On Sunday evening I sat in Auntie Annie’s with a pint while half a dozen other punters screamed abuse at a lacklustre football game on the big screen. As Luis Suarez knawed on the arm of Chelsea’s Ivanovich, I finished up and headed elsewhere without even a cursory glance about.
Truth be told, the place has been looking a little run down since administrators took over from the ill-fated CDC Leisure chain in 2010. The paint is cracked and peeling, the gig posters mostly uninspiring and there hasn’t been a decent indie club night in many years.
Recently we reviewed Scott H Biram’s show upstairs and over the year we’ve seen some wonderful performances there from the likes of Frank Turner, Get Cape Wear Cape Fly, David Ford, Duke Special, Frightened Rabbit, Glen Hansard and probably most up and coming Northern Irish acts to grace a stage. The tiny stage, often blocked by misplaced unnecessary pillars has played host to all sorts of bands and DJs since the bar opened its doors in 1989.
We’d been looking forward to seeing the likes of Lucy Spraggan, This Is The Kit and Fossil Collective take to the stage there. If you’ve got tickets for those shows I’d recommend keeping an eye on Shine for venue updates.
We’ve collected a few memories from some of our favourite gigs below. Let us know your recollections and maybe we’ll see you there for one last hurrah at the Chelsea Wolfe show.
David Ford, Hannah Peel & Duke Special
Video by JebLord18
Glen Hansard & Mark Geary
Video by Rudisheisse
The Defiance! Shows
and of course 2005 was the year when Folk & Tumble journalists dressed like nerds and drunkenly pulled Myspace poses at shows…
