Today I conclude my tales of gigs at Manchester Deaf Institute Music Hall. Apparently contained within the venue is a hidden back staircase which allows bands to enter the establishment without using the front entrance and there is also an in house apartment.
Deaf Institute Music Hall. Image Credit Visit Manchester
In October 2018 Palace Winter were on the bill, my attendance sparked via a recommendation from my friend Jez Catlow. They provided an extremely engaging set of cinematic dream pop. The band comprises of Australian singer-songwriter Carl Coleman and Danish producer/pianist Caspar Hesselager, and they base themselves in the intriguing city of Copenhagen. Their name derives from an old hotel (Winter Palace) in the South of France that Carl stayed at in the summer of 2014. The tour was promoting their second album ‘Nowadays’.
In early 2019 Uncle George and I met up to see the Canadian punk rockers F##ked Up who on this occasion I didn’t enjoy as much as previous times I have seen them, the sound quality perhaps being a contributing factor in that regard. John Robb was a fellow attendee, and we had a brief chat during their set.
Later that year Craig Finn & The Uptown Controllers were in town, Craig being the lead singer of one of my favourite bands Hold Steady. His solo stuff has a gentler vibe than his main band material but still contains the requisite social commentary and life affirming lyrics. My entry point here had been their second album ‘We All Want the Same Things’ with my favourite being the mournful and beautifully crafted ‘God in Chicago’ and I was very content that it was included in their set list that evening.
My first visit post-Covid was on another Jez recommendation involving a band called The Clockworks. They are a post-punk combo from Galway who made the old-fashioned move to London in 2018 with the primary intention of furthering their career. They recorded their debut album ‘Exit Strategy’ in Abbey Road studios in 2023.
The Clockworks. Image Credit poklub.de
On the night, they nearly caught us out with an extremely early stage time, but luckily, we checked up on that when ensconced in the Sand Bar across the road, so didn’t have too far to scamper and I thoroughly enjoyed their set.
Next on the roster created a new personal best for me. The only previous time I had seen Loop was at my final ever visit on 04/12/89 to the much missed and in my opinion the best venue in the world Manchester International 1 where I recall their thunderous aural attack reverberated off the very low roof in that venue. The date of the Deaf gig was 21/05/23 thus creating a paltry time gap of 33.46 years between appearances!
Of my fellow peers, the aforementioned Jez has achieved the longest time span of 43 years from seeing The Vapours supporting The Jam in 1979 to a reprise performance at Bearded Theory festival in 2022.
Loop. Image Credit pinterest.com
Loop are a drone band from Croydon who I first became aware of in the late 1980’s and adored their beautifully sonic debut album ‘Heaven’s End’, complete with the inspired addition of a soundbite from Hal the computer in Space Odyssey 2001 at the completion of Side 1. I played that record within an inch of its vinyl life!
They split in 1991 with a subsequent reformation in 2013 and played their first comeback shows as they co-curated the final ever Camber Sand All Tomorrow Parties event. They eventually produced a new album called ‘Sonancy’ in 2022. They were excellent on the night with my preference being for the earlier material. I also met fellow Twitter muso Peter Latimer for the first time at this gig and despite the fact that he is from Blackpool, he is still a fine chap!
My final gig was in November 2023 when Stuart Braithwaite from Mogwai formed a super group called Silver Moth including members from Abrasive Trees, Burning House, Prosthetic Head and his talented music wife Elisabeth Elektra who provides the vocals. Elisabeth once graciously took a picture of me and Stuart when I had a rare fan boy moment at the Wickerman Festival.
They recorded the album ‘Black Bay’ within four intensive days on the Isle of Lewis and provided an intriguing set on the night. They were supported by Samana, who the year before had released their second album ‘All One Breath’. After three years of correspondence, I finally met another Twitter muso Paul, who is not from Blackpool, but is an equally fine chap!