Preview: Autumn Live Shows

Leaves are turning from green to a plethora of brightness and autumn is tightening its chilly grip. But before we drift into summer nostalgia, its worth reminding ourselves that this time of year is also synonymous with touring, and with Manchester being part of many major tours there’s no shortage of gigs coming our way in the coming weeks.

For starters, the Holy Trinity of Trof venues are offering a vast range of acts to please any discerning ear, from Mercury Award nominee Kate Tempest (Deaf Institute, 9 November) and the euphorically eclectic Adult Jazz (Deaf Institute, 12 November) to one of Liverpool’s finest new acts Circa Waves (Gorilla, 7 November) and the rising superstar St Vincent (Albert Hall, 22 October).

Manchester Cathedral has certainly come a long way as an alternative music venue. As well as an impressive list of gigs, on 1 November it is hosting the all-day festival, Columns. Its diverse and painfully cool line-up includes artists such electronic sound architect East India Youth (another 2014 Mercury nominee coming to Manchester) and this year’s US breakthrough ‘perfect pop’ act Future Islands.

While we're on the topic of those Mercurys, the shortlisted local tip is GoGo Penguin, an intricate jazz trio who've conveniently booked a show at Soup Kitchen on 21 October to celebrate.

Another notable festival event is Carefully Planned, which will take in various venues around the Northern Quarter over the weekend of 18-19 October, bringing us a wide range of new music with a line-up designed to please everyone from indie folk aficionados to hardcore fans. Now in its fourth year, Carefully Planned is making a bit of a name for itself, which is hardly surprising given its tactic of booking some of the best new bands from all corners of the UK (Hail! The Planes, Post War Glamour Girls) and established cult names (That Fucking Tank, Thought Forms).

Louder Than Words is another grassroots weekend event worthy of a serious mention. Dedicated to words about music, this new festival involves writing workshops as well as Q&As with the likes of Viv Albertine and John Bramwell, panel debates on subjects such as Goth subculture and the 'Golden Age' of music journalism, plus signings and performances.

Finally, keep an eye on Islington Mill's goings on as it’s now back in operation and its event listings once again prove it to be a key creative hub in the Manchester area. The awesome 2 Bears (Hot Chip’s Joe Goddard and Raf Daddy) are set to play there on 29 October, followed by a big Halloween event promising ghost tours, film screenings and live music.

Words: Anastasia Connor

22nd Carefully Planned All-Dayer @ Gullivers, 17.05.14

“Punching your door through / Smashing windows”. Well it was the hottest day of the year so far, so add to the mixture more flammable components of a Saturday afternoon, plus alcohol, and it doesn’t seem an unusual news report from most town centres.

On this occasion it’s Emma Kupa (aka Cooper) who is reciting the lyric from one of her songs. Accompanied by a drummer, the low-key acoustic set is a series of tales whose music may be light and summery, but with lyrics containing dark, threatening and at times humorous tones. The Lemonheads/Evan Dando came to mind while listening to the duo. When you discover her collaboration with Darren Hayman, formerly of Hefner, the connection seems obvious.

A performer can put so much effort into creating an atmosphere to match the mood of the songs, yet the trill of a mobile phone’s ring tone can easily break that mood. Congratulations to Tekla for not allowing said tone to disturb her concentration. She is the first artist to appear on this Carefully Planned event bill. Sat on a stool, she gently picks the guitar strings, softly relaying stories about storms and the pitter patter of raindrops, whilst sun cracks the flagstones outside.

The running order of the bands is planned carefully so that the pace of the music increases steadily throughout the day, with the joyfully delivered thrash of Bad Grammar being eagerly received. Ben (guitar) and Lucy (drums) look like they are enjoying the music as much as the audience. Almost.

Beware of the quiet ones the saying goes. The four who make up Axes just seem too, well, polite to deliver the crashing noise that their set conjures up. A math rock fury engrossed the steadily increasing crowd. Think 65daysofstatic flecked with touches of Rolo Tomassi (two Sheffield-based bands) smelted together with their own individuality and you will end up with Axes.

There were other bands performing during the day, so people could nip out for the FA Cup final knowing that the event went on till after 11. With this taster for the annual two-day festival spread over several venues, which was recently announced for October, the future looks bright.

Words & photos: Ged Camera

Carefully Planned Festival 2011

The aptly named Carefully Planned All-Dayer has been a fairly regular occurrence over the past couple of years. Handpicking a variety of acts to take the stage, the brains behind Everything You Need first took up a whole chunk of Manchester’s daylight hours back in 2009 – and before that entertained Huddersfield. The modus operandi is merely ‘alternative’, which remains pleasingly vague and probably translates as: ‘a bunch of stuff you haven’t yet heard of’. This time around that equates to 66 acts scheduled across two days and four Northern Quarter venues.

