It's a sold out show at The Gov on a Tuesday night (5 August) for a triple threat of Silverstein, Real Friends and Wayside.
Canada's greatest emo export, Silverstein – counting Alexisonfire as hardcore not emo, calm down – are celebrating 25 years in 2025 with a set that covers the old and the new from their discography.
Before we get to that, emo shoegazers Wayside open the night. They wear their inspirations on their sleeve, sounding like Superheaven, Citizen and a contemporary hybrid of '90s pop, grunge and emo.
Songs from their album 'What Does Your Soul Look Like', which was produced by Will Yip (Turnstile, Citizen, Title Fight) stand out. 'Half Nelson' and 'Parallax Error' showcase the band's range of dreamy pop, heavy chuggs and melodic emo.
It's an exciting support act for anyone who needs a new alternative Aussie favourite. One to watch.
Wayside - image © Thomas Jackson
When a vocalist leaves a band, it's always hard to continue and there's a long list of bands that never fully recovered. Chicago's Real Friends are one of the exceptions to the rule and have managed to thrive with new vocalist Cody Muraro.
In their newer albums 'Blue Hour' (2024) and 'There's Nothing Worse Than Too Late' (2023), they've leaned into a more aggressive style easing up on the pop punk and focusing more on melodic hardcore.
This is evident in their live show as Cody screams through the lyrics and jumps into the pit and crowd surfs multiple times throughout the set. Cody climbs over the barricade again and walks into the middle of the crowd for 'I've Given Up On You'.
He moves around the gathered circle and screams the lyrics at them one by one while phone torches light the venue. It's a whole new experience for those who have seen Real Friends before Cody joined. Their set honours the old and new of their discography.
Real Friends - image © Thomas Jackson
"It's like an emo time machine," vocalist Shane Told explains. Tonight Silverstein's set list covers songs from every album over their 25-year career travelling back in reverse chronological order.
The songs get more and more recognisable and the nostalgia creeps in as the set list continues to the older songs. It's a refreshing way to do a set list, and as Shane announces the year of the songs it's an overwhelming reminder of how long it's been.
You wouldn't guess it's been 25 years though, the band are tight and haven't missed a step. Shane's vocals show no signs of ageing, even as the screamo unclean vocals get more prominent as we get closer to the 2000s.
It's not just a nostalgia fest though, it's a stark reminder that the newer songs in Silverstein's discography still crush. 'The Afterglow' and 'Aquamarine' from 2017's 'Dead Reflection' are some of their best work from an album that deserved longer in the spotlight.
Even after 25 years of live shows there's still firsts. "I bit my tongue when singing that song, I can't remember that ever happening before, it's such a milestone," Shane laughs.
Silverstein - image © Thomas Jackson
Despite the injuries, they power through and the crowd screams when they reach the 'Discovering The Water Front' era. The highlight of the night is a solo acoustic performance of 'My Heroine', with the audience singing along with every single word. They end with two songs from their first album, 2003's 'When Broken Is Easily Fixed'.
Tonight was a unique performance and format that refreshed the traditional anniversary album play-through that we see so much. You couldn't ask for a better set list to celebrate each era of an emo icon.
More photos from the concert.
