Manchester v Liverpool. The music scene. You decide

Ferg pits two of the greatest musical cities against each other


On a whim this Saturday I went to the Cabin Pub in Liverpool, and saw what can only be described as a beautiful blast from the past. Two guys on bass and guitars, both absolute masters on their instruments, ripping the place apart. We were the youngest of the clientèle, which mainly consisted of forty year old rock dads going batshit crazy on air guitar.

The Hacienda or The Cavern? Welbeck or Rooney? Morrissey or Macca?

A while back I managed to obtain a free ticket to see the psychedelic rock band Tame Impala at the HMV Ritz in Manchester. They were incredibly good live, a blitz of synths and John Lennon style vocals kept the crowd high on life (amongst other things); I predict they are a band who could rocket into the public eye very soon with the release of their new album Lonerism.

This year has provided a few trips to Manchester for me, the city acting as some sort of great frontier of the North West, with only Hull, my home town, lying beyond. But it got me thinking about the rivalry between the two great cities, epitomised by the opposing football teams. But which city wins overall in terms of live music?

It’s your choice, readers. Does our cultured Mersey Paradise beat the leviathan that is Manchester?