Britpop survivor Mark Morriss has announced a pair of North East gigs as part of his forthcoming solo tour. The Bluetones frontman plays The Cluny on July 28 followed by The Trojan Rooms in Whitley Bay on July 29. Here are all his dates:

July 22 The Ironworks, Oswestry
July 23 Central Bar, Corby
July 24 Horseshoe Inn, Shrewsbury
July 28 The Cluny, Newcastle
July 29 The Trojan Rooms, Whitley Bay
July 30 The Black Bull,Bolsover
August 6 Soul Cellar, Southampton
August 22 M-Fest, Barnsley

I Am Kloot have announced details of a full UK tour that includes a gig at The Cluny in Newcastle on October 1. The Manchester-based outfit are hitting the road to support their recently released Sky At Night album. Here are all the dates:

Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms (September 26)
Brighton Komedia (27)
Bristol Thekla (28)
London Union Chapel (29)
Newcastle The Cluny (October 1)
Glasgow ABC2 (2)
Liverpool Academy 2 (3)
Nottingham Rescue Rooms (5)
Sheffield Leadmill (6)

Here’s what The BBC had to say about the new record:

“So it’s business as usual, but even at this 10-years-plus juncture, Kloot still scale the heights, especially the ballads. “The Moon Is a Blind Eye” is as pale and silvery as moonlight, “I Still Do” is equally bare and heart-wrenching, and “To the Brink” (the aforementioned boozer, where, “there’s no rule of thumb, so on the counter I strum with my fingers / and I adore the surprise of tomorrow’s sunrise, so I linger”) has thin, weaving strings that lend a wistful 1940s charm – you can almost taste the cig smoke and amber ale.”

Sam Duckworth’s Get Cape Wear Cape Fly have announced details of a 22-date UK tour that includes a gig at The Cluny on September 27. Here are all the dates:

JULY
10 – Leeds Garforth Arts Festival
18 – Cockermouth Festival
25 – Hitchin, Rhythms of the World Festival
30 – Matlock, Y not Festival

AUGUST
10 – Manchester, Deaf Institute (18+)*
11 – London, The Borderline*
12 – Nottingham Rock City Basement (14+)*
13 – Edinburgh Electric Circus (14+)*

SEPTEMBER
11 – Ivybridge, Ivy Live Festival
16 – Kingston The Hippodrome – New Slang (18+)
17 – Southend, Chinnerys (14+) £12
18 – Cambridge, St Pauls Church (14+) £12
19 – Oxford, Academy 2 (14+) £13.50
21 – Leicester, University (14+) £12
22 – Liverpool, Academy 2 (14+) £12
23 – Carlisle, The Brickyard (14+) £10
25 – Glasgow, Garage £12.50
26 – Aberdeen, Warehouse £10
27 – Newcastle, Cluny (14+) £12
29 – Leeds, Cockpit (14+) £12
30 – Manchester, Academy 3 (14+) £13.50

OCTOBER
01 – York, Fibbers (14+) £12
02 – Milton Keynes, The Pitz ‘Equality Rocks’
03 – Birmingham, Rainbow Warehouse (14+) £12
05 – Bristol, Thekla (14+) £12
06 – Yeovil, Orange Box £10
08 – Falmouth, Pavillion (14+) £9.50
09 – Barnstaple, The Factory (14+) £12
10 – Cardiff, Ifor Bach (14+) £12
12 – Portsmouth, Wedgewood Rooms (14+) £12
13 – London, Electric Ballroom (16+ / 14+ with adult) £14

New single “Collapsing Cities” is released on August 9.

Promoters PotKettleBlack present a stellar line-up of rising North East talent at The Cluny on July 12. Here’s who’s playing:

Air To Achilles (pictured)
Captain Trips
Petrol Terriers
The Bromista Technique

Here’s what The Mag had to say about Air To Achilles:

“Air To Achilles start off with a throbbing electronic beat, add a precise beat and some guitars and switch from rock to disco on a regular basis to create ‘All My Desire’.

