Month: March 2025

Manchester Venues 161 to 162

The Sounds from the Other City festival I attended in 2024 sensibly decided to reincorporate the venues contained within Salford University grounds, and I believe they are also to be retained on the roster for the 20th anniversary edition taking place in 2025.

Manchester Peel Building is the University’s oldest structure that remains in live usage. It was originally designed by architect Henry Lord and was the site for the Salford Royal Technical Institute when first opened by the future George V and Queen Mary in 1896. The distinctive red Accrington brick Grade II listed building changed to its current moniker in 1967 and is currently home to the University’s School of Environment and Life Sciences.     

Salford Peel Building. Image Credit confidentials.com

On the lawn outside there is an elaborate brick gazebo also designed by Mr Lord, however it is visually misleading as it is in fact a disguised ventilation duct for the laboratories in the old Technical college.

Within the edifice itself, there are various lecture halls and in one of those seated auditoriums there were bands performing on the stage which was curated on the day by the Band on the Wall venue and Manchester based Reform Radio. The first act we saw was ISHA who is a producer and artist who gravitates between living in London and Amsterdam. She was a multi-instrumentalist one woman act who primarily concentrates on bass playing and released her debut EP ‘Bending Colours’ in 2023.

Later, we witnessed Muva of Earth who is a London based Nigerian singer who has morphed now into Divine Earth and is a solo act but is also one half of Divine Angel, hopefully you are still with me! She was also named by the Face Mag as ‘London’s new Alt-Jazz superstar’. Though I must report she certainly didn’t cause me to transcend when I watched her!    

Next door resides the Manchester Salford Museum and Art Gallery where I had visited once before in its daytime guise for coffee and cake prior to Gill’s graduation.  Back in 1849, Salford City Council allowed Lark Hill Mansion to be designated as an educational site and converted it into a public museum and library. A year after opening it had expanded to have the capability to house 12,000 volumes, a further year later the art gallery was added to the complex.  

Salford Museum and Art Gallery. Image Credit hotels.com

This site then turned into its current modus operandi and is located in Peel Park, so named after Robert Peel and commemorating his contribution to the subscription fund which the council used to originally purchase the Mansion. The gallery and museum are faithful to the history of Salford and Victorian art and architecture. The location for many decades held over 400 artefacts by local painter L.S Lowry, before they were transferred in 2002 to a purpose-built gallery within the Lowry in Salford Quays, next to where much of the BBC and 6 music radio is now located.    

When we attended in the afternoon it was close to capacity, so I grabbed a perch on a windowsill that then transpired to be a sweltering sunspot. On stage was an engaging singer songwriter called C Duncan who was being very well received by the audience. Christopher Duncan is a Glasgow boy and is signed to the renowned Bella Union label, he has recorded output going back to 2014 and his debut album ‘Architect’ was nominated for the 2015 Mercury Music Prize.

C Duncan. Image Credit bbc.co.uk

A single from his third album ‘Health’ was produced by Elbow’s Craig Potter at Salford’s very own Blueprint Studios. He has had support slots with Belle and Sebastian and his tunes have appeared on various TV programmes including Waterloo Road. The muse was obviously always in his bloodline as both his parents were classical musicians and though they are now retired they have ‘reformed the band’ to provide string sounds on his most recent recordings. He had a dreamy folky style and was a fine accompaniment to my window basking!  

Much later we headed back to the library to endeavour to catch the last artist on the day’s roster. It was still busy, so after queueing for a little spell, we finally gained access to catch the last song on Laura J Martin’s set.  She is a Liverpool lass and on her first album in 2016 she recruited members of Lambchop, Silver Jews and Jesus Lizard to assist her. Prior to her recently released fourth album ‘Prepared’ she undertook an apprenticeship with renowned local flute player and maker Willy Simmons.    

Gigs from Abroad Part 21 Porto – Part 2

As Port is naturally Porto’s most famous export many of the bars have Port wine trails where you can purchase a selection of different local brands and choose your favourite and then identify if you can then actually revert back into a standing position after imbibing them!  

