Pop-punk juggernauts The Wonder Years have returned to Australia for the first time in over seven years.
It's the tail end of their Australian tour in Adelaide, with cult favourites Joyce Manor and Melbourne's Suzi joining them at Lion Arts Factory (5 April).There's an early turnout for those who are keen to catch indie-punk act, Suzi. The four piece have infectious energy and are clearly having a ball onstage. They're running back and forth from each side of the stage and bouncing around into each other as they comically over-strum their guitars. You can tell they'd be enjoying themselves this much whether there were 50 or 50,000 people in the crowd.
Suzi's down-to-earth style and relatable lyrics are evident in the song titles. Highlights across the set include 'Everyone I've Met Hates Me' (focussing on social anxiety), 'It's Not A Competition' (about coming out of a break-up and feeling the need to win) and the self-explanatory and most relatable 'I Don't Understand How Planes Work'.
Another funny moment happens when Suzi encourages everyone to buy a t-shirt as "touring is really expensive and their drummer is celiac and gluten-free bread is like $15". A quality sales pitch. The venue is mostly full by their final song 'Centrelink Summer'. Whether they know it or not, the audience has witnessed a rising star.
Suzi at the Brisbane gig 27 March, 2025 - image © Clea-marie Thorne
"You can say you saw Suzi tonight before they were headlining venues bigger than this," says The Wonder Years' vocalist Dan Campbell later in the evening. Suzi should reach new heights with this next album if the songs heard tonight – including the unreleased beautiful ballad 'One Way Ticket' – are a taste of what's to come.
"Last time we played in Adelaide I had strep throat. . . it was the worst show we ever played," Joyce Manor vocalist Barry Johnson laughs. Luckily that wasn't the case tonight.
Joyce Manor are the definition of short, fast, loud, squeezing 18 songs into a 40-minute set. They're going so quick that Barry keeps forgetting what song they're up to and skipping ahead in the set list – before being prodded gently by his bandmates.
It's chaos from the start as the moshpit comes alive. Once they reach 'Victoria', the energy reaches an all new level as someone in the crowd is launched through the air. Other highlights include 'Heart Tattoo', 'Schley' and 'The Jerk', all from their now ten-year-old album 'Never Hungover Again'.
Their full-throttle set abruptly ends after anthems 'Catalina Fight Song' and 'Constant Headache'.
Joyce Manor at the Brisbane gig 27 March, 2025 - image © Clea-marie Thorne
The Wonder Years open with their biggest song, 'Came Out Swinging' sending the crowd into pandemonium. Before playing the classic 'Melrose Diner', Campbell negotiates with the audience.
"People here are my age and I understand how your knees and back feel," he half jokes, "but if we're playing a song from 2010 we need to see a circle pit like it's 2010." Luckily the younger members in the mosh honour this request continuing the bedlam.
The band moves through key moments with 'Cul-de-sac' and 'Local Man Ruins Everything'. Dan takes a moment to introduce the song 'You're The Reason I Don't Want The World To End'. It's his "favourite Wonder Years song on my favourite Wonder Years record".
It's from their latest album, 'The Hum Goes On Forever', which may have been lost in the COVID era compared to the other albums. Dan strongly believes "it is the best Wonder Years record to have ever existed". Although the song didn't get the live audience response to match that claim, everyone will surely have a listen in full after the show.
The Wonder Years at the Brisbane gig 27 March, 2025 - image © Clea-marie Thorne
The Wonder Years are massive fans of Suzi and in a high point of the set Dan brings Suzi out for a duet on the anthem 'The Devil In My Bloodstream'. It's non-stop after this with hits like 'GODDAMNITALL', 'Cardinals', 'There, There' and 'Passing Through A Screen Door' keeping the frenetic energy high.
The set ends with the final song of their biggest album, 'The Greatest Generation', and arguably the best pop-punk album closer of all time, 'I Just Want To Sell Out My Funeral'.
The song is an original that halfway through forms a medley with the biggest choruses of the album revisited. This includes 'There, There', 'Dismantling Summer' and 'Devil In My Bloodstream'. Basically replaying the biggest choruses of the night, a perfect way to end.
Tonight was The Wonder Years proving they're still at their best. They played the classics that soundtracked the 2010s for a generation finding their way, while also playing the best of the two albums that Australia had missed over the past seven years.
Their music continues to age gracefully in tandem with their audience. It's a unique talent that many other bands lose. Here's to never growing out of The Wonder Years.
