How can you articulate what The Peer Hat is, and what it does? We’re not 100% sure, so let’s begin with the simple stuff — like where it is. Faraday Street is the kind of road that defines the Northern Quarter. More back alley than thoroughfare, this is a great example of Manchester’s love for hiding wonderful stuff in less-than-obvious places, and nurturing the kinds of DIY and grass roots institutions that take time to cultivate, then garner a big, loyal, cult following. Record store, boozer and live music venue, once you track this spot down you’ll wonder why it’s taken you so long.
Love at first sight, behind graffiti-covered shutters and in a psychedelic-folk-goth-experimental kind of way. On any given day, The Peer Hat will be hosting an eclectic mix of hipsters, alternatives, embattled Mancunian musos, poets, artists, miscreants and people who just want an authentic experience. Something the incredibly friendly and chatty staff are more than happy oblige with, giving visitors the sense that everyone who is involved in the operation enjoys working here and believes in what the venue stands for. Which is providing a platform for a lot of things that struggle to find suitable homes elsewhere in town.
Programming is broad, so you could easily wander down into the basement gig space and find sweaty sludge metal, spoken word and poetry, or left-field techno-dubstep in full flow. Events aside, the bar is (very) well served by real ales, lagers and spirits, and the vinyl shop here is one of the most unique in the city. Given you’re standing in Manchester’s most famous district for record stores, that’s saying something. Expect to come away with doom-folk, alien ritual electronica, tomorrow’s finest tripped out garage rock, and a host of other specialist and niche stuff you didn’t realise you wanted, until now.
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