Tag: Manchester Salford Arms

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 Venue 68 and 69 Gullivers NQ – Part 2

I have encountered many free bonus gigs at Gullivers NQ when visiting before and after attending another scheduled gig in the local area, it is also a useful ten-minute easy jaunt from Manchester Piccadilly station for the trains to and from home.

Upstairs via some cramped stairs leads you to Gullivers NQ Ballroom with a capacity of 110.  It is a windowless room with a raised stage at the end and can be very warm and a tad claustrophobic when busy. When less populated a gap on the side walls can be located to lean and sway upon.  I have attended fourteen gigs there in total.

My first visit prior to a gig at the Ruby Lounge on 21/10/10 was to see a local band called Blackjack Boys. Eighteen months later I witnessed Manchester trio the Onions who were in the Talking Heads mould, they garnered some attention in the following couple of years with a suite of 6 music sessions.

I visited three times in 2014, the initial one to watch Young Mountains, a six-piece post-rock band from Atlanta, Georgia who I surmise were named after their compatriots This Will Destroy You’s debut album.

Young Mountains. Image Credit listenherereviews.com

The second was a slightly anomalous one as it was the only time, I have paid for a singular gig there and not as part of a festival. The band in question was History of Apple Pie from London, a shoegaze act in the vein of Pains of Being Pure at Heart who I had seen previously at Salford Arms. They weren’t quite as good as that debut performance as the sound was a bit muddy prior to asking the audience ‘do we need to turn our guitars up?’ which received categoric assent from myself.    

History of Apple Pie. Image Credit NME

The final piece of that trilogy was Walton Hesse, another Manchester band who produced a fine slice of Americana with pleasing harmonies, reminding me of a country version of Nada Surf. Next on the roster was a double bill of London three-piece Mayors of Miyzaki and Personal Best, a punk band from Bristol. The latter acts initial line up having future members of Attack! Vipers! and Caves in their ranks.

At the 2016 edition of the Dot-to-Dot festival I saw the mod band Pleasure Beach, somewhat appropriately deriving from Blackpool formed by two schoolmates from Carr Hill High School in Kirkham. That school bizarrely being the first team we played at football when I was goalkeeper in the fifth year for Cuthbert Mayne High School in Preston.

Next on the list was a post-hardcore band from Leeds called Unwave, who were a very bracing challenging listen. At the tail end of 2017 another Leeds act called Mush were in town, they had an enjoyable off-kilter sound reminiscent of alt-rock luminaries such as Sonic Youth and Pavement. The band are currently about to go on a British tour.

Continuing the Yorkshire theme at the 2018 Dot-to-Dot I saw KAWALA who met originally whilst studying in Leeds but now reside in London, they were a tad limp for my tastes. Later that year I see roots singer Debra Ohalete who had African influences within her music.

Next on the Gullivers roster was Brighton based folk singer Bess Atwell. She was prolific from a tender age and started writing her own songs at the age of thirteen. My penultimate attendance there was to witness local post-punk four-piece Springfield Elementary. They reminded me a little of Stump of C86 fame.

My only post-covid visit thus far in April 22 was at the Fair Play Northern Quarter festival to see YAANG. Originally a Manchester duo called YANG they added a third member Ben White, previously of Working Mens Club during lockdown resulting in adding an extra A to their name. They were difficult to quantify but perhaps an apt description might be an electro doomy Joy Division, am I selling them well?