LATE POST! CONCERT REVIEW! – @Yellowcard @HOBAnaheim, House of Blues in Anaheim 10/6/13!

Again, I’m ashamed of the length of time it has taken to get this post up. New Year’s resolution number one: be a better blogger! That’s been my resolution for about the last 3 years though, so we’ll see how it goes this year.

Anyways, Yellowcard. Yellowcard and I have a rather interesting history. I started liking them when Ocean Avenue came out in 2003. Just like every other teen at the time, I was obsessed with the song “Ocean Avenue”. While I enjoyed the other songs and really connected to the lyrics, I didn’t know why. I hadn’t experienced anything like what the songs were talking about, there was just something about them. As I got older and experienced more things, I found myself going back to Yellowcard and seeing deeper connections to songs I’d always loved. My relationship never really grew past Ocean Avenue. I own Lights and Sounds, but I never bothered to find any of their older music or buy new music beyond Lights and Sounds. Despite this, Yellowcard always had a special place in my heart and I always considered them one of my favorite bands.

Yellowcard was another concert on my bucket list, much like Fall Out Boy. The events that unfolded were unbelievable! My friend and I didn’t arrive that early because we’d been told by other YC fans that people don’t really line up beforehand – wrong. There were two fairly long lines already in progress. One of them was the “Pass the Line” line, people bought $20 of merch from the HOB store to get in before the regular ticketed people. We ran to the store to look around but the stuff was kind of expensive and we had nowhere to put anything. As we were walking around an employee came over & gave us a discount, now we only had to spend $10 to get in the VIP line. Yay! We were still looking around when a few minutes later he came over and just GAVE US the VIP passes! We were speechless! We ran to get in line and had barely been there for 30 seconds when the same guy found us and brought us into the venue, letting us cut the ENTIRE line! I know without him there’s no way we would’ve been in the front row. I’m so thankful and amazed at his kindness. I sincerely hope I’m not getting him in trouble, he should get a raise! Unfortunately I don’t remember his name, but I know his name tag said he was from Orange, CA 🙂

My friend Jeri & me with our “Pass the Line” voucher, generously gifted to us!

*Note: The show ran about an hour late, with no explanation. I was really not happy about that. I understand things happen, but at least come out and tell the crowd an ETA.

Opening act:
Honestly I don’t even remember the guys name, but he was an odd duck. It was some guy who used to be in the band Thursday (I think) trying to launch a solo career, or something. I was not impressed. The only song I enjoyed was one he sang that was originally performed by his band. I’m pretty sure dude was drunk the entire set, he did a lot of cursing and mumbling and just…being weird.

Main event:
Yellowcard more than made up for the weird opening act and the lateness. They were fantastic. Full of energy, clearly passionate, and they just seemed really grateful, thankful, and happy that after 10+ years in the music industry there was a full crowd of people singing along to every word of their songs. I mentioned in the Maroon 5/Kelly Clarkson post that I really appreciate when artists are clearly passionate about their work. To add on to that, I also really appreciate when artists are really grateful for their fans. The guys of YC could NOT stop thanking the audience for being there. It was really sweet and heart warming. It made me glad to have spent my hard earned money on tickets to their show. Everyone in the band is super talented. I’ve always loved YC because of the inclusion of the violin. I also think the material they write about is really interesting. From songs about 9/11 to the movie Big Fish…a lot of topics get covered beyond the traditional ones.

The set up of the show was totally cool for those who aren’t opposed to surprises. It started out with an acoustic set of Ocean Avenue which they played straight through, just like the album. I enjoyed 99% of the acoustic versions of the songs, but was wishing I could hear the songs as I first fell in love with them. The band obviously knew people were wishing this because they made several jokes about how being acoustic meant they couldn’t really “rock out” and then….they took a break and came back out and played a TON more songs from Ocean Avenue AND their other albums – all with electric instruments. IT WAS SO COOL! I basically got two concerts in one night and all my little teenage dreams were fulfilled. That was my favorite part of the night. I was happy they thought ahead to what the audience would want. I was very pleased at how focused they seemed on keeping the crowd happy.

Speaking of the crowd, they were pretty pleasant at this show. No pushing/shoving/crowding, and I was in the front row right alongside the fence. HOB has a no crowd surfing policy that of course people were breaking. That kind of upset me because the rule was obviously put in place for a good reason & you don’t HAVE to crowd surf to have a good time. There was no need for people to do that. I felt bad for the bouncers who were working that event because the crowd surfers were giving them sass and just being difficult.

On a non music related note, the guys in YC are really hot. Really. I never noticed this before, probably because I was 12-13 when Ocean Avenue came out and they were already in their 20’s and I probably thought that was really old. Ugh, my young self would think I’M old now 😦 Tragic. Moving on, their hotness is only enhanced by their personalities, which I really connected with when they talked to the audience and joked around with each other on stage. Obviously as a fan girl, I have a special place in my heart for lead singer/guitarists like Ryan Key, but violinist/back up singer Sean Mackin is definitely giving him a run for his money. Also, I got to meet LP, the drummer, after the show 😀 SUPER STOKED!
Final thoughts:
Although I’m sure it doesn’t need to be said again – this show was fantastic! Way better than Fall Out Boy and only a hair shy of what I experienced at Maroon 5/Kelly Clarkson – but that was my fault, because I didn’t know ALL the YC music so I was kind of out of the loop for some songs. If you ever get the chance to see Yellowcard, GO! Go to their show & bring me with you! These guys were so high energy, full of life, passionate, and inspiring. I hope I can see them again! Here’s some video and a slideshow of pictures, enjoy!