A pop punk tour de force rolled into Leeds on Saturday with 'Dollyrots', 'Forever The Sickest Kids' and veterans 'A', but I was only there for one band. With a 16 year history, 10 albums, and a new one due to be released next year, tonight I was going to see Bowling For Soup, as they brought their 'Just Can't Get Rid of Us' show to Leeds. I'd been waiting about 8 years for this gig, ever since I heard one of my (now favourite songs) 'Girl All the Bad Guys Want' on the radio as a kid, and finally I'd get to hear it live.
The 'Dollyrots' kicked off the show, but I'm not going to lie I didn't want to see them so I went to the show late just as 'A' were getting on stage. You might be thinking, like I was when i first heard they were supporting, "I'm sure I've heard of them but I just can't remember who they are...." Listen here and here. Remember them now?? Playing through a setlist of old and new songs, they were pretty good, especially for a band that seemed to have fallen off the radar about 7 years ago. Finishing their set they promised they would be back next year, which might be a good gig to check out for some old school pop punk.
Forever the Sickest Kids were up next, who never fail to play a good show. The cheer they got when they took to the stage was nearly as loud as the one for the headliners, which showed the love that the crowd had for them. Playing through some of their older hits, 'My Worst Nightmare', 'Woah Oh!' as well as a couple of new songs off their new album due to be released in February, they showed great energy and really got the crowd in a good mood. They encouraged the crowd to throw their clothes on stage as they had a photoshoot with 'Kerrang' right after the show and they would wear anything they got for it. The crowd went wild throwing up anything they could, the band got swamped with hats, hoodies, tee shirts, scalves and even a few pairs of knickers, which they all proceeded to put on while singing their final song 'Shes a lady'. They also promised to be back in the UK next year, and if you haven't seen them live yet, you definatly need to, you won't be dissapointed.
They were always going to be overshadowed by the headliners though, and as the lights dimmed and Parry Grip's 'Here come's Bowling For Soup' tune started up there excitmement in the air was immense. The band walked on stage to a huge cheer as they kicked into 'Star Song' and from their it was like a trip down pop punk memory lane, one big sing along from start to finish. Chris the lead guitarist was having fun with the crowd all night, doing tricks with his plectrums, like throwing them up over his head, catching them and continuing to play, which worked most of the time, and Jaret was clearly showing how pop punk he really was, swinging his guitar round his neck while playing, the classic move of any good pop punk group.
A band with ten albums were never going to be able to play all their greatest hits but the songs they did play did not dissapoint. They played through all their singles, with the music videos playing on a large screen behind them, which was sometimes a little depressing to see how much older and fatter, Jaret i'm looking at you, the band had got since all that time ago, but they still hadn't lost that Bowling For Soup sound or humour. Anyone that has listened to even one BFS song knows they have a great sense of humour, which was shown throughout the gig. Stopping in the middle of 'Punk Rock 101' for a "Bowling For Soup Photo Oppourtunity" which involved the band walking to either side of the stage and striking poses while Cee-Lo Green's 'Fuck You' played, before they jumped back into the end of the song. They also stopped to tell stories, and like any good old school pop punk band there was a large amount of 'Ass, Farting, Tits and blowjob ' jokes, for the crowd to enjoy. The highlight for me though was always going to be 'Girl All the Bad Guys Want', and they didn't dissapoint, I hurt my throat from singing it so loud, I haven't stopped singing this song since the gig either. The band came back onstage after playing '1985', a cover of 'SR-71', close friends of the band, to sing one final song 'A Really Cool Dance Song'. The first song on their latest album, a catchy and as the title suggest, fun song to dance to, the crowd loved it, dancing and singing along. As the band handed their instruments over to the roadies to finish the song, waved to the crowd and walked off stage with the song still playing, I knew it had been worth the 8 year wait to see them perform live. The third group of the night to promise to be back in the UK next year, with an acousitc and full band show, I'll definatly be seeing them again. I'm just upset that after all these years liking them, I still don't know what 'She wears a Two-Way' means.
Monday, 18 October 2010
Saturday, 9 October 2010
Hurts- Leeds- 3rd October 2010.
