hard life w/ woody – Manchester Academy: Live Review

By Micha Thompson on 12th November 2025 • ( Leave a comment )

Leicester alternative-indie band hard life take to Manchester Academy for their UK headline tour following their latest album ‘onion’.

WOODY

Support act woody may have only just released several songs, but his future already looks bright. Performing tracks from his album that dropped last month, he quickly won over the room, especially with the closing favourite ‘over n’ out’. His upbeat indie charm set the perfect tone, warming up the crowd before Hard Life took to the stage.

HARD LIFE

After a hard two years and the band on the line, hard life open their set with the explosive fan favourite ‘tears’. Fans were sent into a frenzy the second the band stepped on stage. Murray Matravers’ signature energy waves through the crowd as he shouted: “Manchester, how we feeling?!”

Daydreams keeps the momentum climbing, and white lighting and a roaring crowd created a euphoric atmosphere. ‘y3llow bike’ brought one of the wildest moments of the night as support act Woody dove into the audience to crowd surf across fans!

The tone shifts with ‘petty crime’, opening with a delicate piano melody before the audience took over, singing every lyric back with passion mirrored by Murray’s raw and soulful vocals.

GROWING ENERGY

Things ramp up again as ‘ojpl’ had the crowd’s energy growing. Thunderstorm sound effects opened the tune, immersed in a pink and orange wash. With a dim light, cricket noises filled the atmosphere, and of course, it was ‘crickets!’ Murray calls to the crowd: “I’m gonna do a little number on my own and you’re gonna help me with it, alright?”. What follows is the most intimate and vulnerable moment between Murray and the fans. Making the room feel more special, fans held up their phone torches, lighting up the venue.

othello took the energy right back up with prominent drum beats accompanied by flashing lights, and it was a shock that the crowd still had a voice left after their dedication to the show. BEESWAX follows with flashes of blue and yellow and a crowd that didn’t stop jumping. Murray told the crowd: “We didn’t think this would be possible again, but you made it happen, so thank you so much.”

Another memorable and heartfelt moment arrives when the band dedicated ‘DEAD MRS HOLLOWAY’ to guitarist Lewis Alexander Berry’s dad, Andrew, who sadly passed away in October from a 30-year battle with cancer. The amount of bravery and strength Lewis has to stand up on stage and perform for thousands is admirable. Fans raise their phone torches again, a sea of lights waving in solidarity.

FOR THE ‘OG’ FANS

“Any OG fans in the building?” The crowd goes wild as the band’s debut single ‘pockets’ is next up. Released back in 2017, it still manages to get the whole crowd singing almost a decade later since its release. A surefire testament of a great song.

Ending the night on a high with a mosh pit taking over the entire venue, ‘skeletons’ sees fans living life in the moment, fully immersed in the atmosphere.

Before closing the night with ‘end credits’ released earlier this year, Murray joked: “Might as well just play Manchester because everywhere else is fucking pointless!” The crowd cheer and the lights dim as the band leave the stage, fans taking in every moment.