WORDS AND IMAGES MICHAEL BOND
Oxford Alt Rock 4-piece South Arcade turn up the noise at Manchester Academy 3 as part of their European and US tour
If tonight is anything to go by, up and coming bands like South Arcade are thriving and are a clear indicator that rising bands and our UK grass roots venues are so valuable and need all the support they can get. Because if they don’t have an opportunity to play to smaller crowds then the fanbase can’t grow & thrive, meaning the big venues won’t get tomorrows next headliners.
Opening tonight is a band new to me in the way of Leap. A 4-piece indie/rock outfit with a charismatic front man & sone shredding riffs. Often support acts can be looked over with a lot of fans just focused on the headline, but these guys hit the stage with the intention of making the most of their opportunity to be in front of this crowd. Getting them fired up for their performance and inciting a mosh pit which the crowd eagerly oblige. Front man Jack has a real swagger, dancing around the stage hopping in and out of the pit and interacting with the crowd.
Carrying a solid set of songs in their set, if you see these guys listed in a local venue, their just about to set off on their own headline tour, or on an upcoming festival lineup this coming summer, go take a listen to some newer upcoming talent.
Ahead of the main event, someone who i suspect to be the bands manager starts throwing out Gladiator style foam fingers into the crowd, which are received spectacularly well as they are scattered all over the 450 capacity crowd, and who doesn’t like a freebee. now ready with props, the atmosphere starts to grow and as the band walk out waving their arms hyping the crowd up. Wasting no time lead singer Harmony Cavelle makes it onto the stage, timing her entrance to perfection as the band burst into their opener.
Having built up a fanbase on TikTok, the band are working hard and succeeding in bringing their energy off social media into their stage performance. That said, it’s clear that each member of the band is a performer. With guitarists Harry and Ollie using up the space on the small stage and singing along with the crowd, with vocalist Harmony dressed in 3/4 shorts and bikini top interacting with the crowd through Danger, a viral hit which ignited their fanbase and now with over 1 million streams.
Cavelle is quickly into her stride, bringing her personality to the show. This energy rushes from the stage into the crowd, who seemingly cannot get enough of the tracks being delivered. A hugely engaging performer, Harmony has the ability to command a much bigger stage than she finds herself on at this second floor venue in Manchester.
As the show progresses the atmosphere is relentless with the band smashing their way through the set, with a sweaty crowd keeping pace song after song. Tonight, South Arcade have put on a show that you can’t help but be drawn in to, and the crowd know they’ve been in the presence of a band with real momentum. A band that no doubt will be able to headline even bigger venues than this next time around.
Setlist:
(setlist from the 13/03 is currently unavailable to the below may not be accurate)
1/ DANGER
2/ Nepo Baby
3/ HOW 2 GET AWAY WITH MURDER
4/ Moth Kids
5/ 2005
6/ Unaware
7/ Sound Of An Empty Room
8/ stone cold summer
FOLLOW SOUTH ARCADE
