I have always preferred a venue where there is an accessible bar contained within meaning you do not miss any of the set whilst endeavouring to refuel and Academy 3 has always fully met this criterion
On 14/10/12 we went to see Nada Surf who have been ploughing their easy on the ear guitar led West Coast sound for many years. At the time of the gig they had just released ‘The Stars are Different to Astronomy’ which I think is their finest album.
They were an exceptionally tight band live and very personable chaps and their soothing sound was a rewarding experience. The highlight track was ‘When I Was Young’ It was also Gill’s 100th gig.
We saw Nada Surf there again on 12/03/20 which remains my last gig prior to the pandemic. It was touch and go with the brewing global storm whether the gig would go ahead. The changing climate was emphasised by the fact that in a pre-gig meal in the Red Chilli the service staff were all swathed in face masks.
Thus, my last pub pre-pandemic was Big Hands until 121 days later I entered the local Parrs Wood pub on 11/07/20.
The band didn’t hit the high spots of the previous appearance, the setlist choice may have been a contributing factor there.
On 06/12/12 we pottered over to see God is an Astronaut from County Wicklow. Trivia fact time – their name was taken from a quote in the 1990 movie Nightbleed based on a Clive Barker book featuring David Cronenburg and Charles Haid who also played ‘Officer Andy Renko’ in Hill Street Blues.
They sat firmly in the ‘Post-rock’ category and they had their moments but were a little bit too cocksure for me.
On 07/05/14 Hold Steady were back in the fair city of Manchester and were in good form, better than when I saw them in Leeds the previous week.
In September 2015 we went to see the Meat Puppets. This gig created a new personal best as it was a 28-year span between the first and second time I had seen them. The first being a spell binding show at Manchester International 1 in 1987 which was also their first ever British date.
I was very excited to see them again but regrettably, time had not been kind on them, and it was a bit of a limp performance. There are considerable merits in sometimes retaining and not tarnishing those original memories!
Four months later I went to see Snuff’s 30th anniversary tour and they were in cracking form and undertook an audience tombola to select some favourite tracks. They thankfully played ‘I Think We’re Alone Now’ and ‘Likely Lads’ with me tumbling joyously around the moshpit.
On 11/03/17 I finally got to see the New York based band Helmet. Helmet were formed in 1989 and fronted by Page Hamilton. He was a former member of the Band of Susan’s, a band I sadly never got to see. Helmet are quantified as ‘alternative metal’.
They had sporadic moments but overall not as enjoyable or as loud as I expected them to be.
The final great band I saw there was the Liminanas from south west France on 07/02/19. They were recommended to me by my second North East correspondent Jamie Young who was also at the gig. The band is made up of Lionel and Marie Liminana who recruited a very interactive band of around 7 musicians for live gigs.
There is a lot of variables in their sound combining garage rock and psych whilst also being quintessentially European. There were outstanding live and highly recommended.