Bowling For Soup returned to the UK for their almost-annual trip, this time joined by pop-punk band Orange and ska act Suburban Legends.
As with all BFS tours in the UK, the room was packed with fans eager for their heroes to appear.
Orange took to the stage to kick off the show in a great way, with front-man Joe Dexter leading the band through an energetic punk-rock set.
Unfortunately, Suburban Legends deserved a much better reaction than they received.
Despite putting on a typically fantastic support set, the fans failed to match the levels on intensity and fun on stage, besides pockets of people littered throughout the crowd.
Any worries of a totally dead crowd were blown away by the time Bowling For Soup returned to Manchester Academy 1, starting off with 'I'm Gay' before going through a brilliant Greatest Hits-type set.
The band brought their crude sense of humour with them, and the fans in attendance lapped it up, despite a very wide age range.
Jaret Reddick showed his worth as a front-man, playing off Chris Burney and Erik Chandler wonderfully in-between songs.
Hits like 'Emily', 'The B**** Song' and 'High School Never Ends' went down well with the crowd, and the constant stream of hits proved why BFS' career has reached its 17th year.
Before the show, Chris Burney told us the set would be made up of singles, and the band largely stuck to that formula.
Anything but predictable, BFS through in some nice surprises, from 'Today Is Gonna Be A Great Day' (the Phineas and Ferb theme song) and their cover of 'Summer of '69' to the original version of 'Belgium' and 'Two-Seater'.
For 'Belgium', the pop-punk legends were joined on stage by Suburban Legends' Brian Roberston and Aaron Bertram as they powered through the original, brass-backed version of one of their greatest songs.
The performance flowed well, despite the band's habit of pausing in-between (and during) songs to drink.
Rather than result in a stilted show, it gave it an extremely intimate feel, as if you were watching four friends playing a club show.
In a beautiful moment, Jaret Reddick led the quartet through a full band version of 'Friends O' Mine', a song he'd secretly written about the friendship within the band.
By the time the show came to a close with 'Girl All The Bad Guys Want', BFS reaffirmed their talent for an energetic, fun live show.
They have their share of critics, but the fans in attendance appreciate this for what it is - a fun, upbeat and thoroughly entertaining side to pop-punk, and further proof that, after 17 years, Bowling For Soup are certainly here to stay.
Female First - Alistair McGeorge
Check back next week for interviews with Bowling For Soup, Orange and Suburban Legends, plus the ska band's Guest Playlist.
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