2008 Woodie Awards
Yellowcard and Blue October split bill at Philly gig
Stephanie Mullen '11
Issue date: 10/3/07 Section: Entertainment
- Page 1 of 1
Yellowcard has teamed up with Blue October and opening act Shiny Toy Guns. One of their stops on the tour was The Electric Factory in Philadelphia.
Shiny Toy Guns was mediocre at best. The band formed in 2002, and their sound would best be described as indie/alternative rock. I was not able to understand any of the words that the lead singer, Chad Petree, was singing; however, I was able to understand the lyrics when the female singer, Carah Faye Charnow, sang.
After what seemed like an eternity waiting for Yellowcard, they finally arrived and performed an amazing show. I would place Yellowcard in the rock/pop genre. The band played songs from across their whole catalog. The crowd seemed to love the concert almost as much as I did.
Just a tip: if you want to go near the stage, expect to get pushed around and sometimes be so squished among everyone else there that you might feel that you cannot breathe. You just have to decide whether it's worth it personally for you.
One downside to the Yellowcard performance, however, was the band's technical difficulties. The guitars, bass, and drums sounded fine. There was just one instrument that didn't seem to be working up to its full potential: the violin, the one instrument that sets Yellowcard apart from other bands in their genre. But without a doubt, the most amazing part of the show was the announcement that they would be in one of the stands after their performance to sign autographs and say "hey." Right after they played their last song, more than half the crowd ran to the back of the venue awaiting their arrival. Luckily, I had already bought a T-shirt and an announcement before the performance; regardless, I was still smashed up against other people once again to wait for signatures. Some people even got violent and started pushing and cursing at each other. And for the autographs, it was Ryan Key (main vocalist), Ryan Mendez (lead guitar), and Sean Mackin (violinist and back-up vocals) signing everything that a fan handed them, whether it was a boot from someone's foot or just a T-shirt with the band's name on it. After the mess had finally cleared, it was Blue October's turn to perform.
Blue October, an alternative/indie rock band, played an array of songs, almost none of which I knew. It was difficult to understand what Justin Furstenfeld (lead vocalist) was singing, but definitely not as hard as interpreting what Shiny Toy Guns was trying to sing. The band, even though it was considered the headliner, did not get much more playing time than Yellowcard; surprisingly, they shared the time equally. Both bands got to play for about an hour each.
So, my recommendation is to go see this concert if you know any of the bands, except maybe Shiny Toy Guns, since their performance was not good at all. Other than that, you won't be disappointed by the show that Yellowcard and Blue October put on for you. The two bands are truly looking to please the crowd, and in my opinion, they succeeded.
Shiny Toy Guns was mediocre at best. The band formed in 2002, and their sound would best be described as indie/alternative rock. I was not able to understand any of the words that the lead singer, Chad Petree, was singing; however, I was able to understand the lyrics when the female singer, Carah Faye Charnow, sang.
After what seemed like an eternity waiting for Yellowcard, they finally arrived and performed an amazing show. I would place Yellowcard in the rock/pop genre. The band played songs from across their whole catalog. The crowd seemed to love the concert almost as much as I did.
Just a tip: if you want to go near the stage, expect to get pushed around and sometimes be so squished among everyone else there that you might feel that you cannot breathe. You just have to decide whether it's worth it personally for you.
One downside to the Yellowcard performance, however, was the band's technical difficulties. The guitars, bass, and drums sounded fine. There was just one instrument that didn't seem to be working up to its full potential: the violin, the one instrument that sets Yellowcard apart from other bands in their genre. But without a doubt, the most amazing part of the show was the announcement that they would be in one of the stands after their performance to sign autographs and say "hey." Right after they played their last song, more than half the crowd ran to the back of the venue awaiting their arrival. Luckily, I had already bought a T-shirt and an announcement before the performance; regardless, I was still smashed up against other people once again to wait for signatures. Some people even got violent and started pushing and cursing at each other. And for the autographs, it was Ryan Key (main vocalist), Ryan Mendez (lead guitar), and Sean Mackin (violinist and back-up vocals) signing everything that a fan handed them, whether it was a boot from someone's foot or just a T-shirt with the band's name on it. After the mess had finally cleared, it was Blue October's turn to perform.
Blue October, an alternative/indie rock band, played an array of songs, almost none of which I knew. It was difficult to understand what Justin Furstenfeld (lead vocalist) was singing, but definitely not as hard as interpreting what Shiny Toy Guns was trying to sing. The band, even though it was considered the headliner, did not get much more playing time than Yellowcard; surprisingly, they shared the time equally. Both bands got to play for about an hour each.
So, my recommendation is to go see this concert if you know any of the bands, except maybe Shiny Toy Guns, since their performance was not good at all. Other than that, you won't be disappointed by the show that Yellowcard and Blue October put on for you. The two bands are truly looking to please the crowd, and in my opinion, they succeeded.
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