The host of the Yellowcard Ocean Avenue
10th anniversary acoustic gig in Bristol would
be The Trinity Centre. In my opinion it's somewhat
of a shame given the significance of the show
we were about to see. The acoustics at The Trinity
Centre weren't the best when I saw Don Broco and
Lower Than Atlantis play there in October 2012,
however with the lower volume of an acoustic gig
I was hoping there it would be ok. Upon arriving
at the venue we were met with the same round the
corner queue. After finally getting into the odd
smelling venue and catching a bit of "Like
Torches" it was time for one of my favourite
bands to play one of my favourite albums.
As it was an album set the track list was no surprise,
opening with "Way Away" and many long
time fans singing along word for word thrown into
a whirl of nostalgia, back at age 13 and 14 listening
to Yellowcard in the Summer sun, relaxing with
friends and enjoying the early teen years. With
little on the stage but a few lights at the top
and some older style lights where you could see
the filament, in front of each member adding to
the intimate feel of the set. Longineu W Parsons
III's drums being pounded away at the back over
the softer sounds of the acoustic guitars and
Ryan Key's clean pop punk vocals, which haven't
changed much over the years.
After the first track Key set down three ground
rules for the set, "have the most fun you've
ever had at a rock show", " Sing so
much you can't speak the tomorrow" and the
third was a "personal preference" to
"See your eyes not the backs of phones for
the entire set". Based on "Way Away"
the 2nd was surely a given. The beautiful violin
of Sean Mackin got a bit more of a part in the
fantastic "Breathing".
Upon the mention of the words "ten years
of Ocean Avenue" there was a massive applause.
The show was pool of nostalgia with the bass of
Josh Portman and Parson's drums dominating the
airwaves with the flawless string trio all tired
together with nigh on CD perfect vocals from Ryan
managing to stay afloat above the crowds hefty
and loving contribution.
I could easily fan boy all over the songs and
talk about how amazing the sound was for each
one individually and write pages of praise, because
quite frankly there are three things a band be
good at to prove how great they are. Firstly sound
great on CD, secondly sound great live, which
they did last time I saw them in Wales supporting
All Time Low which was the wrong order in my opinion.
Finally and most challenging of all however is
sounding great live and acoustic, with little
to hide behind, or drown out, and quite frankly
they did sound incredible. Ocean Avenue as an
album is no doubt a good one to turn into an acoustic
with its softer sound and deep emotional lyrics,
and they did a great job of it. "Empty Apartment"
starting off with the with just Key, before Ryan
Mendez guitar chimed in on the beautiful melody
rounded off perfectly with the beautiful violin
that makes Yellowcard so unique.
"Life of a Salesman" picked up the pace
being the "quickest acoustic song we've ever
played" in the words of the band. "Only
One" was my one and only disappointment in
the show, but only because a large part of me
wanted Ryan to do it solo like the 2010 live from
Las Vegas at the Palms version. Throughout the
show Sean chimed in with some great backing melodies
and "Twenty Three" was a chance for
his outstanding set of pipes to take a fore front.
With a voice that to be perfectly honest is better
than a number of bands lead singers based on what
I've seen live, and he certainly has the jokey
arrogance two make one hell of a front man. For
example after being introduced by Ryan, and then
after introducing the rest of the band, each name
met with a great applause and cheer he said "and
now more applause for me". When Mendez was
introduced he played a "solo" consisting
of one chord, which Ryan Key jokingly failed to
imitate proclaiming he wasn't good enough.
As the set continued with the crowd singing line
for line the tracks they've loved for so long
and the band occasionally hopping around with
the music from time to time smiling along like
they were enjoying it as much as the rest of the
room, which consisted of a number of people ranging
from there 50's to a few 16 year olds, though
in my head I felt like the latter daydreaming
about when I couldn't stop playing the album on
my CD player. Whist I've praised the sound quality
when there's nowhere to hide Yellowcard, like
most bands nowadays did have some help from backing
tracks. Though this fact was pointed out by Key,
as he wanted it to be "All out in the open"
that they used tracks for the Viola and Cello
as they couldn't take them on tour with them.
And to be honest, the volume of the track was
rather low anyway, almost completely drown out
by the band performing.
I can't describe how fantastic the sound was,
but it really was one of the best if not the best
acoustic sound I've heard, which is not something
I say lightly. On top of the great sound, there
was such a relaxed warm nature to the show, with
a bit of laughing and joking. Everyone singing
along and not too much faffing around like 5 minute
speeches or 7 tracks with no talking. Just a great
balance of chat and music.
As the set ended with the heartfelt "Back
Home" one of my favourite tracks off the
album, the lights stayed down and everyone cheered
for more. With a huge applause and 2 or so minuets
of "Yellowcard" chants, "Jizz in
my pants" by Lonely island started to play
as Sean and the Ryans (possible side project band
name?) entered the stage, to play "Ten"
off the latest album "Southern Air"
an album I'm personally very fond of though not
my favourite song it showed how the bands song
writings developed over the years with a lower
tone and a more "traditionally acoustic"
style. It fit well. Ryan got the crowd to practice
"Woahh wooaahhhing" for the next song
as they then went back an album to play "Sing
For Me" from "When You're Through Thinking
Say Yes" which would have made a truly beautiful
end to the set with everyone singing along as
practiced at the end.
The rhythm section returned as they went back
yet another album to the pre-hiatus "Paper
Walls" to play "Light Up The Sky"
as the pace and tone picked up. Key let the crowd
take most of the last chorus of one of my favourite
tracks. I could quite happily listened to them
play the entirety of "Paper Walls" there
and then but sadly no luck on that front.
As it came time for the very last song, no Yellowcard
set would be complete without a bit of "Lights
and Sounds" which completed the reverse run
up from new back to "Ocean Avenue".
Playing the title track with everyone's hands
in the air clapping along, and singing with what
remained there voices.
Sadly they didn't play all the songs I would have
liked to hear, then again asking them to play
over 3 full albums of material would perhaps be
a little over demanding. Who can complain when
you get a track from all of the albums they've
released in the last decade and the full "Ocean
Avenue"? Needless to say I went home and
ordered the acoustic version that night, as well
as "When You're Through Thinking Say Yes"
acoustic. And I haven't listened to anything else
for days, which is the sign of a damn good gig.
Yellowcard 5/5
Review By Marc Rich
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