They say everything’s bigger in Texas, and that certainly holds true for Yellowcard. Thursday evening, over 6,000 fans flocked to Toyota Music Factory to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Ocean Avenue, marking the band’s biggest headlining show to date.
This size of a crowd holds a lot of power for the opener, This Wild Life, who just released a new album, Never Fade. Dubbing themselves “Hot Topic Mumford & Sons,” “Discount Dashboard Confessional,” “budget Blink-182,” and other elder emo themed monikers, they kept the crowd smiling and laughing throughout their set. From the blissful sing along song, “Catie Rae,” to a cover of Blink-182’s “I Miss You,” to closing out with a groovy drum beat during which Kevin Jordan performed the Michael Scott scarn immediately followed by a guitar and crash cymbal-heavy breakdown, This Wild Life proved they were the perfect opening band for the bill. They hinted towards a headliner this winter, so be sure to check them out if they come through your city.
Up next came Anberlin, and being that it was their first night on the tour, they didn’t want to let fans down when vocalist Stephen Christian was unable to make it to Dallas. They phoned a friend and brought in Matty Mullins of Memphis May Fire to fill the slot for the night, and he did not disappoint. The band treated fans to songs from all Anberlin eras, opening with the titular track and “Paperthin Hymn” off their 2005 album Never Take Friendship Personal, playing new releases such as “Lacerate,” and ending with fan favorites like “Dismantle.Repair” and “Feel Good Drag.” Despite being the heaviest set of the night, not a single pit was opened up by the elder emo crowd, perhaps due to the combination of Texas heat and middle-aged bodies having been beaten down from moshing over the years. But no moshing doesn’t mean the set wasn’t great, as anyone unfamiliar with Anberlin and Memphis May Fire could have easily believed that Mullins was the typical frontman. All-in-all, it was a successful night despite last-minute frontman changes.
The last opener of the night fell on the other end of the throwback spectrum, emo pop icons Mayday Parade. Keeping with the nostalgic tone of the night, their set primarily consisted of tracks off their first three studio albums released in 2011 and before; however, to keep it fresh for the long-time fans they mixed in their 2023 singles, “More Like A Crash” and “Got Me All Wrong.” Excitement remained high even during the mid-set slow song, “Piece Of Your Heart,” the only mid-to-late 2010s song in their setlist, as a couple got engaged to the sound of Derek Sanders’ voice. Mayday Parade is a band that consistently puts on a good show, and this short but sweet set was no exception. Closing out their time with “Jamie All Over,” Mayday Parade left people high on a happy nostalgia ready for the headliner.
Having been properly hyped up by This Wild Life, Anberlin featuring Matty Mullins, and Mayday Parade, the audience of 6,000 strong erupted into cheers when Yellowcard took to the stage opening up with “Way Away,” the first track on the very album they are celebrating. Frontman Ryan Key expressed they were here to celebrate Ocean Avenue and what it did for the band, and not just play the album cover-to-cover, so nine of the thirteen songs from that album were spread across their setlist and encore. Also interspersed throughout the set were tracks off the four albums that came out following Ocean Avenue, including a guest appearance from Derek Sanders during “Hang You Up,” as well as their 2023 release “Childhood Eyes.” No matter the song, the fan-contribution to the decibel level erupting from the venue never wavered, and Key understood that the fans were the reason why the band could reunite for a tour such as this. Before playing “Back Home,” the last song of the main set, Key expressed in a heartfelt statement that he doesn’t have the best memory from the time period of Yellowcard’s rise to stardom due to his substance use, but he’s since come to realize that the memories that matter are the fans’, and that he considers the fans his home. The night ended with a three-song encore consisting of “With You Around,” “Only One,” and none other than “Ocean Avenue,” sending the fans off into the night feeling like they’re twenty-something year-olds who can conquer the world.
You can catch the last leg of the tour through August 18, with a break on August 12 in Pittsburgh for Yellowcard’s solo appearance on the Four Chord Music Festival lineup. You can also see them this October in Las Vegas at When We Were Young Festival.
