Bowling for Soup/Less Than Jake/ Vandoliers - O2 Academy, Glasgow 22nd January 2024

It's been a slow start to the gigging year for me, but I broke my duck on Thursday night in Glasgow. The whole family are Bowling for Soup fans so a full squad night out to the O2 was a bit of Christmas present to us all. So, we packed into the car and drove through from Edinburgh on late Thursday afternoon. The M8 is never a great place to be at that time of day, but after two hours, we were sitting in the Al Sultan having a very nice pre-gig dinner (much recommended if you are in the area).

We got into the venue just in time to hear the first band of the night exclaim “Glasgow, hell yeah”. This was the first of many times “Glasgow” would be yelled over the next three and half hours, but to these American bands credit, they all got the pronunciation right; something that is always appreciated!

That first band was the Vandoliers. They describe themselves as alt-country band from Texas. On first listening, I didn’t think they were the best musical mix for the headliners to have along and perhaps they might have been better suited to a Drop Kick Murphys guest spot. Then two things happened; first, I remembered how much Glasgow loves country music and, secondly, it became clear how hard the band were working to win the crowd. Both things came together and the Vandoliers absolutely rocked it. Finishing their short set with The Proclaimers, 500 Miles was always going to work and a great was for them to head off...for now.

Next up were ska rockers Less Than Jake. Hailing from Gainsville, Florida, this five-piece feature full on trombone and sax across all their songs which gives them a very different, but entirely upbeat, vibe across their music. No room in this set up for a tear-jerking ballad!

Less Than Jake have been around since the early 90’s and, through hard work and lots of gigging, have absolutely nailed their live offering. The crowd loved it and, if the name on the ticket didn’t tell me otherwise, I would have thought I was at a Less Than Jake headline show. There were crowd surfers by the barrowful, though how the security managed them clearly irked the band, there was a good going mosh pit going on and the band supplied plenty of streamers and jokes.

The 50 minutes they were on stage was filled with a greatest hits set; “All My Best Friends are Metalheads” and “The High Cost of Low Living” being particular favourites of mine. The crowd lapped it up. Their final song, “Gainsville Rock City” brings a great set to, an all to early, close. Less Than Jake tore it up and I can’t wait to see them again.

Between the bands the crowd as entertained by DJ Matt Stock. He earned his fee whilst the headliners were being set up. He picked some cracking tunes and managed to get the capacity crowd to sing along and get their hands in the air whilst we were waiting. He really managed to keep the atmosphere hot and expectant.

Just after 9:30 a timer appeared on the screen and the countdown clock started. For the next four and a half minutes we listened to “Kickstart My Heart”. Motley Crue provided the background music as the cameras picked out the crowd, who were loving it. The timer ran out and the Bowling for Soup theme song came on, another wait. However, as that ditty ended the band appeared. “Emily” kicked off the show, always a favourite, then they blasted into “My Wena”. If you’ve never seen Bowling for Soup and are wondering, yup, “My Wena” is about exactly what you think it is about.

That’s Bowling for Soup. Nobody buys their records for deep meaningful lyrics and complex musical arrangements. This is juvenile, high school rock at its finest and Bowling for Soup are pretty much the finest exponents of that type of music. Each song is a three minute story of loss, love and simply not giving a toss as long as there is a guitar and skateboard nearby. Admittedly, it's a bit strange watching guys in their mid 50’s reminisce about high school and young love, but as most of the audience fit that demographic it pretty much works great.

Bowling for Soup are from Texas and, as they rock through 2004’s “Ohio (Come Back to Texas) they invite fellow Texans, The Vandoliers back on stage, as the end of the song approaches The Vandoliers take over the instruments and complete the song and do it well. Nice touch and a bit entertaining, I thought.

The set is a sing-a-long fans dream, “Life After Lisa” and “The Last Rock Show” keep the night going and the fans happy. The band really build up an energy into their songs, but don’t maintain that for any length of time. After every song there is a long chat with the crowd, lots of “Glasgow” being called out. For me, that just takes the momentum out the show. It's great to have a chat with the crowd, but it would be good too to have two or three songs blasting one the back of one another before the chat. The biggest culprit for that one was “Punk Rock 101” a real fan favourite. The band stopped halfway through for a bit of chat, before going on to finish the song off long after they had started it.

I mentioned tonight was a family affair. My kids loved Bowling for Soup long before they could talk properly - Phineas and Ferb was a much watch for my kids who loved hearing it live.

Towards the end of the set lead singer, Jaret, spoke about his challenges with mental health. This was an unexpected moment of seriousness in the show. It was also a really important and connecting moment. The majority of the audience were male, the majority of suicide attempts are by men. It's always good when a rocker raises their own issues, Jake Burns from Stiff Little Fingers is great at doing this too; if that connects with one person in the audience and they talk, then the singer has done a great job. Well don Jaret.

“The Girl All the Bad Guys Want” bring the set to a bouncing close. The band don’t go off, instead they sit on chairs on stage, with their BFS Bar backdrop, for a drink and a rest. Jaret goes on to explain stairs to the dressing room and dodgy hips are not a good combo for the guys, so a rest on the stage it is.

Inevitably, “1985” finishes the show. This is a fantastic song and, despite not having been written by the band, it sums up the whole Bowling for Soup manifesto perfectly.

As the house lights come up, there are many in the audience who were smiling but clearly sympathising with the hip concerns. There were also a very large number of under 30s in the hall, who were leaving equally happy. Their memories of high school and first love are clearly much more recent, but, perhaps, not too different to those in the songs we have all enjoyed together. As we got in the car, I looked at my own kids and wondered what their memories will be in 10 years’ time, and would those still connect with the Bowling for Soup take? I suspect they will.

Tonight was a great night out with three great bands. My gigging year has got of to a late but fantastic start.