At Aviva Studios, Fatboy Slim showed that even after decades in the game, he’s still finding new ways to electrify a room.
Set against a backdrop of lasers, confetti cannons and LED Screens Fatboy Slim felt less like a DJ and more like the lord of acid ballroom, ready for the tidal wave of fans in front of him.
Whether you’re an old-school Mancunian rave head or a new kid on the block you knew he was always in control, issuing a constant bombardment of psychedelic colours and smiley faces.
Long before he stepped up to the decks, anticipation had been building and when the first beat dropped the response was immediate.
From the very beginning it was clear he knew his Manc audience were hooked. Pictures of cultural iconics like Chadwick Bosman, Idris Elber and Andy Warhol were totted on the screen behind him.
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He played The Rockafeller Skank, setting out his set with an obvious hit.
It was Ya Mama (Push the tempo) to bellow out across the vast floor of Aviva Studios next, accompanied by the original 2010 music video on the backdrop behind him.
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Fatboy Slim at Aviva Studios in Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group
From there, the set unfolded like a guided tour through decades of dance floor dominance, old and new blending seamlessly.
The crowd was then hit by ‘Groove Amada – I see you baby (Fatboy Slim Remix)’ the shift that occurred at that moment is something only a tune of that stature can deliver.
Throughout the set, he doubled down on the heavier moments. ‘Weapon of Choice’ landed like a controlled explosion with lights strobing, bass reverberating through your chest, while a remix of ‘Mr Brightside’ originally by The Killers showcased his ability to stretch a breakdown just long enough to keep thousands hanging in suspense.
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The emotional high point arrived with ‘Praise You’. Phones lifted, arms wrapped around shoulders, strangers turned into temporary best mates. For a few minutes, Aviva Studio’s felt less like a room and more like a shared memory in the making.
But sentimentality didn’t linger for too long. This is Fatboy Slim, after all. The pace soon ramped back up with ‘Eat, Sleep, Rave, Repeat’ delivering that spine tingling, hands in the air, friends on shoulders moment that defines nights like these.
Even between tracks, he worked the crowd with the confidence of someone who knows exactly what they’re doing, after 40 years it’s absolutely no surprise to us. A Hawaiian shirt , a well-timed rewind, a teasing fake drop and not to mention a for airhorns it’s showmanship at it’s finest.
As the main set drew to a close, ‘Right here, Right Now’ felt like a finale in itself. The track even these days feels defiant, euphoric, and was shouted back in fragments by a crowd that’s lived with this track for years, while a percentage of the crowd hearing it live for the first time.
The encore didn’t mess about. One final surge of energy, one last seismic drop, and boom! More confetti, fireworks, lights and smoke than even Greater Manchester Fire Department could handle. It sent Aviva Studios into a closing frenzy. Fans were sweat-drenched, smiling, and reluctant to see the lights come up.
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Fatboy Slim at Aviva Studios wasn’t just another tour stop. It was a reminder that while trends shift and scenes evolve, few artists understand the architecture of a great night out quite like he does. Decades in, and he’s still orchestrating chaos with pinpoint precision. Once again proving that some acts don’t fade with time, they just refine the formula.
Tame Impala at Co-op Live, Manchester – lasers, lights, and a bit of a hangover
Daisy Jackson
The coolest man in the southern hemisphere has finally made his way back up north, for his first Manchester gig in a decade.
That cool man in question is Tame Impala, the music project of what-the-hell-can’t-he-play multi-instrumentalist Kevin Parker.
Sure, last year’s single release ‘Dracula’, and then its remix re-release with K-pop megastar Jennie, may have propelled Tame Impala up towards the top of the UK singles chart for the first time, but he’s got almost two decades-worth of music to dig through beyond that too.
It’s a hefty discography and it leads to a setlist that seems to almost peak about six times.
‘How could it possibly get better than this?’ we seem to ask as he plays The Moment, Elephant, Dracula, and Let It Happen pretty early on – but better it does indeed get.
