BrantfordBands’ Hit the Spot

From June 3rd – 6th, 2015, Manny celebrated the first anniversary of his haven for local live music.
Opening in 2014, Manny’s Place has been consistently showcasing local bands from Brantford.
From Open Jams (every Thursday) to rocking Saturday nights (and often Friday nights as well), this has quickly become one of the best venues in the area to catch some great live music.
If you haven’t made your way down to the corner of Grey and Stanley yet, you damn well should.
Gone for good is Goodfellas, in fact it’s barely recognizable as the same place.  Completely renovated from the get go, Manny has continued to make improvements to an already great setup.
Manny has poured his soul into every aspect of the establishment, the awesome stage and PA system, the custom-made tables and chairs, the lighting system and smoke machine, and every detail in between.

Happy Manniversary

Manny Capinding has had a long tour in the music scene, from DJing to running nightclubs, but his true passion is live local music.  All of the performers I spoke with agreed that he is one of the most helpful and caring hosts, always making sure that the bands are happy and doing all he can to improve their experience, while always working to make sure the crowds have a fantastic time out.
This year saw a number of upgrades and changes, but Manny isn’t done yet.  He already has plans to continue to improve, always taking the suggestions of his patrons and performers to heart.

On Friday night we caught the reunion of BrAiN jAmMaGe as part of the ongoing Manniversary celebrations.  As soon as I saw the unique (and ever-evolving) stand-up drum set that Rich Wilkes set up I knew this was going to be a great set, and they did not disappoint.  With Chris Brown’s killer guitar work on acoustic and electric guitar, Chris Mulligan smacking out the deep bass riffs and Rich smashing out the drum lines (so violently in fact that he managed to break a couple pieces of his kit), BrAiN jAmMaGe delivers favorites from a wide variety of rock genres with a passion that had me floored.

Jammaging your Brain

The bass lines are consistently tight, the guitar solos are awe inspiring, the drums are energetically booming, while Chris’ vocals are rich and full.  Occasionally, Rich took the vocals into the deep guttural bowels of hardcore for their excursions into the world of punk, which gave the audience an idea what to expect from the next band.

Against the Grain is a decidedly harder musical offering, presenting metal legends in their thrash and burn entirety.  They rocked.  Hard!  Bringing out the headbanger in all of us.

Hard and fast. just like your mom

Their driving force changed the dance floor  into a veritable mosh pit, with plenty of deep bass lines, rapid drums and epic guitar work.  They held back nothing, and delivered a smashing show for those of us who love some hardcore rock.

Saturday started off early, with the sun still shining outside as Chris Strei climbed up on the stage with his acoustic guitar and delivered his brand of smooth rock to the masses filtering in from Brantford’s crooks and crannies.

Chris Strei soothes the soul

Chris Strei‘s originals are crowd favorites, soulful experiences that he shares with the world.
Delivered in his crooner meets pop-star style, he transports you into a beautiful meadow of sound where he gently takes your hand and puts it on his heart.

Carl Mulligan was next to rock the crowds, initially alone with his guitar and soothing voice but soon joined by John Lama on guitar and Mikie Bray on conga drum.  They presented a number of beautiful renditions of their favorite songs, all superbly executed.

Soulful alternative rockers

Carl’s energy and excitement was consistent as he strode about the stage, at times hanging from the rafters while delivering his uniquely masculine and sonically superb vocals.  Mikie kept up a steady pace on the drums, perfectly accenting the fervent style of John’s guitar.

Up next on Manny’s Stage was the crowd favorite McTease.
With Trevor Cobb on acoustic guitar and singing while Mick Montgomery bashed out the feverish drums lines on the conga drum, their unity and passion had everyone stomping along with them.

McTeasing the crowds

Funky southern fried originals and an eclectic mix of cover songs temporarily transformed Manny’s Place into a big ol’ bonfire party, Mick’s rapidly pulsating beats along with Trevor’s impassioned vocals and guitar work feeding the fires ever higher.

The Tryst took the stage for the grand finale, their devoted Tryster-Sisters in the crowd screaming in excitement and the rest of the audience soon joining in.
Those who hadn’t yet witnessed the epic female-powered rock show that The Tryst consistently delivers were blown away.

The Tryst rock

Every member of the band is dedicated to bringing the rock to life, with more than enough talent and passion to get the job done.  This is obviously more than a job for these ladies, this is a passion that they transfer into each and every note of their classic rock and pop tributes.

It was a fantastic weekend full to the brim with excited local music aficionados celebrating the first year of Manny’s Place.  After having already built up a great venue for local artists, we’re excited to see what the future holds.

Great rocking Manniversary

We’ve added a few photo galleries taken at this year’s Manniversary
to the BrantfordBands on facebook.

• Photos of the One Year Manniversary
• BrAiN jAmMaGe live at Manny’s
• Against the Grain live at Manny’s
• Chris Strei live at Manny’s
• The Carl Mulligan Experience live at Manny’s
• McTease live at Manny’s
• The Tryst live at Manny’s

Watch the BrantfordBands youtube channel for upcoming videos from the event!