We caught Bowling For Soup on their headline tour at their sold-out Wembley show, along with Wheatus, Punk Rock Factory and Jon Mahon DJing between sets.
Punk Rock Factory
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It’s a Saturday night, and the arena is already full for the opener Punk Rock Factory, who rose to fame performing punk rock covers of Disney songs, fitting the bill perfectly for tonight. Covering hits from Disney favourite Frozen, along with Mamma Mia classics and the theme from Power Rangers, the crowd became fully into the sing-a-long tunes, and was the ideal opener for the night.
Wheatus
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Up next to take the stage is Wheatus. Their stage set up is huge, but still feels incredibly intimate as they play their set. There are two drum sets set up in the centre of the stage, with back up singers, slotting in behind them. Everyone looks like they’re having the best time on stage, as they play fan favourites ‘A Little Respects’ and ‘Lemonade’, and of course ‘Teenage Dirtbag’ which got the entire arena singing along.
Bowling For Soup
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Ahead of Bowling For Soup joining the stage, DJ Jon Mahon is owning the stage, warming up the crowd with hits from Avril Lavigne, My Chemical Romance and of course some Black Sabbath.
It’s time for our headliners of the night, Bowling For Soup – and after 31 years of being a band, they still know how to put on a show. What’s really lovely about their stage set up is that their entire family and friends are sat on the stage, a front row seat looking out at the entire arena.
Opening their set at this sold-out show was a fan favourite ‘High School Never Ends’, completed with Co2 and fire lighting up the arena, setting the mood for their entire set. Bowling For Soup definitely know how to interact and work the crowd, showcased in their track ‘Ohio’ as they get the whole arena to sway their arms throughout the song, and end with ‘jazz hands’, ‘freestyle’ and a ‘rave’ – much to everyone’s enjoyment.
As the set calms down a little as it goes into ‘Turbulence’, vocalist Jaret talks about mental health, anxiety and depression, stating that “no-one in this room is alone.” This segways perfectly into an introduction to As It Is guitarist Ben Biss walking on to the stage to represent Uproar, a mental health charity within the music industry. He’s joined with one lucky winner, and Simon Tuckwell – the well known heavy metal hairdresser. They’re here to shave Brendan Brown, vocalist of Wheatus’ head for Uproar. It’s a lovely moment where the room stops and watches for a moment amidst the chaos of a Bowling For Soup set.
In true Bowling For Soup behaviour, they take a time out for the crowd to take photos of them, they pose on each side of the stage while The Darkness plays through the speakers, joking that The Darkness came all the way here to play that one song for the crowd.
They close their set with ‘Girl All The Bad Guys Want’, a statement song of the 2000’s, as pure nostalgia fills the room. It’s safe to say even though Bowling For Soup have been touring for a very long time, they still know how to put on a show and keep it fresh.
Photos by Jasmine Marceau – Instagram
Hardbeat – Instagram