Nostalgia is still the name of the game on The Up Up Down Down Tour with Yellowcard, New Found Glory and Plain White T’s. The three scene staple bands sold out Arizona Financial Theatre, celebrating the past while very much all looking towards the new music in all of their futures. Fans came for the classics and stayed for the rest, throwing their bodies around in the pit and over the barricade for an action-packed show.
Plain White T’s have been consistently creating punchy rock music for well over two decades and their constant presence in the touring world has not escaped the diehard fans that turned up early for their set. Singer Tom Higgenson expressed pure gratitude throughout the band’s hard hitting performance, announcing the band’s new album while never letting go of the songs that propelled them to the top. The room bounced with them, singing animatedly to “Hey There Delilah” and “Our Time Now” to kick off the rest of the night on a very high note.
New Found Glory has been around just as long as Plain White T’s, choosing the more pop punk route in their discography and serving plenty of onstage energy to back it up. The band is still very physical onstage, jumping and running from side to side and encouraging the pit to join them in what ended up being a gentle mosh pit in the center of the floor. The band was joined by friends from the scene to round out the live lineup, keeping the camaraderie of the industry alive and the band on the road. Their set was 15 songs that all packed a wallop and kept the room shifting with restless liveliness through the last notes of “My Friends Over You”.
The theme of this tour was centered around classic movies and throwback video games and Yellowcard turned the theatre’s stage into both console and basement gaming room for a set that felt more than a little like coming home. The screens and walls of light behind the band played movie and video game clips, progressing the set through every era of the band. As more of these legacy bands hit the road, the joy that emanates from their live shows beams over the audience (along with the blinding LEDs) and reminds everyone watching that both the artist and the fans are in this for the long haul.
Singer Ryan Key was a blur for most of the set, spending time slamming away on his guitar next to each member of the band as everyone grinned at the enormous amount of fun being had onstage. While this tour was a celebration of their latest album, both the new songs and the old favorites garnered identical positive reactions from the hundreds of fans clamoring for more as the night went on. The stage transformed into grandma’s basement for the acoustic portion of the set, with emotional performances of “Big Blue Eyes” and “Empty Apartment” married two very different eras of Yellowcard.
No one wanted to let the band leave but the end of night still kept the energy soaring on “Only One”, “Bedroom Posters” and the eternal classic that is “Ocean Avenue”. This sold out stop was a stunning milestone for Yellowcard and certainly told their fans that- like their album says- they can all look forward to even Better Days.
