Yellowcard, Rufio, Moneen – Live In Edmonton (Sept. 23rd, 2005)

The week of September 19th to 23rd was a weird week for concerts in Edmonton simply because, for the first time that I can remember, it seemed like every day featured a concert. Monday was The Usedwith Alexisonfire, Underoath and Day Of Contempt at Northlands Agricom while across the street Robert Plant played at Rexall Place. Tuesday featured the energetic and sporadic System Of A Downalongside The Mars Volta. Wednesday was Strung Out with Bane and Comeback Kid and Thursday was finally a day off all cumulating to Friday night: the Wish We Were Canadian tour withYellowcard, Rufio and Moneen.

It had been eleven months to the day since Yellowcard had graced the stage in Red’s and while this one didn’t sell out nearly as fast as the other concert, as the date come closer it was clear that more and more people were planning on going. So as the day finally came, I was pumped. But, first and foremost, let me say this: if you already own Ocean Avenue and have heard of this Limited Edition Wish We Were Canadian version of it and want to buy that to collect all the special Yellowcard CDs, DON’T! The “special edition” cd is easily the biggest rip off ever if you already own the album. It is the EXACT same cd, with nothing special on it other than a cheaply made cover thrown around the case. The cover features the same picture from their Live At The Electric Factory DVD and the cool “poster” is just the picture from their video shoot on the back. It is a scam by the label to make more money and only buy it if you don’t own Ocean Avenue already. But enough complaining about the merchandise, let’s talk about the concert…

First up was Nitro Records‘ young guns Rufio and although it took one or two songs for the crowd to really get into, once they did it was insane. Although I do enjoy the occasional Rufio song here and there, I never really liked them until The Comfort Of Home was released. Which really means that I have no idea what songs they played other then Above Me. Nevertheless, the quartet still put on a good show. Zipping from side to side, the guitarist and bassist flew all over the stage while the singer was able to hit all the right notes and everyone who knew the words were happily singing along. They walked off the stage to cheers and chants of “Rufio!” half an hour or forty-five minutes later and let everyone grab some water before the Canadian boys came on.

Now, like Rufio, Moneen is another band that I know nothing about. I’ve heard one or two songs, but I couldn’t name you a song or sing along with any of them. But, I’ve heard that they put on a great live show, so I was excited to see what they would do – and they didn’t disappoint. The singer put everything he possibly could into it and really got the crowd into it – especially for an opening band. The banter was short but funny, especially when they were telling everyone to stop chanting. They encourage everyone to donate even a loonie to the hurricane victims in the box at their merch table and played some new songs from their forthcoming split with Alexisonfire. Hell, they even split the pit into two and started a mini choir. During their last song, the singer gave his guitar to a roadie to have more freedom with his mic – and he used the freedom well. He went straight into the pit and sang with the crowd before crowd surfing halfway across the pit. Once he was back with his guitar he jumped back into the pit to do a bit more crowd surfing. The vocals were a little low in the mix, but other than that, Moneen were able to maintain their reputation.

Just after 10:30, the headliners came onto the stage to huge cheers and having seen them twice before, I knew I was in for a treat. Yellowcard‘s set was a fun hour and a half, that’s the easiest way to say it. They put on a solid performance with some cool little show bits, a great drum solo by LP, and phenomenal lighting effects (strobe lights, eerie blue, crazy designs, alternating light flashes coinciding with the beats – it all worked together to make an incredibly cool effect). They threw out free T-shirts from Animal Wear, LP’s new clothing line, and Ryan’s speech about the atrocities of Hurricane Katrina and Rita was simple but moving – and a perfect introduction to my favorite song, Believe. Their song selection was good, but seemed to be lacking in some areas. They played all the must-haves like Life Of A Salesman, Only One, Empty Apartment, View From Heaven, Twenty Three, Way Away, three new songs and even AWOL. But still, they missed some classics like Breathing, Powder, Avondale, Star Struck, Sure Shot and October Nights (mostof which made an appearance last time they played Edmonton). Those missing songs weren’t that noticeable at the time, but looking back, it definitely could have been a better night with a few of those thrown in there. For their encore, Ryan came on to play an acoustic Cigarette before the rest of the band joined him to finish it off and play their new single,Lights And Sounds. And of course, they ended the night with none other than Ocean Avenue.

Really, Yellowcard put on a great concert. I left with a big smile on my face and dripping sweat. But was it as good as their last concert? Sadly, probably not. The vocals needed to be a bit higher in the mix and while it was great to hear some new songs, they seemed to skip some classics. They are still a band I would recommend checking out if they come your way, because it was another amazing concert to end off the week perfectly, if only they had played October Nights.