After Linkin Park, another band has made its way back to European soil, defying what once felt like the end! Yellowcard graced us with not one, but two sold-out shows at Trix this Wednesday and Thursday. And wow, did they pull out all the stops for their first Belgian performance in over a decade, celebrating the 20th (+1) anniversary of Ocean Avenue!
This Wild Life
Kevin Jordan and Anthony Del Grosso, the long-time friends behind the This Wild Life duo, have truly mastered the art of showmanship down to a T! Rarely have I experienced such an engaging and entertaining performance from just two guys with a unique blend of humor, energy, and raw talent playing heartfelt acoustic tunes.
With effortless crowd interaction, they had the audience singing along to nearly every song. Highlights included their 2018 hit ‘Catie Rae’ played on ukulele, mashed out of nowhere with John Denver’s ‘Take Me Home, Country Roads’ as well as a nod to emo nostalgia with Taking Back Sunday’s ‘Cute Without the E’. These croc-wearing, “can’t afford a backdrop” unserious guys managed to keep things both fun and incredibly entertaining, proving that 2 musicians are more than enough to captivate a crowd.
Anthony’s versatility as a musician was especially impressive. Whether he was behind the drums on ‘Dead to Me’, playing lap steel melodies on ‘History’, or handling acoustic and electric guitar duty for much of the set, he perfectly complemented Kevin’s showmanship. Together, they delivered a performance that was both heartfelt and high-energy, making their set a standout highlight of the evening.
Stelist: Clouded – Positively Negative – History – Cute Without the ‘E’ (Cut From the Team) – Catie Rae / Country Roads, Take Me Home – Ripped Away – No More Waiting – Dead to Me
Story of the Year
The St. Louis, Missouri-based outfit took the stage ready to get the Vans-wearing (or Converse—no judgment here), dramatically bang-flipping emos moving like it was 2003 all over again, back when Page Avenue was fresh off the press. Speaking of that album, did you know Story of the Year and Yellowcard had some serious beef back then? Dropping Page Avenue just months after the now-iconic Ocean Avenue didn’t exactly help cool the tension between the two bands.
Their setlist offered a nostalgic mix of old favorites and fresh tracks, kicking things off with the recently released ‘Tear Me to Pieces’ and ‘War’ before diving straight into their classic catalog with ‘And the Hero Will Drown’. It was a nicely balanced blend of their early emo-punk glory days and the polished energy of their 2023 album Tear Me to Pieces.
The only track to stray from those two albums was the deep cut ‘Is This My Fate? He Asked Them’. During this moment, the crowd got a chance to relive Story of the Year’s dream of becoming, as they put it, “the heaviest band ever.” This however, was met with a somewhat lackluster attempt at a band-initiated circle pit. To close out, they played their iconic ‘Until the Day I Die‘.
Stelist: Tear to Pieces – War – And the Hero Will Drown – Anthem of Our Dying Day – Real Life – Sidewalks – In the Shadows – “Is This My Fate?” He Asked Them – Until the Day I Die
Yellowcard
Yellowcard felt like they’d never broken up, showcasing a chemistry that often defines the success of a live show. While getting to hear your favorite songs live, a band that lacks enthusiasm or feels like they want to be there can ruin the experience entirely. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case with Yellowcard. The band was full of life—messing around with the other bandmates’ instruments, cracking jokes, cheering each other on, and most importantly, connecting with the crowd. Sean, their violinist, was particularly entertaining. During breaks in his violin parts, he kept the energy alive by interacting with both the audience and his bandmates, never standing idle for a moment. His expressions while delivering those signature melodies that define Yellowcard were absolutely priceless.
As for the setlist, we got to hear Ocean Avenue almost in its entirety, skipping just four tracks: ‘Miles Apart’, ‘Twentythree‘, ‘View From Heaven’, and ‘Inside Out’. ‘Way Away’ was the perfect choice to open the concert, just as it was for their iconic 2003 release. The violin on ‘Breathing’ was absolutely goddamn good. Anyone familiar with the album’s tracklist would expect ‘Ocean Avenue’ to follow, but they saved it for the end of the set. Instead, they played ‘Lights and Sounds’ from the album of the same name, before returning to the usual order with ‘Empty Apartment’ after a quick chat with the audience.
Right after ‘Life Of A Salesman’, the band shared more about how they really got the ball rolling and finally recorded Ocean Avenue. After sending their EP to a friend at Lobster Records—a small label run by just two people—they made a bold decision. Sean and Ryan traded in their cars to buy a van, packed up everything they had, and headed to California to be as close as possible to their new label, helping out wherever they could. Just two years later, Capitol Records signed them, placing them alongside major acts like Radiohead. That’s when history began, leading to the release of their now “finally old enough to drink” album just a year later!
We then got to listen to ‘One Year, Six Months’, ‘Empty Apartment’ and ‘Keeper’ being a good surprise! Never played in Europe before this tour, this was supposed to be THE single to put them back on the map with their 2007 album Paper Walls, but sadly never got to properly promote it due to label issues. They got to play it on their tour last year with Third Eye Blind and never took it out of their setlist since then!
After a couple more songs off of other albums, Yellowcard unveiled their brand new, unreleased song ‘Better Days’, as well as teasing an upcoming European tour for a potential new record! Following that, the band closed off with the other 2 Ocean Avenue Singles ‘Only One’ and the same-named ‘Ocean Avenue’.
All in all, it truly was a throwback to a time when I (almost) wasn’t born. That’s right, yours truly was born barely 7 months before Yellowcard’s Ocean Avenue came out.
Stelist: Way Away – Breathing – Lights and Sounds – Believe – Fighting – Rough Landing, Holly – Life of a Salesman – One Year, Six Months – Empty Apartment – Keeper – Always Summer – Awakening – Back Home – With You Around – Better Days – Only One – Ocean Avenue