Slow Crush (fourth letter to Lowri)

Yesterday the heatwave had factored up so much I had to cook a curry in the nude. It wasn’t a fish curry as I’ve been a vegetarian since I was sixteen. Luckily I remembered to put some clothes on before catching a packed tram, or I could have caused quite a commotion on the locomotion. I alighted at Piccadilly Gardens, destination Soup Kitchen. A funny thing happened just before I got off the tram. A man who was also disembarking banged on the window to attract a woman who was walking by but she was busy with her phone and didn’t hear him. As he walked along the platform just ahead of me he got a phone call from her, and as the tram pulled away they were directly opposite each other waving from across the tramlines. Later they turned up at the same gig I was going to! Soup kitchen basement must literally be Manchester’s coolest venue in terms of temperature, but it’s also quite likely the smelliest. Wilderness Hymnal was near the end of his set when I walked down the steps and was as close as I’ve seen anyone get to a nude performance since “True Story.” The bearded mohawked man was dressed in a sort of tropical tribal wraparound dress, bare chested, with white face make up and strange brow decorations that made him look a bit like an owl. He sang almost operatically as he played a keyboard and made quite a spectacle. Next Pijn played the loudest set I’ve heard anyone play for a while. They remind me a little of Swans and a lot of godspeed you black emperor but with metal influence. It was the second consecutive night I’d seen a band with a cellist, and Pad Ray plays a flat slide guitar perched on his knees. The other three play instruments that are easy to guess. The snare drum was so loud that I had to retreat to the sound desk to avoid hearing damage, and even there the volume made me so dizzy I almost felt like I was going to faint three times, but that felt good. Slow Crush from Belgium were less intense, one of those bands who definitely love My Bloody Valentine, and probably Cocteau Twins too. I thought they were quite dreamy but my friend Jojo who played bass in Breaking Colts and Jackie O left after half a song to go see The Jungfraus who were playing Night and Day. The Soup Kitchen gig finished quite early and I made it to Night and Day before The Jungfraus had even played a note. There were a lot more people I know at that gig as Jungfraus singer and guitarist Mick Kenyon co-runs Peer Hat and drummer Liam Farr runs the bar at Aatma upstairs. The Jungfraus have a lot of sixties influence and remind me at times of Love. I met our friend Andrew Guest there and told him about this facebook project and he seemed mildly perturbed which was quite funny. Then the DJ played “Knowing Me Knowing You” and I couldn’t help singing along which made a woman on the other side of the room smile. I didn’t realise I was Aha-ing so loud!