Dancin' and that

Manchester indie clubs tend to have a “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” policy, and this seems to work as they have a cultish year in year out following. Excellent examples include Clint Boon's Disco Rescue at South on a Saturday (though they struggle to fill it on a Friday), Mojos, the Venue, Fab Cafe and the more recent Propaganda @ Moho Live. Now I am not about to lay into this at all. When I moved back to Manchester from darkest Birmingham in 2006 I enthusiastically embraced this scene and heaped praise upon the loyalty to Manchester music that the DJs had. Countless times I had my hands in the air for I am the Resurrection at 3:25am on a Sunday morning, and no doubt it will happen again in the future. But things can become stale and two nights have recently waltzed on to the scene with a refreshingly modern take on things, and very welcome they are:

Underachievers Please Try Harder @ Saki Bar
Every 2nd and last Saturday of the month

Named after a Camera Obscura album, the list of bands on the flyer was too appealing to resist – The National, Jeffrey Lewis, Radiohead, Belle & Sebastian, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart all feature. The organisers cleverly combine live bands downstairs til midnight with an indie disco upstairs til 3am. Don’t expect much from the décor, it’s a pretty basic place on the edge of Rusholme and their self-confessed aim is to create a house party atmosphere, but when we went the bar was nice and quiet, everyone was friendly and there was plenty of space to throw some shapes. Since I will soon be living just ten minutes walk away, this ticks all my boxes.

Now Wave @ The Deaf Institute
Every Wednesday

Not so ideal for a Monday-Friday worker like me, but still so so tempting, Now Wave, who are putting on some of the most excellent gigs in the city at the moment, are also combining them on a Wednesday with a disco in the lovely Music Hall at the Deaf Institute. They guarantee not to play anything over two years old, and favourites include Passion Pit, Fleet Foxes, MGMT, M.I.A. and Animal Collective. Worth a days holiday wouldn’t you say?