Words: Letty Sharp // Photos: Ian Mc Donnell
The fun-loving pop punk band Bowling For Soup
brought their show to the 3Olympia in Dublin. The band brought along
actor and musician Thomas Nicholas and Nottingham alternative rock
band As December Falls.
Thomas Nicholas kicked things off with an alternative version of,
‘Stacey’s Mom’, originally by Fountains of Wayne. He poked fun at the
fact that people think Bowling For Soup actually wrote the song. His
version was what he called a remix and was about the character Steve
Stifler’s mom from the American Pie movie franchise. The crowd were
eating it up and he continued in high spirits, performing an alternative
version of the bands hit cover of 1985 entitled 1999 again with different
lyrics about the characters in American Pie. He performed a song off of
his upcoming 7th album which he also wrote with Jaret Reddick, the lead
singer and rhythm guitarist of Bowling For Soup. The crowd loved his
performance and there was still more great music to come.
As December Falls were up next, bringing a heavier sound to the stage.
They opened with the anthemic, ‘Go Away’, which got the crowd going
right away. The band kept going from there with, ‘Afterglow’, the first
song off of their 2021 album, ‘Happier’. Lead singer Bethany Curtis’s
vocals came across as powerful over her bandmates thundering
instruments. We later learned in the set that this was their first time in
Ireland and they were blown away by the reception. The band just kept
going and going with their second last song being, ‘Mayday’, what they
called one of their heavier songs. They didn’t disappoint with the heavy
part with a heavy riff pounding throughout and a catchy chorus. They
ended their set with, ‘Ride’, and when the set was over, the band made a
TikTok video with the crowd. Two great acts for the crowd and they
were rocked and ready for Bowling For Soup.
As December Falls Setlist:
Go Away
Afterglow
I Don’t Feel Like Feeling Great
Nothing On You
No Money
Mayday
Ride
The band (BFS) came marching onto the stage to their theme song, ‘Here
Comes Bowling For Soup’. The band opened with, ‘Almost’, a fan
favourite. They ripped through it before going onto, ‘Highschool Never
Ends’. When that song ended Jarett poked fun at himself and the band
explaining to us how the stage is slanted and, “If we fall, do not attempt
to catch us as we will squash you”. The band continued on in their set,
going onto, ‘Emily’. After their song, ‘I Wanna Be Brad Pitt’, they
announce their fan of the night, which was a little girl named Eve and
she got the title because she sang along with every swear word in the
song next to her dad. Always the jokers the band performed one of their
biggest hits, ‘Today Is Gonna Be A Great Day’, which famously written
for the Disney show Phineas and Ferb. The band then showed their new
segment known as the Bowling, ‘For Soup Comedy Jam’, where each
member of the band tells and joke and whoever gets the most noise from
the crowd wins. Guitarist Chris Burney ended up winning the
competition, ending drummer Gary Wisemans winning streak. The band
then resumed their set going into, ‘The Bitch Song’. After that, they
asked a member of the crowd who had a sign to come up on the stage.
They played, ‘Punk Rock 101’, with the fan on drums and even did their
photo opportunity with the fan on stage. After that they went into their
last 3 songs and left Dublin rocked. The band rocked us and made us
laugh. It was an excellent night for all and I would tell anyone who hasn’t
seen them before to go and see them as soon as possible.
Bowling For Soup Setlist:
Almost
Highschool Never Ends
Emily
Two-Seater
I Wanna Be Brad Pitt
Ohio (Come Back To Texas)
Today Is Gonna Be A Great Day
Comedy Jam
The Bitch Song
The Last Rock Show
Punk Rock 101 (With fan on drums)
1985 (SR-71 Cover)
Shut Up And Smile
Girl All The Bad Guys Want
