Live Review: Neck Deep - O2 Academy, Glasgow
Support: The Wonder Years, One Step Closer
26th January 2024
Words & Photos: Laura Muraska-Ross
If ever there was a gig to remind you why you love going to gigs, this would be it. Neck Deep’s third show on their Dumbstruck Dumbf**k UK tour, saw them headline the sold out O2 Academy in Glasgow with support from melodic hardcore band ‘One Step Closer’ and heavyweight pop punk outfit, ‘The Wonder Years’.
What a line-up! I knew it was going to be good, when One Step Closer took to the stage as the first support act of the night. The alt-rock band from Pennsylvania, USA, did not disappoint. As someone hearing them for the first time, I was pleasantly surprised. The five-piece came out with one mission in mind, to get the crowd hyped, and they managed to achieve this from the outset! The singer (Ryan Savitski) was jumping around the stage for every song and knew how to get the crowd jumping along with him. Although, the genre and style were much heavier than Wonder Years and Neck Deep, it seemed to be a good choice as the crowd lapped up the heavy guitar riffs and double bass drum action from start to finish. They certainly put on a show and left the stage with many new fans I’m sure, me included.
Next up were the old-skool legends on the scene, The Wonder Years, who formed in Pennsylvania in 2005. As soon as they took to the stage the crowd were amped, cheering and chanting, in their usual Glasgow crowd manner. I haven’t been to many gigs where I have seen this level of enthusiasm for the support act, but the room was packed right back to the doors and up in the balcony. They must have had many fans in the room, as the crowd were singing the words to every song. I found myself wondering how I was not already a hardcore fan of the band. The crowd surfing never stopped throughout their forty-five-minute set, except for a moment when singer (Dan ‘’Soupy’’ Campbell), who was adorning a Philadelphia Eagles American football top, asked the crowd to wish the Eagles luck in the Super Bowl. This was met with quite a few boos from the audience, all in good jest. Although I am sure Dan learned a lesson there, never mention sports on stage in the UK.
The Wonder Years lived up to their name, providing all the pop punk/emo joy of the good old days when bands like Lit, All time Low, and Jimmy Eat World were at their peak, I am sure many of which influenced them in the beginning. The crowd were sad when their set ended by this made way for the main act of the night, Neck Deep, who have come full circle it seems, after Dan from the Wonder Years explained how they have supported them.
As the lights dimmed and I was standing in the pit waiting to catch as many shots of Neck Deep as I could, the atmosphere was electric, as soon as they walked out on stage it just erupted into madness, but the good kind of madness, the kind that makes you understand why Neck Deep are getting bigger by the minute. Starting proceedings with their hit ‘Dumbstruck Dumbf**k’ which is also the name of their tour, the rockers instantly got the fans excited, there was a steady stream of crowd surfers, sea of headbangers and a mosh pit to boot, I like to call this the perfect trifecta, every good alt concert has all three of these things. Confetti canons burst out over the audience as the song closed out, just adding to the impact they had already made.
The hits just kept coming, with the Wrexham formed rockers providing the crowd with what seemed like the perfect set list from start to finish. A good mix of nostalgic punk rock, melodic melodies, heavy bass drums and guitar. At one point I had to remind myself that I wasn’t at a Blink-182 gig when they played their song ‘Go Outside’ which sent the crowd mental.
Every band member was making the most of their time on stage, Sam Bowden and Matt West both doing signature spins with their guitars in time with the music, Matt adding in high kicks to the mix made for a lot of entertainment!
To finish off the night, after playing ‘December’ which seemed like the final song of their set, the band came back to the stage with chanting from the crowd, to play three more songs. Those who had already started leaving were running back from the cloakroom, and back through the crowd to catch it.
After playing their last song ‘In Bloom’, I was in awe of the band and what they have achieved in what seems like such a short space of time since they formed in 2012 and releasing their first EPs in 2013. I am now a fan and have added their albums to my playlist, so I can continue to reminisce about the gig and get all the joy back from music that I used to get when I was a teenager discovering bands like Green Day, Blink-182 and Linkin Park for the first time!
If you want to experience them live for yourself, they will be back in UK playing at Slam Dunk festival in May 2025, would highly recommend.
Photo Credits: Laura Muraska-Ross
