It’s a funny thing, punk rock; as a 16 year old coming into form class before first period I got more excited about it than I had since I first declared myself a punk rocker aged 13. This was going to be the biggest recession in years, they were saying, and in my young, idealistic head this only meant one thing – a strong punk scene again. In my own mind the jury is still out on whether this is the case, but on a sunny Tuesday evening near Lime Street Station I was, even if it was just for one night, pleased with where the scene has gone in the past few years.

The first of the support bands, State Champs, were loud and really brought the atmosphere up in that difficult first support slot, when most of the crowd are still fumbling through bags and pockets for their tickets and trickling through the doors. They are real East Coast pop punk, but their maiden tour of the UK shows a lot of potential to carry their hype from performances on the Vans Warped Tour forward. They deservedly won a venueful of new fans, as I suspect they have been throughout this tour. From their first opening song through to their final track of the set, ‘Elevator’.

The second support were A Loss For Words – now veterans of the punk scene – who gave, as expected, a good all-around performance. After 14 years as a band, and with 10 studio releases, they gave good balance against both the youthful punch of State Champs and the sheer immense live power of The Wonder Years. Admittedly I have always been standoffish about A Loss For Words, never truly being that impressed by their albums, but as a live band they’re as good as a lot of support bands I’ve seen over the years and have moved me, if not back to team A Loss For Words, at least back to the Spotify fence for another listen.

The Wonder Years latest album, ‘The Greatest Generation’ is their most refined record to date, and with critics naming them in the same breath as bands like Hot Water Music and the Gaslight Anthem, one would expect the same refinery at their live show. Thankfully for their fans they also have the ability to turn it all the way up to 11 and blow you away. Opening with ‘There, There’and ‘Passing Through A Screen Door’ the live energy they are renowned for kicked in and the crowd were immediately enthralled by the raw power of the Philadelphia band.

‘Local Man Ruins Everything’ started the small venture into the back catalogue, followed by ‘Woke Up Older’. Obviously this being the Greatest Generation tour, it was always about promoting the new album so ‘Cul-De-Sac’ was the new album tune which surprised me by crowd response; the infectious opening guitar hook leading into a well-constructed and well balanced song which you can only envision a festival full of people enjoying in the sunshine. Much like ‘Melrose Diner’ which followed, the audience lapped it up and being followed by ‘A Raindance in Traffic’, ‘Everything I Own Fits in This Backpac’k and ‘The Devil in My Bloodstream’ was a demonstration that the album translates so well live which isn’t always the case in pop-punk. Just ask Blink-182. The balance of the gig so far asked only one question, could they maintain this incredible intensity? A resounding “yes” was the answer – ‘Dismantling Summer’, ‘Don’t Let Me Cave In’ and ‘Washington Square Park‘ was another wall of sound as was the last song of the set, ‘Came Out Swinging’.

‘I Just Want to Sell Out My Funeral’ proves more than their capability to play an awesome show, but also the right to be held in as high esteem as the aforementioned Hot Water Music and The Gaslight Anthem, the lyrics painting a cross section of angst and clarity that is similar to tracks like HWM’s ‘Trusty Chords’ and TGA’s ‘The Backseat’.

All in all, solid support, strong set-list and a relentless live show has reinstated my faith in punk rock, and with Slam Dunk being just a few weeks away I have to say it has gotten me excited about what the scene’s doing for the first time in a long time.