In awe of Sweeney

At the weekend I went down to the Futursonic 2005 festival of electronic music and media arts in Manchester. I was only able to catch the sunday night gig but if that was anything to go by then the whole weekend was a belter.

The gig was at the Bridgewater Hall, which has got to be one of the best venues I've ever seen a gig at. It reminded me of how I imagine the Titanic would have looked inside. The awe I felt looking at the miles of brass railings on display was matched only by the anger I felt at sitting behind the tallest man in the North West of England. The fella was like a fuckin giraffe and I had to sit right behind him!

Susanna and the Magical Orchestra were first up and they were fantastic; they sounded moody as hell and they looked genuiniely blown away to be playing on the same stage that Claire Sweeney once graced!

Headlining was Jamie Liddell and it's not difficult to see why he is on Warp Record. The fella is loads of fun to watch and mixes up beatboxing, vocals, samples and all sorts of things to make a quality racket. If you get a chance, I recommend catching him.