It?s hard to believe that BOWLING FOR SOUP are cruising into their third decade as a band; continuing to ride on the success of songs about girls, high school and of course, beer. That being said, it is evident that the Dallas quartet knows how to scribble an uplifting song about sleeping with your brother?s ex-girlfriend and having a good time. For the second year running, vocalist Jaret Reddick and bass guitarist Erik Chandler returned to our UK shores to spread their musical love through the form of a two-hour acoustic show full of hit-singles, crude jokes and incredible crowd interaction.
With their upcoming album ?Fishing For Woo?s? set for a release later this month, the Texan pair were fishing for exactly that and ultimately, they received a lot more. Showcasing new material including ?S-S-S-Saturday? and ?Turbulence?, Bowling For Soup soaked up every opportunity to plug the release date of their new album ? it?s April 25th for those of you that weren?t there. Mixing and matching the line-up throughout their set by inviting members from their supporting bands to accompany them on stage, Jaret and Erik kept their annual acoustic tour fresh, funny and unpredictable.
It?s no mystery as to which parts of their back catalogue went down well with the audience, and ?Girl All The Bad Guys Want?, predictably climaxed in the biggest uproar and incredible applause. Accompanying the single that swung them into mainstream acknowledgement was hilarious crowd pleaser ?The Bitch Song?, the sex-infused ?My Wena? and the inspiringly uplifting ?I?m Gay?, which set the 1,400-person capacity room into a pop-punk loving frenzy.
As the unplugged evening closed, it was clear as a Summers? day that the crowd were not ready to part ways with the comical duo. With festival appearances set in stone this Summer, the die-hard fans don?t have to look to far into the future to see our middle-aged booze-loving musicians put down the beer and pick up their instruments once again.
NICK COREN