Yellowcard Brings The Up Up Down Down Tour To Boston
Boston got just about the perfect setting for a night of pop-punk nostalgia on Tuesday. The weather was beautiful, the harbor was calm, and a packed crowd filled Leader Bank Pavilion ready to relive a soundtrack that defined a lot of middle school and high school years.
The Up Up Down Down Tour brought together Plain White T’s, New Found Glory, and Yellowcard for a lineup that felt like it had been pulled straight from an old iPod playlist or a carefully crafted mix CD.
Plain White T’s got the night started with a set full of familiar favorites that immediately had the crowd singing along. They didn’t rely solely on “Hey There Delilah” either. Songs like “1, 2, 3, 4” and “Our Time Now” had fans singing every word, proving their catalog runs much deeper than their biggest radio hit. Still, when the opening notes of “Hey There Delilah” rang out across the pavilion, thousands of voices joined in without hesitation.
New Found Glory followed with exactly the kind of energy fans have come to expect from them. Their set was packed with pop-punk staples, including “Understatement,” “Hit or Miss,” “All Downhill From Here,” “Truth of My Youth,” and “My Friends Over You.” The crowd matched the band’s energy from start to finish, turning much of their set into one giant singalong.
Before Yellowcard took the stage, fans were treated to one of the more entertaining pre-show moments of the night. “Who Ya Gonna Call?” blasted through the speakers while a Ghostbuster and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man ran around the stage launching T-shirts into the crowd. It was goofy, fun, and had everyone laughing while anticipation continued to build.
When the lights finally dropped, clips from Top Gun filled the screens before the familiar notes of the Top Gun Anthem signaled Yellowcard’s arrival. It was a fitting entrance for a band that had the entire venue hanging on every moment from the start.
The crowd never let up, singing every word back to the band and turning nearly every song into a massive chorus. Looking around the venue, it was hard not to notice the smiles on people’s faces. For a few hours, everyone seemed transported back to a time of burned CDs, lime green iPods, MySpace profiles, and staying up way too late on a school night listening to these exact songs.
That feeling only grew stronger as the night went on. Yellowcard delivered a career-spanning set that included favorites like “Way Away,” “Only One,” “Lights and Sounds,” “Breathing,” and “Ocean Avenue.” The acoustic performance of “Meemaw’s Basement” provided a memorable change of pace before the band ramped the energy right back up. By the time they closed with “Ocean Avenue,” the crowd was singing so loudly that Ryan Key barely needed to touch the microphone.
What made the night special wasn’t just the nostalgia factor. Every band on the bill delivered. Plain White T’s, New Found Glory, and Yellowcard all sounded fantastic, proving that these songs have aged remarkably well and that the artists behind them still know exactly how to bring them to life on stage.
Whether you first heard these bands on an old iPod, a burned mix CD, or blasting through a pair of cheap headphones while pretending to do homework, the Up Up Down Down Tour felt like reconnecting with an old friend. More importantly, it proved that these songs still hold up and that Yellowcard, New Found Glory, and Plain White T’s still know exactly how to put on one hell of a show.
