Dead Pioneer | Yakkie
Rebellion, Manchester
27th February 2026
Landing in Manchester for the second date of their UK / EU tour, Dead Pioneers are here to demonstrate the power of their political punk for a night that we at Louder Than War have been waiting for after two explosive albums and an exclusive documentary. Wayne AF Carey is there to witness a piece of history…
It’s a big weekend in town with the little-known band Foo Fighters playing up the road at the 02 Ritz, Mogwai at The Apollo and The Brit Awards hitting Manchester for the first time, bringing the glamour and glitz to the home of music history. I’m here to witness the power of Gregg Deal and his tight unit of modern punk that’s lighting up the scene again. It’s quiet when I arrive, and Gregg is on his own merch stall selling his wares and chatting to the early arrivals. A real gentleman. The venue is filling up fast and as our man Ian Corbridge quotes, “It’s like a LTW Convention in here tonight” with Iain Key and partner, Nigel and Ian Carr, John Robb and loads of familiar faces who know the score when a band this exciting hits town.
First up are London punk band Yakkie, who delivered a stunning debut album reviewed here mid February. It’s a powerful set of great tunes, including the anthemic He Sleeps Alone, sounding massive, with the animated Janey Starling throwing herself around like a banshee at times, backed by a solid unit and an appearance at one point from Ren Aldridge of Petrol Girls, whose vocals are vitriolic as we know well from her guest vocals on DP’s Love Language. I especially like Janey’s customised football top with the Screamadelica logo on it! A blazing set that goes down well to an appreciative crowd of new and old punks. Ones to keep an eye on…
The tension is rising when Dead Pioneers hit the stage and they start with AIM (American Indian Movement) with the building drums and chanting ramping up before we are hit with the next two tracks Po$t American and My Spirit Animal… which are powerful as fuck before Gregg introduces the other band members, guitarists Josh Rivera and Abe Brennan, drummer Shane Zweygardt and bassist Lee Tesche. The rest of the set is a mix-up of tracks from both albums, including the excellent Mythical Cowboys, Juicy Fruit and the rousing storytelling of The Caucasity. The way the set hits the crowd is great, and it’s nice to see people singing the lyrics on the more anthemic moments.
My highlights are the one minute punk blasts of Rage, We Were Punk First, STFU and Pit Song with Gregg coming across as the new face of punk, with the intensity of Rage Against The Machine, Fugazi and The Circle Jerks, all wrapped up in a ball of DC Hardcore. Ren Aldridge enters the stage again with her Eve Libertine like vocals, going back to the Crass years on a brilliant Love Language. Then we get the excellent new single Nazi Teeth with its rallying cry of war against the far right bellends, a caustic tune with tons of menace, with a message. Gregg does some little stints of spoken word and storytelling from his notebook from time to time, before they launch into the excellent Bad Indian, which sounds better live than on record, with a finale of the punk atomic band anthem Dead Pioneers.
This is definitely an ‘I was there’ moment and proof that punk isn’t dead, it’s starting all over again with a new breed of angry bands with something to say in these unsettling times. It will be hard to top a gig so powerful this year.
~
Photos by Andrew Twambley. Please note: Use of these images in any form without permission is illegal.
Words by Wayne Carey, Reviews Editor for Louder Than War. His author profile is here
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