Tag: Manchester Whiskey Jar

2025 Gigs – Part 1

After an initially sluggish start to the year the concert attendances began to exponentially increase as the months progressed and by the time Hogmanay arrived, I had created a personal best of 200 gigs and alongside that a total of 95 new venues visited. At the time I thought that would transpire to be an unbeatable gig number; however, the numbers are rattling along in 2026, and I have given myself a chance to surpass it, but time will tell in that regard! As in the previous annual review articles I shall only incorporate venues covered in previous blogs. 

So, let us begin initially in chronological order with a visit back to the God’s country on Preston on the 25th of January. After watching Preston earn a slightly fortuitous 2-1 victory over Middlesbrough, I met up with John Dewhurst and Uncle George for a few scoops. We started in the Eldon pub and then travelled over to my old stamping ground of Ashton Lane Ends.

I lived in that area for nine years and the sole pub during that period was the Lane Ends, but there is now a veritable pub crawl as four new pop-up bars have appeared in that district. We had a skelp around those establishments before grabbing some tea at the Silk Route Indian restaurant. Post-food we walked up to the Preston Wheatsheaf which as ever was well populated, and a band called Groove Thing were performing.  

The Lane Ends pub back in the day. Image Credit www.bing.com

There was another Preston trip in August with Gill added to the crew this time and we were celebrating a more consequential and deserved 2-1 win over Leicester. We encountered local legend Big Steve near the Wallace and Gromit monument whilst we were heading towards Preston Market.  On the stage they have located outside the Orchard Bar that night was a local singer called Phil Ireland.  

The original Wheatsheaf gig inspired me to kick start my year in earnest so four days later I headed into the city on a solo trip to hunt down some gigs in order to boost my numbers. I visited Lost Cat and Affleck and Brown for the first time which have been covered in past articles. I also attended Manchester Matt and Phreds and on stage was a Liverpool band called Sweet Beans whose music has been classed as either riot jazz or daft funk! I returned a month later and at another free show the Jazz Quarter were playing.

The Whiskey Jar. Image Credit www.skiddle.com

Also visited was what I now call Manchester Old Freemount on Oldham Street (renamed since to the Mother of Invention) where a chap called Jeff was playing. I also attended three other times that year with different singers each time. There was the obligatory foray to Manchester Whiskey Jar on the way back to Piccadilly train station where I saw a double act called Steph and Alan. Before the year was out, I saw a couple of further shows at that venue.

The final one to tick off that evening was to the Manchester Copper Bar, which has been another welcome addition to the roster and where they regularly have free gigs. On that particular visit the band on stage was a local act called Windbourne. The Copper Bar is the parallel room to the Manchester Band on the Wall and sometimes they have bands playing as an addendum to gigs in the main room.

Band on the Wall. Image bandonthewallseetickets.com

On one such visit I witnessed a combo named Love Like Me after we were leaving a show next door. The primary reason for our attendance was to see the reformed Pains of Being Pure At Heart for the sixth time in total who were in excellent fettle. They were touring their superb eponymously titled debut album and as soon as the distinctive chords of the opening track ‘Contender’ assailed my ears I knew we were in for a treat. Our small but perfectly formed group also included Gill, Marcus and Anita and we had undertaken pre-gig aperitifs in the nearby Smithfield Market Tavern.   

I have also made a visit to Manchester Nancy Spains (previously known as the Corner Bar) on Hilton Street adjacent to Stevenson Square where I saw a singer called Paddy. Over on Oxford Street I caught my tenth gig at Manchester Albert Schloss where Jasper was performing on the small stage.

There was an isolated trip into Levenshulme to the Manchester Bia Café Bar where I saw the regular chilled house band sounds of Grace Kelley and Debbie Garvey. 

Manchester Venues 38 and 39

Over the years, I have probably spent more time overall at Manchester Oxford Road train station, but I have still had a sustained period also in residence at Manchester Piccadilly station. This would either involve grabbing unwholesome late-night snacks prior to waiting for trains or undertaking a frantic lengthy scramble up the escalator to furthermost Platform 14 for last trains to Preston (many for the 1.24am ghost train!) or more latterly Platform 13 for trains out to our current digs in South Manchester.

One welcome change over the last 5 years is the removal of the annoying financial change for the courtesy of spending a penny! A couple of star spots whilst traversing the platforms there have been Graeme Souness and the Sunday Independent music critic Simon Price identified via his very distinctive hairdo.  

Upon departure from Piccadilly via the main entrance or through the adjacent car park drops you directly into the Northern Quarter. There is an abundant area of back streets and original industrial units and dark satanic mills at your disposal. As a result, it is the perfect backdrop for TV and movie filming with the list including the Crown, Peaky Blinders, Das Boot and the Captain America: The First Avenger film.  

One such street exemplifying the area is Tariff St. Your initial impression would be there is just industrial units but there is in fact a plethora of viable options. At the far end lies the Pen and Pencil which is a decent bar to visit.

At the other end is the Tariff and Dale bar which has been a very useful destination prior to a midnight train as most of the hostelries close to the station shut up shop at 11pm prompt. Next door is the Takk Coffee House which leans heavy on its Icelandic influences.

A further door down is the Kosmonaut bar which opened in 2011 and it merged into the area with its stripped-down floors, urban feel, and a terrific choice of craft ales on tap. It has been taken over in last couple of years by the Northern Monk brewery.  

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Manchester Kosmonaut. Image Credit Zomato.

It gained inclusion to the Dot-to-Dot roster for a couple of years with gigs taking place in the downstairs bar. Thus on 28/05/16 we saw Crosa Rosa, a very heavy local psychedelic three piece who were gathering some attention and featured on a Huw Stephens ‘Best of BBC Introducing’ that year. A couple of years later we saw three to four songs within a noisy chaotic set from another local band called the Threads.

Further down the street is located the Whiskey Jar. The bar has been converted from an old textile mill and we first visited the ground floor prior to a gig at the Soup Kitchen and living up to the Preston peasants that we are, we readily devoured the pies that were on the menu! This bar holds acoustic events, but I have only witnessed acts in the downstairs space.

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Whiskey Bar downstairs venue. Image Credit DesignMyNight.com

I initially visited there as part of the Carefully Planned Festival before it then also became part of the Dot-to-Dot schedule.

The first gig I saw there was with Uncle George and Dave Dyson on 19/10/14 and The Rattle were a very unusual combo consisting entirely of two female drummers. It was an interesting sight and sound initially but soon became a tad monotonous!

In 2016, I saw Bristol based Stevie Parker who provided an ethereal backdrop.  A couple of years later I saw a noisier 4-piece Manchester called Dear Caroline who broke up a year later. The final act I saw there was Sylvette an art rock band also based in Manchester. Google informs me they are still in existence and are playing the mighty Mad Ferret in Preston later this year.