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

COMPETITION: Silverclub EP Launch gig

Manchester electronic band Silverclub may have slipped from the radar of sonic adventures lately, but their next recorded output is imminent, in the form of an EP and launch show this month.

The lead single, 'Back to the Start' is a chugging train of minimalism indicating their wheels are firmly back on the tracks, while sating your deepest desire for more cow bell with your synths.

We’ve teamed up with Deaf Institute to give away a pair of tickets to their EP launch show on Friday 26 September. All you need to do to enter is like and share the image at the other end of this link (making sure it’s set to ‘public’ so we can see that you’ve entered).

We'll announce the winner on Wednesday 24 September.

Good luck!

COMPETITION: Sugarhill Gang & Grandmaster Flash

Summer might be a time to take stock or head out to a nearby field to watch your favourite musicians in oversized gazebos, but the folks at Trof haven't rested on their laurels just because the sun's out. Instead they've set about bringing two icons of hip hop to their Gorilla venue for a pair of shows taking place over the next month: Sugarhill Gang and Grandmaster Flash.

First up there's Sugarhill Gang's show on Thursday 17 July. Best known for 'Rapper's Delight', a chart hit that sampled the break from Chic's 'Good Times' and capitalised on the growing hip hop movement, the New Jersey trio returned in the late '90s with Jump On It, a rap album for children.

Manchester's Fingathing bring their leftfield live hip hop to support.

Then on Saturday 2 August the clocks are set to clubnight as Grandmaster Flash takes centre stage on the ones and twos. Along with The Furious Five MCs, he is a man whose CV is decorated with the accolade of being in the first hip hop group to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, having cut popular tracks such as 'The Message'.

The Juicy DJs are on hand to fill your ears with their record collection at that one.

We’ve teamed up with Trof and Gorilla to give away a pair of tickets to each show. All you need to do to enter is like and share the image at the other end of this link (making sure it’s set to ‘public’ so we can see that you’ve entered). Finally, please comment on the original image with which one of the two events you’d like to attend.

We'll announce the winner of the Sugarhill Gang competition on Tuesday 15 July, then the Grandmaster Flash competition winner on Thursday 31 July.

Good luck!

Words: Ian Pennington
Images: courtesy of Trof

For more information and tickets, click here for Sugarhill Gang and here for Grandmaster Flash.

Grey Lantern Presents @ Trof Fallowfield, 25.05.13

Who’d be a promoter, eh? One minute you’re organising a festival across two venues and the next so many bands have pulled out that you might as well cram everything into one. So congrats to the Grey Lantern team who did create a fine roster at Trof.



The duo that forms Veladrome is first up on a Saturday with the sun beaming down. Lisa and Tom would appear to make an unusual combination; her with the clear, pristine vocals and him with the dirty, distorted bass noises. In delivery, the incongruous combination works well. “Keep on walking,” Lisa recites with sufficient ambiguity as to wonder if it’s a threat to one’s personal safety or merely offering friendly directions.



The incestuous nature of the Manchester music network frequently sees people appearing in multiple guises and displaying different facets of their musical tastes. Mike McKnight appears today as Sphelm. The number of Cyril Snear t-shirts on display is a sign of solidarity from his other band mates. Today he’s slightly nervous; a new toy bought to enable him to demonstrate his musical catalogue isn’t working as it should. Also, the PA is creating weird, unintentional sounds so we only hear four songs, but they are good ones. He will use almost every part of the guitar to create sounds and beats. His hands gently caress the neck of the guitar whilst his slightly rough edged vocals align themselves nicely to the overall sound.



For those who have witnessed the incendiary performances of Queer'd Science, Dinner Time are faster and seemingly more intensive. Hard to believe, I know. The Ramones played songs lasting less than two minutes, and so do Dinner Time. Shouty, fast and relentless they are not songs you are likely to hear on Radio 2, but who cares. I wonder if the pace of the set has anything to do with the fact that they are playing another gig at Kraak in 40 minutes?



Tribal Fighters take the event along a slightly different, more melodic avenue. The trio don’t do vocals, but will take a wander across the floor to the full extent of their guitar cables, all the while dispensing attractive numbers.

As someone stated, “You can't put a price on fun”.

Words & photography: Ged Camera.

Now Then Shebeen Festival Mix

Our next live music outing is now only a week away. We've invited a selection electronic maestros along to Shebeen Festival, an eclectic all-dayer that ticks plenty of genre boxes across six venues, from dub reggae to folk; jazz to hip hop and blues to psychedelia.

Here, in sonic form, is what to expect on our stage, at Trof Fallowfield, in the form of a mix melded in the fires of Acrobat gadget wielder Samuel Twidale's mind:

Below is more information about all the musicians performing on the Now Then stage:

Jason Singh (AV show).
Beatboxer, vocal sculptor and sound artist.

The Age Of Glass.
Trad sounds plugged into the digital vortex, turned up to rhythmical riot.

Acrobat (AV show).
The mesmeric improvisational side-project of Sam Twidale (Sun Drums/Deep Hedonia).

From The Kites Of San Quentin.
Twisted glitch-tronica pilfered from a sci-fi techtopia.

Beatsum.
Hip hop from the heads behind Manchester's Golden Egg Collective.

Forged Motif.
Downtempo soundscapers skilled in the subtler arts of electronic production.

Torotoroka.
Live electronica fused in the same smouldering effervescent vapours as Múm.

$?.
?? Symbolism and mystery abounds.

(murmur).
Remixology and sampladelica from the acclaimed university project freed into the wild.

KA/VAN.
FTKOSQ guitarist LSN’s prog-tronica solo project.

Mind On Fire DJs.
Tune selectors extraordinaire who are about to embark on their ninth year.

For more info about other stages, locations and tickets, click here.

Now Then Mind On Fire: Event Photography: Dayse & Aver (Thursday 11th August @ Dulcimer, Chorlton)

A trip through the photogenic flashbacks of recent memory lane sees Dayse & Aver (of The Natural Curriculum) captured, both on camera and by the loitering CCTV drones, during their August performance at Chorlton's Dulcimer bar. Now Then Manchester co-promoted with Mind On Fire as the roof was raised to the tune of a thought-provoking dissection of society, relayed through hip hop lyrics as they're meant to be.

[Ged Camera]

[GB Multimedia]

[Ged Camera]

[GB Multimedia]

[Ged Camera]

[Jak-Kenton]

[Jak-Kenton]

[GB Multimedia]

[GB Multimedia]

[Jak-Kenton]

[Ged Camera]

[GB Multimedia]

Dayse & Aver perform again tonight (Friday 30th September) with the full Natural Curriculum collective at Trof in Fallowfield. £1 entry all night; doors open at 10pm, closing at 3am. Promoted by cutting-edge hip hop connoisseurs Will Not Be Televised.

More images from the gig to follow soon...