Emo nights are always a treat, but it’s not often you get to experience one on the kind of grand scale we had in Indianapolis at TCU Amphitheater on a, and I don’t say this lightly, perfect August evening. You absolutely positively cannot have better weather or a better crowd for this kind of epic nostalgia fest.
You’ve Always Been Just What I’m Missin’
Self-proclaimed “Hot topic Mumford and Sons”, This Wild Life is an acoustic pop-punk guitar duo hailing from Long Beach. As the first of three openers, they had a pretty tight 30 minute set but packed a lot of charm and whimsy into it nonetheless. A major highlight was “Catie Rae”, a sweet, realistic depiction of the ups and downs that come with being in love. On this track, Kevin Jordan switched to ukulele and there were also brief interjections of John Denver’s seminal classic “Take Me Home, Country Roads”. Their approach to all their music is just relatively light hearted, like their lilting cover of blink-182’s “I Miss You”. These guys definitely fly under the radar, but you are definitely missing out if you have not heard any of their music.
All We Need is Right Here Inside Us All
Story of the Year was the second opener and also only allotted a brief performance. We were made aware by Yellowcard frontman Ryan Key that Story’s debut album Page Avenue was celebrating its 20th anniversary alongside Ocean Avenue. The show directly following the Indianapolis stop was in Story’s hometown, St. Louis, in which both albums would be played in their entirety (I am jealous I missed out on that!) These guys made the most of their time though, primarily focusing on the hits off “Page Avenue”, including a killer closing performance of “Until the Day I Die”. They show a bit of a softer, melodic side (along with a sick, 80’s-ish backbeat) on “Real Life”, from their 2023 album “Tear Me to Pieces”. Also notable was lead singer Dan Marsala’s screaming on another staple in their back catalogue, “In the Shadows”. Even 20 years later, these guys know how to bring the angst.
We Lost Ourselves in the Bright Lights
Last/final opener Mayday Parade took the stage for their opener “Oh Well, Oh Well” with an energy that was contagious, connecting with the audience through their seamless blend of heartfelt lyrics and powerful instrumentals. There were plenty of old favorites played, such as the raw, haunting acoustic duet of “Miserable at Best” featuring lead singer Derek Sanders on piano and drummer Jake Bundrick on backing vocals. Before Sanders started in on the piano, he proclaimed to the energetic crowd, “emo music is alive and well in 2023—know what I’m saying?” There was plenty of newer material featured as well, like “More Like a Crash”, which showcased the band’s more lyrical, mature sound. Both Alex Garcia (lead guitar) and Brooks Betts (rhythm guitar) had.a tendency to showboat, but I definitely prefer that to an unenthusiastic performance. Towards the end of the set, the band played one more new song “Got Me All Wrong”, followed by two more Myspace era sleeper hits: “Jersey” and “Jamie All Over”. These elder emos really know how to captivate a crowd.
I Just Wanna Be Where You Are Tonight
I will be honest and say that I have not kept up with Yellowcard’s comings and goings throughout the years. It surprised me greatly to learn that the band’s most recent hiatus in 2017 after releasing their 10th studio album was supposed to be the quiet end of the group. They reunited in 2022 to perform at Riot Fest and were subsequently offered an opportunity to go back on the road by LiveNation, primarily driven by the 20th anniversary of Ocean Avenue approaching.
Lead singer Ryan Key and violinist Sean Mackin in particular were vocal throughout the night expressing their gratitude to the fans, with Key appreciatively addressing the crowd multiple times throughout the evening, stating “You are why we are here and get to live our dream and do what we do” as well as thanking them for “…bringing the band back to life”.
All of the band members are seasoned pros and great peformers, but the standout of the evening for me was definitely Mackin. He was all over the stage, interacting with all of his band members as well as the fans standing below him in the pit and his energy and joy was infectious.
The band, despite being close to the end of their tour, maintained a consistently high level of energy throughout their entire set (which even in a vacuum is an impressive feat in its own right).
“Lights and Sounds”, from the band’s 2005 eponymous album, was a standout song of the evening for me. There was a TON of crowd engagement, and the nostalgia and emotion ran exceptionally deep.
Partway through the set, Key took the time to introduce all of his bandmates specifically, something I do not often see done, but was definitely helpful and appreciated! We found out that their regular drummer from their past several albums, Jimmy Brunkvist, had returned to his native Norway to be with his growing family. Anberlin drummer Nathan Young stepped in to fill his role on tour and he seemed completely at home being on stage with all the others.
There was such a great sense of camaraderie among everyone on stage, and you could tell that these guys are truly friends, and that the other band members aren’t just co-workers to them.
My one and only gripe of the night had to do with the bassline being way to heavy on a couple of songs. It started during “One Year Six Months” and continued through “Hang You Up”. Both of these tracks are a bit lighter and more acoustic-leaning and the bass volume and vibrations were just way too heavy. Derek Sanders was brought back onstage to sing during “Hang You Up” and his harmonies with Key were beautiful. When Sanders left the stage, Key lamented, “I love him so much; I can’t believe we only get to do that five more times [on tour]”.
As this was a tour primarily focused on nostalgia, the only new song that Yellowcard played was their lead single from their recently-released EP, Childhood Eyes. Key bade the audience to “be kind, please” as this was the first new song they’ve played for a crowd in many years. The EP is star-studded, featuring Vic Fuentes of Pierce the Veil and Chris Carrabba of Dashboard Confessional.
There was no encore, which was definitely a bit fun and different. The show closed out with a raucous rendition of “Ocean Avenue”, full of nostalgia and emotion for both the band and the crowd.
The Good
- This lineup of bands definitely invoked pure nostalgia for the elder emo crowd (but lots of youngins were having a great time as well).
- Turnaround time between sets was very tight and there were no delays.
- Venue was relatively full!
The Not-As-Good
- Again, only real complaint was the bass vibrations/volume that caused a distraction during the performance of a few songs during the Yellowcard set.
- Would have liked louder vocals for Mayday Parade
The Setlist:
- Way Away
- Breathing
- Lights and Sounds
- Believe
- Life of a Salesman
- Rough Landing, Holly
- Fighting
- Holly Wood Died
- One Year, Six Months
- Hang You Up with Derek Sanders
- Empty Apartment
- Childhood Eyes
- Light Up the Sky
- Always Summer
- Awakening
- Back Home
- With You Around
- Only One
- Ocean Avenue
The Lineup:
Yellowcard – Ryan Key, Sean Mackin, Ryan Mendez, Josh Portman, Jimmmy Brunkvist
Mayday Parade – Derek Sanders, Alex Garcia, Brooks Betts, Jeremy Lenzo, Jake Bundrick
Story of the Year – Dan Marsala, Ryan Phillips, Josh Wills, Adam Russell
This Wild Life – Kevin Jordan, Anthony Del Grosso