MAYDAY PARADE + THE STORY SO FAR + REAL FRIENDS
Metro Theatre, Sydney
Wednesday February 26, 2014 :
Just an hour before Mayday Parade’s headlining Sidewave, featuring The Story So Far and Real Friends, there was a mass of anxious fans stretching down the side street next to the doors of Sydney’s Metro Theatre.
The sold out show kicked off with pop punk upstarts Real Friends. The crowd was packed against the barrier and didn’t take long at all to warm up to the boys from Chicago, giving the band a very nice welcome to Australia for their first time here. Bodies flying over the barrier and massive sing-alongs became the main themes of the night and Real Friends seemed to be in disbelief at times when this was happening during their set; singer Dan Lambton bearing a grin from ear to ear whenever he stopped to listen to the crowd singing their songs back to them. Real Friends definitely set the standard, and everyone’s anticipations, high for what was to follow.
Next up was the driving pop punk force, The Story So Far. Beginning their set with the first single, ‘Right Here’, released off their latest album What You Don’t See, the crowd didn’t stop for a second; bodies and sweat, everywhere. At moments during the set you could hardly hear singer Parker Cannon’s voice over the crowd yelling along to the songs. The closing tracks of the band’s set, ‘High Regard’ and ‘Quicksand’, proved to be most popular, with a circle pit that seemed to be close to taking over the standing area for a moment.
The crowd dispersed quickly after The Story So Far completed their set, but within the blink of an eye, as headliners Mayday Parade graced the stage, the venue seemed to be almost bursting at the seems. The floor was shaking as the fans jumped to their heart’s content. Deafening screaming took over the venue as singer Derek Sanders took to the stage with his keyboard, before the loudest sing-alongs I’ve ever heard, engulfed the Metro Theatre during the band’s popular tracks ‘Miserable At Best’ and ‘Stay’. Close to the ending of the show, Sanders gave the already elated crowd a final push forward in announcing that the show was the best he’d ever played in the country so far. More piercing screaming followed after this statement along with the popular songs ‘Three Cheers for Five Years’, ‘Oh Well, Oh Well’ and ‘Jersey’. Mayday Parade then left the stage to the chanting of their fans asking for one more song, followed by the crowd breaking out into singing ‘Three Cheers for Five Years’ in unison before the band appeared back on stage to finish the show with their track ‘I’d Hate To Be You When People Find Out What This Song Is About’.
All three of these bands are a credit to the pop punk genre and it was one of the most intense and exciting gigs I’ve ever witnessed.
Photos & Review: Brooke Nash
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