It occasionally rasps and rails back into life, striking harder and faster, the staccato chords build towards the crescendo on the fantastic End Credits/Loveletter, then slowing and settling back down into the delicate and poignant piano finale. I asked Liam from the band about their plans for the rest of the year and the local scene:

A N Other Manc: So how would you sum up your sound in a sentence?
Liam: Sometimes loud, sometimes not loud.

ANOM: How did you start out?
L: I met Owain a few years ago when we were studying music at university. We were both really only there to meet people who loved music as much as we did so we kind of latched onto each other.
We’d been playing music together for quite a while before Ruth (our violinist) and the others joined, Johnny is Owain’s girlfriend’s brother, and he brought in Matt who he’d known for years. When it became the five of us it really felt good to just jam and create, we’re a really close band and I think that comes across when we play live.

ANOM: What are you influences?
L: Everything inspires us really, anything around that’s good. We all really like Efterklang, Beach House and Wildbirds & Peacedrums too, but then we’ll listen to stuff like The Doors, Neil Young and Kate Bush as well, you know, the classics. A couple of the guys are actually really into doom, the slower and more horrible the better. We’ll also happily listen to jazz or classical when we’re in the tour bus. And personally I’m into a fair amount of weird U.S. stuff like Ducktails or Emeralds… we’ve probably covered most of the musical spectrum here, sorry!

ANOM: What do you hope to achieve by the end of the year?
L: I’d love to achieve all sorts of things! We’ll be making our first video soon actually, with a guy called Dan Lowe who’s already done a really great video for Field Music, so that’s all really exciting. We’re really just looking forward to the album coming out at the moment though. Putting it together has been a lengthy, stop-start process at times but we’re pretty much there now. I want to just getting out there for people to hear, People Like People Like You was written over 3 years ago and obviously we’ve moved on a lot since then. Whatever happens after the album’s out we’re just going to try and enjoy as much as possible, I don’t want to pre-empt anything.

ANOM: Whats it like being a Manchester band in 2010?
L: I think there’s definitely a lot of new things cropping up at the moment, what with Now Wave and High Voltage at the Deaf Institute and WotGodForgot nights, rather than putting on bands that wouldn’t necessarily get big magazine coverage, but rather more idiosyncratic music and people genuinely seem to be up for going to those nights, which I think should lead to even more stuff going in the coming year.

ANOM: Do you think the scene is pretty good at the moment do you think the environment is good for new bands? How would you categorise it?
L: It’s pretty good, most of the band are actually from Newcastle and are moving back there soon so we’re not really local to anywhere. It seems like we’re viewing things from an outside perspective. Compared to Newcastle I’d say they’ve got better smaller venues which really helps when you’re getting started. There’s an awful lot going on here in Manchester though so it’s definitely healthy.

ANOM: Do you owe anything to ‘Madchester’ or would you rather it wasn’t so glorified by the music press and Hooky’s new wheeze Fac251?
L: To be honest, none of us are really into that stuff, I do like Joy Division but that’s not really the right era. There does seem to be this thing with people trying to find new local bands who sound like the old ones, it’s a similar motivation with Fac251 it seems. What with all the new stuff that’s going on in town it’d be better just to build a museum rather than trying to resurrect the past all the time.

ANOM: Who would your ideal gig consist of?
L: The Roundhouse, a dark candle-lit stage, a string and percussion section, a choir, with great sound and a great crowd. I’ve dreamed it plenty of times but we’ll just have to wait and see if it ever happens.

ANOM: Are you planning on playing any Summer festivals?
L: We were going to be playing SXSW this year but we couldn’t raise the funds, that was pretty heart breaking! We’ve not really done any shows for a while in general, once the album’s out we’ll be on the road a lot though, so we’ll do the festival thing next year.

ANOM: Which other local bands do you admire and would like to play with?
L: Well we’ve played with Everything Everything a few times and they’re a talented bunch, their new song Schoolin’ sounds like the best thing they’ve done so far actually. We’re fans of Gnod as well, in fact our drummer put out a 7″ for them last year.

ANOM: Love and Disaster just released their Manchester sampler which saw Dutch Uncles and Delphic being showcased, do you think being signed to a local label is the best way forward for local bands as obviously you guys have been signed to Counter?
L: Well we released ourselves as Everyone Label and I think that’s often the best thing. If you know roughly how everything works with distribution and things like that then it gives you some good knowledge for further down the line.The good thing with smaller, local labels is that they’re not really out to make a profit, it’s nice to break even, but it’s more just about getting the band’s music heard which can only be a good thing. We were fortunate in that after doing things ourselves for about 2 years we got a call from Ninja Tune as they were looking to expand their group of bands on Counter.

ANOM: Whats your favourite vowel?
L: They’ve all come in handy at some point

Here is a video of Spokes playing in Cardiff back in January, courtesy of the Snapshots & Snippets blog. its pretty good:

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Airship mix up soaring synth-pop with dark fragile songs, anthemic emotional records and songs full of introverted melancholy. They come over a blend between The Cure, Elbow and Eels, and their new E.P ‘Algebra’ came out last month. I asked Elliott about the band’s future plans and the Manchester scene:

A N Other Manc: So how would you sum up your sound in a sentence?
Elliott: Introverted and extroverted pop music

ANOM: How did you start out?
E: I started a band with Tom the bassist when we were sixteen and members came and went, and Airship properly evolved two years ago.

ANOM: What are you influences?
E: There are too many to list as we all listen to lots of different stuff but I think we all mutually love The Smashing Pumpkins, The Cure, Air, Radiohead, The Smiths, The Beach Boys, The Beatles and Pavement.
Recently I’ve been listening to a lot of old French records like Serge Gainsbourg Leonie and Jean-Claude Vannier.

ANOM: What do you hope to achieve by the end of the year?
E: To have made our debut album that’s our main goal.

ANOM: Whats it like being a Manchester band in 2010?
E: Its good, I think a lot of the stereotypes of the past have gone and its moving forward as a musical city.

ANOM: Do you think the scene is pretty good at the moment do you think the environment is good for new bands? How would you categorise it?
E: I think its impossible to categorize as none of the bands are doing the same things, we’re all aware of each other and respect each other but we’re just doing our own styles, I think that’s what’s really great about it.

ANOM: Do you owe anything to ‘Madchester’ or would you rather it wasn’t so glorified by the music press and Hooky’s new wheeze Fac251?

E: I don’t feel we owe anything to it, i was a little kid at the decline of Madchester I never experienced the Hacienda or dropped E’s at a Happy Mondays gig. I enjoy hearing the story’s, reading the books and watching the films but it doesn’t bother me about it being glorified, it put Manchester on the map and its a better city for it. It can be annoying as every interview we have ever done always has Manchester questions in it, so generally I blame the press.
I haven’t been to Fac251 and have no plans to.

