I'm so humbled by this awesome review from Watch Read Repeat:- Canadian singer-songwriter Northcote has enjoyed several trips to the UK over the past year or so, first up he opened for Dave Hause, then several months later he was back again supporting Chuck Ragan. Matt Goud is back yet again, and this time he’s brought his whole band, oh, and he’s headlining. The venue for the nights show is on Manchester iconic Oldham Street, in the heart of Manchester’s Northern Quarter. The venue, Gullivers, has recently been redeveloped, and the upstairs venue is evocative of the night ahead. The wooded floors, are met by toweringly beautiful walls, and a tiny stage at the back of the room. First up is Manchester very own Sammy Battle. Sammy, much like Northcote, has been doing the rounds this year, opening for anyone he can, and even joining up with Revival Tour inspired To Anywhere. Sammy’s take on acoustic punk, has the crowd eating out of the palm of his hands from the very start, and a cover of “Blues Jeans & White T-Shirts” by The Gaslight Anthem has the sceptics in the crowd singing along. Sammy was had picked by Matt to open the show, and it’s clear to see why. The Mancunian will soon enough be playing shows outside his backyard, and headlining nights such as tonight. Next up is everyone’s favourite, Billy the Kid. We’ve seen Billy play four times in as many months, and we’re finding ourselves more and more addicted with each show. There’s something between Billy’s personality, and her beautifully written songs, that just demands your attention. Billy changed up her set from a week or so ago, when we had the pleasure of seeing her open for Against Me! And was even taking requests by the end of her set. Closing on the iconic “This Sure As Hell Ain’t My Life” Billy left the crowd in awe, ahead of fellow Canadian Northcote taking the stage. Northcote took to the stage shortly after Billy, and the emphasis tonight was clearly on last year’s self-entitled release. Matt and his band ripped through a majority of the record, before playing a brand new song off next year’s follow-up. The new song sounded big, but nothing could be bigger than Matt inviting both Sam and Billy back on stage to play an acoustic rendition of “Worry” in which Billy found herself on the drums halfway through. If there’s one thing we’ve learnt through seeing Northcote in the past, it’s that he’s one of the most genuine musicians you could ever be in the presence of; this was highly evident tonight, as it seemed almost every ten minutes or so Matt would thank everyone who had been around since he first stepped onto our shores, and everyone who had seen him “at the Gorilla.” Matt then launched into a cover of Dave Hause’s “Melanin” before launching into old favourite “Free Tonight” as well as another brand new song, and another handful of songs off the self-entitled record. If you’re a fan of the whole Revival Tour scene, you’ll know how big the line-up for tonight is. One thing that comes with that scene – that many who aren’t accustom to it will scuff, and find rather pretentious – is that it’s a community. Everyone in the crowd seemed to know everyone, and if they didn’t, then it wasn’t long until they did. The night was filled with excellent personalities, as well as heart-warming music. It couldn’t have been anymore special. ********** 10/10 Review by: Daniel Rourke
