Bowling For Soup take fans back to 2004 with a fun filled performance of ‘A Hangover You Don’t Deserve’ in a cold Scottish Capital.
February 6th, 2025 - Edinburgh
20 years on from studio album number 5, it’s no surprise there’s still so much joy surrounding the release of ‘A Hangover You Don’t Deserve’. Bowling for Soup dropped one of the most fun filled and iconic records in pop punk that to this day is still very much relevant to the lives of fans old and new. Celebrating the release 2 decades on shows the love that’s still there for the band and album. Performing in its entirety, the Texans hit the road across the UK with friends in Magnolia Park and icons Wheatus.
Day two and the tour rolls in to Edinburgh for a sold-out show in O2 Academy. Having brought the party to Glasgow on last year’s headline tour, it’s a nice chance of scenery to take the trip to capital for such a special occasion. A never-ending queue of dedicated followers surrounds the venue with many braving the Scottish cold for a number of hours.
Between each set we had the incredible treat of Kerrang Radio DJ Jon Mahon spin some tunes to warm up the vocals ahead of the show. From tiny clubs to big stages at festivals, Jon has done it all and there are few better names out there who can work a room quite like he does. Mixing in some dance with modern alternative classics, Jon DJ’s in a very special way – I mean how many people would you see mix The Offspring & Pendulum together?
Before the tour began, Jon released his debut single ‘You Got This’, kick starting his music making career in a big way. Tonight, he performed that track for only the second time live – it just shows the talent he can produce when it sounds as solid live as it does through a speaker.
Photo by Craig McInnes
On to tonight’s bands and first to the stage comes a band who have come along great strides since they burst on the scene in 2018 – Florida’s Magnolia Park are the perfect fit to open any show. Their blend of pop punk & metalcore sets them aside from many other bands in the scene. Straight on stage they request the Edinburgh crowd to open up the pit, despite taking a few attempts, the crowd spark into life making some good action in the middle. Kicking off the set with ‘Misfits’, taken off the 2022 record ‘Baku’s Revenge’ setting the tone for what was to come in the next 30 minutes of action. Looking around the room to see a lot of fans of the band was a refreshing reminder this band can bring a following to whatever tour they are on. Treating fans to an unreleased song ‘Crave’, if this is anything to go by then the new material is something to really look forward to. Everyone loves some Disney, even more so in this band as they throw in their cover of ‘I2I’ from ‘A Whole New Sound’.
On stage the energy never stops, singer Joshua Roberts encourages the crowd to get involved and asks for the crowd surfers to step up for ‘Shallow’ – speaking directly to the first-time surfers to tempt them into their first. Ask and you shall receive in Scotland see’s a surge of crowd surfer fly over the barrier to some cheers of others in the room. You can see the happiness spread across the faces of everyone on stage showing their gratitude to the effort put in from their Edinburgh faithful. Closing off their set with one of their most popular and hardest singles ‘Animal’. The first circle pit of the night kicks into action and the pit continues throughout securing some sick scenes for the big breakdown this song brings.
Magnolia Park continually show why they are so deserving of the slots they get and tonight was no different – their versatility makes them a stand out band and their live show is just as gripping.
Photo by Dave Piper
Following a quick change over, it was time for some pop punk royalty, to the Elder Emo’s at least – its time for Wheatus. These guys will always produce a fun live show no matter where they go, they’ll even throw in a surprise here and there and opening the show they drop a cover of ‘Growing on Me’ by The Darkness. “Just to clear things up, we are not The Darkness, I just really like them” laughs Brendan B Brown, introducing the show in a typical Wheatus way. Before jumping into the next song, Bredan announces the band will be back in the UK to celebrate 25 years of their self-titled debut record and will be playing it in full – taken off that record comes the next track and cover of ‘A Little Respect’, a song that brings out the unison in the room with a big singalong. An incredible atmosphere surrounds the full room, and we are only two songs in.
From 1999, to 2013 giving their Valentine LP record an outing with ‘Fourteen’ before heading straight into their 2012 single ‘Lemonade’. Comedy between songs just adds to why Wheatus are so fun to see live, even if you’re not fan, you are certain to be entertained one way or another showing exactly what kind of band they are.
