Show Review, Photos: Yellowcard Makes Triumphant Return To San Francisco
Yellowcard
Ocean Avenue 20-Year Anniversary Tour
w/ Mayday Parade, Anberlin, This Wild Life, Emo Night Brooklyn
Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
San Francisco, CA
August 2nd, 2023
Photos and Review by Jared Stossel
As someone who has grown up and cut his teeth photographing and writing about bands in this scene over the last thirteen years, Wednesday night’s Yellowcard performance was something to behold. The Florida pop-punk act, back together after splitting up in 2017, played their biggest show in the Bay Area to date at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium. I’ve seen Yellowcard at many clubs and theaters over the last decade, and watching their recent performance in San Francisco to a crowd of that scale felt truly special.
From start to finish, the entire show was entertaining and a true testament to some of the best music the “emo” scene has to offer. Every opening act was a veteran of this scene, with the evening’s festivities being kicked off by This Wild Life, an acoustic duo who playfully referred to themselves throughout their set as “Hot Topic Mumford and Sons”, “Discount Dashboard Confessional”, and “Kirkland City and Colour” (that last one got me). The duo played a slew of original tracks and a well-received cover of Blink-182’s “I Miss You”.
Returning to the Bay Area for the first time in nearly a decade, Anberlin dove headfirst into a powerful set comprised of some of their biggest hits, including “Never Take Friendship Personal”, “Paperthin Hymn”, and “Feel Good Drag”. Bathed in red light, the five-piece rock act delivered an electrifying set that significantly brought up the energy level in the venue as people filled the room. Mayday Parade followed with an absolutely stunning performance; it may have been the best set I’ve seen them play to date. They have been going strong since 2005, and their dedication and musical prowess shone through on songs like “Oh Well, Oh Well”, “Anywhere But Here”, and crowd-favorite anthems “Miserable At Best” and “Jamie All Over”.
With an elaborate lighting set up and probably the biggest stage I’ve ever seen them stand upon, Yellowcard brought forth an outstanding performance celebrating their return to San Francisco. It only took hearing the gently plucked opening guitar notes to Ocean Avenue starter “Way Away” for the crowd to absolutely lose their minds. While a majority of the songs came from Ocean Avenue, the band threw in a number of excellent choices from albums like Lights and Sounds (“Holly Wood Died”, “Lights and Sounds”, “Rough Landing, Holly”), Paper Walls (“Fighting”, “Light Up The Sky”), and Southern Air (“Always Summer”, “Awakening”). A surprise came during “Hang You Up”, a track from When You’re Through Thinking, Say Yes, as Derek Sanders from Mayday Parade returned to the stage for a duet with vocalist Ryan Key. The band only played one new song from their most recent effort, a stunning new EP called Childhood Eyes; I think my only real critique of the show is that I would have loved to hear more of the new material in the mix, but I’m sure that there will be other tours down the line.
As an arena full of people screamed every word right back at them, Yellowcard closed their set with the iconic “Only One” and “Ocean Avenue”. I was lucky enough to see the band’s return performance at Riot Fest in Chicago last year, which Key stated was the catalyst that led them to begin making new music. Nearly a year later, it was exciting to see an entirely new crowd feel the same way that I did on that crazy night in Chicago. Here’s to many more years of Yellowcard.
Yellowcard Set List
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
Empty Apartment
Childhood Eyes
Light Up The Sky
Always Summer
Awakening
Back Home
Encore:
Only One
Ocean Avenue