ANOM: Who would your ideal gig consist of?
E: A festival with Michael Jackson and Peter Gabriel on the first day, The Cure and The Smiths on the second, Radiohead and The Smashing Pumpkins on the third and The Beatles as surprise special guests on one of the smaller stages.

ANOM: Are you planning on playing any Summer festivals?
E: We’re playing T in The Park in a few weeks, then two european festivals Pukkelpop in Belgium and Lowlands in Holland. Very excited about them i really enjoy festivals.

ANOM: Which other local bands do you admire and would like to play with?
E: I think we have played with all the bands we really admire like Dutch Uncles, Everything Everything, Delphic, The Answering Machine, Books, Working For A Nuclear Free City and Nine Black Alps.

ANOM: Love and Disaster just released their Manchester sampler which saw you appear alongside Dutch Uncles and Delphic, do you think being signed to a local label is the best way forward? and Have you found it hard to get any London label people to come and look at bands outside of In The City?
E: We’re not signed to Love and Disaster, Dan who runs it is a friend who helped us put out an E.P, he is a great guy and its a brilliant little label. I don’t think we’ve found it hard to get people from London to see us if your good they will come wherever you are. It’s not something we worry or get fussed about most of them aren’t great people or great label’s getting their attention is not something we strive for.

ANOM: Whats your favourite vowel?
E: A obviously.

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Their new EP is available to buy here, and you can see Airship at T in The Park next weekend, and when they get back from their European travels they play the Underground Festival in Gloucester on September 25th

Vocals full of anger, disenchantment, coupled with a controlled fury from the rest of the band adds up to a shuddering dark indie sound. I asked them about their plans for the summer and beyond, and what they thought of the current scene in Manchester:

A N Other Manc: So how would you sum up your sound in a sentence?
1913: A dark lunar experiment full of uplifting melodic menace.

ANOM: How did you start out?
1913: Two previous separate bands that hated each other, both split up, the singer and bass player from one band joined the guitarist and drummer from the other. The hatred still exists today!

ANOM: What are your influences?
1913: There have been many special bands, far too many to mention here, our desire in the future is to be recognised as one of them.

ANOM: What do you hope to achieve by the end of the year?
1913:To be well on the way to releasing our killer first album.

ANOM: Whats it like being a Manchester band in 2010?
1913: Great. Its different from years gone by which in my opinion were heavily influenced by the “gallagher swagger”. All the bands seem to get along now and actively encourage each other to do well and be successful, there is a healthy competition in the city. When you see the bands that have broken through recently and gone on to have commercial success, it inspires you.

ANOM: Do you think the scene is pretty good at the moment do you think the environment is good for new bands? How would you categorise it?
1913: I see it as positive. Our history and heritage as a musical city is there, set in stone, if you want to be in a band and create music that really means something to people, I can’t think of a better city to come from than Manchester to continue that tradition. If you are a new band there are plenty of venues to play, watch out for dodgy promoters though!

ANOM: Do you owe anything to ‘Madchester’ or would you rather it wasn’t so glorified by the music press and Hooky’s new wheeze Fac251?
1913: It’s ridiculous and indeed a sad reflection of England in 2010 that we always feel the need to criticise success. We all at some point have embraced and indulged in Manchester music, indeed bands from other cities, some very successful portray themselves and probably wish they were from Manchester. You cannot change history, as a city that seems to breed good musicians we are lucky to be based here following in the footsteps of the “Madchester generation”. Long may it continue and if that is in the form of FAC251 then great, we supported White Lies there recently and it is a great venue with a great sound system – More venues like this please!!!!

ANOM: Who would your ideal gig consist of?
1913: Wouldn’t mind seeing all the legends brought back to life and do a jam night in somewhere like Old Trafford! So, Lennon and Bob Marley vocals and guitar, Hendrix on guitar, Bonham & Moon on 2 Drumkits and although he’s not dead yet Roger Waters on bass. Then Old Trafford really would be the “Theatre of Dreams”.

ANOM: Are you planning on playing any Summer festivals?
1913:We are doing a couple of festivals this year, thankfully they are in London so we can escape the Mancunian Weather! We are wondering though why Dpercussion has died??? Someone should revive it.

ANOM: Which other local bands do you admire and would like to play with?
1913: Would love to support Elbow – really nice guys and admire how they have stuck at it over the years. Pleased that they now seem to finally have worked out that writing hit singles will give them the success they richly deserve, top band.

ANOM: Love and Disaster just released their Manchester sampler which saw Dutch Uncles and Delphic being showcased, do you think being signed to a local label is the best way forward? and have you found it hard to get any London label people to come and look at bands outside of In The City?
1913: We have quite a few London shows booked and feel it’s just a case of throwing your gear in the back of a van and taking your sound to them. It’s true they are much more inclined to get on the tube to see you, than come to Manchester, but with the internet available to everyone – I think its up to you to portray your band how you want to be seen. They will look at you if you get a buzz about you – but hey if Thom Yorke’s prediction of the “collapse of the music industry within months” is to be believed, it may be the best thing we ever did in signing to a Manchester Label that shares our vision.

ANOM: whats your favourite vowel?
1913: A (as in eh?)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You can pre-order their excellent new single ‘Atlantis’ here from 7Digital, they’re playing at FAC251 again on Friday, and you can hear them being interviewed on BBC Radio Manchester on Sunday.

But anyway I’m back now, and here we are into the last 16, everyone has stopped talking about the ball and the vuvezelas, the draw has thrown up some great-looking ties, and tomorrow I am off to the big screen in Castlefield to join 17,500 others to watch the latest chapter in a compelling rivalry as England take on Germany.

This week I preview all 8 last 16 games but with particular focus on one in particular, enjoy:

Oh and I have to thank my friends at Joe and Sam Like…. for this amazing video, in which they (incredibly) faithfully recreate the France vs Germany game from Spain 1982.

Their stop-start clipped style cuts through the full sound to create a semblance of a band who aren’t bothered by making listening to them difficult. But it’s certainly worth it. I spoke with lead-singer and guitarist Sian Hayward:

A N Other Manc: So how would you sum up your sound in a sentence?
Sian: Jaggedy stoppy startiness.

ANOM: How did you start out?
S: How does any band start out? By listening to other bands and thinking they can do better!

ANOM: What are you influences?
S: Mike Patton, Oceansize, Josh Homme.

ANOM: What do you hope to achieve by the end of the year?
S:Nothing……

'Gambler' the bassist

ANOM: Whats it like being a Manchester band in 2010?
S: The same as it was in 2009.

ANOM: Do you think the scene is pretty good at the moment do you think the environment is good for new bands? How would you categorise it?
S: You can’t…and its not my job. The scene gets harder every year.

ANOM: Do you owe anything to ‘Madchester’ or would you rather it wasn’t so glorified by the music press and Hooky’s new wheeze Fac251?
S: Madchester sucks arse. I owe absolutely nothing to it and all it does is make it harder for decent bands to make it.

