The Wonder Years perform at Thalia Hall in Chicago on May 29, 2025.
By Nina Tadic
In 2015, The Wonder Years released an album titled No Closer to Heaven. Little did they know, one line on that album would become synonymous with a complete body of work that is unlike any other. On the song “You in January,” vocalist Dan “Soupy” Campbell sings “you held me together, I used to burst and decay.”
Now, over a decade later, the band has released three volumes of their Burst & Decay series, a set of albums that take songs from their previous releases, break them apart, and put them back together into something new – gentler, acoustic, with more smoothed and polished edges.
The Wonder Years are currently on a US tour in support of their Burst & Decay series (volume III, featuring the Little Kruta orchestra, released May 9), and it is absolutely something to write home about.
Playing at the historic Thalia Hall in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood, the band has a line wrapped around the block well before the show begins, and the crowd is a pretty even mix of what appear to be clusters of friends, couples on dates, and people going it alone for the sake of the music.
Kevin Devine performs at Thalia Hall in Chicago on May 29, 2025.
Kicking off the show is the phenomenal lyricist that is Kevin Devine, who makes his way onto the stage under one singular spotlight, acoustic guitar in hand, and immediately begins bantering with the audience like he has known them each by name for decades. He sings delicate songs about harsh experiences, and he does so in a way that is so emotional, so charismatic, and so genuine that everyone in the audience cannot help but stare in awe. He sings songs he’s just written, he sings pieces off of older releases (see: Brother’s Blood), and with every song he sings, he means every word. It is all very Bob Dylan in the most extraordinary way.
After he’s warmed the crowd up, he gives a gracious goodbye before telling the audience that The Wonder Years will be up shortly… and once they are? No one can look away, and there’s not a dry eye in the entire place.
At a typical Wonder Years performance, one can expect to see a fair share of moshing, crowdsurfing, headwalking, you name it. For a pop punk band, their crowds know how to get rowdy, and they always do. But this night is different – the stage of this theatre is lined with couches and chairs, lamps and side tables, vases full of flowers, and it feels like stepping through a film reel into the middle of someone’s living room. With lights dimmed, the band’s intro begins (their song “Doors I Painted Shut”) as each member comes out one by one, gives a smile, a wave, a nod at the crowd, and takes their place behind a keyboard, a drumset, holding a guitar in hand. Alongside them, the Little Kruta Orchestra makes their way out, three insanely talented women each wielding a string instrument, long-flowing dress, and flowers in their hair. And then comes Soupy himself, microphone in hand, fully dressed in a blue suit jacket and pants, white button-up shirt, and a shining pair of dress-shoes. Everything about what’s happening onstage is the antithesis of a pop punk show – it is neat, it is polished, and frankly, it’s a formal, beautiful ordeal, and even the crowd treats it as such (there is plenty of cheering, but no pushing, there is plenty of moving, but none of it is rough – there’s an understanding about the dynamic at a show like this one, and everyone is upholding it).
The Wonder Years perform at Thalia Hall in Chicago on May 29, 2025.
The setlist was stacked from top to bottom with tracks guaranteeing endless tears and nostalgic smiles, everyone in the room singing in unison the entire time. During songs like “Teenage Parents”, “Coffee Eyes,” and “Passing Through a Screen Door” the crowd evolved from singing the lyrics to downright screaming them, and it felt much more like a typical Wonder Years performance (and with that level of volume – no one would realize it was a stripped down set if they weren’t looking at the band onstage in real time). Contrarily, during tracks like “The Devil in My Bloodstream” and “You in January,” the track that carries the namesake of the tour, the crowd sobered up to stand in near silence, softly humming and singing, each person individually locked-in on the lyrics that spoke to them.
Even though this was a night consisting of string solos and heart-shattering songs, that did not stop The Wonder Years from pulling out a few special guests that sent the crowd into a riot. Two songs in, a man with a mop of dark curly hair makes his way onstage, fist-bumping Soupy before getting comfy on the couch – and any pop-punker in the Chicago scene would recognize him a mile away. The second he begins to sing, though, everyone begins to scream and lose their minds for the man that is Dan Lambton (formerly of Chicago pop punk band Real Friends). And then, much later in the night (at the very tail end), another guest joins the stage, singer Dave Mackinder, for the most energetic song of the night – “Came Out Swinging,” during which the crowd is screaming, finger pointing, and turning into an ocean to hold both vocalists as they crowd-surf until the very end of the song.
Between the variety of tones, energies, and sounds going throughout the night, Dan Campbell, as he always does, makes sure to set aside time to speak on issues significant in our world at this point (something Kevin Devine did, as well). About two thirds of the way through the night, he stops to talk about trans rights, and apologizes for the fact that our country is in a state that truly does make it feel unsafe for our trans friends and families, but reassures the crowd that, with the little power The Wonder Years wields for the night at Thalia Hall, there is a safe place for all trans people there. Following plenty of hooting and hollering in favor of this statement, he also takes a moment to talk about Palestine, and the way the genocide happening overseas, the treatment of migrants right here, and the war crimes going on around the globe are not something to be quiet about. Again, the crowd loves this sentiment, and the genuine man who is voicing it. If there’s one thing about The Wonder Years, it’s that they’re a genuine group of people – their lyrics cut deep, their instruments are played wholeheartedly, and they are a straight-up group that does not hide who they are from their fans while onstage. They are lovely.
Soupy also graciously thanked the crowd for proving “everyone [the band] talked to wrong about this tour” after explaining that no one thought they’d pull off a tour exclusively supporting new arrangements of old songs. He also cracks jokes about how he doesn’t understand radio frequencies and how a wireless microphone works (everyone chuckles), and tells stories for the crowd about his wife and children. During this show, the audience is let into the multi-faceted stories behind these songs, and that makes them all the more special for everyone there.
The Wonder Years perform at Thalia Hall in Chicago on May 29, 2025.
Another pivotal aspect of the performance that really did amplify it above just being “an acoustic set,” though, was the addition of the Little Kruta string ensemble. A three piece, Little Kruta is comprised of founder and cellist Kristine Kruta, principal violinist Lucy Voin, and second violinist Sarah Fazendin, and throughout the night, these three captivated the room in a way that was so majestic it is nearly beyond words. Lucy shredded her way through an incredible solo during “Dismantling Summer,” and Kristine’s vocals harmonized and complemented Soupy’s throughout the night as if the room would feel empty without them. During tracks like “Wyatt’s Interlude” and “Junebug” the trio was imperative to creating the right sound and carrying the emotional tone of each song. Their most impactful moment, though, without a doubt, was during the penultimate song of the night – “The Ocean Grew Hands to Hold Me.” This song is already one that is entirely gut-wrenching as it navigates moving through the grief of losing a loved one, and learning to cope with the intense feelings of loss. But take it and let its poetic lyrics be flooded with violins and a cello as the room is lit by 800 cell phone lights and a swaying crowd? Incomparable. Not a dry eye in the room hearing Soupy, in his tender, gentle voice, croon “I miss everyone at once, but most of all, I miss the ocean,” before leaving the stage (as did the whole band) and leaving the girls to finish their stunning string arrangement.
Following this with “Came Out Swinging” as an encore served as a fantastic reminder that even though the set was something different than a “normal” The Wonder Years performance, they’re still the same band, and these are still the same fans, no matter what context you put them in. Needless to say, from beginning to end, it was a night to remember, and a tour that no one will forget.
(Photos and review by Nina Tadic – follow Nina on Instagram at @ninatadiccreative)
