Despite ever-increasing gentrification, the Northern Quarter, a square half-mile around Oldham Street, remains the beating bohemian heart of the city centre. As a music writer, I love it here: it's home to a host of live venues, including old-school indie haunts Night & Day (26 Oldham Street, nightnday.org) and The Roadhouse (8 Newton Street, Piccadilly, theroadhouselive.co.uk), where most of Elbow at one time pulled pints behind the bar, plus the laid-back jazz club Matt'n'Phreds (64 Tib Street, mattandphreds.com).
Mint Lounge (46-50 Oldham Street, mintlounge.com) is home to some of Manchester's cooler club nights, while the newly refurbished Band On the Wall (25 Swan Street, bandonthewall.org) now hosts some great club nights of its own: keep an eye out for Mr Scruff's monthly Keep It Unreal club night and Stretch Disco. The most innovative club space in the country at the moment is The Warehouse Project (thewarehouseproject.com). It's an underground car park from Monday-Friday but is transformed at the weekend into a subterranean rave. Go now before it moves to a new location.
Take a stroll round the Northern Quarter and you'll find over 25 record shops and stalls, including the top independent shop Piccadilly Records (53 Oldham Street, piccadillyrecords.com). Fans of Northern soul and 1960s pop and rock should make for Beatin' Rhythm (108 Tib Street, beatinrhythm.com), a mecca of seven-inch treasures; and I've picked up (and sold) some great rarities, promos and bargains at Vinyl Exchange (18 Oldham Street, vinylexchange.co.uk). For Manchester bands and memorabilia, head to Vinyl Revival (5 Hilton Street, vinylrevivalmcr.com).
A favourite stop-off is Oi Polloi (63 Thomas Street, oipolloi.com), the most influential street menswear shop in the country; and I like to browse the huge mix of music portraits, posters and photography at The Richard Goodall Gallery (59 Thomas Street, richardgoodallgallery.com), followed by a homemade pie and a brew next door at Mr Scruff's tea shop, Cup.
When I'm ready for a pint I head to The Castle (66 Oldham Street, thecastlehotel.info), which also serves The Manchester Egg, a new take on the pub snack, combining pickled egg, sausage and black pudding. Common (39-47 Edge Street, aplacecalledcommon.co.uk) and Trof (8 Thomas Street, trof.co.uk) are also worth a look. For a late-night drink get down to Black Dog Ballroom (blackdogballroom.co.uk), below Afflecks Palace on Church Street. When we need more sustenance than a Manchester Egg, my friends and I make for a "rice'n'three" (rice and three curries, for about a fiver) from any of the mostly excellent curry cafes on Hilton Street – I like The Yadgar.
Some people feel the Northern Quarter spirit has been diluted, or sullied, by waves of gentrification and frappucino; dispel this feeling in Salford, where Islington Mill (James Street, islingtonmill.com) has become the creative hub of a minor cultural renaissance.
To the south, Oxford Road/Wilmslow Road runs through the student areas of Fallowfield and Rusholme and the universities to the city centre. Manchester Academy (Oxford Road, manchesteracademy.net) looks much better after its refurbishment a couple of years ago, and along with its siblings, Academy 2 and 3, is a key venue for touring bands. Most of them will end up drinking either before or after their gig in Big Hands (myspace.com/bighandsmanchester), the late-night bar next door which is also second home to Elbow and I Am Kloot. Closer to town, The Deaf Institute (135 Grosvenor Street, thedeafinstitute.co.uk) is the most inventive space to open in recent years, a cafe bar and "music hall" spread over three floors.
Further out, Chorlton remains the bohemian and muso's suburb of choice, home to most of Manchester's elder musical statesmen, from Badly Drawn Boy to Graham Massey. It does tend to come across as a clichéd liberal enclave. Elbow singer Guy Garvey, a north Mancunian through and through, told me he was walking down the street in Chorlton earlier this year "and I slipped on an avocado".
I still end up here because it boasts a belting record shop King Bee (519 Wilbraham Road, kingbeerecords.co.uk), and the best cluster of pubs, bars and small live venues outside the centre, not least Electrik (559a Wilbraham Road, electrikbar.co.uk), the bar owned by DJ duo The Unabombers, and Jam Street Café on Upper Chorlton Road. The Metrolink tram extension finally arrived last month, and stops at the old Chorlton train station, where in 1964 Muddy Waters, Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Sonny Boy Williamson played a one-off gig which was filmed for a Granada TV special called Blues and Gospel Train.
Luke Bainbridge is a music journalist and author
