At the rear of the previously reviewed Blues Kitchen venue on Quay St lies Artillery St which runs into Longworth St. It is a hidden unprepossessing street with many industrial units and at its intersection resides the renowned Rafa’s Tapas restaurant. I have never sampled their wares and have heard it is a challenge to book due to the enduring demand for punters to find a table. My preferred Tapas option is either one of the Evuna’s in town or nearer home the terrific Casa De Moor in Heaton Moor.
Rafa’s restaurant. Image Credit Yell.
Next to there is the ‘superclub’ History nightclub which unsurprisingly I have never felt the need to visit! Back round the corner on Artillery Street you would have found Manchester Sub 61, a very short-lived gig venue, and I can now source only scant information on its history, but it looks like it existed between approximately 2009 and 2010.
They did hold a regular indie-rock night there which was showcased as the ‘Little Black Book’ and also operated as a Visual Arts space for local artists to exhibit. It is listed as a basement club, but I have memories of heading upstairs so perhaps the venue had a separate gig room. Apart from the gig I attended the only other band I can reference playing there was Chameleons Vox in December 2009.
On 25/09/09 I met up with Uncle George in the Old Monkey pub on Portland Street after he had been watching the cricket at nearby Old Trafford. I mentioned I had just heard of this new venue, and we decided to go and check it out. The venue was housed in an industrial unit redolent of what a New York apartment looks like when portrayed in the movies.
The first support was Die Der Daus, the name translates from German as three different descriptors of ‘The’, namely the Masculine, Feminine and Neuter Noun versions. The main support were called Tamallas.
The headline act was Doll and the Kicks from Brighton who were a four-piece formed in 2005 and were personally chosen to support Morrissey on his 2009 European tour. They had just released their self-titled debut album and disbanded in 2011 but it does like they subsequently reformed and are still active.
Doll and the Kicks on stage at Sub 61. Image Credit flickr.
In a half empty venue Hannah Scanlon (Doll) was an engaging energetic presence on stage and their music had elements of Be Your Own Pet, Blondie and Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the latter perhaps reflecting the aforementioned NY vibe of the venue.
Manchester Satan’s Hollow is situated just off Princess Street between China Town and the Gay Village and a stone’s throw away from the nearby Night People venue. It was opened in 2000 and is firmly in the rock/metal genre. They have club nights and also a regular roster of gigs.
The entrance aims to exemplify the gates of hell replete with devil horn insignia and inside is an archetypal ‘toilet circuit’ venue with sticky floors and lamentable beer. We visited there on 06/02/10 on a whim as we were passing, and the chance presented itself to tick off the venue on the Jimmy roster. We were en route to our debut attendance at Sound Control.
Looking at the archive listing of gigs that have taken place in the venue, one caught my eye when I saw Leatherface performed there in 2007. I quite liked their material, but I am more of a fan of their spin off band Former Cellmates and particularly their terrific 2008 album ‘Who’s Dead and What’s to Pay’.
Manchester Satans Hollow. Image Credit homes4u.co.uk
The band on stage during our visit was Envy of The State, a rock band from the musical backwater of Telford and the band were unmemorable but there was the novelty of having a stage in the middle of the room allowing you to stand behind the band and watch them from a rarely seen angle!