East Village Arts Club (Evac)

Seel Street's granddaddy of live music has always been the squat structure that is three-quarters of the way up the hill, known by various generations as the Barfly, the Masque, and now East Village Arts Club. The spiritual home of [DJ] Yousef's evergreen club night Circus (and its little brother Chibuku), Evac was given a new lease of life when it was refurbished and reopened in 2013. The venue's banked and red-draped main room (the Theatre) hosts the majority of its live shows and when it's swarming with bodies it is arguably the best room in Liverpool for watching live music.
• 90 Seel Street, 0151 559 3773, mamacolive.com/eastvillageartsclub. Open (bar/restaurant) Mon-Wed 5pm-11pm, Thurs-Sun midday-1am

The Kazimier

"Impossible is nothing" should be the mantra of the team behind The Kazimier, the most inventive collective of musicians, artists, performers and madcap creatives the city has seen for some time. Having overseen the venue's transformation from dubious footballers' hangout in the 1990s to one of the country's most talked-about live music venues, the team has also helped breathe new life in to the previously undesirable area around Wolstenholme Square. Promoters queue up to host their shows at "The Kaz", hoping that a bit of its creative magic rubs off; but it's The Kazimier's own flamboyant special events (built around performances from in-house bands Dogshow and The Kazimier Krunk Band) that showcase this unique theatre-cum-club-cum-speakeasy at its jaw-dropping best.
• 4-5 Wolstenholme Square, 0151 324 1723, thekazimier.co.uk. Open only for events, check website for details

Sound Food and Drink

A former cafe on the edge of the Ropewalks, Sound was born from the ashes of Le Bateau, a club that ran a mean line in alternative and indie music for nocturnal revellers who wanted to dance to Joy Division. Not to be deterred when Le Bateau shut down, the team behind its most popular night, Liquidation, moved a couple of doors along Duke Street to open Sound, and have given the thoroughfare's usual soundtrack a much-needed shot in the arm. The in-house DJs are among the city's more trusted noiseniks, and it complements its offerings by cramming a variety of live acts on to the stage throughout the week.
• 52 Duke Street, 0151 707 6363, Facebook page. Open Mon-Fri 10am-1am, Sat-Sun 11am-1am

The Caledonia

In the area that was once the playground of The Scaffold, Allen Ginsberg and Deaf School's art rock crowd, The Cali's recent booming trade has been built on its reputation for live jazz, rockabillly and good time music on pretty much every night of the week. Though just outside of L8, the Catharine Street boozer is still seen (alongside The Grapes) as upholding the area's tradition for rootsy live music. Always cosy and stocked with good beer, The Cali's living room-esque warmth is at its most welcoming when regulars The Loose Moose String Band are in full flow (alternate Sundays).
• 22 Caledonia Street, 0151 708 0235, thecaledonialiverpool.com. Open Sun-Thurs midday-midnight, Fri-Sat midnight-1am

The Shipping Forecast

Slater Street's dirty little secret, the Shipping Forecast is the antithesis to the seething stag- and hen-do circus in which it finds itself mired, but manages to maintain a discreet distance thanks to a selective door policy. Exuding the same retro-chic charm as the chain's other outlets (Leeds' A Nation of Shopkeepers and Sheffield's Bungalows and Bears), "The Ship" is rarely quiet; now operating over three floors, the bar and new mezzanine level are taken care of by good booze, food and DJs, while downstairs the Hold hosts a jam-packed calendar of live gigs and club nights, with Abandon Silence the jewel in its crown.
• 15 Slater Street, 0151 709 6901, theshippingforecastliverpool.com. Open Sun-Thurs midday-midnight, Fri-Sat midday-3am

Studio2 Parr Street/The Attic

The Parr Street Studios complex shouldn't have room to fit two bustling bars alongside its boutique hotel and Grammy-award-winning studio (Coldplay, Elbow, er … Barry Manilow) – somehow it manages to do so, and with a panache that befits the studio's formidable reputation. Studio2 is an exact replica of the gorgeously wood-panelled Studio 1 live room next door, except with a well-stocked bar and weekly jazz and acoustic nights. Upstairs, the Attic caters for the late-night bar dweller who wants a good playlist of soul, funk and indie to while away the hours to, hidden from the bright lights and harsh sounds of the city centre.
• Studio 2, 33-45 Parr Street, 0151 707 3727, studio2liverpool.com. Open Tues 7pm-2am, Fri-Sun 5pm-2am. The Attic, 0151 708 6345, Facebook page. Open Tues-Thurs 5pm-midnight, Fri-Sat 12.30pm-3am, Sun midday-midnight

Maguire's Pizza Bar

Rough, ready and rad, Maguire's is fast becoming the DIY hangout of choice for the hyphenated punk brigade (post-punk, indie-punk, blues-punk, math-punk, goth-punk, post-post-punk, etc). You won't find chintzy lampshades and post-naff decor adorning these walls though: instead, Maguire's opts for a no-nonsense approach, and shows that running a successful bar needn't be a complicated operation (open door, serve beer, rock). The back room is reserved for live shows and has everything it needs and nothing more: a PA, the merest hint of a stage, and enough space for a moshpit. The pizza's pretty nifty too, in case you were wondering.
• 77 Renshaw Street, 07535 090636, Facebook page. Open Mon 4pm-10pm, Weds-Thurs 4pm-10pm, Fri-Sun 4pm-midnight

The Dovedale Towers

Couched in its mismatched grandeur of bare mahogany and white-tiled walls, "The Dovey" brings a certain polished sheen to that very scouse institution of going down the pub expecting to see "a turn" on, by engaging with the city's vibrant music scene. The Penny Lane boozer's Thursday night Dovedale Social events have seen some of the best local musicians entertaining the south Liverpool natives (from the Tea Street Band to precocious youngster Dominic Dunn), thus offering a robust alternative to those who sometimes find the Ropewalks a little too familiar. The hearty selection of pies and beers does no harm either.
• 60 Penny Lane, 0151 4750642, no website. Open Mon-Fri midday-11pm, Sat-Sun 11am-11pm

Philharmonic Hall

Hope Street's venerable art deco concert hall is one of the city's more memorable buildings, the fawn-coloured bricks lending the turreted venue an air of nobility as it gazes serenely down the hill towards the centre of town. It is home to the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra but consistently proves that it's capable of going beyond orchestral manoeuvres: recent years have seen Bobby Womack, Rufus Wainwright and Rodriguez revelling in its delicious acoustics. Pre-show, there's always the chance to engage in a bit more opulence by nipping over the road to the Philharmonic Dining Rooms for a pint, where, legend has it, Hitler once stopped for a toilet break.
• 36 Hope Street, 0151 709 3789, liverpoolphil.com. Check website for event details

HAUS

If the Baltic Triangle is the future hub of the city, then Greenland Street could easily be its Seel Street. The city's former industrial heartland pulses to a new beat nowadays, and HAUS is helping to lead the revolution. Run by Waxxx – a team of promoters and DJs specialising in house, garage and techno club nights, with the occasional foray into publishing – the roomy warehouse space hosts a variety of events, with an emphasis on reappropriating late-night rave culture. Either that or they just want to put on a great party. As a warm up to Gottwood's underground electronic music festival in the woods, Waxxx is teaming up with Red Bull Music Academy to bring a weighty lineup of house and techno artists to HAUS, as well as all manner of woodland props.
• 35-39 Greenland Street, waxxx.co.uk. Check website for event details

Christopher Torpey is editor of Liverpool music magazine Bido Lito!

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