Up Up Down Down Tour Brings Good Vibes To Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida

Erin Lee
May 9
3 min read

Updated: May 11

By Erin Lee

The Up Up Down Down Tour had its second stop at Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida on Friday night.

Plain White T’s were the perfect opener, getting the crowd warmed up for the bands to come and finishing strong with a “Hey There, Delilah” sing-along echoing from floor to upper level.

We love our Florida based bands, and New Found Glory are the hometown boys. Lead singer Jordan Putnik made sure to give us lots of local love, thanking the community listing off individual cities. Lester’s Diner even got a breakfast mention.

The band played an upbeat set spanning their discography from original fans who saw them play Coral Springs garage shows to new tracks in the beautiful expanse of Hard Rock Live.

“My Friends Over You” still hits two plus decades later, and everyone around me was feeling it, too.

The transition to headliner immediately set the tone for what was to come:

The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man comes running across the stage, followed by a Ghostbuster chasing him with a t-shirt cannon.

The lights go down and the band takes the stage playing a full force version of the Top Gun theme song before catapulting into “Better Days” from their newest album with the same name.

A large-scale Nintendo inspired game controller graced the backdrop of the stage, with buttons marked “Y” and “C.”

New songs like “Love Letters Lost” are just as well received by fans as old favorites.

A television center stage played 80s movies clips throughout the night:

Star Wars, Back to the Future, all of our favorites. As I watched each clip come on the screen, I thought about my own childhood and wondered how close in age I am to Ryan Key. A quick search turned up we’re two years apart, which puts us and much of the audience squarely in the late Gen X/Elder Millennial club.

A mid show set transition treated us to oversized classic 80s movie posters in a cozy living room, complete with overstuffed seating and a 2 liter of Mountain Dew. A highlight of this cozy portion of the show was the touching

“Big Blue Eyes,” Ryan Key’s tribute to fatherhood.

Yellowcard was firing on all cylinders

when I saw them on last year’s Maximum Fun tour. I couldn’t imagine seeing a better performance from them than that, and then last night somehow exceeded that by leaps and bounds.

Each player truly delivers at their highest level. Key and Violinist Sean Mackin stopped down at one point to talk about not just gratitude for their longevity, but also how much heart goes into each performance. They’re certainly working hard, but they’re also having an incredible time playing.

“Lights and Sounds” is my

favorite Yellowcard song. The accompanying visuals during this song painted a vivid picture.

Several times throughout the evening, the band gave us uplifting comments about how whatever we are going through personally, they hoped this show could make us smile and enjoy life for a little while. That message went straight to my heart, and felt so relatable in this season of life.

“Bedroom Posters” and “Ocean Avenue” rounded out the set, leaving the audience with a reminder from Bill and Ted to “Be Excellent to Each Other” and “Party On.”

Walking out to the sounds of the Super Mario Bros. theme was the perfect way to end an evening that felt like hanging out with old friends.