Yellowcard Live... "No Bullshit, They're Bloody Fantastic!"
Published
London’s Koko has got to be one of the prettiest venues of its size in the city, with it’s ornate decor scaling up the multi tiered balconies which stack so high it’s hard to see the top row from the stage, and the enormous glittery disco ball slap bang in the centre of the ceiling that weirdly doesn’t look out of place. And for the next two nights, it is the home of some of America’s finest - pop-punk giants Yellowcard and ska-punk pioneers Less Than Jake.
Hailing from Paris, France, Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! open the stage demanding that the slightly unresponsive crowd “get the fuck up”, blasting their blend of pop-punk and post-hardcore with impressive energy as the room gradually fills up. Evidently there’s a few eager fans in the crowd, but it isn’t until the boys perform their ‘Punk Goes… 90s’ cover of “All Star” that people really start to get involved. It’s clear to see by the end that a few new fans have been won over, myself included.
Shouts and cheers erupt every time an interval song comes to an end, the crowd showing their impatience and eagerness for Yellowcard’s arrival. As the lights go out, we are greeted by “Convocation”, a gorgeous opening violin solo from Sean Mackin which silences the noisy fans. The rest of the band take to the stage and open with the following two tracks from the new album, lead vocalist Ryan Keys switching effortlessly between his guitar and his keys.
Key’s soaring vocals fill the Koko with ease, and the combination of his flawless voice and heartfelt lyrics is just incredible. But it’s the next bundle of tracks that transforms the audience into a frenzy - a trio of classics from the “Ocean Avenue” and “Lights and Sounds” albums, during which Mackin takes charge of working crowd and gets everyone clapping along to the well known hits. The whole band work the stage with ease, bouncing and dancing around almost as much as the hungry crowd.
In preparation for the next segment of the set, Key takes to the mic to inform us that we have two missions this evening - the first to have "the most fucking fun of your entire life" and the second to ensure that "no one goes home with a voice left". And quite honestly, it would be a bloody miracle if any member of the energetic throng clambering towards the stage can speak at all tomorrow morning.
All the classic “woahs” were left to us to sing, each getting louder than the last, and the fan favourites were made obvious by the sheer volume of the choruses being sung back to the stage. My personal favourite moment of the night has to be Keys’ absolutely stunning performance of “California”. He sets the scene, describing a vacation to the west coast of America before taking to the keyboard to serenade us - and despite being a new track, the lyrics were being screamed from every corner of the room as loud as any classic.
The set is drawn to an end in a flurry of dancing and mosh pits as the crowd go crazy, spurred on by the band as they treat us to the song that really made their career, “Ocean Avenue”, for an epic closure. There’s a reason Yellowcard have stood the test of time and survived where so many other pop-punk bands have fallen - and that’s because they’re bloody fantastic. There’s no gimmicks or bullshit with this band, just pure talent, incredible live presence and a genuine love for what they do. See this band live. I promise you won’t regret it.
To listen to Liss Parkes interview with Sean click here.
To find out more about Yellowcard click here.
To visit the Yellowcard Facebook page click here.
Words by Liss Parkes
