Confidence Man don’t do things quietly. The Australian duo have built a reputation as one of the most riotous live acts in dance music, fuelled as much by pranks and outrageous stories as their knack for writing floor-filling anthems. When we caught up with Janet Planet and Sugar Bones at Fumo over margaritas and pasta, it was obvious from the off that the chaos is very real, very funny, and completely unstoppable.
One story sums it up. Sugar once tried to launch a pasta-review Instagram, only to find his follower count shooting up overnight. For weeks, bandmates secretly bought him thousands of fake fans, letting him think he’d suddenly gone viral before gleefully breaking the news. It was less a social media breakthrough and more a perfectly executed stitch-up – the kind of trick that could only happen within this band.
Of all the cities they’ve played, Manchester seems to match their energy best. They’ve spent nights deep in The White Hotel (drinking White Russians, obviously, at the behest of fellow producer Daniel Avery), fully immersing themselves in the city’s rave DNA, and they’re quick to credit Manc crowds as some of the wildest in the world. So it makes perfect sense that this autumn they’re not just playing The Warehouse Project – they’re curating the whole thing.
On Friday 24 October, Depot Mayfield will host a Confidence Man-programmed all-nighter with a line-up that shows the band’s taste as much as their energy. Expect Romy, Antony Szmierek, Sofia Kourtesis, Folamour, Hunee, and a B2B with Erol Alkan alongside the band themselves. Three rooms, friends and collaborators, and a live set that promises to turn the Depot into a full-blown carnival.
The band’s journey from Brisbane psych-rock outsiders to dance-pop troublemakers is full of twists. Sugar jokes about being the ‘shitty keyboardist’ with notes taped to the keys, before a sharp left turn saw them channelling rave culture and kitsch pop into something uniquely theirs. In the studio, their rule is simple: don’t overthink it. Many of their most infectious hooks are literally first takes captured in the moment, raw and unfiltered.
But behind the silliness sits sharp instinct. Their shows are choreographed chaos — synchronised moves, outrageous outfits sewn by family members, and a rhythm section masked up like shadowy mascots. It’s theatre, parody and pure hedonism all rolled into one. As Janet puts it, “you don’t come to a Confidence Man gig to stand still.”
Manchester also seems to attract the band’s strangest tales. A night involving U2 and Noel Gallagher spiralled from an arena shout-out into afters, shortly followed by dinner where sausages were cooked, neighbours threatened to shut things down with decibel meters, and The Edge ended up writing notes of defence on behalf of the party. It’s absurd, but in Confidence Man’s world, that’s business as usual.
And that’s why their WHP curation feels like such a natural fit. Manchester thrives on energy, mischief, and music that makes people lose their inhibitions, all of which Confidence Man have in spades. If you’ve seen them live, you’ll know what’s coming: confetti, sweat, coconut bras, and the kind of collective release that feels closer to a sporting victory than a gig.
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