Year: 2024

Lancaster Venues 17 to 19

This week I will continue the tale of the Lancaster Live festival which we attended on a brutally cold day in October 2023. After gathering the band back together at the Marketgate arcade a splinter group then formed consisting of Gill, Marcus, Anita and I and off in search of venues we popped. But prior to all of that we grabbed some much needed hot snacks from one of the plentiful stalls around Market Square.  

A small eight tabled restaurant was initially opened above the Palatine in Morecambe before the relocation of the Lancaster Secret Bistro to Sun Street in the town. They took ownership of the building that had previously housed the Sun Café, the tagline described their cuisine as ‘Northern fine dining without the pomp and the faff’. They had a separate area called the Humbug Room, so named because of the ‘Everton Mint’ black and white striped interior.

Lancaster Secret Bistro. Image Credit tripadvisor.co.uk

They opened there in October 2021 and quickly garnered some fine reviews before tragedy struck the following year when the chef and restaurant owner Gavin Riley passed away at the tender young age of 44. The staff vowed to carry on his legacy which they did until its subsequent closure at the end of 2023. The site reopened in May 2024 as a cocktail bar and grill under the moniker Marula Monkey, a Marula I have since discovered is a South African fruit-bearing tree.    

It was a slightly odd choice as a venue because when we entered the act was playing in the corner of a working restaurant room with diners in the middle of enjoying their meal. The lass singing was called Amy Rae and she lived locally and had a strong gospel type voice. Due to the layout and resultant viewing restrictions, we didn’t tarry long before moving on the next venue on the list.

We walked down past one of my favourite pubs in Lancaster, the Sun Inn where they stock the mighty fine Lancaster Brewery beers. Thus, we then arrived out onto Church Street and directly across the road was Lancaster Cappuvino Bar and Restaurant.

The Cappuvino opened its doors in 2019 and is cited as a restaurant and wine bar and the food has received such stellar references, they ended up being winners of a TripAdvisor Travellers Choice Award in 2021. We landed there about 17.00 hours, and the main room was absolutely jam packed, and Anita endeavoured to purchase a beverage at the bar. In a space in the corner a solo artist called James Candlin was playing.

Lancaster Cappuvino, Anita may still be at the bar! Image Credit cappuvino.co.uk

At this point and to feed my ongoing gig venue addiction I shuffled out of the pub door and headed further down the street to Lancaster Crafty Scholar. Originally in that very spot was the Litten Tree which changed into Yates Wine lodge in 2010 before morphing into the current establishment in 2015.

The emporium is owned by the Stonegate Pub company who originally formed in 2010 with 333 pubs but that portfolio has now risen exponentially to around 4500. They also own the Penny Bank and Pendle Witch pubs in town and additionally the Popworld 1980’s retro themed bars.

Lancaster Crafty Scholar. Image Credit opentable.co.uk

The Scholar has an inviting layout in the vein of the Hogshead hostelries. Located near to the main door there was an acoustic musician called Barrett Tones performing. I watched a couple of tunes and then scampered back to the Cappuvino.

Now, as if time had stood still reminiscent of a sci-fi movie script, Anita remained perched at the bar having still not being served. In response to the question I was posed as to where I had been, I replied that I had just been ticking another gig and venue off.  For some inexplicable reason, no discernible surprise was expressed after my response to their query!   

Manchester Venues 142 to 144

Within the Northern Quarter as you progress away from the vibrant and busy Oldham Street down Hilton Street towards Stevenson Square you reach Manchester Corner Boy. The establishment for many years was the iconic Koffee Pot café before morphing into an American diner called West Corner in 2016, a place I visited once for a slightly non nutritious snack! A couple of years later it changed again into its current incarnation as an Irish bar and deli.

Corner Boy. Image Credit ilovemanchester.com

It is owned by nearby Hatters Hostel and is a homely venue with low lighting and mahogany décor, they have a small outside seating area and also serve traditional tucker such as Irish stew, colcannon, and soda bread and naturally a decent pint of the black stuff. There is a function room downstairs that can be hired out.

They undertake DJ sets on a weekend and occasionally also have live music and so it came to pass that after an excellent Black Doldrums gig at nearby Gullivers I landed in there to catch a portion of a soulful set by the Manchester based Olivia Joseph band.   

Beyond the pub you arrive instantly at Stevenson Square where during the pandemic they made the pro-active decision to pedestrianise the area to allow the suite of pubs in the vicinity to be able to have outside tables in a continental style. Thankfully as the world returned to normal, they maintained this sensible approach and as a result it can be a very lively area on a sunny afternoon with people sat out nursing cold beers and cocktails.

On the far angle of the square on the Piccadilly station side you would find Manchester Shack Bar and Grill, not to be mistaken with Dino’s Bar and Grill featured in the Thin Lizzy track ‘The Boys are Back in Town! It appeared to be modelled to a degree on an American diner with their award winning burgers and has seating outside on an astro-turf surface.

Manchester Shack Bar and Grill. Image Credit ilovemanchester.com

It had a large spacious bar area and there was a chilled vibe about the place. After a noisy Cheatahs gig at Soup Kitchen we dived in there for a flyer before sallying off for the last train home. Whilst in residence they had some acoustic acts on, and we saw two local singers called Josh Morrison and Ex Moxley.

In 2019 the original Hilton Street site closed but it quickly relocated over to High Street on the other side of the Northern Quarter and took over from where the Blue Pig used to be. Blue Pig was one of around dozen bars in NQ, Printworks, Heaton Moor and West Didsbury that was owned by the hospitality group Mark Andrew Developments (MAD Ltd) which unexpectedly went into liquidation at the tail end of 2018.  The Shack however is still standing strong to this day at its revised address.   

The concept and evolution of Manchester Feel Good Club commenced back in 2016. The owners and married couple Keira and Aimie Lawlor-Skillen were struggling with eating disorders and mental health issues and wanted to instil more positivity into their life so instigated the Feel Good name which started initially on Instagram, and which has now grown exponentially up to 335k followers. It evolved from there via a candle making business and then in 2020 by opening up a physical space which is located on Hilton Street.

Manchester Feel Good Club. Image Credit northernquartermanchester.com

The club is primarily a coffee shop and bar and generally closes at 6pm. However, on certain days it has after hour events including Mischief Cabaret and Queer open mic nights. They also have a clothing range and have billboards dotted about the city outlining their ongoing ethos.

In June this year Gill and I happened to be striding past on our way to another gig and were distracted by a vibrant atmosphere in the club. On stage was a trans artist called Miss Chief Cabaret whose character was created by Rupaul’s Drag Race alumni Banksie who featured in Series 5 of the television show.

This is the stage name for Jonathan Banks, who was born in Wigan and is now the artistic director of the venue Firehouse on Swan Street. He is 6 foot 8 inches tall but rises up to 7ft in heels and on the night, he was camping it up on stage and going down a storm with a highly animated audience who were living up to the name on the door!