Yellow Days, all grown up, touring with “Rock And A Hard Place”

British singer, songwriter, & producer George Van Den Broek, better known as Yellow Days, is on tour with his latest record, Rock And A Hard Place. Van Den Broek got into the world of fame at a young age with his 2016 debut EP Harmless Melodies. The new record is him going back to the “drawing board,” embracing “sobriety, settling down, and returning to his parents’ garden shed”. The record is bluesy and soulful, and has undoubtedly earned him a few new fans.

Toronto’s Great Hall was a great choice for this performance, framing the Yellow Days band with a decorative arch. “This is a new band,” Van Den Broek pointed out, “but I think they’re pretty good, yeah?” The audience cheered for the Yellow Days boy band. “This is my new basest, look at him, look at his face”. A bass solo followed. Saxophone, trumpet, and flute moments came later. George Van Den Broek, embracing the retro fashion with a green collared shirt and high-rise pleated pants, remained in the centre, occasionally picking up a guitar.

After the first song, Van Den Broek took the time to greet the front row, shaking everyone’s hand. As he stepped back, a woman in front of me shrieked in excitement, making everyone laugh along with her. Yellow Days kept the room engaged, talking about the ups and downs of a live performance, his songs, and his overall repertoire. Some old songs, some new songs are what we were promised and are what we got.

The show was a rollercoaster, going from slow, moody tracks like “Daylight Miracles” and “The Way Things Change” to the super funky “Love Is Getting Complicated” and “I Cannot Believe In Tomorrow“. “Glitter & Gold,” of course, is how tonight started. For nearly 90 minutes straight, Yellow Days and his six-piece band played songs from across the last decade as people danced, nodded, tapped and clapped along.

Having seen Yellow Days perform five years ago at the Phoenix, the contrast is striking. George Van Den Broek, “newly married and drug-free,” has found his mature self as an artist. “It’s a return to innocence,” he shared in a press release. “As a teenager, I didn’t know what I wanted to do, musically. As time goes by, you lose a bit of passion and edge. It’s easy to get carried away. I’ve been like a disobedient dog that needed training (laughs). I see this as the first adult album I’ve ever done.”