Yellowcard & New Found Glory: Pop Punk's Not Dead!

Story and Photos: Spencer Fleming

Stir Cove was rocking with the sweet sounds of 2000s pop-punk Tuesday night (5.19). The "Up Up Down Down" tour brought two mega acts in Yellow Card and New Found Glory. Rounding out the support was the band Plain White Ts.

Even with the chilly weather and the sub-optimal weeknight, thousands of fans packed the cove to time warp back to the days of MTV, Warped Tour, and MySpace.

First on the bill was the Plain White Ts. The band had a mellow vibe playing mostly acoustic love songs like "1,2,3,4" and of course "Hey There Delilah". I don't think you could walk past a radio in 2005 without hearing that song so of course the crowd lost their minds as soon as those famous chords hit.

Next up was the legendary New Found Glory!! To say I'm a New Found Glory fan would be a massive understatement. I've been following the band since their self-titled album and I've seen them seven times over the years. When I was first starting photography in 2018 I wanted to shoot their show at the Slowdown so bad. I reached out to the band's people, but not having much experience yet I was denied photo access. With the show sold out and no ticket to be had I was feeling really discouraged. I forced myself to go to the show anyways and hope for the best.

I waited outside Slowdown near the buses and after only a few minutes New Found Glory drummer Cyrus popped outside. I recognized him immediately and asked if he could get me a photo pass. Luckily, I had business cards so I looked legit. He came back just a couple minutes later and had a pass for me! Years later New Found Glory came back to the Slowdown and I had no issue getting approved when I asked the band's people for a photo pass that time. Thanks for giving me shot Cyrus!

Sorry for the side quest, back to the show!

New Found Glory stepped on stage and the crowd was already going nuts. They opened with "A Love Song" from their new album Listen Up. If you haven't heard Listen Up yet, get on it! It's sooooo good. Most of the time when a legacy act puts out a new album you hope that they stick to the hits you grew up with and allow some grace for a few new songs. New Found Glory did exactly that with their set, but I would've welcomed so many more new songs. After almost 30 years as a band they're still out here killing it. Listen Up has 10 songs and at least 4 of them could be chart topping number 1 singles, no joke. The album as a whole is so solid. Give it a spin today, we want a full report!

After hitting a new song the band ripped right into the classics with "Understatement" and "Hit or Miss". Lead singer Jordan made his way down to the crowd and everyone on the rail started pushing to the front trying to get a pic. One lucky fan, Audrey Frees got to sing along and received a big hug!

Jordan made his way to gen-pop and really mixed it up with the crowd. He even ran to the bar next to the stage to help pass out drinks! On his way back to the stage I got a huge high-five and Jordan said "hey man, how are you?" I was so stoked!! I was hoping to get a little fist bump at the end of the set but this absolutely took the cake.

Normally after I shoot photos I'll walk around for some extra crowd shots and kinda mingle but not this time. As soon as the photo portion of the set was over I made my way to the rail and rocked out! New Found Glory gave us so many awesome moments with songs like "Hold My Hand", "All Downhill From Here", "Dressed To Kill" and my personal favorite "Truth Of My Youth". As a special treat the band busted out a cover of "Part Of Your World" from The Little Mermaid. All around the venue people were dancing and singing along to the classic Disney hit.

New Found Glory knows how to throw a party and they're not showing any signs of slowing down. I really hope they continue to tour on Listen Up and who knows, maybe we'll get a headline date at the Slowdown!

Last up were fellow Floridians Yellowcard! Much like New Found Glory, Yellowcard has a new album Better Days that they're on the road supporting. It's crazy that both of these bands, now heading into their 30th year, have new music that's actually making waves. Yellowcard lead singer Ryan Key told the crowd that the band had a radio hit in 2006 and went 20 years without another big single. This year two of their songs from Better Days hit number one on the charts! What a time to be alive.

Yellowcard had some really fun stage production. Before the set the crowd was visited by the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man who threw out t-shirts as a ghostbuster tried to catch him. After they ran of stage smoke filled the air and a video of the Top Gun video game played on their LED board. Yellowcard guitarist Ryan Mendez stepped out and played the theme from Top Gun shredding his guitar! Just like New Found Glory, Yellowcard ripped into "Better Days" from the album of the same name. Two massive legacy acts opening with brand new songs, wild stuff!

For over 19 songs Yellowcard covered all of their discography with hits like "Way Away", "Only One", "Lights and Sounds", and "Rough Landing Holly". By the end of the night the crowd had their faces melted from all the pop-punk goodness. As the opening chugging riff of "Ocean Avenue" hit every single person was on their feet ready to shout their emo heart out. As we made our way to the exit (as to not get stuck in traffic, concert 101) even the venue staff was singing along! As far as 2000s anthems go, "Ocean Avenue" has to be in the top 10, maybe even top five? Let us know in the comments where you rank the song.

This show was downright incredible. I was able to go with some of my good friends and we had the best time. I also made some new friends along the way, and that's what live music is all about!

Huge thanks to Stir Cove for setting up photo access.

Thanks for reading and we'll see you at the next one!