Arriving at tonight’s 2000 capacity venue I was under the impression that Bowling For Soup had had their day back in 2002 when they band released their huge hit single ‘Girl All The Bad Guys Want’. Knowing the show hadn’t sold out in advance I expected tonight to be a rather disappointing affair. Thankfully I was proved wrong and although the crowd seemed sparse for openers The Leftovers and MC
Lars by the time main support Zebrahead hit the stage the room was filled.
Zebrahead were obviously a band who split the crowd in two, their variety of punk proving a bit more energetic and in your face. It was clear there were quite a few Zebrahead fans present but then the odd heckle and bottle throw suggested some people were only hear for the headliners.
9.30pm arrived and the lights went down as the crowd began to get excited, only to be greeted by a projected video of the band behind the stage explaining how if they signed up to the mailing list online they could download a free track. This had to be the most ridiculous and slow intro to a set I have ever seen, but probably the most clever marketing.
After 5 minutes of video the band finally arrive on stage with popular favourite ‘The Bitch Song’ and immediately get the crowd going with their brand of humorous pop punk. Unfortunately as the band get a few tracks into their 90 minute set it is obvious that the crowd are a little subdued. The band are flawless and play perfectly whilst maintaining high and humorous energy but you can tell that the crowd are waiting for the hit singles. The between song banter is quite funny but goes on far too long and the crowd begin to get bored. It isn’t until the band break into a cover of Katy Perry’s ‘Hot and Cold’ that the crowd start bouncing again. Finally the energy is continued with old favourite ‘Girl All The Bad Guys Want’ and the band close with opener ‘A Really Cool Dance Song’ from the new album ‘Sorry For Partying’ which gets everyone dancing and waving along before the stage is invaded with all the acts that have played tonight, a very fun thing to watch! The band leave the stage for a few minutes before coming back to play encore of ‘Hooray for Beer’ also from the new album and closing with another old favourite ‘1985’ which gets everyone singing along.
It is nice to see a band who, by their own admission on stage, have been going 15 years and are on their tenth album and although tonight seemed like a mix bag it is obvious that contrary to popular belief, Bowling For Soup are still bringing in large crowds. Judging from the crowd’s reaction the bands latest album ‘Sorry For Partying’ has been their best received in a number of years and they’re obviously doing something right to keep packing out venues in a size this large in a genre so over saturated these days.
Words/Photos: Mark Forrer
Tagged in Bowling For Soup