THE WONDER YEARS // SWG3, GLASGOW
THE WONDER YEARS LIVE AT GLASGOW’S SWG3
★★★★★ (5/5)
THE WONDER YEARS PERFORMING AT GLASGOW’S SWG3
PHOTOCREDIT: PAUL STORR
Opening the show we have Philadephia's Kississippi. Their indie folk sound is a perfect fit for tonight's lineup.
Frontwoman Zoe Allaire Reynolds energy is superb, getting the crowd involved from the very start.
Highlight of their set comes in "We're So In Tune", which has Zoe getting the crowd to make the letters W S I T with their arms in a dance, assuring them that it is all in the name of fun, and that it is.
A brilliant way to open the evening from a superb band!
Up next we have 2 piece Origami Angel. Hailing from Washington D.C., they came to play Glasgow back in July but some of their kit went missing on the flight here so they were not able to do a full band show. Tonight thankfully everything is here, and you're blown away as soon as the first note is struck.
New album "The Brightest Days" was out earlier this year and we get some songs from that, with highlights of the set coming in "Thank You, New Jersey" and "Kobayashi Maru (My Very Own)".
Frontman/guitarist Ryland Heagy and drummer Pat Doherty are both full of energy, and this leaks in to the ever filling room, getting everyone bouncing for their set.
Origami Angel are ones to definitely keep an eye on for the future!
With tonight being a 10 year album anniversary show - the lights drop and we have a tape over the PA of each member of The Wonder Years talking about what the album "The Greatest Generation" means to them.
The band then burst on stage and launch in to the album, kicking things off with "There, There", and you can tell from the very first second that this is going to be one of those nights that live forever in your memory.
"Dismantling Summer" sends the place in to an absolute frenzy, with the now full room screaming back every word.
We get Zoe from Kississippi back on stage for "The Devil In My Bloodstream", which is followed by The Wonder Years vocalist Dan "Soupy" Campbell telling the crowd the next 4 songs they are going to play, are ones they rarely play live as the band think that the fans "don't give a fuck about them". Incoming boos from the crowd spark Soupy to tell us "you could boo, that's one idea, or you could take this opportunity to prove us wrong!"...and prove them wrong we did! The chorus for "Teenage Parents" is deafening as it is roared back from the full venue.
We get Soupy with his acoustic for a lovely rendition of "Madelyn", before the main set is closed with "Cul-de-sac" and an ear splitting, gut wrenching, emotion riddled rendition of "I Just Want To Sell Out My Funeral".
The standard "here we fucking go" chant follows the band leaving the stage, and it's not long before they are back on for an encore of more of their huge tunes from their other albums.
Old song "Local Man Ruins Everything" again sends the place absolutely wild, before Soupy tells the crowd that he knows some here tonight will have not listened to anything the band have released since "The Greatest Generation", and he is okay with that, but they need to know that this version of The Wonder Years is the best they have ever been, and everyone else needs to scream the words of the newer songs so they know what they've been missing! We then get new song "Low Tide", and again the crowd does not let down.
When "The Greatest Generation" was being made, there was a lot of tracks that were left on the cutting room floor, one being "GODDAMNITALL", which we get as part of the encore.
The evening is then closed off with "Cardinals" and the set staple "Came Out Swinging" - which gives the room one last chance to go absolutely mental and make lasting memories of the night!
The Wonder Years are a band who, ever since I have known of them, have meant the absolute world to me. The energy and emotion in their songs and live shows is hard to match, and I urge anyone who has the chance to catch them on this (or any) tour, to make sure they do it!
