The Moshville Times - Gig Review: Bowling For Soup / Wheatus / Magnolia Park + Jon Mahon – Civic Hall, Wolverhampton (9th February 2025)

It’s been quite some time since I last saw Bowling For Soup – 2018, to be precise. And much like that time when Mosh couldn’t make it and I jumped on reviewing the show, it would seem that history is repeating itself for their latest tour as the Texas trio celebrate twenty years of A Hangover You Don’t Deserve. It may be a windy Sunday night but it hasn’t stopped people from showing up in their droves and it takes forty-five minutes from doors opening to finding my seat. And even as I approach the main entrance, there’s still a mammoth queue. It’s fair to say Bowling For Soup’s popularity is at an all-time high.

Given the time, it meant only catching the last two and a half songs of Magnolia Park. Magnolia (or, indeed, beige), they are not. Even from the sound they’re making outside the building, it’s your typical pop punk fare but it sounds engaging to the point where I wish I was inside watching it. What I’m presented with is five people giving it their all for thirty minutes, all of them a bundle of energy and once finally in, it seems they’re on the home stretch. However, for the final tow songs, they get a bit heavier, throwing some electronic elements into the mix for good measure and for the final song, the first pit of the night opens up. With the guitarist throwing down some filthy rapping, his delivery similar to Mike Shinoda, there’s still a punk vibe to the band, they’ve just removed the pop element with a cheese grater. But it never becomes jarring. As a live act, they’re as slick as can be and given the people behind me were screaming every word, it would appear they had some fans in the house already. Certainly, if they were on another cracker of a line-up like this, I’d be there to watch them.

Hyping up the crowd between the short changeovers is Jon Mahon. He’s a great DJ and knows how to work the crowd, taking the time to promote the headliner’s massive December Wembley Arena show as well as pointing out this is his hometown show. Well, he’s from Walsall but let’s not split hairs. There’s also an opportunity for him to perform his own single “You Got This”. He seems to be an affable guy and he’s not there just for the sake of it but these DJ sets at gigs have always seemed a bit pointless when you’d be playing the same playlist through the PA, regardless of if a person was there or not.

Next, it’s Wheatus. Yeah, we all know that song. It’s the only one I know. Or so I thought. The fuzzy guitar intro kicks in. “That sounds familiar. Nah, it can’t be,” I think to myself. The vocals kick in and it turns out I’m right. It’s The Darkness’ “Growing on Me” and they head straight into a cover of Erasure’s “A Little Respect”. And in both instances, vocalist/guitarist Brendan B. Brown not only goes for the high notes but he nails them. Not quite in the same fashion as Justin Hawkins and Andy Bell but well within his register and keeps it faithful. So make it three songs I know. But they keep us waiting for the other one. The rest of the set largely comes from the debut album as Brown promotes their upcoming twenty-fifth anniversary of it. And when you’re a band like Wheatus, you’re going to focus on the nostalgia, especially with the crowd you’re playing to. The core band may not be original members, with the exception of Brown, but they play the material as if it’s their own alongside the evident chemistry between them. There’s also three backing singers handling a vast range and I haven’t heard such excellent harmonies since The Lounge Kittens (also, shout-out to the one on the left who was clearly into their job whilst the other two were a bit more straight-laced). And, of course, “Teenage Dirtbag” closes out their set. And everyone sings it word perfect – let’s be real, it’s a great song! It’s easy to see why this isn’t the first or last time Wheatus have played with Bowling For Soup – they know how to work a crowd and they’re more than just one song.

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Ghost’s “Spillways” accompanies a cartoon loading screen, the pair of them synced up to finish at the same time and it’s a hell of a way to hype up the crowd before the traditional “Here Comes Bowling For Soup” ushers Jaret Reddick, Gary Wiseman and Rob Felicetti onto the stage, launching straight into “Almost”. It’s always an excellent way to kick off a Bowling For Soup show but it’s even more appropriate tonight since it’s the opening track on A Hangover You Don’t Deserve. Naturally, the elephant in the room is Chris Burney missing in action stage right and with this being their first jaunt to the UK since his retirement, it’s not touched on until almost the end of the show and it’s done with a whole lot of love. Sonically, with only one guitar now, the songs sound a touch edgier but every bit as familiar as if there was a second guitar blasting out the PA.

It’s not until after “Trucker Hat” when the band addresses the crowd, acknowledging their own disbelief at waiting for two songs until they started chatting. And that’s part of the appeal of going to see Bowling For Soup, it’s not just the music, it’s the banter the band have with the crowd and themselves. And the way they bounce off each other, you can tell they’re not working off a script and saying the same thing night after night. It’s noted early on that Wiseman now has a microphone and, unsurprisingly, he’s just as quick-witted as his bandmates. There’s probably a joke in there about drummers and timekeeping. Reddick also shares that it was Felicetti’s insistence that they play the full album in order – something the band didn’t do when they celebrated fifteen years of Drunk Enough to Dance. Which means, as Reddick explains, it’s the earliest you’ll hear “1985” at a Bowling For Soup show, and I get blasted in the face by confetti (worth it).

As the band take the best part of two hours on stage, the vast majority of it is devoted to playing the album. This isn’t a case of blasting through the album and then firing out a bunch of greatest hits. Instead, they do it the Bowling For Soup way and make sure there’s plenty of banter and jokes between songs such as Reddick winning two games of rock paper scissors and jokes about P Diddy and lube (they’ve never been a band who do high-brow humour). Although there is a pit-stop with a song chosen by a very scientific method of spinning a wheel by a young fan called Mason. Pulled up onto the stage, Mason seems unshaken at thousands of people cheering him on to get his favourite song – “The Bitch Song” – which he gets, alongside a whole bunch of goodies from the band.

It’s always been a close-knit community in the Bowling For Soup camp and they continue to put their money where their mouth is by bringing out Wheatus’ bass player, Matthew Milligan, to play keys on “Ridiculous” and “Shut Up and Smile” as well as John James Ryan for “A-hole” and there’s constant shout-outs to both support bands. Likewise, the last time I saw the band, Felicetti was simply covering for Erik Chandler but since then, he’s become a full-time member with Chandler calling it a day. And Felicetti holds himself as if he’s been in the band since day one, keeping up with the humour, playing the material and gelling with Reddick and Wiseman as musicians. Indeed, as a live act, they’ve never been tighter.

For those coming to this show expecting to hear all the hits, there’s a few but tonight’s about celebrating one album. You’ll still get to hear a few of those staples as previously mentioned alongside “Ohio” (admittedly, I found this version weird as I’ve played Reddick’s solo country album so much that that’s the version I think of now) and “Friends O’ Mine”. But this is truly a show for the hardcore fans, to hear all those deep cuts that they haven’t played since the album first came out. But Bowling For Soup fans are a hardcore breed and it’s likely that most of the people in the audience know the album inside out. Chances are, if you want something a bit safer, go see them at Wembley later this year. Circumstances have gotten in the way of missing the last few tours and after this one, it’s reminded me of just how good a Bowling For Soup show is, as live bands go, you’d be hard-pushed to find one so consistently great as well as having you leave with a smile.

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Photos by Gary Cooper