Tonight I went to see the very wonderful Rodrigo y Gabriella play at the Carling Academy in Newcastle; quite frankly, I wish hadn‘t. I am not talking about the Mexican guitar duo but the venue. I do not like “branded” venues - the Labatts Apollo will always be the HammersmithOdeon to me, the Metro Arena in Newcastle is just “the Arena” and I despise the Carling chain of music venues with a passion. It is expensive enough to go to gigs (and I go to lots) without having to go somewhere that has only a limited choice of beers available at high prices. As well as Carling, this venue sells Grolsch - awful, nasty Grolsch out of bottles that make it taste like gnats‘…you get the idea. While I could refuse to buy a drink in there, it can get quite hot and when you’re with friends you do feel obliged to have something - even if just a soft drink.
I would much rather go to an interesting unique and quirky venue such as the Night and Day Café in Manchester - a little independent
place that serves what it likes and isn’t another faceless chain venue. My first visit was in November when I went down to Manchester to see Jesse Malin play (check him out - he is the best!); he was in England for two low key gigs to start promoting his third solo album, the Manchester show was the closest for me.
We telephoned to enquire about tickets and were referred to Ticketline but you can find links to buy tickets via the venue website. Gigs by smaller local bands will cost just a couple of Pounds, we paid £8.50 for someone who is a well established artist with quite a strong following.
The Night and Day Café is exactly that; it opens at 10.00 in the morning for breakfast, carries on through lunch and acts as a café-pub, later on as people leave work it becomes a place for the arty, studenty types to catch a quick drink and around eight it becomes a venue for live music. The play list is predominantly indie rock with some dance nights too.
It is located on Oldham Street in the very heart of Manchester and just across the road from the Piccadilly Interchange so handy for buses and trams; Manchester Piccadilly train station is less than five minutes walk away.
From the outside you realise quickly that this is a very casual place; I wouldn’t say the place is going to fall down but it’s a far cry from some of the designer bars and clubs that Manchester is known for - basically you aren’t likely to catch any Manchester United WAGs popping in for cocktails after they given the credit card a hammering.
During the day there are plenty of tables and chairs but these are either removed or pushed back against the walls when bands are playing. The bar is on your left as you go in and the stage is directly in front of you. It’s quite a long venue but it’s quite open and there aren’t any little nooks to sit in. Behind the bar everything is lit up with quirky fairy lights and adorned with unusual and wacky items. As well as a comprehensive row of optics there are bottles and bottles of spirits including some quite unusual ones - there is a good range of tequilas, something I always like to see.
Carling-haters will be glad to know that there is an excellent range of bottled and canned beers so I was able to drink plenty of reasonably priced Budwar (a night of Budwar and I‘m anyone‘s…). The other half was pleased to find that there was Red Stripe (something it’s increasingly difficult to find these days). While the main band was on it was easy to get from the stage to the bar and to get served quickly by the efficient and friendly staff.
At one end of the bar there are lots of flyers for local bands and club nights and a selection of local listings and entertainmentmagazine and news sheets.
Since the venue has a fairly small capacity (can't be much more than say two hundred) even shorties like myself can get a good view of the stage from most points. You can even stand at the open side of the stage for an alternative view and nobody minds so long as you keep a gap clear for the band to come on and off. There are no annoying pillars to get in the way which is unusual for this type of venue and most welcome. The stage is a good height but its pretty small so don’t expect that much of a stageshow if the band consists of more than three members. Lighting is fairly basic and the venue probably lends itself best to low key acoustic shows.
The venue has a late licence and headline bands tend to come on stage about 10.00pm. As it has that late licence, performers do tend to come out afterwards and have a drink with the fans. Once the show has finished the tables are moved back so you can rest your weary feet and have another drink.
From my evening visit the only gripe I had was that the toilets are downstairs and the stairs are quite narrow. Had I been not quite so good at drinking Budwar I could have had a nasty accident - and I expect several people have.
Having heard good things about the food at the Night and Day, we resolved to return the next day and grab lunch before heading back to Newcastle. We had managed a good breakfast at the hotel but by lunchtime we were ravenous again; I was tempted by the Thai green chicken curry when I saw it arrive at another table and it did not disappoint. The portions were generous and it was delicious.
Other dishes on the menu include cooked breakfasts, filled baguettes and ciabatta, salads, jacket potatoes and several veggie options. You can fill up for about a fiver which is pretty good for the centre of a major city. During the day there is usually music playing, probably the choice of the staff and mostly indie stuff.
I guess if you wanted to see the band you would go to the Night and Day regardless of what I told you about it. However, if I was in Manchester again I would probably drop in for lunch or a drink even if I wasn’t seeing a band. It’s a relaxed and friendly place and it welcomes everybody (although it probably wouldn’t appeal to everybody). It’s a shame that there aren’t two sections as, when there’s a show on, the bar is completely out of bounds unless you are attending the gig.
I look forward to my next visit - a real breath of fresh air and a welcome change from those awful Carling venues!
www.nightandday.org
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An excellent review, one of my favourite bars, do a mean vege breakfast as well!
Saw regina spektor there several years ago, utterly beautiful!
RICHADA 14.06.2007 21:01
Very interesting indeed - we spent the night in a Jazz club in Lodz last Saturday with friends - I think it would have been right up your street - but pleasedon't ask me to review it - I'd make nowhere near as good a job as you have of this! Richard.
Timbo3107 04.06.2007 20:07
Heard about these on Jonathan Ross's radio show, caught my interest then. Great review. Tim
Advantages: 24-hour front desk, allows pets, conveniently close to Disney attractions Disadvantages: No ghosts, property in poor condition and maintenance
ajfoster 11.08.2004 ·
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