Booker T & The MG’s hits (a nice touch, following the death of legendary Donald ‘Duck’ Dunn).

It’s a risky concept towards the set list, but ‘the house’ (Costello never loses control) isn’t above giving the wheel a nudge towards a hit or three as the night moves on. They were all there and delivered viciously and at breakneck speed: Oliver’s Army, Accidents Will Happen, Watching The Detectives and (I Don’t Want To Go To) Chelsea all sounded as fresh as the day they were born.

The wheel brought a few surprises too – and we’re not just talking about the Scouse dance moves on display when Costello’s victims were placed inside a go-go dancer’s cage. A dramatic reworking of The Beatles’ Please Please Me stretched into Be My Baby; the majestic Brilliant Mistake from 1985’s King Of America got an airing and Tokyo Storm Warning raged around the Empire for close to 10 minutes.

The big lights kept coming: a venue wandering serenade of She, the full force gale of Pump It Up and the preppy Everyday I Write The Book. It was breathtaking stuff. For nearly three hours, Costello had the place in the palm of his hands.

The gig took on a for-one-night-only feel as well, when he called for his pal Ian Prowse (the songwriter responsible for Does This Train Stop On Merseyside) to duet on a melancholic take of Gerry Marsden’s Ferry ‘Cross The Mersey. It went down a storm.

The gig had it all: showbiz, songs and sizzle. And on a night when Costello was in the mood for fun, the epic Shipbuilding and a definitive take on the Thatcher-baiting Tramp The Dirt Down brought political polemics right onto the table, front and centre.

That’s the type of night it was and the kind of artist we’re talking about. He’s got the front, and all the talent in the world to back it up. The songs are great, the music moves you and the singing is from the top drawer. What more could you ask for?

Long live the king.

– Alan O’Hare

A few pints down on Lark lane on a Friday night, an empty belly – a curry is the only sensible course of action. But where? Not Red Fort after our vow to go on ‘a break’. We’ve been casually seeing other curry houses ever since.

Realistically there’s only one eat-in restaurant within walking distance – and it’s open at 11.30pm halfway down Aigburth Road; the Light of Bengal, one of those classically gaudy effort with pictures of tigers on the wall and something a little bit faded about it all.

The menu is vast and has every staple going. You may as well forego the menu and ask for a dish at random – they will probably have anything you can think of within the menu that nears 200 items.

A poppadom is first up, free of charge with a fearsome collection of dips that put other curry houses to shame. There’s some yoghurty stuff, some fiery chilli sauce, mango chutney (everyone’s favourite surely?) and some of that soft, sweet almondy stuff – plus two raw onion efforts. Six chutneys! They do not appear on the menu.

Our partner goes for onion bhaji to start and finds them crisp and dry. We forego a starter, choosing a side of sag paneer instead.

Our friend, as ever, goes for a vegetarian vindaloo. This example is seriously hot if that’s your thing but has a selection of lesser-spotted veg in it, including some okra.

Are there any cuisines as appealing to vegetarians as Indian? The Light of Bengal has no less than around 30 veggie dishes on the menu – a reflection of the fact that that meat is not as readily available on the Asian subcontinent as it is in Liverpool suburbia.

But meat-eaters are well-catered for. To prove the point there is Akbori Masala, a mild dish with a rich mince-based gravy. And a vast amount of grilled chicken with some crunch on the outside but tender inside. In fact, a lot of chicken. Too much with the mushroom pilau and sweet, light peshwari naan.

There’s also a boiled egg incongruously balanced on top. It seems as out of place as Herbert Howe in a mayoral election, but the meaty sauce tastes pleasantly rich and fatty (see if you can concoct a simile in the same vein around that phrase).

The one disappointment is the sag paneer. The cheese hasn’t been fried or grilled so there’s no bite to the texture. But the rest is good, so good that the stuff we can’t manage goes into a doggy bag and makes for a filling meal the next day (though the collision of boiled egg, sag paneer, veg vindaloo and mushroom rice is a challenging one).

We’ve never had a bad meal in the Light of Bengal – and we’ve never heard of anyone else who has. There are a few specialties, but the Goan Green Chicken is excellent. Beyond that there are your usual Indian restaurant dishes; nothing particularly eye-opening.

But it’s always good, it’s all cheap (only king prawn dishes go for over a tenner) and the service is brisk and polite. If it were on (the startlingly overrated) Brick Lane people would rave about it. What’s more it’s one of the few curry houses to stay open in South Liverpool until midnight, making it an important stop after a few beers.