My route through the above format isn’t the most extensive – in fact it’s a particularly small percentage of the total music on offer – but it gives a taster; a few bites from the festival buffet, bouncing between platters with an open mind and receptive palate.

For starters, I’m jumping in on day two; Sunday. Shen is downstairs at Centro, retuning his guitar as a mid-set adjustment on his debut show. The hawkeyed amongst a modest early audience have identified his cohort for the slot as the Dr Mahogany’s Goat Circus guitarist. He watches as intently as everyone else during Shen’s intricate acoustic picking combined with heartfelt lyrics partly aided by echo, before adding beats to a Bill Callaghan cover and incongruous bleeps to an anomalous set closer, which could be likened to Thom Yorke’s electronic tendency in the same way as Shen’s deep, straining vocal emotion to simple yet loquacious lines.

Sitting around for Mount Fabric entails a bout of high pitched Matt Bellamy-isms and a wilful reliance on effects pedals to add flesh to bone-shaking rhythmic skeletons. Following that, an exploration is in order. Inter-music prep at The Castle Hotel leads to a brief dalliance with the post-post-post-noise guitar-string mistreatment advocates Crash Of Rhinos; a popular choice whose curtain soon closes to herald a stroll to calmer climes down the Bay Horse’s stairs.

The Gardenelles’ classical folky vibe recaptures Sandy Denny and Vashti Bunyan through finger-picked tales related to Whitehaven’s episode of ‘Coast’ and its tinted specs of invasion reminisce. What is striking is the almost immaculate behaviour of an audience who receive songs with the respect the duo’s delivery deserves.

And that attitude remains (barring the occasional twitter or phone chirp) through Greta Santagata’s sparse yet involving compositions. The harpist sings in the languages of English, music, wonder, lust and her own personal diction as delicate chimes resonate, sandwiched between the face of anticipant stillness reflected back out by the mirror behind her.

With a fleeting glance back into Centro, where Decadence In Berlin are bashing out high octane thrashy punk numbers about the recession with a pleasing insistence on cowbell for percussion, my not-so carefully planned path through Carefully Planned comes to a close. An enjoyable path, although maybe next time I’ll take the event moniker’s advice and better prepare.

Words: Ian Pennington

Arts, Music & Events Preview, February 2011 (Part Two)

It’s been a revolutionary month so far but largely one for the armchair supporters in this country. I don’t foresee a fortnight’s worth of protest in the cotton capital over here but there’s plenty to sink your political teeth into, as well as gigs, exhibitions and all the rest.

This evening (Tuesday 15th) there’re a couple of gigs worth a look; This Is The Kit bring some lo-fi folk to the Night’N’Day Cafe while Debt Records signees Red Tides add more of the same in support. And Darkstar return to the Deaf Institute after their support slot with Matthew Dear last year, this time headlining.

Wednesday 16th shapes up in a similar vein with a pair of Now Then endorsed shows to sample. The Night’N’Day again plays host, this time to Animal Collective semi-copyists Fixers, a band who equally invoke Coldplay. Confused? Intrigued? Both fair reasons to check them out. Ryan Francesconi is on down the road (Oldham Street) at The Castle Hotel and if you need any further encouragement for that one, Hey! Manchester, who don’t often put a foot wrong, have organised his return following a stage-sharing with alt-folkie pin-up Joanna Newsom last year.

Also on Wednesday is a socio-economic discussion put on by Manchester Salon, entitled China’s Economic Growth: What Should We Celebrate? Alan Hudson and Berthold Schoene are the guest speakers, respectively focusing on the social possibilities of Chinese urban centres given rapid recent development and planning, and the west’s mentality towards globalisation and cosmopolitanism as factors in the relative stagnancy and decline of western society. Those waxing lyrical can be found in the Shakespeare Pub just off Market Street.

Or, finally, put your feet up for a Wednesday film upstairs at Trof Fallowfield. Shock Doctrine will be beamed onto a screen, pre-Cool Runnings, and it’s guaranteed to be more enjoyable than straining your ears through a barrage of popcorn crunchers at any given Orange Wednesday theatre.

While your political head’s screwed on you might appreciate a trip to the University of Manchester on Thursday 17th to look back at the 1990s opposition to Manchester Airport’s second runway. Joining will be guest speakers, including legal experts, who’ll be armed with a shedload of photographic slides while evaluating your, and humanity’s, carbon footprint.

