A collection of young and old gathered on a chilly August night at the Factory Theatre in Sydney to see the hometown heroes With Confidence. After a stellar year; signing with Hopeless records, releasing their debut album Better Weather and playing all over the world: including in Japan with The Wonder Years, through the UK and Europe with Broadside and several trips to the US for Warped tour and to support State Champs. The With Con boys are doing a run of shows before heading off in mid-September with Mayday Parade for the A Lesson in Romantics 10th anniversary tour, and they can’t be stopped. With Con have used their connections to bring international bands WSTR from the UK and Seaway from Canada, to make a night of sweet, sweet pop-punk for Aussie fans.
Opening the show was WSTR (Waster) from the UK. The band were super excited to be in Australia for the first time and came out guns blazing. It was a shorter set (about half an hour) but got the crowd moving with their infectious energy. They finished strong, playing the hard hitting, East Bound and Down, hyping the crowd up before their closer. They came out to a cold room but WSTR made sure that people would keep an eye out for them in the future.
The crowd grew while Seaway was setting up and there was a buzz in the air. Die hard fans had turned up and were excited for Seaway’s first Sydney Show. They did not disappoint. Seaway delivered an awesome collection of their well-known hits like Shy Guy, Stubborn Love, Slam and closing with Air head. The band were super relational, full of energy and stoked that people knew their songs. Ryan (lead singer) even went through the Australian hazing process, doing a shoey after the third song. The crowd also got a taste of the new singles, teasing the upcoming album set to release in September. At the end of the set the room was sweaty and ready for the headliners. Seaway closed with a very quick promise of more shows next year.
The room was full before With Confidence hit the stage, with a slightly modified line up. Lead vocalist and bassist Jayden fractured his hand and is currently unable to play, so they had a fill in bassist while Jayden just sang. The roar from the crowd featured voices ranging from fourteen-year-old girls to twenty something die-hard pop punk fans and a few concerned parents thrown into the mix. Everyone was ready. They did not disappoint. Opening with the smash single; Voldemort, they had the whole crowd singing. Just from looking at the boys reactions you can tell that they are super excited to be playing to a sold out room in their home town. The set was jammed packed with songs that got the crowd moving and singing. The stripped back version of Long Night with only vocals and guitar had the room swooning. The encore call was slightly awkward, the band leaving the stage without saying anything and no one really knowing what was going on, eventually the crowd called them back and the boys played off the awkwardness by referencing it directly “no one expected that to happen” they closed with the lead single from their first EP: London Lights and the good vibes filled We’ll be okay.
The room was filled with many who I’m sure it was their first gig and the bands did not disappoint. The boys in With Confidence prove that pop-punk is alive and well in Australia.
– Travis Salviejo