ANOM: Who would your ideal gig consist of?
S: Mike Patton, Kelis, Nine Inch Nails, Neurosis…and more.

ANOM: Are you planning on playing any Summer festivals?
S: Nope.

ANOM: Love and Disaster just released their Manchester sampler which saw Dutch Uncles and Delphic being showcased, do you think being signed to a local label is the best way forward? And have you found it hard to get any London label people to come and look at bands outside of In The City?
S: People from London prefer to stay in London just like people in Manchester prefer to stay in Manchester. Being in a band is hardly about staying in the same place.

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The boys havn't quite worked out how best to hold a keyboard yet

A N Other Manc: So how would you sum up your sound in a sentence?
Rachael: Electronic music, minus the coldness.

ANOM: How did you start out?
R: We were all involved in different musical projects and bonded over a shared sense of musical direction.

ANOM: What are you influences?
R: Loads of different stuff, Matt’s been having a 90s dance phase which has now moved on to a garage phase. We all listen to bands like Radiohead, Hotchip, The Postal Service and lots of new indie stuff which changes every week, bands like Active Child, Blue Hawaii, Tanlines, Neon Indian, lots of Chill Wave this week.

ANOM: What do you hope to achieve by the end of the year?
R: We’ll have an album finished and we hope to step up a gear with the touring and to have a second album well on the way. As always I’d love to be able to bring some visuals to the live set and make it more of a show.

ANOM: Whats it like being a Manchester band in 2010?
R: It’s exciting, it feels like there’s a lot of focus up here at the moment, we hope to be in the same position Manchester bands like Everything Everything are in, in a year’s time.

ANOM: Do you think the scene is pretty good at the moment do you think the environment is good for new bands? How would you categorise it?
Mike: Manchester has some awesome venues and a decent music loving population. For any band willing to put the work in you can have a great time here.
R: Finally there’s some new sounds being accepted from the city and it’s not all the same thing and indicative of one type of scene. I’d say that overall the thing that binds them together is the breaking away from the old sound, and in general there seems to be a more sophisticated Manchester emerging in it’s place.

ANOM:Do you owe anything to ‘Madchester’ or would you rather it wasn’t so glorified by the music press and Hooky’s new wheeze Fac251?
M: Manchester has every right to celebrate its musical heritage, it certainly helped put the city on the musical map. However, I’d say we’re not influenced by Manchester’s glory years, personally it wasn’t music that stirred me. Plus you don’t actually have to look far to find Manchester music that doesn’t fall under the “Madchester” influence. It’s a city big enough to have a huge influx of ideas and influences.
R: There’s a lot of polarisation in Manchester right now, the old guard holding on to the lad rock and baggy sounds of the past and the new, despising and ridiculing it. As Mike said, we’re not musically indebted to Madchester, in some respects we’ve had a job in shirking it and being accepted by a city naturally inclined towards bands with guys and guitars. But we have felt the hand of friendship from lots of the old school and so wouldn’t like to get lumped in with the haters. We’ve received a world of encouragement from Hacienda DJ Dave Haslam for instance, who’s proven himself by not just reliving glory days but by supporting new acts and bringing attention to what’s going on in the present day.

ANOM: Who would your ideal gig consist of?
R: I’d like to construct a massive ball pool with slides and play a gig in that. I’d like there to be trampolines. David Bowie would duet with me. We’d get one of those spinning drum cages… if we had a drummer. I’d like it to be spectacular, lots of pyrotechnics and some sort of platform that goes over the crowd. Failing that it would just be awesome to play with some bigger bands on bigger stages to see how we change and fill the space. We’ve played with bands like The Noisettes and Mike Snow, but they have so much gear on stage that you don’t get any more space, it would be interesting to see how we’d adapt and develop to a larger set up.

ANOM: Are you planning on playing any Summer festivals?
M: Secret Garden Party
R: And the South Sea festival, we’ve an album to do by July so festivals haven’t been the priority this year sadly.

ANOM: Which other local bands do you admire and would like to play with?
M: Everything Everything, we played with them once before and would love to again.
R: Ditto, I think we’d all second that.

Last year's animal head disease outbreak hit the band hard

ANOM: Love and Disaster just released their Manchester sampler earlier in the year and Dutch Uncles have just released their new single on the label, do you think being signed to a local label is the best way forward as its hard to get any London label people to come and look at bands outside of In The City?

R: Funny you should mention L&D as our next single is going to be a track on their second EP. We’ve had no shortage of London folks coming to our gigs, mainly as that’s where our main fanbase seems to have fallen and it’s going really well down there. But it is great that there are still people trying to get things done in Manchester and not seeing the need to move down south. We’re just at the stage where things are still building and a small local indie is perfect for that. 

ANOM: Whats your favourite vowel?
M: ooooooooooo (the sound of a pleasant surprise)
R: A, it’s the winning vowel.

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The band will be playing the Secret Garden Party in Cambridge on the 24th July, and you can hear them being interviewed on 6 Music on the 22nd. Their excellent single Hater is available along with their other stuff on I-Tunes here.

This week, the opening two games assessed and a preview of the big game in Rustenberg.

If you have any comments or suggestions please feel free.

I guess I better get it out of the way first up, because it doesn’t matter what I say you should do this weekend, chances are you’ll be watching England vs USA tomorrow night, and who could blame you?

If you want to watch it somewhere with a bit of atmosphere but would rather glass yourself than have someone else do it at some less reputable establishments, there are a few places you can watch it in some pleasant company.

The Deaf Institute, Matt and Phred’s and Night and Day should hopefully all provide a pleasing atmosphere in pleasant surroundings for tomorrows game. As for a prediction, listen to the first of my World Cup Podcasts tomorrow morning.

Before the football starts however you could get some laughs in at The Comedy Store with Comedy Sportz at 5pm, where two teams put on an improvisational masterclass in comedy.

If you want something a little different, then tomorrow sees the opening of Spencer Tunick’s exhibition at The Lowry. The artist has become renowned for his huge installations featuring thousands of nude volunteers. The Lowry exhibit is entitled ‘Everyday people’, and showcases the pictures he took over a weekend last month across Manchester and Salford.

I’m not sure what L.S. Lowry would have made of being Tunick’s inspiration for the installation, and I’m not sure if I even think it’s that good, but the pictures are certainly arresting, and even if you don’t go this weekend then it is surely worth an afternoon at some point over the summer.

The Logicals

As far as music goes this weekend, you could try Night and Day this evening, with local band The Logicals alongside The Visitors, Kate Manning and special guests, but really, it’s all about the football from here on in isn’t it?

There is of course Parklife as well, taking place in Platt Fields Park, and I dont think I need to hype up an event that has Erol, SMD, Boy – 8 – bit,  and Fake Blood in one tent. One tip, sod the main stage and go to the Now Wave tent, one of the plus points of this indulgent Madchester revival attempt is it gives a platform for a new crop of distinctive and original Manchester bands that bear no similarity to Joy Division.

