In the height of lockdowns, Joe Love and Johnny ‘Doghead’ Hutch, along with a few other mates in South East London, christened themselves Fat Dog. By the time restrictions started to lift, and live music venues began welcoming people back through their doors, the band had brought Chris Hughes (synths) and Morgan Wallace (saxophone) on board. They quickly cemented a reputation for uniquely raucous live shows before a single had even dropped. Now, off the back of their genre-defying debut WOOF, one of the UK’s most galavanising new musical offerings show Manchester what they’re made of.

Support for this leg of the ‘WOOF’ tour comes two-pronged, with five-piece Truthpaste first on to warm up those who arrive for open. They’re all immensely talented multi-instrumentalists, with violinist Claire hopping on bass at one point whilst guitarist/vocalist Theo begins to deftly work his way around a synth. Vocalist Esme also performs saxophone in the band, and the collective is rounded out by guitarist James and bassist Euan. 

Their sound is a joyous melting pot of alternative indie and folk, with inspired soundbites interwoven between live numbers. ‘See You Around’ is dreamy, a gentle hug in the form of a song that evokes the unique feel of autumn months spent cosily wrapped up against the creeping chill. They don the style of friendly bohemians who would warmly invite you over to sit round their fire at a festival campsite in the early hours. Essentially a band of lovable rogues, they share the same sort of musical coordinated frenzy that bands like Gogol Bordello and The Zydepunks emanate so well.

By the time SILVERWINGKILLER get on stage, the venue floor is starting to flesh out with gig-goers. It’s a sharp contrast to the former support; if Truthpaste are the chilled-out hippies you meet at Glastonbury, then SWK are the sunglasses-donning techno heads still raving as the sun begins its ascent. There’s a level of almost unattainable cool to the two-piece, whose sonic and style aesthetic is straight out of a cyberpunk sci-fi. This makes sense; their name comes from translating ‘Blade Runner’ into Chinese and back into English. 

Their sound is invariably industrial, high-tempo and hedonistic, fronted by Ni Yushang whose killer-precision bangs and fur boots give her the appearance of an anime character who ‘looks like a cinnamon roll but could kill you’. It’s clearly not everyone’s cup of tea, but they rightly make no apologies about being such an acquired taste.

“It’s. Fucking. Fat Dog, baby!!!”, Joe Love fervently exclaims at the start of the WOOF album and subsequently, their eponymous tour’s opening number, ‘Vigilante’. Love is donning white linen, complete with his staple cowboy stetson which only somewhat veils his unruly mop of curls. By this point, people are almost frothing at the mouth in expectation and the rapturous response to their entrance sets a ludicrous precedent for what’s ahead. There’s a notably eclectic mix of fans in attendance, a combination of rowdy ‘youngsters’, middle-aged 6 music devotees and even a spattering of parents with their young kids up on the balconies. “WOOF WOOF WOOF”, both Fat Dog and these wide-eyed onlookers exclaim throughout the show.

The small-scale nature of the venue lends itself to an almost wall-to-wall pit relentlessly materialising towards the crowd front which receives a healthy dose of fuel to its fire when the band launch into ‘King of the Slugs’ – a 7-minute long musical crusade of scuzz, synth and Middle Eastern stylings. You’d be forgiven for thinking that a song with the words “I slide into the night covered in Vaseline” could boast such musical chops, but the warranted hysteria it invokes is something most touring artists could only dream of. 

“I ain’t crying for you, I just watched Karate Kid 2” Love exclaims during ‘I Am the King’, before working his way through a parting crowd like a messiah. This is the one and only breathing period during the show, an instance of borderline spiritualism before the manic, sweat-drenched programming resumes. It’s a modest setlist of eleven tunes, so it’s not long before the show’s emphatic climax arrives, sticky bodies launching themselves into one another one final time to the sonic backdrop of ‘Running’. 

The band are also kind enough to entertain the crowd’s demand for an encore, returning with a cover of Benny Benassi’s ‘Satisfaction’ in a way that only Fat Dog could dream up and deliver. Set to headline the significantly larger New Century Hall next March, tonight’s Manchester date feels felonious in its size, but its intimacy exceedingly plays to the strengths of a band who undoubtedly prove that you can teach young dogs a hell of a lot of new tricks.