Punk rock never ends for Bowling For Soup as they played their second to the last leg of The Hangover You Don’t Deserve 20th Anniversary Tour at The Van Buren in Phoenix, Arizona last Saturday night. Fans from all over the valley rocked out to the entirety of the album plus some of their greatest hits. The addition of Adam and the Metal Hawks and Make Out was the cherry on top of the night, making this show one of the best pop punk concerts that ever landed in Arizona this year.
Despite being new in the industry, Adam and the Metal Hawks are undoubtedly one of the best opening acts I have ever witnessed in my entire concert life. Their antics and their showmanship had kept the punk rock audience on their toes as they showed them how to properly open a concert for a band like Bowling For Soup. One of the notable moments of their act was when they sang a mashup cover of “The Wheels on the Bus” and “Believer” by Imagine Dragons, a very wild song selection that they made work. Adam, the frontman of the band, has an undeniable vocal range that would make him very likable by this type of audience, as they also delighted the crowd with their version of “The Middle” by Jimmy Eat World, one of Arizona’s very own. It’s safe to say that they made a very lasting impression being the first band to perform, and I am pretty sure they made new fans that started looking up their socials, including me, after that night.
Make Out also stepped in to hype up the crowd before the main act. Hailing from Providence, Rhode Island, the trio also made their mark as they stood out because of their energy and fast-paced songs. They performed their popular hits like “Crazy” and “Ride It Out” to name a few. One song that stood out to the crowd in which they sang along was the band’s cover of “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers. I have never seen anyone inside the venue that never sang even a single line from that cover song. Obviously, it was an anthem to many and one of this genre’s most popular songs, and to sing that in front of rock fans, it totally hyped the whole place.
Now it’s time for the godfathers of punk rock, Bowling For Soup. Their stage set was very memorable as it was dominated by yellow and black. They wore matching outfits with their last names at the back. But I only counted three, the missing person was Chris, the band’s lead guitarist, who had previously announced that he cannot continue the tour because he needed to prioritize his health as it was at risk.
Despite lacking a member, Jaret, the band’s frontman and guitarist, took the role of shredding while delivering all the songs from the album. His banters with the other two members and the crowd made the night special as they were very interactive with the people in attendance. In the middle of the set, they called a fan on stage to spin a wheel that has the names of their hit songs. It ended up landing on the song “Emily” which they gladly obliged to play before their Phoenix fans.
One of the highlights of the show was when Rob, Gary and the entire crew of BFS setup chairs on stage and sat in front, sharing one bottle of booze while Jaret was singing the song “Friends o’ Mine” which he dedicated to all the people on stage that they spend their tour life with. He then jokingly compared themselves to other bands that they never leave the stage before the encore as it involves a lot of stairs, and he hated it.
I never thought I’d say this but, one of the highly anticipated songs in their set was actually a soundtrack from a cartoon which is the theme song of “Phineas and Ferb.” Even though they have an “older” crowd, everyone enjoyed singing along to a very short version of the song with Adam from AMH helping Jaret with the vocals. They closed out the show with their hit “Girls All The Bad Guys Want” which left the crowd jumping up and down from start to finish.
One thing’s for sure, when attending a Bowling For Soup show, you’ll never leave the venue dissatisfied and you’ll for sure cannot wait to attend the next regardless if it’s your first BFS show or not. The band, despite not having one of their key members, put on a show that gathered all the elder punk rock fans all over metro Phoenix in one place.
GALLERY: Bowling For Soup at The Van Buren in Phoenix (October 26, 2024)
