Wild Birds & Literature Thieves @ Night and Day Café, 27.12.12

The turkey has been plucked, stuffed and recycled. The post Christmas sales are in full flow and the best bargain I've seen is the £2 admission charge to watch six bands at the Night & Day Café.

The three females who take the stage go under the title of Literature Thieves, and with them is a sizeable contingent of friends and family to lend support. The name is derived from the reluctance of one band member to return books to their owner. Such literary leanings inevitably find their way into the songs, producing some intriguing results such as the line: “Woven into the story of my skin”.

All three, Angela Hazeldine, Amy Clarkson and Cassie Ellwood supply the vocals, with each song being dissected in order to allow each one to take a turn. The harmonies are a key feature of their tunes and they combine well even though each of their voices occupies a different range. A mandolin (Amy) and a guitar (Cassie) support Angela, whose drum kit is absent tonight, creating a more delicate effect. Whilst they may tag themselves as occupying the folk arena, there are tinges of a stripped down Midlake in the Americana direction.

“Meet me at midnight,” urge the Wild Birds, but there are quite a few in this crowd who can’t wait that long, so for the first time tonight people have gotten down to the front for a dance. This is what the band can do; get people off their backsides to start moving.

Sometimes you need to move on in order to progress. On stage tonight as Wild Birds are Steve Ballinger, Joe McAdam, Paul Hodson and Alistair Garner, former members of outfits such as The Travelling Band, The Vox and Sycamore, all displaying their musical abilities to great effect.

Rousing, full-bodied songs bounce across the venue. Skilfully crafted mixtures of aggressive guitars sit alongside melodic harmonies that conjure up distant memories of sunshine and fun.

Within a few minutes of finishing their set the crowd melts away, possibly looking for another place to meet at midnight.

Words & photography: Ged Camera

The Narrows with Swansong & Flashing Astraptes @ Night & Day Café, Tuesday 13th December 2011

Manchester has battened down the hatches in readiness for the forthcoming storm. The chill wind is blowing along the deserted streets. Yes coming up is Black Friday, i.e. the one where every office Christmas party descends upon the bars and eateries in the centre, purportedly in support of a good time. Yes, I will indeed be somewhere in the mêlée the evening, but the consequence is a bleak Tuesday night. The paucity of numbers tends to indicate that I may be the only paying customer in the Night & Day, or at least one of the first.

Sat to one side of the stage, facing the side wall, the solo performer that goes under the name Flashing Astraptes is creating weird though not always wonderful sounds with his guitars and foot pedals. At times there is a comforting rhythm to the output, but with the amplifier ramped up to max, the distortion kicks in and self control seems to wane as the noises start to override any ambience.

Swansong consists of another solo artist, who has been playing the local venues, honing his keyboard skills and sounds, in a similar manner to xxxy. He is even wearing a t-shirt advertising another promising Manchester act, From the Kites of San Quentin.

Hunched over the synths, the icy rhythms dispensed are wrapped in a deliberately created warmth, just like an Arctic roll (ask yer mum!). It’s crisply dispensed and his lyrics roll freely from the stage. For all his body twisting and efforts though, on a night like this it’s going to be difficult to get anyone up and moving as the music deserves. Rather, it forms a pleasing backdrop for the evening’s conversations. When he finishes, the silence is quickly filled with genuine applause.

A night billed as an electronic extravaganza continues with The Narrows. The emphasis this time is more a case of the keyboardist (Phil Drinkwater) supporting the raucous energy of the two guitarists, Dave Battle and Adam Hynes. From the start there’s a frenetic energy flowing through the trio, as exemplified when the keyboard is almost knocked from its stand by Drinkwater.

The band forces their performance onto the listeners, attempting to dispel any pre-Christmas lethargy with vibrant, effective songs that certainly require a second listen. The unwanted technical “hitch” – a stray, repetitive burst of noise plaguing a song – fails to detract from an impressive performance.

Words & Photography: Ged Camera

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