Gigs Of The Month: Powered By Skiddle – May ’17

A look ahead of the month's hottest music events...

The live experience sits at the core of modern music. It’s a way for fans to get close to the artists they love, and it’s a way for those artists to let their music breathe, to take it beyond the confines of the studio.

Each week – each night, even – vital shows are taking place across the country, ranging from arena tours all the way down to intimate, pop-up venues in some surprising corners.

Clash is able to launch a new monthly column rounding up some of the finest shows from across the land, and we’re delighted to be able to team up with Skiddle in the process.

Here’s the hottest shows for the coming four weeks.

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The Parrots – Sneaky Petes, Edinburgh (May 3rd)
Madrid garage rock types The Parrots are cult heroes in their home city, and the band’s sun-fried rock ‘n’ roll is heading to a town near you. The Heavenly Recordings aligned outfit are a superb live group, with the sheer zest and fun of each performance taking their unhinged garage rock to fresh levels of lunacy.

Shooting across the country, we’ve picked out this show at Edinburgh’s Sneaky Petes venue – intimate yet highly creative (it was a former Art School Union, after all) it’s the perfect place to catch The Parrots up close. (TICKETS)

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Big Daddy Kane – The Fleece, Bristol (May 8th)
Bristol has developed a prolonged love affair with hip-hop, and it informs a huge swathe of the city’s youth culture – from Bansky to Massive Attack, all the way through to 21st century rebel MCs.

Brooklyn’s Big Daddy Kane touches down in Bristol on May 8th, a figure who came of age in the twilight of hip-hop’s Golden Age but has kept the faith ever since.

Drawing on a superbly creative back catalogue, Big Daddy Kane points to the future while drawing on the glories of the past. (TICKETS)

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Transformer – Swans, The Fall, and more – Victoria Warehouse, Manchester (May 28th)
Transformer is a new series of shows in Manchester, and its name is a homage to the Lou Reed classic. Setting their sights high, this instalment would no doubt draw a smile to the curmudgeonly Velvet Underground songwriting, a cross-section of underground rock music almost without peer.

Swans headline, and this will be one of the final performances from this iteration of the group. The Fall are Manchester legends, while the line up also makes way for Royal Trux, Loop, Suuns, Little Annie, and more. An all-day affair, Victoria Warehouse seem to have hit upon something rather special indeed. (TICKETS)

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10 Years Of Outlook Festival – Ministry Of Sound, London (May 6th)
When Outlook Festival started Croatia felt slightly off the beaten trail, with tourists yet to fully explore the cultural delights of the Central European nation. Fast forward ten years and Outlook has sparked a festival revolution, with Croatia becoming the de facto home-from-home for a generation of British clubbers.

This anniversary bash takes control of Ministry Of Sound, and features everyone from Roots Manuva to Bugzy Malone, Foreign Beggars to Foundation. (TICKETS)

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System & Set One Twenty Warehouse Party – Mint Warehouse, Leeds (May 28th)
Leeds has one of the country’s most advanced club scenes, with the city’s nightlife drawing onlookers from across the UK.

Mint Warehouse is set to be the scene of a superb all-day and all-night party on May 28th, with techno icon Ricardo Villalobos returning to Leeds for a rare, and extremely special, set. Boiler Room control the second room, while the outdoor terrace is powered by a Funktion One system – yep, they really care for the quality of sound at these events. (TICKETS)

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Roman Flugel All Night Long – Hidden, Manchester (May 12th)
Manchester’s Hidden is one of the country’s most under-rated clubs, a spot that always makes way for cutting edge music in a controlled yet lively environment.

Roman Flugel stops past on May 12th, taking part in one of the club’s regular All Night Long sessions. It does exactly as it says on the poster: Roman Flugel digging into his record bag over the entire evening, dictating the pace and reaching into the furthest corners of his collection. Essential, in other words. (TICKETS)

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Let It Bleeds Presents Julio Bashmore – Unit 51, Aberdeen (May 27th)
Julio Bashmore could only come from Bristol. Fusing classic house shapes with stunning low-end, ‘Battle For Middle You’ changed the game on its release and the producer has never looked back.

Rubbing shoulders with the pop elite on his own terms, Julio Bashmore still spins a mean set – and the continuing rave-slaying popularity of ‘Au Seve’ testifies to that. Touching down in Scotland, things could get wild at Aberdeen’s Unit 51. Highly recommended. (TICKETS)

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Grab the hottest tickets on Skiddle – HERE.

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