Images: The Wonder Years, Motion City Soundtrack, State Champs, You Blew It! November 5, 2015 at the House of Blues

To paraphrase The Simpsons, The Wonder Years turned into club headliners so gradually, I didn’t even notice. But they were right in their element as they confidently launched into No Closer to Heaven openers “Brothers &” and “Cardinals” on the colorfully lit House of Blues stage last week.

The album may only be a few weeks old, but the fans pressed up against the barrier already knew the lyrics by heart. It’s a testament to the culture the band has cultivated through years of relentless touring – tours that have been a fixture in Vegas for 5+ years. Fans of The Wonder Years don’t just like the band – they adore them.

Despite the fact that Dan “Soupy” Campbell expressed discomfort at the venues’ unusually tall stage keeping him at more of a distance from the fans than he’s used to, the frontman was still able to feed off of the crowd by standing perilously close to stage’s end. This gave the crowd more encouragement to push forward and shout along to Suburbia favorite “Local Man Ruins Everything” and Upsides jam “Melrose Diner,” with the kids more than willing to provide the “We all say!” gang vocals for the band.

Co-headlining the night was Minneapolis pop punk band Motion City Soundtrack, who came out to John Williams’ “Star Wars” score. It was fitting, as those movies happened “a long time ago” and as any fan of Motion City can attest to, the future freaks the band out.

Vocalist Justin Pierre sounded particularly good on this night, maybe the best I’ve ever heard him, actually. “I fell asleep watching Veronica Mars again” or “I want to thank you for being a part of my forget-me-nots and marigolds” were sung with such passion, and for a fan like me, it made it that much more fun to sing along. But for a band with such wordy lyrics, it was interesting that there was almost no banter during their set. Likely this was done to fit in more songs, and if this stoicism lead to “Capital H” and “Time Turns Fragile” entering their setlist than I wholeheartedly approve and offer up a hearty “high five.”

As a huge Motion City fan, I was surprised to see the crowd very subdued during their set. The band did a great job of mixing up their setlist to include songs from their entire career, with standards like “The Future Freaks Me Out” and “Attractive Today” sharing setlist space with tracks from the just-release Panic Stations. Guest keyboardist Parker Case (Say Anything, JamisonParker) was fun to watch, especially during those sparse moogless moments when he would go wild on the tambourine. But only small pockets of fans sang along or even tapped their toes in approval.

It was quite a different response than the one enjoyed by openers State Champs. The New York band play a brand of New Found Glory-influenced pop punk that is more sugary than a Rockstar energy drink, and it certainly seemed like that’s what the band’s fans were drinking. The entire floor erupted in a sea of pointed fingers, crowd surfers and even a tiny circle pit that lasted throughout State Champs’ entire set.

You Blew It’s fans were less active, but the band compensated with tons of energy on stage. And between songs, they regaled us with tales of their 24 hours in Vegas, which seemed to be mostly filled with them standing under Container Park’s fire breathing praying mantis, mouths agape like Beavis and Butthead staring at a naked roman statue.

-Emily Matview

Photos by Hunter Wallace | https://www.flickr.com/photos/hunter_wallace/