Tag: Fontaines DC

Manchester Venues 226 to 227 – Aviva Studios

In an earlier blog (Manchester Venue 113) I referenced the Aviva Studios and how it was directly affiliated with the Manchester International Festival square which was located alongside the building. Thus, I will not repeat myself here, but it is worth noting that after a scratchy start including seating number confusion, the Studios have now gone from strength to strength with many more gigs now taking place there.  

The surrounding area has also developed with the introduction of restaurants like Felix and Caravan and bars including Courts Club, Trading Route and The Stables. Also in that vicinity is an indoor golf centre called Pitch, Crystal Maze and Chaos Karts. There is an outdoor bar area designed for summer days with big screens recently showing Wimbledon and the football World Cup.

When I was chatting to Barry Jury one time he referenced that one of his scheduled upcoming gigs was at Manchester Aviva Studios Auditorium, so I tagged along to make my debut at the 1600 seating capacity venue. Thus, on a summers evening in June 2024 we met initially for a parlay and a couple of scoops in the large Dukes 92 beer garden, where his pal Lavin also joined us. As I had only booked a ticket at a later stage than the chaps, they were in the small standing area while I was located up in the gods.

Aviva Studios Auditorium. Image Credit factoryinternational.org

My first impression of the venue was that it reminded me of the huge Odeon cinema I used to visit when I was a young sprog. I reminisced about the Saturday morning showings I attended, including watching the original Raiders of the Lost Ark and later I was also there for a double bill of Chariots of Fire and Gregory’s Girl.

There used to be highly amateurish advertising with Pearl and Dean, a company involved in the cinema business since 1953 and their distinctive theme tune which is called ‘Asteroid’. I recall a crackly staccato encouragement to visit the local curry house after the screening! There were also intermissions mid-film where a hostess would sell you ice cream or cornetto’s.

The adjoining Odeon 2 was much smaller like the ciniplex auditoriums you see nowadays and if you needed a comfort break you would have scamper past in front of the screen! Also in that complex was the Clouds nightclub where I attended early gigs by Jesus and Mary Chain and Stone Roses. Sadly, the old cinema burned down in May 2022 and there is now talk of a car park to be built in its space.  

When the blockbusters were released, Star Wars and ET spring to mind, there were regularly ginormous queues around the corner, and we were turned away a couple of times. Our parents then decided to utilise the smaller but more accessible cinema in Longridge with their settees at the back.

Back at Aviva, I grabbed a cold beverage at the ground floor bar and as I entered the door at my level, the lights went down and as a result I stumbled in the darkness on one of the steps but did not spill a drop of my beer! I heard a punter say that bloke nearly fell over, and I muttered under my breath ‘yes, I am the entertainment’. I found my very comfy seat with a cracking view of the stage.

Bat for Lashes. Image Credit snackmag.co.uk

The artist was Bat for Lashes (Natasha Khan) who is a singer/songwriter and has released six albums in total. Her family has the sport of squash in their DNA as her father, grandfather and uncle were professional players. The latter referenced Jahangir Khan is widely regarded as the finest player ever and between 1981 and 1986 he won 555 consecutive matches, a run which is recognised by Guiness World Records as the longest winning streak by any athlete in top-level professional sport. A young Natasha attended many matches and has cited the experience and the roars of the crowd as a creative influence.   

She was a self-taught piano player by the age of eleven and her debut album ‘Fur and Gold’ in 2006 turned into a golden one and was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize resulting subsequently in support slots for Radiohead. She has also dabbled as a fashion designer. She had a terrific voice but was perhaps a bit too chilled for my tastes. I met back up with the chaps for a post gig debrief in the Deansgate pub before heading home.

In the summer of 2025, my pal Lottie invited Gill and I to join her at a gig she was already attending at the other venue in the complex, Manchester Aviva Warehouse, so two tickets were duly purchased.The Warehouse has a 5000-standing capacity within a 21m high space and can be divided if required by a movable full height acoustic wall. 

Last Dinner Party. Image Credit cultura.id

I had considered a Fontaines DC gig there previously, but my slow ruminations resulted in me missing out on a ticket. By the night of the gig, Lottie and Gill could not attend so it was a solo trip, and I decided to drive which is an astoundingly rare occurrence for myself. The car parks in the city centre were highly expensive, and I found one eventually on Bridge Street.

The venue reminded of a slightly larger G-Mex space and the band performing was the Last Dinner Party who are an all-female five piece. They had managed to purloin a Hyde Park Rolling Stones support slot early in their career and on this tour were promoting their second album ‘From the Pyre’. They had a commendable socially conscious ethos, and they were also good fun live.

