O2 Academy Bristol, 31st January 2025
Back in Bristol for the first time in a few years, Welsh pop-punkers Neck Deep bring their Dumbstruck Dumbf!@k tour to Bristol’s headline venue, the O2 Academy. With old friends The Wonder Years and new friends One Step Closer, both from across the pond, this was set to be a lively night.
One Step Closer, from Pennsylvania, open the night, playing a mix of their older and new songs to the early but captive audience. Personally, I had not heard of them before, but I did enjoy their set, and a few of the crowd had come prepared. Towards the second half of the set, the mosh pits start to open up, and by the end, there are even a couple of crowd surfers. This really shows how a Bristol crowd is willing to give it their everything.
Up next are The Wonder Years. Also from Pennsylvania. These guys took Neck Deep on their first tour of the USA, so it was fitting for them to come along over here.
Now, I am a big fan of TWY, and it is going to be difficult to make this not a very subjective review, but they absolutely smash their set. 45 minutes is never going to be enough time to truly get a full TWY performance, but they certainly try, cramming 11 songs in. This inlcudes ‘Washington Square Park’, which, until this tour, hadn’t been played very often.
I could really go and on and on and write a full page about TWY alone, but as the opening acts, both really do warm the crowd up for a good night.
Neck Deep were one of the first bands I saw live properly after COVID (remember that?), and they will always hold a special place in my heart. I was lucky enough to see them again in 2022 and now again in 2025, and they never fail to put on a good show.
Compared to 2022, the stage is a lot tamer this time round, with just their name behind them in the clouds and the band taking up most of it. No living rooms, TVs, or sofas. But that doesn’t distract from the energy and power that Ben and the band bring with them, keeping it up for the entire show.
Opening up with the tour title track, already the mosh pits are opening up and crowd surfers start coming from all angles. As always, a big thank you to the staff and security for looking after everyone.
Neck Deep are not much for talking, but Ben does take a moment to go political, calling for a ceasefire in Gaza to many cheers from an often liberal Bristol crowd. To anyone who says that music and politics shouldn’t combine, I say ‘STFU’!
The band play a lot of the newer half of their discography, with their 2024 self-titled album taking centre stage. Still, a few of the older fan favourites are mixed in there, too, including ‘Smooth Seas Don’t Make Good Sailors’ and ‘Can’t Kick Up The Roots’. The main part of the set is brought to a close with ‘She’s A God’ followed by the emo Christmas anthem ‘December’.
A brief moment off stage and a chant from the crowd bring the boys from Wales back on stage for three more songs before the end of the night. ‘We Need More Bricks’, ‘STFU’ and finally, ‘In Bloom’ bring the night truly to a close, with one last set of mosh pits and crowd surfers making their way over the barrier into the waiting arms of security.
And that was it. Another February night filled with pop-punk madness and lots of sweaty people who enjoyed a really good show. I truly despise the O2 Academy Bristol’s layout, meaning that seeing the whole stage is nearly impossible unless you are front and centre, but Neck Deep, The Wonder Years and One Step Closer make it an enjoyable show nonetheless. Now, if they could stop charging £7 a pint, it would be even better…
Words: Ted Stargatt
Photos: Photos by Wil Denneman. No use without permission.
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