The Kixx rock Islington's O2 Academy - 1st September

When it comes to intimate venues, you don't get much more intimate than the O2 Academy in Islington. It's one of those whites-of-the-eyes places, where the music becomes a physical force, where every throbbing guitar string, every beat of the drum becomes part of the spectacle.

And for The Kixx's headline showcase, the place was absolutely packed.

You could tell the fans were out in force from the moment the band walked on stage to a wave of screams of the kind only teen girls worshipping their favourite band seem capable of making.

There was an impressive array of home-made banners and t-shirts held aloft too - all testament to the popularity The Kixx have already garnered for themselves.

And hovering near the bar, a crowd of aging dads, clearly there to chaperone their daughters to and from the gig. Despite looking like they'd be more at home at a Pink Floyd gig though, when the Kixx started playing, it has to be said, this assortment of fathers were digging the music just as much as anyone else there. Wide-ranging appeal The Kixx clearly have in ample amounts.

And in a way, that was what tonight was all about - as well as my personal favourite Already Gone and current single Standing Where You Left Me (both synth-heavy pop-rock stormers), the band took the opportunity to play a range of new tracks more in the vein of We Begin At The End.

The band have previously been compared with the likes of The Script, albeit a far more cheery incarnation, and its a sound that definitely came across tonight in the band's newer material - the sign of a band unveiling their mature side, a befitting new direction for a group that play all their own instruments.

Indeed, in terms of musical ability, The Kixx are faultless - sharing lead vocals throughout the gig and whipping through a range of assorted flashy guitars, you can tell they possess a keen passion for what they do.

Some bands totally come into their own in a live setting, and The Kixx are one of those bands - the movement, the energy, the mutual feedback of it all.

The band even had a celeb admirer present in the lovely Kasey from girl-group Wonderland, who the guys toured alongside with when supporting Olly Murs earlier in the year.

A nice touch of glamour for a very classy live set!

Standing Where You Left Me is released on the 4th September and can be pre-ordered here.

A summer in the sun for hot new girl group Fanfair

We like new girl group Fanfair a lot. We wrote a bit about them and their brilliant track The Vaccine back in March, and since then, things have been hotting up rather nicely for them.

All this has culminated in a slot for them supporting those endearing lads The Wanted at a massive gig in Scotland's Hamilton Park on the 22nd July. The British summer has always been a brilliant excuse to get together with mates for a few drinks and a bit of a party, and anyone heading up to the gig can count on a suitable injection of pop fun too.

Meanwhile, the band - comprised of Roberta, Anara, Jessica and Aimee - have been busy recording new tracks in Sweden, which we can't wait to hear!

Fanfair's full list of upcoming summer live dates is as follows:

•7th July 2011 - GP Ball – The Hurlingham Club
•9th July 2011 - Lifehouse Spa, Essex
•17th July 2011 - Leeds Castle, Maidstone
•22nd July 2011 - Hamilton Park supporting The Wanted
•23rd July 2011 - Ponty Festival, Pontypridd
•6th August 2011 - Lake Meadows, Billericay
•13th August 2011 - Livewyre Festival, Burnley

Nerina Pallot live at St. Pancras Station - The Station Sessions

Of all the places you could conceivably hold a gig, there's something undeniably charming and oh so British about having it in a station.

And at St. Pancras, you really have the creme de la creme of stations. There, in the high vaulted Eurostar terminal, the delightful Nerina Pallot's voice could truly soar, enchanting every one of the commuters rushing through.

Set up on a tiny stage with a string quartet arrayed behind her, a sizeable huddle of people grouped around, listening as she delivered a selection of tracks from her soon-to-be Top 10 album Year Of The Wolf as well as a few old favourites like Sophia.

There was a real immediacy to the gig, something we were all too readily reminded of as the station announcer boomed out over the tannoy, wittering on about left-luggage. Nerina, bless her heart, carried on, wonderfully composed and charming for the gig's entire hour long duration.

Sipping from a glass of wine, she addressed the audience in both English and French; a lovely reminder of the gateway to the European continent we were all standing in - St. Pancras International indeed.

Much as Nerina's new album is a meeting of the old and new, so to is the station itself, archaic brickwork  and iron facing up to glass and boutique snack bars. A meeting of worlds, a melting pot of countless people, and right in the middle - holding everyone's attention - Nerina herself.

'Hi restaurant people!' she announced, waving cheerily up at the diners on the balcony above the stage. At another point, she told how her track History Boys always made her emotional - so much so that she had been moved to tears earlier in the week when she performed it - yet sing it she did, and beautifully.

In this place of frantic busyness, there was there for a moment, an instant of intense personal connection. And that, in a way, is what these Station Sessions are about - the audience so close to the performers they can see the whites of their eyes. All the usual technical complexities of a gig stripped away, just quality music at its very best.

Year Of The Wolf is available to purchase now.