Scene Report: Manchester September 2006
By: Gareth Roberts
With all the students away, Manchester goes somewhat quiet over the summer months, and where there are no students, there is of course a lack of all things fun like busy club nights and touring bands.
However, not to worry, the summer's over! September is here again and with it the inevitable influx of students, and of course, the directly proportional mass influx of bands on tour. It's like waiting for a bus (or a Bright Eyes album), you wait for a while and all of a sudden you're inundated.
So what is there to look forward to in the coming weeks? Well, the 23rd sees the umpteenth Manchester festival this year, Cohesion at Platt Fields Park. Admirably aimed at raising funds for aid in Kosovo, the festival boasts the likes of Badly Drawn Boy, Elbow and Graham Coxon, along with new Manchester upstarts like The Answering Machine and Bureau. Should be a good day, although the inevitable Mancunian weather may add a bit of mud to the occasion (but who cares, we're Northern after all). Check the link at the bottom of the page for more details.
Speaking of The Answering Machine (pictured above), if you're a fan of jangly indie pop in the vein of Polytechnic or The Shout Out Louds, you'd do well to check out the songs on their MySpace account HERE.
In terms of gigs, the next couple of weeks see the likes of Jeremy Warmsley, Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly and Larrikin Love, to name but a few, swing by for gigs that are surely unmissable. On the going out front, there is much anticipation for the new High Voltage club night which has 'moved house' from the Music Box to the Roadhouse, and Saturday 16th sees much hyped (and rightly so) Scandinavian tykes Love Is All perform at their 'house warming party.'
What else, you may ask? Well, I've saved the best until last kids! Early October marks the beginning of what looks set to become a legendary 3 months in the history of Manchester's music scene. The Warehouse Project have taken over the old Boddingtons Brewery and are putting on what can only be described as a mind bogglingly brilliant programme of DJ's and live performances including the likes of Public Enemy, Kasabian attempting a decks set, Klaxons, 2 Many DJs, Keith and The View amongst others.
And as if that isn't enough, one of the highlights looks like being our very own Transgressive Records' Party on 17th November. Boasting a line up you'd usually find only in your dreams; Polytechnic, Battle, Ladyfuzz, Burning Pilot, Jeremy Warmsley, Larrikin Love and Mystery Jets take to the stage for a night of debauched celebration of all things Transgressive. It's going to be? A special occasion.