SUMMER GODS: Third Eye Blind And Yellowcard Take Over Fontainebleau with Arizona in tow!

June 22,2024 – Las Vegas
Third Eye Blind hit Vegas with their fourth run of their Summer Gods tour, and with them they brought YELLOWCARD and ARIZONA. This run the bands hit the Fontainebleu theater. I had never been to this place before, but like most locals, I had been intrigued by the shiny blue building. It kind of stands out. The theater here has an incredible view from all around, along with a layout that I could compare to the likes of The Chelsea, but with the elegance that reminds me of The Smiths Center. There’s not a single bad seat in the house, that’s for sure!

A R I Z O N A

Opening up the evening for us was American pop-rock/electro pop outfit A R I Z O N A. I only caught the ending of this set, but from what I could hear their description of being an up and comer in the pop/rock/radio rock scene is no surprise. The crowd was already vibing with the energy they were providing, and this energy continued to build on through the night.

For more information about A R I Z O N A:
Official Website | Instagram | Facebook | Spotify

YELLOWCARD

The last time I saw Yellowcard as a full band prior to this was in 2004. That was a great year for me. I was 15 years old and they performed with The Matches and The Starting Line out at the UNLV Intramural field, it was my first actual rock show. I have always been grateful that my father took me and a friend out there to enjoy one of the best pop punk bands of the time. After learning of their hiatus/breakups, especially after seeing William Ryan Key perform an opening set for Bayside & New Found Glory in 2018, I wondered if I’d ever get to see this band again. The excitement I felt when hearing of this show/tour announcement pulled at my heartstrings. Here was my chance! 

Most of Yellowcard’s set was full of songs that they don’t often get to play live. This wasn’t an issue for me since I’ve casually enjoyed every release they’ve had since they came onto the scene. A very full crowd could be seen from the back of the venue, which is where I found myself later on during their performance. I stood there with a smile on my face as the nostalgia took over me. I felt like I was transported back to 2004 – where I was in the front of the crowd, screaming and jumping with excitement. Other than some slight technical issues at the beginning of the set, the guys performed well. They sounded good, looked good, and had enough positive energy to fill the entire room from the barricade all the way up to the third and fourth tiers of the balcony seats.

The set was closed out with their most noticable and popular song, “Ocean Avenue.”

Yellowcard are a vital piece of the early 2000’s pop punk scene, and the elements they provide really set them apart from their peers in the genre. No super high pitched vocals in these guys’ music, which is sometimes what turns people off to the genre. And that added violin element just makes this band one of a kind. I’m stoked that the guys are back, and I hope I’ll be able to catch them again in the future!

Setlist:

1. Lights and Sounds
2. Cut Me, Mick
3. Only One
4. Southern Air
5. Transmission Home
6. One Bedroom in
7. Lift a Sail
8. Childhood Eyes
9. Keeper
10. Be the Young
11. The Hurt Is Gone
12. Ocean Avenue

THIRD EYE BLIND

I’ll be honest here, I didn’t have much of any expectations for Third Eye Blind. I know all their popular songs from the late 90’s, and generally speaking would consider myself a casual listener of radio pop/rock. It’s not my favorite thing, but I don’t hate it. We caught a previous leg of this tour in 2019, and it wasn’t great. I have also just heard conflicting things about Third Eye Blind live in general, so I really wasn’t sure what to expect, since I personally had never seen them before this.

My expectations (or lack thereof) were completely tossed out the window within the first few songs. The stage started very dark, with each band member coming out one by one onto the drum riser area. I was told that we did not have a time limit for being in the photo pit on this run, so I could stay down and shoot for as long as I wanted pretty much. This is always pretty cool, because it takes some of the pressure off of scrambling to cover all the bases and atmosphere in three songs. I could take my time and plan out certain shots that I wanted to get. This was also helpful because the lighting seemed to constantly switch up between moody dark red, to bright whites, greens and blues. So from a creative standpoint, I was able to get a lot of interesting photos from this set.

I did not hear any issues with sound at all for Third Eye Blind’s set, which I am happy for. Happy fans could be singing and swaying in the front row. The band exchanged seemingly positive vibes with eachother throughout the set, occasionally meeting back near the drum riser in a similar position that they first came out.

Most of the big hitter stuff for Third Eye Blind was played towards the end of the set – While I’m not always a fan of this kind of setlist organization, (I would have preferred to hear them scattered throughout.) I understand why they did this. They likely wanted to keep people on their toes and then go out with a big bang. Special little tidbits such as “Just Like Heaven” sprinkled into the ending of “Dust Storm”, and a cover of Beyonce’s song, “Mine” were fun little highlights of the set.

Third Eye Blind closed out their set with all of their major hits, Jumper, Semi-Charmed Life, and encoring with How’s it Going to Be. As I mentioned above, I had never seen this band live before. I’ve just enjoyed casual bits and hits from the radio through the years. I was happily shown something other than what I had previously heard over and over again leading up to this show, and honestly, I love when that happens. I still wouldn’t call myself a fan per se, but I definitely wouldn’t mind covering this gem-hit filled band again sometime in the future.

Setlist:

1. Motorcycle Drive By
2. Dust Storm (“Just Like Heaven” by the Cure interpolation)
3. Never Let You Go (“An Ode to Maybe” at the end)
4. Narcolepsy
5. The Kids Are Coming (To Take You Down)
6. Wolf Like Me / Company
7. Graduate
8. Wounded
9. Weightless / Faster / Water Landing
10. Losing a Whole Year
11. Shipboard Cook
12. The Background
13. Mine (Beyoncé cover)
14. Blinded (When I See You)
15. Slow Motion
16. Jumper
17. Semi-Charmed Life
    Encore:
18. How’s It Going to Be

The ceiling for this theater is very, very high. Possibly the highest in the city of a venue this size. As I mentioned, there were no apparent sound issues through the night, which I would expect some kind of echo through the venue just based on that high ceiling fact alone. But alas, nothing. Whatever this place is doing with their sound set up and all of that, they’re definitely doing it right! I hope to be able to cover and see more performances here in the future.

Live photos by Courtney Ware for ZrockR Magazine 2024 – All Rights Reserved.