With Confidence + Seaway @ l'Astral

Australian Pop Punk band With Confidence took their World Tour to Montreal, along with Seaway, Between You and Me and Dollskin for another great pop-punk gig that I can’t get enough of. Back at L’Astral on this Friday night, I must say I was quite disappointed (for the bands mostly) that the venue was half-empty for such quality bands. However, as a fan, it meant more space for me and potentially some fun in a not-so-crazy mosh pit. You may not expect anyone moshing for pop-punk, but you’d be wrong, and Seaway’s set was the prime example for that.

A dozen people were ready to jump around, sing along and bump into each other during the band’s best songs, starting with the opening song “London”, followed by “Scatter My Ashes Along the Coast, or Don’t” (recorded in studio with Beartooth’s Caleb Shlomo) and the catchy “Lula on the Beach”. The Canadian band mainly focused on their album Vacation, with other songs such as “Car Seat Magazine” and “Curse Me Out”, but also made us discover one of their latest release, “Pleasures” from their compilation album Fresh Produce released this year.

Ryan Locke and the rest of the band never seem to disappoint me, but I may not be the most objective person when it comes to them, I won’t lie. The SeaBoiz have been one of my treasured bands for a while now, bringing a refreshing and happy vibe to the scene, especially with the album Colour Blind they put out back in 2015. Songs from that album, such as “Airhead”, “Best Mistake”, and “Slam” were some of the crowd’s favourite that night and triggered the most activity off-stage, allowing me to join the mosh pit for a few minutes, thing that I definitely could not do during the last A Day To Remember concert without getting hit in the face multiple times!

Sadly and once again in Montreal, Seaway didn’t play “Alberta”. I don’t know if this is because we’re in Quebec or if there is another underlying reason for that, but I always get frustrated as it is one of their songs I prefer the most. It was also the first time I didn’t see them play “Sabrina The Teenage Bitch” as well, which was the song that got them famous, and probably is a proof that the band is focusing on their present and future rather than focusing on the old hits, bringing them a step closer to their identity as a band and to where they want to be. Don’t you go crying now though, the SeaBoiz are always there to offer you Something Wonderful!

With Confidence was next for an hour-long set, composed of 15 songs, starting with “Moving Boxes” followed by “Keeper”, great tunes to keep the crowd pumped as both songs have catchy choruses to them. I wasn’t as familiar with With Confidence as I was hoping to be before getting to the show as I only heard roughly a third of their setlist, but I knew I would have a great time during their performance. The band knew how to sway the audience’s energy, filling up L’Astral with cheering and swinging throughout every song.

The crowd seemed to know every word of every song, especially when it came to their first LP Better Weather, with songs such as “Archers”, “Dinner Bell”, “We’ll Be Okay”, and “Voldemort” that they played during the Encore. With Confidence created a special bond that night with their fans for their first and only time in Montreal after seven years of being a band! Hopefully the Montreal crowd, despite not selling out the venue, will have shown the band that they’re worthy of having them again, despite the distance (as the boys are from the other side of the world, in Sydney, Australia!).

The highlight of their set was to me their wonderful cover of Train’s “Drops Of Jupiter”, taken from Songs That Saved My Life Vol.2, a charity compilation for mental health awareness and suicide prevention that I would highly recommend you to listen to (It also has covers by State Champs, Silverstein, Doll Skin, and more!). Not to mention that it benefits organizations such as Crisis Text Line, Hope For The Day and others that can make a major difference in people’s lives. If you’re hesitating to go see them, I can tell you, with confidence, that these guys will hook you up and leave you asking for more!