Recently there was the initially sad news revealed that the Deaf Institute and Gorilla venues in Manchester will not reopen post-pandemic. I have attended both venues many times and will cover their reviews in future blogs. This news coincided with further reports of the closure of the Welly and Polar Bear venues in Hull.
Even though the decision of the Manchester sites was subsequently miraculously reversed four days later via the partial intervention of a Pandemic hero Tim Burgess it only serves to illustrate the real and present threat to the future of all venues.
The are some rays of light in that there has been tireless work undertaken by the save our venues campaign resulting in significant crowdfunding to save 140 venues from ‘imminent danger’. Also, the Government has stumped up some funding for the Arts including music venues which will only help if the money is distributed speedily and equitably.
These events give me cause to muse on the fact that many of the conurbations in Britain will contain at least one small essential music venue. To name but a few, the Mad Ferret in Preston, the Leadmill in Sheffield and the Trades Club in Hebden Bridge.
The venues are the absolute creative lifeblood of the industry and of the local community, impacting on nearby retail outlets and the continued employment of associated roles, including bar and security staff, roadies, agents and publicists to name a few more. It even provides an opportunity for those pesky touts!
They also provide a priceless opportunity for the hungry local talent to initially learn and hone their craft. Everyone must start somewhere, like a nurse takes blood for the first time, so must a band enter and exit stage left.
All bands who have gone on to bigger things will have tales to tell. Using Oasis as an example, their roster of very early gigs contains stellar venues such as Club 57 and the Hippodrome in Oldham and the legendary Krazyhouse in Liverpool, which I have visited once in its nightclub capacity.
As the pandemic has progressed, I do appreciate that alternative approaches have been understandably sought out by musicians to replace the missing gigs as that remains their primary source of income. Personally though, I have struggled to hook into the numerous twitter and streaming events because to me there is nothing to replace a live gig at a venue where you can see the whites of the eyes of the band. I would contend there is only very limited enjoyment to watching a festival from your own living room.
This incorporates all facets of the experience. The expectation before a much-anticipated band, the gibberish discussions in the pub before and after (maybe that’s just me!), the shared acquaintance with like-minded souls all there for a communal experience, the sweaty mosh pits, the hairs on the back of your neck standing up when you see a great band, even better when it is unexpected. All in all, some of the best nights of my life have been at live gigs.
Unfortunately, due to their very nature music venues will probably be last to be reintroduced so that makes it even more imperative they are supported right now.
Another negative by product of the current situation is that I am not adding any new gigs or venues to my roster thus I am continuing to delve through my archives, and I am hoping I do not run out of material in the interim. It is doubly frustrating as I was hoping to pass my 1000th gig this year. Who could have predicted when I launched my blog last November that a pandemic would strike 4 months later!
Please stay safe kids and we will eventually arrive at the other end of this dark tunnel and will soon be back in those mosh pits.