ALBANY – They may proudly hail from Philly, but The Wonder Years have truly become Albany’s adopted sons. The deep, dark throes of a North Country winter or early spring just wouldn’t be the same without an annual visit from the band, who’ve grown over the past 18 years from a goofy, but fantastic young pop-punk band, into arguably the finest and most consistently stellar group of songwriters in modern music.
So it was no surprise that tickets for The Wonder Years’ show at Empire Live (where they’d also played in December 2021) sold out quickly, leaving Capital Region fans scrambling in the months leading up to the gig. For many 518 pop-punk fans, this mid-March show was the concert event of the new year; the crowd arrived early and packed the house rapidly in anticipation.
First up was opener Carly Cosgrove, a self-dubbed “nostalgia-core” trio also hailing from the City of Brotherly Love, with a deep iCarly/Nickelodeon theme running through their music that invited further investigation at a later date. Singer-guitarist Lucas Naylor (who also happens to be a jazz pianist) did an impressive job handling the six-string duties alone and has a strong voice, plus a likeable sort of nerdy, braces-wearing charm. Lanky bassist Helen Barsz was the ideal counterpoint, wildly whipping her hair and limbs with seemingly unending energy.
The group—in the midst of its first nationwide tour—made the most of their modest set time, packing in eight songs that pulled primarily from the trio’s 2022 debut LP, See You In Chemistry (“Munck,” “Sit ‘n’ Bounce,” “Really Big Shrimp,”) but also from the 2019 EP Whoah, Just Take It Easy Man. (“Not My Job,” “You Ate My Enchilada!”). The crowd had already warmed by the time the band had played new single “Don’t Lick The Swingset” three songs in; the deal was sealed with another standout, “The Great Doheny.” It was an impressive performance by a young band that’s only just getting started.
Detroit post-emo outfit Hot Mulligan, no strangers to the stage, were a different story. The audience was super hyped for the band’s set—their first here in many years—and thus the atmosphere was pure electricity, from the set-opening strains of “OG Bule Sky.” Waves of crowd surfers began to hurtle toward the front barricade, while all screamed at top volume along with singer Nathan “Tades” Sanville, who admittedly struggled to keep from losing his voice mid-set. It hardly mattered, as the show almost instantly morphed into one giant sing-along.
The band—Sanville, guitarists Ryan “Spicy” Malicsi and Chris Freeman, and drummer Brandon Blakeley—took fans on a journey through their eight-year career, focusing largely though on 2020 LP You’ll Be Fine (“OG Bule Sky,” “Equip Sunglasses,” “Dirty Office Bongos,” “SPS,” “BCKYRD” “Digging In” and “Analog Fade (New Bule Sky)”). The trend toward newer material continued throughout, touching upon the 2021 I Won’t Reach Out To You EP (“Losing Days,” “Featuring Mark Hoppus”), an acoustic number from 2022’s Acoustic Vol. 2 (“Heem Wasn’t There”) and the band’s brand-new single, “Shhhh! Golf is On.” The crowd loved it all.
Later in the night, Wonder Years vocalist Dan “Soupy” Campbell would joke about watching these particular openers each night and feeling a pang of insecurity; after witnessing Hot Mulligan’s set, I know what he means. But of course, Campbell is just being anxious, as he tends to be. He needn’t really worry; there was little doubt concerning whom the sardine-like audience was there to see.
To say that the Wonder Years’ career is a musical phenomenon is an understatement. Now nearly 20 years into their existence, the Lansdale, PA six-piece have evolved over the decades from a youthful pop-punk band into a truly unique collective of mature musicians, creating sonic art that continually pushes the listener to follow on the journey. The band’s latest release, The Hum Goes On Forever, is no exception, finding TWY—Campbell, guitarists Matt Brasch and Casey Cavaliere, guitarist/keyboardist Nick Steinborn, bassist Josh Martin and drummer Michael Kennedy—exploring perhaps the most personal, yet relatable, space of the band’s immaculate discography: among other topics, the tremendous weight (and ensuing terror) of being a parent.
