The Wonder Years: The Greatest Generation 10th Anniversary UK Tour 09/11/2023

Where: SWG3 (upgraded to Galvanizers from the smaller TV Studio) – Glasgow, Scotland (UK)

Venue ratings: 10/10

Who I went with: Myself

Where I stayed: Sandyford Hotel (in an area of Glasgow I barely ever visit and close to a bunch of parks and gardens, which was nice)

How I travelled there: Walked thirty minutes from my previous hotel (Sauchiehall Street feels endless)

Beverage of choice: White wine beforehand

SETLIST:

I knew I would have an extra day at my disposal after seeing McFly, so I scoured the internet to see who else was performing in iconic Glasgow venues the day after them. In the end it came down to 50 Cent, Dylan John Thomas or The Wonder Years playing at The Hydro, The Barrowlands and SWG3, respectively. The latter was the only venue I hadn’t been to and TWY appealed to me a lot more than 50 Cent or DJT after I listened to their music to help me decide who I wanted to see, so I snagged a re-sale ticket. I then listened to ‘The Greatest Generation’, the album the tour is based on, repeatedly until I became familiar with the songs but I rightfully worried I would feel out of place at the gig amongst all the die-hard fans. Especially since this was a 10th anniversary tour and I had only just found out they existed, which I knew would probably place me in the minority. I was immediately put at ease, however, when I entered the venue and saw one of the photographers showing off his Instagram page full of McFly photos from the previous night to another member of staff. It is okay to like different genres. I have been making an effort to explore new music during the past couple of years and I have no idea how people keep up with all these bands but I am giving it my best shot. I found out TWY are doing Slam Dunk Festival 2024, so I will see them again when May comes around! I got a ticket for The All-American Rejects but so many fantastic bands are performing there. Fans handed out home-made bracelets in the queue, which was really lovely of them and made me feel happier about going solo, as they connected everyone together (as corny as that sounds). I thought it was interesting the two times I received bracelets were at gigs I attended last minute. Maybe they have friendlier fanbases than the bands I grew up with.

We were let in on time and it took me a minute to find Galvanizers, the bigger room the band had been moved into in order to sell up to two hundred more tickets. I booked a close-by hotel and felt safe walking to and from the venue with the crowd, even though it was an area of Glasgow I don’t know well. Nobody was annoying or pushy, which made a change from the night before. A lot of people were hauled over the barrier once the gig was underway but I couldn’t figure out whether it was because they were causing mayhem or if they were simply crowd-surfing to get to the exit, as I saw the same few people coming and going. I secured a spot at the left-hand side of the barrier and was comfortable there, with the mosh pit opening up far behind me and fans running around in circles in a complete frenzy. I was entertained by crew members’ hoodies before the bands came on. One said “Tattoos are stupid” when he was covered in them himself and another said “Not everything sucks”, which was also funny. Kississippi graced the stage first but failed to introduce themselves. Origami Angel (the next opening act) mentioned them later but I thought they said “Mississippi” instead, which I deemed to be a completely unoriginal name for a band. The main singer, Zoe Allaire Reynolds according to my Google search, has a lot of personality and came across as nice and sincere. She joked about having an English bassist when Scottish people don’t like English people, which isn’t strictly true. I don’t think people knew how to react. They did a “flip up version” of ‘YMCA’ called ‘We’re So In Tune’ or ‘WSIT’, complete with arm motions similar to the original. It reminded me of the ‘YMCA’ intro McFly uses and I also thought back to seeing Geena Fontanella cover ‘Teenage Dirtbag’ the day after I saw Wheatus, which was another sheer coincidence. She talked about how her mum (or “mom”) likes the song ‘Googly Eyes’, which added a layer of humanity and innocence to the set. Her outfit gave me Dorothy from ‘The Wizard Of Oz’ vibes and it must have been intentional, with the blue dress and ruby shoes. I was almost expecting a cover of ‘Over The Rainbow’. She has a gorgeous voice and their songs seemed to have a lot of depth to them, on first listen. TWY said they put a lot of effort into choosing their opening acts and you can tell.

