They’re back! The Wonder Years returned to the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, New Jersey last Friday night for their Occasionally Annual Halloween Extravaganza, and brought along bands Have Mercy, Oso Oso, and Shortly.
This concert featured a costume contest with the grand prize being a 2019 season pass.
I was dressed in all red, complete with an absurd pepper hat and told people I was a member of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Among the ghouls and ghosts in the crowd, I thought my costume was clever, but alas, the winner was Quailman from the TV show Doug.
Considering he wore a cardboard box and tightie-whities, while others had very impressive makeup done, his victory was a sour robbery.
The fans weren’t the only people dressed up for Halloween, so were the bands!
Each band had a cover set and costumes of esteemed musicians.
Shortly began the show dressed as My Chemical Romance, in black formal wear and red neckties. They performed classics such as “Teenagers,” “I’m Not Okay (I Promise),” and “Famous Last Words.”
The female lead singer’s voice complemented Gerard Way’s tenor very nicely, and the crowd erupted in applause following each song.
However, once Shortly played their original material, the trouble began: technical difficulties with microphones and pedal boards led to communal boredom among the concertgoers.
Then, Oso Oso hopped on stage portraying Fall Out Boy, another pop-punk heavyweight.
The lead singer resembled Patrick Stump with his puffy vest, pillbox hat, and faux sideburns.
The bassist adorned black eyeliner and nail polish strikingly emulated Pete Wentz.
They played FOB classics such as “Dance, Dance” and “Sugar, We’re Going Down.” Their set was greeted with much crowd interest and involvement.
Up next came Have Mercy, who covered rapper Post Malone.
All the members wore Sharpie on their faces to mimic Malone’s facial tattoos. They only did two Malone songs; “White Iverson,” and “Go Flex.”
The rest of the bands were in the spirit of Halloween by playing five or so songs from their chosen artist, but not these guys.
They complained about the Sharpie on their face and the trouble to cover these songs.
Their renditions sounded clunky, rushed, and not cohesive. Perhaps it’s because the songs and artist are of two different genres, or maybe it was a lack of enthusiasm.
The rest of their set featured excessive stage banter, hecklers, and pleas to be bought drinks. I was glad when they left the stage.
And lastly, The Wonder Years chose a risky band to cover: Queen.
The crowd watched as the three guitarists (all dressed as Brian May with hilarious black wigs), a Roger Taylor imitator take the drum set, and John Deacon lookalike took the stage.
And the question that bounced around the crowd: Where’s Dan Campbell and how is he going to emulate Freddie Mercury?
Out he emerged.
The massive beard was shaved down to Mercury’s iconic mustache and the flannel was replaced with a white tank top.
He looked just like Mercury at Live Aid 1986, complete down to the vintage Adidas sneakers and studded armband.
They opened with “Don’t Stop Me Now,” then “Another One Bites the Dust,” followed by “Under Pressure,” with a roadie donning David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust lightning bolt face paint.
Then, Dan (Freddie) brought out the Souderton High School Choir onstage where the band and choir performed “We Will Rock You.”
The crowd was hysterical. To finish off their Queen set, the band, choir, and every fan in the building screamed “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
The view from the second row from the barricade was a spectacle to behold.
To conclude their tribute set, Dan said very poignantly, “Happy Halloween everyone!”
After a small intermission, wardrobe change, and that disgrace of a costume contest, they returned and opened with a brand new song, “Sister Cities.”
From there, it was a hefty setlist of fan favorites including “Local man Ruins Everything” and “Cigarettes and Saints.”
Their encore (and what an encore it was!) consisted of two songs, “Passing Through a Screen Door” and their biggest hit, “Came Out Swinging.”
Throughout the show, the energy was contagious.
The crowd pushed and shoved and shouted like their lives depended on it.
And before I knew it, the concert was over. It was time to be myself again.
The Halloween spirit is also the spirit of rock and roll; youthful, bright, and sharable. When you combine the two, neither are going away anytime soon.
Happy Halloween everyone!
PHOTO TAKEN from Millershoots Instagram
