On Wednesday 5th June, Underdog is set to play host to one of the most influential musicians of the era as Mike Skinner kicks off the summer in style with the help of some special guests in the cool Manchester basement club. The former Frontman of The Streets will be joining a host of other DJs including some Manchester regulars to celebrate a huge summer fiesta hosted by Triangular. Embarking on a new phase of DJing and filling dancefloors across the county, this musical carnival is one not to be missed if Skinner’s FACT! Mix is anything to go by.

Supporting Skinner’s DJ set on the night will be Kerri Chandler’s latest signing, AZ & Tor, who are ready to wreak havoc in Manchester for the very first time. There will also be DJ sets from Manchester’s favourite club nights, Gold Teeth, Chow Down, Shy & Brazen and Triangular DJs.

We’re big fans of the venue, tucked under Black Dog Ballroom on New Wakefield Street, which combines all the cool New York appeal of the brand’s other Manchester venues with a more up-tempo, party atmosphere. We’ve witnessed the likes of Moda Black’s Jaymo & Andy George in the Funktion One soundsystem equipped club and would certainly recommend going there to witness the sounds for yourself.

TICKET INFO
Tickets are £6 (Early Bird) / £8 (Standard) and are available online from Skiddle and TicketText. The doors open at 10.00pm and the night will run until 4am.

Listen to Mike Skinner’s DJ set from Gorilla via SoundCloud.

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This month’s Bitch brought the return of Michael Woods, and if his set was anything to go by last time he was at Venus, we were all in for a massive treat. Kicking off the night was 1/3 of B3AST, Lempo. Bass Jockeys were up next as the swarms of people started to enter the club and fill the dance floor, where James and Daz dropped some old school classics and Bitch house favorites.

Next up was the return of Mark Kovich who hadn’t played at Bitch since January. Everybody seemed excited to see him back, and he did not disappoint, dropping Cedric Gervais’ huge mix of ‘Summertime Sadness’ that got the crowd into full on party mode.

Lempo then joined the other 2/3 of B3AST, Martyn Russo and Pete Mobey with Ashley Taylor Dawson supporting the boys as he features on their awesome new track ‘True’. They showed exactly why they are one of the Venus crowds’ favorite acts who pulled off yet another classic performance.

It was now time for the headlining act, Michael Woods, who brought a blinding set to this sold out venue. Michael’s involvement with the crowd was also admirable as he gave out tons of signature shades and even poured patron down some lucky ravers’ necks as DMM partied on in the booth with him. When ‘Warrior’ dropped the floor shook as everybody, including the staff, went crazy for Michael’s huge hit and made it another memorable moment at Venus.

Paul Nags then got his opportunity to light up the front room, followed by John Steward and Andy Clarke, wrapping up this massive night.

Next month at Bitch brings the highly anticipated Ibiza Warm Up Party with Oliver Lang, let’s get ready for summer bitches!

Photography credit

Big thanks to Eddy Gosht of Oh My Gosht Photography for the use of his photos from the night! View the full album here.

Kicking off Evolution on the night were Venus residents, Frater and Stent, doing a back to back style performance. Birthday boy Ryan (Stent) was up first, shaking the floor with the Mark Knight remix of ‘Submotion’ followed by an endless array of pure house tunes that had the crowd hooked. As the venue started to attract more and more people to the dance floor, Chris (Frater) joined his partner on the decks as they dropped their brilliant version of Duke Dumont’s number 1 smasher, ‘Need U (100%)’, which got Evolution absolutely bouncing.

By this time the night was in full swing and up next was the talented ESQUIRE, who brought his own unique style to Venus while dropping some top vocal house classics to a packed crowd. With this line-up being similar to last year’s Evolution, which was one of DMM’s first ever nights, the crowd showed their excitement on the return of ESQUIRE who seemed to love the reaction and the buzzing atmosphere surrounding him. Venus also gave away bags of free lollies which went down well – everyone loves a freebie!

We were now well into the night and the hardcore ravers were left to see a top performance by Sick Eleckrik‘s Ben and Jon. These guys are no strangers to the venue or the Venus crowd and they got totally involved on the dance floor before there set, knocking out some shapes and getting involved in the banter. The duo brought more top tunes and funky mixes which makes Evolution one of the best vocal house nights Manchester has to offer.

Closing the night was the young Lewis Grundy putting his own stamp on the night and finishing off in style.

Evolution brought us another great night and with Venus’s 14th birthday bash this Saturday with the likes of K-Klass and Michael Woods headlining Bitch Events at the end of the month, things are only gonna get bigger and better for Venus – see you on the dance floor!

