My Manchester Rob Auton
COMEDIAN Rob Auton is bringing his latest comedy/ theatre/spoken word hour, The Time Show, to The Frog and Bucket on Wednesday, March 18, as part of his 50-date UK tour, culminating in two weeks at Soho Theatre in May. This follows a critically acclaimed run at the Fringe and will be amidst a run at Melbourne International Comedy Festival this year. Rob has also launched a new daily podcast which will run for 366 consecutive days and words that could be associated with the podcast are: short, stories, comedy, literature, poetry, Yorkshire, accent.
My earliest memory of Manchester is...
Getting off the train at Manchester Piccadilly in 2003. Getting off the train I remember feeling impressed, not by anything in particular, just being in the place where a lot of iconic parts of British culture had been born. Me and my uni mates getting into a pub at 2pm and then getting the tram to Salford to watch Sigur Ros at The Lowry.
My favourite place to eat in Manchester is...
The Koffee Pot. My girlfriend went to university in Manchester and took me here last time we were up there. That street seemed to be pretty soaking in Manchester spirit. I could be wrong but it seemed that way to me. I liked the no nonsense plates. I know it should be a given to get food on a plate but in certain corners of society a fried breakfast is now served in the pan it was cooked in.
My favourite Manchester bar or nightclub is...
The Temple on Great Bridgewater St. I imagine this gets said a lot but the underground bar that is a renovated public toilet is my favourite place to drink in Manchester. I was in there once and they had I Am Kloot playing on the sound system. I’ve been a fan of I Am Kloot for ages and when their song Proof came on it felt like my eyes and ears were getting bombarded by Manchester. Not all cities have the clout to do that. Often when I travel to a new city I think “what have you got? Where’s your clout that you are proud of?” I think Manchester has got that in spades. There seems to be a swagger to the city but also an underbelly of caring and just trying to help each other live a bit. Maybe I’m way off on that but that’s my impression. You know like “yes I care about my haircut, my jumper and what’s on the stereo but I care more about how me mam’s doing.”
My favourite place to shop in Manchester is... I went to a wedding in Manchester and somehow found myself buying a suitcase from Debenhams just before it. What struck me was how much the woman behind the counter wanted me to look after my receipt. “That’s got a two year guarantee on it that has darlin’, so you want to keep hold of that alright?” “Yes OK great” I replied. “These are good suitcases these, we’ve all got these ones haven’t we girls?” They all piped up confirming that they all had these suitcases. I’ll remember that for a long time. Not sure why, it was like they actually enjoyed each other’s company and were a real team. She cared about my receipt and her care had an effect on me.
The last gig or show I saw in Manchester was…
I was lucky enough to support the Lancaster band The Lovely Eggs on tour. I always watched their set after I’d been on. I’d watched YouTube clips of them performing in Manchester and knew it was due to have an atmosphere that was specific to Manchester. The gig was at Gorilla. What a brilliant venue that is. I love the way the stage is built and the way they’ve designed it. That was a really special gig that one. It was a party as soon as they came on. Travelling around the country with a band is an interesting insight into how crowds behave. The Lovely Eggs are always up for getting it rocking and Manchester obliged most fully I think.
The best Manchester band of all time is...
I can’t answer who the best is as a fact but my favourite and the one I’ve listened to the most is Elbow. Guy Garvey’’s lyrics are some of the best literature around at the moment I think. “Your heart could easy power three of me”, “A volley of streamers”, “When my face is chamois-creased.” I remember seeing a documentary about them a while ago. The amount of notebooks he kept encouraged me to want to write more and to just get it all down so no idea is wasted, even though the idea might seem dire at the time. Their songs always put pictures in my head that I enjoy being there. I’ve seen some great Elbow gigs, mainly at Glastonbury. I love their spirit and they always seem like they’d be up for a good sit down and a beer.
Manchester has everything except .... A Leeds United Club Shop.
People’s biggest misconception about Manchester is...
I think people’s biggest misconception of Manchester is that it’s thought to be absolutely rammed full of people who resemble Kathy Burke when she’s just come back from Manchester in the Kevin and Perry sketch. When I’ve been it seemed to be one of the most culturally diverse places in England and all the better for it.
The thing I love most about Manchester is...
The energy. The energy of the city seems to power the people and the power of the people seems to fill the place with a distinct energy. I know a few people from Manchester and they all have an energy to them. Of “what are we doing? Can I do it? Yeah I’ll have a piece of that. Let’s do this. Yeah great.” Committing to the moment? Is that what it is? Just an interested outlook in life. I’m not generalising or trying to suck up to the people of Manchester because I’m doing a gig there soon. The identity is palpable. People are proud to live there and proud to say they live there. Nobody summed that up better than Tony Walsh with his poem This Is The Place. There’s a culture that seems to have gripped its people. Or maybe the city looks after its residents, the earth at the their feet and the air they breathe, like Mother Nature but mother Manchester.