The Wonder Years at The Truman (Part II): A modern pop punk classic

October 9, 2023

Andrew Dodderidge,

The Wonder Years. // photo by Andrew Dodderidge

The Greatest Generation, released by The Wonder Years back in 2013, is probably one of the best albums of the 21st century. And although the longtime pop punk group sold out The Truman back in March in support of their new album, The Hum Goes on Forever, the turnout at the local KC venue on Friday night for this anniversary show was not in the least disappointing.

“I Just Want to Sell Out My Funeral” has become an anthem for the group for 10 years now, a song that encapsulates each and every emotion of being in your 20s almost perfectly.

“A Devil in My Bloodstream,” a piano ballad that vocalist Dan ‘Soupy’ Campbell was very cautious about putting smack-dab in the middle of the record, formed a long-lasting impact with its creative imagery and energetic back-half.

“Passing Through a Screen Door” will live forever, and everyone will always think about the line “Jesus Christ, I’m 26,” and the impression that it makes on how they live their lives. I even ended up buying a “Sun drenched pavement in my blood” shirt at the merch table before the show so I could wear it while screaming along.

These are just three of the 13 perfect pop songs on the band’s most touted record. The first six tracks are certainly very familiar territory for the guys in a live setting, with “There, There,” “Passing,” and “Dismantling Summer” being the three that made the cut on the tracklist back at their March show. Once “Bloodstream” came to a close, Campbell mentioned the rarity of the following four cuts, beginning with “Teenage Parents.”

“Teenage” and “Chaser” are, as stated above, perfect pop songs and play incredibly well in a live setting, so it’s fair to say the energy did not go down even a bit after the first half of the set. Before diving into “An American Religion,” Campbell explained he was reading a bunch of op-eds while writing the record that were very against this generation of people and how they were living their lives. He assured everybody that if you have felt empathy towards the people around you, you are okay.

The group left the stage to leave Campbell alone with his acoustic guitar for “Madelyn,” and the crowd participation for “I don’t think there’s a god and I don’t think that’s the worst news of the day” made the dip in vibrancy still feel intimate, yet powerful.

“Cul-De-Sac” and “Funeral” (which was massive) ended the opening set while the guys exited for a five-minute break before coming back for set number two.

According to Setlist.fm, they have played a similar seven-to-eight-song second set throughout this tour, and the practice remained the same: three from 2022 record The Hum, four classics, and a newly released B-side from Generation, titled “GODDAMNITALL.” Campbell explained to the audience that since they’ve been doing this for 18 years now, they are more than halfway done with their careers, technically speaking—which was met with hoards of boos.

“That’s just how numbers work!” he yelled.

He went on to explain that The Hum Goes on Forever is the best album the guys have put out during this time before jumping into “Low Tide.” “Cardinals,” from No Closer to Heaven, and “Came Out Swinging” finished out set number two. The latter was met with a gigantic circle pit (I may or may not have gotten hit) and tons of crowd participation during the famous chorus. Opener Action/Adventure came onstage to help with vocals near the end of the band’s biggest song.

The rest of the guys didn’t miss a beat throughout the night, with enormous backing vocals from guitarist Matt Brasch and bassist Josh Martin, and the expected impeccable drumming from Mike Kennedy.

The 100-minute double-set ended around 11 p.m., but it’s safe to say everybody took the night with them. It was the first time seeing The Wonder Years for me but definitely not the last. As expected, it left its mark… and every track felt like it was 90 seconds long.

All photos by Andrew Dodderidge

The Wonder Years