It’s nose-bitingly cold outside, but the glowing red lights of the Copper Bar at Manchester’s Band on the Wall invite me in on this dark Tuesday evening. Having tried to warm up by power-walking across the centre, I’m early for the third concert of Beat the Jams. 

Beat the Jams is a series of monthly concerts organised by Thom Thorp, giving Manchester city workers without the luxury of a comfy work-from-home job a way to enjoyably extend their time in the city beyond the usual home-time crush of traffic and people. 

Each concert has showcased local talent with the final concert on December 16 featuring Olivia Moore and Unfurl, a sound combining Indian and Arabic classical with European jazz. As Thorp describes it, “a relaxing gig offering a respite from Christmas shopping, so come and bliss out”.

Sitting in the bar waiting for the doors to open with scattered groups of silver-haired audiophiles, I’m embraced by the cascading sounds of Thom Thorp & ILUMETRIS warming up behind a mysterious black curtain. The melodies are honeyed and smooth, a soul-warm mug of cinnamon-spiced tea on a cold evening.

Finally, the curtain is drawn back and we’re allowed to find a seat in the intimate space behind. However, once the gig starts it becomes clear that this will be a far more interesting hour than the warm-up implied. 

The set is based on their album Here, There be Monsters…, released last year. It runs through five pieces each inspired by a mythical creature, from the rising phoenix through to Medusa herself. A piece complete with theatrical interludes includes moments when the musicians themselves ‘turn to stone’ and stop playing. 

In between, there is the Germanic-folklore inspired In Alberich’s Mine that is Thorp’s favourite. Before playing, he encourages the audience to “picture a Snow White, Wagnerian opera dwarf in a mine with a little hat, making little things out of copper and tin”. Fittingly, the piece opens with the oompah of piano and bass clarinet followed by the knock, knock, knock of little hammers ringing from the drums. 

My favourite piece was the third of the evening, written for the Minotaur and the bassist, Grant Russel. Russel’s hands flying up and down the fret create a thumping, pounding rhythm echoing the pacing hooves and heavy headed snorting of the beast. Labyrinthine looping sounds emerge over the top to catch you in a maze of notes. 

The hour of music was over all too quickly, with the final serpentine melodies of Medusa uncoiling to release us back out into the traffic-free night. 

Words and pictures by Rowan Twine

 

To find out more about Beat the Jams, check out their Facebook or Instagram. If you can’t make the final concert of this series on December 16, 2025, there will be a new season from January to April 2026.