Good tip-off in CityLife last Friday: Club North, the venue under Affleck’s Palace, has been temporarily transformed into Blink.

Opening a couple of days ago, this new ‘pop up bar’ has scheduled 10 weeks of event – from a preview night featuring local band Delphic to a Calvin Harris DJ set on Saturday just gone. Other nights feature a DJ set by Late of the Pier, plus ‘twisted trannie night MirrorMirror’s extravagant summer ball’, as CityLife so eloquently puts it.

It adds that the overall aim is to create a series of ‘one-off events, big sounds, memorable nights out, in a temporary space with a rough-round-the-edges charm’.

Then, in two months time, the bar’s owners will shut up shop and re-open it in October as the Blackdog Ballroom, complete with slate floors, wood panelling and so on. It sounds like Manchester looks set to gain a New York-inspired venue that’s open a very convenient 16 hours per day.

We hear that one of Manchester’s most established venues, Music Box on Oxford Street, had a bit of trouble last week. The outcome: it won’t be hosting any more gigs.

The place has hosted its share of good bands over the years: High Voltage brought the likes of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Mystery Jets and Forward Russia to the venue for starters. We’ve only put three gigs on – Herman Dune, A Hawk and Hacksaw and Band of Horses – but they went well enough. And though it’s considered primarily a rock and punk venue, it was a handy option to have when you’re hoping for 300+ people.

One show that was due to happen at Music Box – Melt-Banana with Kong and Ergon Carousel on 13 May – has already been moved to the equally suitable Satan’s Hollow. We’re told, however, that it will continue to host club nights such as Mr Scruff’s Keep it Unreal, which celebrates its 10th year in June.

[Photo: Band of Horses at Music Box @ Rick and Mindy of The Indie Credential]

So the fourth member of Trof’s happy bar family opens this week. It’s called The Corner:

Taking inspiration from the disused warehouses of Manchester’s industrial past and the filthy little parties that rock the city every weekend, the club will be grubby little dive with a sound system forged in the pits of hell and a music selection to match.

The venue, owned by Trof, is being run by a collective of promoters, musicians and scenesters who have banded together to bring a torrent of delights for the opening month.

The Corner sits within spitting distance of the original Trof, where Landcross Road meets Wilmslow Road. The launch party on Friday starts at 8pm and the place is off to a flyer with the following promoters/bands already signed up:

Hit & Run •• Riot Jazz •• Sex with Robots •• Hoya:Hoya •• Cirque •• Norvun Devolution •• Format •• Shiftwork •• Jupiter Rooms •• Micron •• Groovement •• Global Beats •• Fuse FM •• Ernies Rhythm Section •• Hot Club •• Comedy Sluts •• Growl •• Cool Runnings •• Chess Club •• Growl •• Ten Bears •• The Mouse Outfit

Check out this month’s timetable, which also includes various drinks offers to keep Manchester’s students permanently inebriated. There’s also a new blog (with stealthy grey-on-black colouring) at www.cornercollective.co.uk.

Yup, it seems that one successful Trof isn’t enough for Fallowfield.

As you may have seen on a recent jaunt down the Wilmslow Road, plans are afoot for a new venue right in the centre of studentville. The builders are currently hard at work making this dream a reality. Already lined up for the new place are ludicrously cheap drinks, an amply sized soundsystem and DJ sets, live performance and art installations from some of the most talented performers in Manchester.

So this may mean that Fallowfield finally has a decent place to put on gigs. At the moment, the original Trof on Landcross Road and the fairly recently opened Ram and Shackle are two of a surprisingly small number of potential music venues, in an area that should have a glut of them. And the popularity of the Deaf Institute’s Dance Hall has no doubt persuaded the parent company to expand this side of things.

There’s a £50 Trof bar voucher for whoever comes up with the best name for this new place – send your suggestions to info@trof.co.uk with ‘Venue name’ in the subject line.

UPDATE: And as one venue appears, we learn that another closes: the Green Windmill in Stretford lasted little over six months. We didn’t have a chance to make it out there, but the highlight looks to have been an appearance by Shack’s John Head.