Yellowcard, Bayside, and Emery highlight a successful second annual Not Just A “Phase” Fest KC

Could this possibly be the answer to the death of Warped Tour in 2019? We think so.

June 10, 2024

Andrew Dodderidge,

Yellowcard. // photo credit Andrew Dodderidge

Heading home at 10:45 p.m. on Sunday night, I had a conversation with my brother about how The All-American Rejects had yet to come on by that time at last year’s first annual Not Just A “Phase” Fest in Kansas City. He attended, but ended up leaving early, along with many others—I suppose because of feeble bones and ingrained curfews.

So big applause to the festival for one summer later, releasing set times in advance and actually sticking to them at Legends Field Sunday, June 2. A hard stop for pop-punk headliner Yellowcard at 10:30 p.m. felt like a distant dream when openers Emery began 20 minutes late, after a delayed arrival and several hours stuck on the tarmac—a surprising bender that left vocalist Toby Morrell digesting only peanut M&Ms and 17 beers.

Emery. // photo by Andrew Dodderidge

Five songs later, Morrell and company announced they only had one cut remaining—a disappointing declaration for those who came to see the post-hardcorers’ follow-up to the deafeningly loud December night at recordBar this past winter, when the band played …In Shallow Seas We Sail in full. Fast-forward six months later, and the record turned 15 on the day of Not Just a “Phase” Fest—an eerily formed coincidence that makes one wonder why they weren’t given the opportunity to run through it again on Sunday. They played the title track in commemoration before finishing with the huge hit, “Walls.”

After a 3:10 p.m. stopping point, things seemed to stay running smooth, until the realization that alt-rock group Hoobastank (yes, you’ve heard of them) was forced to drop out because of a serious health emergency in the band’s family.

‘07-emo-birthed Secondhand Serenade slowed things down a couple of notches, after the exhilarating screams from their predecessor for some acoustic renditions from their four LPs. Vocalist John Vesely noticed the juxtaposition and made sure to let it be known, before breaking a string that turned a four-minute song into an eight-minute adventure. Little did he know that follow-up 3OH!3 would turn everything that we once thought about the festival upside down.

3OH13. // photo by Andrew Dodderidge

Sean Foreman—38-year-old frontman for the group with full-on graying hair—took the expectations of a largely emo-based audience and threw them out the window, running up and down the large, narrow outlet from the stage, with accumulated silliness that almost matched the absurdity of the songwriting itself. If you enjoy somebody thanking the organizers for letting them roam the “penis stage,” this was probably a fun experience for you. If not, maybe you rolled your eyes and made your way to the video game lounge in right field. Closing up shop around 5 p.m., it was time for the festival heavyweights to make their way in.

Senses Fail. // photo by Andrew Dodderidge

After an unsuccessful venture to the Emery booth in hopes of a possible interview about their recent foray into traveling to the area three times in eight months, Buddy Nielsen and Senses Fail tackled the evening—a challenge met by Nielsen with a menacingly devastating energy, including a moment when he stated, “I’m not gonna start the next song until I get my fucking slurpie,” after seeing a vendor in the crowd promoting flavored lemonades for the dehydrated. Thankfully, no moshers destroyed the brave souls with that job.

After things had died down a bit since Emery had exited, this was a refreshing start to the second half of the day, even if their closing number meshed together “One Step Closer,” “Killing in the Name,” and “Freak on a Leash” (From Linkin Park, Rage Against The Machine, and Korn) in an unnecessary head-shaking medley. Three songs from sophomore seminal effort Still Searching made the brief seven-cut set a quality outing, fully embracing the sentiment from many fans in the genre-realm, with their best material dating back to pre-2010.

Bayside. // photo by Andrew Dodderidge

If there was anybody to knock that predetermined stereotype back in their faces, it would be Bayside. The 24-year-old pop-punkers from NYC are nine LPs deep and seem to have found a second wind with most recent releases, Interrobang There Are Worse Things Than Being Alive. “Prayers” and “Go To Hell” found their way into the 11-song set, which resulted in a nice accumulation of everything they have to offer. Anthony Raneri provided stability in the frontman position that had yet to be established throughout the festival up until that point, which may have been a hard transition for some, but ultimately won out with the uptick in quality.

