The Wonder Years - Grace the Vans Warped Tour for a shortish set!

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We wonder what The Wonder Years are all about!

Vans Warped Tour
The Wonder Years *** (West Stage) have never been a band that I cared much for they are Pop Punk mixed with Post-Punk led by a guy with the beard that thinks he is in the American sitcom. I am wrong though not to take note and I can see why people do like this band. They have a good sound and perform it well on the big stage and a lot of people really seem to like them so I am really impressed by their performance.

It isn't anything ground breaking and isn't my thing but they know how to command the stage well and get people into their performance. They open with the slightly wining Emo / Punk track 'Passing through a screen Door' off their last album 'The Greatest Generation' which launches off really well and reminds me of some of the bands I heard when Drive-Thru Records were at their peak.

They are definitely American sounding and the singer Dan "Soupy" Campbell does not look like the way he sounds so it's quite surprising when he opens his mouth and the sound that he produces comes out. This is a band for fans of Midtown, Home Grown, Rx Bandits, Fenix TX or even New found Glory or Senses Fail. So if you like these bands they are well worth a listen.

'Local man ruins Everything' is a slightly lower sounding song but still has some speed about it and Dan's vocals really launch at you and the timing of guitarists Nick Steinborn and Casey Cavaliere is impeccable and you can see this is a band that practices and plays a lot together. These songs make a good start of the set while 'Washington Square Park' is uplifting and 'The Bastards, Vultures and Wolves' and 'Don't let me cave In' are slow in places and just drift along by. 

They taper out a little bit for me as they get to the end of their set to be brought back up by closing number 'Came out Swinging' which quite a few people are singing a long to. This is not the best set by a band this weekend but I can see why people that are really into the band enjoyed them. They do what they do and you either like it or not, so why don't you see if you do.

The Wonder Years - Setlist
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Passing through a screen Door
Local man ruins Everything
Washington square Park
Melrose Diner
The Bastards, Vultures and Wolves
Don't let me cave In
Dismantling Summer
Woke up Older
Cul-De-Sac
Came out Swinging

Review and Photo's by Dan Devour 

Check Out! the Video for 'Came out Swinging' Below...