Minor Holidays Release Double A Side Single “Times The Pain / Seashore”
San Francisco’s Minor Holidays are defined by the simple idea that playing music is an act of celebration. Singer &…
Stalybridge Tavern, Manchester, UK - 7th July 2017
Tonight’s show brings the unlikely duo of Hands Off Gretel and The Loved And Lost to the Stalybridge Tavern, a venue located on the Eastern outskirts of Greater Manchester that offers the enticement of free music and good beer to bring in the punters, the chance to see a band as impressive as Hands Off Gretel is one that would have seen me attending regardless, but when you add free entrance in a venue that is developing a reputation as being the grass roots home of punk and alternative music on this side of town, then you have an invitation that is too good to turn down, so we travel across Greater Manchester to another grass roots venue that is located on the ragged edge of the county.
The Stalybridge Tavern lies near an abandoned nightclub on the outskirts of Greater Manchester, its an intimate venue that hosts a constant stream of grass roots shows courtesy of Indigo Bravo Promotions, who are the determined flag wavers for the alternative and punk scenes on this side of town. But before we get to see Hands Off Gretel there is Worcester’s The Loved And Lost who are opening tonight’s show. The Loved And Lost bring a distinctly different element to the evening as they are closer to the gothic rock of Evanescence than the predicted punk or alternative support that is usually a feature of an Indigo Bravo promoted show, but I’ve never had an issue with a mix of genres in a show and a diversity of styles always keeps things interesting.
The Loved And Lost start their set off with some dark anthemic alt rock that swiftly gives way to the more full blooded rock of Light Me Up, throughout their set their sound continues to veer across the rock spectrum, all the while maintaining the kind of stadium feel that the best bands of this nature possess. Whilst this isn’t really my kind of thing you can’t help but get the feeling that we’ll be hearing a lot more of The Loved And Lost in the future, throughout their set they engage the crowd and seem to win over much of the audience awaiting Hands Off Gretel and they deliver an accomplished set of atmospheric and melodic rock.
Hands Off Gretel‘s website and online shop is located here
The Punk Site review of Burn The Beauty Queen can be read here
The Loved And Lost‘s website is located here
Indigo Bravo Promotions Facebook page is here
Live photography is by Dean Unsworth, his Instagram account is located here
You can click on any of Dean’s photos to view a slide show of the images