The toughest decision Capello will have to make will be his formation for the opening game against the USA. The Italian went for 4-4-2 for the bulk of the qualifying campaign, but he has shown recently that he is not entirely happy with the system, and it is easy to see why.

Playing 4-4-2 means England must play a second striker alongside Wayne Rooney, and then decide whether to a) push Gerrard out onto the left to accommodate Barry and Lampard in the centre, meaning Milner will miss out, or b) drop either Gerrard or Lampard to play Barry and Milner, or c) drop Barry and play Gerrard and Lampard together in the centre.

All three scenarios have their problems; playing Gerrard on the left risks marginalising one of England’s best players and playing him out of position. Dropping one of either Lampard or Gerrard is faintly ridiculous as Capello would have to not play one of his best eleven players in order to keep to a system, and dropping Barry to play them both is a risk. It leaves England with no screen, and either they both play attacking and leave England a bit exposed, or one has to curb their natural creative tendency to protect the back-four (and that’s before we discuss whether Lampard and Gerrard can even play together).

All this discussion is redundant if you then think that we have to play someone alongside Rooney, who will either be Emile Heskey or Peter Crouch, neither of whom are particularly inspiring.

I don’t mean to be harsh but if England are serious about winning the World Cup we have  to look at rival teams like Spain, who will be able to play David Villa alongside Fernando Torres, and neither of our aforementioned second strikers are quite the standard of the €40 million Barcelona new-boy. The fact of the matter is England should only play with two strikers if they are going to score goals. Heskey does not score goals, and although Crouch has an impressive record most of his goals are against lesser teams.

The potential solution to this is to move away from 4-4-2 and play 4-5-1, thereby allowing Capello to play all three of Gareth Barry, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard in the centre of midfield, and play two out-and-out wide players in their right position, and it allows Gerrard and Lampard to go forward and do what they do best.

This all seems too good to be true, and it is, because the fatal flaw with 4-5-1 is that it relies on Wayne Rooney playing up front by himself. When there is already so much pressure on him to perform for England, making him the only forward is a risky move. Rooney is not a natural target man, he likes to drop deep, to pull wide, and this will require Gerrard, Milner or Lennon to be England’s furthest forward player at different times, which is not perfect. At least playing a second striker would allow Rooney to play off someone, and would always leave England a target if he moves out of position.

Essentially, 4-5-1 allows England to play their best XI players, but there is still a big question mark over whether it will work in practice. In the second half against Japan Capello tried playing Joe Cole just behind Wayne Rooney, which is an understandable ploy, and is probably the best use of the out-of-contract Chelsea man, but it cannot be a starting formation. And as for the talk of playing three centre-backs and wing-backs, I cannot see the merits of that whatsoever, its reminiscent of Mike Bassett’s breakdown in his own, fictional World Cup preparations.

Capello has a Sophie’s Choice-style dilemma (not to seem melodramatic or anything) between playing a formation that works in 4-4-2, but means he has to make difficult selections in midfield and play a striker who is not one of the best XI English players, or play 4-5-1, thereby getting all of England’s best XI onto the pitch at the same time, but risking playing a formation that puts too much pressure on Rooney and may blunt the attacking prowess the system is supposed to foster.

But hey, Fabio Capello is a clever man, these are the decisions a man of his stature was brought to the helm to make, so let’s hope he can make it work, he has an unenviable balancing act to perform.

*Disclaimer – this may not be physically possible

The Answering Machine, 4.15pm, Academy 2

Right, firstly, eat something, eat a lot, there’ll be no time for that later, and get over to Club Academy for  local band The Heartbreaks at 1.30pm.

Then go and see two more local bands with Pocketknife at the Deaf Institute at 2pm, followed by Frazer King at the Council Chambers at 2.30.

Back to Club Academy for New York ‘acousmatic’ band Small Black at 3.30pm, then for Manchester indie rock icons The Answering Machine at Academy 2 at 4.15pm.

Goldheart Assembly, Academy 3, 5pm

Next up, London’s former zookeepers and media darlings Goldheart Assembly are on at Academy 3 at 5pm, followed by Brighton two-piece Blood Red Shoes nearby at Academy 2 at 5.45pm.

Then once they finish, have a half-hour break, have a biscuit and a sit down, and get ready for the next wave.

Get back to Academy 3 for The Chapman Family at 7pm, then get to the Council Chambers for Canadian electropop singer/songwriter Lights for her set at 7.30.

Wild Beasts, Academy 2, 8.45pm

Then venture for the first time to FAC251 for Eno-esque Wolf Gang at 8.15pm, then Kendal indie-rockers Wild Beasts, who’s 2009 album ‘Two Dancers’ was described as “one of 2009′s indisputable masterpieces” by The Sunday Times are on at Academy 2 at 8.45.

Then local favourites Egyptian Hip Hop are on at the Council Chambers at 9.30pm, and follow them up with another Manc as Lonelady plays at FAC251 at 10.15pm.

Los Campesinos, Club Academy, 11.15pm

You will probably be flagging by now but haul yourself over to Club Academy for Cardiff nut cases Los Campesinos for their set at 11.15pm, and you’ll find a second wind to go and see dubstep dj Doorly at FAC251 at 12, and then finish things off with Team Ghost, the French cinematic post-punk electronica band, who are on at 1am at the Deaf Institute.

Then go home and sleep until next weekend. What an incredible line-up the guys at Dot to Dot have managed to fashion, as my ridiculous schedule, even with its necessity for time travel, misses out all these people:

Mystery Jets, Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster, Jakwob, Zane Lowe, Casiokids, Beach House, Ruby Suns, Twisted Wheel.

For a one-day city festival costing just £25 it is as good as it gets.

Headliners Athlete will be hoping the weather holds on the outdoor stage in Picc Gardens

The festival is interesting because of the way it imitates an outdoor festival’s various stages by utilising different venues to showcase different bands, and by having a wristband to get entry to all of them, and having looked at the line-ups for all three days it gives a great deal of exposure to local talent, from Manchester and the North West (though its unlikely anyone from a record label from London will venture to see them, as they seem to think the city lies dormant for the 51 weeks a year that In The City isn’t on). Athlete are the only recognisable name to most people, but if you are prepared to dart about from venue to venue there are some great bands to see. heres my top four acts you dare not miss in no particular order.

