CityLife

Stuart Greer's top five

SUMMER HIGHLIGHT: Radiohead

Radiohead @ Old Trafford - While some fans were crying out for more of the older, and arguably more accessible material, I was delirious with joy that they dipped into the entire impressive back catalogue. Like a fine wine The Head just get better and better with age. 
 
Fleet Foxes @ The Roadhouse - Before their sell-out date at Academy 2 in November, Fleet Foxes had come to Manchester earlier to blow away folk fans with their perfect blend of moodiness, melancholia and celebratory optimism.
 
This Will Destroy You @ Music Box - If there is one band who can out post-rock Explosions in the Sky, then this is it. The band recreate the lush, ambient compositions of their records that one each occasion climax into cataclysmic bliss.
 
Sigur Ros @ Blackpool Empress Ballroom - Their otherworldliness is the epitome of expressing the mindblowing majesty of life on earth without words, but through ethereal soundscapes. And in a sublime venue like the ballroom, the ethereal experience becomes that much more intense.
 
Tapes'n'Tapes @ Club Academy - TnT are this generations Pavement and recognition of their brilliance will come much too late to make them modern millionaires. Some say weird, I say brilliant with their bewildering lyrics, surrealist rock melodies and unpolished harmonies.