Photo Credit: Press

At a packed-out Gorilla in Manchester, the Hastings trio delivered a set which was loud, and impossible to ignore. From the very first note, the venue became a sea of bouncing bodies and arms thrown in the air. 

Support came from Jeanie and the White Boys who delivered a glamorously unhinged set which perfectly channelled female rage in a punk rock style. Jeanie introduced each track with sharp, dry anecdotes before completely switching gears once the music kicked in. Onstage she was magnetic, a punk frontwoman and glam rock star, she commanded the stage with charisma as if she was the headliner. Behind her stood ‘her white boys’ who played it cool and restrained their blank facial expressions contrasted her intensity. The dynamic worked, it felt chaotic yet controlled. It is hard to ignore how clear of a performer she is.

From the second HotWax paraded onto the stage at Manchester’s Gorilla, delivering a set full of controlled chaos which refused to allow room to breathe. They launched straight into ‘Hard Goodbye’, setting the tone for a set which didn’t leave the crowd a moment to stop. Frontwoman Tallulah Sim-Savage was captivating delivering sharp punk rock riffs and vocals which were a perfect blend of being hazy and vulnerable. Alongside Tallulah stood Lola Sam who bought thick driving baselines which sent the room into overdrive and glamorously harmonising with the backing vocals. Drummer Alfie Sayers kept the pace going without missing a beat. 

The setlist mostly consisted of songs taken from their 2025 debut album ‘Hot Shock‘ whilst still finding space for old fan favourites like ‘Rip It Out’ and ‘Paint It Nice’ both which sparked instant energy in the crowd. From the very start the energy never stopped as mosh pits opened up quickly and never really stopped. ‘A Thousand Times” slowed down the pace for the final stretch proving how the intensity will never be lost even in the more intimate moments.

The encore came and the energy stepped up a level as the crowd knew the night was coming to a close ‘Pharmacy’ and ‘One More Reason’ allowed one final spike in liveliness. ‘Rip It Out’ sent the room into a frenzy as the heavy baseline shook the room one final time. 

On the penultimate show of their tour, they left nothing behind proving how HotWax are on the rise to bigger and better things. HotWax are a band on the rise and are certainly ones to watch in 2026 in a postpunk era they’ve certainly bought punk rock back.