Page 50 - Black Velvet Magazine Issue 106

BV106 pg50-53 BFS.qxp_BV106 pg 50 08/05/2022 02:42 Page 1

BlackVelvetMagazine.Com - 50

BOWLING FOR SOUP / LIT / THE DOLLYROTS – BIRMINGHAM O2 ACADEMY, 16.04.22
Originally billed as ‘Surf The UK Tour’, Bowling For Soup booked eight shows at seaside towns such as Blackpool, Bournemouth and Torquay,
bringing with them Orange County legends Lit and female-fronted three-piece The Dollyrots. Luckily for us, three extra shows were added due to de-
mand – in Birmingham. London and Glasgow.
It’s a sunny Saturday and the perfect day
to see these three bands rock the Academy.
The Dollyrots are frequent openers at Bowling
For Soup shows, so chances are you’ve seen
them before – and are more than happy to
see them again. Kicking off with ‘My Best
Friend’s Hot’, their punchy, upbeat songs are
delightfully fresh and pleasing to the ear.

They tell us they’re from the land of palm trees and sunshine, and they definitely bring
the sun with songs such as ‘Twist Me To The Left’, which makes you just want to dance
and jive around. They’ve been a band for 20 years, but show no signs of slowing down,
and are still on the rise. Their setlist includes a song from their new album ‘Down The
Rabbit Hole’, ‘Too Fun For My Health’, though we think seeing The Dollyrots live is great
for your health – you’ll burn some calories and have the best time.
It's been eight long years since Lit last came to the UK. It’s hard to believe it’s been
that long, although it has definitely been a while and we’ve missed seeing them. We im-
mediately kick ourselves for not checking YouTube for some videos before the show to
remind ourselves how energetic they are. Almost as soon as they get on stage they jump
in the air (and we’re not quite ready with our camera!). As soon as ‘Four’ kicks into gear,
we’re reminded of what we’ve most definitely missed. Lit know how to write bad-ass tunes
that have a guitar-driven, punk rock edge, but retain melodic choruses. ‘Zip-Lock’ and
‘Miserable’ (the latter which sees the audience light up their cell phones) are just two of
the classic hits that made Lit a success in the 90s, while the four-piece introduce us to
next single ‘Mouth Shut’, which looks to follow in their footsteps.

CONCERTS