With Confidence - Mama Roux's, Birmingham 25.09.2018

I arrive to a queue that snakes down the street, and rumour has it the first fans have been here since 1pm. It’s been a while since With Confidence last played in the UK, so it’s great to see their latest album has obviously gone down a treat.

We’re ushered quickly into one of my favourite venues (Mama Roux, if you didn’t know already), and the support band Anavae fit right in with the room’s dreamy aesthetic. Rock duo Rebecca and Jamie set the bar high as they thrash out a short but incredibly sweet set, with Rebecca alternating between a drum and vocals. It’s refreshing to see something a little different come out onto the scene, and their newest track 'Afraid' is a certified tune. If you love a strong track, whack this one on.

Next are Montreal based Story Untold, who quickly have the room jumping to their energetic set. For fans of pure Pop Punk, 'Drown In My Mind' is the type of song you’ll scream out the windows of your car at 1am. Playing most of the tracks from their latest album 'Waves', I was impressed at their ability to get a fairly static crowd moving so quickly. I have high hopes for this lot – their melody of popular Rock songs was both hilarious and incredibly well executed too.

And finally, the main event. Against a backdrop showing the artwork of 'Love And Loathing', With Confidence proceeded to deliver one of the strongest shows I’ve seen them do. Mama Roux is a big venue for any band, and it was heart-warming to see fans hanging off the staircase and balcony singing along to the music. Of course, tracks like 'Voldermort' and 'Archers' went down as well as I expected, however it was their newest material which caused elation. 'Moving Boxes' resulted in numerous crowd surfers being catapulted onto the stage before diving back off, and even the band looked slightly awe struck at the response to their latest material. The last time they were in Birmingham, they tore up Asylum 2 – it’s great seeing them do the same in a room that’s so much bigger.

With Confidence - https://www.facebook.com/withconfidence/

Story Untold - https://www.facebook.com/StoryUntoldCA/

Anavae - https://www.facebook.com/Anavae/

Photos & Review - Eleanor Sutcliffe