If you live outside of the Manchester or Salford area then chances are you haven't heard of the Sounds from the Other City festival, that may be about to change however as the event sold out again for the third time in as many years. Named due to the fact that Salford is a city within a city, this event centres around seven small venues all within a stones throw of each other on the border of Salford and Manchester. Every possible take on indie music is covered throughout the day with over forty bands plying their wares; not bad at less than a tenner for a wristband.
There is a constant stream of people walking up and down Chapel Street throughout the day and virtually every pub you walk past has a band playing. With so many bands playing and for me at least, so many bands I've never heard of, it's hard to know where to start! Starting off in the King's Arms the first band of the day are The Jakpot, who are rather uneventful it has to be said, generic indie with little crowd interaction makes them rather boring to watch. The venue is small but has a great atmosphere and with it being sold out every band of the day is guaranteed a decent crowd. We catch the start of the next band 'The Rise & Fall of the Rockets', rubbish name but a good band! Good dynamics, nice bass runs and a touch of the Small Faces makes for quirky indie delivered with energy.
With so many bands playing it's perhaps inevitable that the schedule goes out the window fairly early on as bands run over time or even swap places on the bill. This means that when we turn up at TheBlack Lion to see U R Penetrators we actually get Modernaire as the Penetrators have been & gone. Similarly when I'm tempted into The Salford Arms by some promising feedback I can't be sure who it is on stage! The intimacy of the venues however mean that if you're really bothered you only have to wait until the end of the set to be able to ask one of the band members.
There is one venue that stands out on the list, the Sacred Trinity Church is just that, a church; so it's a little strange when we head over for Cortina Deluxx to find a makeshift bar in the back and even I feel a little odd about downing a pint in the middle of the aisle. The aforementioned Cortina Deluxx are one of the most interesting bands of the day, having been commissioned to record a special one off performance for the festival they have enlisted the help of a choir to supplement cello and organ. This never to be played live again performance is quite haunting and is certainly added extra impact by the venue they're in. Imagine Portishead jamming with Clannad and you wouldn't be far off Cortina Deluxx.
Other highlights of the day include a seemingly out of place performance from Primordial Undermind, who you'd think would be better placed at Eastern Haze. It turns out to be front man Eric doing a solo acoustic show and although he is a little weak in the vocal department his playing is forthright and he gives a good example of one man space rock on an acoustic (despite breaking two strings in the process). One band we have encountered before are Leeds based The:Hair, who push the boundaries of indie into dance and funk with ease. They get a real groove going and with the smart projection screens in the Kings Arms coupled with an energetic live show they give one of the performances of the day.
Sounds from the Other City is a great little festival that gives many bands on their way up a great opportunity to play in front of an enthusiastic crowd, something that you certainly can't guarantee at the often poorly attended In The City events. In years to come no doubt some of todays performances will pass into legend should any of the bands go on to greatness. The only other similarity with In The City is that there are the usual indie snobs knocking about and the fact that aside from the odd folk artist there is no other style of music catered for. A good day out however and you certainly can't complain at forty bands for £9 and there's enough variety on offer within the indie spectrum to make it interesting.
Now wouldn't it be great if Manchester's (and Salford's!) heaving metal/punk scene could put on an event like this?