Top 5 acts:

1. The Longcut (Tonight 12.15am Roadhouse) – Local favourites, experimental 3-piece The Longcut make a lovely racket, with soothing melodic guitar wrapped in tinny synthetic drums and laid-back passionate lyrics, they are hard to categorise, and their stage shows are renowned for being energetic affairs. They formed in 2002 at Manchester University, and have close ties with Nine Black Alps. They released their latest e.p Broken Hearts recently, which has an awesome remix of their track ‘Repeated’ by Woman in Panic. Watch out for ‘Tell You So’ and ‘Evil Dance”

2. The Jessie Rose Trip (Tomorrow 5.15pm Piccadilly Gardens) – I have to confess I have a bit of a soft spot for Jessie Rose, their new single “You Won’t Forget me Boy” was played quite a lot by me back in March, and I think she has a great voice, perhaps not fully exploited yet, she has a bite and aggression that lifts her above the mediocre melody dripping of Duffy and Adele. She certainly has a debt to Amy Winehouse’s first album, but her sound is definitely developing into her own, with a range of instruments and more ambitious production. The only thing I worry about is their sound might be slightly diluted on the open air stage, when their soulful channeling of Nina Simone and guitar pop might be better suited to somewhere like Matt and Phred’s. A particular highlight will be the effortless ‘To The Devil’. a song that showcases the very best they can produce.

3. 1913 (Tomorrow 12.15am Night and Day) – Another local band, but please don’t compare 1913 to Joy Division just because they of their melancholic, stripped down sound. Their new album ‘Atlantis’ comes out on the 12th July, and is filled with pared down guitar, overlayed with minimal drums and the drawl of vocalist Ian Lawton’s lyrics about heartbreak. They obviously draw from bands like Arcade Fire but to call the misery-rock is too simplistic, they have a much deeper sound, drawing from bands like The Cure. I cant wait to see them play.

4. Liam Frost (Sunday 10.30pm Band on the Wall) – By Sunday you might be a bit dead, so Liam Frost‘s brand of folksy musings will be a perfect tonic. His collaboration with Martha Wainwright confirmed him as one of the best folk voices in Britain today, and his new album ‘We Ain’t Got No Money, Honey, But We Got Rain’ has been getting great reviews. So maybe he sounds perhaps a bit too much like Ryan Adams crossed with Bright Eyes, but as inspirations fo you don’t get much better, and I have a sneaking suspicion that Liam Frost could be the pick of everyone to see at Hungry Pigeon. Or maybe not, who am I to say, anyway, go and see him anyhow.

For a full set of listings for the festival see here, and wristbands only cost £25, what a fantastic way to spend a weekend.

Mr Brady had been rising through the ranks of the party but left the Conservative front bench in 2007 over a row over grammar schools. David Cameron came out against the system, and Mr Brady, who’s constituents are largely in favour of them both in Altrincham and Sale West and across Trafford, felt he could not stay as shadow minister for Europe.

His appointment confirms his status as an outsider on the Cameron cabal these days and he is seen by many to be ready to prove a thorn in the PM’s side, if Cameron is perceived to be moving the Conservative Party away from traditional values as part of the coalition with the Lib Dems.

It is believed that Mr Brady got the job because he is less favourable towards the ruling administration, and that back-benchers want a staunch critic of David Cameron to be their spokesperson (the leader of the 1922 committee has regular opportunities to bend the leader’s ear due to the power base he commands both in the chamber and at grass-roots levels).

Andrew Neil attempted to suggest on This Week that the appointment was a sign of backbench disquiet in the Conservative Party over the coalition’s policies, but David Davis, himself a Tory outsider and potentially influential critic of David Cameron, said Mr Brady would have won the chair anyway and that it had little to do with the coalition.

The potential power of the Committee, as referenced in its name, has not been missed by the Tory leadership. Earlier this month they attempted to change its constitution to allow frontbenchers onto the committee, angering may members, who felt aggrieved at the attempt to temper their ability to scrutinise their leadership.

This would be a severe setback to a scheme that has already rose from the grave once before. The Big Bang was first kicked into the long grass by New Labour in 2000, when the plans included new lines out to the Airport, Rochdale, Oldham and Ashton.

A public campaign led to its resurrection on a more limited expansion and then as part of the initial £3bn spending plan, which included the doomed congestion charge, which became the £1.5bn plan.

I think the under expansion of the Metrolink has been criminal, and for a Government that said it was committed to getting more people onto public transport it did not do enough to help it in Manchester. Similarly, if the coalition, who have said they are keen on more reducing our carbon footprint, halt the expansion of the Metrolink it will be a real shame.

Local politicians such as John Leech have been making the right noises about the plans going ahead, and with contracts already signed for a lot of the work I sincerely hope it does. Manchester deserves better from its public transport network, and hopefully the Greater Manchester Combined Authority‘s new powers can help change that.

Once a symbol of hope, now the spikes have been recycled and it stands no longer

Unfortunately the Big Bang is in danger of ending up like the B of the Bang, a great idea that slowly fell apart and ended up being put in storage to have its future considered

I said they were pointless for two reasons; firstly because they would be insufficient to perform the duty they were initially designed to do, would be an expensive waste of time that would require more than half of the country to spend £30 for it to pay for itself, and secondly, if the Conservatives ever got in they would scrap the scheme.

I’m not sure if this ex-Home Office Minister quite understands what is going on.

Well, Damian Green wasnt lying, the Id cards are being thrown out of the window, and the 7,500 people who signed up will not be refunded for their £30 outlay. Not to get a reputation for being heartless but I don’t have a great deal of sympathy for people who signed up, I never understood why they were any ‘easier’ for international travel than taking a passport, and I didn’t think we needed the biometric data of everyone who lives in Manchester in a card.

The new Government, in my eyes, has no responsibility to repay the money spent by people on a ludicrous, liberty encroaching scheme when they have to prioritise spending very carefully to try to repay the rather massive hole in the public finances.

I understand there are those who thought the scheme was a good idea and they have every right to be annoyed at the fact that their hard-earned cash has equated to a very useless bit of plastic with all their information stored on it, but my advice to those who want their money back is to try to get it from those who made them spend it in the first place, starting with Jacqui Smith!

Best to be seen at:

The canal outside the beer garden at Dukes 92

Dukes 92

This is the place to be seen, its posing central, but it is a great spot. Sat next to the canal down in Castlefield on a hot Saturday, with a Hoegarden or a Boddingtons, when they have the barbeque going makes you pretty pleased to be in Manchester, even if it is expensive, there’s no ale, and you’ll be hard pushed to find a seat. You’ll moan every time you can’t sit down but every time its sunny you find yourself drifting there again. You could always walk 20 yards to the garden at Barca, where its more of the same but you might possibly get a seat.

Best for city centre:

Its cheap, its cheerful, its right in town

Sinclair’s Oyster Bar

This is one of the best pubs in Manchester full stop, but when the sun is out it comes into its own, spilling out onto Shambles Square, pints of Samuel Smith’s in plastic cups. It’s a tight squeeze inside the ancient Tudor building, now looking resplendent after its renovation, but its worth queuing at the tiny bar for a pint of Taddy Lager or Best. As its Sammy Smith its cheap, which helps if you plan to spend all day out in the sun. It can get raucous later on, but it’s always good-natured.

