LIVE: The Tapestry, The Roadhouse, Manchester 21.05.15

Apart from the Dot To Dot sets that took place the day after and a private party apparently due to take place soon, the 21st of May was the last official send off for The Roadhouse. Fittingly so, Tameside four-piece The Tapestry, and Mossley psych-rockers Brahma-Loka took to the stage to blow apart one of Manchester’s most iconic venues one last time.

Making waves on the Manchester music scene, with management coming from local promoters Interstellar Overdrive, Brahma-Loka have been hyped up over the past year or so. Fitting seemingly well with the psych scene that seems to be becoming more and more high in demand, their set consisted of trudging psychedelia and tribal rhythms with multiple layers of subtle shoegaze.

The Manchester five-piece have a captivating presence on-stage and the tunes to go alongside it. ‘Key Of It All’ is a huge single and the band performed a solid set on Thursday night. This band are potentially going to be huge in Manchester within the next six months, with both live and recorded material narrowed down to perfection.

The Tapestry have been taking over Manchester’s live scene for the past few years, establishing themselves as not only one of the city’s biggest groups, but also one of the country’s most promising emerging bands. The local four-piece make a big statement on stage and took ownership of the venue from the off. Liam Faherty and Katy Baker dictate the atmosphere of the venue, to explosive effect. As one of Manchester’s dying venues bustled for one of the last times, there was a sense of a band on the cusp of something massive.

One negative aspect of the Manchester music scene is that people are desperately still clinging onto any “scene” they can get their hands on, whatever its merits. But gathering a few people you socialise with on Twitter isn’t a scene. However, with The Tapestry, there is a grassroots vibe that follows the band, and the majority of the crowd knew every single track.

With Dyna’s polished and refined guitar-riffs and Zara’s drumming crafting the backbone of the group, each member of the band are reliant on one another, and with all corners covered, the group have the ability to go beyond their status as one of Manchester’s most promising groups.

In reality, The Tapestry would have been huge already if it was ten years ago in a thriving post-Britpop era. That said, the songwriting quality and live performance is absolutely outstanding, and it’s by no means too late for them. Each track is a potential stadium anthem, and the singles have become sing-a-longs already, even in small venues. Liam is a brilliant frontman and held the stage in an archetypal British fashion, occasionally launching himself into the crowd or, at the end, over Zara’s drums and launching them both off the back of the stage.

A fitting end to The Roadhouse’s legacy, The Tapestry closed one of Manchester’s oldest and most cherished music venues, and signalled towards a new era in Manchester – one that has been a long time coming.

Joshua Nicol
@JDNicol

Josh Nicol

Josh Nicol

Manchester-based writer and promoter. Currently putting on gigs for Glass Onion. Contact me at joshnicol@live.co.uk.