Live Review: Real Friends, With Confidence

The pop punk ethos of the show is strong, with many passionate young fans yelling along to lyrics and the older "too cool for thou" fans bopping their heads back in the 18+ area. Real Friends' bassist Kyle Fasel is happily hanging out at the merch stand, and people either haven't noticed or don't care. The mosh often breaks out into a circle pit-esque frenzy — tie-dyed shirts and Vans flying in the air and shower frontmen grabbing microphones from the actual frontmen to share a piece of the limelight. 

With Confidence garner a lot more enthusiasm from the crowd than the previous openers as they rip through a number of songs like Tonight, London Lights and a cover of Brand New's The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows, who are emo icons for much of the crowd. Lead singer/bassist Jayden Seeley's voice is emotive yet melodic too, switching seamlessly from Jesse Lacey to Tom Delonge.

The crowd is geared up to mosh as soon as Chicago quintet Real Friends step foot on the stage, ripping into I Don't Love You Anymore and Skin Deep amidst flailing legs and stage dives that narrow miss the photographers' heads. Singer Dan Lambton's mop of curls hides his face most of the time, while he feverishly staggers around on stage with his eyes closed. Cover You Up really hits the right spots with the crowd who scream "Am I trying to forget you or just cover you up?" passionately. Lost Boy slows things down a notch, though punters riding on shoulders don't stop echoing Dan's vocals for a moment. They pump through crowd favourites like Loose Ends and Floorboards, before wrapping up with Summer, which serves as an apt summation of their energy and fervour.