LIVE REVIEW: Mayday Parade and The Wonder Years @ Troxy, London

The combination of THE WONDER YEARS and MAYDAY PARADE was sure to be a hit with fans of pop-punk and emo. Whilst MAYDAY PARADE have remained fairly consistent in size over the last few years, it’s hard to shake the feeling that THE WONDER YEARS have done more in recent years to grab attention. Whilst the bands come from a the same scene it’s clear they’ve both gone in different directions over their career, but they both manage to bring plenty of people together for the final night of their co-headline tour at the Troxy in London.

Opener PRONOUN is a very pleasant surprise this evening for those who are early enough for their set. The emo tinged synth pop is filled with brilliant melodies that are immensely catchy. The crowd seem to respond really well and vocalist Alyse Vellturo personality really shines through captivating everyone in the room. Based on this set it feels like PRONOUN are definitely worth keeping an eye on.

Rating: 7/10

MOVEMENTS are equally impressive, blending emo and post-hardcore with a touch of pop-punk. There’s some real substance to what they do and it does just come across as a bunch of guys being angsty. And based on the crowd reaction tonight it feels like they are really making an impact over here. Vocalist Patrick Miranda‘s passion really elevates things and adds so much power to their songs. MOVEMENTS just provide a great warm up for the first of tonight’s headliners.

Rating: 7/10

THE WONDER YEARS are simply magnificent tonight. From the moment they burst on stage with Sister Cities they show exactly why they aren’t just the best pop-punk band of the decade, but one of the best bands full stop. Balancing their setlist between their last four albums shows how brilliant they’ve been whilst still showing off their growth. The tracks off Suburbia remain some of the best pop-punk songs ever written whilst the latter material shows how they’ve matured and just outgrown the limitations of pop-punk. Sister Cities might have been somewhat divisive amongst their fans but when Pyramids Of Salt is easily one of the high points of the set that has every fan singing along, it’s clear how people have come round on that album.

The band all sound amazing and deliver their usual tight performance but as always it’s Soupy who is the star here. His passion just cannot be matched and once again he just leaves everything he has on that stage. It’s the closing run of Passing Through A Screen Door, Cardinals, Cigarettes & Saints and Came Out Swinging where things just get ridiculous. Every fan in the venue seems to try and shred their vocal chords during these four songs and it’s just a near perfect way to end this set

Rating: 9/10

It’s something Mayday Parade just cannot match, but they still put on a fun show. The room might have thinned out noticeably for them but there are still plenty of dedicated fans here. The biggest difference between the two headliners outside of just the quality of songs, is that MAYDAY PARADE seem to rely more on nostalgia. That’s not necessarily a bad thing and songs like Jersey do conjure up simpler times of being a teenage emo. They even pull out a little emo covers medley which whilst feeling a bit unnecessary is still fun. Their cover of GOTYE‘s Somebody That I Used To Know feels completely pointless though and adds absolutely nothing to the set.

They do decided to play Miserable At Best for the first and only time of the tour tonight which does add a sense of occasion to the set. And it’s clear this song is still hugely important to a lot of their fans. The band do find some time for newer material but it leaves little impact. More than anything the band just suffer so much from having to follow THE WONDER YEARS. It’s still a decent set that die hard fans will have surely enjoyed but compared to what came before, ends the night on a slight whimper.

Rating: 6/10

Check out our photo gallery from the night’s action in London from Jordan Darby Photography here: