It’s a night for ska-punk in Manchester with one hell of a circus line up! The room in Manchester Academy is packed out from the beginning with a blend of generations here for a night of letting their hair down on a Thursday night! Parents have their kids ready and dressed looking like the Aquabats which is probably one of the most adorable things I’ve ever seen.

The Barstool Preachers kicked things off with a set that leaned hard into their political edge without sacrificing melody. The six piece band from Brighton know how to bring the crowd together with their political messages and melodic punk sound, the band focuses on community and social commentary relating to a lot of the people in the crowd, those OG punks and those new from a younger generation. Their message through sound allowed those two generations in the crowd to really come together and relate, the positive instrumentals with deep meaningful lyrics make you nod in agreement and anger at the topics they focus on, whilst at the same time have your hands swaying in the air and dancing throughout the room.

 Their energy was immediate and infectious, blending punk urgency with ska rhythms that got the early crowd moving. There’s a raw sincerity to their performance—less polish, more punch—that made them the perfect opener. By the end of their set, the pit had already started to churn. They ended their set with Bar Stool Preacher which had the cameo of The Aquabats gatecrashing their set and wreaking havoc on stage.

Setlist:

1. Choose My Friends
2. All Turned Blue
3. One Fool Down
4. Trickledown
5. Suicide Girls
6. Pick a Side
7. Flatlined
8. Bar Stool Preacher

Then came The Aquabats, who turned the room into something closer to a Saturday morning cartoon fever dream than a traditional concert. Between costumed antics, absurdist banter, and tightly executed ska hooks, they walked the line between parody and genuine musical chops. It would be easy to dismiss them as novelty if the songs weren’t so sharp. Instead, their set became one of the night’s highlights—joyful, chaotic, and completely unpretentious.

 As someone who doesn’t really listen to ska, watching these guys with no knowledge on what they’re about was interesting. This, for me, was so unexpected which made the experience a billion times better! Watching parents have their kids dressed as the band on their shoulders, inflatable sharks and pizza slices get launched into the crowd was honestly amazing to see, it made everything way more fun and The Aquabats absolutely got the crowd ready.

Setlist:

1. The Shark Fighter!
2. Cat with 2 Heads!
3. Super Rad!
4. Super Show Theme Song!
5. Pizza Day!
6. Red Sweater!
7. No Rewind!
8. Dr. Space Mummy!
9. Fashion Zombies!
10. Pool Party!

They got the crowd ready but I hate to say The Bouncing Souls brought the crowd back down to earth with what I could only call a very basic performance. The American punk rock band from New Brunswick, New Jersey didn’t live up to their name, with a lack of stage presence and change in vibe the entire performance was very meh to say the least.

Having them on after a high energy set like The Aquabats was a poor decision, they should’ve been on first to have a small light vibe and then have high energy but it honestly felt like such a comedown.

Setlist:

1. Hopeless Romantic
2. Sing Along Forever
3. Kate Is Great
4. Manthem
5. Lean On Sheena
6. The Something Special
7. The Ballad of Johnny X
8. The Light
9. Here We Go
10. The Gold Song
11. Late Bloomer
12. East Coast! Fuck You!
13. Kids and Heroes
14. True Believers
15. Gone

However let’s bring the energy back to life with Less Than Jake, and energy is what they brought! The vibes were amazing throughout, the interactions with the crowd just made it even better. You had fans practically leaning over the barrier just to get closer. Vocalist, Chris knew how to put a smile on people’s faces, checking in with photographers and giving a nod to the crew which just shows the appreciation for all the behind the scenes work.

Fans were crowd surfing on pizza slices, crowd surfers were all over the place and the entire room was electric! The set list was covered in old and new, throwing in a lot of classics, there was not one person who had a single complaint about the setlist. The banter within the band was hilarious with comments about other bands breaking up because of fights but they can hate each other and stay together just the comedic aspect of the band made it even better.

A moment of reminiscing about the band’s first time in the UK and how at home its always felt, brought in the perfect build up to play their most famous song, one of those songs where if you say you’ve never heard a Less Than Jake song before I would say you’re most likely lying or you haven’t realised it was them, they jumped into All My Best Friends Are Metalheads bringing the energy up even higher than it was before, which I know should sound impossible but it really became possible in that moment because the crowd went off. There were even people at the front barrier who had been following the band on tour for the past five tour dates, with the guitarist pointing them out since they seem to always manage to get those barrier spots. These fans are dedicated, and the love for Less Than Jake does not die with this lot, the kids they brought with them being the prime example of trying to pass the love onto the next generation.

Less Than Jake are a fun band to watch, they have the political aspect with the punk sound but they made you dance and move and make all of your worries leave the room during the 45 minutes to an hour set, providing fun and happy times for all ages.

Setlist:

1. Nervous in the Alley
2. History of a Boring Town
3. Automatic
4. Lie to Me
5. Last One Out of Liberty City
6. All My Best Friends Are Metalheads
7. Walking Pipebomb
8. Johnny Quest Thinks We’re Sellouts
9. The Science of Selling Yourself Short
10. Help Save the Youth of America From Exploding
11. The Rest of My Life
12. The Ghosts of Me and You
13. Happyman
14. 9th at Pine
15. Sunny Side
16. Plastic Up Politics
17. The Brightest Bulb Has Burned Out / Screws Fall Out
18. Look What Happened
19. Gainesville Rock City

Images: Lauren Allard

Words: Lauren Allard & Jacob Robinson