Tag: Pavement

Manchester Venues 176 to 177

LEAF began in 2007 as a small tea shop run by friends located within a Liverpool city centre gallery before swiftly moving up to a larger setting in Parliament Street where they hosted pudding clubs and album launches. They upgraded again in 2010 when they moved to their current home on Bold Street and they stock over sixty varieties of rare teas and have won various awards.

They decided to expand into another city and in 2016 opened up Manchester LEAF on Portland Street in the Grade II listed site where the CUBE gallery used to reside. They described themselves as having a ‘semi-Scandanavian feel’ and there were three separate private spaces available for business or private dining events, with room for either thirty, seventy or three hundred guests. They served food all day and had a licence until 2am at the weekends. I have just read though that the  Manchester branch closed its doors permanently in 2022.

Manchester LEAF. Image Credit premierconstructionnews.com

I visited there just twice (but on the same day) as the venue was on the roster for the 2018 Dot to Dot festival and the place had a welcoming bohemian feel to it. Our first arrival was around 5.30 in the afternoon where we grabbed a cold one and on a pop up stage we saw a singer/songwriter called Tom Lumley playing.  He derived originally from a small village in Cambridgeshire, and it was a solo performance. Since then, he has formed a band called Tom Lumley &The Brave Liaison who released their debut album ‘Everything’s Affected in 2021.    

Much later on that day, we returned and caught the last song from a four piece called MCRAE who initially formed in 2013. They however broke up a decade later by rather appropriately playing their last ever gig on 27/05/23 at the site of their first ever show on Barnoldswick Town Square.

There then occurred a ‘sliding doors’ moment as at that stage Uncle George, John Dewhurst and I were just looking for one last drink before sending the lads home on the last train back to Preston. The bar had just shut in Leaf, so after a quick discussion we then headed down randomly to the Temple Bar.

MCRAE. Image Credit louderthanwar.com

When we sat down I was approached by a chap who asked if he could sit by us and I noticed his Dot to Dot wristband and we got to chatting about music, Mogwai and his Coventry background. This chap turned out to be Marcus who at various later dates was my conduit to meeting his girlfriend Anita, his old pal Tris and her fella Ross.

Gill and I are now firm friends with them all and I then think back that if Leaf had still been serving beers we would in all likelihood have never met, a situation that would sadden me greatly. Marcus and I have now attended around eighty gigs together, but we still joke about the fact that we initially met in a bar that used to be a public toilet!   

In 2016, the owners of NoHo and Dusk til Pawn decided to open a European style subterranean beer hall in the Northern Quarter. Their venue of choice was to base Manchester Cooper Hall in the old location of Copacabana salsa club in Sevendale House off Dale Street. Within there they incorporated street food traders, DJ’s and a plethora of European beers including freshly brewed Czech Republic Tank Pilsener Urquell within the 300 capacity space.  

Manchester Cooper Hall. Image Credit confidentials.com

The name was selected to pay homage to the history of the building, which was originally completed in 1903 and utilised as a trade warehouse for I.J & G Cooper. There was an extensive £6m refurbishment in 2014 of the 120,000 square feet Grade II listed site, and other tenants include Foundation Coffee and Ticketmaster.

The hall had a vintage feel with reclaimed wood benches and tables and original features including glazed brick walls and large skylight windows and I took an instant liking to the place though I have just read that the bar sadly permanently closed in 2022. 

It was also selected as a venue on 2018 Dot to Dot monorail and on our particular visit we saw a local combo called Champions of Youth, a five-piece indie act who rose from the ashes of previous band Amida. Amida were highly touted when they formed in 2005 and garnered support slots with the likes of Tender Trap, Camera Obscura and Subway Sect prior to their split in 2012. The group we saw had a vibe of late 1980’s and 1990’s and I could understand the cited reference points of Pavement and the Wolfhounds.    

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?