Best for beer:

Set back from Barlow Moor Road the Woody has good beer and a nice garden

The Woodstock

So okay you have to get a bus out to West Didsbury (get the 43 or the 41) to drink at the Woodstock, but it’s so worth it. Didsbury actually has the pick of the beer gardens with The Metropolitan in West, The Didsbury in East, and the Woody somewhere in the middle. The range of beer is always good with plenty of guest specialities such as Paulaner, and a cracking range of ciders for the Summer. The garden is nice and green, with plenty of overhanging trees and grass and benches. A good way to spend a Sunday.

Best for yellow deck chairs:

Spiningfields

Although not technically a pub so not technically a beer garden, the big screen at Spiningfields is still a pretty good place to have an outdoor drink, courtesy of either Giraffe’s movable bar or from the lovely Carluccio’s. The deck-chairs are pretty coveted, but since they built the artificial banks around the outside there’s always a nice place to sit. The beer isn’t cheap, but since Piccadilly Gardens went a bit grimy, Cathedral Gardens is too full of 14 year-olds who are utterly terrifying, Spiningfields has become the de facto best green space in the city.

Best for sitting next to a giant poem:

Sit in the shadow of Lemm Sissay's poem

Hardy’s Well

I’m perhaps running out of actual categories here, but I wanted an excuse to include this old Hardy’s pub into my list. It’s most famous for the ode written to it by poet Lemm Sissay, and although it is right on the busy Wilmslow Road, and it backs onto Finglands bus depot and a car-wash, it’s a nice place to be on a sunny day. The beer is cheap, they sell my favourite ale Timothy Taylor’s, the place is sparse and scruffy and unrepentant, but everybody seems to like it that way. Plus, once you’ve sampled enough of the beer you are but yards away from Rusholme, very pleasant all round.

History will not look kindly upon this season for England’s two most successful teams, and it didn’t go much better for their cross-town rivals.

United saw their crown slip and their imperious swagger all but destroyed as Ancelotti’s Chelsea usurped them as the Premier League’s pre-eminent team, playing better football, scoring more goals and looking like Champions for most of the season, leaving United to make do with the League Cup. But what will be most gauling for Sir Alex Ferguson will be the fact that if Manchester United had managed to beat Blackburn the Sunday after the defeat to Chelsea, then they would have won a historic fourth Premier League in a row and 19th league title overall.

Ferguson revealed overtaking Liverpool’s record of league titles is one of the key motivations that keep him in management, but if the Anfield faithful thought it would be their team who could halt United’s quest then they were sorely mistaken. Liverpool went backwards most alarmingly this season, and having been jostling for their first Premier League title last year, they were scrabbling for a Europa League spot this season.

They started the season trying to finish top of the Big 4, but the season ended with a Big 3 and a second group of four, and Liverpool found themselves at the bottom of it. Manchester City forced their way into that second group, but despite their highest league finish since Peter Reid took them to fifth place in the 1991-92 season, the club will be disappointed to have not matched their ambitions. The club’s Arab owners have made no secrets of their desire to propel the blue half of Manchester alongside and beyond their city rivals, as shown with their aggressive tactics in the transfer market and ruthless sacking of Mark Hughes in December.

The club lost in their crucial game with Tottenham, which secured their failure to finish in the final Champions League berth they had set as their main goal. They also got beaten by their bitter rivals United in both league games and missed 0ut on a trip to Wembley for the Carling Cup final, again at the hands of United, albeit being beaten by late goals in all three games. City are unfortunate in that their profile and results do not quite meet their expectations, and they have been unable to procure the services of the world-class players they pine for, despite the huge riches they have offered players to move to Eastlands.

The transfer market will be a tricky place for all of the clubs from Manchester and Liverpool, but at least Everton’s David Moyes has experience of working on a tight budget. The blue half of Merseyside will have been pleased to see seven consecutive home wins including impressive victories over both Chelsea and Manchester United, but they have not been able to build on their consecutive 5th place finishes, and have slipped back behind other ambitious clubs with more wealth. Everton can take heart from the fact this season was beset with injuries, and when everyone is fit, they could claim to have a better starting XI than Liverpool.

The Summer and Beyond:

Manchester United

Fergie’s problems are obvious, Rooney was injured for less than a fortnight and it effectively cost United the league and contributed to their failure to progress in the Champions League. He needs another striker, in reality he needs two, and another winger, and depending on Hargreaves’ convalescence and Rafael’s form, maybe cover in central midfield and at right-back. Unfortunately the purse-strings are fairly tight at the moment, and having bought Chris Smalling and Javier Hernandez, Ferguson has been quite frank about the possibility of strengthening the squad beyond perhaps one more player being pretty slim. The ownership row continues to rumble on, meaning Ferguson will have to rely on the squad he has to wrest Chelsea’s hands from the domestic trophies. United will have their work cut out to regain the title if they cannot improve in certain positions. Prediction: After an austere Summer they may have to settle for second again.

Manchester City

Mancini’s side are still in transition, to be expected with the amount of new signings coming through the door at Eastlands, but next season must be the time that City become a real force in the Premier League if their credibility is to be maintained. It often happens to managers who arrive mid-way through a season but City still seem like Hughes’ team, in the same way that until Ancelotti came to Chelsea their other managers have seemed to be baby-sitting Mourinho’s team, and City’s board must be hoping that Mancini can emulate his good friend and compatriot and make his mark upon the team. For all the expense they are still lacking a genuine world-class player, and the squad is imbalanced, meaning they have to play Sylvinho much more than they would surely like. Mancini will have to work hard over the Summer moulding the shape of next season City, and will surely look to bring in a few players, but will their still be a place for Stephen Ireland? He was their best player two seasons ago, but was criminally underused by the Italian last season. Prediction: Will try to buy big and fall short, will make a few buys and get revenge on Tottenham by pipping them to fourth.

Liverpool

Whereas City don’t have any world-class players, Rafael Benitez still has Anfield’s two crowning jewels. If Benitez (assuming he doesn’t leave for Juventus) can keep hold of Gerrard and Torres, is able to buy some more quality players to take the pressure off them, they may fare better than last season. But that is assuming a lot, Benitez looks odds-on to jump ship, Gerrard had a poor season and is clearly frustrated at many aspects of life at the club, Torres came to England to win trophies and will not wait forever to move to clubs with the wherewithal to do so (perhaps just up the M62), and the finances of Liverpool are even more dire than those of Manchester United. Even staunch scouser Jamie Carragher has said the team needs half a dozen world class players to be competitive at the top end of the Premier League again, and without Champions League football the club will find it harder to attract them. For example; would Torres have joined Liverpool this Summer after the season they have had? The squad is simply not good enough, and Benitez, having been there for five years, has to take the blame for that, and the board must decide whether he can be trusted to turn them around. Prediction: A miracle is needed for Liverpool to stop their decline

Everton

David Moyes has a small squad, hence why the form of the team drops so dramatically when the physio starts getting busier, but there is quality in the Goodison squad, and if they can keep a striker fit in front of a midfield which includes Pienaar, Cahill, Fellaini, Arteta and Bilyatedinov then they will surely improve on eighth place, but they need a decent right-back. Moyes can take heart from the performances of young players like Dan Gosling and Jack Rodwell coming through (if he can keep them), but Everton are hampered by their low purchasing power. Prediction: Moyes will be shrewd in the transfer market, but his small squad will mean they will fall behind their more moneyed rivals again for the European places

Steven Gerrard could be a) the latest in a line of England footballers to become embroiled in a sensationalist sex scandal set to ruin Fabio Capello’s Worl Cup preparations

~Or~

b) the victim of a scurrilous rumour attempted to cause mischief and gossip throughout the internet at the player’s expense

For those who havnt seen or heard of the rumours going around, they are that the Liverpool captain has impregnated an un-named 16 year-old girl, whilst his wife has been cheating on him with a Derby County player, generally purported (allegedly) to be Kris Commons.

