No Use For A Name/Yellowcard/Eyeliners

live in Seattle (2002)

While standing in line outside of Graceland, one of Seattle's best punk venues, I had plenty of time to think about what was ahead. I had seen No Use twice before, (not including the meager ten minutes of their Warped Tour set, as a result of piss-poor scheduling) and was yet to be dissapointed. I wasn't familiar with Slick Shoes, but had limited knowledge as to what category they fell under. As for Yellowcard, I'd grown somewhat familliar due to the current popularity of their poppish brand of emotional punk. I had heard a song or two from The Eyeliners, but had never taken much of a liking.

To start things off, Slick Shoes took the stage. Now, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't grabbed by the first couple songs they played and their fair bit of stage presence. However, as their set grew longer I began to only notice the similarities in every one of their songs. The crowd seemed to overall enjoy their set, though.

Next up was The Eyeliners. Perhaps the least lively of the four acts. I understand that most bands end up using the same 3-chord progressions to write their songs, nowadays, but this was just ridiculous. None of their songs showed any strand of originality and I think the crowd would agree with me. There wasn't really any movement in the audience, and the only people who looked as if they were enjoying themselves, were the band members.

After a tedious set from the Eyeliners, it was going to take quite an effort from Yellowcard to revive the crowd. And that, is precisely what was given. From the first note they played, to the popular closer "October Nights," every person in that room was moving with some sort of exitement. Perhaps their biggest burst of energy came from Sean, their violinist (that's right, violinist) as he shot like a bullet off of the stage and into the hands of the crowd, all the time grasping the microphone and not missing one word.

Next was the moment that hopefully every person in the room was eagerly anticipating. No Use's Tony Sly walked on stage alone, carrying his guitar, he opened up an explosive set, gently, with the opening track from their newest release, "Hard Rock Bottom." As he wrapped up, the remaining members came to the stage and immediately burst into the two-track, "International You Day." This made the crowd ignite into an indescribable frenzy. NUFAN continued to power through their set with songs off of all of their albums, past and present. Playing distinct No Use hits such as "Coming Too Close," "Not Your Savior," and "Making Friends" paved way for more underappreciated tunes such as "Invincible." They ended their riviting set with "Justified Black Eye," only to have the crowd summon them back for more. As they returned to the stage the crowd was pleased to see Sean, from Yellowcard, join them with his violin on one of "Hard Rock Bottom's" more sorrow-filled tracks, "Let Me Down." The crowd got one last burst of energy when No Use officially ended the show with "Redemption Song."

All Together, I was quite impressed with the show and will continue to be a big fan of No Use. However, I also have grown new interest towards Yellowcard, who broke the mold of a normally annoying performance, that their particular genre produces.