Manchester Venue 191 Gorilla – Part 2

Manchester Gorilla had a coup a few years ago when none other than Kylie Minogue requested to play two intimate European dates prior to her upcoming arena tour and she chose to play Berghain in Berlin alongside the Gorilla. I believe as a result the tickets went like hot cakes!

My next visit to describe was the exceedingly welcome reformation of Rocket from the Crypt (RFTC), who in my personal view were the best live band on the circuit for a couple of years in the late 1990’s and was the first time I had witnessed them in twelve years. They were still in fine fettle, and I enjoyed the show.

Manchester Gorilla. Image Credit Visit Manchester.

The driving force of RFTC is the lead singer John ‘Speedo’ Reis, who owns the Swami record label and has also been in several other bands over the years including Pitchfork, Drive Like Jehu, Sultans, Night Marchers, Swami and Hot Snakes. In January 2018 I saw the last named act who serve up a more stripped down sound than RFTC where John was more in the background and during the first track dampened down the ‘Speedo’ chants from the admittedly sparse audience. They produced an urgent, vibrant and thoroughly enjoyable performance.   

On a cold January night in 2015 we trogged over to see Neneh Cherry for the first time. She was born in Sweden under the name of Neneh Mariann Karlsson and her half-brother is musician Eagle Eyed Cherry. She has punk heritage as a 15 year old member of the Slits and around that time roomed with lead singer Ari Up in a squat in Battersea. In 1989, she had a huge hit with ‘Buffalo Stance’ and has also dabbled in DJing and broadcasting.

She cut a spiky intriguing presence and was a veritable bundle on energy on stage and we very much enjoyed the show however we unfortunately had to scamper off early to guarantee we could catch a train home.   

The Slits. Image Credit billboard.com

Next up was Parquet Courts, a four piece from New York who met whilst at university in Texas. They were touring to support their fifth album ‘Human Performance’, for which the art and packaging of that particular release garnered a Grammy Award nomination.

Later that year, I had my latest dose of the unique Lovely Eggs who were in fine form. It was Gill’s first exposure to them, and she was swiftly converted. They were supported on the night by the Hornblower Brothers, who have nobody named Hornblower or any brothers in the lineup! What I can tell you is that they had more than a passing resemblance to Half Man Half Biscuit. A couple of years later in 2018 we saw the Eggs again there and they marked a milestone as it was the first time I reached a century of gigs in a calendar year.   

The next one on the roster was a band that I had been chasing for a long time, but events always seemed to conspire against me when they announced tour dates. The act in question was Mono, an instrumental band from Tokyo. They formed in 1999 and have released eleven albums in total, and my favourite is the epic titled ‘Walking Cloud and Deep Red Sky, Flag Fluttered and the Sun Shined’. In 2005 they took the unusual route of releasing a split album with the aforementioned Pelican and restricted the recording to vinyl and only 4000 copies.

They have more of a lush classical sound then their post-rock compatriots. They are seated when they play live, but they are definitely not Westlife as they break into some noisy sonic guitar sounds when the muse takes them. The only remaining band of this ilk who I have still not seen is Built to Spill.

Mono were joint headliners with French post-rockers Alcest, who started originally as a black metal combo before moving into less abrasive territory, and their sound evoked comparisons with My Bloody Valentine.   

Mono on stage. Image Credit asiapacificarts.org

In April 2018 I witnessed the Madrid majesty of the Hinds. They were originally a two-piece called Deers but risked legal action from The Dears so changed the name to their current moniker, but to a degree retained the original as it can be translated in some languages to ‘female deers’. They then morphed into a four-piece and released 4 albums before resorting back to a duo in 2023.

They are firmly in the garage rock domain with lovely harmonies and were terrific fun and had a fine stage banter and presence. My most recent attendance at the venue was in 2025 to see the band again for a second time. In 2019 I had my second sighting of Fontaines DC who were very entertaining again and were supported by Cut the Mustard.

At the final ever Dot to Dot festival later that year I saw Crows who provided some thunderously loud abrasive post-punk. Their latest album ‘Reason Enough’ was recorded in a former Catholic church and convent in Stroud and their lead singer James recently fronted the band Humanist on their arena support slots for Depeche Mode. Finally in May 2024 I saw Maybeshewill, a post-rock band from Leicester who I enjoyed as much as the previous time I had seen them at the Ferret in Preston in 2011.

Now, for the very eagle-eyed (not Cherry!) among you, you will have noted that I have only documented seventeen gigs at the venue, the eighteenth I will document next time in its own specific article, and the reasons for this will then become apparent.