Month: November 2021

Gigs from Abroad Part 4 – Playa Blanca

Gill and I have generally been in a fortunate position to be able to scoot off on regular holidays, quite often in the sunshine. We have always tried to visit different locations however over the last few years we have taken a liking to Lanzarote and have visited there several times as it ticks many of the boxes we are looking for.

At the southernmost point on the island lies the Playa Blanca resort. My first visit there was when we were on holiday in the resort of Corralejo in 2004 on the neighbouring Canary Island Fuerteventura. There was a regular ferry between the two resorts, and it was about a 30-minute crossing. I recall the journey took place on the day that Andy Lonergan, the Preston goalkeeper performed the unusual feat of scoring from his own penalty area against Leicester.

On arrival in Playa Blanca, we inexplicably turned the wrong way away from the main resort and tried to rectify our error by a short cut through an adjoining hotel and inadvertently become stuck in an all-inclusive complex!

Playa Blanca. Image Credit Jimmy Crossthwaite

Our only other visit and currently our last trip abroad was for a week in Playa Blanca in November 2019. We were somewhat ironically staying very close to the hotel referred above. On the first night we arrived in the evening and had a sally out to a local bar which became a bit of a hub during the stay.

The Irish Anvil is located on the promenade facing the sea, virtually adjacent to the ferry point and was a multipurpose venue. It served food all day including decent breakfasts out on the veranda. It was a large pub with homely alcoves and booths and as befits its name it served a tidy cold Guinness. Whilst sampling this beverage a duo came on called Erica and Steve and the lass had a terrific voice.

I returned at lunchtime next day to watch PNE away at Charlton with a very rare opportunity of going top of the Championship with a win, and they duly obliged via a Paul Gallagher penalty, though we were only top for 24 hours before predictably petering away as the season progressed. Whilst I watched the match, I struck up conversation with a couple of chaps in the next booth from Bamber Bridge, a suburb of Preston, a small world indeed! Five days later in the same hostelry we saw a singer called Sean perform. 

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Irish Anvil pub. Image Credit trip advisor

Further down the Paseo Maritimo, was a homely little bar called the Old Mill which served some commendable craft beers. There was a little stage in the corner where we saw a geezer called Gerry Cassidy playing.      

Heading down towards the old town you chanced upon a huge bar named the Biker Beach Club. Towards the back of the bar was a plethora of pool tables and in the central area were several TV screens showing Champions league football. The front of the bar was populated with a large seating area facing a stage where we saw an act called Tiger Band play.   

Manchester Venue 47 – Ruby Lounge

One of my favourite venues in Manchester was the Ruby Lounge situated on High Street opposite the Arndale Centre and backing onto the Northern Quarter. The venue opened in 2007 and sadly closed in 2018 as it was hoovered up in a £79m city centre development.

It was housed in a somewhat dilapidated seven store block and behind the unprepossessing metal doors were stairs carrying you down to the venue. It was one large room with battered sofas and a games machine to the left, bar facing and a stage to the right. It had a scruffy charm, and the capacity was 375 for live music and 600 for club nights. It had a thin access to view the stage that could be a slight inconvenience when it was busy.

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Entrance to the Ruby Lounge. Image Credit Britannia Hotels.

I attended there nine times in total and they always had a sonic sound system and as a result I have seen some astoundingly loud gigs. A case in point was my first attendance in 2009 to see A Place to Bury Strangers, a noise rock combo from New York. Remarkably the support band Dead Confederate outdid them on the decibel count. They hailed from the birthplace of REM in Athens, Georgia. Prior to the gig I had explored for the first time a selection of the plethora of bars located nearby in the Northern Quarter. Another regular pre-gig pub was the English Lounge which is only 100 yards from the venue.

My second and third visit also continued in that vein, first up were Rock Actions shoe gazers Twilight Sad. The next was to see Pelican, a post rock four piece from Chicago, Illinois. We were chatting to some punters prior to their set who advised us not to leave our beers on the wooden shelfs as the sound check was so loud, they had knocked a couple of glasses off. They were totally instrumental and ear splintering, and I would quantify them in my Top 5 loudest list, and they were also fabulous as it is so good to hear bands as uncompromising as they are!

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Pelican. Image Credit en.wikipedia.org

In 2010 I saw the grungy quartet Dinosaur Pile Up from Leeds. They did not stay long in the memory and it was one of those gigs where their friends and family were in attendance which I always find in equal parts odd but endearing.

In 2014, I saw Pains from Being Pure at Heart for the fourth time and it was by now unfortunately a case of diminishing returns as their output for me gradually depreciated after their stunning debut album. They were not a patch on their electrifying set in Chorlton 5 years earlier which I will cover in a future blog. They were supported by Fear of Men.

Later that year I saw again the perennial London punks Snuff who were in fine fettle and their cover of the Likely Lads propelled me as ever into the mosh pit! The following year I went to see Preston’s Evil Blizzard due primarily to support them on a Manchester date. Despite them putting on a show I couldn’t warm to their musical output. They were supported by Creature Comforts.

My penultimate gig there was a terrific double bill of Ex Hex and Jacuzzi Boys, both bands I had seen before. Jacuzzi Boys are a highly accomplished garage rock band from Miami in Florida. Ex Hex are all female three-piece hailing from Washington DC and are in the mould of the Go-Go’s and had an effervescent presence. My final gig there was on 28/05/16 to see an Australian band called the Rubens as part of the Dot to Dot festival roster.