January
Barely a week of the new year had gone by when we poked our noses out into the cold to sniff out what ’09 had to offer. This initial offering was The Miserable Rich at Dulcimer, courtesy of the Red Deer Club (who don’t put gigs on anymore apparently…ahem). I hadn’t really listened to the band since they played in Fuel last year, but they’re instantly recognisable and the warmth of the vocals was enough to thaw out those January blues. In fact, I bought their debut album the very next day, lest I forgot.
Other highlights of the month included Animal Collective playing an amazing set at Club Academy which included a twenty minute version of Fireworks (incredible scenes especially with the visuals), the first outing for Asparagus Next Left (which happened to be the most fun we’d had at a club night for an age. It was like the first time you go to Smile, only better) and a set from Sky Larkin at Night n Day which cemented their place in our hearts and minds.
Warming up with a night involving Kissing Just for Practice, Air Cav, Underachievers Please Try Harder and a Holga camera with a film which turned out to be blank, February was all set to be a busy one. Sadly the Valgeir Sigurdson show at the Cross Street Chapel fell foul of the inclement weather, the irony of Icelandic Valgeir being stuck in London due to snow being lost on no-one.
Snow didn’t stop Manchester though (why would it? It’s just rain but a bit thicker), and PYT spent a lovely evening at West Didsbury’s The Art of Tea. It’s criminal we don’t spend more time there, so when it was announced that there’d be a bit of a do to celebrate new evening opening hours complete with wine and artwork there was no way we’d refuse. The place was packed, and yet the relaxed atmosphere prevailed, especially as we wandered towards the back and lost ourselves in the adjoined Didsbury Bookshop. Both halves of PYT have vowed to return in order to buy books a-plenty, and sit there reading them for the rest of the day.
Sadly we had to leave the folk at Art of Tea to it, as we headed to Retro Bar for our first Wot God Forgot of the year. Ciaran paid the usual attention to detail in the line-up which meant a chance to finally catch local noisesters A Middle Sex (who at times sounded like they were playing underwater, in a good way) and Glissando who were beautiful. They’ve really evolved as a band, and despite the usual technical hitches associated with this venue they seem to have the crowd dumbstruck.
As we’re hopeless romantics (or not as the case may be), Valentine’s night was spent in the company of both Underachievers and Panda Panda; these two actually are a match made in heaven, and it’s great to hear that they’ll be teaming up more regularly from now on. The Answering Machine may not have exorcised their Night n Day demons supporting Ra Ra Riot (how the guitars stopped working we’ll maybe never know), but that didn’t stop the crowd from enjoying every moment, particularly the man behind us who commented on their fantastic energy approximately every two minutes for the duration of the set. Ra Ra Riot themselves were massively impressive; The Rhumb Line is an album which struck a chord with us so quickly and directly, and they’re even better live.
As a slight break from our usual music-related activities we spent a night in the company of Josie Long at XS Malarkey, and she made us quite ridiculously happy. We gave her fanzines, she seemed worried that she only had one to offer us. She knocked Dan’s drink over and felt so guilty she got a friend to come over and offer him another one. She is just that nice. Not to mention bloody hilarious and excited by dinosaurs, museums and space. Three of Dan’s favourite things.
Back to the music the following night over at the Deaf Institute, with the confusing sight of the band we knew as Radio Luxembourg telling the crowd (fairly unconvincingly) “We are Racehorses”. Having been threatened with legal action they had to change their name quick-smart, but this hasn’t changed their take on oddball psych-pop. Napoleon IIIrd offered us his new efforts – less pop but he has gained an extra reel-to-reel, and Wild Beasts who achieved that very impressive feat of making you want more and more new material. If these new songs are anything to go off then the follow up to Limbo, Panto will be even better!
There wasn’t long before we were back at the Deaf Institute, this time for Woodpigeon and The Miserable Rich (I smell a Red Deer again, along with Humble Soul). The crowd, obviously much larger than at Dulcimer, was equally if not more receptive, and you really got the feeling they’ve got a special place in their hearts for our fair city. After giving us their version of Hot Chip’s Over and Over last time round there were more covers, not that Dan was there to see that part of the set. Four tracks into Miserable Rich’s set he upped sticks to go and have his head completely blown away by Titus Andronicus at the Night n Day. The band obviously got into the Manchester spirit, opening with a really scuzzy cover of Champagne Supernova. The end of that TA gig meant jump in the car, blast out a Times New Viking tape at full volume, and back to the Deaf Institute in time for the headline there! Woodpigeon rounded of a very pleasant evening with their delicate folk (they sit at the quieter end of Sufjan), and PYT became increasingly irritated with the large numbers of people talking over them.
February’s PYT at Common, despite not being a fanzine launch, turned out to be the best yet. Thanks go out as always to the friends and strangers who turned up to listen to good records played either smoothly or appallingly depending on how distracted Hannah was.
We won’t desert you for so long next time.
Over and out!
Team PYT xx
