It may be a dreary Sunday night in February but that hasn’t stopped punters making the trip out to Manchester Academy for a bit of a pop-punk pick-me-up. These days, the idea of a double-headlining tour has become a nifty way of drumming up buzz and amalgamating fanbases, sort of like an Avengers style-situation – but for jaunty, emotive music. Tonight’s co-pro between Pennsylvania emo-punkers The Wonder Years and the Tallahassee’s now-veterans of the scene Mayday Parade has done exactly that – selling out Manchester Academy’s second biggest venue on arguably the most responsibility-laced night of the week.
Not that Monday morning’s hold that much importance to the majority of tonight’s crowd. Looking around, it’s a rabble of beer-swilling teens, university students with a big lie-in ahead of them and a scattering of older fans likely here for a nostalgia hit. Despite this disparity in audience members, the overall vibe of the room remains consistent: one of hot anticipation at the idea of seeing two heavyweights of the scene, back-to-back. Tonight’s the first night of the tour and our main draws are taking a rolling approach to each evening’s headlining slot. As such, it’s The Wonder Years who get the meat of tonight’s show cooking, taking to the stage in celebration of their 2018 release Sister Cities.
A mix of old and new tracks populate their hour-long setlist, with newer songs getting a warm reception from Manchester’s ever-present pop-punk loving crowd. That said, the raw power of the band’s tried and tested hits is hard to dismiss, with airings of “I Don’t Like Who I Was Then” and of course, The Greatest Generation’s “Passing Through A Screen Door” rewarding the patience of the audience. Despite frontman Dan Campbell enduring an extended illness thanks to excess touring, the band hold nothing back – storming through their sixty minute stint on stage with the vigour and vitality of a newbie to the scene.
From there it’s Mayday Parade’s turn to tag-in, rounding-out the evening with a greatest-hits set that celebrates their constant presence in emo and pop-punk. In fact, it’s easy to forget just how long they’ve been around, with over twenty years having passed since the 2007 release of their feel-filled debut A Lesson In Romantics. With this in mind, the band lean into their longevity, marking this journey with an acoustic trip down emo-memory lane in the middle of their set. New Found Glory’s “My Friends Over You”, My Chemical Romance’s “I’m Not Okay (I Promise)” and Taking Back Sunday’s “Cute Without The E” lead us in nicely to “Jamie All Over”, their own welcome addition to a catalogue that’s no-doubt resonant to the majority of tonight’s attendees. It’s a moment that’s both nostalgic, celebratory and – if the genre’s ever meant anything to you – worth the price of admission alone.
Words by Simon Bland. (@SiTweetsToo)
