If a sign of a good gig is waking up the morning after with ringing ears, aching calf muscles, a croaky voice, and a perma-wide smile that is impossible to get rid of, then Bowling For Soup’s triumphant return to Edinburgh as part of the ‘A Hangover You Don’t Deserve 20th Anniversary Tour’ wasn’t merely a good gig; it was a great gig. Something special indeed. One of those gigs you walk out of feeling 10 feet tall and ready to take on anything. Then you wake up in the morning and feel like you have been hit by a truck — Goddam Bowling For Soup.

With Teenage Dirtbags Wheatus also along for the ride, it’s already a fantastic value-for-money night of nostalgia, but having Florida’s rising sensations Magnolia Park as the opening act, the bill has a fresh touch to it.

Currently signed to the world-renowned Epitaph Records (new album ‘Vamp’ lands April 2025) the five-piece melds a lot of different styles together with the result bringing elements of pop-punk, alternative rock, hip-hop, EMO, and even a soupçon of Nu-Metal. At times MP vocalist Joshua Roberts sparks comparisons with Chester Bennington; especially on the incendiary ‘Do Or Die’ which has a great mix of clean and harsh vocals.

Appearing on the Disney covers album ‘A Whole New Sound’ saw Magnolia Park sharing the spotlight with such household names as New Found Glory, Mayday Parade, Simple Plan, and of course; Bowling For Soup. Their version of ‘I2I’ from ‘A Goofy Movie’ is so full of joy that it can hardly be contained, and judging by the amount of people singing along with it tonight; it has struck a chord. ‘Shallow’ is another highlight. Taken from the forthcoming ‘Vamp’ it’s much heavier live than its studio counterpart and highlights the alternative/EMO side of a band that has pigeonholers breaking out in a cold sweat.

Platinum-selling Wheatus are treated like headliners by the capacity crowd. From the moment that warm-up DJ Jon Mahon introduces the band, through until the last strains of THAT song fade away some 40 minutes later, Wheatus can do nothing wrong in the eyes of the vast majority of the crowd that are now packed in like sardines.

Opening with two quickfire covers might seem risky but when the first is ‘Growning on Me’ by The Darkness, and the immediate follow-on is their well-known cover of Erasure’s ‘A Little Respect’, then it all makes sense. Especially when Wheatus founding member and frontman Brendan B. Brown enthuses about how much of a fan of The Darkness he is, and should Justin Hawkins’s mob ever need an opening act then they know who to call.

It’s a short set that involves a lot of audience participation, and a lot of joking around onstage. The onstage set-up is quite strange though; with Brown over on one side; the drummer, and lunatic bassist Matt Milligan on the opposite, and 3 backing singers and a keyboard player in the centre where you might expect the frontperson to be. And perhaps this is why it feels restrained. Yes, the crowd are indeed going wild – especially when ‘Teenage Dirtbag’ kicks in – but, at least in the eyes of this reviewer, there is a distinct lack of the bounce factor that was expected. It is strange watching a crowd constantly looking to their left. It might have just been an off night, but it felt a little lethargic at times.

No chance of Bowling For Soup being accused of being lethargic. Not. A. Chance. A Bowling For Soup gig is a riot. Whether or not you are a BFS old-timer, or in fact, a newbie (and there are a lot of newbies here tonight) you won’t witness another gig like this…until the next time you catch Bowling For Soup in their natural environment. Now though, it’s time to “…get on the party bus…”.

Playing ‘A Hangover You Don’t Deserve’ from start to finish (minus ‘Belgium’ though as some purists point out) means that punters know what’s coming next. It doesn’t matter one little bit though because each track is met by howls of approval and – thanks to the low ceiling at either side of the venue – the noise is deafening. ‘Almost’ starts the party and ‘Trucker Hat’ quickly follows on with BFS frontman Jaret Reddick joking afterward that this will be the only time that they play 2 songs consecutively. Shout-out to the little segment of call-and-response with the crowd which includes a tip of the hat to Slade’s ‘Cum On Feel The Noize’.

Whereas ‘1985’ closed the show last time out in 2024; tonight it lands in position number 3, the same as the album. The large LED screen behind Gary Wiseman’s drum kit kicks into overdrive as the confetti cannons erupt and shower the crowd with yellow confetti. It’s a very yellow production. Bright and colourful, it offers great respite from the blue and red production that has sadly become the norm at gigs these days. Each band member is kitted out in black and yellow sports shirts, with their name emblazoned across the back. There are yellow bar stools set up on the stage for the visitors who frequent the stage during a Soup show (Matt Milligan from Wheatus stops by to play some keyboards on a gorgeous version of ‘Ridiculous’). The mic stands are all yellow. Genuinely, kudos to whoever designed the production, because it is stunning.

With the much-missed Chris Burney sadly calling it quits due to health issues, Bowling For Soup now performs as a trio, with bassist Rob Felicetti more involved – a fantastic moment lands about 30 minutes into the set when security are handing out cups of water to those struggling with the heat, and Felicetti quips “Oh, cool, he’s handing out shots!”. That’s one of the unique aspects of a BFS gig; it doesn’t follow the rules. At times it’s like being part of the world’s coolest WhatsApp group chat – especially when Reddick takes a tongue-in-cheek pop at the French: “The French are assholes, snooty fuckers, they just sit in their little coffee shops and fucking smoke…we don’t play there anymore…we were thinking of a French comeback…fuck it!”.

The crowd plays an important role all night and the invisible barrier that separates performer and audience at most shows is nowhere to be found at a BFS gig. The big hitters like ‘1985’, ‘Ohio (Come Back to Texas)’, ‘Punk Rock 101’ (picked by a fan coming up onstage and spinning the wheel of fortune-like wheel), and ‘Girl All the Bad Guys Want’ are all greeted by huge singalong sessions, but it is the look of joy on punters faces when deep cuts from the album like ‘Really Might Be Gone’, and ‘Down for the Count’ drop that sticks out the most.

So many here tonight would not have been born when ‘A Hangover You Don’t Deserve’ was released way back in 2004, but they are here tonight making themselves heard (especially when a surprise cover of Blink 182’s ‘The Rock Show’ gets its live debut). It’s a testament to Bowling For Soup’s ability to plant earworms that are still buried in the psyche for decades after the initial insertion. The likeable Texans will play Wembley Arena later this year for their largest UK show to date. Richly deserved and a testament to their tenacity. In the meantime though, miss this show at your peril. Bowling For Soup: You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll hurl.

Remaining tour dates:

12/02 – Swansea – Swansea Arena
13/02 – Nottingham – Motorpoint Arena
14/02 – Brighton – Brighton Centre
15/02 – Bournemouth – Bournemouth Intl Centre

Ticket information, HERE.

Review – Dave

Images – Dave Jamieson