Dock

A new (to me) gig venue took me south of the river after work. It has been years since I’ve been in this part of Leeds and there has clearly been a lot of clearance, rebuilding and refurbishing going on. 

The venue itself, The Attic, is currently an isolated building (extra) about 100 yards beyond The Tetley, which is itself now an isolated building, with the remains of the brewery complex cleared. Part of the open space has been filled with the new Aire Park, currently still caged behind construction fences, but planted and turfed so opening up must be imminent. There remain many vacant plots, awaiting development. The areas closer in to Leeds Bridge give a hint of lower rise residential blocks that are likely to appear. 

The gig featured two artists on the Loose Records label: Margo Culker, a country artist, with band, from Washington state, supported by Joana Serrat, a Catalan singer-songwriter. Serrat’s work was much more intense and dark, with Culker more wry and joyful, but the mix worked.

The Attic is a small venue, and quite basic but a nicely set out room with a small bar in the corner and some effort made regarding design and decoration. It was another standing gig, but they did wobble a little on this policy given the evening’s audience demographic was mainly folk in their 50s and 60s. Running grassroots venues is a shoestring business, and I understand standing only gives greater capacity, however there must be room for a balance. I was a little concerned about the walk back to the station in the dark through the redevelopment wastelands, but to be fair, the route was pretty well lit, and once I reached the Tetley there were people around. 

Today’s image is not particularly original, looking down the River Aire towards Leeds Dock from Leeds bridge, but the evening light lent it a quality which is irresistible. And it also shows it’s difficult to compose a wide shot in Leeds without a crane at the moment.