Tonight, we headed to the Academy in Dublin, one of the best venues in the city to see none other than the legendary Pop Punk Heroes; Bowling for Soup.
As December Falls open the show as tonight’s warm up act. This is their fourth time playing in Dublin and they always put their all into every performance. The band takes over the venue with their colourful delivery which matches the lighting, stage back drop and mood in the room. Bethany, the lead singer stares into the crowds’ souls intently and connects with us all from the front to the back of the room while delivering the lyrics to their songs.
They really have the ability to warm up the crowd tonight. Their musical delivery is fun and they seem to flirt with the audience while giving maximum stage presence. The way the guitarist Ande looks at the lead singer Bethany is noticeable and adoring. They’re the band with the most animated and determined facial expressions that work so well together.
Their drummer Casey is focused and consistently in time. Timmy, the bassist makes good use of the stage. Andre’s guitar solos are mesmerising and Bethany was just born to perform. At times she was not connecting with the mic and it was hard to hear her but when she belts its loud and strong. They all exude passion.
At times the performance is a bit cheesy and makes us feel like we’re at a pop punk summer camp.
Most of the crowd don’t know the lyrics and at times are lacking in energy. We want more of something but we’re not sure of what. They played some songs from their old EP which were less well receipted.
Red emergency lights now begin to blare and we’re into their hit “Mayday”. The band move urgently to match this and the crowd attempts to match their energy.
Bethany’s high kicks lead us into perfected riffs and it’s a stunning and flawless transition.
They love what they do and act like friends on the stage and this makes us feel at home and involved in the intimacy of this set.
They unintentionally rejigged the set list but rolled with it and improvised well, we wouldn’t have realised if they hadn’t mentioned it and they’ve shown how they adapt well when necessary.
Bethany literally bends over backwards to belt high notes. The band are noticeably happy to be here. They’re performance is intriguing, unpolished and unpredictable.
As December Falls photos & set-list:
Set-list:
Ride
Join The Club
Mayday
I Don’t Feel Like Feeling Great
Alive
Little By Little
Nothing On You
No Money
Go Away
Everything You Say
Carousel
Bowling for Soup, are tonight’s headline act. The venue was filled to capacity quickly for tonight’s sold-out show and it’s clear to see there are a lot of diehard fans in the audience.
Bowling for Soup have been together for thirty years and it feels like we’ve been invited to an intimate anniversary celebration of the band who raised us throughout our teenage years.
The announcement was made earlier this week that Chris, their guitarist has taken ill and will not be joining them on the rest of their tour. Tonight, Bowling for Soup will be a trio and there’s a distinct feeling of uncertainty and suspense from the crowd due to this.
The “BFS theme” song begins to play. There is minimal stage set up, just a yellow colourful “Bowling for Soup” banner for a backdrop; with their faces as cartoon characters on it. We would soon find out that they don’t need much to entertain the audience.
The show is filled with their old school hits straight from our youth, reminding us of more awkward times and making us feel more nostalgic than we have in a while. Their energy, vocals and musical talents are precise and clean and they seem to have the same amount of passion for performing as they did in their early days.
Each song has an encore before the last chorus; which is filled with interacting with the audience or a joke; sometimes we forget we’re not at a comedy show. They interact with us on such an intimate level we feel like we’re in their sitting room having a DMC at times. They banter amongst themselves and us and the way they laugh at each other’s jokes shows there is nothing pre rehearsed about their presence on stage, they’re so comfortable together and take over for each other musically while one is having a beer, coming across always as the best of friends as well as band members, it’s clear they’ve perfected their craft and their art of engaging the audience with all their years of experience.
They consult the audience every step of the way and improvise for the duration of their time of stage. They let fans in the front row choose some of the set list, the song “Thirteen” released in 1994, was requested and performed to perfection.
There’s a mix of emotions throughout their set but we can’t feel one specific way for long due to them swiftly moving onto the next joke or into the next well-known song at a fast pace. Their facial expressions consistently punk and comical. They never had to wait for the crowd’s reactions to their performance but their reactions back to us and the shocked looks on their faces to us being surprised by certain songs is priceless. They seem to get easily distracted, the audience do not, we never know what to expect next and surprises from them included their own renditions of “teenage dirtbag”, “sweet home Alabama” and us being “Rick Rolled”.
There’s power in Jaret- the lead singer’s voice while he’s screaming with natural reverb. Gary their drummer has such effortless timing. Rob, their
bassist-has energy for days and his facial expressions are “Punk” through and through.
The show makes us feel youthful despite the feelings in our knees and the proof on our passports.
Jaret accidently called us the “UK” and the room is filled with fear, we aren’t sure if he can come back from this due to the sheer amount of “booing” from the audience, however they’re just such likeable, no… loveable; real people. We’re here for them as much as we’re here for their music. A few rounds of” Ole, ole, ole” and we’re over it.
It’s the funniest, messiest, improvised and unpredictable show ever; Bowling for soup have no fear of inappropriateness. They prove that “high school” stays with you forever and we admire the braveness of them wearing low shorts with boxers showing, sticking plectrums up their nose or to their forehead sweat and their clumsy awkward movements which match their personas. They’re thorough Messer’s that don’t take themselves too seriously and are comfortable within their own chaos and within themselves.
They gave an update on Chris’s health and he is thankfully making a speedy recovery. They wished him well and did a moment of silence and also a moment of loudness for him which was one of the loudest cheers from the crowd all night. They expressed how you can’t replace a legend which is true but even with Bowling for Soup being a member down, they made up for it in every other way and really did create a very unique show.
They decide to have their Encore break on stage and spend it with us on bar stools drinking Whiskey and pretending not to be there. They launch back in with their final hits and we give them our final burst of energy which they whole heartedly deserve.
The nostalgia of their performance makes you remember your first love and hate your hometown for no apparent reason. As we leave the venue, we’re not sure how we feel but there’s definitely a sense of nostalgia, belly aches from laughing and general knee ache.
There was something for everyone at this show, their musical and comedic talent was consistently on pointe.
Bowling for Soup photos & set-list:
Set-list:
BFS Theme (Taped Intro)
My Hometown
Almost
Ohio – Come Back to Texas
Teenage Dirtbag (Wheatus cover)
Emily (With snippet of ‘In Too Deep’ by Sum 41.)
Phineas and Ferb Theme Song
Two-Seater
High School Never Ends
Suckerpunch
Turbulence
The Bitch Song
The Last Rock Show
Punk Rock 101
Table Four (Jared performs a spontaneous song about a group at a table on the balcony.)
Out the Window
Girl All the Bad Guys Want
1985 (SR‐71 cover)
Words by Tanita Hingerty @tanitasikes