Page 44 - Black Velvet Rock Magazine Issue 104

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BOWLING FOR SOUP / SIMPLE PLAN / NOT UR
GIRLFRENZ – BIRMINGHAM O2 ACADEMY, 12.02.20
It’s a Wednesday evening and anyone would
think everyone had taken the day off work/school as,
when we get to the venue just before 7pm, the
queues are a mile long. It takes some time getting
in, in fact Not Ur Girlfrenz are already on stage by
the time we do. The teenage Texan three-piece per-
form songs from their 2018-released EP, ‘New Kids
In America’, newer single ‘Song About You’ and cov-
ers of ‘I’m Not Okay’ (My Chemical Romance) and
‘Wannabe’ (Spice Girls). While we love their version
of ‘I’m Not Okay’, we’re not quite as keen on the
Spice Girls cover as it seems a little too poppy and
weak. The girls’ own songs fare much better. They’ve
got some catchy tunes, with ‘Game Over’ and ‘No
One Asked You Anyway’ having instant hooks.
Maren Alford, in particular, is a future superstar on
the drums. She already has the stage presence and
hits her kit hard. Vocalist and guitarist Liv Haynes is
suffering with a cold, but sings well regardless – al-
though is a little quiet when talking in between songs.
Liv’s sister Gigi, two years younger than Liv, owns
the bass as well, and even though it’s early days for
the band, with Bowling For Soup’s Jaret Reddick
managing and mentoring them, they should go far.
The last time Simple Plan played Birmingham
Academy was when it was the Carling Academy
down Dale End in 2008 so now, 12 years later, to say
we’re eager to see them is an understatement. It’s
been a long time coming but the wait is worth it as
they launch into a set that is pop-rock heaven. ‘I’d
Do Anything’, ‘Jump’ and ‘Shut Up!’ are all nuggets
of exhilaration, vibrant and full of life. Frontman
Pierre Bouvier barely stands still, and, as with the
song, they all ‘Jump’ up and down numerous times.
They tell the crowd they’re still making music and still
putting out records before playing a slightly more re-
cent track, ‘Boom!’, while newer track ‘Where I Be-
long’, a song they recorded with State Champs,
which also features We The Kings, is another high-
energy treat. It’s great to see that Simple Plan are
still doing what they do so well, and show no signs
of slowing down.
After their intro of ‘Here Comes Bowling For
Soup’, Jaret Reddick, Chris Burney, Gary Wiseman
and Rob Felicetti arrive on stage performing ‘Suck-
erpunch’. Following on from our Steel Panther gig a
few days earlier, Bowling For Soup are also a band
not to be taken seriously. They too like to combine
music with madness. While ‘Suckerpunch’ sees the
band performing quite seriously, it’s not long before
they interject their songs with comical jokes. We spot
frontman Jaret look over to bassist Rob Felicetti as
he does what looks like a half an inch jump. A while
later he tells the crowd it’s great touring with Simple
Plan as they can do all the jumps. “We are the great-
est band that ever lived,” we’re told. Crowd partici-
pation gets going when ‘Ohio (Come Back To Texas)’
is played, with the band urging everyone to sway
their arms along. “If the person next to you doesn’t
do that they’re a total cunt,” says Jaret. Not Ur Girl-
frenz join the band on stage for part of the song.
‘We never play new shit because we know you don’t like that,” Jaret says before they make an exception and play their new single ‘Alexa Bliss’,
which is doing well in the charts. It’s no wonder as it’s a cracking tune. From that they go straight into ‘The Bitch Song’ before Jaret yells ‘Storm the
castle’, a phrase they came up with on a previous tour as something they hear being yelled over here. They have a comedy section where each
member of Bowling For Soup tells a joke (Gary wins), and the band cover AC/DC’s ‘Shoot To Kill’ and Motley Crue’s ‘Kickstart My Heart’ after their
own ‘Phineas And Ferb Theme’. We’re told to boo every time they say another UK town name, but cheer when they say a U.S. one – or Birmingham.
While the band aim to make people laugh and have a good time and succeed in doing so, they add a cover of Blue October’s ‘HRSA’, a song relating
to mental health (‘HRSA’ standing for high risk of self abuse), with Jaret getting serious for a second and telling the audience to talk to someone if they
are hurting, and if they don’t have struggles to be a good listener. He mentions his own struggles that he opened up about a few years ago. It’s a
poignant moment in the set.
With ‘Punk Rock 101’ and their well-known photo opportunity, the band’s set ends with their SR-71 cover ‘1985’ that they made their own, and ‘A
Really Cool Dance Song’. With lots of sparkly pyro adding to the immense blasts of CO2 throughout the show, and then streamers for the finale, it’s
a really cool ending to a really cool show.
YYYYY
Shari Black Velvet
Jaret Reddick (Bowling For Soup) Photo By Shari Black Velvet
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