After ‘Need U (100%)’ became the official UK number 1, the hype building around Duke Dumont‘s appearance at Joshua Brooks on Thursday for Bump‘s 1st birthday hit a massive peak and became the most talked about event of the week. Joining forces with Tiga’s label, Turbo Records, Bump certainly had a brilliant booking for their celebrations with the added bonus of Dumont’s soaring popularity. After playing out his Essential Mix more than enough times, we couldn’t wait to see this one of Radio 1′s ‘Future Stars’ in action at one of our favourite venues.

When we arrived, the Joshua Brooks basement was packed and founder of Bump, Tom Mallas, was treating the crowd to a varied house set, infusing his cool, deep mix with elements of jazz, saxophone melodies and bass, played on vinyl for extra points. With a huge, proud smile on his face, Tom looked more than happy to be up there and certainly got the night off to a cracking start.

Tom Mallas, Bump founder

As midnight approached, it was time for the main guy to take over the decks. For the next two hours Duke Dumont had the crowd under his spell with his incredible house/dance fuelled sounds which  set the underground space completely alight. We hadn’t seen Joshua Brooks bounce around like that for a while. The crowd’s reaction when he smashed out his most well-known tracks ‘The Giver’ and of course his number one, was what can only be described as insane. The buzz was electric and everyone was really enjoying themselves; Jimmy’s “Higgy Wiggle” was in full force and the whole venue seemed to be getting their house groove on.

Duke Dumont smashing it

Dumont certainly proved to everyone just how passionate he is about his music and how much talent he has to offer in the music world.  With a smile on his face as he took in the crowd’s response, seeing him live really allowed us appreciate him even more as a DJ and producer. We didn’t want his set to end but it was time for him to pass the control over to SEI A, who changed the direction slightly and showcased his dark, grungy vibes while still keeping the house/techno vibes, to a certainly well-suited underground environment.

We’d like to thank Joshua Brooks and Bump for hosting such as great night. It really was a 1st birthday celebration to remember and everyone we spoke to had nothing but excitable praise. Here’s to another brilliant year!

Big thanks to…

Shout to Chris Balmer Photography / @_Balmer for his awesome photos – check out the full album right here. Also thanks to Manchester Music Live for the use of the SEI A video, which was streamed live on the night. Duke Dumont’s set will be online soon – check out their website / @MancMusicLive / Facebook.

We’ve always been a fan of the sophisticated, chilled, New York-inspired Black Dog Ballroom venues in Manchester, whether it’s for a cocktail / beer at the Northern Quarter and New Wakefield Street bars or the underground atmospheric space of Underdog. The news of the group opening a bowling alley over the Easter Weekend at a formerly disused buidling down Whitworth Street West certainly excited us, so we thought it was about time we head down to check it out.

When we approached the amusingly named Dog Bowl after midnight on Friday we were greeted with the same laid-back vibe we’re used to from the bars, which provided the perfect atmosphere for groups of mates and couples to enjoy a chilled drink whilst listening to the house/electro sounds of Keiran Sharples in the upper DJ booth above the doors. What stood out immediately though was the vibrant, modern bowling alley ahead, complete with five ten-pin bowling lanes and ball dispensers inspired by the brand’s distinguishable black dog, Bruce the Patterdale Terrier. We had a game with a few mates and it was a great laugh, the staff were nice enough to let the girls have the barriers up (NOT cheating, may I add, although the boys would beg to differ!) and the whole vibe was really chilled.

Offering fantastic food with a focus on local produce plus a great range of cocktails and drinks, the Dog Bowl really is somewhere you go can during the day with mates or family or if you’re wanting an alternative to a full-on rave night but still have a laugh with friends and a few drinks, we definitely recommend you head down. We don’t know anywhere else where you can go bowling without the neon, cheesey 90s surroundings, so this modern, trendy venue is a fun, unique addition to Manchester’s offerings.

More info

Opening times:
Dog Bowl is open 12pm – 3am Monday through Thursday, 12pm – 4am Fridays, 10am – 4am on Saturdays and from 10am – 3am on Sundays.

One game of bowling costs £6 off peak (until 6pm Monday – Friday and after midnight every day) or £8 on peak (from 6pm Monday to Friday and all day Saturday and Sunday). £5 for children and students with an NUS card.

Website: www.blackdogballroom.co.uk/dogbowl
Twitter: @BlackDogBowl
Facebook: www.facebook.com/BlackDogBowl