Bowling For Soup - Gig Review - o2 Academy, Bristol

It’s just how it should be. A summary of my teenage years; scenie weenies, greebos in New Rock boots and awkward inbetweeners. Bowling for Soup is a relatively veteran punk-pop band from the 1990’s and they have enjoyed success in three decades. Despite pushing 40, Jaret and co still exude youth in their shows and this night was no different. The o2 academy in Bristol reeked comfortably of beer and sweat on first entry.

 The opening acts, Patent Pending and The Dollyrots, were both impressive considering they are fairly unknown bands in the UK. Patent Pending caters to the “moshers” craving for some rock reminiscent of the late 90’s.  The Dollyrots, with female vocalist Kelly Ogden, who was suitably gazeboed during the set, were Bowling for Soup’s equal. The Dollyrots clearly love interacting with their fans and spent half of their set chatting and pumping up the crowd.

Bowling for Soup made a typically comedic entrance as always with their larger than life lead guitarist Chris Burney and cheeky lead singer Jaret Reddick leading the coop. They opened with older hits such as ‘High School Never Ends’ and their newer song ‘Let’s Go To The Pub’. As they had finished these songs, in true BFS fashion, they stopped to have a chat with the crowd. They are self styled as “The band that waves”, boasting of how they are always dedicated to making their fans feel included and of course, I got a wave from bass guitarist Erik.

There’s always one imbecile who heckles at the band and this time, it went too far. Mid song, one young man decided to throw his iPhone on the stage. Big mistake. Jaret reacted with mock anger and a few mumblings about “f***ing douchebags” but didn’t fly off the handle like many pretentious bands would. The boy in question was pointed out and shamed by the rest of us. Possibly the most awkward and entertaining moment of the night. All in all, an enjoyable throwback to the good old days of wholesome entertaining concerts. Many bands play to the crowd but don’t interact but clearly Bowling For Soup know that just doesn’t work. The proof is in the pudding.

Manic Street Preachers - Artist Biography

The politically charged alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers exploded on to the Cardiff and valleys music scene twenty years ago.  The line up has changed a few times s to several different events. The original line up consisted of bassist Miles Woodward, guitarist Nicky Wire and vocalist James Dean Bradfield. In 1988, Woodward left the band while they were garnering some attention and the infamous Richey Edwards joined the band and swapped roles with Nicky Wire by becoming lead guitarist.  Just before Richey joined the band, the three piece recorded their self produced, self financed first single ‘Suicide Alley’. Richey was initially a roadie for the band but because his chemistry with Nicky Wire, he became a part of the band. He was very much the creative force behind the band during the early years.

In the early 1990s, they signed to indie record label Damaged Goods where they recorded one EP and then to a London based independent label Heavenly Records. Bradfield claimed the signing was informal  “I could never quite figure out whether we were signed to Heavenly or not!” Philip Hall, their manager and mentor, brought the obscure band from being relatively unknown to chart success. ‘Motown Junk’ was their first single on the Heavenly label which reached #94 in the UK charts.  “I can’t overstate Philip’s drive to have ‘Motown Junk’ out on Heavenly. He made it very clear to us that we needed Heavenly much more than Heavenly needed us.”

The band were accused of hiding behind an ‘artistic mask’ by NME journalist Steve Lamacq after a gig in 1991 and Richey carved “4 Real” in to his own arm requiring 17 stitches. The photograph of Richey had become an iconic image of rock in the 90’s. The troubles of Richey had been thrusted in to the public eye, especially his battle with anorexia, self harming and depression. These incidents interested many record labels and they were then signed to Columbia records where they really enjoyed the fruits of their labour.

Under the new signing, they released their debut album Generation Terrorists and another album Gold Against the soul. Amidst their success, their manager Phillip Hall sadly died of lung cancer in 1993. The Manics claimed: “Philip was the first person who understood us. He was more than a manager and input into the band was invaluable. Without his help, motivation and generosity, it is doubtful whether we, as a band, would have carried on.”

Their relationship with the press was a turbulent one. In 1995, they infamously performed their single “Faster” from their album Holy Bible on Top Of The Pops. Edwards asked Bradfield to wear a balaclava during the performance which prompted outrage because of the political difficulties with the IRA at the time. Bradfield claimed: “They (The BBC) told us it was the most complaints they'd ever received.” The Holy Bible came under scrunity because of the change of artistic direction. Despite their success, Edwards was still battling depression and on the 1^st February 1995, Edwards went missing. On the 17^th, his car was found at a service station near the Severn bridge which prompted rumours of why he disappeared and “spotting” by members of the public. He was presumed dead over ten years later.

After Edwards death, the band became really successful and their album Everything Must Go reached top ten in the album charts, containing hits such as “A Design For Life”. In the midst of the success, they were asked to play at a concert in Cuba at the Karl Marx theatre. They were noted for being the first western rock band to play in Cuba. The band members warned Fidel Castro that the concert would be loud and he claimed: “It cannot be louder than war, can it?”.

Since the millennium, the band have still been releasing records and living up to their legacy. They have released five albums since the concert and still continue to play music a little more under the radar. Still “infiltrating the mainstream” according to Wire but not releasing top ten hits. They have recently released a compilation album ‘National Treasures’ which features over thirty of their most popular songs.