I first heard the rumour on Friday 23/4 via a friend and found this article via Google News, which as of today, Monday 26/04, has been re-tweeted 69 times. The story as pieced together through articles such as theses two below is this this:

http://www.whoateallthepies.tv/liverpool/24517/rumour-balls-alex-curran-steven-gerrards-wag-and-kris-commons-more-than-just-friends.html

http://totalodds.net/Nwillgez_567921.html

The News of the World, who whatever you might think of them has a habit of getting the most sensational stories ahead of everyone else, get hold of this story, probably early last week. It begins to get out (as these things have a habit of doing, but we shall come to that later) and it seems as though it will appear as the ‘splash’ on Sunday’s paper, barring Mr Gerrard getting an injunction to stop that from happening. Also, several agencies and websites print stories on Saturday mentioning that Alex Curran had been spotted without her wedding ring, possibly giving creedence to the rumours.

As some of you may know, the News of the World did not run the story yesterday. So, is it true? Or is it a load of internet-generated bollocks?

Well, as far as I can tell, it looks like it was crap, created by some internet mischief-makers, probably along the lines of the Sarkozy rumour, which was quickly found to be a hoax dreamt up by a bored hack who wanted to see how long it would take for a rumour to spread.

The answer was all around the world very quickly, and I must warn those who set off the Gerrard rumour, if indeed it is one, that the French government and police are investigating the source of the rumour pretty intensely, and will probably throw the culprit in the Bastille (not sure if that last bit is correct)

But, just maybe, it may be that it has all gone quiet for a reason. There have been no new articles since Saturday, and no new revelations, so perhaps Gerrard has managed to file an injunction at the High Court as England team-mate John Terry attempted to do earlier this year. If Gerrard was succesful where Terry wasn’t, then it would prevent all further mention of the story until further notice.

So, I think it is certainly worth watching this story very closely this week, as one of the reasons the information appeared on the internet Friday may be that the News of the World found out there had been an injunction preventing publication. They then tried to discreetly disseminate the information in order that the Twitter population, as they did with the Guardian-Trafigura case last year, make it impossible to uphold an injunction, as the information is already in the public domain.

Either way, it certainly has everybody talking. If you type Alex Curran into Google, the search engine would like to help you by adding ‘affair’ or ‘Kris Commons’ to the end of it. I don’t think this story will go away.

Hurts – St Phillip’s Church, Salford 22/01

Hurts are a band that have been tipped by several sources to be one of the biggest bands of 2010, including the Guardian, Radio1, and many others. Tomorrow night they play their first ever live gig in Salford, at one of the most interesting venues in the North West. Normally I wouldn’t advocate crossing the Irwell to the second city but St Phillip’s Church, which recently played host to a Florence and the Machines Gig, is a great venue for Hurt’s cold, 80′s influenced synth beats and cool electro pop. Tickets are still available for the concert, and perhaps it is overstating slightly to say that this will be an ‘i was there’ moment, but this is a great opportunity to see hopefully one of the biggest bands of the year playing live in their hometown in a great venue. If you needed any convincing then here are a couple of reasons:

“The concept of ‘fairness’ in Council Tax terms is completely subjective surely? To some people, charging those who can afford to pay more, pay higher council tax bills (through a property-based tax based on the premise that big house = big wallet) and those who are of lower-income pay less in council tax, represents a ‘fair’ system. But there are people who believe that making each individual pay the same contribution to services (through a personal tax) because everyone uses the services and has equal access (in theory) to them is a ‘fair’ way of charging individuals. Perhaps I have a clouded judgement but can someone please explain how one is supposed to decide which system is more ‘fair’ from an un-partisan point of view?”

Firstly I must say that although I may have studied History at university I am not a Russian Historian so some of this may be bollocks and please feel free to correct me:

The architects of Russia’s leap forward have done so with morally perplexing results; simultaneously dragging this once proud beast and cultural icon of European society into the modern age, and also suppressing a nation, murdering and plundering its outlying regions, whilst providing a strong (to say the least) leadership which its population clearly craves. The sentiment of Peter the Great, Josef Stalin and (as history will surely remember) Vladimir Putin has been to try and create and later restore Russia to the level of status its ideological thought aspires to. But their leadership is remembered with the whiff of tragedy; as Stalin mercilessly drove Russia through every stage of industrial revolution in fast forward, he nearly broke her back. His monumentally high economic and industrial targets in his ‘Five Year Plans‘ were never reached but we know now that the efforts in trying to reach them in the 1930′s represent one of the staggering collective achievements of the 20th century.

That in the process Stalin’s mind was so focussed on creating a united an insular Russia under the hammer and sickle millions of his own people died, not counting the unthinkable amount of Ukrainians who died in the Holodomor of 1932-33, meaning that we will only ever remember him for that and not for transforming Russia from the stagnant and backwards Tsarist leadership, and in trying to emulate the achievements of Peter the Great he merely succeeded him in becoming Russia’s greatest ever tyrant and laid the foundations for Putin’s Russia.

When Putin was named by Time Magazine as their ‘Man of The Year‘ in December 2007 he was an obviously controversial choice, especially for us in Britain as the harrowing images of Alexander Litvinenko on his deathbed still fresh in the collective memory. But Time had their reasons and they had a point; Putin you must recall took over from Boris, not Yeltsin, but Berezovsky, for it was the billionaire businessman, not the three fingered dancing drunk who ran Russia and typified its political society after the fall of the Soviet Union. Berezovsky had been catapulted to inglorious wealth through outrageously profitable (and in all honesty hugely crooked) government contracts and was the leading oligarch when Putin was making a name for himself in the newly tarted up KGB, the FSB in the mid-nineties.

Confusingly, Berezovsky helped Putin to become Prime Minister through his media contacts but as soon Putin was in power he started to dismantle the ruling class of oligarchs who plundered the newly capitalist commercial potential, through legal and extra-legal means (just ask Mikhail Khodorkovsky et al). He has managed to destroy the fortunes of these men, imprison them or force them to flee to Britain (as Boris Berezovsky has) and returned the economy to government control (although some may say the only difference is corruption is now controlled by the Kremlin, not the levels).