And there we were at 7:20 p.m. with only two bands to go. Sure, maybe a different story if Hoobastank hadn’t dropped out, but credit goes to the festival for keeping things moving, managing to keep everyone engaged between sets with a DJ mowing through emo hits from bands like Taking Back Sunday, Fall Out Boy, and even Glassjaw.

With loads of food carts lined up in left field, it was finally time to digest something before the main event, where I was able to find some yummy street tacos, which certainly did the trick. Not into that? Barbecue, Hawaiian, burgers, dogs—You name it, they had it. Lines were heavily minimized, so if you needed food between sets, you were not going to miss the beginning of the next band. Good stuff all around.

Boys Like Girls. // photo by Andrew Dodderidge

Massachusetts-based pop-rockers Boys Like Girls came out with a vengeance a couple minutes later, with vocalist Martin Johnson screaming at the crowd that he couldn’t hear them with the microphone by his side. There was almost a certain jackassery to the way he presented himself throughout the hour-long night, like thanking each band that had played before, including putting themselves in the mix to get the massive audience applause he wanted.

By the time the hit “The Great Escape” came up, the group played through the first verse and chorus, then stopped, with Johnson saying, “Did you all get that? Did you all get that on your phones, your Instagram stories, your Snapchat stories? Okay good, we don’t have to worry about that anymore.”

My main gripe with the lineup beforehand was the emptiness of this group coming towards the end, and a band as accomplished and thought-provoking as Emery opening the day. However, looking back at it, there really needed to be a spark that early in the lineup. Shooting right in front of the stage, the activity that built up during the South Carolina-based openers energized everything from the get-go—something you may not have gotten from Secondhand Serenade or 3OH!3. In terms of quality, maybe not the correct move. In terms of flow, sure, a good decision in hindsight.

Yellowcard. // photo by Andrew Dodderidge

With Yellowcard approaching, the showrunners tried their best to keep everything moving and maintain enough audience interaction before Ryan Key and company found their way into the hearts of many—one instance including a man, dressed head-to-toe in a My Chemical Romance Black Parade outfit, hopping up onto the stage to dance along to the seminal 18-year-old rock cut.

And as promised by Key last week, Yellowcard came out of the gates gunning with “Way Away” and “Breathing” to begin their track-by-track run-through of the 2003 LP Ocean Avenue.

As Key mentioned many times with the night coming to a close, the group is going out on tour with alt rock legends Third Eye Blind, beginning on Saturday, immediately taking off for Washington at the conclusion of the set. Stopping to preview the radio-acclaimed title track after “Breathing,” Key clued the audience in to what they were supposed to do for the rest of the evening.

“‘Ocean Avenue comes third in the tracklist so we are about to play it and will not play it again,” Key said. “Which means in order for us to get through the rest of the set, we need you to bring the energy.”

The downside to playing three of your biggest hits right off the bat is the danger of just that. And Key recognized it.

Thankfully, “Only One,” “Believe,” and “Back Home” brought the house down, while several others got the band excited to once again play in a live setting, such as “Twentythree” and “Inside Out.”

After “Back” ended, the fivesome jumped directly into “With You Around” from When You’re Through Thinking, Say Yes, without leaving the stage, followed by hits “Light Up the Sky” and “Lights and Sounds.”

Did they have enough to warrant headlining what is essentially now the replacement for Vans Warped Tour in KC? I would say so. There were definitely some cringe moments, like Key stating, “What smells so good? I want to hang out with some of you guys later” along with telling the backstage crew to not worry about fixing sound levels the rest of the set because “we’re already seven songs in it.”

But the nostalgia factor is a huge thing. 20 years later, this album still means something to most people who were out at Legends Field that night. I wonder what those memories still mean to him? How do they reflect on those times when they aren’t in them anymore? A question I could pose to everyone out there Sunday.

All Photos by Andrew Dodderidge: