A FUN AND FRANTIC EVENING OF POP PUNK: THE DOLLYROTS & DON’T PANIC HIT MANCHESTER

LIVE REVIEW: THE DOLLYROTS/DON’T PANIC w/ Daniel Cotton (When Suddenly) | AATMA, MANCHESTER 26th April 2025 by Craig Harston

A couple of years on from their last co-headliner tour, The Dollyrots and Don’t Panic returned to Manchester to deliver a fun and entertaining night of pop punk on a warm spring night.

Kicking off the night was one third of When Suddenly, who due to a family emergency left bass player Daniel Cotton to play a solo acoustic set. He was clearly nervous to be on his own but endeared himself to the room when he explained what was happening and admitted he was not a singer or guitarist. He played a fantastic set of When Suddenly songs, including ‘Flowchart’, ‘Night Drive’ and ‘142’ and drawing a lot of cheering from an empathetic crowd.

Don’t Panic were up next, playing a set that including plenty of deep cuts. Admitting they were playing songs that they don’t usually play live, the band displayed an energy that belied the fact they’re in their 40’s! Hitting the stage with a great rendition of ‘Dark Horse’ and getting some synchronicity towards the end of ‘Woe I’, during which the cymbal fell off the drums and singer Ted Felicetti briefly thought he was still in Glasgow (covering himself afterwards by saying he thought Manchester was a better crowd and that it was the first city Don’t Panic ever played in). Blasting through songs from across their discography, including ‘Just A Call Away’, ‘Numb’ and ‘Friends Make Better Enemies’ and ‘Fire Walk With Me’ with plenty of pogoing, the band then took some time to talk up their second EP of cover songs before The Dollyrots‘ Kelly Ogden joined them for their version of Cyndi Lauper’s ‘Time After Time’.

Going into their final two songs they got plenty of clapping going into ‘The Long Way Home’ with the crowd giving a ton on “Wo-oah’s” on final song ‘Fall Of 99’. They played a great set and gave The Dollyrots a very hard act to follow, Which they admittedly didn’t quite live up to.

Failing to quite capture the same energy as Don’t Panic, The Dollyrots did play a fun show of their bubblegum punk songs. With a lot of crowd interaction, The Dollyrots set included plenty of focus on their first album ‘Eat Your Heart Out’, which unbelievably turned 20 last year!

Starting with a triple whammy of ‘My Best Friend’s Hot’, ‘Everything’ and ‘Night Owl’, the band were clearly enjoying themselves as they went into ‘I Know How To Party’, with Luis Cabezas pointing out that gigs are like a party with people you don’t know; a statement which the room responding enthusiastically. The next couple of songs focused on The Dollyrots Florida roots; ‘Alligator’ and ‘City Of Angels’, with the latter becoming stupidly fast in places.

Kelly took some time to talk about how ridiculous the cost of dental care is in both the UK and the US ahead of ‘Kick Me To The Curb’ and their cover of ‘Brand New Key’. Luis then announced the next song ‘I Just Wanna Play Dead’ was about touring, before Kelly pointed out it was actually about sleeping, something they haven’t done. Following up with ‘Twist Me To The Left’ and then ‘Jackie Chan’, the latter which would previously have had Kelly and Luis’s kids (“The Dollytots”) appear during the bridge for a comedy segment, but alas, they weren’t here this evening.

Heading into to the end of the show, The Dollyrots reflected on their previous visits to the UK by mentioning how they frequently toured with Bowling For Soup and that one of their first UK tours was actually with punk rock legends The Buzzcocks. Finishing with ‘Dance Like A Maniac’ and the always excellent ‘Because I’m Awesome’, it was a collective opinion that it was a great night of pop punk in Manchester which all three bands delivering. You can’t ask for much more than that.