Bowling For Soup are an American rock band based in Denton, Texas. The band formed in 1994 in Wichita Falls, Texas. The band consists of Jaret Reddick (lead vocals and guitar), Chris Burney (guitar and backing vocals) and Gary Wiseman (drums, percussion and backing vocals). To date, the band have released 10 studio albums.
The band have had many mainstream hit songs since their formation. Arguably their most well-known song is actually a cover song, originally by rock band SR-71. The song is called “1985”.
The band have also had the honour of being nominated for a Grammy in 2003 for another hit song, “Girl All the Bad Guys Want”. The song was nominated in the category Best Pop Performance by a Group or Duo”. Even though they didn’t win, the nomination helped them gain an even stronger following from that point forward.
The band are famous for a number of things besides their music. They are known for possessing very comedic personalities and for their love of beer and alcohol. These two aspects alone make their live shows even more entertaining. Their most recent show at Dublin’s Academy was no different to any of their other shows on our shores, or any other Bowling For Soup show.
The night began with support from two bands. The first band was a young band from the UK, The Bottom Line. This was their first Irish show and they made this known straight off the bat. The band put on the perfect set that you would want in order to get you excited at a concert. They were energetic and engaging and tried their hardest to show the crowd what they are all about.
After The Bottom Line’s excellent set came another band, Lacey. Unfortunately, Lacey were met with a sort of lull from the crowd. This, however, wasn’t their fault. It is very difficult to be the second support act at concerts for one simple reason: the crowd want the main show. Bowling For Soup eventually took to the stage with their signature entrance theme “Here comes Bowling For Soup” blaring through the monitors. Lead singer, Jaret, approached the microphone and exclaimed quite the Irish phrase “whats the craic, motherf*ckers?!”.
Fans of the band know what to expect from a Bowling For Soup show. One can only hope that first-timers didn’t feel put off by the band’s obscure stage presence. This obscurness includes, for example: talking to each other on stage to the point of forgetting the audience are present, stopping mid-song to talk about something random and talking to members of the audience. Jaret Reddick is a phenomenal personality when it comes to being on-stage. Since the band have been together for so long, their chemistry on stage is incredible.
The band began their set with a crowd favourite, The Bitch Song. Afterwards, Jaret addressed the crowd in relation to his recent extreme weight gain in the only way he knows how, with comedy. Jaret addressed the crowd by saying “I know what you guys are thinking: I look like I ate the singer for Bowling For Soup. And he was delicious!”. The band continued their set with segments inbetween with the aforementioned comedy. The set was jam-packed with most of their hit songs, some of which are linked below. It was also noted by Reddick that in the many years that they have been playing in Ireland, this show was their first-ever sold-out show.
The band finished their set with the song “1985”, which always involves audience participation in finishing the lyrics. Bowling For Soup continue to be one of the current greatest live bands in music today and the day that they return to Ireland will be met with great excitement and gratitude.