The Light of Bengal is our new local. And, without fuss, it’s one of the best Indian restaurants in the city.

Light of Bengal
Aigburth Road

Yukon Blonde, Zanzibar

Canada’s Yukon Blonde offer a heady mix of wall-of-sound vocals, shimmering guitars and propulsive Americana rock a la Band of Horses. We love it all. If they sound a little west coast, that’s cause they’re from Vancouver. The Pacific Northwest truly is the epicentre of soft rock, 70′s heaven. (main pic)

Niki and the Dove, Red Bull Studios at the Garage

Swedish electro-duos almost get an unfair advantage in our eyes. But that doesn’t mean our critical functions are blinded. No, it’s just that there’s so much good stuff coming from the Baltic these days. And this striking twosome is a Sub Pop-backed surefire winner in our eyes. Industrial strength, icy pop goodness.

Wall of Sound Party, Binary Cell

With Liverpool’sKids on Bridges’ Nirvana samples and megaphone manifestos, plus always dependable Killaflaw, the retrotastic Adamski, the on-form homeboys, Get Back Colquitt and others, the Wall Of Sound Party looks like a big dumb load of fun.

Michael Kiwanuka, Jake Bugg, Epstein Theatre

Mid 60’s Dylan is obviously on heavy rotation in Bugg’s House, and that’s no bad thing – he’s ably supporing BBC’s Sound of 2012 winner, Michael Kiwanuka. A talented chap, Kiwanuka blends his rich, soulful voice to a rootsy-folk blend of Bill Withers and Marvin Gaye inspired tunes.

Pikachunes, Heebie Jeebies Courtyard

Aukland’s Pikachunes bring retro synth-pop goodness to head up this NZ showcase – and they come complete with a rich, glow-fi pop palate – not a milllion miles away from Cut Copy. Supported by Princess Chelsea’s squeaky clean chamber pop. Recommended.

White Denim, Kazimier

Their psych-funk wig outs went down a storm here last year, so the Austin, TX band are back – and starting their 2012 campaign in our city, fresh from a support slot for Wilco’s US tour. So we imagine their wheels will be well and truly greased, and another incendiary show lies ahead.

Funeral Suits, Leaf Cafe, First floor

Ireland’s funeral suits offer radio friendly, scuzzy-edged pop (produced by Stephen Street) and have friends in high places (if you count Huw Stephens and Zane Lowe as high. It’s all relative, we guess). They know their way around an arms aloft indie anthem, for sure. Manchester’s Patterns offer able -euphoric, even – support.

Mary Epworth, Studio 2, Parr Street

A touch of class, this – Mary Epworth’s breathy ruminations, finger picking goodness and clear-sighted lyrical evocations fuse traditional stylings with gutsy, almost proggy touches. Sandy Denny on steriods, you could say. We love her.

Everisland Presents, Wolstenholme Creative Space

We love Liverpool’s Bird, so it’s good to catch their haunting gloom pop here, and they’re on a strongly curated Everisland bill, with the energy rush of Dead Wolf Club, Spring Offensive’s inventive guitar pop, and Jonquil – purveyors of romantic, joyous, shimmering indie pop. Good grief. That’ll be an evening.

Ben Caplan, Leaf Ground floor.

With his casual smokers (who play a mean fiddle) was a SXSW hit, and we think his smokey Nova Scotian blues will be a hit here, too. A mercurial figure on stage (Tom Waits meets Seasick Steve) you can expect many a haunting sea shany – and quite a few instruments too.

For venue details, maps and everything we can’t be arsed cutting and pasting, you wanna head over to the official Sound City site. Go on. You can buy your festival wristbands (£45) and delegate tickets (£150) there too. For our listings recommendations for Thursday, go here.

Liverpool Sound City, 17-19 May
Various venues, Liverpool

This year, Kicking and Screening offers a three day marriage of music and football, with a mini film fest featuring classics of the genre (although no Escape To Victory, damn it) and documentaries, and the John Peel World Cup at Chavasse Park on Saturday.

We’re kicking off with Thursday today, and we’ll follow up with Friday and Saturday in the days before the fest kicks off. No, we can’t make it simpler for you. What do you think we are? A listings site? For accurate timings, check Sound City’s line up list. Oh, and don’t forget, by day the Conference features lots of great stuff – including a talk from Nelson George, perhaps the most influential and entertaining oral hip hip tour guide you’re ever likely to hear. On stage with the one and only Arthur Baker (yes, him!) – this is one keynote worth dropping everything for.

