Tag: Slaughter and the Dogs

Manchester Venue 31 Night and Day – Part 3

In my humble opinion the most criminally underrated band over the last 15 years is a band from Norwich called Sennen. They formed in 2002 and were named after a Ride track and have produced five excellent albums which I return to on a regular basis. They are in the post-rock Mogwai mould with a softer side and they produce hypnotic music with hushed shoegaze harmonies.

I think what has hindered them is their aversion to touring and in those 19 years of existence they have not yet totalled 150 gigs, UK Subs and Status Quo would probably hit the total in a calendar year. Prior to me becoming aware of them they played the Cellar Bar in Blackburn. I was aware of a Deaf Institute gig but couldn’t attend but in retrospect was glad I didn’t make it as it transpired, they only did a short post-midnight set.

Thus, when I heard they were playing Night and Day on Easter Monday in 2010 I ensured I would be in attendance. I recall Uncle George and I trying to find somewhere beforehand to eat in and around Rochdale Road near the Wing Yip supermarket and we ended up in a little noodle bar. The area we were scouring that night is now unrecognisable as it subsequently turned into the regentrified Ancoats area.  

Rather sadly, there cannot have been more than 20 people in the venue. Despite the band being somewhat rusty I thoroughly enjoyed their 45-minute set. I also had a parlay with them afterwards and they turned out to be genuine down to earth lads. They were supported on the night by Rarely Spun.

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Sennen. Image Credit Last FM.

The following year we saw Slaughter and the Dogs, the old punk band who formed in the local suburb of Wythenshawe. They were in very good form with a terrific crowd interaction and it was a fine gig. The night ended in chaos as we miscalculated the time and subsequently missed the last train from Victoria. This resulted in an expensive cab home on a very filthy rainy night, and I was very glad to land home that night!

In 2018, I attended a gig there with my North East correspondent Jamie Young. We had a pre gig visit to the infamous Marble Arch pub and a pizza in the Mackie Mayor food hall. The band in question was Black Delta Movement, a psychedelic garage rock outfit from Kingston Upon Hull. Regretfully, it was a disappointing set and they were outshone by the support band Mr Strange, an engaging three-piece band from Isle of Wight.  

Later that year, I went to see the Orielles from Halifax accompanied by Gill and one of the brightest people I know, Dr Laura Buckley. The bands fortunes were on the upswing at that point, but they honoured a commitment to play Night and Day which was gracious of them. They have a quirky off kilter sound but were an enjoyable watch. They were supported by a mournful downbeat set from Laetitia Sadler, who is better known as a member of Stereolab and Le Price Maori.

Saving the best to last was one of those random gigs that you very rarely encounter by catching a remarkable band at the inception of their career and you know instantly it is a privilege to be there. At the Dot to Dot festival in 2018 we happened to wander into the venue just before a very early performance from Dublin’s finest Fontaines DC.

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Fontaines DC on stage. Image Credit Irish Times

They wandered on and had a captivating presence with lead singer Grian Chatten prowling the stage like a caged tiger and the band in perfect synch behind him. They only played a 30-minute set (perfect pint supping timespan) but what a fabulous half an hour they produced. Algarve Ray was also in attendance and he looked as awestruck as me after the gig!

Manchester Venue 26 – Club Academy

The fourth and final venue within the Academy complex is Club Academy. The venue is located downstairs with stairs heading down to the venue to the right of the ground floor bar. In the 90’s the venue was called the Cellar nightclub before turning into a singular music venue in the early 2000’s.

I wish we had known of the existence of the nightclub at that time as we were often searching for a late bar before catching the 1.24am train home. I had seen those stairs many times but thought they headed down to another non-public area of the building complex.

At the point in time across the road was the now disappeared Jabez Clegg pub which we frequented regularly. I was unaware that they used to have the odd gig upstairs. I recall Gordon Gibson, proprietor of Preston’s legendary Action Records telling me that he once was very fortunate to catch a private set in that very room by Natalie Merchant, 10000 Maniacs lead singer.

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Jabez Clegg Pub. Image Credit manchesterhistory.net

The capacity of Club Academy is 650, slightly larger than Academy 3 and is the most academic type venue of the four with their school reminiscent corridors leading to the loos. The stage is at the bottom and bars to the left and it has been expanded since my first visit there.      

I have attended five gigs there in total and that brings the total across all of Academy venues to 88.About five years ago I thought it would be an absolute shoo in to achieve the century however despite a huge increase in my gig attendance my visits to the Academies have been sporadic due to so many other competing venues constantly opening in the city.

My first visit was on 26/04/07 was to see the mercurial Marie McKee, previously lead singer of Lone Justice. There was always a hint of the diva about her, but she has the most electrifying voice. She wandered on with her backing band including her husband and early in the set launched briefly into singing acapella which was compelling. Her recent recordings had a country tint about them, and it was an enjoyable gig.

On 09/12/11 Death in Vegas were back in town for their first tour for a few years. The pubs were extremely busy with Christmas do’s in full flow.

Around the time of their two seminal albums the Contino Sessions and Scorpio Rising at the turn of the century they were an utterly absorbing live act. Unfortunately, they didn’t quite kick it that night as they concentrated heavily on their more dance-oriented material. It was a sold-out gig and it had attracted many that I would quantify in the ‘undesirable’ category.    

There was a breakdown in communication post gig which resulted in us catching the late choo-choo which I think must qualify as the busiest train I have ever encountered and as a result we were very relieved to arrive home that night.

In 2015 I witnessed the young scamps from Dundee, The View. They were in equal parts frenetic, chaotic but always engaging and ‘Superstar Tradesmen’ was as ever the highlight. There are elements of their lyrics in that track that mirror the story in my most loved Iain Banks novel ‘Espedair Street’ which relates to a rock star making it big and the corresponding impact on his childhood sweetheart. He remains my favourite author with his stunning imagination and caustic wit and it was the cruel hand of cancer that took him from us far too soon.

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Iain Banks Espedair Street novel. Image Credit Wikipedia

The following year we saw Electric Six on their annual winter tour. They had their moments, but it was a diminishing return from the startingly good impression they made the first time I witnessed them.   

My last appearance was to see the old punk stalwarts Slaughter and the Dogs from down the road in Wythenshawe, who supported Sex Pistols at their famous Lesser Free Trade Hill gig in 1976. It was unfortunately a rather limp performance from them on the night that I saw them.