Cool Manchester

On the same day that "thousands" attended the Manchester Parade, Bury had it's own. Bury's carnival and parade has been going for a lot longer than the Manchester "rip off" and we decided to attend the Bury one. Unfortunately in recent years the carnival in Bury has been downsized due to increased costs and insurance. The pitiful floats in this years parade (there were only two) had people sat down waving, rather than how they used to be dancing around and throwing out sweets and little toys and things to all the kids lining the parade route.

This post is going to be mostly nostalgic, remembering the better times of Bury Carnival rather than the shell it has become. When I was about 8, the parade used to start up Warmersly Road in Bury near to the park, travel all the way down through Bury town centre towards Castlecroft fields (where the new police station is now in Bury). Once we had watched the parade, we used to go down to the fields and experience all the stalls and such that were setup as part of the celebration. I remember this included a lot of fairground rides, stalls and even rifle ranges setup by the army. This was not a small scale thing, it covered the whole of the fields up towards Burrs country park. I've included a link to a map here so you can see the size of the ground that used to be covered by the funfair and the actual carnival stalls. They also used to have aerial displays and everything. The Old Carnival Grounds

This years paled in comparison with about 15 stalls in total spread up through the Rock along to the centre of "The Rock" shopping complex. It was rubbish, but then, I am older and probably not the target audience for such an event. There are more photos in the full post, and on Bury Lions Carnival in Pictures

I thought I would take a little time to note the films I am looking forward to in the next month or so. I was going to do the next six months to the end of the year, but there are just too many! Hopefully I will be able to see them all, but sometimes it happens that my local Cineworld (or the one a little further out) doesn't show a particular film as they don't think it will be popular enough - hopefully they will sort this out.

I will not be listing all the films coming out, just the ones I am looking forward to.

I will be listing these in release order, along with a trailer from youtube if I can find a decent quality one.

Manchester has long been known as THE city for new, vital music. That trend continues to this day, with a vast array of talented young bands producing some of the best music around at the moment. Over the Jubilee weekend Peter Hook is putting on shows celebrating the mighty legend of the 'Hacienda' night club, where so many of the bright lights of the Manchester music scene played at. Peter knows however, that it's not all about the past, his label, 'Hacienda Records' has on the roster one of the best new groups to have emerged from the mean streets of Manchester, and they are 'Humanizer'. So, it’s with this eye on the future that I take you for a journey across the various bands that Manchester has to offer the average gig goer this summer. I’m not putting any of them in any particular order of preference, so take your pick, they are all well worth hearing....and we'll be featuring many more in future reviews and articles.

The Deadtapes

The Deadtapes are one of the more interesting bands to be playing the night spots of Manchester at the moment. Their long awaited debut album is in the final mixing stages, and from what I’ve heard, it’s something of a revelation. The Deaptapes name is fairly apt, they are a dark, brooding band, with all the energy and intensity that made so many of their past peers great. Facebook link https://www.facebook.com/deadtapes1?ref=ts

The Suns

When it comes to summer music, bright, breezy feel good songs, you could do far worse than sticking on The Suns. Perfect for festivals and radio play, The Suns offer an alternative to the darker underbelly of Manchester's league of live bands. To check out their brand of loveliness, visit www.the-suns.co.uk

The Mother Black Caps

The Mother Black Caps are a no nonsense rock 'n' roll band, think Arctic Monkeys and Twisted Wheel if you must make comparisons. Songs like 'Gin Fever' really get under your skin, and into your grey matter. They are confrontational without actually being aggressive, so the attitude does harp back a little to the glory days of the punk movement. Go and see this band if you can this summer, they are simply one of the best around right now. Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/themotherblackcaps

ZsilentZ

Carrying on with the more raucous sounding bands around, ZsilentZ are another one that are a must hear group. Musically they aren't a million miles away from the rampant anger of MC5 or The Stooges. Plus, they have a cool name. Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Zsilent.Z

AAAK

AAAK have a long history, one that I won’t go into here, but they are a working band that you'd be a fool to miss. Elder statesmen of the Manchester circuit, AAAK deliver a sonic power bomb of the industrial variety. Think Nine Inch Nails without the narcissistic whinging, and you won't be a million miles away. Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/AAAK-As-Able-As-Kane/107013535998834

That's all for today, but there are many more bands that we will be advising you to go and see in the near future, so watch this space !!!

By Andrew Barclay

Gabrielles Wish Official Bootleg Volume one

By David Firth

I had no preconceptions of what I was about to hear as I tentatively inserted the earphones into the laptop.

A few seconds later and I find my ears are tuning into a rather intoxicating blend of what I can only describe as a subtle yet distinctive blend of Punk, Manchester Indie Music of the 90's delicately wrapped up with a modern infusion of binaural beats .

I can only say that I will definitely be searching for some more music from this rather interesting band and am a little disconcerted I haven’t found them before.

Add to this the fact that the album will be released free to celebrate 20 years together and in these times of economic hardship what a refreshing change that is!!!

The entire album can be downloaded free from the bands website at

http://www.gabrielleswish.net