The National (Richmond, VA)
02/17/23
The Wonder Years began their The Hum Goes On Forever Tour in Richmond, Virginia in mid-February. The tour is in support of their 7th full-length album, The Hum Goes On Forever, which was released in late summer of last year. The band is one of the most well known bands in the pop-punk scene, and they don’t seem to have any trouble attracting a crowd in any city. That was no different for the first show of their tour, as the 1,500 capacity venue was completely sold out.
The show began with vocalist Dan Campell, A.K.A. Soupy, coming out on stage as usual – except his right arm was in a sling. He gave a shout out to the physical therapist in the city that fit him in that day so that the show could go on, which the fans clearly appreciated. Although this is not the ideal way to start off a show, let alone a tour, The Wonder Years’ live shows are seemingly important to keeping the connection between the band and the fans alive, and it was clear that the band couldn’t wait to perform regardless of the circumstances.
The Wonder Years played many songs from their newest album for the first time, including “Doors I Painted Shut” and “Songs About Death.” After finishing the latter, Soupy told the crowd that that was enough songs about death for the entire set. The band also played a fan favorite love song, “You In January,” from their 2015 album, No Closer To Heaven, where Soupy told the crowd it would be a perfect moment for someone to propose, resulting in at least one proposal in the crowd! (She said yes!)
The band ended the show with an encore, performing “Came Out Swinging” from their beloved 2011 album, Suburbia I’ve Given You All and Now I’m Nothing. If you have yet to see The Wonder Years live and you’re a fan – make sure you do so on this current tour, if the shows haven’t already sold out. And if you don’t know the band quite yet, make sure to catch them still, because you will surely leave there a fan!
