Whilst most of their followers have been fretting that they were getting ready to break up again, Catfish and the Bottlemen have just stunned everyone by announcing a surprise gig at Heaton Park in Manchester.
Out of nowhere.
The Welsh rockers have been back touring together this year after a three-year hiatus, playing multiple festival sets and headline dates at the likes of Cardiff Castle and released their first new music back in February – much to the delight of fans all over the country – and now they’re coming back to 0161.
Set to play the biggest stage in Manchester next summer, just less than a month before Heaton Park erupts into bedlam for the Oasis 2025 shows, Catfish and the Bottlemen will make their Manc return on Friday 15 June.
Now, don’t get us wrong, this is wonderful news if it all goes ahead as planned, but it has to be said that there is some hesitation coming from interested gig-goers – ourselves included.
Catfish have caught a lot of flack recently for cancelling their Australian tour on the day it was meant to start along with the entire run of US shows “due to artist illness”, with little detail given to fans other than how to sort their refunds. But it gets worse…
They also cancelled their Dublin gig at the RDS Simmonscourt just 15 minutes before doors were set to open and with fans already waiting outside the venue. Again, not the best look.
Perhaps more concerningly, even at some of the shows that have gone ahead this year, there have been concerns raised around the nature and quality of their performances, as well as the wellbeing of charismatic if albeit a bit chaotic frontman Van McCann.
The Oasis reunion shows have also put a bit of a spanner in the works when it comes to their upcoming London shows next year too, as both bands are set to play the capital on the same day. It remains to be seen how many of those tickets will now be put up for resale.
We’re reserving judgment for now but you can understand some of the reticence.
Nevertheless, we’re not going to pretend that we’re not absolutely buzzing to hear this news and we’re hoping that this massive Manchester show goes ahead and off without a hitch.
They last came to town in 2019 when they played the AO Arena and played one of their final shows before the split just down the road at Neighbourhood Weekender back in 2021, so it’s fair to say it’s been a while. Keep everything crossed, Catfish fans.
General admission goes live next Friday, 4 October at 10am but you can access pre-sale, which starts at the same time on Wednesday, 2 October, by signing up via the mailing list.
You can grab tickets for Catfish and the Bottlemen at Heaton Park, Manchester HERE and good luck to us all.
Featured Images — Press Images (supplied)/Silly Little Man (via Flickr)
Audio
No-phones nightclub Amber’s has announced it is relaunching its second room
Danny Jones
Manchester’s famous no-phones nightclub, Amber’s, is preparing for a relaunch of its second room, just over half a year on from the venue’s opening week.
The smash hit, semi-censored space, which enforces a strictly no-device policy to ensure those in attendance maximise their amount of in-the-moment enjoyment without any risk of distraction, has just announced that they will be reworking ‘Room 2’.
Confirmed just in time for the rest of summer ‘season three’, where plenty of people will be opting to rave instead of splash their cash on Oasis and/or festival tickets, the soon-to-be-refreshed space will partner with audio specialists to provide an experience set to rival the main room.
Sharing a post featuring blueprints for the fixtures and some of the top-end equipment, new-look second room opens its doors early next month.
Writing on social media, the venue wrote: “Amber’s is proud to announce the relaunch of Room Two, featuring a brand new custom soundsystem designed by Norwegian pro-audio specialist NNNN and OJAS, and installed by Neuron Audio Visual.
“The collaboration between Amber’s and NNNN is the first time that the Oslo-based company, which specialises in innovating the future of audio, has created a speaker system for use in the UK. Amber’s will be the first venue in the country to house the state-of-the-art system.”
“The partnership furthers our commitment to world-class sound and creating a truly unique club space in the heart of Manchester. Room Two also now boasts a brand new lighting system and has received bespoke acoustic treatment.”
Reacting to the news, plenty of punters and artists alike are already stoked to see what they have in store; promoters ABB Events simply said, “We can’t wait to test this out 26 September.”
Speaking to The Manc, a regular visitor of Amber’s Manchester told us: “Room Two at Amber’s always felt a little forgotten – a space with potential, but lacking the same pull as the main room. With this new Soundsystem they’re putting in, it finally feels like it’s getting the love it deserves.”
While we understand the urge to document those ‘unforgettable’ gig moments – that does kind of go against what we build them up to be, hence why the Amber’s concept has gone down so well.
Teasing a lineup of “the best in house, techno and groove”, Amber’s Room Two 2.0 will debut on 2 August, and regulars are buzzing for it.
As always, the headliner remains unannounced to keep that allure, as well as that further added feeling of anticipation and excitement.
‘No ticket, no entry’ – Council urges ticketless Oasis fans not to travel to Heaton Park
Emily Sergeant
Ticketless Oasis fans are being urged not to make the journey to Heaton Park this week.
With three concerts still to be played by as part of Oasis Live ’25 here in Manchester this week, following the iconic band’s two hugely successful concerts at the weekend, Manchester City Council has now reissued its repeated request – and warning – for fans without tickets to the shows to not travel to the park.
The warning comes after it was discovered that the so-called ‘Gallagher Hill’ viewing area inside the park, that went viral on social media, has now had large steel fencing erected around its perimeter.
After taking stock of how the first two shows went, the Council says additional measures have now been deemed ‘necessary’ to protect the environment of the park, ensure areas of parkland and nearby livestock are protected, and maintain public safety.
These additional measures will be in place for the next three concerts, taking place tonight (16 July), and Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 July.
The Council says its decision to erect steel fencing around a large area of the hill within the cattle field in the main park is because the area is currently being developed as a new woodland for the park and has been recently planted with around 300 young trees, as well as being a measure to protect the livestock in the field, which include both expectant and nursing cows, and a bull.
“The erection of the fencing has a dual purpose – both to protect the environment from further damage and to dissuade people from gathering there,” the Council said in a statement released ahead of tonight’s show.
There are also no facilities for ticketless fans at the park, the Council confirmed, and they will not be able to see the concerts or get into the event arena – which is double-walled with solid high-security fencing all the way around.
The Council has urged ticketless Oasis fans not to travel to Heaton Park this week / Credit: The Manc Group
More than 2,000 event security staff and police officers will be on duty around the site across the next three dates to ensure both the safety and wellbeing of ticketholders, and to make sure that only those who have official tickets can access the concerts.
Councillor John Hacking, Executive Member for Employment, Skills and Leisure at Manchester City Council, commented: “As you would expect, given the size of the concerts and numbers of people attending, we go through a continuous process with partners of re-assessing the plans in place for the concerts to ensure both public safety and that any environmental impact on our award-winning park is minimised.”
“Our advice to music fans who don’t have tickets for the concerts is to head into the city centre instead,” Cllr Hacking continued.
“The whole city is going all out to celebrate and help everyone have a good time. We’ve got some fantastic things going on with a real party atmosphere for everyone to enjoy whether they’ve got tickets for the Oasis gigs or not.”
Danny Jones -
27th September 2024 
