Written by Kate Marsden
I started listening to Yellow Days (the musical alias of alternative music star George van den Broek) in high school and his gravelly, pining sound became a part of the soundtrack of my teenage years. I honestly hadn’t listened to Yellow Days much since then but when I heard he was performing at The Catalyst, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to reacquaint myself with his dreamy indie and soul-influenced pop soundscape. Yellow Days hadn’t released a lot of new projects since my high school days but his Catalyst stop was a part of his tour promoting his 2020 album A Day in a Yellow Beat along with his 2021 5 track EP with Ric Wilson Disco Ric in London Town. Wilson tagged along to perform a few of the groovy hip-hop numbers that make up the 2021 EP.
When I got to The Catalyst, the crowd present appeared to either be listeners like me, who were a few years out of their high school Yellow Days phase or currently in their very own. There were a handful of audience members who seemed to be a bit older than the aforementioned age groups but this didn’t come as a surprise since the Yellow Days discography is easy listening for ears of any age. I arrived to the concert a little late so van den Broek’s hypnotic vocals were already in the process of entrancing his attendees. I wanted to take a quick video of the vibey atmosphere and psychedelic sonics but when my flash accidentally went off, it was very noticeable and I felt horribly responsible for disrupting everyone from their mystical Yellow Days spell. The Yellow Days ensemble was comprised of van den Broek (who would either be solely on vocals or vocals paired with keyboard or his very recognizable Vox Teardrop MKIII electric guitar), a bassist, and a drummer. The bassist looked like they were having so much fun and van den Broek stepped aside to give them a little solo every so often which the crowd really enjoyed too. It was almost as if the audience was simply watching a few friends have a lighthearted jam sesh.
The entirety of the show had such a laidback feel which van den Broek so effortlessly radiates. Yellow Days played a good variety of his new groovier, more danceable releases while also making sure to feature some of his older plaintive tracks such as “Your Hand Holding Mine” and “Gap in the Clouds”. The show finished off with some lively performances from both van den Broek and Wilson of songs from their 2021 EP like “LIFE’S BEEN GOOD TO ME” and “ALIEN ON THE TUBE”. Wilson also closed out the show with a few of his solo tracks which were more upbeat than much of Yellow Days’ slowed indie-rock.
In conclusion, Yellow Days put on a performance that was nothing but good vibes for all who attended.