When I converse with seasoned Manchester gig goers three particular older venues in my experience are remembered fondly. These are namely the International 1, Boardwalk and Manchester Roadhouse. The venue was located at Number 8 Newton Street in the Northern Quarter. The club had previously been a snack bar and nightclub in the 70’s before morphing into a music venue. The venue sadly closed in 2015.
It was a slightly scuzzy but charming basement club with a small stage and a capacity of 200. One of my largest regrets was being aware of White Stripes playing there on a very early tour but not being able to make the gig.
I attended 5 gigs there between 1998 and 2009. The first being Mogwai in April 1998. Now, I am not usually prone to being melodramatic, but it was one of the strangest nights of my life. The night started normally enough with me, John Dewhurst and Nick Sharp in attendance. We had only a couple of beers in the Millstone on Thomas St where I suspected afterwards that potentially our drinks were spiked.
The night then on is distinctly hazy. The support band was Aerial M who also sometimes worked under the moniker Papa M. It was the first time I had seen Mogwai and from what I remember they were excellent. Nick disappeared unannounced mid gig and headed home as he felt ropey. Me and John headed on auto pilot for some supper to kill an hour before the late train but neither of us ate much and John was not himself. I was then very unusually for me physically ill at the station.
The finale to this surreal trip occurred on the train where I was awoken from a slumber by a commotion around me. The bizarre sight that greeted me on my awakening was the train guard stood in front of me with an axe. With my heart racing, I asked him the reason and it turned out the train was blocked by a small tree that he was going to clear with the said tomahawk. I was never so glad to arrive home as I was that night!
My next visit was in May 99 to see the at the time highly touted Llama Farmers from Greenwich supported by Seafood. They had obtained some decent supports slots to the likes of Green Day and Foo Fighters, but I can honestly say they didn’t live up to the hype and sounded too much like Placebo for my liking. They released 2 albums but subsequently drifted away on the ether.
The previous year I discovered a band with the very unique name of And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead from Austin Texas who had a released a decent self-titled first album. They arrived at the Roadhouse in March 2000. Unfortunately, they attracted the most annoying heckler who directed unjustified sustained vitriol at the unfortunate support act Sleepwalker.
AYWKUBTTOD were excellent with their post hardcore scuzzy sound and I recall the drummer and guitarist trading places several times during the gig. They are still on the circuit and have just released their tenth album.
My last gig there on 12/06/09 was to see Drones a punk rock band from Perth, Australia supported by the Snowmen. We happened to be out in Manchester and fell upon this gig and it is one of those that I cannot recall much about, it just passed me by.
My penultimate show was more memorable when I went to see Asobi Seksu on 10/02/09. The gig was originally scheduled for Jilly’s Rockworld on Oxford Road however before the scheduled gig the venue closed for good and the gig rescheduled to the Roadhouse. That was my one shot at attending the Rockworld, so it remains a lost venue.
Asobi Seksu were from New York and in the shoegaze/dream pop genre and their first two albums were excellent. They could certainly cut it live as well with a periodic thunderous guitar line in there. Another endearing element to this gig was the surprisingly enlightened approach from the bouncers to allow us to stand on chairs at the back to view the stage as visibility at the venue could be impaired when busy.
The band had a DIY ethic exemplified by them running their own merch stand. A couple of years after I heard one of their tracks booming out when in Top Shop in Southport and I would say undoubtedly, I was the only punter in the store who could name that band!