Bowling for Soup - Live Music Review in Bristol

Posted on: 2016-02-16

Our rating:

Tonight they had all the time in the world but the tempo was still pretty pacey, simply so they can play as much as they possibly can. That they did and before I knew it half the set had passed and 1985 was echoing around the venue.


 

Many of the gigs I've been to at Bristol's O2 Academy over the years have been sold out. A handful of them have been what I would refer to as 'sold out plus'. The Bowling For Soup show this past Monday night is definitely one that would fall in to that latter category. There was barely room to move in the Academy by the time the Soup guys took to the stage. They spent the ninety minutes that followed showcasing exactly why.

Bowling for Soup Live in Bristol

Before the highlight of the night however there was the not so small matter of the evening's main support act, The Dolly Rots. The Californian punk rockers are no strangers to touring with BFS having supported the Texans on a previous tour of the UK. It was plain to see why the female-fronted outfit are such a perfect fit for their hosts and certainly helped kicked the evening up a gear. The, albeit slightly odd, highlight being their track that followed the music of westcountry favourite combine harvester but with different lyrics. That didn't stop the sold out crowd singing the 'wrong' words however.

There are a few things you can be sure of when seeing Bowling for Soup live. One is that no matter how many times you've seen them you'll never see the same show twice. The second is that it'll be energetic, fast-paced and basically breathless. Monday night was no exception. The third and final thing is that with a back catalogue stretching back over twenty years no matter what they play, you know it's going to be great. Add to that the fact that it was the last night of the tour and you know you're in for a big night.

Bowling for Soup Live in Bristol Review

Tonight the boys started with The Bitch Song. A huge hit to kick off the night but the real party feel didn't begin until a couple of songs later with Ohio. That had the overloaded academy swaying and singing along to every single word. It was also accompanied by another thing that goes hand in hand with a BFS show, comic relief. The stage had been cleverly designed to look like a pub for the evening ad it was at this point that Jaret and co decided to take advantage of that.

The one time other time I've seen Bowling For Soup was at Download Festival. Because of the strict timings and sheer amount of bands on that particular day the band had a very limited amount of time to perform. I remember them playing their songs at a quicker tempo and believing that time restraints were the reason for that. I was wrong. Tonight they had all the time in the world but the tempo was still pretty pacey, simply so they can play as much as they possibly can. That they did and before I knew it half the set had passed and 1985 was echoing around the venue.

Lead singer Jaret then took the time to comment on how pop-punk was apparently dead. Quickly following up with a medley that put those rumours firmly to rest. Blink 182, Green Day and Good Charlotte amongst others had cameos during the mash-up. This was swiftly followed by a cover of Fountains of Wayne's Stacy's Mom, killing off any hint of talk left that pop-punk is anywhere near being gone from the music scene. It was this five to ten minute pop-punk tribute that's the main reason why my voice is almost completely gone as I type this.

Bowling for Soup Live in Bristol Review for 365Bristol

Later in the night the audience remained in full force and high spirits for Almost, pretty handy as afterwards it was revealed to us that it had in fact been recorded. High School Never Ends kept the night at full throttle and then the night was brought to a close with Girl All the Bad Guys Want. If you're anywhere between the age of 18 and 35 and you haven't heard that song, where have you been?

Despite the fact that the UK tour before this one was meant to be the band's last, I for one am certainly glad Bowling For Soup backtracked on that decision and still grace our stages. The quartet combine pop, punk, rock and comedy unlike any other band I know and I hope they pass through Bristol once again sometime soon.

4/5

Reviewed by Josh Coulson for 365Bristol.com - The leading events and entertainment website in Bristol

For full listings of all the great shows coming up at Bristol's O2 Academy please head over to their What's On page.



Article by:

James Anderson

Born and raised in the suburbs of Swansea, Jimmy moved to Bristol back in 2004 to attend university. Passionate about live music, sport, science and nature, he can usually be found walking his cocker spaniel Baxter at any number of green spots around the city. Call James on 078 9999 3534 or email Editor@365Bristol.com.