Pop punk giants Mayday Parade and The Wonder Years, from Tallahassee and Philadelphia respectively, rocked the London Troxy last Saturday evening.
Opening acts included Pronoun, the solo indie pop brainchild of Brooklyn singer-songwriter Alyse Vellturo, as well as Southern California post-hardcore quartet Movements.
Pronoun opened the show with a brief set of infectious pop melodies against a backdrop of twinkling guitars.
Vellturo and her band performed songs off their 2017 EP Use Passport to Choose a New Location as well as some singles from their upcoming LP I’ll Show You Stronger which is due out May 24.
Movements pushed the show forward with their gritty mix of raw punk guitar tones and emotive melodies.
The band performed a set of songs from their 2017 LP Feel Something, including popular tracks such as “Third Degree” and “Colorblind.”
The Wonder Years then followed with the first headlining set of the night.
The Philly sextet dominated the stage as they established a wall of sound; drummer Mike Kennedy ripped into each song with vigor and excitement, laying the foundation for the band’s heavy guitar-laden sound.
The London performance signaled the end of the band’s month-long tour of the UK and Europe in support of their 2018 LP Sister Cities.
The tour featured stops in countries like the Netherlands, Italy, and even Iceland.
The Wonder Years performed a set spanning their three most recent albums.
The band, with vocalist Dan “Soupy” Campbell at the helm, transformed the crowd at the London Troxy into a union of emotion with many concert-goers screaming every lyric right back at the stage.
Campbell took a moment to give a brief eulogy to Tim Landers, formerly of the band Transit, who unfortunately passed away on Feb. 2.
The band dedicated “Cigarettes & Saints” of their 2015 album No Closer to Heaven to the deceased Transit guitarist.
The Wonder Years ended their set on a high note with their hit 2011 single, “Came Out Swinging,” which effectively left the crowd begging for more.
Mayday Parade closed out the show with a discography-spanning set, including their greatest hits.
They included songs from their most recent album Sunnyland as well old hits such as “Three Cheers for Five Years” and “Jamie All Over.”
Vocalist Derek Sanders adorned an acoustic guitar for a sing-along mashup of the greatest emo and pop-punk hits of the 2000s, including the likes of Taking Back Sunday and My Chemical Romance.
The band ended the night with an emotional performance of the hits “Oh Well, Oh Well” and “I’d Hate to Be You When People Find Out What This Song Is About.”
