Next month in music

A quick canter through what looks good in Manchester between now and the end of August:

Hey Manchester! @ The Deaf Institute, Monday 2 August 2010

The folk and Americana promoters Hey Manchester! present the ever inventive Swedish/Australian singer Jens Lekman, with support from The Blow and Bill Wells. I am very sad to be out of town for this one

Get Cape, Wear Cape, Fly @ The Deaf Institute, Tuesday 10 August 2010

Lovely Sam Duckworth is out on tour ahead of his new album in September, supported by Xcerts. Kind of surprised he’s playing such a small venue, but certainly not complaining

A couple of excellent acts on at a decidedly mediocre venue:

Laura Veirs and her band The Hall of Flames @ The Ruby Lounge, Friday 13 August 2010

The Besnard Lakes @ The Ruby Lounge, Monday 16 August 2010

The Crookes return to Manchester to play Moho Live on Friday 20 August 2010. They apparently performed an excellent set at Dot to Dot so this is our second chance with the Sheffield indie kids

Hey Manchester! @ Dulcimer, Chorlton, Wednesday 25 August 2010

Hey Manchester! are keeping busy, they also have a new monthly night at one of my all time favourite venues - upstairs at Dulcimer in Chorlton. The first night features David Dondero and is a bargainous £3

Caitlin Rose @ Night and Day Café, Wednesday 25 August 2010

Competing for your attention the same night is the young Nashville country singer Caitlin Rose. Damn clashes!

Gideon Conn @ Band on the Wall, Thursday 26 August 2010

Folk magician extroadinaire returns to his Manchester roots

Enjoy!

Linen, Manchester

Searching for a pre-Inception meal, we thought we’d finally try one of the many offers Linen continually promote. It’s a funny one, Linen. Hidden away at top of Manchester235 casino in the Great Northern development, you have to traipse up escalators, across gaudy carpets and past hardened gamblers to get to your meal. Once in the restaurant, the low brick arched ceilings, white tablecloths, lit up posts and baroque furnishings create a weird space, to be frank. Bit too footballers wives for my taste. It was an early Friday evening, and the room was dead, but in fairness it had picked up a bit by the time we left.

The staff were nice, though the formality felt a bit overdone as they served two diet cokes to us in the empty room. We had been reeled in by the two courses for £10 offer, which whatever way you look at it is extremely good value, and is especially so in a place like this where the kitchen obviously knows their stuff. The mains of sausage and mash and Goosnargh chicken were tasty and well-cooked, but the starter of mushroom pate was a bit flabby and tasteless, and although the chips were temptingly dark, ultimately they were soggy and disappointing.

So, we came away in two minds. Mr Noggin was enthusiastically in favour, and in many ways he’s right: the food is generally good and the price is hard to beat. I’d say the food quality was as good as Choice and a quarter of the price with the deals they have on.

But I just don’t feel any need to go back. It doesn’t excite me. It is missing a certain something that makes me love a restaurant, be it the extravagant décor and unusual flavours of Chaophraya, or the buzz and menu appeal of Piccolino’s. Yes, next time I think I’ll pop round the corner to Dimitri’s.

Round-up

So I got busy and lazy and abandoned the blog for a couple of weeks. Oops. Here’s a round-up of stuff I did while I was away:

Saw Noah and the Whale at Manchester Cathedral – got cheap tickets last minute, bit of an afterthought, but ended up being blown away. They are really excellent live, much improved according to my gig companions who had seen them before. Saw them again at Latitude, their last gig before going back in to the studio, where they again wowed the crowd.

Had dinner at Zizzi’s in Didsbury – turning into a bit of a reliable fallback this one, great food for a chain, lovely décor, super friendly student staff, good tipping policy and the pizzas are the biggest I’ve ever seen – I got 3 good meals out of mine.

Went to West Kirby beach – when you think North West England, you don’t think great beaches, but we discovered an absolute gem up on the Wirral at West Kirby. The tide was out and we picnicked before strolling out across the sands to the little islands, taking lots of photos of the great expanse. However much I love the city life, I do love a change of scenery and this is as good as you’ll get within an hour's drive.

Saw Scissor Sisters @ The Apollo – this was a free ticket through some Oxfam volunteering, so again not one I had been anticipating for weeks. Its not really my bag, but they put on a cracking show, lots of good sing-a-long moments. Also, they seem genuinely nice people, they came round the side and signed autographs and chatted to fans for ages after. I like that kind of attitude.

A few old stalwarts visited – Dough, Great Kathmandu and Red Chilli. They never disappoint.

And a new favourite found: Zouk Tea Bar (above) on Chester St (off Oxford Road, opposite the BBC). Took an out-of-town friend, from Birmingham no less, to this Indian the critics have been raving about, and my God am I glad I did. My lamb chop starter was just delicious, and the salmon main was some of the best salmon I’d ever had, served on a slab with a memorable tangy sauce. My friend went for the tasty Palak Tikka and the recommended Lamb Nahari, both outrageously good. He declared it the best Indian he’d had, not bad from someone who lives within walking distance of the Balti Triangle. I mostly spend my time these days working out when I can next go there and have the lamb chops again.

Finally I spent the weekend at Latitude, a most civilised affair involving a dinner reservation, jugs of Margheritas, deckchairs and Pimms. Glastonbury this was not. Highlights included the glorious Belle and Sebastian, Holly Miranda, Vampire Weekend, Noah and the Whale and midnight storytelling and songs from Daniel Kitson and Gavin Osborn. Yes, I’m already pining for next year.

Ok, that’s the round up, I’ll be back much sooner this time, with a review of Linen if its worth writing about.

The Middle East @ The Deaf Institute, Manchester, Friday 25 June 2010

Or

The best gig ever?

Do you know when you almost don’t go to something, but then you do and afterwards you can’t believe you came so close to missing it? Well, maybe that’s a bit specific, but that was how I felt as I supped a post-gig drink in Sandbar. It was almost shellshock, a kind of “how amazing was that” euphoria.

The Australian band has been going for five years now, but it was their recent five song EP The Recordings of the Middle East which brought them to my attention. At the Deaf Institute on a beautiful summer evening the band open with The Darkest Side, which immediately sounds ten times better than the already good album version. There are six men and one woman on stage and the sound they make between them is just sublime. I don’t know whether to be impressed by the band or annoyed at whoever produced their EP that this sound was only hinted at on the recordings. The men harmonise together closely as they play guitars, drums, keyboard and a range of other less recognisable instruments. Then the beauty of the music is lifted to another level as Bree Tranter’s voice enters the fray, high and pure but somehow fitting in perfectly. With so many people on stage I was astounded at how considered the sound is. It would be easy for the sound to become loud, raucous or chaotic sounding, but the arrangement is perfect, with members sometimes singing away from the microphone or playing softly to control the song build-up.

I saw them again at Latitude and although the sound was lost a little on the windy Sunrise stage it was still special and beautiful. Highly recommended – go see!