Live music in Manchester this week: 14-20 Sep

We dive into the listings to bring you this essential guide to gigs in Manchester this week plus the latest news on festivals, tour announcements and more. Think we've missed something? Hit up jess@theskinny.co.uk with the details.

14 Sep

There's a certain darkness at the core of Philadelphia alt rockers' Nothing's oeuvre, but they keep it well hidden amidst a well-honed melodic sensibility, wrapped up in a dreamy shoegaze fug. This year's second album Tired of Tomorrow is a noisy triumph: don't miss 'em.
Deaf Institute, 7pm, £7.50

15 Sep

Blues-punk merchants Guadalupe Plata hail from the Spanish town of Úbeda, but their gutturally forceful racket is more likely to have you thinking of Dirty Three or Nick Cave's Bad Seeds. It's a gritty noise they concoct, and their Hispanic roots are far from undetectable amidst their mixture of sounds: a compelling racket that demands further investigation.
The Castle Hotel, 7.30pm, £8.80

If you're currently resident in Manchester, chances are you're already familiar with the work of David Liversedge, aka LiVVO. He brings his strident indie anthems to the Dulcimer, with the bill opened by Derry's blues/jazz-influenced five-piece Scenery: neat work.
Dulcimer, 8pm, £3.30

16 Sep

Local quintet Lavender's Facebook page proudly proclaims: "WARNING: Exposure may cause tendency to strut." With the same cocksure swagger that powered the city's most famous indie forefathers (c'mon, do you really need us to list 'em?), the Supreme Foliage EP douses everything in reverb and psychedelic tinges: a potent cocktail, and one that surely demands to be experienced in the flesh. Tonight they launch that EP – their debut – with support from Psyblings and The Bleachès.
Night and Day, 7.30pm, £3

17 Sep

Also Manchester-based but geared more towards the stargazing end of guitar pop are Psychetropic, whose riffs are weird and wonderful, and whose live show promises to be a revelatory experience for budding space cadets. They head the bill at Soup, with fellow explorers Control of the Going, twang-tastic garage rockers The 99 Degree and weirdo-popsters The Mind at Large also raising a head-spinning ruckus. Psych continues to experience a new golden age, and tonight is an excellent opportunity to catch some of the city's newest and hookiest disciples.
Soup Kitchen, 6.30pm, £6

18 Sep

Jazz-funk gets a bad rep, largely as the result of terrible crimes committed many moons ago by Jamiroquai and their ilk (no, we're not normally in the business of taking pointless sideswipes at long-forgotten shite, but credit where it's due, eh?). Shame too, because The Headhunters (best known as Herbie Hancock's one-time backing band on some of his finest records) are truly amongst its finest proponents. That loose genre tag doesn't even begin to cover the expanse of their incredible scope; suffice to say they're living legends and you should prolly make sure you catch 'em.
Band on the Wall, 7.30pm, £15

19 Sep

Toronto's Dilly Dally are a band on the up, following the release of last year's furiously loud Sore LP. With nods in the direction of Hole and the final incarnation of Brody Dalle's Distillers, it'd be easy to write 'em off as a throwback, but , it's what they do with those influences that make 'em such a raw and essential live act. On their last visit to Manchester earlier this year, we descried the four-piece as "experts in exploring emotions at their rawest" – decide for youself as they return with support from commendably-wracked fellow Canadians Weaves and Brighton noiseniks Abattoir Blues.
Soup Kitchen, 7pm, £10

Festival watch

Don't forget our upcoming Stay Fresh Fest – featuring Cowtown, Catholic Action, Francis Lung and more – in partnership with The Deaf Institute on 24 Sep. We're excited, and you should be too; find out more about it here. 

End of the Road has been and gone, which traditionally means the curtain has been brought down on festival season. Luckily the North knows better: a mere hop, skip and jump along the M62 you'll find Leeds' On Roundhay (17 Sep), starring James, Primal Scream and Wolf Alice alongside a host of delicious-sounding food events, co-curated with Leeds Indie Food. Pick up tickets here.

Wolf Alice, photo: Derek Robertson

Meanwhile, in Bury, Ramsbottom Festival returns (16-18 Sep) with an absolutely heaving line-up of friends both old and new: Public Service Broadcasting, Gaz Coombes and Fun Lovin' Criminals headline the weekend but there's plenty more on offer. Day and weekend tickets can be found here.