Real Friends & Knuckle Puck in Mesa, AZ
All Photos By Devon MunroOn April 22nd, Real Friends and Knuckle Puck made a stop in Mesa, AZ, at The Nile Theatre on their ‘Chilling And Rocking Across The USA Tour’ with Between You & Me opening up the show. The two bands traveled across the United States on a co-headlining tour that fans could not miss, and will be going back on the road together soon for a second round! Check out their websites below for tour information. Tickets go on sale tomorrow, July 21st!
With Between You & Me opening the show, fans knew they were in for a good night. The independent band from Melbourne, Australia, put on a great performance and had fans heavily engaged with tons of crowd surfing and singing along. Bassist James Karagiozis even joined in on the crowd surfing at the end of their song “Dakota” which is a personal favorite of mine as well as later on in the night during Knuckle Puck’s performance while vocalist Jake Wilson hopped on vocals for “But Why Would You Care?”. By the end of their set, fans were buzzing, and you could feel the anticipation for what was to come.
For Real Friends' guitarist David Knox, this was a hometown show as he lives in Phoenix, AZ. With that, locals reminded him of the heat as soon as they started their set with “I’ve Given Up On You”. While The Nile Theatre is a large venue, it heats up pretty fast, even in the spring when temperatures are lower. Part of Arizona’s charm. At one point during their set, they were presented with a “key to the city” for selling out the venue, and the crowd went wild. Lead singer Cody Murano reminisced during their performance about when he played in the basement of the venue several years prior with his previous band. Dreaming of one day playing in the big room upstairs, which he not only did but sold out. They ended their set with the infamous song “Me First” as the entire crowd sang along and moshed.
Last but definitely not least was Knuckle Puck. As expected from a Knuckle Puck show, especially in Arizona, there was a circle pit going for a majority of their performance, with it expanding slowly but surely until it took up most of the front of the crowd by the end. As mentioned previously, two members of BYAM joined them on stage during their set, and the crowd absolutely loved it. If you have ever seen Knuckle Puck live before, then you know just how much energy they produce with their performance. Making the venue practically vibrate with excitement, not just the volume of the music. By the end of the night, the crowd’s energy had yet to die down, and as their set came to a close with them performing their song “Pretense” fans did not disappoint and gave it their all with the largest moshpit they could make.
This tour was definitely not one to miss with the fantastic line-up, and their fall leg will be just as good! Don’t forget to stay up to date on their socials linked below and snag tickets for their next tour, which goes on sale tomorrow, July 21st!
