Category: Manchester

Manchester Venues 110 to 112

When in attendance at the Sounds from the Other City festival (SFTOC) over the years we have found some interesting stops for food because as a Northern chap I view ‘tea breaks’ as hugely important! We have had pastel de nata from Porta Tapas, tasty offerings from Caribbean Flavas and the best ever Chicken Fried Rice and Curry Sauce from the infamous Chungs Chippy. On my first visit in 2012, Uncle George and I headed to a chippy nearby to the Salford Arms, sadly neither the pub nor the chippy are still operational.

As I perched on the windowsill waiting for my food, I started chatting to the lady sat next to me who was also wearing a festival wristband, I looked up and realised I was parlaying with the Salford resident and fine actress Maxine Peake. I have always a lot of respect for our Maxine as in my view she has a sound moral compass and is also a big muso.  She was at the point of time starring in the excellent TV drama Silk and the last I saw that day was her wandering off down the street to the next venue whilst hoovering up a bag of French fries!  

Maxine Peake in Silk. Image Credit BBC.

The venue next door was the Manchester Chapel Street and Hope United Reform Chapel which was built in 1819 and was Class II listed in 1980. I had read recently there are current plans to convert the site into a complex of flats and community centre.

I first visited there in 2012 and you accessed the building around the back before entering the main room. The band on stage was a Brighton duo called Peepholes who created synth led post-punk sounds.

My only other visit was at the 2017 festival where I recall Gill and I first encountered the colourful Cloudwater brewery cans that were on sale. Cult Party are a Manchester collective founded by multi-instrumentalist Leo Robinson and whilst we were watching they announced the next song would be an epic. They were true to the word as 15 minutes later we left the building, and the sprawling track was still meandering its way to its conclusion.

Cloudwater beer can. Image Credit shop.cloudwaterbrew.co.uk

Further down Chapel Street towards the city centre you will find Manchester Black Lion (downstairs venue) pub on the corner with Blackfriars Street, it is located across from the Sacred Trinity Church.  It is a grand old building dating back to 1776.

In 1889, the Van Dwellers Protection Association was formed there with the primary purpose of safeguarding and protecting fairground workers and barge dwellers who were at that stage being targeted by a local evangelist who carried a lot of political clout. This organisation evolved into the Showmans Guild in 1917, which still represents the business to this day. This commendable work was recognised on the centenary in 2017 with the introduction of a plaque on the pub wall.  

Black Lion pub. Image Credit itravelapi.com

In the downstairs area an act called Work Them were playing and in between a DJ set unexpectedly but gloriously played the little heard track ‘I Don’t Want to Be Friends With You’ by the Shop Assistants, containing the brutal line ‘but I don’t want to be civilised, you leave me, and I will scratch your eyes out’.

I went over to congratulate them on this song choice as I have always loved this short lived band, and they remain my favourite C86 combo and the best support act I have ever seen when they surpassed the headliners Jesus and Mary Chain with a stunning shoegazey set at Blackburn King Georges Hall in 1986.  

In that visit in 2012, we attended the other room, Manchester Black Lion (upstairs venue), where we saw a decent three piece shoegaze band from Manchester called The Shinies. They had at that stage only released one single prior to the issue of their one and only album ‘Nothing Like Something Happens Anywhere’ in 2015.  

Manchester Venues 108 to 109

In the 1990’s the regular pre-gig haunt when visiting the various branches of Manchester Academy was the Jabez Clegg public house. As that establishment gradually declined and subsequently closed, we then discovered the allure of Manchester Big Hands.

The pub is located at the top end of Oxford Road opposite the Red Chilli Chinese restaurant. It opened its doors in 2001 with the concept of creating a NYC dive bar, the kind of equivalent place where you would have expected the Strokes in their early days to have gathered and discussed the concept of their debut album, over a few cold beers!

It has battered low strung sofas where you can babble nonsense with like-minded punters and suits me down to a T. It does remind me somewhat of a bar version of the Raiders/Warehouse nightclub in Preston.  In more recent years it has the welcome addition of a heated outdoor rooftop space which you reach once you have navigated the cramped steps taking you upstairs.

Big Hands bar. Image Credit reddit.com

Some bands tend to attend there post -performance but in that regard, I have only personally seen Tad Kubler of Hold Steady and the 6 music DJ Marc Reilly. They possess a terrific noisy jukebox that at times has free credits available for communal use, though some younger punters are confused by the sheer concept of a jukebox! It became a tradition for a spell to ensure we had played ‘Hells Bell’s by AC/DC before we departed.   

One particular Sunday we were in residence prior to a Meat Puppets show and remarkably our group of three were the only punters in, the DJ had just finished playing a vinyl record and I asked whether they could switch the jukebox on. They willingly complied and the track I had selected ‘Black Math’ by White Stripes came on at ear shattering volume, which they then respectfully only turned it down by a smidge!

They occasionally have bands playing there, and I have been fortunate to randomly catch a few whilst imbibing a couple of pre-gig scoops. The musical acts squeeze into the slightly raised area at the back of the bar and in keeping with the ethos of the establishment they are normally thunderously loud.

Big Hands bar. Image Credit oxfordroadcorridor.com

The first in 2017 prior to a Helmet gig was a three-piece from Oldham called Hopper Propelled Electric and they produced a noisy sludgy sound reminiscent of early Stooges. In 2019 I saw a local band called Lurker and in 2021 saw an act called World without Frontiers. A few weeks ago, prior to a Therapy? gig I saw a couple of bands called Pray for Mojo and Swamp Kids.

In 2018 the original jukebox was stolen and unfortunately was never recovered. This coincided with the death of the bar owner Scott Alexander from cancer at the tragically young age of 43.  He was close friends with the members of Elbow and is thought to be referenced in their song Some Riot in the line of ‘Tall Gentle Boy’. Scott also owned the sister bar Temple of Convenience down near Oxford Road station.

Temple of Convenience Bar. Image Credit manchestersfinest.com

Now I have spoken previously about the merits of this establishment so will not duplicate that here. However, one tale relates to me and Uncle George being outside the Manchester Temple Of Convenience Bar Entrance and encountering a busker called William who asked us to name a tune and George challenged him with two obscure tunes, (so obscure neither of us to this day can recall the songs!). William without batting an eyelid instantly played vibrant versions of those songs to a rapt audience of two punters. For that very reason alone I have allowed him inclusion onto my gig list.