Feb 11

Feb 11 Show Review: The Wonder Years "The Upsides/Suburbia" Anniversary Tour - Sacramento, CA

The Wonder Years
‘The Upsides/Suburbia’ Anniversary Tour
w/ Spanish Love Songs, Origami Angel, Save Face
February 8th, 2022
Ace of Spades
Sacramento, CA

Photos and Review by Jared Stossel

On Tuesday night, Sacramento’s Ace of Spades was packed with fans eager to bear witness to one of the scene’s most important pop-punk bands of the last decade, The Wonder Years, perform two of their most highly acclaimed records from front to back. The tour was celebrating the anniversaries of The Upsides (released in 2010) and Suburbia, I’ve Given You All And Now I’m Nothing (2011), two records that arguably put this band at the forefront of the new wave of pop-punk with acts like The Story So Far, Man Overboard, and Neck Deep.

The show was kicked off with an electrifying opening set by New Jersey’s Save Face. If My Chemical Romance, The Used, and Taking Back Sunday had a baby, I’m confident that it would look something like the east coast six-piece, who got the crowd moving throughout their half-hour set (and my personal favorite opener of the evening). Origami Angel, a two-piece emo duo from Washington D.C., kept things going with an engaging set that showcased a mix of emo and pop-punk, only getting stronger as each song progressed into the next. The main opener, Spanish Love Songs, brought forth a premium blend of indie, punk, and emo as they traversed a powerful set list that put the crowd in the perfect mindset for the evening’s headliners.

By the time The Wonder Years took the stage and launched headfirst into “Came Out Swinging” (in my opinion, one of the best opening tracks of an album in the last decade), it was full speed ahead for the Philadelphia six-piece. Every word from Suburbia and The Upsides was screamed back at the band with pure joy, an emotional release that’s been bubbling up amongst the world for the last several years. After finishing both records, the band played three B-side tracks: “Brakeless”, “My Life As Rob Gordon”, and “Living Room Song”, the last of which featured the band’s mascot, Hank, parading around the stage as the crowd yelled the lyrics “We don’t have trouble sleeping/No one, no one’s gonna take that away from me/We don’t have trouble sleeping/We know, we know who we wanna be”.

I don’t have any serious critiques of this show. Not only did every band bring a great performance, but this band went above and beyond in making sure that their patrons felt valued, inclusive, and safe (seriously, read their post about tour precautions here). I can’t underestimate how important these two Wonder Years albums were to me during my college years (The Upsides, in particular). To see them play both of these records back-to-back was incredible, and one can only hope they’ll do one more of these anniversary tours for The Greatest Generation, rounding out their incomparable trilogy of albums that took the scene by storm nearly a decade ago. But my personal favorite moment of this show? Hearing a room full of strangers yell “I’m not sad anymore, I’m just tired of this place” at the end of The Upsides’ epic conclusion “All My Friends Are In Bar Bands”. I think it’s safe to say that after two years, we all needed that moment.

The Wonder Years Set List
Suburbia I’ve Given You All And Now I’m Nothing
Came Out Swinging
Woke Up Older
Local Man Ruins Everything
Suburbia
My Life as a Pigeon
Summers in PA
I Won’t Say The Lord’s Prayer
Coffee Eyes
I’ve Given You All
Don’t Let Me Cave In
You Made Me Want To Be A Saint
Hoodie Weather
And Now I’m Nothing

The Upsides
My Last Semester
Logan Circle
Everything I Own Fits In This Backpack
Dynamite Shovel
New Years With Carl Weathers
It’s Never Sunny In South Philadelphia
Hostels & Brothels
Melrose Diner
This Party Sucks
Hey Thanks
Washington Square Park
All My Friends Are In Bar Bands

Encore:
Brakeless
My Life as Rob Gordon
Living Room Song