07/19/24
One would assume that Debbie from the hit “1985” would be in her 50’s or 60’s by now. It’s hard to guess if she still longs for the era. Her kids, teenagers during the 2004 rendition, would now be in their 30’s, certainly feeling that same hit of nostalgia that their mom had 20 years ago. That same feeling of 2004 returned to Hays on Friday night as the Pop-Punk-Emo returned with Bowling For Soup’s 20th Anniversary Tour of their 2004 album “A Hangover You Don’t Deserve”
Full Gallery HERE
Starting the evening off were the New York punk rock sextet Keep Flying. It’s quite common that I become fans of the opening acts. Since the show on Friday, I’ve been jamming their set through the weekend. Hitting the stage with the energy of Blink-182, with the horns of…*insert sax and trombone fronted ska band here*… and the spirited insight into mental health, relationships, and everything in-between, they made new fans by giving everything they had in the short time they were given.
Covering songs over the course of 3 EPs and a full length album, they perfectly choreographed their setlist with genuine bangers in “Left Behind“, “Candy Cane Forest“, and “High Cholesterol” started their show off. Including a short cover of the X-Men Animated Series theme song sent shivers down my superhero nerd spine, not to mention a subtle Firefly reference from the back of a pedalboard made me feel amusingly at home. Closing off with the ballad “Surviving the Night” brought everyone back down to the ground in a humbling moment before signing off with “198 Broadway“. Keep Flying feels like they’re going to keep doing just that, flying higher and higher in glorious fashion.
Eternal Boy (perhaps a far distant relative to the college roommates sisters aunt of Fall Out Boy’s third cousin twice removed, maybe? Probably not…) followed up a fire set with more pop punk glory. Releasing their new Album “Little Room To Breathe“, released on 07/19, they peppered the growing crowd with a couple songs from the new album, including “Version of Myself” and “Trust Bad Luck“, even including a rocking cover of Taylor Swift’s “We Are Never Getting Back Together“. Harder rocking than Keep Flying, presenting a late 90’s/early 00’s pop-punk sound, their fast paced hits pumped the audience up with each consecutive hit.
The Pittsburgh, PA trio started with their 2017 Sophomore album, they jumped out with “Freak Show” and title track “Awkward Phase“, before blasting the crowd with newer tracks and then dropping into the bop “Katie” (written for lead singer Rishi Bahl’s now-wife) off of their debut album “Eternal Boy“. Finishing up their set, with “Clean Slate“, “Growing Pains“, and finally “Party Foul“, this trio had the crowd in the palm of their hand throughout the evening, even popping back up later in a switcheroo with headliner’s Bowling For Soup.
I do believe it has been confirmed that the name Bowling for Soup is in regard to the act of Bowling to obtain Soup, as opposed to Bowling in support of Soup. And while I will always wonder what their preferred type of soup is, I feel comfortable knowing that they were finally able to come to Hays, not once, but twice in three days. Starting out their AHYDD 20th Anniversary tour in Hays wasn’t intended, but after the show on the 19th sold out, a second show was added on the 17th to start their tour. Crowds in Cleveland will look at the tour dates and go…”Why did they play in Hays, KS twice? And where is Hays?” Maybe. I’m sure there are people in Cleveland that know about Hays, how am I supposed to know. But I digress. Playing in Hays on night one, Kansas City the next night, and then back to Hays for the third night is a hell of a way to start a tour.
The start of this tour did not feature lead guitarist Chris Burney as he is on a “Rest Until Further Notice” order from his doctor. Hopefully during this tour, he’ll be able to join his bandmates. Playing as a trio through this segment of the tour provided everyone a somewhat different take on this album. Playing an album in its entirety is nothing new for bands celebrating anniversary tours. This is the first anniversary tour I’ve been to that has played the album in order, which is comforting, and acknowledged by the band as they introduced the album to the Hays crowd. Starting the album off with some of their hit songs (due to top-loading the album), then some songs that no one has heard of (their words), and finally closing the night out with crowd favorites.
I’d heard “1985” many many times before, only finding out recently that it was originally an SR-71 song, and prior to this show, I hadn’t actually sat down to listen to the album in it’s entirety, but made a point to prior to this show, and part of me wishes I hadn’t. There are so many great songs off this album that have stuck with me since listening to it, including “Almost“, “Get Happy“, “Ohio (Come Back to Texas)” and “Shut-Up and Smile“. “My Hometown” hit me especially hard as getting out of one’s hometown is always the dream. I can only imagine that hearing this album for the first time live would no doubt have ingrained in me the same feeling I got after listening to Keep Flying earlier. Throughout the show, the light-hearted show touched on everything from the album being older than about 60% of the audience jokingly, possibly being the child of lead singer Jaret Reddick if you are between the ages of 20 and 25 (maybe, possibly, who knows). Everyone took it all in and reveled in the nostalgia of the album. During “Ohio (Come Back to Texas)” Eternal Boy came in and took over for Bowling for Soup for part of the song to rapturous applause.
In-between songs, one lucky fan came on stage and was able to spin a wheel with the chance to win some merch, and select what song they were going to play next. After winning a hat, and a t-shirt, he finally landed on “Emily” and was granted the opportunity to do a sick drum solo before returning to the crowd. Can’t beat that! After playing the entire album, hits and songs no one had heard of, they took the time for a short break before closing out the evening with the “Theme Song to Phineas and Ferb” and “Girl All The Bad Guys Want“. Bowling for Soup continues to build an incredible catalog of work and keeping the pop-punk nostalgia of the 00’s alive and kicking. They have a hell of a tour across the states and into Europe celebrating the album over the next couple months.
