Took the chance to go see iLiKETRAiNS at Manchester’s Academy 3 tonight. I was really keen to check these guys out - when I found out they were labelmates (on Beggars Banquet) of The National, a particular favourite of mine, I had a listen to the tunes on their MySpace page and was pretty impressed. As a new band they were playing at the fairly small Academy 3. The ticket was just a few quid so I though, why not?

I am *so* glad I did. Brilliantly, this was one of those rare occasions where I’m blown away by both the headline band and the special guests. Supporting iLiKETRAiNS were a band new to me, Shady Bard. Described as a “minaiture orchestra”, their songs are sweeping yet melancholic, often focussing on climate change and our potential future (sounds pretentious, but it makes for some beautiful music). Standout song was “Penguins” - you can hear it on thier MySpace page.

iLiKETRAiNS were equally as impressive. Singing songs about tragic historical figures over epic, Sigur-Ros esque guitars, keys and pounding drums, they obviously take it all as seriously as their support act, and the result is some of the best “melodramatic popular song” (their words) around. I recorded them performing “The Deception” on my phone - you can watch it below.