Source: Heidi-Charlotte Murray
As you grow older, it starts to feel like far too many of the bands you grew up with are either embarking on some anniversary tour or announcing a farewell tour. Anniversary tours, albeit making you feel old as hell are a lot of fun, but the latter, not so much. When Yellowcard announced that their eponymous tenth album would be their last, it came as a massive surprise. Luckily, with this final album came a final world tour, and there was no way we were gonna miss their last ever European show at London’s Brooklyn Bowl.
As the lights dimmed, an announcement blared through the speakers, discouraging the crowd from watching the show through a tiny LED screen as opposed to “the miracle that is the human eyeball.” Sparking some grins in the crowd, this was the perfect time for Yellowcard to walk on stage and begin what was to be a 2-hour set with ‘Believe‘. Despite the fact that the band were going to bid farewell to the stage they’ve been dominating for just under 20 years now, they’ve never looked quite as home as playing these carefully selected tracks for some of their most devoted fans.
How does one even come up with a setlist that will be able to encompass a career spanning two decades? The answer is it’s not easy. Somehow, Yellowcard managed to select 23 tracks from across their back catalogue and gave themselves the justice they deserve. They played both the tracks you expect them to play like ‘Always Summer’ or ‘Light Up The Sky’ but also a couple that took you by surprise. Take for instance ‘Rough Landing Holly’ or ‘Gifts and Curses’, off the soundtrack of Spider-Man 2, though a track that has seldom made an appearance in the band’s set it was a nice addition on this tour.
Source: Heidi-Charlotte Murray
As ever, the band are a delight to watch and thus only making it a little sadder that we won’t ever get to see their gleaming energy on stage again. Like Torches drummer Jimmy Brunkvist was filling in on this tour and he fit right in that the casual bystander wouldn’t guess he hadn’t been in the band for years. It was nice to see the amount of appreciation he got from fans, as it was definitely very well deserved.
Whether it’s hearing the beatiful ‘Sing For Me’, that Ryan Key dedicated to his Aunt Steph, or simply watching violinist Sean Mackin running around onstage as arguably the best hype man we’ve ever seen (one with an impressive backflip, might we add), there are so many layers to Yellowcard. Each layer carefully peeled off to reveal the next, the band prove yet again how far they’ve grown from just some 2000s pop-punk kids with that big hit we all listened to in grade school.
“If you’re only here because Ocean Avenue was your jam in grade six you probably won’t know some of these new songs,” Key told the crowd quite early on in the night. There is no denying that it is the band’s biggest track and the best way to end the night was definitely singing our heads off to arguably one of the most memorable pop-punk songs ever written. While there are most definitely people that appeared that night for the nostalgia trip, Yellowcard show even the most casual of listeners that there’s so much more to them than just that one song.
The only disappointment of the night was as Key made his last speech of the night, what was meant to be a heartfelt bittersweet moment for all quickly turned sour when members of the crowd decided to boo him for saying how difficult this decision was for the band. Though no harm was probably meant by that, it really didn’t feel like the best way to send off a band that’s been here for all of us through all these years. We just hope Yellowcard realise how much they will be sorely missed.
