As the crowd filtered in to Ace of Cups in Columbus, the members of Yellow Paper Planes were soaking up the atmosphere as they waited to take the stage.

They were celebrating their long awaited full-length album release of “Building a Building” on Friday evening with family, friends and fans.

‘Tis but the shank of the evening… (Credit: Jacob Thompson / Music in Motion Columbus)

Ed. – read our review of “Building a Building” HERE

Joshua James (vocals/guitar), Brandon Woods (drums/vocals), Peter Mendenhall (bass/vocals) and Jeremy Ebert (guitar/keyboards/vocals) added Seth Pfannenschmidt (guitar/trumpet) to the mix for the show, achieving a fuller sound as they played a 15-song set.

They opened their set with the mellow overtones of Tearing Up, augmented with a thumping bass groove. James set the tone with emotive lyrical play, as the band kicked in with more pace.

YPP at Ace of Cups 4/21/17 (Credit: Jacob Thompson / Music in Motion Columbus)

So It Goes was a melodic piece, with the crowd swaying in time with the band. The rock-infused Hurts to Breathe carried Americana overtones, with more emotion than the recorded version.

“Thank you, guys, for being here,” Mendenhall said as the band launched into this writer’s personal favorite from the album, Bottle Up, Explode. Playing the song at a slower pace, it took on a darker tone, with the audience feeling the pain in James’ voice.

The uptempo bass groove of Absolute got everyone dancing, including the band. A loud cheer was their reward from an appreciative crowd when it ended.

Slowing things down a bit, the band launched into Sword and Stone. With the keyboards prevalent and the crowd swaying in unison, James was on the verge of wailing his vocals, adding raw emotion to the song.

Brandon Woods lets loose on the skins (Credit: Jacob Thompson / Music in Motion Columbus)

Monterey had the added touch of a bow, bringing poignancy to the mellow pace. Keeping the melodic groove going, Pinch of the Sunrise was next. The emotion displayed by the band really comes through in the live setting, with the band feeding off the energy of the crowd.

The blues-tinged, almost dirty-rock sounding Bloodshot chugged along, providing a nice change from the more mellow numbers before. On Take a Step Back, the guys picked up the pace with the Americana-influenced song.

The jangly sound of guitars announced the beginning of C’mon. Although once again on the mellower side, James’ emotion shined through.

White Lies featured James and his guitar for much of the song, with the crowd hanging on his every word. As the band kicked up the pace, Pfannenschmidt pulled out his trumpet to end the number.

YPP adding some flair to their live performance (Credit: Jacob Thompson / Music in Motion Columbus)

O’Brien was simply wonderful, featuring just James and his guitar. The uptempo rock -infused Warm Milk had an understated lyrical quality to it, with the band letting loose as the full-out rocker progressed to its climax.

To cap-off the evening, the “rocked up” the aurally pleasing number Stare to Hold, thanking the crowd for a wonderful night of music.

And with that, the show was over. Yellow Paper Planes don’t fit into one category or genre, preferring to play their music so that it pleases them. The icing on the cake is when the crowd realizes what they are witnessing, easily falling under the spell of a band that is doing their own thing.

I would recommend that you find the time to see these guys live. While the new album is very good, Yellow Paper Planes find a new level and depth to their music when playing in front of an audience.

Setlist

1. Tearing Up *
2. So It Goes *
3. Hurts to Breathe
4. Bottle Up, Explode *
5. Absolute *
6. Sword and Stone *
7. Monterey *
8. Pinch of the Sunrise *
9. Bloodshot *
10. Take a Step Back *
11. C’mon *
12. White Lies *
13. O’Brien
14. Warm Milk
15. Stare to Hold *

* denotes songs from their new album “Building a Building”

Ed. – read our in-depth interview with the band HERE

Yellow Paper Planes – Take a Step Back