Concluding their set with the iconic record the band remind the room that it turns 25 this year (yes we are old), ‘Hey, Mr Brown’ gets the sing along started before that iconic bucket hat comes out, its time for ‘Teenage Dirtbag’ – a song that was earlier admitted by Brenden the song wasn’t actually about his high school years. A song that been played in pubs and clubs worldwide and been sang at maximum volume gets that exact treatment tonight. Brenden stops to let the beautiful Scottish vocals take over for the “I’ve got two tickets to Iron Maiden baby” verse, a spine-tingling moment the whole band adore as you can tell by the smiles across every face. A set that was a joy to experience from one of the best bands to ever do it – 25 years and still going strong.
Photo by Dave Piper
For the final time of the night, Jon Mahon spins some more emo classics as Bowling for Soup’s incredible crew set the scene for tonight’s show. Jon’s ability to work a room never fails to amaze me every time I catch him behind the decks. Being in Scotland, it was only fitting that he closes on The Proclaimers classic, I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles).
The lights dimmer and the sound of Ghost ‘Spillways’ kicks in right before a cartoon backdrop appears on the big screen to the sound of ‘Here Comes Bowling for Soup’ as the band one by one usher themselves on stage to a deafening sound of cheers from the sold-out venue. Playing such an iconic record in full, the question remained pre-show what order we got the album in. Straight off the bat the boys kick in with ‘Almost’ and ‘Trucker Hat’ setting the momentum high in the venue. “Playing this record in order means we need to play this song next” says Jaret, eagle eyed Soup fans know the usual position in the set for ‘1985’ however for this occasion it was nice to hear this song earlier than usual. Jaret shares the little insight that it was bassist Rob Felicetti’s idea to play the record in running order.
Photo by Dave Piper
Photo by Dave Piper
‘Ohio (Come Back to Texas)’, a happy and upbeat song like most of Bowling for Soups tracks, comes with the deeper meaning of heartbreak for Jaret in his younger days – it’s a song that is sung with a lot of feeling from fans but also with smiles across their face as they do so. It’s a power that this band possesses in bulk, even with some painful meaning behind songs that can be related to by many, the happiness in the room from fans override that emotion and it just makes the room such a special place to be.
The celebration of hearing any album in full is such a joyous occasion, even more so when you get the chance to hear songs live that you either haven’t heard live before or songs you’re not used to hearing on the setlist – ‘Shut-Up and Smile’, ‘Next Ex Girlfriend’ and ‘A-Hole’ all raising the volume in the room before a big singalong to the amazing ‘My Hometown’. Prior to the tour kicking off, the release of Blink 182’s ‘The Rock Show’ came as a nice surprise to fans – queue the request from fans to play it live for the first time tonight, with no plans on the setlist, Jaret and co produce something special by giving the legendary song it’s first outing to an incredible response.
Continuing with the album playthrough, it’s not just music the brings joy to the Bowling for Soup live experience, the banter that comes with their performance tends to be unmatched in many respects. The way the band just bounce off each other, its clear to see this all just comes naturally to them all, you just never know when the quick-witted laughs will come out with these guys. Taking another break from the running order of the record, the band invite a fan on stage to spin the wheel of songs to select what comes next and to great cheers from the room ‘Punk Rock 101’ is next to send the Edinburgh crowd into a frenzy before commencing with the remainder of the album. Another staple of the record that is a rare live pick is the beautiful ‘Friends O’ Mine’, a song that celebrates the good people in your life and sticking together through good and bad times – the perfect occasion to play a song that means so much and to celebrate the importance of being together.
Photo by Dave Piper
Closing out the set in style with a song that many may not know had come from this band when watching the iconic Phineas & Ferb back in the day, ‘Today Is Gonna Be a Great Day’ brings back so many nostalgic memories of coming home from school to sit in from of TV with the Disney Channel on binging on such an iconic show. Whilst on the nostalgia train, tonight’s closing song is the reason I fell in love with this band, plays on Scuzz TV and Kerrang of ‘Girl All the Bad Guys Want’ with that iconic music video shaped the route I took to becoming a Bowling for Soup fan and brings back happier times seeing the band is some special locations with tonight being right up there with one of the best.
Tonight may have been missing the usual big classics of a BFS set, however it was all about celebrating one of the most notable records to grace pop punk. Hearing this record in full is such a special moment for both fans and band alike – it cements just how important this album remains in the eyes of the fans who have sung their hearts out for the entirety of the show. It’s a great time to be this band – a sell out tour in some of the biggest rooms they have played is a statement. Now sights will turn to their biggest ever headline show to date – Wembley.
Photo by Dave Piper
