Live Review: Real Friends, With Confidence, Columbus, The Drive Home, The Away Game, The Playbook

Three things are typical of the pop punk genre: a love of pizza, discontent in one’s hometown and tours with insanely long bills. Illinois-bred Real Friends were no exception to this, as they lent the stage at Fowlers Live to five other worthy acts for the final leg of their Australian tour. 

The Playbook and The Away Game were first up, suitably providing the soundtrack to the resurgence of new-wave emo about to creep into the venue in a flurry of not-quite-hipster facial hair, skinny jeans and an air of mild anti-establishment punkness. 

Local favourites The Drive Home drew an impressive crowd for their even more impressive performance, playing with an energy that wouldn’t be out of place in a festival setting. 

Beers were well and truly flowing as Columbus took the stage, the mosh establishing itself as a brute force not to be messed with. These people were here to party, and they’d be damned if they didn’t knock people around to do it.

Sydney boys With Confidence kept the party going as their loyal fans spread the vibe from the front row. The band played with the kind of sophistication that even some long-established international acts lack, their music ringing out with a tightness that can only be attributed to solid band pracs and a genuine love for music.

Real Friends made their humble appearance after a short intermission and the first three seconds of the opening riff of I Don’t Love You Anymore gave release to the energy that had been building in the room right from the start. A small crowd of respectable adults and wide-eyed teenagers suddenly felt like a stadium full of Energiser bunnies on pogo sticks, turning the mosh pit into a plethora of flailing limbs and sweaty hair flicks.

As the band tore through a set filled with crowd-pleasers, among them Summer, Skin Deep and I’ve Given Up On You, the energy bouncing between the band and the crowd made for an almost visible buzz hovering above the stage. Lead singer Dan Lambton’s charisma and onstage banter worked to his favour, especially when slowing down the vibe for the slow-jam, Sixteen. “This is a rock show, let’s have some fun.”

The unrelenting crowd chanted for an encore and the band reappeared for Skeletons, scraping up the last of the energy in the room and injecting it back into everyone’s veins for the last hurrah.

Despite the recent dip in the pop punk scene, shows like this prove that kids still love pizza, hate their hometowns and love rock shows. New-wave pop punk is here, and it isn’t going anywhere.