Opening the evening were Like Torches, whose album “Keep Your Head High” was produced by members of Yellowcard themselves and as such makes perfect sense to take them on tour, and although I feel the early stage time meant their performance was hindered slightly it was still good to see a band bring two acts with them all the way from the US.
You could however be forgiven if you thought main support act Set It Off were headlining tonight, as these guys took to the Wedgewood Rooms as if they owned it in an energetic and enthusiastic set. They may be young but the stage presence was that of a band who had spent many a year on the road, with frontman Cody Carson building a great relationship with the crowd and keeping the momentum going during a performance that had the quality in the songs to back it up.
Carson also came across genuinely humble to be playing their first ever UK date, which was even more apparent when introducing the track “Dream Catcher”, although he was also happy to admit the song to be as cliché as they come.
I often start to worry when someone mentions the genre Pop Punk, after all it’s not really punk rock and then again not mainstream enough to be pop… which results in many a lesser band falling short on both accounts. However leaving any preconceptions behind, headliners Yellowcard have 15 years’ experience under their belt and like their younger support are a great live act and play through tracks from older albums being as well received as those from the more recent 2012 release “Southern Air”.
It’s also this latter album that continues crowd/band interaction, “Here I am Alive” having the audience singing along whilst lead vocalist Sean Mackin and Ryan Key on violin attempt to encourage an old fashioned circle pit during the slightly faster numbers. Key also adds another dimension to the bands’ sound as rarely do you see a full time violinist on stage at this type of gig, but it’s this versatility that has helped Yellowcard gain a dedicated fan base who enjoyed every moment of tonight’s sold out show.
Written by Mr Teeth, on behalf of www.7bitarcade.com – thanks for your support!