It’s like Bloc Party mixed with Klaxons (with Aaron Gilbert adding the synths) and it’s just as unpredictable as that suggests. What you do get is plenty of melody in the verse and an air-pounding chorus.

Exciting unsigned rock bands are few and far between – but Air To Achilles are one of them.”

Read our Q&A with the band here:

http://toonwaves.co.uk/2010/03/26/qa-air-to-achilles/

We also had a chat with The Bromista Technique the other week. Get a load of that here:

http://toonwaves.co.uk/2010/06/20/qa-the-bromista-technique/

LA-based duo No Age have announced details of their forthcoming third album. Entitled Everything In Between it will be released via Sub Pop in September.

Here’s what the label had to say about it:

“Everything in Between is a bold step in their creative evolution. It documents their lives and their artistic progression more prominently welded into a permanent union. It is a culmination of reflecting upon life’s ruptures and triumphs; the process of moving through these moments banged and bruised, yet better off for the wear and tear. They’ve pushed themselves in challenging and different directions, deconstructing their weird-out pop songs while still maintaining their original aesthetic and intent. Melody is formed from noise and samples; disorienting rhythms, howling tones, fuzzed-out scuffs, cuts and grazes, and heart-wrenching skree are all vital to embellishing the raw sentiment of the album. ”

You’ll be able to hear the new material live for yourselves when the band play The Cluny on October 7.

Fresh from their first packed-out London headline show (at the legendary 100 Club), Sunderland-based indie-poppers Frankie & The Heartstrings have announced details of a full UK tour that includes a gig at The Cluny in Newcastle on October 9. Co-headliners on the tour are Summer Camp.

In the meantime, the band are playing Glastonbury and a string of other summer festivals as well the launch of a new book of photographs of the Miner’s Strike. Here are all the dates:

JUNE
23 – Joiners, Southampton
26 – Park Stage, Glastonbury

JULY
03 – Book Launch at Easington Social Welfare Centre, Easington
04 – Wakestock Festival, Cardigan Bay
10 – Lounge on the Farm, Canterbury
15 – Wichiten @ The Garage, London
17 – Latitude Festival, Southwold

AUGUST
14 – Summer Sundae Festival, Leicester
19 – Fringe Festival @ Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh
27 – Reading Festival, Reading
29 – Leeds Festival, Leeds

SEPTEMBER
09 – Jam, Brighton (w/ Summer Camp)

OCTOBER
01 – Lexington, London (w/ Summer Camp)
02 – Brudenell Social Club, Leeds (w/ Summer Camp)
04 – Clwb Iforbach, Cardiff (w/ Summer Camp)
05 – Deaf Institute, Manchester (w/ Summer Camp)
06 – Stereo, Glasgow (w/ Summer Camp)
09 – Cluny, Newcastle (w/ Summer Camp)
10 – Stealth, Nottingham (w/ Summer Camp)

The boys are busy grafting on their debut in a cellar somewhere in Sunderland. Expect it to be an absolute cracker.

US punk-blues outfit The Legendary Shack Shakers return to Tyneside on July 15 for a gig at The Cluny as part of a forthcoming UK tour in support their recently-released Agridustrial LP. Here are all the dates:

July 12th – Glasgow, King Tuts
13th – Sheffield, The Boardwalk
15th – Newcastle, The Cluny
17th – London, The Garage
19th – Brighton, Komedia

Check out their website for all the details:

http://www.theshackshakers.com/

To celebrate the release of their debut album, South Yorkshire-based four-piece Exit Calm have announced details of a gig at The Cluny in Newcastle on June 16. Former Inspiral Carpet and current XFM DJ Clint Boon reckons you should file them under the greatest rock bands of all time. ‘Nuff said. Support comes from the awesome Hellfire Club.

Check out the Facebook events page for all the details:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=122083977830475&ref=ts

www.youtube.com/watch?v=mp1UsLG77ic

The band play The Cluny on July 26 in association with Portions For Foxes and Prmnt Vibes.