Live Review: Without Andrew ‘Dead On Arrival’ Album Launch Show – Hive, Manchester, UK, 8th February 2019

The Hive occupies the site of venues that, depending on your age, would have been known as The Swinging Sporran or Retro Bar, something that indicates despite the ongoing and unwelcome gentrification of the city centre the live music scene in Manchester continues to thrive. Tonight the basement of the venue is hosting Without Andrew playing their impressive new album, Dead On Arrival, in full with support from three local acts, The Divide, Second Home and Glass Panda. Bizarrely you can’t buy alcohol in the venue and have to leave the cellar and go to the upstairs bar, something I’ve never encountered before that seems to smack of commercial suicide, not to mention the immense level of inconvenience to the seasoned drinkers in the crowd.

First up tonight is The Divide, they announce themselves as “what’s left of The Divide” which indicates there has been a parting of the ways amongst their ranks, something that was confirmed to me later in the evening, as they are stripped down the bare bones of an acoustic guitar and vocals. The limitations of playing as an acoustic duo means that their set has shifted away from its planned format into a mix of original songs and covers that spans pop punk to alt rock, including tracks by We The Kings and All Time Low. Whatever happens with The Divide in the future remains to be seen but for now, especially given the nature of this impromptu acoustic set that appears to be their final show, this was a promising start to the evening.

Tonight is Second Home’s first ever show, they mine deep into pop punk’s glory days and you really don’t need to me to list the usual suspects to get an idea where they are coming from. All the hooks, bounce and enthusiasm are there, and despite this being their first live appearance outside of rehearsals Second Home don’t lack confidence, something that is evidenced by the fact that they have taken the unusual step of releasing their debut EP, First Thoughts, prior to playing live. As with any band making their debut they have a noisy entourages of friends in tow to ensure their first outing is a memorable one. They deliver everything, and give everything, they’ve got and they close with a well received and thunderous cover of Blink-182’s All The Small Things. afterwards Second Home hand out free copies of their debut EP, this really is how debut live appearances should go.

By the time the wonderfully named Glass Panda, yet another band who are making their live debut tonight, take the stage the Hive‘s chilly basement has started to fill up with a somewhat youthful crowd. Glass Panda bring a touch of rock to tonight’s line up, their sound initially carries a distinct influence from the pre punk days when rock dinosaurs stalked the earth, but they bring things up to date with a polished set of slightly alt tinged rock, and as you’d expect on a debut appearance a few covers are thrown into the mix including the Kings Of Leon standard, Molly’s Chambers. Glass Panda‘s set is one that is faultlessly delivered, but for me they’re a band that feel somewhat out of place on tonight’s line up, but as the crowd seems to respond well to their debut appearance who am I to argue. 

Finally, and at a ludicrously early time for a headline act, Without Andrew take the stage to deliver Dead On Arrival, on record I noted that there was a distinct influence from My Chemical Romance and Green Day about Without Andrew, live they come across as a more intense proposition that recalls the energy and darkness of The Misfits and Alkaline Trio. Tonight is punctuated by the band swapping roles and instruments, something that keeps the set continually shifting in style, they also make regular detours into the crowd mid song and enjoy an effortless interaction with the crowd, many of whom are obviously intimately familiar with the band. The gig that was billed as Dead On Arrival in full deviates from the template early in the evening as Without Andrew gleefully throw material from their previous albums, Let’s Boo Boo and With Great Power Comes Great Irresponsibility, into the mix.

Without Andrew treat tonight’s show in the frozen basement of Hive like it’s an arena show, for me their stage presence and attitude is something that deserves to be experienced by larger crowds. I was impressed by Without Andrew’s latest album but live they are a different proposition, rock theatrics combined with punk intensity and attitude is always going to be a winner, something that they underline with a triumphant Fuck You You’re A Racist. Even though I lost all sensation in my feet a while ago it was worth it to catch another band from the city that proudly boasts to be the capital of DIY punk, everything about Without Andrew’s set is more evidence that this isn’t just a delusion of grander. Today has seen a varied line up of three bands, including debut live appearances from two bands and the end of another, prior to Without Andrew delivering a storming live show at a venue that refuses to die… some heating wouldn’t go amiss though.

The Punk Site review of Dead On Arrival can be read here

Without Andrew‘s Facebook page is here and their online store is here

Glass Panda can be found on Facebook here

Second Home‘s Facebook page is here

Live photography is by Dean Unsworth, his Instagram account is located here and you can click on any of Dean’s photos to view a slide show of the images