South Arcade (aka North Arcade for one night) – Academy 3, Manchester.

South Arcade have returned to the North for one night only! Last time they were supporting various bands across the UK, but this time it is their one SOLD OUT headline show, at Manchester’s Academy 3.

This time around they only have two dates on their tour one being in Manchester the second being at KOKO in London, putting to the test on who is the best the North or South, finally the argument which has been going on for as long as can be remembered can be well and truly settled.

Bringing along two friends for the ride we have Hannah Grae and Leap, Hannah Grae is a singer/songwriter from Wales with her handy guitar player. Hannah has the pop girl vibe down to a tea, whilst also giving off the alternative vibes of Olivia Rodrigo with songs dedicated to terrible ex boyfriends and even one dedicated to said ex boyfriends new girlfriend, Annie. Which was a clear winner with the crowd as they all booed at the mention of said ex, and cheered during parts of the song where if you were said ex you would HATE to have that song be written about you.

The end of the set had some deeper meaning songs, which then introduced a song which was dedicated to said ex which welcomed a series of heckles from the crowd which really added to the performance, with shouts of “He’s an arsehole” “Fuck that guy” and various other insults about the size of said person that made Hannah laugh and really pulled the crowd together even further.

Hannah Grae is a wonderful performer with a humble personality, that has the voice that merges into the pop world and even pop punk perfectly.

10/10

Leap walk onto the stage with the look of Danny Zuko from Grease, with the confidence to match, all of the band look like they’re a member of the T-Birds with their wife beater vests and leather jackets. The confidence this band had is key, they have the confidence of an area headliner, no matter what sized venue they’re in it’s treated like 500 people are 5000. They immediately encourage the rock n roll vibes from the crowd, encouraging mosh pits left right and centre and having the girls in the front row swooning over the lead vocalist.

Leap have new music coming out and their own headline tour where they’re making a Manchester stop next month in April, and I bet half of this crowd will be at that show. I saw so many phones in the air that had “I WANT HIM” written in bold caps on the screens held by young fans, who have clearly just found their first band crush, we all remember those times as young fans and some of us can say it never dies when you get older.

They have the sound of indie rock with an element of punk thrown in there, which seems to be the vibe that the band was going for with their stage presence, and how they present themselves when performing.

The lead vocalist merged with the crowd effortlessly and climbed onto the barrier to interact with fans even more which at times i was convinced he was going to get dragged into the crowd by said fans.

9/10

South Arcade have decided that for their Manchester show this was no longer their band name, but letting the alter ego North Arcade take over. Their merch has their alter ego name displayed on the front of their shirts with the Mortal Combat styled posters to match available.

Plus during the break between Leap and North Arcade, management began handing out red foam fingers that displayed the South Arcade vs North Arcade on the front for free to everyone there, which was great if you’re someone who didn’t have the money for merch.

The last time I saw South Arcade perform they were incredible as a support and they stole the crowd and got them hyped up for the main event. But this time it’s their tour and it’s going to go off. Not once did the crowd move in between sets making sure to keep their places secure.

The band takes to the stage and there’s some very noticeable changes, like the once blonde vocalist sports black hair with her usual nu-metal styled outfit, and I won’t lie it took me way too long to realise that it’s actually a wig. North Arcade should in the definition of energy, they are non stop from start to finish and the crowd is electric.

Halfway through the set the vibes keep to being the same but with even more of a twist with the band’s version of Justin Timberlake’s SexyBack. Which in my opinion was way better than the original.

The vibes throughout this set were just incredible from start to finish, at midnight the band had a new song coming out called Supermodel which shows lead vocalist Harmony showed off her new rapping skills in the song which really brought out the early 2000s nu-metal vibes that they’re going for.

South Arcade are on the up and have many sets at festivals this year including being nominated for a Heavy Music Award, the only current award show that houses alternative music fully. You can see them now supporting Bilmuri and at Leeds / Reading festival this August.

Setlist: