The Wonder Years are currently travelling across the US, playing acoustic in-store shows in small, intimate settings. The guys came close enough for me to catch ‘em- the Newbury Comics in Norwood, MA. Getting out of school early because of my punk rock mom, my friend and I were giddy with excitement to see what the evening had in store.
After being in traffic for an ungodly amount of time, we arrived at the huge store. It’s pretty much a plethora of everything cool, and since we were there a bit early, we walked around. The space was filling up- though the show began at 7, at 6:30 there was a decent-sized group. At one point, Dan “Soupy” Campbell walked by me and at that moment, I fangirled. I lost my cool. I was not a journalist at a show, I was a hardcore fan stoked to see my idols grace a stage.
The quartet humbly sat on the chairs in the warm room and we were all standing up. They opened up with “Passing Through A Screen Door”, all smiles and the “Cigarette smoke dances back in the window, and I can see the haze on its own light” was intense, the first lyric of the evening. The stripped-down version was lovely, all gang vocals and passion. However, I am very short, as are many other of their fans. Soupy realized this and asked “can anyone see?” when the song was over. Greeted with “NO”s, he said, “Okay, now everybody sit the fuck down.” We listened to the man and it was a brilliant idea.
His wit and charm carried through the story he told before he went into “Woke Up Older”. Telling us a tale of a man with speakers on the outside of his car blasting a song (“tippin’ on mah dick, tippin’ tippin’ on mah dick”) the man who exited the “Ghetto” vehicle was wearing a crushed leather vest and looked like a fool, and danced with his friend. Everyone was laughing so hard, and it was awesome.
“Woke Up Older” was flawless. Soupy’s voice was even better live, and though one of the guitars was a little out of tune, no one cared cos we were all too busy singing along. The vibe of the room was so positive and energetic. The musicianship was immense, and when you see a band live, that’s when you really gauge their talent. TWY stripped down allows one to hear all the nuances and all the details, especially with this particular tune. I was blown away.
The band played the request of “Melrose Diner”, the only song they played off of The Upsides. This was the highlight of the set. Anyone who didn’t sing along before now made a point to yell the lyrics at the top of their lungs. “Handfuls of FUCK YOU, MAN THAT’S NEVER ENOUGH” and Soupy: “my friends all say” was countered by the crowd’s “WE ALL SAY” and it was a sense of community, a room of real fans just there to let go and sing along.
Soupy was nervous and said “I’m gonna do this.. I usually don’t so don’t make fun of me” and picked up an acoustic guitar, and went right into “Madelyn”, a newer song off of The Greatest Generation. It was so simple, and easily the calmest of the evening. It laid itself over the crowd, a wave of comfort and swaying along and eyes closed. It was peaceful.
The band made sure that they would meet anyone who wanted to meet them, and sat down at a table, willing to sign and take pictures. I carpe’d that diem and stood in line. I wanted them to sign my Morrissey phone case because the line “I don’t think I love anything the way some people love Morrissey”. When they saw the case, they laughed and were amused, specifically Soupy. He looked at me and asked, “How many Smiths fans does it take to change a lightbulb?” I was starstruck and teary-eyed, and so I said, “I don’t know, how many?” With an adorable grin, he said, “None, because there’s a light that never goes out.”
I was shaking but ended up getting a picture with him, and I’m pretty sure he knew how nervous I was. I couldn’t help but think that I was meeting the man who was one of my biggest inspirations, an absolute idol to me. It was surreal.
The band was perfection. From their flawless performance to their demeanor off the stage, they remained the coolest guys in the scene. I watched my heroes turn human in front of me.