HEADLINER: BOWLING FOR SOUP
SUPPORT: TAYLOR ACORN
DATE: DECEMBER 11TH 2024
VENUE: THE PRINCESS THEATRE, BRISBANE
REVIEWER: CURT UBANK
PHOTOGRAPHER: ANDREW TREADWELL PHOTOGRAPHY
For a lot of pop punk fans, Bowling for soup are one of the goofier contenders in the genre, which is possibly why they’ve got such a strong fanbase here Down Under. Insanely catchy tunes, a dumb sense of humor and chaotic stage energy are what put these guys on the musical map back in the early 2000’s, and tonight we get to find out if they’ve still got it all these years later.
First up for our night of fun though, is a new up and comer on our radar, Taylor Acorn. Blending a modern pop punk sound and killer vocals, with some infectious stage charisma, She easily wins over the crowds eagerly awaiting our Texan Headliners. Coming off the back of some seriously successful Good Things shows (Check out our interview with her at Good Things 2024, subtle plug), it’s clear that she’s one to watch in the future, belting out some of her better known tracks like “Final Nail”, “Certified Depressant” and my personal favorite and set closer, “Psycho”. Her backing band are well polished and tight, and the Trio showing a great affinity for playing like the room is twice the size, its clear that big things are on the horizon for Taylor.
After a short interlude and bar run, its time for a little Bowling. For anyone who was at Good Things, a familiar chanting intro track of ‘BOW-LING FOR SOUP, HEY’ blasts through the Princess Theater, to which the crowd instantly starts chanting along, before the band Tears into a Greatest hits set of some of their most fun hits. Starting off with “My Hometown” and “Almost”, the Texas four-piece is performing their Australian Shows as a Trio with Longtime guitarist Chris, laid up at home with some medical issues. It’s a little odd to see, but you’d never know they were down a man, As Jaret, Rob and Gary fill the entire theatre with enough charisma to drown a small town.
Its been 10 years since BFS have played down under but the crowd chant and sing along to every single word. If you happened to be at any of the Good Things shows, you may have noted Jaret’s vocals suffering due to a bit of a cold, as so many musicians for that festival seemed to have caught. Thankfully for this short stint of shows on the east coast, he seems to have made a full recovery and boy does it show, with him sounding identical to how he sang on album tracks like “The Bitch Song”, “High School Never Ends” and the ever classic “Punk Rock 101”. Infact, 101, features a hilarious musical interlude where the venue gets rick-rolled with the dulcet tones of “Never Gonna Give you up”, while the band poses on every corner of the stage. Its dumb, thoroughly entertaining and genuinely gives fans a chance to snap a killer shot of the self proclaimed “Greatest band in the world”. Hell, if you’re our esteemed mastermind and photographer, Andrew, You could even be the one taking the band’s photo from behind the kit.
The rest of the show is a riotous fun time, cleaning up with fan favorites like “Today is gonna be a great day” the BFS recorded intro song for Disney’s Phineas and Ferb “Girl all the bad guys want” and colossal radio hit “1985”. It may have been a decade since the last time they played in Australia, but its clear the BFS Fanbase has never been more eager to welcome them to our stages. The band shows how 20+ years of constant touring has made them a well oiled machine, but they still show a hyper energy that a group in their 20’s would struggle to match. If you have the chance to catch them live, Do it! You’ll struggle to find a show that’s as fun as Bowling For Soup.
