In The City and MOBO’s
Two big music industry events have taken place in the region over the last couple of weeks.First up was In The City which moved from its traditional base of the Midland Hotel to a trio of hotels around by Piccadilly Station. The new location seems to have given the event a new lease of life. During the daytime the atmosphere was lively especially around the Malmaison where The Hive sessions took place. The Hive was aimed at young people and students looking to make a career in the music industry. Some of the sessions were really lively and it seemed like a good time was had by all.
The move to The Northern Quarter also meant it was much easier to move from gig to gig and over the three nights I caught some new bands at a variety of venues. I didn’t make it to see the Doves at the Warehouse Project on the Saturday but those with great stamina than me said they were at the top of their game.
Over at the main conference venue at the City Inn it was hard to go more than five yards before bumping into someone you knew, catching up, arranging to meet them for a drink and then moving on and bumping into someone else. And it was great to finally meet up with Lynden from Domino who hasn’t to be one of the nicest and hardest working people in the music industry. Despite this I did manage to get to the odd seminar and learn a few new things.
Vision+Media’s reception took place on the Wednesday evening. Due to Jay Paul’s late cancellation (due to family reasons) we were able to luxuriate in a longer session than originally planned prior to the screening of Upside Down, a brilliant film about Creation Records by Danny O’Connor.
Often music films are a bit of a let down but this is a must see for anyone interested in indie music of the last 20 years. It also gives a great insight into the perils of running an indie label/ joining up with a major, and the old standbys of what too much drink and drugs can do to individuals and businesses.
Almost everyone stayed on after our reception to watch the film and Danny was delighted with how it was received. Danny is an old friend and it seemed quite fitting that after a film about the perils of rock n roll excess that we had to be asked to leave the hotel bar as they wanted to close. The remaining two days went by in a bit of a whirl but I managed to catch a bunch of interesting speakers and some great bands. I used to work with Steve Lamacq and it is always good to catch up with him. He did a great Round Table session from inside the hotel with Peter Hook, John Robb and others which was a real treat, and Steve is an enthusiastic about seeing new bands and finding great new music as he was when I first met him many years ago.
Then the MOBO’s came to Liverpool. Unlike when MTV came to Liverpool a few years ago the MOBO’s actually wanted to engage with Liverpool and The North West and not just ship and move out with a few handshakes. A MOBO Academy took earlier in the week and local people were able to gain some useful insights into the industry. The night itself at the Echo Arena was very glamorous and a lot of fun. It is a shame that it is still a event that is dominated by artists and management companies from London and the South but there are some great things emerging from the region so hopefully that will change over the next few years. But all in all in what is an incredibly successful event and showed that once again we really know how to do things well in the North West.
