Month: September 2022

Liverpool Venue 4 – L2

On the November 2001 Mogwai British tour there were rather unusually for them no Manchester dates scheduled, thus plans were hatched to watch them in Wolverhampton and the following week in Liverpool. So, on Friday 09/11/01 we boarded the Northern Ivor the Engine express to Liverpool Lime Street.

John Dewhurst and I deposited our overnights bags at our accommodation and proceeded to have a sally around a few Liverpool bars with Uncle George joining up with us later after he had finished his work shift. When meandering down Matthew Street I unexpectedly heard the hollering of my name, which always throws you when you are out of town. The source of the shouting was a mate from Preston called Pete Lester whose latest band Bridge were playing the famous Cavern that very evening.

We joined him for a bevy in the said venue, whilst perusing the tiny old stage where the young Beatles played, before checking out the back room where a more modern stage had now been erected.  In the final pub before the gig, we were subject to some barracking from a group of Everton fans regarding our status as Preston fans. In retrospect, this all seemed highly ironic when six months later they came to poach our young manager, David Moyes!

Liverpool Cavern. Image Credit thousandwonders.net

The venue that night was Liverpool L2, situated on Hotham Street.It latterly changed its name to Carling Academy and then O2 Academy. There are two halls with respective capacities of 1200 and 500 and I am not sure which one we attended, but more likely to be the smaller one at that point of Mogwai’s career. The venue had a decent pedigree as within the couple of years preceding my visit Mercury Rev, Moby, Flaming Lips, Travis and Muse supported by Coldplay graced the stage there.

My brother was also in attendance at the gig whilst visiting friends in Southport and was aiming to surprise me, but we ended up missed it each other!

I have given this some thought and stand by the assertion that this remains my favourite ever Mogwai performance. It wasn’t the noisiest I have seen them as that would be surpassed by Glasgow and Sheffield gigs, but it was the fact that the sound was so crystal even the quiet elements were loud. It was further assisted by an excellent relaxed venue and their choice of set list and as ever at that stage they finished with their twenty minute ‘hymn’, ‘My Father My King’.

Post-gig, we considered going to the cavernous Krazyhouse nightclub, but deferred on that option, subsequently visiting the club for my only appearance a couple of years later.  Our preferred alternate was to purloin some supper in China Town.

Liverpool Krazyhouse nightclub. Image Credit Liverpool Echo

When walking back to our hotel, a young chap pulled up in a car next to us. It became instantly obvious he was stoned up to the eyeballs and was babbling incoherently to us before driving off. We allowed him a very safe distance before we set off again!   

Our digs were the Campanile hotel on the docks, a somewhat dubious establishment, where we got very little sleep due to the noise levels of other residents. So, the morning dawned finding us hungover and dehydrated, a trio of bumbling nodders traversing back to the station.

On arrival, our dilapidated states were not helped by the fire alarm going off and an evangelist punter who approached us and coined phrases such as ‘you can’t be a winner if you are a sinner’. I had no energy to compose a cutting riposte and thankfully my withering look served to keep him at bay!    

When we landed back in Preston, we refuelled with a couple of pints and a homemade curry in the Welly pub on Glovers Court before heading home for some much-needed sleep.

Manchester Venue 68 and 69 Gullivers NQ – Part 2

I have encountered many free bonus gigs at Gullivers NQ when visiting before and after attending another scheduled gig in the local area, it is also a useful ten-minute easy jaunt from Manchester Piccadilly station for the trains to and from home.

Upstairs via some cramped stairs leads you to Gullivers NQ Ballroom with a capacity of 110.  It is a windowless room with a raised stage at the end and can be very warm and a tad claustrophobic when busy. When less populated a gap on the side walls can be located to lean and sway upon.  I have attended fourteen gigs there in total.

My first visit prior to a gig at the Ruby Lounge on 21/10/10 was to see a local band called Blackjack Boys. Eighteen months later I witnessed Manchester trio the Onions who were in the Talking Heads mould, they garnered some attention in the following couple of years with a suite of 6 music sessions.

I visited three times in 2014, the initial one to watch Young Mountains, a six-piece post-rock band from Atlanta, Georgia who I surmise were named after their compatriots This Will Destroy You’s debut album.

Young Mountains. Image Credit listenherereviews.com

The second was a slightly anomalous one as it was the only time, I have paid for a singular gig there and not as part of a festival. The band in question was History of Apple Pie from London, a shoegaze act in the vein of Pains of Being Pure at Heart who I had seen previously at Salford Arms. They weren’t quite as good as that debut performance as the sound was a bit muddy prior to asking the audience ‘do we need to turn our guitars up?’ which received categoric assent from myself.    

History of Apple Pie. Image Credit NME

The final piece of that trilogy was Walton Hesse, another Manchester band who produced a fine slice of Americana with pleasing harmonies, reminding me of a country version of Nada Surf. Next on the roster was a double bill of London three-piece Mayors of Miyzaki and Personal Best, a punk band from Bristol. The latter acts initial line up having future members of Attack! Vipers! and Caves in their ranks.

At the 2016 edition of the Dot-to-Dot festival I saw the mod band Pleasure Beach, somewhat appropriately deriving from Blackpool formed by two schoolmates from Carr Hill High School in Kirkham. That school bizarrely being the first team we played at football when I was goalkeeper in the fifth year for Cuthbert Mayne High School in Preston.

Next on the list was a post-hardcore band from Leeds called Unwave, who were a very bracing challenging listen. At the tail end of 2017 another Leeds act called Mush were in town, they had an enjoyable off-kilter sound reminiscent of alt-rock luminaries such as Sonic Youth and Pavement. The band are currently about to go on a British tour.

Continuing the Yorkshire theme at the 2018 Dot-to-Dot I saw KAWALA who met originally whilst studying in Leeds but now reside in London, they were a tad limp for my tastes. Later that year I see roots singer Debra Ohalete who had African influences within her music.

Next on the Gullivers roster was Brighton based folk singer Bess Atwell. She was prolific from a tender age and started writing her own songs at the age of thirteen. My penultimate attendance there was to witness local post-punk four-piece Springfield Elementary. They reminded me a little of Stump of C86 fame.

My only post-covid visit thus far in April 22 was at the Fair Play Northern Quarter festival to see YAANG. Originally a Manchester duo called YANG they added a third member Ben White, previously of Working Mens Club during lockdown resulting in adding an extra A to their name. They were difficult to quantify but perhaps an apt description might be an electro doomy Joy Division, am I selling them well?