Gig Review: A Rainy Night in Manchester with Real Friends

Last Sunday, pop-punkers, Real Friends finished up their UK/EU tour in Eindhoven with Grayscale and Belmont.  I got the chance to catch their gig on a cold and rainy (surprise surprise) night in Manchester at Club Academy and it didn’t disappoint.

Belmont, hailing from Chicago, kicked off the night with high-energy tracks and upbeat vocals – it was safe to say, they had the crowd’s attention.  Hot on the heels of Belmont, was Philadelphia’s Grayscale, playing some serious bops from their new album, Nella Vita.  It was something special hearing ‘Painkiller Weather’, ‘In Violet’ and ‘In My Arms’ live and the atmosphere was unforgettable with the crowd shouting back the lyrics all the way through.  The highlight of the set – the pit turned into a crowd of people sitting down pretending to row.  Safe to say Grayscale frontman, Collin Walsh was pretty confused, which just had everybody laughing!

Onto the main event - I’ve seen Real Friends at least 3 times now, so I knew I was in for a great set.  Their set list was filled with everybody’s favourites from Put Yourself Back Together, right through to Composure.  Real Friends gifted us with incredible performances of ‘From the Outside’, ‘Floorboards’, ‘Sixteen’, ‘Smiling on the Surface, ‘Mess’ and ‘I’ve Given Up on You’.  Right before their set, I spotted Ben Barlow, frontman of Neck Deep at the bar and the next time I saw him was on stage with Real Friends, doing guest vocals for ‘Floorboards’!  My pop punk heart was so full, and I felt so lucky to have seen it happen.  It was the crossover we didn’t know we needed – could this be a sign for a future feature track?

If the set wasn’t amazing already, Real Friends frontman, Dan Lambton called for a ‘wall of hugs’ as he knew he wasn’t allowed to ask for a ‘wall of death’.  It was difficult to tell what happened after that – a mix of hugs and people starting up a pit.

I say it every time I go to a show, but there’s nothing better than hearing your favourite songs live, now can someone hook me up with a time machine so I can go watch Real Friends’ set again?

In case you need reminding of how awesome Real Friends are, check out their music video for ‘From The Outside’ – my favourite Real Friends song:

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7I6J_cRr4E[/embed]

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