And just as THGOF follows a thematic and melodic arc (as with most TWY records), so did the band’s set at Empire Live: Campbell appeared from the darkness to open the show, set to the melancholy strains of “Doors I Painted Shut,” the opening track on THGOF, with its core refrain of “I don’t wanna die…” before the band segued straight into the record’s exhilarating second cut, “Wyatt’s Song (Your Name).” Wonder Years fans—who are some of the most zealous of any in the scene—were ecstatic throughout the show to hear the new material live, most likely for the first time. The sound of the crowd singing along was deafening.
That enthusiasm was a good thing, too, because the group’s 21-song, 90-minute set focused largely on the latter half of the band’s catalog, particularly the incredible, but perhaps underrated 2015 release No Closer To Heaven, as well as a sizeable chunk of new THGOF material, and select cuts from 2018’s Sister Cities (the title track and “Heaven’s Gate (Sad & Sober)”). There was just one lone nod to 2010’s beloved The Upsides (the obligatory “Melrose Diner”) and two tracks from the similarly adored 2011 release, Suburbia I’ve Given You All And Now I’m Nothing (“Local Man Ruins Everything” and the epic encore, “Came Out Swinging”).
On the other hand, the first TWY “transition” record—2013’s The Greatest Generation—earned moderate attention in the set, with the band blasting the bouncy, high-energy “Dismantling Summer” just three songs into the show, then later serving up a twofer of the moody, emotive “There, There,” into the raging frustration of “Passing Through A Screen Door.” Since that record turned 10 this year, there will definitely be other shows in 2023 where TGG gets a more thorough live revisiting. (The band just announced it will be playing The Greatest Generation in full at their own outdoor Philly festival, Loneliest Place On Earth Fest, Sept. 9 at Franklin Music Hall.)
The audience didn’t seem to mind the focus on the newer records, which is all the more of a testament to this band’s remarkable staying power. If The Greatest Generation hinted at the band’s potential beyond just the realm of pure pop-punk, No Closer To Heaven realized that metamorphosis, and like other records of its ilk, continues to reveal itself more to fans over time.
A sonic sibling of THGOF, it was fitting to spend roughly a third of the set on just NCTH songs, from “Cardinals” seguing straight into “Cardinals II” from THGOF, plus “I Don’t Like Who I Was Then,” “A Song For Ernest Hemingway,” and “Cigarettes & Saints.” The Wonder Years also took a rare romantic pause for the stunning “You In January,” which Campbell remarked had already been the setting for nine marriage proposals on that tour. He gave the Albany crowd a chance to make it 10 times, before going back to “songs about dead people.” But as far as we know, no suitors came prepared this night, despite plenty of tears, hugs and handholding in the audience.
The NCTH block was then followed appropriately by a sizeable chunk of new songs from THGOF, which are a triumphant culmination of all the band’s musical voyages and lyrical narratives that precede it. Kicking off the block with the gloomy, spacious “Songs About Death,” the band showcased just how far they’ve grown in these near 20 years, with thundering riffs and rhythms more akin to present-day Thrice than New Found Glory and Blink-182.
More of THGOF’s electrifying moments came next—the high-energy anxiety of “Low Tide” and the both musically and topically devastating “Old Friends Like Lost Teeth”—before Campbell masterfully brought the room down to a whisper with the wistful, fragile “Laura & the Beehive.” The song, a beautiful ode to his grandmother, literally had fans weeping in the venue.
Closing the set, before the encore, came The Hum Goes On Forever’s heart-wrenching finale, “You’re The Reason I Don’t Want The World To End,” with Campbell at one point lit by just the glow of a lone light bulb he held, dangling from its cord. It was a perfect moment to close a thoroughly unforgettable and satisfying set, reinforcing that this is a band that has a next-level understanding of moods, dynamics, and the visual components of a live performance, and yet still keeps developing and expanding upon what we’ve all come to expect from a Wonder Years show.
What’s next? We’ll just have to wait and see, when Albany’s adopted sons return from Philly, next winter.
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The Wonder Years – Empire Live, Albany, NY – 3/18/23 (Photos by Kylie Spinelli)
Hot Mulligan – Empire Live Albany, NY – 3/18/23 (Photos by Kylie Spinelli)
Carly Cosgrove – Empire Live Albany, NY – 3/18/23 (Photos by Kylie Spinelli)