With a 16 year history as a gig venue, the Cockpit in Leeds has seen plenty of top bands grace its stage. The Killers, White Stripes and Fall Out Boy, have all played in the club under the railway bridge, and it is supposedly the place that the Kaiser Chiefs all met each other for the first time. But tonight everyone was there for one band, Hurts. Hailing from Manchester, the synthpop duo have collabarated with Kylie Minogue and already had a top 5 album in the UK with 'Happiness', despite only having thier first live gig earlier this year. They have also been one of the first bands to fully utilise Spotify to advertise their music in a new and exicting way, with an interactive audio novel soundtracked with songs from their album, just try searching 'A5M4' on Spotify.
The support came from Clare Maguire. Backed with a full band, her powerful voice and catchy songs, were a great opener for the night. I don't like reviewers who compare one band to another but if I had to, I'd say she was a cross between Marina Diamandis and Florence Welch. Check her out here.
The crowd were here for Hurts though and as the lights went dark for the second time of the night, you could feel the excitement in the air. As Theo and Adam took to the stage, omnimous music played, setting the dark and almost eeire tone for the night, before they opened with their first song 'Unspoken'. With no guitars, the band are backed by just one other keyboard player and one other vocalist who I think definatly deserves a mention. He stood statuesque throughout the entire gig, calling for one member of the audience to ask Theo: "Is that fella behind you a robot?". When it was his turn to shine however, he proved he was all human, as his booming voice filled the room, which was one of the highlights of the gig as he sang the main part to the hidden album track 'Verona', getting a round of applause before the song had even finished. It was so good he managed to silence the audience. I have never heard it so quiet in the Cockpit as when he finished singing, everyone was in awe of him. Theo didn't do too badly either, with his voice sounding exactly like it does on the album, faultless and beautiful, and even haunting at some points, accompying the music brilliantly. It's a strange thing to say but it was one of the first times I have been at a gig and realised that I was enjoying the music just as much as the singing.
Theo was visibily pleased at how much the crowd were reacting and singing the songs back to him, although only stopping on a few occasions to talk to the audience, at one point reminiscing last time he played at Leeds in a church and how someone was stood on a pew dancing "God wouldn't have been happy" he quipped. Adam on the other hand sat in silence, letting the music speak for itself. Playing through their entire album, as well as a few extra tracks, the band couldn't be faulted, and as they burst into one of my favourites from the album, one of the more 'danicer', is that a word?, tracks, 'Better Than Love', the crowd, including me, went wild. As it finished and they walked off stage the crys of "We want more" were ringing throughout the venue. The bad thing about seeing such a new band is that they didn't have anymore songs and so wasn't able to do an encore, however as the old showbusiness saying goes: Always leave them wanting more.
The support came from Clare Maguire. Backed with a full band, her powerful voice and catchy songs, were a great opener for the night. I don't like reviewers who compare one band to another but if I had to, I'd say she was a cross between Marina Diamandis and Florence Welch. Check her out here.
The crowd were here for Hurts though and as the lights went dark for the second time of the night, you could feel the excitement in the air. As Theo and Adam took to the stage, omnimous music played, setting the dark and almost eeire tone for the night, before they opened with their first song 'Unspoken'. With no guitars, the band are backed by just one other keyboard player and one other vocalist who I think definatly deserves a mention. He stood statuesque throughout the entire gig, calling for one member of the audience to ask Theo: "Is that fella behind you a robot?". When it was his turn to shine however, he proved he was all human, as his booming voice filled the room, which was one of the highlights of the gig as he sang the main part to the hidden album track 'Verona', getting a round of applause before the song had even finished. It was so good he managed to silence the audience. I have never heard it so quiet in the Cockpit as when he finished singing, everyone was in awe of him. Theo didn't do too badly either, with his voice sounding exactly like it does on the album, faultless and beautiful, and even haunting at some points, accompying the music brilliantly. It's a strange thing to say but it was one of the first times I have been at a gig and realised that I was enjoying the music just as much as the singing.
Theo was visibily pleased at how much the crowd were reacting and singing the songs back to him, although only stopping on a few occasions to talk to the audience, at one point reminiscing last time he played at Leeds in a church and how someone was stood on a pew dancing "God wouldn't have been happy" he quipped. Adam on the other hand sat in silence, letting the music speak for itself. Playing through their entire album, as well as a few extra tracks, the band couldn't be faulted, and as they burst into one of my favourites from the album, one of the more 'danicer', is that a word?, tracks, 'Better Than Love', the crowd, including me, went wild. As it finished and they walked off stage the crys of "We want more" were ringing throughout the venue. The bad thing about seeing such a new band is that they didn't have anymore songs and so wasn't able to do an encore, however as the old showbusiness saying goes: Always leave them wanting more.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)