Words: Rohan Minhas | Photos: Tessa Neale
Venue: Hare & Hounds 2 (Birmingham, UK) | Date: 18th May 2025

Since having Hyphen headline our show back in October 2023, it's been an absolute privilege to be a part of his journey. I've only known this artist be a force of nature, especially on the stage. That has strongly continued to grow alongside his dedicated community. We sent our writer, Rohan, to the show - check out his thoughts below:

I believe it should be compulsory for everyone to attend a Hyphen gig. With everything happening in our government and across our diasporas, they feel like both a rage room and therapy.  As the final show of such a high-octane tour, it was bound to be insane, and it exceeded the highest expectations. His incredible energy, hoarse voice and the shortest shorts in the music industry made for a winning combination at the gig of the year. 


The Hare & Hounds’ Venue 2 is notoriously intimate. It’s perfect for the community that Hyphen has created with his music. It allowed him to jump into the crowd at any given moment to scream and shout alongside us. By constantly doing this and being at the merch stand before and after the show, he harnessed his gratitude and authenticity to connect with everyone. 

It may sound cliché, but the openers were flawlessly curated. It’s rare to see serious mosh pits and the ground physically shake before the main act. The tone was set early on, strongly indicating how the night would unfold. Walking out to what has become his signature entrance track, Backstreet Boy’s ‘Everybody’, it was very fitting to see him open the ‘This Might Be It Tour’ with its namesake, one of my personal favourites. An ideal opener. While all of his songs have their unique energy, this song was built to kick off a set and built to have a tour named after it. By the end of the first track, we were already out of breath, losing our voice, yet still pumped up for ‘Dystopian Peter Crouch’. The atmosphere intensified through anger and passion.

Next a brilliant track live due to its sarcastic nature and with our country’s current political structure, screaming back the lyrics ('This is Great Britain. How great is it?’) was exactly what we needed. Hyphen took breaks in between songs, expressing gratitude, shouting out the band, and resting his voice. He returned and kept the mayhem rolling with his latest release ‘The Bear’, filled with his vintage rage. 


It led to the what I like to call the hate section, it consists of ‘Hate Thy Neighbour’ and ‘Hate Yachts Not Dinghies’. The former is powerful, calling people out with its direct opening lyrics: ‘A lot of people can tell you about Henry VIII's wives, but haven't heard about genocides that happened during their lives’. These lyrics hit hard and resonate deeply. The latter is a powerful statement in itself. It’s a chant, constantly shouted back, like all of his music, yet the level of catharsis here was unmatched.

Naturally, a shift in tone came. The clocks turned back a few years with ‘Cocoa Butter’. Its focus on self-love was a perfect counter-balance to the anger. It is introspective, feel-good and prideful. From the South Asian diaspora myself, it felt like a love letter to embracing heritage. Malaysian-born Vishal Chopra killed it all night. From speaking when Hyphen’s voice was too hoarse from screaming, to his unbelievable talent, he formed his own spotlight. His solo during the upbeat ‘Confidence’ was a prime example. 

‘Song 2’ from Blur followed, which, in true Hyphen nature, was crowd-friendly. It was a smart choice. We were heavily involved in the famous ‘Woo-Hoo’s’, and it acted as a buffer, getting the audience going again. It was a bittersweet indication of the show nearing an end. He thanked the crowd for turning up like we did, especially on a Sunday night. He again was appreciative, in awe that he’s able to do this all, with us. The monologue swiftly transitioned into ‘Deskjob’. Catharsis was an ever-present theme throughout. The anthemic line ‘Deskjob or s*x tape, suck d*** and get paid’ is a cheeky observation on the current 9-to-5 culture.


The show closed with his two biggest and iconic tracks. During ‘3 Pound Pints’, I lost count of the amount of times he performed on top of the speakers. A hilarious yet devastating commentary on two very British issues- the housing market, and the price of pints. I shouted both the lyrics and Matthew Taylor ad-libs, having spent £6 on a pint earlier that day. Then came the masterpiece, featuring the fan-favourite iconic line: ‘What does Dave in the pub have in common with politicians in power? They absolutely love that Colombian marching powder.’ The final chorus of the night had the whole room screaming like their lives depended on it. What ironically unites us as a society is what fundamentally divides us.

This was more than a gig. Instead of leaving with the usual post-concert depression, I felt grateful. Grateful for him, his music, and in general, the overarching feeling that community creates. It was an incredible night, filled with rage and true authenticity. As one of the only Asian Political-Punk artists out there at the moment, he is the epitome of representation and inspiration.


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