Story Of The Year/Four Year Strong/Youth Fountain – Ace Of Spades – Sacramento, CA 11/23
By Jeffrey Easton
Two decades ago, Story Of The Year dropped into a scene that was set to explode and they were helping to light the fuse with Page Ave. By the time the album was gaining legs, they had jumped onto the 2004 Warped Tour and that’s all it took, Page Ave was off on its on, selling like mad. Even Target had a section for what Warped was blowing up and SOTY was front and center with Page Ave. Now its 20 years later, the record still sells, the fans are still here and it was never a phase.
Opening this massive tour was Youth Fountain, a Vancouver based band still making a name for themselves here in America. Having just dropped their third album, Together In Lonesome, I feel they are well on their way. The sold out Ace Of Spades crowd was deep into what they were doing from the first note to the last. Opening with Mental Health from their 2022 album Keepsakes and Reminders, the room lit up. Dipping back to 2018 with their S/T EP, they pulled out the excellent Complacent before touching the new album with haunting Clarity and verbally distraught Roses In My Backpack. Closing Out their pop punk fueled set, Letters To Our Former Selves made its entrance with Blooms and Deadlocked. This band has some time under their belts, some great albums to their names and with the right break they will be huge.
Four Year Strong are another Warped era survivor, still pumping out records and drawing in hordes wherever they play. It makes sense to play with Story Of The Year, pop punk stand outs, made huge names on Warped multiple times and they give their fans what they want. They bounced on stage to their loud fan greeting and dropped right into It Must Suck To Be Four Year Strong Right Now and the fans were right with them vocally. These guys haven’t aged at all and attacked the stage as if it was still 2010 while they plowed through Heroes Get Remembered Legends Never Die, We All Float Down Here and their excellent cover of Green Days’ Brain Stew. Brain Pain was hit hard for the set list and that’s a testament to how great the record is and how the public needs to go deeper on the record. Dead End Friend made my night, excellent screed aimed at POS people, perfect for these times. The set went out with a massive bang with Talking Myself In Circles and Wasting time from their massive second album Enemy Of The World. The massive crowd packed into Ace Of Spades gave them every ounce of energy and FYS gave it right back.
It was time for Story Of The Year and they did not disappoint. Touring for the 20th anniversary of the legendary Page Ave, they had the house packed with screaming fans, the merch table filled with everything Page Ave and then they delivered from the stage. Once the house lights dimmed they hit the stage and the place got loud, as if no time had passed. It was still 2004 and the scene was still breaking wide open and life was different. The strains of And The Hero Will Drown, the opening track from Page Ave, echoed through Ace and it was on. Dan Marsala, lead vocalist, said they were going through all of Page, the good and the bad before the night was over. That’s impossible, Page Ave ranks up there in desert island discs in perfection. The first 4 tracks of the set were from Page, energizing the crowd as they got louder, singing back every word as if it was still played every day and it was a new release. Dive Right In and the massive standout Anthem Of Our Dying Day with Divide and Conquer, it is 20 years so that’s how you kick it off. They did drop a new album this year in the form of Tear Me To Pieces and that was well represented with the title track, Real Life and the aggressive War. This is a great album and stands up on its on. If you haven’t slid this into your collection, you need this record. AS much as the crowd was into it, the band fed off the energy and gave it back harder. Page Ave fleshed out further until the finale, Until The Day I Die. Personally, this track and tonight took me back to July 2004, the grounds of Cal State Fullerton and seeing them the first time on Warped 2004 and hearing that ring out over the crowd and hearing the reaction. Nothing has changed, just the date. Music, the band and the fans are timeless.
Official Story Of The Year Site
Official Four Year Strong Site
Official Youth Fountain Site
