A Bowling For Soup Acoustic show in your
mind sounds like one of the most fun things imaginable
ripe with opportunity for witty banter and crowd
interaction amidst some songs from a catalogue
that spans eleven records and many more years.
The thought though runs, screaming “For
shame,” at the actuality, which is two guys
who can’t play very well, can’t sing
very well, and aren’t actually very funny
sitting on a small stage for two hours reeling
off the same old lines as if from a checklist
entitled, “Why they loved us in the year
2000.”
Supporting this evening is Erik Chandler and People
On Vacation, so basically it’s the two guys
who do the Bowling For Soup acoustic show playing
songs not by Bowling For Soup, if you like the
guys you’ll like the show, but it’s
hit and miss and the babble of the crowd is always
bubbling over in the background. Then again that
doesn’t change all night, kids eh?
The crowd though are a mixed bag and seemingly
the band is more of a family outing than you might
expect as young couples and their parents stand
side by side with undeserving smiles threatening
to be overtly polite in your direction at any
moment. There’s even an OAP failing to disguise
himself as a massive fan by singing every word
to every song from ‘Ohio (Come back to Texas)’
to set closer ‘1985’. Still if you’re
as judgemental as us then it’s easy to split
the room into two categories, there are those
who have yet to go through puberty and those who
long ago rejected the concept of it; it’s
like Neverland down in the club academy tonight.
If you weren’t paying attention earlier
then you will have missed the shocking statistic
that the boys have eleven albums under their belt
so of course they play all the songs you’ve
heard before and want to hear again from the Jimmy
Neutron theme tune to ‘Emily’ and
of course, of course ‘Girl All The Bad Guys
Want.’ After a while though all the songs
merge into one as Jared’s unusually shrill
voice continues to go through the motions, Erik
pops up in the background providing some nice
deep harmonies every once in a while, but it’s
not good enough compensation. While some fans
are sat down seemingly ignoring the band and talking
over them there are others shouting to them, requesting
songs, laughing and clapping in all the right
places and for them this intimate situation appears
to be idyllic. Still there’s no escaping
the fact that Bowling For Soup have finally become
the joke and in between cranking out dick gags
and shouting, “your mom,” it seems
as if they know it too.
Bowling For Soup on an acoustic tour reads like
a great idea, but without that electric energy
they’re not as good, as funny, or as interesting
as you thought they were when you first heard
them.
Bowling For Soup 2/5
Review By Lauren Mullineaux
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