The Wonder Years came out swinging during their performance to a packed house this past Saturday at Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel in Providence.
Playing at Lupo’s on April 2, this stop was one of the last three shows of the tour, making this performance a sentimental one for all the bands. The tour, which was in support of The Wonder Years’ latest release titled “No Closer To Heaven,” featured openers letlive., Tiny Moving Parts and Microwave.
Atlanta indie rock band Microwave was the first performance of the night. Microwave, currently signed to the independent label SideOneDummy Records, has been a band on the rise for the past few years. The band’s set consisted mostly of songs off of their latest LP, Stovall, including “Work It Out” and the title track, as well as a couple of songs off their split with Buffalo band Head North. Since it was Microwave’s first time playing in Rhode Island, the crowd was very excited to finally be able to welcome them to the state and support them.
Next to the stage were Minnesota natives Tiny Moving Parts. Infamous for their intricate guitar playing, lead singer and guitarist Dylan Mattheisen was all smiles while performing, often thanking the crowd for their support and positive responses. Mattheisen stunned audience members as he performed his unique tapping methods he uses to play the guitar. Using this method along with a mixture of looper and delay pedals, Tiny Moving Parts produced a sound not often heard without the help of editing and mixing. The three-piece emo rock band is signed to Triple Crown Records and will be releasing a new album titled Celebrate on May 20. One song, titled “Happy Birthday,” has already been released off of the upcoming album.
letlive., a Los Angeles post-hardcore band known for their chaotic and exciting performances took the stage next. Fronted by lead vocalist Jason Butler, the band put on a heavier performance than those Microwave, giving the show a nice change of pace. Butler interacted with the crowd throughout the entire set and shook hands and high fived with every crowd surfer who made it to the front of the barricades, often times handing them the microphone to sing along with him. He urged the packed crowd to get moving and create mosh pits, even telling them to form a “circle pit” where the crowd rushes around in a large circle. Butler is notorious for being crazy and energetic on stage, constantly jumping around, throwing microphones and instruments into the air and often times climbing on balconies and light fixtures. Throughout the night, the band, which is currently signed to Epitaph Records, performed a powerful set that energized and riled up the crowd.
Finally to the stage was The Wonder Years, a pop-punk band from Philadelphia. Throughout the night, the band played a mixture of new and old songs, but focused mainly on songs from their most recently released fifth album, No Closer To Heaven. The band played songs off the album, including “Cardinals” and “Cigarettes and Saints,” as well as “Stained Glass Ceilings” as their encore. Additionally, they played songs off fourth album, The Greatest Generation, such as “There, There,” “Passing Through a Screen Door” and “The Bastards, The Vultures, The Wolves.” Since it was the end of the tour, the band decided to listen the requests they had been receiving throughout the tour by playing a song from their b-side off of The Wonder Years Present: Suburbia I’ve Given You All And Now I’m Nothing titled “Living Room Song.” The crowd was ecstatic to hear an older song like this, since people have been requesting it for a long time. The Wonder Years gained a major following within their 10 years as a band, been able to redefine pop-punk as a genre and create a full, mature sound while maintaining their original style.
On that night, New Englanders came together to enjoy some great music and a positive atmosphere. Being squished with no room to move was all worth it to see some incredibly talented bands perform together on one stage. All the groups left a great impression on the crowd and managed to exceed expectations.