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21-year-old Southampton native Caity Baser makes an explosive entrance as she breaks through a massive paper sheet adorned with a red learner driver’s L, a reference to her latest mixtape, Still Learning. She smashes through this with a baseball bat before opening with hit song ‘I’m A Problem’.

LA native Thundercat has garnered quite the reputation. On top of being a Grammy award-winning solo artist, he has proven to be a reliable collaborator to an eclectic mix of artists from Kendrick Lamar and more recently, Tame Impala, integrating an intoxicating mix of R&B and funk in the process. In the midst of a UK and European tour, it’s safe to say his reputation precedes him. 

In truth, Taking Back Sunday could dine out on their irreproachable first three albums until the sun swallows the earth, even if it takes a handful of usually bankable tunes to hit their stride tonight. Lazzara, a chimera of class clown, giddy labradoodle and Butlins redcoat, pirouettes, hip-shakes and skates around the stage between flawless mic catches. However, syrupy hair-metal ballad, ‘Amphetamine Smiles’, in which he straps on an acoustic guitar for the only time during the evening, springs the bar staff into action.

These Aussies may not have a lot of records to their name after 22 years together, but their mix of alternative and drum 'n' bass has made quite the impact. Seen in their collaborations with bands such as Bullet For My Valentine, remixing dance classics from The Prodigy and successfully capitalising on early 2010s dubstep in the form of their side project, Knife Party.

Jarvis is a strong role model for younger and older women alike; she isn’t afraid to show her rage towards patriarchy and use her music to share how it negatively impacts her. She also isn’t afraid to speak on her mental health as she introduces ‘PANIC’, detailing the lived experience of having a panic disorder. ‘Welcome To My House’ is another self-admitted dive into the singer's mind, she explains its about ‘Dealing with negative self-thoughts and then realising, no I am a good person.’. 

An ominous belch marks the start of Ebbb’s set: "BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.”

Bleachers frontman Jack Antonoff is often heard yet seldom seen. The 39-year-old New Jerseyan is the veiled mastermind behind some of the most acclaimed pop albums of the last decade, a recurring collaborator with Taylor Swift, Lorde and The 1975. Antonoff’s standalone project, Bleachers, is fast emerging as one of the most exciting acts from North America. What started as a one man homage to 1980s pop culture has grown to spearhead a new era of indie pop, spanning four studio albums. 

Manchester based metalcore band Atheana kick off the night with a furious set. Lead singer Soph sports…

Feeder have never looked to reinvent the wheel. The only discernible difference between their latest material and their earlier output is familiarity. Each new album has a modular nature that means you could interchange, say, the fifth and eighth track on any LP and barely notice the difference. That doesn’t quite translate to the live setting, though; as solid as recent single ‘ELF’ is, it’ll eventually settle lower in the pecking order than its current curtain-raiser status.

There hasn’t been such a dense concentration of chequered Vans trainers in Manchester for at least 20 years. Then again, The Movielife shows are a rarity here, and an opportunity to relive 2003’s Forty Hour Train Back to Penn in full is the perfect excuse to raid the old wardrobe. The fans’ hair dye is more restrained these days, jeans rest above the hips, and most of the earlobe plug holes have healed, but their enthusiasm is as rabid as ever.

Featured image and gallery: Josie Hunt Middlesbrough-born James Arthur makes his return to Manchester’s AO Arena, the…