Removing one problem has created another, albeit one which Russia’s leadership has no desire to remove, in that the vacuum the oligarchs left has been filled by a class of people known as the ‘chekists‘. Power is now so closely concentrated to those who tread the well-trodden path from the ‘security services’ (read KGB/FSB) to the Kremlin, and just as importantly regional high office as well, that Russia is in danger of becoming a tyranny once again. Putin and Medvedev want to create a modern society, but are not willing, as are China, to realise that for that to happen they must have more than just tremendous wealth, energy and industry, they need parliamentary accountability, a free press and a just legal system.

Anna Politkovskaya and her surviving colleagues at Novaya Gazeta may disagree with the notion of press freedom in Russia, and Sergei Magnitsky may take umbrage with the idea of a just legal system. That is before we even discuss the wars in Chechnya, Dagestan and South Ossetia, the Moscow Apartment Bombings, the Moscow Theatre Siege, the Nabucco Pipeline, the poisoning of Victor Yushchenko and numerous other things that get me angry, fearful and probably assassinated, I will just paraphrase Time in that famous article when describing the achievements of Putin. The economic increases in Russia have come with ‘reductions in personal and political freedoms’. Hmm, indeed.

Anyway, that killed a fair bit of time didn’t it, back to Local Government finance.

There have been updates to the Gig Page for the new year, I’m putting together a useful Manchester links page that should be done later this week, I’m going to post about the weekend’s music tomorrow, and keep watching for a new podcast and a new set of lists about the best places to go in the fair city.

P.s Is anyone else getting really fed up with all this snow rubbish, people baying and cooing like it’s the most interesting thing to happen in all of time, it’s just frozen water, can we just get on with things?

For now I have an interview with some of the very coolest people in Manchester, Same Teens:

Same Teens have been on the Manchester scene since 2007, putting on amazing gigs and DJ’ing for some of the biggest bands around across Manchester, and this year have been playing abroad and at festivals across the country. They have also created their own online magazine XOX. Here I ask them about the Manchester scene, their new film, and try to find out the source of their name (unsuccessfully):

ANOM: Do you feel that new music is still very London-centric or do you think My-space etc has made it more nationally spread?

SM: Everything is London-centric in way – head offices for labels, magazines and most fashion stuff is all down there so people are like moths to a cockney flame if they want to be take seriously in any of those fields.Myspace didn’t really affect things geographically as lots of smaller towns and cities had thriving music scenes. To someone from the outside, looking at the listings of gigs in London can look like a real treat but the practical hell of getting from Shoreditch to Putney on a rainy Tuesday can bring a bit of reality to things – in Manchester you can walk to every music venue in half an hour – smaller places can make things happen quicker and myspace and the internet might have helped but only a little

ANOM: Finally, what is your favourite vowel?

ST: e

Same Teens are throwing an awesome New Years House Party at The Ruby Lounge, but hurry because it’s unlikely tickets will be around for long

Heres a sneak preview of their film but theres no sound just yet so mute the thing okay:

21 Votes For, and 180 Votes Against.

But why are fans so unhappy? I went to speak with one of these fans, Marc Wakeham, former director of the Call to Arms group opposed to the move from Cardiff Arms Park. I asked him first whether a lack of communication from the Cardiff Blues board over the move was one of the reasons for a lack of support:

Another fan, Gagsy, said: “In fact one of my biggest beefs is that having been a season ticket holder and a member for 30 odd years, and also a share holder, I wasn’t once asked of my opinion of the move.”

Dr Gareth Brown said: “Peter Thomas gave no opportunity for other share holders to voice opinion and paid scant regard to the history of Cardiff rugby in the center of the city.  He did not make public the feasibility study he apparently had done on the possible redevelopment of CAP.”

I asked Marc about the changes made by the Cardiff Blues from the old Cardiff RFC and whether by trying to entice new fans they were driving away established support:

Mouthoftheusk said on Gwlad: “Chasing after new support, which may or may not exist and which may or may not be regular attenders, at the expense of long time support which is often more locally based is a recipe for disaster. It is a myth that you need to ditch the past to embrace the future in rugby. An expensive myth as well.”

One of the major reasons the move was promoted by the club was that a move to a new, larger stadium would increase attendances. But although on paper this looks to have happened (the average attendance last season at Cardiff Arms Park was 8,672 and this season’s official attendance is 10,590) the official figures have been roundly criticised as being artificially high by calculating attendances on tickets sold and given away rather than actual attendance. Marc was one of those fans who was sceptical of the figures and put in a Freedom of Information request to Cardiff City Council to find the true number of people who passed through the turnstiles.

The official figure for the Cardiff Blues vs Leicester game on August 21st was 15,843 but the amount of people who actually attended was 11,407. This is a difference of 4,436. The official figure for the Cardiff Blues vs Northampton a week later was 8,578 but the actual attendance was 5,500, meaning a difference of 3,078. Fans are still waiting on the results from more recent games.

Click here to see the original email from the Council.

I attended the game against Connacht last Sunday and the official attendance figure given was 7,105, but the feeling in the stadium was that this was far from accurate. I took some photos and a video of the stadium just before kick off to show the atmosphere at the game:

A fan called Twigster said to me: “The stadium is half-empty and has no atmosphere.”

One of the criticisms is that it doesnt actually belong in any way to the rugby team. The deal was originally announced as a ground-share deal (in the same way that rival Welsh region the Ospreys share with Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium) but in fact Cardiff City own the stadium and Cardiff Blues rent the use of it. Long-time supporter PhilBB told me: “maybe some of these anti-stadium views would have been kept quiet had the club negotiated a Liberty type deal.”

Some of the back-lash against the stadium move has arisen as rumours have abounded about ulterior motives for engineering a move for the Blues away from the Arms Park. The rumour that most people who I have spoken to subscribe to is that Cardiff Athletic Club, who own the Arms Park, plan to sell the land it sits on, possibly to the Welsh Rugby Union for development. This has led lots of fans to decide that the move was never in the best interest of the fans and was a way to make money out of the asset that is Cardiff Arms Park. The fact as it stands however, is that Cardiff RFC have a 15-year lease to use the Arms Park, but again rumors abound that they will have their lease cancelled and be paid off to find another home.

What the fans would like is the complete opposite, with fans rallying behind a move to bring the Blues back to Arms Park, including the creation of special badges for fans to wear. I asked Marc whether he thought it would be possible:

I also asked him whether he thought fans who had turned off going to see the Blues and gone back to their local clubs:

Some fans feel the move has improved the club’s position and I have heard some positive support, but there are large swathes of fans who feel resentment and disappointment at many aspects of the move, too numerous to fully outline here unfortunately, but I will be following the story closely as things will surely not stay as they are. Finally I asked Marc if this season represented a watershed moment for the Blues:

And here is a video I took of him playing the single ‘I Could Be With Anyone’ off his new album Brother’s Blood, enjoy;

he was very, very good.