There`s A Club If You`d Like To Go

Manchesters nightlife scene is a varied mixed bag with nights catering for pretty much every demographic out there however not a lot of club nights out there get the press that they deserve. I`m taking a(unbiased??)look at some of my favourite current Manchester club nights, including yours trulys own night.

First off we have Bollox:

Held at Legends on the end of Whitworth Stree this night is aimed at the disillusioned alternative queer scene in Manchester however, you will find gays, straights, bears, cubs, bis, lesbians, tv`s and whatever at this monthly club which plays indie, retro hits, electro, trash and whatever, as long as you can dance to it!!
If you want a night out with no trouble, no fights at the taxi rank and a great mixed, friendly and welcoming crowd then Bollox is your kinda night!
Bollox is held on the 3rd Friday of the month, £3.00 in, cheap drinks and a massive smoking area.

Yours truly will be gracing the decks of Bollox on April 16th with Polly Esther.



Homoelectric is also held at Legends and is on the 1st Friday of the month. Pretty much the same vibe as Bollox - in that the crowd is mixed and no trouble however, the music is geared towards the twiddly side. Resident dj`s Will Tramp and Jamie Bull play italo house, electro, disco etc and some of the world greatest djs grace all 3 rooms of Legends on a monthly basis.



Another plug here but me and Polly will be djing in the Piano Bar at the Homoelectric Easter special on Good Friday 2nd April from 11pm - 12am.

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=328076350495

Pussy Whipped is a bi monthly event held in Taurus on Canal Street. Ran by Ste McCabe this night features some of the finest local DIY bands and artists aswell as guests from further afield (the next installment on 21st May features Berlins Noisy Pig!!)
Entry is cheap and there is also a regular raffle for your chance to win goodies from Cherryade Records and original riot grrl artwork and posters.
Dj`ing at Pussy whipped?? You guessed it, yours truly and Polly Esther!!



Trash-O-Rama is mine and Polly Esthers own club night and we have moved to Retro Bar now. Our first night will be on May 7th and we will be hosting an after party for the Courtney Love/Hole gig. After that we`ll be on the 1st Friday every month.
We play funk, punk, soul, trash, electro, riot grrl, hip hop, indie, emo and more!



Right, my plugs are out of the way and it`s time to give honourable mentions to some other Manchester club nights:

The Smiths & Morrissey Disco is held on the 1st Friday every month at the Star & Garter and does exactly what it says on the tin.




Nyte Heet - 80`s hair metal, trash, heavy metal etc
Rock and Roll Hellcat - psychobilly, street punk, classic punk
Back From The Grave - psychobilly, rockabilly, neo rockabilly, punkabilly
Twisted Wheel - Northern Soul, Motown, Rock n Roll, rythym and blues
Midlife Crisis - goth, 80`s indie, industrial
Underachievers Please Try Harder - indie, twee, pop, 80`s indie

As well as the above you can also find great nights and djs playing at venues such as The Corner in Fallowfield, any of the Trof bars, Saki Bar, Retro Bar, Satans Hollow, Tiger Lounge and any bars around the Northern Quarter or in student town.

Would go out tonight but I haven`t got a stitch to wear? Well check out Manchesters underground clubs and dive bars cos these are the future my friends!!

Manchester, So Much To Answer For??

Well, I`ve lived in Manchester all my life, under the grey cloud of baggy and the acid era of the Hacienda and it seems to
me that people in general and the music press have a very limited view of what the Manchester music scene is about.
To quote Dan Le Sac & Scroobious Pip "The Smiths - Just a band", now I don`t mean that really because
I genuinely love The Smiths and I think that the greatest Manchester music has came from these 4 working class lads from
the suburbs but as Tony Wilson once said "this is Manchester, we do things differently"
It seems that every new band nowadays (see Hurts, Delphic, Courteneers, Twisted Wheel, etc) , be they
from Manchester originally, by proxy or just influenced slightly by Moz and co
they get tagged with being Manchesters finest band and are generally regarded as being forward thinking.
I don`t think that ripping off or paying homage to your favourite bands is very forward thinking to be honest so I`ve compiled
a little list of my favourite current Manchester musicians who, Tony, do things very differently!

First off is that great bard Sir Ste McCabe. Now Ste is not actually from Manchester but he hasn`t come here from Liverpool and
started quoting Shaun Ryder! He`s a true original pop punk pioneer, male feminist and queer rights activist!!
A one man band with an electric guitar and a drum machine and backing track, what more could a DIY icon need!!