The next day after checking the weather and identifying the sunniest day of our stay we decided on a trip to the seaside and travelled out to Foz de Douro which sits at the end of the river adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean. There are three remaining tram lines in the city from when they were originally built back in 1895. On one of those tributaries Tram # 1 runs to the sea from the city centre in a charismatic old carriage. We walked down the front before returning on the more modern metro train.  

Porto’s No 1 tram. Image Credit fotocommunity.de

That evening we headed into the atmospheric back streets of the Baixa suburb with many pop-up storefront bars, which I christened the ‘Northern Quarter’ end of town. Initially nearby to Livaria Lello on Porto Rue de Candida dos Reis we saw Marco playing some tunes.

We then gravitated around a couple of local bars, including the very inviting Porto Rue Tapas Restaurant Music Bar where they have live music every night and we witnessed Jules playing a set in the corner. The same night we also visited Porto Taberna do Pouca Roupa where Stefan was performing.

The following day we encountered monsoon conditions through to early afternoon, so we sallied off to have a quick look at Estadio do Dragao, Porto FC’s ground which was built specifically for the 2004 European Championship which took place in Portugal. Stadium gigs take place there and Coldplay and Rolling Stones amongst others have graced the stage. We then spent a bit of time in the adjacent but rather soulless Alameda Shopping Centre.

When the grey clouds deigned to clear we headed back on the metro to visit the extraordinary Mercado do Bolhao. There has been a market in place at this location since 1839, and the market building was erected in 1914 over two floors and extensively renovated in 2022. There are over eighty traditional stalls, and all food and drink options are catered for in this colourful setting.

Very close by is the Café Majestic, the most famous of all Belle Epoque cafes. It is a very grand setting with bevelled mirrors and wood panelling and waiters flitting about to the sounds of the Blue Danube. And the food they served was rather tidy too!      

Another of the main Portuguese exports are Pastel de Nata’s, an egg custard tart that is heavenly when served fresh from the oven, I do find it extremely difficult to just eat one in any single setting! There is also now a Macanese variant adopted by KFC and sold in the Far East.

The tarts were originally created prior to the 18th century by Catholic monks in a monastery in Lisbon. At the time egg whites were utilised in starching clothes such as religious habits and the remaining egg yolks used to make pastries. In 1834, the recipe was sold to a nearby sugar refinery whose owners opened the Fabricia de Pasteis de Belem in 1837, and their descendants still own that business to this very day.

In 2009, the Guardian newspaper listed the delicacies as amongst the 50 ‘best things to eat in the World’.  It is also purported that the original recipe is kept in a secret locked room, and quite frankly who can blame them!

Porto Se Cathedral. Image Credit portugaltravelguide.com

That evening we visited Porto Bar da Ponte Pensil where we saw Javiar playing. The European football championships were approaching their culmination when we were there, and we saw a portion of the first semi-final between Spain and France. I was a little surprised that the local bar staff were supporting their arch enemies Spain, but this was more to do with the fact that the French had controversially beaten the Portuguese in the Quarter finals.       

On our last day we visited a lot of the tourist hotspots including Porto Se Cathedral, which is the oldest surviving structure in the city, as it was originally built in the 12th Century. In the grounds with a panoramic view, we saw Miguel playing a set.   

We also grabbed the opportunity on one occasion to avoid the lung busting steps up from the river side to Praca de Batalha via travelling on the Funicular dos Guindais, which was first opened in 1891.  On that very hill lies a terrific bar with terrific views called the Guindalense Futebol Clube, which is a community run bar opened in 1976 by a group of football loving boys. The commendable ethos of ice-cold beers and Ruffles crisps was repeated!

Guindalense Futebol Clube. Image Credit week-end-voyage-porto.com

Outside Porto Sae Bento Train station we saw an impromptu performance from a Porto School band. As we were flying back early the following morning, we decided to book in at the hotel bar for an evening meal and watched England beat Holland 2-1 in the second semi-final. Now you may think the music would stop there but you would actually be incorrect as there was an established stage set up within Porto Aeroporto Terminal whilst we were waiting for our delayed flight, where an admittedly limp jazz duo were performing.