A recent Rolling Stone headline reads, “Yellowcard is Suddenly Huge Again – and They Don’t Know Why”. On Thursday night, they packed the TCU Amphitheater in downtown Indianapolis as they trek across the country in celebration of the 20th anniversary of their iconic album, Ocean Avenue. For fans in attendance, the reason for Yellowcard’s resurgence is obvious: We missed them, and their music still means a great deal to us all these years later.

The night kicked off with This Wild Life, the stripped down duo who now jokingly brand themselves as Hot Topic Mumford & Sons. Their short set included tracks from their recent release, Never Fade, along with a fantastic cover of the blink-182 classic track “I Miss You”.

And speaking of 20 year anniversaries, Story of the Year is along for the ride this summer as they remember their own classic release, Page Avenue. The band’s set ripped from front to back, as Dan Marsala bounded around the stage tearing through classic tracks like “Anthem of Our Dying Day” and “Until the Day I Die”, which brought the crowd to life.

Mayday Parade, now with a catalogue of releases as strong as any band in the scene, has plenty to choose from when building a setlist. On this night, the band pulled out some of their newer tracks like “More Like a Crash” and “Piece of Your Heart”, but it was especially fun to hear tracks like “Anywhere But Here” along with “Jersey” and “Jamie All Over”. Nearly two decades into their career, the band puts on just as solid of a live show as ever.

While the tour is obviously labeled as a celebration of Ocean Avenue, and the band did open their set with “Way Away” and “Breathing”, along with seven other tracks of the album, the night spanned across their entire discography, highlighting just how prolific and incredible this band has been over the years. Yellowcard pulled out forgotten hits like “Rough Landing, Holly” from Lights and Sounds and “Fighting” from Paper Walls, giving diehard fans a treat with songs that haven’t seen the stage in years.

Ryan Key has long been one of the most impressive live performers in pop punk, and the band’s time away has done nothing to change that. Nor has it taken away the energy that violinist Sean Mackin brings to the stage. The band brought out new track “Childhood Eyes” from their new EP before diving back into their past with performances of “Light Up the Sky”, “Awakening” and “Always Summer”.

The crowd was huge and very loud. And Yellowcard deserve it. One of the foundational members of the early aughts pop punk explosion, the band was never a flash in the pan. Their work stretched the boundaries of the genre in so many ways while providing lasting memories for all of us. It’s wonderful to have them back.

by Kiel Hauck

Kiel Hauck is the editor in chief at It’s All Dead. Over the past decade, he has been a contributor for multiple online and print publications and was most recently an editor at PopMatters. Kiel currently resides in Indianapolis, IN with his wife and their imaginary pet, Hand Dog. You can follow him on Twitter.