Origami Angel came on next to an equally warm reception. I think they might be the more well-known of the two, as I saw a lot of hype surrounding them on social media prior to the gig. They had a lot of positive things to say about Kississippi, telling us they had never toured with them in the US but were delighted to be doing so now. The band is made up of duo Ryan Healy (guitar) and Pat Doherty (drums). They did an incredible job, with it just being the two of them. It is unusual to see bands with such few members but they were in their element and had no issue whatsoever captivating the crowd, even though there was not a lot of movement during their set as they were restricted by their instruments. RH explained they had played in Scotland last July but couldn’t perform as a full band because the airline lost their luggage, so they promised to give it their all this time around. You could tell they were doing everything in their power to delight the crowd and keep everyone from growing impatient. He discussed the inspiration behind each of the songs, ranging from ‘Star Trek’ to ‘McDonald’s’, which are equally outrageous sources. Their songs are a lot of fun and I’m finding they get better and become bigger ear-worms with each listen. At one point RH needed to tune his guitar, so looked out over the crowd and drew attention to someone wearing an Eagles jersey. He told us he is from Washington D.C. but admires The Eagles, who are also from Pennsylvania like Kississippi and The Wonder Years. Maybe the outfit wasn’t as random as I initially thought. It is extremely hard for me to pick a favourite song of theirs, although ’24 Hr Drive-Thru’ (the McDonald’s song) stood out to me the most at the time, after having never heard any of their songs previously. Other notable favourites are ‘The Title Track’ and ‘Skeleton Key’, which are also from their album ‘Somewhere City’ from 2019 and their top-listened-to songs on Spotify. I should warm up to their lesser known tracks the more I listen to them and I’m sure my favourites will change over time.

The Wonder Years didn’t keep us waiting too long and were filled with energy as soon as they hit the stage. The performance opened with voice-overs from each of the band members, describing what ‘The Greatest Generation’ means to them as an album and how it differentiates from their previous work. I don’t know whether these were recorded specifically for this tour or if they were plucked from original interviews but they were hugely effective nonetheless. The atmosphere was amazing from the get-go and the excitement for the album we were about to hear in full was clearly building. This is the first time I have experienced a gig designed like this and it is an incredible idea, although it would have meant more to me if I was a fan of the band from the beginning. I did a good job memorising the songs in the couple of weeks I gave myself to do my homework, though. ‘There, There’ works as the perfect opener as it starts softly and explodes into an incredible rock anthem. I thought the lyrics to ‘Passing Through A Screen Door’ were a little melodramatic for my taste when I first heard them (“How could you understand? Jesus Christ, I’m 26. All the people I graduated with all have kids, all have wives…”) but maybe they just don’t resonate with me. Dan “Soupy” Campbell, lead singer of the band, spoke a lot between songs and provided insight into why they were doing the tour and what the songs are all about. He told us it was scary to insert a piano ballad, ‘The Devil In My Bloodstream’, into the album, as they were afraid how it would be perceived. They did a beautiful performance of it with Kississippi (both singers standing on the platform to take centre stage) and he poured his heart out, saying the band cannot imagine being without it now. He said the four songs in the middle of the album often get skipped during their tours but this was our chance to prove them wrong and show the band the songs are appreciated. The crowd did their best to make this a reality, though there was a bit less enthusiasm for them. An unexpected favourite of mine was the last song of the album, ‘I Just Want To Sell Out My Funeral’, which has a clever title and expertly mixes together segments of the previous songs on the album to create the perfect climax. They did the show in two sets, returning to the stage after the completion of ‘TGG’ to perform hits from various albums. I was most looking forward to ‘GODDAMNITALL’ and ‘Came Out Swinging’, which are two of their biggest hits.

The time whizzed past and they sounded as good as their recordings, if not better. I can see why they are such a respected rock band and I am already excited to see them again next year once I have had more time to digest their music. DC told us with great excitement, “This is the biggest headlining tour we have ever done in Scotland!” He thanked both new and old fans, making everyone feel welcome and included. He did joke about how there is probably at least one person in the crowd who has never listened to their albums since the release of ‘TGG’ or attended any of their shows. I felt like shrinking to the size of an ant but I at least had the edge over someone else there, who volunteered himself as exactly the person they were describing, since I have listened to their new music too. DC got as many fans as possible to shout along to ‘Low Tide’, to show people who had only listened to ‘TGG’ what they had been missing out on in recent years. The crowd was going wild the entire time and it was obvious I was the odd one out, as I didn’t know every single lyric like they obviously did. They ended the set, predictably, with ‘Came Out Swinging’ and brought Origami Angel onstage to celebrate with them. We were told to treasure our memories from the night and were reminded this was our last chance to soak it all in before they left the stage, as this was the last song. Whether new fans, old fans or former fans, the band assured us they are the best they have ever sounded right at this moment of time. I believe it, as they sounded faultless as far as my ears could detect. If you haven’t checked them out yet, I highly recommend you do so. You are not likely to be disappointed. I certainly wasn’t.

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GALLERY

Kississippi

Origami Angel

The Wonder Years in the spirit of things

‘The Devil In My Bloodstream’ with Kississippi

Moody atmospheric shot

Guitar moment

One of the most passionate crowds I’ve seen

Closing the show with ‘Came Out Swinging’ ft. Origami Angel

Leaving the venue

My bracelet

This took days to wash off. I didn’t realise the venue logo was upside down