Weekly News : 15/2/10

CENTRAL LIBRARY // CHANNEL M // TIGER LOUNGE // THE FREEZING FOG

So do you want the good news or the bad news? Well… there is no good news this week. So here’s the bad instead.

Strike one! One of our favourite drinking holes and regular hosts of free and good-for-value music nights, The Tiger Lounge on Cooper Street has been temporarily shut down. We’ve no word yet on why exactly, or when/if they’re likely to reopen, but all upcoming gigs are set to be relocated. Tonight’s Crash Of Rhinos gig for instance is now at Satan’s Hollow. More info shall follow suit as soon as we find our detective’s hat and pet bloodhound.

Strike two! Manchester’s favourite groove-rockers The Freezing Fog have called it a day. No sooner had they released the barn-storming Challenger EP, the quintet decided to hang up their horns this past week after three and a half years of riffs, jams and singing about medieval adventures. Sure to be sadly missed, we wish them each the best of luck in their next musical guises. Missed out on The Fog entirely? Demist your specs and check your radself. http://www.myspace.com/thefreezingfog

Strike three! The pride of St. Peter’s Square, the iconic Central Library is set to undergo a phased shutdown ahead of intensive renovation work. The building, erected in 1934 and opened by King George V, will be part of a multi-million pound refurbishment of the area and complex to prevent ruination. With 22 miles of books held beyond those huge pillars, several million publications will be stored underground, including some in Cheshire salt mines, until the library reopens fully in 2013. Students and booklovers, fret ye not however. A temporary library will soon be available in Elliot House on Deansgate, and in 3 years time we will boast a state-of-the-art lending service like no other. The next few weeks may be your last chance to see the building in its current-day glory,  so what better excuse to pop down and get a book out? Important dates you need to know concerning the closure stages can be found here: http://www.manchester.gov.uk/info/500138/central_library/4580/central_library_temporary_closure/1

Strike four! (… wait, how does baseball work again?) Manchester’s very own TV station, Channel M sees its future looking very bleak. Already having had massive budget cuts this past year, the channel was snubbed by Trinity Mirror in their buy-out of many of Guardian Media Group’s publications – including the Manchester Evening News. The overall deal  featured more regional newspapers and totalled £44million, but with neither party seemingly keen on taking control of our own ‘M’TV,  the analogue, cable and Sky-accessed station may not last much longer. We’ll try and keep you posted. http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=45014&c=1

To end this rather sour dish of news bites, here’s Jo Rose performing on the last ever City Social on Channel M back in September. Catch him at Sound Control on Thursday.

Jo Rose – ‘King Of Your Blue Eyes’