Last night the AO arena found itself deep inside the West Coast, as Ice Cube, Cypress Hill and D12 gave Manchester the ‘High Rollers Tour experience’. The 90s and Noughties at its finest.
2000s rap heavyweights D12 opened the show for a Manchester crowd that began filling the AO Arena from the moment the doors opened.
The Detroit legends paid homage to their heyday years with Eminem performing tracks like ‘Lose Yourself’ and ‘Purple Pills’ to get the crowd rolling back the years.
Serving as a brilliant support act for headliners, they did plenty more than just warm up the once-freezing fans on a frosty night in Manchester and before we knew it, Cypress Hill stepped up to set the arena alight.
Sen Dog, B-Real, DJ Lord and Eric ‘Bobo’ Correa demonstrated exactly how and why they have stayed in the game for more than 32 years now.
ADVERTISEMENT
Cypress Hill’s set was packed with plenty of nostalgia. (Credit: The Manc Group)
Lord commanded the turntables with a level of skill that’s becoming more of a rarity these days, intertwining with Bobo’s unfathomably fast and rhythmic percussion, all whilst B-Real and Sen Dog worked a lively crowd to tracks like ”Dr Greenthumb’, ‘Rock Superstar’ and ‘Hits from the Bong’.
However, the real reminder of just how crazy their sets can be at times came when they dropped the iconic ‘Insane In The Brain’. Old-school lyricism, marijuana-filled graphics on the big screen and a crowd clearly breathing just as much of the ‘atmosphere’ as B-Real himself, is was like Cali had been transported to Manny.
ADVERTISEMENT
And then Ice Cube arrived. Chills, pun intended.
Proving to everyone in the building that he’s still got it and then some, his arrival at the Arena was his first return to the UK since 2011, and oh how he’s been missed.
Cube owned the stage; no dancers, no gimmicks — just himself and long-time partner in crime WC giving everyone a legendary recap of a legendary career all the way back to the 80s.
ADVERTISEMENT
Ice Cube walked into Manchester’s AO Arena like he owned the place — and he did.
From ‘Natural Born Killaz’ to ‘Why We Thugs’ and, of course, ‘Straight Outta Compton’, the duo showed precisely what an OG can really do. It felt like an honour to watch the N.W.A legend Crip-walking across the stage as a reel of film clips played behind him. The crowd were starstruck and rightly so.
One of the greatest MCs to ever do it even blessed us with arguably one of the greatest diss tracks of all time, ‘No Vaseline’, in which he kills off four rappers and a DJ — and makes sure nobody forgets. Mint.
As he asks the crowd if they want one more, he’s met with an inevitable roar of cheers and applause four times over and then, as he’s done a thousand times before, he signed off by letting everyone know that ‘It Was a Good Day’. Perfection.
It was a truly special performance for those inside the AO on Thursday night and one which we can guarantee no one will be forgetting any time soon. Still going 35 years strong, that was all about Ice Cube making a point of reminding everyone why he’s still one of the best in the game.
A Pulp pop-up pub is coming to Manchester this weekend to celebrate their Wythenshawe Park gig
Daisy Jackson
A pop-up pub dedicated to Pulp, complete with a jukebox programmed by Jarvis Cocker himself, is coming to Manchester this week.
The temporary boozer coincides with the legendary band’s upcoming sold-out gig at Wythenshawe Park, where they’ll play to a 30,000-strong crowd.
To celebrate their return to Manchester, Pulp will be taking over the Rat & Pigeon in the Northern Quarter for three days.
As well as the Jarvis-programmed jukebox, fans of the band will be able to join a series of events, grab some limited-edition merch, and take part in competitions curated by the band.
The Rat & Pigeon – temporarily rebranded to The Pulp Pop-Up Pub – will be completely decked out in rare Pulp paraphernalia borrowed from the band’s archive.
A special, limited edition Wythenshawe Park t-shirt will be sold exclusively at the Rat & Pigeon while stocks last.
Fans will also be in with a chance of winning test pressings of Live!, an album document of the band’s 2025 show at The O2 in London.
There will also be a number of giveaways at Piccadilly Records across the weekend.
Pulp will perform at Live From Wythenshawe Park on Friday 28 August, one of five huge artists performing at the venue this summer.
Also playing this weekend will be Courteeners, and The Prodigy, with Lewis Capaldi and The Cure having already performed their huge shows at the venue.
The Pulp Pop-Up Pub will be open at the Rat & Pigeon between 12pm and 7pm on Friday 28, 12pm until late on Saturday 29, and 12pm until 2pm on Sunday 30 August.
Featured image: The Manc Group / Publicity picture
Audio
Tame Impala announces another HUGE Manchester gig after chart-topping success
Emily Sergeant
Tame Impala has announced another UK and EU tour in 2027 to celebrate recent chart-topping success.
Following sold-out runs across the globe in 2025 and 2026 – including here in Manchester – and currently in the midst of a North American arena tour, Tame Impala has announced a new run of dates for next year – with a mix of headline and festival appearances.
The announcement arrives as Kevin Parker – better known by his project name, Tame Impala – continues an extraordinary run with his latest studio album Deadbeat, released last year.
On Deadbeat, Parker aimed to sculpt a collection of ‘wickedly potent’ club-psych explorations as a vehicle for some of his most direct, ear-wormy songwriting to date.
Tame Impala has announced another huge Manchester gig after chart-topping success / Credit: Julian Klincewicz (Supplied)
After recently being featured in the new Marvel film, Spiderman: Brand New Day, the lead single from the album, ‘Loser’, has just hit number one on the Global Spotify chart.
Not only that, but the remix of the hit song ‘Dracula’, featuring JENNIE, also remains in the top 10 on various global charts, and the original version has also nominated for Best Alternative at the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards.
Critics described this most recent run of gigs as ‘one of the best live shows of the year’, so it only makes sense that he’d be back for more.
Kicking off on 28 May 2027 in here in Manchester, Tame Impala will be taking to the Co-op Live stage once again, before heading down to the capital for two nights at The O2 on 1 and 2 June, and then popping over to Paris, Rotterdam, and Cologne to.
Wet Leg will open all headlining dates next year, including here in Manchester.
Tickets go on sale this week, with Co-op Member Presale kicking off at 9am on Wednesday (26 August), followed by General Sale also at 9am on Friday (28 August).
The Manc Audio -
8th December 2023 