Carefully Planned take their all-day gig a stage further; this is their 8th on Saturday 19th and the usual varied genres apply, broadly under an independent umbrella. Halifax’s Battles-esque prog troupe Wot Gorilla? and Huddersfield’s jazz-sampling hip-hop duo Imranimal with DJ Illas are just two of the diverse mix.

Art Corner launches its latest array of artistry, featuring twenty-odd easel-wielders, shape-sculptors and paint-merchants interpreting the title Desire & Repulsion: Grotesqueries. Monday 21st is the opening date, which is a date shared by MIE Music and their show at Islington Mill. They’ve talked the Flower/Campbell duo into another appearance (following last November’s Fuel gig) and the eardrum obliterating Our Love Will Destroy the World headline.

As you may or may not have heard, off-kilter MuseRadioheadPortishead summoners Kin will disband after this month and Thursday 24th is a final chance to catch the four-piece on the same stage. Interested collaborators Mr Heart and Veí support.

On the same evening BlankMedia freshen up the decor at their new BLANKSPACE abode. Freedom From Selection invites artists to introduce a biological slant to compositions, which will no doubt provoke some responses worth viewing.

Closing in on the end of the month, I’ll finish with a trio of gigs; Friday 25th sees Yuck at the Night’N’Day cranking up the level of 80s/90s American lo-fi indie influence; same day for a King Creosote / The Earlies double-whammy at Band on the Wall. Then ambient soundwalling glitchman Venetian Snares unpacks his electronic beats orchestra in Jabez Clegg on Saturday 26th.

Words: Ian Pennington

Arts, Music & Events Preview, January 2011 (Part One)

If you’ve been consulting your Gregorian calendar lately then you’ll no doubt have spotted a couple of things. Namely, we’re slowly rolling into another year and this preview feature is a few days overdue. The former significantly more obvious than the latter, perhaps, but both indicative of the sleepy nature of Januarys in general.

That’s not to say there isn’t anything to sink your creative teeth into this month. Oldham Street’s refurbished Castle Hotel hosts Welsh linguists Colorama following their session on the airwaves for Marc Riley’s 6music show – all this evening, Wednesday 5th. And later on, Now Wave’s DJs pick up where they left off in 2010, spinning their tips for 2011's buzz bands to fill the Deaf Institute floor.


Saturday 8th brings another Carefully Planned All-Dayer, albeit a rescheduled one due to pre-Xmas snow. That’ll also take place at the in-demand Castle Hotel with eight more hand-picked musicians from the world of indie-folk. For a more chilled affair that evening, the electronic types at This City Is Ours continue their monthly slot at An Outlet, with tunes selected by Anytime, Blood Boy, LSN and Borland DJs.

The Art Corner launches a new exhibition with a preview night on Monday 10th, capturing the zeitgeist with an artistic interpretation of everybody’s favourite fad, ‘austerity Britain’. They’ve called it Cuts & Grazes, roped in a palette of artists and set an end date at 30th of this month.


Onto the world of film, the curtain comes down on the New British Cinema Quarterly’s run at the Cornerhouse on Tuesday 11th with a screening of brilliantlove, which stars local Manc actor Liam Browne in the role of a besotted character named Manchester. Produced by North Eastern champions of outsider cinema Pinball Films, the film has already been met by independent cinema kudos and an impressive-looking soundtrack includes Sol Seppy, Wild Beasts, David Holmes and James Yorkston.

There’s a seminar worthy of your time on Wednesday 12th (you might want to double-check the date - I've read conflicting info) if you’re prone to a whinge about the frequency of buses. The GMITA (Greater Manchester Integrated Transport Authority) will discuss their forthcoming budget at the Town Hall, but to attend you have to book yourself in by Friday 7th.

Islington Mill bursts into life on Thursday 13th with a trio of alt-rockers in the form of Charles Hayward, Barberos and Gnod.

Over the weekend of 15th and 16th, an alternative political group currently known as ‘Network X’ will hold discussions with the aim of homogenising the activities of similar-minded groups, both local and national. Expect to be involved with planning strategies, defining the shared points of a political ideology and structuring methods of achieving aims. If you’d like to make your voice heard then that’s the time to do it. Contact them for details.


Finally, Chorlton Arts Festival may seem a fair way off in the distant future as yet (19th-30th May), but they’re planning events as I type and will continue to accept submissions for ideas until Monday 17th. Forms can be downloaded here and for more info the contact is Philip.

Words: Ian Pennington