"To Poor To Be Gay"


His first record Hate Mail is a DIY frenzy of 11 3 minute or less visceral diatribes on Manchester and English culture.
Released on the fabulous Cherryade Records in 2008 (www.cherryademusic.co.uk) the album starts off on the left foot
with Queer Clubbing and ends on the beautiful Rant (By The Seaside). Songs that are attacking
the gay scene in Manchester (and anywhere for that point) , especially the drugged up,
sex obsessed, bitchy area known as Canal Street. Receiving abuse in an area where everyone is `accepted` unless you`re a
stereotypical queen into Hi-NRG music and ketamine! Queer rights and views seem to be out in this area now unless
the issue is lack of drugs or your favourite bar or sauna closing down!

"back stabbing is in, solidarity is out, now it`s only drinking borders that we march about and
when the homophobes come to take us out they will leave when they see you scratching each others eyes out"

The album also features attacks on Middle England, thick Scouse scallies, growing up in northern towns being gay,
stereotypes, Daily Mail, and `queer pride`

On to Ste`s second release, also on Cherryade, we have Murder Music. This was released in 2009, a year after
Hate Mail (2 albums in a year!!) This release continues in the same vein however, has much darker overtones as the `victims` of his attacks
this time are people such as The Pope, people with one track views on religion, Christians, Americans, the old testament,
the quran and generally anyone with very old fashioned, dark ages views on homosexuality!

Kicking off with the the title track Murder Music, through a collaboration with David Hoyle (The Divine David) in Militant Disco,
songs about Toilet Scrubbing, homophobic attacks and finding God this album is a fine example of the forward thinking
Manchester DIY scene and Ste is at the head of it!!

You can listen to Ste on his Myspace page:

www.myspace.com/stemccabe

Ste also runs a bi monthly club night at Taurus on Canal Street called Pussy Whipped. Kicking Canal Street up the arse,
the true queers, dykes, feminists and punks are taking over!!

This features dancing with the Trash-O-Rama DJs, a raffle and fabulous bands at every event. The next Pussy Whipped is 21st May.

Next up is the wonderful feminist riot grrl beat combo the Vile Vile Creatures.


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"This is what a Feminist looks like"


Now the VVC`s haven`t released anything in the way of albums, which is a crying shame and absolute travesty as
this band really should be committed to vinyl!! Check out their myspace www.myspace.com/vilevilecreatures for tracks.
The VVC`s are an all grrl pure punk pop band challenging the stereotypes set out by the music industry in a way that Ke$ha could only
dream of! Think Erase Errata vs Le Tigre vs Sonic Youth in a triple threat ladder match while battling armies of zombies!!

The VVC`s are currently on a hiatus but please do check their myspace for news on upcoming gigs.


Will & Rick are an experimental due focusing more on the mental side of that word. Appearances of this duo are few and far between
but you can view their wonderfulness on youtube and on their myspace, just search Will & Rick or go www.myspace.com/willandrick

I won`t try to describe what Will & Rick are about as the only words I could come up with were `tour de force` and that sounds shite
but they play instruments as strange as Theremins, Musical Saws and Balalakas and sing songs about darkrooms,
bears, toothless granny prostitutes, Amsterdam, daddies, kinky sex and glory holes so as I said before, go check em out and make
up your own minds!





Other worthy mentions go out too Tingle In The Netherlands - www.myspace.com/tingleinthenetherlands
Kid Voodoo - www.myspace.com/kidvoodoouk
The Vipers - www.myspace.com/thevipersuk (now split up but check out Nathans new band The Pulsebeats)
The Medicine Bow - www.myspace.com/shambolicmajesties
Dangerous Aces - www.myspace.com/thedangerousaces
Brittle Stars - www.myspace.com/thebeardsuk

And finally my favourite Glam Disco, Punk Trash, Transvestisism loving quartet The Bad Taste Barbies www.myspace.com/badtastebarbies



"Sieg Heil Jeremy Kyle"


Lead by the wonderful Kurt Dirt (formerly of Kurt Dirt & The Loverats) this band have been trashing Manchester for the last year
and with songs hailing the Fuhrer Jeremy Kyle, odes to Cindy Wilson and mental illness and Death Glam Discos this band
of juvenile delinquents with a drum machine are well worth checking out!!

Bad Taste Barbies are supporting The Glitter Band and Angie Bowie @ Satans Hollow in Manchester on Saturday 17th April, get tickets here:

http://www.seatwave.com/the-glitter-band-tickets/manchester-satans-hollow-tickets/17-april-2010/perf/311835

Dank You Veddy Much

That Cat Called Johnny Cash

RIP Big Man, we miss you every day. xx

The Only One I Know

Who Killed Glenn Danzig??