aaamusic | On 13, Mar 2011

Liverpool, 6th March

Yellowcard may have been on hiatus in recent years but the band certainly knows how to come back with a bang! However, for me the band was on the wrong tour with All Time Low as the crowd just didn’t give them the response that their performance deserved. Mountford Hall too seemed to let the band down with a poor sound quality that just didn’t do the band any justice in a room full of screaming girls who were there to look as much as listen.

Anyway, negatives out of the way and onto the good; Yellowcard are a band that I have loved for a long time and for me their short set was everything that I could have wanted as a fan. Mostly incorporating songs from “Ocean Avenue” it was truly all killer and not a filler in site. What is so interesting about Yellowcard is that most of these songs are at least six years old and yet they are still relevant with not even a slight tinge of the dated about them. In spite of an ageing sound system, the quality of performance on show was remarkable with Keys’ vocals nothing short of perfection as well as that trademark electric violin which gives the band an extra dimension in comparison to their peers.

New song “Hang You Up” went down pretty well with the (very) young crowd and it could be the track that gives Yellowcard the mainstream success that they surely deserve. Despite the fact it is slightly uncharacteristic of the band due to its stripped back nature, it didn’t feel out of place amongst their repertoire and  was in fact one of the highlights of the night.

Closing two tracks “Only One” and “Ocean Avenue” went down well and rightfully so. I remember the songs with fondness and seeing them performed live with such energy and enthusiasm was a really special experience. So a little nostalgia in Liverpool for the writer but for Yellowcard, the future has never looked brighter.

Author: Josie Payne