(andPOP) -
Introducing a new feature to andPOP: concert reviews from a 15-year-old's perspective. This isn't Pulitzer-Award winning material, but who better to review a concert than someone from the age bracket that the music is targeted towards?
The Phoenix concert theatre was filled on Sept. 14 with your average pop-punkers to your OC- fanatic girls. But it wasn?t Adam Brody that the crowd was here to see; it was for their fiddle heroes, Yellowcard. The band made their stop in Toronto, with the support of Rufio and Moneen, on one of the last stops of their ?Wish We Were Canadian" tour.
The show kicked off with Rufio and their up-tempo blend of pop melodies and punk rock guitar riffs. The crowd was a bit dull to begin, with only their fans starting the mosh-pit (which was caved in by Yellowcard fans getting closer to the stage). But by the end of Rufio?s set, the floor was moving and the kids were sweaty. Rufio started their set with their new single, ?Out of Control." The band played a solid 30-minute set consisting of songs from their new album, ?Just Like Home,? and ?1985."
Shortly after, Moneen took the stage and the opening chords of ?Are We Really Happy With Who We Are Right Now? began to play. Moneen took this performance as a chance to test out some new material that they?ve been working on, although it is scheduled for a 2006 release. The Moneen fans loved the set, but after the concert I overheard a couple of YC fans say, ?When they said they had two more songs, I wish it was only one." Maybe Moneen?s style wasn?t right for this audience, but they put on an amazing 45-minute set, ending with their latest single, ?Start Angry, End Mad."
Now it was time for Yellowcard to hit the stage. They kicked off their set with ?Way Away? and the crowd showed more enthusiasm than they did for Moneen and Rufio combined. Although most of the night, all that could be heard from certain fans was the shriek of lead singer Ryan Key?s name, the band played an amazing set consisting of almost every song from their breakout hit album, ?Ocean Avenue,? and a few from their older, lesser known, albums. Yellowcard even played a few new songs from their new album, ?Lights and Sounds.? The band has taken a step forward with these new songs. They are much harder and less ?pop-punk.? It wasn?t a question of what their last song would be going into that concert, and the band even introduced it as ?not our most popular song, but we love to play it." Of course, they were kidding, and the band closed their set with the ever so popular, ?Ocean Avenue."
Despite the absence of a key member in the band, Ben Harper, Yellowcard put on an amazing show. Whether it was the bass kicking drumming of L.P., or the violin stroking of Sean Mackin, Yellowcard knew how to get this crowd up and jumping along to every song. With the release of the new album (expected late January), we should be seeing and hearing more of Yellowcard and to be honest, we Canadians couldn?t be happier.
Keep checking back to andPOP for Bram's take on Mae, Coheed and more!
Don't forget to check out andPOP's brand new Yellowcard interview!
