Night and Day Caf e by Tom Sander s Some venues ar e bor n gr eat . Ot her s have gr eat ness t hr ust upon t hem. And i n a ci t y l i ke Manchest er - a pl ace so st eeped i n musi c t hat i t s venues have been bot h t he subj ect of f eat ur e f i l ms and t he t ar get of t er r or at t acks- i t t akes a speci al sor t of pl ace t o embody t he ci t y?s musi cal hear t . Ent er t he Ni ght & Day Caf e. Founded i n 1991, t hi s unassumi ng pub on Ol dham St has been one of t he f ew const ant s i n a ci t y t hat r ei nvent s i t sel f ever y decade. The Nor t her n Quar t er Manchest er ?s bust l i ng ni ght l i f e di st r i ct - was bui l t of f t he back of t he cul t ur al cr ed gener at ed by DI Y venues such as Ni ght & Day i n t he 80s and 90s, but whi l st most i t s f or mer peer s have f al l en vi ct i m t o t he t i de of gent r i f i cat i on, N&D has st ood t al l over t he year s agai nst a bar r age of noi se compl ai nt s and gover nment - i mposed budget cut s t o emer ge as t he l ast man st andi ng. The r eason behi nd i t s cul t r eput at i on i s si mpl e- i t has a si ngul ar , unwaver i ng devot i on t o put t i ng on l i ve musi c. For over 25 year s t he venue has host ed a l i ve act al most ever y ni ght wi t hout f ai l , and i n t hat t i me has managed t o host such a br oad swat he of ar t i st s t hat t he musi c scene i n Nor t her n Engl and woul d be unr ecogni zabl e wi t hout i t . Head down on any gi ven ni ght and you?r e equal l y l i kel y t o f i nd ei t her a gaggl e of unsi gned l ocal bands maki ng t hei r l i ve debut , a cul t i nt er nat i onal act embar ki ng on t hei r f i r st i nt er nat i onal t our or a l ocal l egend pl ayi ng a secr et show- or even al l t hr ee at once. The anyt hi ng- goes booki ng pol i cy has l ong made i t a r i t e of passage f or new act s, and some of i t s mor e successf ul gr aduat es have been mor e t han happy t o r et ur n t he l ove. Whet her i t be dyi ng on t hei r ar se at an open mi c or cl osi ng out a busy ni ght wi t h a sweat y, communal si ngal ong of Bowi e?s ?St ar man?, pr et t y much ever y Mancuni an musi c f an has a st or y t o shar e about N&D. For me, i t was get t i ng on t he guest l i st t o see a f r i end?s band open f or a l ocal act cal l ed Man Made. My f r i end had been t easi ng me about a ?sur pr i se?, so I had been expect i ng somet hi ng speci al - what I wasn?t pr epar ed f or t hough was f or Johnny Mar r t o appear out of nowher e t o j oi n t he band onst age and pl ay backup on t hr ee songs, bef or e l aunchi ng i nt o an i mpr ompt u set of Smi t hs cover s t hat br ought t he house down. Li ve musi c t hr i ves on t he unexpect edwat chi ng somet hi ng i ncr edi bl e unf ol d. i n t he f i r st pl ace- hopi ng t o wi t ness moment when t he band and t he audi ence somet hi ng speci al .
t hat gi ddy vi scer al f eel i ng when you?r e I t ?s t he r eason t hat we al l go t o gi gs t hat magi c, t o exper i ence t hat per f ect cl i ck i nt o gear t o become par t of
Most venues woul d be l ucky t o pl ay host t o one of t hose moment s. Her e, i t coul d happen any ni ght of t he week. I t may not ever go down i n l egend l i ke t he Haci enda or be as ar t f ul l y cool as some of Manchest er ?s mor e bohemi an venues, but when you?ve become such a bel oved i nst i t ut i on you don' t need t o chase t r ends t o st ay r el evant . Ni ght & Day of f er s ever yt hi ng a musi c l over coul d ask f or i n a smal l venue- a sl i ght l y di ngy sl i ce of par adi se wher e anyt hi ng coul d happen. Long may i t r ei gn.
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