Music

Manchester is a wet city. You know that, we know that. It’s one of those things we all know. So what is the best thing to help you get warm? Yes, that’s right. Soup.

Soup Kitchen is in the heart of the northern quarter tucked on the edge of Stevenson Square. You can walk past it and miss it, but please don’t. This bar has a warm feeling. The setup of the bar is communal benches, so when there are a lot of people in there it has an amazing close feel to it.

With a great selection of beers and ciders on draught, which constantly changes, you can always try something new and local to the area.

The menu is simplistic and service is reasonably quick to serve as you wait in queue while it is prepared. The combination of soups, sandwiches and salads are to die for. I love the ham hock, cheese and onion marmalade sandwich (£ 4.50).

Check out the website for the gigs that happen in the club downstairs. Both local and touring bands appear so you should get a great selection of talent passing through. The venue itself is a 300-400 capacity venue so it is perfect for those new up and coming bands. This could possibly be one of my favourite venues in the city.

Let’s be honest, who needs an excuse to prolong the weekend and take their mind off the impending doom of Monday mornings? I certainly don’t! 

O’Neills in Didsbury has made Sunday night ‘band night,’ where they play host to a different local cover band each week on a five or six week cycle. The bands cover a mixture of genres and usually incorporate a selection of mainstream indie, rock, the obligatory cheesy classics, and of course, a few Irish tunes for good measure.

Having been a regular there for far too long, I can recommend ‘The Coolers’ and ‘Groovy Revolution’ as a couple of decent bands to catch here. Conveniently (or foolishly!), an area of seating is cleared to become a makeshift dance floor, which always serves to attract a selection of enthusiastic boppers interspersed with some slightly inebriated revellers boogying uncoordinatedly (I aim to fall into the former category!). 

What I particularly like about band night is that the vibe is always friendly, laid back and fun loving, albeit occasionally slightly frenetic; an atmosphere that Irish bars seem to evoke best. Despite the live music and sociable mood the highlight of the night is not something on the schedule: watch out for the elderly chap who has become something of a local hero – he regularly attends band night and is always first on the dance floor, wowing the onlookers with his energetic and incessant Irish jigs!

The architecturally stunning Bridgewater Hall, is a purpose built music venue in Manchester, and is home to Manchester’s Halle Orchestra. The hall is however not just a haven for classical music fans. The calendar of events throughout the year can be quite varied.

Mainly a music venue (although has staged comedy events in the past), you will find pop and rock gigs rubbing shoulders with more classical pieces. Elbow played here with the Halle Orchestra a couple of years ago and tickets were like gold dust.

With the hall being purpose built for music, no matter where you sit in the hall you can appreciate the fantastic acoustics of the building. I saw the legendary Tony Bennet here, and despite being in a cheap seat right at the back, I could still hear him when he attempted to sing without a microphone.

A now legendary gay club night, that occurs once a month in Manchester. They describe their audience as ‘Homos, Heteros, Lesbos, Don’t Knows and Disko Asbos’. A description that certainly matches the crowd each time I visit. This is unusual for a gay club night, as it is largely free from pretentious clubbers.

Formerly held in the Legends club,it now (finally) has a new home at Gorilla on Whitworth Street.

Music wise, they state ‘Into our melting pot we throw disco, house, techno, garage, outsider pop, dirt, and glamour with no pomp or pretension’. What more could you ask for?

Manchester loves a chain bar, but out of the ordinary ones. As you can tell by the name it isn’t from the norm. This incarnation on Oxford Road (opposite the old BBC building) has been various bars over the years, but the space is now theirs. It is eclectic in its decor.  Massive graffiti cartoon characters adorn the walls and furry busts of yaks wearing tiny hats greet you as you walk in.

The space downstairs is a cosy, but up the stairs has a lot more room and much more wackiness happening. I particularly like the 6ft clock that sticks out in to the room space.

With an amazing selection of beers and ciders, you are spoiled for choice.

The food menu is also great. It has a great selection of vegetarian dishes and even I pick the veggie breakfast sometimes as it is so good. I also love the Sandwiche a Trios (£ 6.95) which is held together with a skewer it is that big.

If you want to get your dancing shoes on, the bar is also a great night out with its many club nights and pub quizzes.