Images: Yellowcard, Memphis May Fire, Emarosa October 16, 2014 at the House of Blues

Pop punk and metalcore have come together this fall with Yellowcard and Memphis May Fire’s co-headlining tour, featuring support by post-hardcore band Emarosa. With only 3 bands on the bill and an early start time, last night’s House of Blues Las Vegas show featured awesomely extended sets, played to a very diverse crowd.

Emarosa has been on the scene for a few years now but has been plagued by numerous lineup changes. Having just released their latest record Versus last month, the post-hardcore group seems stronger than ever with Bradley Walden fronting the band on vocals. I was happy to hear a set made up of lots of newer material and “A Hundred Crowns” and “Say Hello to the Bad Guy” garnered a great response from the still-growing crowd, but without a doubt, my favorite song in the set was “I’ll Just Wait.” Emarosa’s future looks bright and I can’t wait to see them perform live again soon.

As the room grew full, with the spot right up against the stage populated with very young fans, Dallas’ Memphis May Fire took to the stage. Fronted by the talented Matty Mullins, the metalcore band immediately turned the energy up tenfold. Multiple mosh pits erupted during “Alive in the Lights,” “No Ordinary Love” and pretty much any other songs from Unconditional and Challenger. The set took a quick change of pace for soft fan favorite, “Miles Away” but quickly jumped back into the up-tempo side of things, with the band digging back into their catalogue for “The Sinner,” which was a real treat.

Yellowcard was one of my favorite bands when I was a kid, and I always seem to see them at festivals where I have to run off and photograph other bands before getting my fill, so I was excited when they announced a Vegas date in support of their new record Lift A Sail. On this night, that record was represented early on, with the band’s set beginning with the violin intro “Convocation” and going straight into “Transmission Home.” Memphis May Fire’s crowd had left or moved to the back of the room at this point, and the older Yellowcard fans were pressed against the HOB stage, singing along to every word. I’m sad to report for those MMF fans that left early, they missed Ryan Key bringing Matty Mullins back on stage to perform “The Deepest Well” from Lift A Sail. Yellowcard did a great job of spanning their discography, taking us back to 2006 with their hit “Lights and Sounds” and then even further back to 2003 with “Only One,” which was played much earlier in the set than I would have expected.

Of course, the opening riff to “Ocean Avenue” was met with the loudest cheers of the night. Everyone in the venue seemed to be singing along, surprisingly, even the 10 year old fan standing next to me, which was really cool. Though I think this would have been the perfect end to the night, they decided to end things with Ryan Key and his piano playing the closer to the new record, “California.” My inner cries for an encore were left unanswered, but it was a great set and I am very happy to have had the opportunity to capture a band that has provided me with a lot of inspiration over the years.

-Tylor Thuirer | https://www.flickr.com/photos/thuirermedia/

Yellowcard setlist:

Convocation
Transmission Home
Crash The Gates
Lights and Sounds
Only One
Make Me So
Illuminate
Light Up the Sky
Awakening
The Deepest Well (with Matty Mullins of Memphis May Fire)
One Bedroom
Ocean Avenue
California

Memphis May Fire setlist:

No Ordinary Love
Alive in the Lights
The Rose
The Sinner
Vices
Miles Away
Need to Be
Not Enough
Beneath the Skin
Prove Me Right
Legacy