Tag: Ramones

Manchester Venue 107 – AATMA

One of the continuing delights of Manchester is the proliferation of different and unique venues that continue to spring up on the gig circuit. One such venue is Manchester AATMA, which when I first visited it was known under its previous moniker as Kraak Gallery. It is literally buried deep in the back streets of the Northern Quarter and was once a derelict former textile mill. It is arguably comparable to Islington Mill with its commendable DIY ethic and industrial vibe and is a multipurpose event space with a 150 capacity.  

I first became aware of its existence in 2012 and I have visited eleven times in total. The first challenge I faced was finding the venue, it is located at 14-16 Faraday Street off Stephenson Square and is accessed via an unmarked door in an alley off an alley! You then climb up to the first floor to find the venue and as you enter you find the stage to the right and a pop-up bar down to the left with a battered old sofa providing the sparse seating area.

AATMA entrance. Image Credit youtube.com

The act that night was the Jacuzzi Boys who are an excellent three-piece garage/surf rock band from Miami. Their debut album in 2009, ‘No Seasons’ caught the attention of none other than Iggy Pop who invited them to be opening slot on his tour. They have been quiet for a few years but have just released a new EP.

My next visit was in December of the same year when there was a punky bill taking place that we on the hoof decided to dive in to watch the noisy Canadian opening band called Sounds of the Swarm. Due to the warehouse setting the room was icy cold and the can of Boddingtons Bitter purchased nearly moulded itself into my hand!

The old sofa! Image Credit headbox.com

We then headed to our scheduled gig at Academy 3 to watch God is an Astronaut before returning to Kraak to see the headliners Victories at Sea who provided a sonic outro to complete an aural assault of an evening.  My only one regret with the venue is that I was unable to attend when the Nottingham noiseniks Cult of Dom Keller played as I had thoroughly enjoyed them when I had unexpectedly caught them in Brussels when visiting the Belgian city.

Many of my visits here have been part of the numerous Northern Quarter multi venue festivals.  On one such visit in 2014 I saw the Leeds post-hardcore trio Unwave. I then witnessed Tacetmusic there and the following year caught a singer songwriter called Sarah Walk from Chicago who was a former graduate of the Berklee College of Art.

Victories at Sea. Image Credit withguitars.com

In 2016 I saw some doomy hardcore from Berlin band Rope. A year later a caught a London three piece called False Heads, who had just released their debut EP. They were discovered and subsequently mentored by the former Ramones manager Danny Fields who has form in spotting a good un! Support slots followed with The Libertines and Queens of the Stone Age before releasing their debut album in 2020.  

In 2018 I witnessed the punky sounds of the Nectars who thoroughly embraced the sound from their home city of New York. Later that year I saw an enjoyable set from the all-female three-piece Peaness from Chester who had originally met at the University in the town. Next up was a lo-fi soul singer from Manchester called Darcie. My latest attendance last year resulted in seeing a band called Hup and a Latin tinged artist with the memorable moniker of Carlos Loverboy. 

Preston Venue 31 – 53 Degrees Main Hall

I have previously covered the Club venue and in this week’s blog I am going to concentrate on the 53 Degrees Main Hall. The venue’s opening in 2005 spelt the death knell to Preston Mill as a gig going concern as there was patently not room in Preston for two such singular locations.

The main hall comprised of a capacity of 1500 and had a sizeable bar facing you on entrance. There was a large, raised area before steps dropping down into a sizeable pit in front of the stage. In their time, they attracted some decent acts here but overall, I always felt it was a golden opportunity missed where they could potentially have attracted better acts, maybe that slightly biased perception gleans from certain fave bands that I thought would have great to see in that setting!

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53 Degrees Venue. Image Credit 53degrees.net

My first visit there was on 20/05/05 when I went to see Supergrass. They were in good form as they had a commendable back catalogue and played my two cherished tracks of theirs, namely ‘Caught by the Fuzz’ and ‘Late in the Day’. Our group was stood off to the right-hand side of the stage where it felt very draughty, but reasons for that became evident as I had an unpleasant bout of man-flu for about 10 days after. The lurgy nearly denied me the opportunity to watch PNE playing West Ham in the Championship play off final (I wish it had!)

Now I have never warmed at all to Blur, talented musicians, and all that, but for whatever reason their music grates on me. Whilst up in Scotland for Hogmanay we were listening to John Peels festive 50 and they featured a couple of half decent tracks from the bands lead guitarist Graham Coxon. This led to an attendance at one of his gigs in October 2006. Most of his set was based on his Ramones influenced latest album ‘Love Travels at Illegal Speeds’. He had his moments and with the shortness of the tracks swiftly whipped through more than 20 songs.

A couple of years later I saw my standout gig there when the Subways were in town. They had so much energy with lead singer Billy Lunn a whirling dervish on stage and his then girlfriend Charlotte Cooper a perfect ally to his antics. It was arguably one of the most joyous moshpits I have ever encountered when they played ‘Oh Yeah’ off their terrific debut album ‘Young for Eternity’. You could never fault these kids for effort! They were supported by Enjoy Destroy.

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The Subways in full flight mode. Image Credit buzzbands.la

In October 2010 a group of us headed into town to watch Half Man Half Biscuit, only to discover the gig had been cancelled at the last minute. It was rearranged for six weeks later on a Friday evening clashing with a North End game. We left the match early resulting in missing the first couple of songs of their set. They were very enjoyable, and they have such a devoted following that it always results in a cracking atmosphere.

In 2011, we went to see John Lydon’s combo, Public Image Ltd. I was far from an expert knowledge on their output but appreciated their intelligent songcraft which stood up well in a live environment.

When I was young whippersnapper at the tender age of 14, I went through a short Adam Ant phase and 30 years hence I was persuaded to go and see him again and this was my final gig there.

The place was packed to the rafters and access to the front area was tricky. There was an eejit and bully from my youth in residence who was blocking the accessway who I navigated past but who then somewhat predictably nudged me down the steps, but I maintained my footing and more importantly didn’t spill a drop of my beer! He was and obviously remains someone just not worth bothering with in any format! The gig was also a bit of a limp affair capping off a forgettable night.