Pixies – your favourite band’s favourite band – will be rocking up in Manchester on Tuesday, July 5 as part of Sounds of the City. With new album Doggerel set for a September release, the alt-rock pioneers return to the Castlefield Bowl stage eight years after a headline spot back in 2016.
The May release of Live in Brixton – a box set recording of the band’s acclaimed 2004 London gig – was a strong reminder of Pixies the band’s reputation as a legendary live act, and recent setlists show they’re not afraid to play the hits when promoting a new album. From 'Where is my Mind’ to ‘Debaser’, the discography is stacked with classics, and the open air Castlefield Bowl venue has quietly become one of the city’s best loved music spaces, so it could well be a night to remember.
Support comes from Manchester locals The Slow Readers Club and Dutch band Klangstof, and doors will open at 5.30 for those who want to get down early to soak it all up. Here’s everything you need to know about Pixies at The Sounds of the City at Castlefield Bowl.
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Who are the support acts?
Ahead of Pixies set at 9pm, fans will want to head down to catch the band’s two support acts - Amsterdam-based Klangstof and Manchester's own Slow Readers Club.
Composed of musicians Koen van de Wardt, Wannes Salome, and Erik Buschmann, Klangstof first made waves with their debut LP, Eyes To Exit, a coming together of synth-pop, post-rock and electronic music.
Hailing from Manchester, rock band Slow Readers Club who will appear after Klangstof, achieved success with their 2020 album, Joy Of The Return, which reached number nine in the UK charts and number 18 in the Top 20 hit album charts.
What are the stage times?
As with all events of this scale, timings are always subject to change on the night, so make sure to arrive early to avoid disappointment. These are the approximate times we’ve been given as a guide.
Doors open: 5.30pm
DJ: 6pm
Klangstof: 6.45pm
Slow Readers Club: 7.45pm
Pixies: 9pm
Curfew: 10:30pm
Setlist
Pixies performed as part of BBC 6 Music Festival in Cardiff University’s Students' Union back in April, and while they’ve got new music just around the corner, it’s likely they’ll be playing a lot of the classics. The band will be touring across 28 countries and has around 59 scheduled concerts as part of their world tour.
Here’s the setlist from their recent performance at Rock Werchter, which was held in Belgium last week:
Cactus
The Holiday Song
Here Comes Your Man
Vamos
There’s a Moon On
Gouge Away
Broken Face
Hey
Human Crime
Isla de Encanta
Crackity Jones
Caribou
Cecilia Ann (The Surftones cover)
Rock Music
Head On (The Jesus and Mary Chain cover)
Where Is My Mind
Wave of Mutilation
Winterlong (Neil Young cover)
Are tickets still available?
As it stands, you can still nab tickets on Ticketmaster for £50.50. They’re going fast so make sure to grab yours sooner rather than later.
How to get there
Castlefield Bowl is located on Rice Street in Castlefield, postcode M3 4JR, and is just on the edge of the city centre off Deansgate.
There are two entrances for ticket holders - via Duke Street/Castle Street which is also the disabled access entrance, or via Liverpool Road where you access the site down quite a few steps.
By public transport
It's about a five minute walk from Castlefield Bowl to the main line train station at Deansgate. At present, there hasn’t been any further rail strikes announced that may disrupt services.
Here you can also access the Deansgate-Castlefield tram station where there are trams every 12 minutes connecting to all of the main tram routes in the Greater Manchester area.
By car
If you're driving, a number of NCP’s Great Northern car parks are just a short walk away. There are 1,240 spaces in total and prices start from around £3.95 per hour. Use the postcode M3 4EE if using a sat nav.
The NCP Manchester Central next to Bridgewater Hall car park is also nearby, with 643 spaces. For sat navs the postcode is M15 4PS.
The next nearest NCP is on Spinningfields on Quay Street with 680 spaces, where night parking after 5pm is priced at £8.95. For sat navs the postcode is M3 3BE.
Is there food and drink at Castlefield Bowl?
There are usually a wide variety of street food stalls and beer tents where you can buy hot food and drink around the site including the ‘food village’ at the Canal Street entrance. Last year, street food on site included Grandad’s Sausages; Wrap Up burritos, nachos, halloumi and fries; and Tibetan Kitchen.
There were also two main bars serving alcoholic beverages and soft drinks, plus a gin bar and prosecco bar at the very top end of the site up the steps.
For those unfamiliar with the area, there are also a host of restaurants, bars and pubs along Liverpool Road on the way into Castlefield, as well as the popular bars and restaurants on and around Castle Street in the heart of Castlefield.
Early weather forecast
Fortunately, it looks like the rain might hold off on Tuesday, which will be welcome news to those who had to endure the rain last week at some of the gigs. According to the Met Office cloud will change to sunny intervals in the afternoon. Temperatures are also expected to reach 18c in the late afternoon.
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