Yellowcard, New Found Glory, and Plain White T's Pack the Summer Stage
Yellowcard returned to the Stone Pony Summer Stage for the second time in just over a week, this time as part of the North to Shore Festival and with another sold-out crowd filling Asbury Park.
The Stone Pony Summer Stage at sunset
The “Up Up Down Down” Tour brought together three bands that clearly share the same audience. There was no slow build to the evening. Fans were streaming through the gates from the opening notes of Plain White T's, and when Tom Higgenson asked how many people had also been there the week before, the response suggested plenty of familiar faces had come back for another round.
Plain White T's opened with an eight-song set that wrapped up with their hits, "1, 2, 3, 4," "Rhythm of Love," and "Hey There Delilah," giving the growing crowd plenty to sing along to from the start.
New Found Glory followed with the energy that has defined the band for decades. Their 15-song set felt like a headlining performance of its own and ended with "My Friends Over You," sending the crowd into another frenzy.
As the sun disappeared behind the stage, Yellowcard took over. Before the band appeared, an inflatable Stay Puft Marshmallow Man rose above the crowd to the Ghostbusters theme, followed by a T-shirt cannon-wielding Ghostbuster launching souvenirs into the audience. Moments later, the Top Gun theme blasted through the speakers before the band opened with "Better Days."
At one point during Yellowcard's set, I worked my way into the middle of the crowd to grab a few photographs. From a distance, the scene looked chaotic, with crowd surfers moving overhead and mosh pits opening behind me. As a part of the crowd it felt different. The energy was intense but positive, thousands of people sharing the same songs and the same memories. Thanks to everyone who gave me room for one more photo before I stepped away and left them to the moment.
Yellowcard made a point of thanking fans for selling out the venue for a second time, and the appreciation seemed genuine. Over both nights, more than 9,000 people packed the Summer Stage, while hundreds more gathered outside the gates along the boardwalk, First and Ocean Avenue.
The night ended exactly where it should have. When Yellowcard launched into "Ocean Avenue," the crowd inside the venue erupted. So did the people listening from outside the gates.
Everyone was part of the same moment. Then the song ended, the lights came up, and thousands of fans spilled out onto Asbury Park's own Ocean Avenue and headed back to the real world.
Yellowcard New Found Glory Plain White T’s Stone Pony Summer Stage Bill Baumann
