Images: New Found Glory, Yellowcard, Tigers Jaw November 21, 2015 at Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas

I’ve grown sick
I’ve gotten older
I finally have an audience to ignore me
I can yell all I want
But you still can’t hear me
-New Found Glory, “Ballad For The Lost Romantics”

Well, there’s no denying that New Found Glory has grown older, but the audience is certainly not ready to ignore them just yet. In fact, fans, many of whom have seen the band at least a dozen times by a show of hands during the band’s headlining set last weekend at the Brooklyn Bowl, likely caused a shortage of babysitters in the valley, because the gig, co-headlined by NFG’s Floridian pop punk ally Yellowcard, managed to completely sell out the Brooklyn Bowl. Anyone worried about the band’s staying power after a relatively sparsely attended gig at Hard Rock Live last Halloween can breathe a sigh of relief with me now.

After a Dharma Initiative-style film strip showcasing the covers of the band’s 8 studio albums played on a large screen above the stage, NFG leapt out and launched right into the title track from last year’s Resurrection, but it was the band’s second song, Sticks and Stones opener “Understatement” that really got the crowd off their feet. Guitarist Chad Gilbert challenged the audience to sing louder than previous tour stop, Los Angeles, and I feel confident that we accomplished just that.

Frontman Jordan Pundik was definitely feeding off this warm response from the fans and personally enlisted their help in singing third song “Hit or Miss.” The band has always been heavily influenced by the hardcore scene they grew up in and as such, Pundik did his best hxc frontman by climbing down to the barrier and offering up his mic for fans to pile on and sing their chorus to the band’s breakthrough hits.

The audience interaction definitely made the band’s set. By my count, I’ve seen them around 35 times at this point, and this was one of the most memorable. One fan rushed the stage to perform a death defying backflip into the crowd during “Truck Stop Blues” and the look on Gilbert’s face was absolutely priceless, turning from awe to horror to glee by the time he realized she landed safely. Another fan took over co-lead vocals for “Failure’s Not Flattering,” her pure energy making up for a complete lack of knowledge when it came to the verse lyrics. A fan also casually strolled across the stage during “Ready and Willing,” a song that featured guest vocals from Tigers Jaw’s Brianna Collins.

The best fan moment was when Gilbert brought up a young fan by the name of Andres who had been singing all the words in the front row. Gilbert offered to play any song he wanted, and after a bit of nervous fidgeting, Andres went with “47” and the band obliged, with the fan on guest vocals (nice choice, Andres!).

At the show’s end, Gilbert dedicated the night to those who lost their lives in Paris this past week, making the proclamation that a concert is where people of varying backgrounds can come together, put aside their differences, and have fun. After condemning the terrorists he called for not a moment of silence but a moment of noise, ending with “My Friends Over You” which fittingly saw the bulk of the audience locking arms to bellow out “I still pick my friends over you” at the top of their lungs.

Yellowcard got the audience pumped before even hitting the stage by playing a mix of early 2000s favorites including All American Rejects, Alkaline Trio and Allister over the venue’s loudspeakers. The crowd was absolutely deafening in their singing back, particularly when the lights dimmed and Fall Out Boy’s “Sugar We’re Going Down” was played in full. I’m guessing this was a little in-person infomercial for Ryan Key’s DJ set under the “Emo Night” banner that was set to take place after the gig and if so, I can definitely see the event’s appeal.

When “Sugar” wrapped up, the stage was completely enveloped in mist, but the faint silhouette of a man with violin in hand signified that only one band could be taking the stage and no, we’re not talking Kansas. Sean Mackin is probably the only violin player whose style I’d describe as “shredding” and shred he did, as the rest of his band took the stage. The playing stopped just long enough for frontman Ryan Key to ask through faint reverb if we’d “make this the single most fucking insane rock and roll show you’ve ever seen in Vegas?”

It was a tall order and while I have to admit, I’ve been to shows that rock more, and even shows that roll more, this was by far the best Yellowcard performance I’ve seen. Maybe it was because it was their first stateside tour with longtime friends and ace showmen New Found Glory or maybe it was a reaction to the mixed-at-best results to their tour earlier this year with Memphis May Fire, a tour where they focused solely on their newest album and avoided the hits, much to longtime fan’s dismay, but the band just seemed filled with a new energy. Mackin even brought back the backflip during Ocean Avenue single “Ways Away.” I was equal parts horrified and impressed.

Key spent much of the set encouraging crowd interaction, calling for circle pits during “Always Summer” and “Rough Landing” and teaching the audience a bit of call-and-response for “Empty Apartment,” which found the audience swaying their cell phones back and forth like the lighters of shows past, despite Key jokingly telling fans to keep those electronic devices put away to make the show more like shows of old.

Of course, it was the Ocean singles that got the biggest responses, with the crowd losing their voice singing along to ballad “Only One” and being unable to keep their feet planted on the ground for the title track.

What I appreciated most about Yellowcard’s set, however, was their heartfelt admiration for openers Tigers Jaw. The emo band, making their second ever appearance in Vegas, were definitely the odd band out. While I was most excited to see them, the crowd was one filled with nostalgia and as such, even though the turnout was great during their set they were faced with much indifference, as old friends used their scant 30 minutes for casual, catching up chatter. Key mentioned that he was in that place once, touring with a van and trailer, and that he’d prefer fans spend money on TJ merch and not Yellowcard’s.

Tigers Jaw, while not pop punk in the same way as NFG or Yellowcard, is keeping the spirit of that music alive. It’s heartfelt, emotional music with guitars. Co-vocalists Brianna Collins and Ben Walsh sounded fantastic on songs like “Cool,” “Nervous Kids” and “Hum,” and it’s just too much fun to sing along to lyrics like ‘We are made from chemicals / But what holds us together is much more than that.” In fact, that line could very well describe the whole night, echoing what Chad Gilbert said at the show’s end – the fans at this gig may be in different places in their lives. Maybe they come from different backgrounds and have different aspirations, faiths and lifestyles. But as cheesy as it sounds, at a gig like this, we’re all held together by something stronger – the shared love of live music.

(And plus, Tigers Jaw did an ace cover of The Cure’s “In Between Days” and since The Cure’s Vegas date essentially sold out before they even went on sale, I appreciate getting to hear such a faithful cover live.)

-Emily Matview

Photos by Hunter Wallace | https://www.flickr.com/photos/hunter_wallace/