Particularly smaller/medium capacity venues and independent promoters, etc.
I get to about one gig every eighteen months. Keep hearing people referring to places that i’ve never been to.
Yes, The Peer Hat, Hidden, Rebellion, Downtex Mill, The Bunker, Night People, The White Hotel…are these real places? Never heard of 'em.
Are Now Wave and Pineapple Folk still going?
What are the best listing sites for tickets and gigs, etc? Always used Ticketline, but it’s a bit shite.
Yes is the venue run by the now wave guys isn’t it…?
also hidden is the downtex mill 
Suppose it depends what type of music you like but Now wave and Hey Manchester still seem do a lot of the small/medium gigs.
Gorilla, deaf institute, soup kitchen, white hotel, Yes, the Castle.
Keep an eye on these places and you should cover most of what you need.
Albert Hall is probably the best medium sized venue IMO. I’m not a big fan of the Ritz, but their bookings have got a lot better over the last couple of years.
A friend also tells me Rebellion is getting some good small rock/metal bands playing.
Ticketline was always my goto site, but it seems to have quite a few gigs missing now. Maybe some promoters have deals with certain sites.
I usually end up checking skiddle next, then seetickets.
Dots and Loops is a good little promoter (went on hiatus) who’s brought some really good gigs to town and used some good venues (St Philips in Salford, Methodist Hall in NQ, Low doing an exclusive with new material at The Eagle)
St Philips is a really decent venue. I saw Kozelek there once, and someone else, forget who. The acoustics are a hit naff, especially if you’re upstairs, but it’s a lovely building and they sold cheap beers and there was a nice bar nearby which might be gone now. Remember there being a really nice looking abandoned pub virtually opposite the venue.
yeh the sounds upstairs isn’t great but it’s a good venue. Saw A Winged Victory there and it was a good show. Much better venue that the cathedral
I’ve been to Soup Kitchen and Albert Hall which are quite good. Think my friend has put on a gig or two in The White Hotel so I can confirm that is real (in Salford i think?)
That is all I know, thanks.
The Peer Hat is the basement of Kraak/Aatma, and is pretty decent. There’s always good beer and a nice vibe in the bar.
Yes is next to the Lass O Gowrie, it was disappointing when I went the week after it opened. The sound in the basement was bad, the 2.95 pints didn’t seem to exist, and you can’t get up or down the stairs without waiting for groups of people posing for photos by the “all my friends” mural. But they’re all things that could improve with time so it could turn out to be a really good venue.
a lot use dice now
ive been to the peer hat and the white hotel so i can confirm they both exist. yr man @incandenza pulls pints at the peer hat doesn’t he. the white hotel is literally a garage in a back street near strangeways
Unfortunately I’m a sad bastard and collect my old gig tickets.
Dice has been great when I’ve had to use it though and also good for looking through listings.
The white Hotel definitely exists (at a gig there tomorrow) and I’m sure anybody who has been there only tells you about the bar being a hole in the floor with someone stood in the cellar.
The sound at Virginia Wing was awful a few weeks back I also think it’s very dangerous for a gig promoter to open a space and then hoover up all the gigs in town and getting other promoters to use their space even if the 2 guys who run it are alright.
Stop making me miss Manchester
Preferred it when it was the Bunker seen some amazing gigs in that cage