Reviewed on Mar 13, 2006 by cathyreay

After cancelling two tours in the UK, as well the final date on this one, fans queuing up for what was now the finale of Yellowcard's 2006 European Tour were pessimistically awaiting an announcement something along the lines of "Sorry guys, Ryan's sick again, see you next time". To their great delight, the doors were opened on time and eager faces streamed in to the intimately lit venue that was about to host a floorshaking performance from their favourite Floridian rockstars..

But before all of that came a dubiously uprising British punk band that go by the name of Engerica. I've seen these guys twice before, once on their own headlining show and once supporting Sum41, and I've never really got into their stuff - mainly, I find, because they seem so unbelievably arrogant (both as performers and individuals), and this automatically makes them incredibly unattractive and irritating to watch. Prancing about the stage and introducing each song as either the best on their album (go figure, every song is just "absolutely life-changing!") or as the next/last single (neither of which, by the way, have gotten anywhere near the mainstream success they want to achieve), they scream their way through 40 minutes of hellish, scatty punk. It's vile, unoriginal, pretentious.. anyone can scream, it's not an art, and I'll happily say that to anyone wanting to challenge my notion!

To the dismay of their three fans in the audience, Engerica left the stage and the anticipation for Yellowcard's arrival built up. You can't forget that we haven't seen these dudes for well over a year and everyone here is buzzing to hear the new album live - critics like myself are on the edge of their seats, wondering whether Key's voice will have taken a battering due to his recurring throat condition. But our fears are calmed within minutes as the band literally explode onto the stage and descend into a mammoth 90 minute setlist of the tunes we all know and love.

That very setlist included 'October Nights' and 'Cigarettes', from their 2001 album on Lobster Records, as well as classics 'Breathing', 'Only One' (that got the lighters and cellphones out), and 'Ocean Avenue' from that same-titled debut mainstream release. And of course, finally, we get to hear the newer material. Now, I love singing along at concerts as it makes me feel more involved in the whole vibe, so for me the newer material wasn't so hot because I didn't know the words - and quite a lot of people seemed in the same position, the screaming noticeably dropping to a low murmur during tracks from Lights and Sounds. That's not to say that Yellowcard didn't put on as good a performance, however, their energetic spark consistent throughout. At one point, all five band members stopped playing and Key and violinist right-hand man Sean Mackin parted the crowd and encouraged them to chant in competition at the top of their voices, which was something everyone loved doing. One thing you can definitely say about Yellowcard's gig tonight is that they tried their hardest to get everyone involved. At the very end of the show they even tore up setlists from the floor to give to avid followers.

Ryan's voice was perfect. He floored us, hitting every notch he needed to without a struggle and while still playing his guitar (I always admire vocalists that take on more than the static singing role). Although the violin could have been more prominent, Mackin played brilliantly, giving himself more work than he had on the CD, as did the rest of the band - drummer LP provided the backdrop for conversation between songs while the others caught their breath and, having just discovered that LP penned 13 songs in two days during recording, you just gotta notice how special he is.

Having not seen Yellowcard previously, and not being that bothered by what I'd heard of their recorded stuff, I found that I had become a fan not only of their music but of the people providing it, all in the 90 minutes of that one show. And how many gigs can you say that about nowadays?

Support Acts:

Engerica

Related Links:

• www.yellowcardrock.com
• www.engerica.com

Album Reviews

	Lights & Sounds Jan 24, 2006
	Where We Stand (Re-issue) May 18, 2005
	The Underdog EP Jul 9, 2002

Gig Reviews

Mar 11, 2006 Norwich UEA, UK

Interviews

Mar 11, 2006 Norwich UEA, UK