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What a line up, maybe not the usual suspects but definitely who you would find on every contemporary punk ROCK fans most wanted list at the Manchester Academy. The Feds, provided decent opening entertainment before being aided and abetted by Feable Weiner who took to the stage impressing the dudes and babes with tunes from their ‘most triumphant’ debut album, ‘Dear Hot Chick’. Opening with the Feable Weiner theme tune they took the audience on an ‘excellent adventure’ with their upbeat tunes ‘Sally Be’, ‘Strawberry Debutante’, ‘Handjabs’, ‘7th Grade’ and the Bill And Ted inspired ‘San Deem Us Ready’. This ‘most excellent’ report was something very special with the boys closing the night with ‘Lameface’. Leaving the ‘Party San’ crowds appetite wetted for the Texan headliners Bowling For Soup. Could these be the next Fab 4? They have the hair, they have the potential and they have the fans. Imagine….The Feables? Some people think ‘no way’, but a true Feable Weiner fan would say ‘yes way and party on dudes!’
Bowling For Soup on their second return to the city, knew exactly ‘where to begin’ to strike a chord with the Manchester crowd. They had the set list ‘all figured out’. It was top ten pin Bowling For Soup from the word go rocking on to the stage with the upbeat track ‘My Hometown’ and straight into ‘Emily’ and without pause for applause, rolling into’ The Last Rock Show’. The Bowling For Soup faithful were rocking and rolling but were still standing, after just experiencing three strikes in a row proving these Texans to be no turkeys. The boys had confidence in new material with ‘1985’ and ‘Ohio (Come Back To Texas)’. The bands unique rendition of Britney’s ‘Baby One More Time’ was once again included in the set. However, Jaret was not the ‘lone star’ Texan in the band as the crowd experienced the typical onstage banter between Jaret, Chris and Erik. The band were accompanied by two, giant inflatable, devil, rock hands beside the amps on the introduction for ‘Punk Rock 101’. The first encore of the night was the creative cover ‘Summer of 69’ followed by the Ramones classic ‘I Wanna Be Sedated’. When you thought they ‘really might be gone’ they came back with ‘Girl All The Bad Guys Want’. Whatever 2005 brings, Bowling For Soup is the band ‘all the bad girls want’ to return to Manchester.
Kim Davies - 24th March 2005