Bowling For Soup – Cardiff (16/02/18)
21st February 2018Legend has it, that there ainât no party like an S Club PartyâŚwell my friend, Rachel Stevens and, the umâŚthe other onesâŚthey told you a pack of lies, because clearly theyâve never been to a pop punk party and oh my what a party we had rolling through the UK this February! While BOWLING FOR SOUP have been going strong for well over two decades now, just a few short years ago the UK nearly lost one of rockâs most endearing and prolific touring bands as they said their goodbyeâs on a farewell runâŚbut you canât keep a good band off stage and it wasnât long before Jaret and co picked up the guitars again, and this time around weâre treated to a special tour steeped in nostalgia on multiple levels. On February 16th the âGet Happyâ tour rolled into Cardiff to play the Motorpoint Arena, the largest venue on this tour, and weâre in good companyâŚletâs see what went happened when AATR went bowling in the Welsh capitalâŚ
The evening begins with Californian pop-punks ARMY OF FRESHMEN [7] and the Ventura based veterans are in a celebratory mood in their own right! Celebrating their own 20th anniversary they are jovial and full of fun, setting the tone perfectly for tonight very early onâŚwith varied cuts from their last album like âConcrete Hopeâ, then going all the way back to older tracks like âGet Em Upâ they both entertain and educate at the same time, with younger fans potentially missing them back in the day. Career favourites like âWrinkle In Timeâ and â10,000 Yearsâ also keep the early punters bouncing and as openers go they do their job wellâŚitâs nice to see them back and enjoying themselves.
Next up things are about to get bat-shit crazy if you pardon the pun, as The MC Bat Commander introduces THE AQUABATS [7] via their âSuper Showâ and the crowd are in for a hell of a night already and weâre still only on the support acts! With their kooky personaâs and antics in full character (And costume) they get the crowd cheering with brilliantly random tracks like âThe Shark Fighter!â and âFashion Zombies!ââŚbut itâs no pop-punk party without pizza and oh do they bring the pizzaâŚnot only with the song âPizza Dayâ which letâs be honest we all wish was every day, but they had two kids have a crowd surf race on inflatable pizzas mid set! As I saidâŚrandomâŚbut balls to it, hooray for pizza day! Itâs been five years since The Aquabats have toured the UK and absence made the Cardiff hearts grow fonder.
Finally then it was time for the main courseâŚand ironically its soup. Yes Texas’ favourite punk rockers BOWLING FOR SOUP [8] are not only here headlining this joyous trip down memory lane; theyâre treating us to a night of nostalgic punk rock mastery by playing their hit album âDrunk Enough To Danceâ in its entirety! Everyone has fond memories of the golden era of Kerrang! when these plucky punks infected our ear drums with hits like âGirl All The Bad Guys Wantâ, âEmilyâ and âPunk Rock 101â and we get all of that tonight and then some! Granted, the guys may have piled on a few pounds but remember people, itâs whatâs on the inside that counts and inside the hearts of Jaret and co they still have a cheeky charm and youthful mentality to pull this off. The venue may not be sold out but the people in attendance here donât care, more fool the people who didnât buy ticketsâŚthis was pop-punk perfection as it was intended; to be fun and BFS are the experts. Additional tracks such as âThe Bitch Songâ and â1985â are just the cherry on top of tonightâs performance and frankly as the show comes to an end, if you arenât drunk enough to dance right now you came to the wrong show. Never mind OhioâŚcome back to Cardiff whenever the hell you want lads.