Also on Thursday, the warm and cuddly Simon Pursehouse (yes, the Sentric man) holds a Social Media Surgery. We think we should definitely go to that, and Mobile Roadie – one of the most successful music app makers – talks all things mobile, music and applications.

THURSDAY

Slow Club, Art Academy

Refreshingly winsome free new folk from Sheffield, Slow Club are always guarantee a good show in the city. Their new stuff, shinier and poppier than ever, should even find you skipping around the Art Academy with a kind of abandon.

Tina in the Green Dress, Bombed Out Church

Glittery doom pop, courtesy of electronic duo mixing sounds, textures and jacques Brel meets Goldfrapp imagery, to great effect.

Wonderlust, The Attic

Sprightly, almost vaudeville-tinged pop from Brooklyn, courtesy of these four genre-hopping lads. Expect big sing-a-long choruses. Can we say, if Maroon 5 were good they’d sound like this?

Sheepdogs, Binary Cell

Downhome Canadian blues from this tight-harmony foursome, reassuringly hirsute and plaidy, their Neil Young meets Allman Brothers hooks should sway those of a particular mid 70s AM Radio bent.

Death in Vegas, The Kazimier

Expect this to be one of the festival’s stand out events. Right back at the top of their game after a mid-period hiatus, DIV are firing their psychedelic electronic rock out on all cylinders again. Latest, blistering set Trans Love Energies is sure to feature high in the mix, but we’re holding out for some Zugaga.

Fossil Collective, Leaf (First floor)

Beautiful, blissed-out alt.folk (ex Vib Gyor), outta Leeds, Fossil Collective are making all the right noises, being signed to Dirty Hit, and making multi-layered, shimmering sounds which – we hope – translate to the live Leaf experience. But there are only two of them, so it’s a tall order.

Anna Anna, Mello Mello

A pleasing set of double positives here, in the form of the resurgent Parr Street venue, and a glitch pop excursion of sci-fi torch songs from Brazil’s Anna Anna: blending Laurie Anderson style whispered electronic fables and ethereal, glockenspiel and wind-chime sound collages. Weirdly wonderful.

All We Are, Leaf

Great, reverb-soaked soundscapes from Payper Tiger (and Liverpool’s) All We Are, should suit the laid-back cafe society of Leaf’s ground floor a treat. But this is no wallpaper soundtrack – there’s lots going on here: sample Trainspotting’s wide-screen treatment for starters, and you’ll be hooked.

∆ Alt J, Kazimier

With Breezeblocks being rotated on MTV (Gosh, MTV. We’d forgotten about that), ∆ Alt J are enjoying a string of over-subscribed gigs in festivals around Europe this spring, and this after a blinder of a support slot for Wild Beasts. Hard work pays off, it seems. Expect inventive, poly rhythmic pop and fun. Remember fun?

Django Django, Red Bull at the Garage

We make no excuse for going a bit weak at the knees at the return of Glasgow’s Django Django. So good they named them twice. Live they’re a little scratchier than their fizzy, art-pop excursions. They’re sort of Hot Chip meets Beta Band – via the first sightings of Franz Ferdinand. Chirpy, smart and echo-drenched songs capture what’s good about British music right now.

Forst Swords, Clutter and Dog Show, Screenadelica

Did anyone order three portions of electronic disturbances? We welcome a rare outing of Wirral’s dubby ghost poet (he paints pictures with sounds, right? That’s poetry innit?) and the Kazimier’s favourite techno terrorists, Dog Show, straight from their appearance at the centre of the earth last year. Clutter (AKA Shaun Blezard) ups the ante with his woozy, hypnotic dreamscapes. This one’s got Must See written all the way through it.

Jethro Fox, Wolstenholme Creative Space

One man sound machine Jethro Fox is pushing all the right buttons, right now. Catch him while you can, and you’ll get waves of 60s beach pop, reverb drenched harmonies, guitars and life-affirming beats. We’re claiming him as our own (he’s a LIPA kid) but he’s an Essex boy at heart.

For venue details, maps and everything we can’t be arsed cutting and pasting, you wanna head over to the official Sound City site. Go on. You can buy your festival wristbands (£45) and delegate tickets (£150) there too.

Liverpool Sound City, 17-19 May
Various venues, Liverpool