Source: Jemma Dodd
Slam Dunk 2017 and we’re waiting to hear a band a little cooler than us (*winks*). That’s right, the crowd is quickly gathering around the Fireball stage to hear pop punk headliners Bowling For Soup.
A short while later, “bowling for soup, hey! bowling for soup, hey!” plays over the speakers and the crowd makes some noise for the legendary quartet. The band hit the stage and we’re immediately transported back to the 90s.
Fist pumps, pointing and dancing ensue as the band play their brand of comedic, punchy punk rock. And hey, the band may be older and look a little different, but they are still a band that epitomises everything pure and good about pop punk: catchy hooks and stupidity.
The crowd are here for Bowling For Soup—there’s no doubt about that. They are loving every second of the band’s chaotic performance. The band does their usual comical routine of witty banter and inappropriate, and definitely-not-suitable-for-kids, jokes. And the crowd just clap along while yelling their approval.
Source: Jemma Dodd
Standing still just isn’t something you can do at a Bowling For Soup show. They bring out the childish, 90s pop-punk-loving misfit kid out of you. The band play spirited pop punk bangers like ‘The Last Rock Show’ and the scarily accurate ‘Punk Rock 101’. And we’re not sure if it’s just us imagining it or just the excitement of our 16-year-old selves seeing BFS in the flesh, but their songs seem faster than usual. And their energy mixed with the crowd’s excitement, and the flames that are shooting out from the stage, are truly amplifying these late hours of Slam Dunk fest.
Between playing their forceful pop punk originals and their amusing banter, the band throw in another song that’s loved by emos everywhere: ‘Stacy’s Mom’. The song, as usual, gets a huge reception—so huge that the band actually moans that their loudest applause was for a song that wasn’t even theirs! But in reality, we are all standing here in this annoying, on-and-off rain to see four grown men sing teenage pop punk, and you know what? It’s amazing, And we definitely wouldn’t do this for Fountains of Wayne.
The band play their massive hit ‘Girl All The Bad Guys Want’ and the crowd are singing along as loud as they can. The band bring out members of Reel Big Fish for their final song and ‘1985’ turns into one big 90s punk rock party.
Long live Bowling For Soup. Love live 90s pop punk.