It doesn’t seem to matter whether he’s up on the main space-ship-esque stage surrounded by lasers and lights, or sat on the floor of the B Stage playing around with a keyboard, Tame Impala has an irresistible, enchanting charisma. A lot more charisma that you’d expect from a man called Kevin.
Early on, he confesses that he’s quite severely hungover from last night’s show, where he had Dua Lipa (he wrote and produced her Radical Optimism album) as a surprise guest.
But you can see the hangover clear from his eyes in real time as 23,500 Mancs scream in his face. Which might not sound like a likely hangover cure, but who am I to argue with the evidence in front of me?
Although Kevin writes, produces, and records his music solo, he’s got half a dozen musicians up on the main stage with him, which looks like a convoluted space ship that fires confetti out of its thrusters (FOUR TIMES!).
With revolving lights, dancing lasers, and a metal grid base spewing out dry ice, it’s really one hell of a production.
It’s a light show designed to give us all a glimpse of his synesthesia (meaning he sees colours when he hears music (Billie Eilish has it too)) – essentially, if you couldn’t hear a thing and could only see the stage, you can still tell exactly what song is playing.
Still, when he saunters straight through the crowd to his smaller stage to mix tracks solo – no lasers, just a few lamps – flopping down onto a tangle of wires like a mad magpie building himself a nest, it’s a chance to remember this guy’s composing prowess.
A lot of the songs performed tonight are almost orchestral in their complexity, so that the whole show merges into one thundering, bewitching night of dancing and being blasted in the face by confetti.
It’s genius.
So can you not leave it another decade before you come back, Kevin?
Kahiki Soundhouse – the new Mint Lounge site is living up to the old name and its live music legacy
Danny Jones
If you went out in town back in the day (pretty much any time from the late 90s to the 2010s), or indeed have sampled a Funkdemia over the past couple of decades, chances are you tried or at least heard of Mint Lounge – but did you know it’s been replaced by a new kid on the block, Kahiki?
Kahiki Soundhouse, to give it its full name, is the new live music venue bar that has opened up the old basement space on Oldham Street in the Northern Quarter.
In truth, it’s now more of a classic lounge than ever before.
The large open-plan floor, which used to be filled with people standing/two-stepping inside a fairly barebones club room with no air conditioning, has now been traded up for a stylish space lined with plush padded seats, classy low-lit tables perfect to share a glass or two over, and lots of new features.
Perhaps the biggest change is that the old soundbooth/stage area that used to be way at the back has now been swapped for a central 360° podium that changes up each night.
It really is the star of the all-week-round Kahiki show, if you ask us.
This also means that no matter where you are in the main venue (there are other rooms, but we’ll get to that), be it tucked in a booth to the side, at the bar, or even ‘behind’ whoever’s playing, you’ll have a virtually unobstructed view of what’s happening from noon until night.
Seriously, thanks to their already jam-packed schedule, the reviews aren’t just off to a great start only a few days in, but people have been turning up in the early evening and staying well into the early hours of the next day.
They’ve got duelling pianos, live bandaoke, acoustic nights and straightforward DJ sets for those who still fancy a taste of the previous vibe.
Kahiki’s maiden Manchester city centre venue definitely harks back to the good times had in the Mint Lounge days, but the team, who possess decades of experience between them, have combined a retro feel almost more akin to 1960s speakeasies, cocktails and evening venues.
It’s no secret that clubbing and the UK nightlife scene have changed quite a bit since the pandemic, but these guys look to have found that perfect blend of more relaxed seating, along with plenty of room to get up and boogie; there’s even a raised mini-stage/dance cage for your main character moments.
Better still, if you do want something a little bit away from the crowds of punters that are continuing to make this one of the liveliest new additions to NQ, they also have adjustable karaoke rooms where bi-folding doors can make room for up to 50 of you and your lot to party in privacy.
Let’s just say the spirit of the Lounge is alive and well in the Soundhouse.
Just one corner of KahikiYour podium awaitsOne of the smaller karaoke rooms
Lonnie Bowes -
14th February 2026 
