Live Review: Mayday Parade, The Story So Far, Real Friends

Long before the Metro had even opened its doors to patrons, a line made up of eager faces – both young and old (mostly young) – appeared to infinitely run along the alleyway next to the venue. To see so many fans this early on in the piece came as an honest surprise; despite being far less prevalent than it was half a decade ago, pop-punk is still popular.

Real Friends bore testament to the fact, delivering a brand of pop-punk that was far more adult-friendly than those with which they shared the stage. Performing with a charming mixture of humility and complete lack of ostentation, the Illinois five-piece humbly executed their set composed of emotively charged, noodly pop-punk to an engaged audience, speaking only when absolutely necessary (that is, to deliver a wonderful speech outlining the accepting and welcoming culture of punk music).

Enthusiasm was high with the entrance of The Story So Far, but their set hardly lived up to the fervour. Unless you were an existing fan with an acute knowledge of their entire back catalogue, the Californian outfit had very little to offer in terms of entertainment value. Unfazed by the band's lack of charisma and wearied musicianship, diehard fans sang along nonetheless leaving the less-committed audience members to observe with disinterest.

If ever you forgot why Mayday Parade was among one of your favourite bands in high school, their performance at the Metro served as a perfect reminder. Evidently still as exciting as they were back in their glory days (and perhaps even more-so now with nostalgic value they've garnered), every word that left Derek Sanders' mouth was sung back with equal passion, and their performance of Miserable At Best could hardly be heard above the audience's rendition. Even for those with a history not dating back to pop-punk, it'd be downright untruthful to claim Mayday Parade put on a bad show.