Show Recap: Four Year Strong at Starlight Ballroom (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

Coming off of a wildly successful summer on the Vans Warped Tour, Four Year Strong set out to continue that momentum into the fall, and did the best thing they could be embarking on the "Tonight We Feel Alive! Tour", inspired by their kick-ass music video for "Tonight We Feel Alive (On a Saturday)."  While a killer, mosh-heavy set is expected from FYS at this point in the band's already strong career, it was the sets turned in before the bearded Bostonians even took to the stage in Philadelphia’s Starlight Ballroom (not to be confused with Starland Ballroom in New Jersey).

After arriving late and missing American Fangs, we arrived just in time for a band that I've heard so much about over the last six months or so, The Wonder Years. Aside from taking their name from one of my favorite TV shows, I had recently listened to the re-release of their debut album The Upsides, and had developed a bit of interest in seeing the band. The album is very reminiscent of fellow Philadelphians The Starting Line (think Say It Like You Mean It), but I wasn’t able to connect to the album as much as I had expected to. Thankfully, whatever I was looking for in The Upsides was found in seeing TWY play live. The band took advantage of the hometown crowd, and appeared to be excited to be home, as they mentioned numerous times how alive and well the New Jersey/Philadelphia pop-punk scene is. Thing is, The Wonder Years are the band leading the charge. Throughout a set with more crowd participation than even the band could have expected, The Wonder Years warmed up those members of the crowd who came in late on the chilly October evening.

With a career that withstood the first decade of the new millennium, it’s hard to believe Comeback Kid agreed to take a support slot on this tour. It’s also a little strange that they were placed on a tour that featured pop-punk acts, but CBK actually ended up bringing a nice breath of fresh air to the Starlight Ballroom crowd. To my surprise, the band’s fans traveled well, and some ferocious pits were opened up throughout what seemed to be an extended set. CBK did their job perfectly, as they pumped up Four Year Strong’s fans for the headliner’s set, but they pumped up the band themselves, as Dan O’ Connor and Alan Day were seen backstage getting ready for their set by rocking out to Comeback Kid’s. What seemed to me to be an out-of-place booking turned out to be one of the better sets I’ve seen this year from a band I hadn’t heard before, and I’ll be giving the band’s new album Symptoms and Cures a listen very soon.

While Comeback Kid and The Wonder Years each provided a worthwhile show, it was very evident who the crowd traveled to the Starlight Ballroom when Four Year Strong walked onstage. Kicking into “What the Hell is a Gigawatt?” and cutting right into “Tonight We Feel Alive (On a Saturday),” the band set the tone early with a set that spanned many of the songs from their two gems of albums, Rise or Die Trying and Enemy of the World. This was a big night for the band, as they were making up for lost time from a show at the First Unitarian Church, in which a fire alarm was pulled. While the band’s cover album Explains it All was ignored in the set, there were little holes left in the set, and the band pulled out all the stops to give the fans an epic show. The Starlight Ballroom’s intimate setting allowed crowd surfers to take the stage with the band (for a few seconds, until the band’s stage manager pushed them back into the crowd), and the band was not only okay with that, they were inviting it by the end of the set.

As Four Year Strong’s first set ended with “Wasting Time (Eternal Summer),” it was time for the obligatory “One more song!” chant from the crowd, which was one of the loudest and longest I’ve ever heard. Rather than coming out and playing a full band set, Dan O’ Connor and Alan Day each brought out acoustic guitars, and played a perfect rendition of “One Step at a Time” as the rest of the band trickled back onto the stage to finish out the rare sighting of a mellowed-out FYS. The acoustic rendering of the song was thanks to the deluxe edition of Enemy of the World, which was released especially for the band’s run on Warped Tour. After the acoustic guitars were set aside, the band got down to business by playing their customary set closer “Heroes Get Remembered, Legends Never Die,” which produced the most crowd surfers I’ve seen this year. The already rambunctious crowd was thrown into a frenzy, and the set was ended with a blaze, as many fans were allowed to stay onstage for the gang chants and the remainder of the song. The crowd let out a mighty roar as the band walked offstage, bringing to an end a great night that not only produced two new bands for me to check out, but furthered my love for a band that is quickly becoming one of my favorites.

You want more pictures? YOU GOT MORE PICTURES! Enjoy.

 Comeback Kid screamer Andrew Neufeld

The Wonder Years vocalist Dan Campbell

 Four Year Strong screamer/keyboardist Josh Lyford

Four Year Strong's Alan Day (left) and Dan O' Connor (right)