The Hunna – O2 Ritz, Manchester

The Hunna join us tonight at The O2 Ritz Manchester for their self-titled album tour! Already, when going into the venue, it’s boiling hot, even within the first act there’s people passing out in the crowd.

Taking to the stage first is Manchester’s own Lucy Deakin. More of the pop act of the night for sure, Lucy comes onto the stage with her guitarist and drummer. Even though she’s a different genre compared to Kid Kapichi and The Hunna, she’s got a powerful voice. I can sense the nerves coming off her from the pit, but that doesn’t let it stop her from wowing her hometown. She plays her most known track Freaky Friday which gets the crowd going. Before going right into a cover of Complicated by Avril Lavigne. Being the first act is never easy, but this girl has such a powerful voice and stage presence. Let’s hope after this show tonight she breaks out of the internet singer theme.

Up next is Kid Kapichi an Indie band from Hastings consisting of four lads with big personalities, and that’s obvious the second they get on stage. The crowd seems to be more excited to see Kid Kapichi than The Hunna, cheers are heard all the way around The Ritz. You can always tell who the indie band is by the low rise Docs and the hands behind the back singing into the mic method, even before they start playing. But despite not really being a fan of Indie music, as previous indie gigs I’ve gone to the band tends to be boring and not energetic in the slightest, Kid Kapichi proved me wrong completely. They couldn’t stop moving and I swear to God they must be doing the Neck Deep game by seeing how many spins and kicks they can do throughout their set. Everyone over the barrier is going absolutely nuts for these four guys, each of them showing their different personalities on stage but also showing how well they work together, Jack on guitar and Eddie on bass span around the place doing some insane high kicks that sometimes I’m convinced they got their foots past their heads, whereas Ben on vocals and George on Drums watched the chaos with a every ounce of joy showing the more calm personalities of the band. Their sound is very Indie, but if they’re getting the reception that they got that night with the entire crowd at the Ritz knowing who they are and every lyric, then I guarantee this won’t be the last time you hear of Kid Kapichi.

And finally the band of the hour, The Hunna. The boys take to the stage and the crowd immediately goes nuts. They 100% still have the energy from Kid Kapichi, with backs facing the audience they jump right into their first track The Storm. This is the moment I recognise The Hunna from a more Emo time, memories come flooding back and I’m feeling back to being a teenager again. With a lot of jumps and kicks I’m almost convinced the guys here and Kid Kapichi have the Neck Deep bet of seeing how many spins they can do in one set.

Compared to many other crowds I’ve been in, this one is tame. It’s quiet and there isn’t too much energy but this is also a tour to promote their new studio album. So barely anyone is going to know the lyrics especially well since it’s not even out yet. When we’re around five songs deep into the set list, everyone is moving and banging their heads. And the sound coming from the stage is just incredible, frontman Ryan Potter has such an amazing voice it’s bringing me in and sending me right back to my Emo playlist, Emo playlist but with a mellow twist.

Like most of the sets tonight it has its fair share of casualties, which the band stops their set to bring attention to the fan.

This is their fourth album, but they’ve got enough songs ready for album five and six, during this process they even collaborated with pop punk legend Charlie Simpson from Busted. The way he was going on I was almost convinced we were going to see Charlie Simpson. But no sadly not but just a gorgeous ballad, slowing the show down a bit this is the time to get the torches in the air and sway, Jesus listen to this song it’s amazing it’s just so beautiful and live just makes it all better, you can practically feel it around you in The Ritz tonight.

“Manchester, are you ready to get a bit crazy?! This next song is called `”You can’t sit with us”, ‘a reference to Mean Girls, my interest has peaked.

A track about focusing on the positive and saying ‘fuck you’ to those people who think they’re too cool for you. Now the crowd is bouncing a lot more! I spot you Emo’s in the crowd loving this, we’re back at our little Emo rock shows in our ripped jeans and black hoodies. I wasn’t expecting some rough screams from this, but the crowd is going nuts even more so when he jumps in the crowd and crowd surfs!

Apologies, their latest single is next and Manchester is ready to bring it! A nice thick bass kicks it off from the likes of Dan Dorney. Is there an echo in here or are the crowd just belting the lyrics that loud?!

To me The Hunna have always been an incredible band to listen to and this just confirmed how amazing they are to see live! If you missed them on this tour they’re playing at Slamdunk Festival next year, so without a doubt if you want something fairly new.

They end the first part of their set with Untouched Hearts and The Calm and just as the lights go out you think this might be the end of the night, and that it’s a pretty short set for an album tour. The Hunna returns for a final six songs of their greatest hits bringing the crowd to life, with everyone singing along and coming together which honestly is what I expected they would’ve been like from the start.

As much as I personally enjoyed every second of The Hunna’s set, for me the only negative from the night was the energy of the crowd throughout some of the show. I saw unimpressed faces when It got a bit heavier, and barely any jumping around for a punk show. However, I do hold respect for the crowd who might have only come along for Kid Kapichi to stay for the rest of the show instead of going home straight away.

Check out the new self-titled album by The Hunna to get a feel, and check them out at Slamdunk 2023 if you’re making your way to Leeds or Hatfield next year.

Setlist