“Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for us, Bowling For Soup, the greatest band in the world.” So crooned Jaret Reddick, vocalist/guitarist and the only founding member of the Texas band, which dates back to 1994. I never thought I’d ever see this hilarious pop-punk group live. During my skater days, they were always on in the background. Usually it was “1985,” and “Next-Ex Girlfriend,” both of which they played live. You can guess which one was last. No, this was a fantastic set list, filled with hit singles from the bands 30 plus career, from albums like A Hangover You Don’t Deserve, Drunk Enough to Dance, and The Great Burrito Extortion Case (which might be one of the best album titles I just remembered.)
But what makes this show so memorable is their stage presence. Reddick is still an absolute clown, probably even more so at 54, with his constant dad jokes and banter on stage. He’s constantly taking the piss out of the audience, stopping a song midway for the “First and only Bowling for Soup photo op,” before jumping back into “High School Never Ends.” “Ladies and gentlemen, this song is about Texas. It’s called Ohio!”
We heard two newer ones, at least newer to me, who haven’t thought about Bowling For Soup in some time. They were “Getting Old Sucks (But Everybody’s Doing It),” which has the lyrics “You had a heart attack
I’ve got two bum knees / We don’t wanna live forever / What the fuck is TikTok?” And a somewhat cringey and too-on-the-nose acoustic number, “Turbulence,” about mental health. It kind of bummed out the fun pop-punk atmosphere, but Bowling For Soup corrected it with “Punk Rock 101,” a killer “Teenage Dirtbag” cover, and of course, “1985,” another cover that everyone thinks Bowling For Soup wrote. “I want you all to lose it like its Simple Plan singing “Perfect”‘ Reddick screamed. It wasn’t the last time we would see him. He made an appearance during the over-the-top Simple Plan set on Main Stage a few hours later. To really understand the majesty, this Bowling For Soup show was kind of a “you had to be there” moment.
