Nottingham is littered with waves of pop-punk and rock band merch, as 30 years worth of the ‘weird kids’ unite for an enormous celebration of everything that is right with the alternative scene. Bowling For Soup are truly a band who have spanned generations.
Bowling For Soup
Motorpoint Arena Nottingham – 13 February 2025
Words And Photography: Matt Pratt
Bowling For Soup’s authentic and humorous records have remained crowd favourites for well over two decades. You may think, as a band who saw the most part of their musical stardom in the late ’90s and early noughties, that this evening’s crowd would be an ageing gaggle of tired millennials staying up past their bedtime.
Whilst that demographic certainly had its representation (myself included), there were also plenty of younger fans littering the audience. This is a result of the band’s efforts to remain visible to the younger generations throughout their career.
While many will know them for their adolescence-fuelled, pop-punk classics, those who were not around 20 years ago may, in fact, know them as the voice behind the Phineas And Ferb theme song or from Reddick’s huge TikTok presence.
Had you spent any significant time in the US, you may even recognise Reddick as the voice of Chuck-E-Cheese, a popular American fast-food chain mascot.
Regardless of how Bowling For Soup came into your life, if you have enjoyed them at any age, they will no doubt remain a nostalgic memory of a good time band. A feeling which charged the atmosphere of one of the band’s largest UK tours to date.
As the band took to the stage, there was one notable absentee. Chris Burney, a founding member of the band, has had to step back from his touring duties as a result of health concerns which became apparent this past summer. It was a great shame not to have his vibrant personality on stage this evening, but personal health must come first.
Keen for the show to go on, Burney has given the band his blessing to continue without him, and they did not let the retirement of their good friend weigh down the performance.
There is always a risk with a band whose most popular hits found fame so long ago. They may have moved on from the immature tales of their youth and thrown favour to their more recent releases, which may resonate more with the people that they have become.
No such concern tonight, as the band indulgently promised to play what most would insist is their best album, A Hangover You Don’t Deserve, in honour of its 20th anniversary. A fact that was apparently lost on a number of fans who have been aggressively requesting “Stacey’s Mom” in the lead-up to the show. The Fountains Of Wayne song has long been misattributed to Bowling for Soup despite their protests.
With a band so deeply ingrained in many of the audience’s memories, there are plenty who would have booked their visit with little thought to their material, trusting that they once loved the band for good reason. It is through these individuals that you could truly experience the joy that Bowling For Soup generate.
With each hit that rolled out of the speakers, shock and ecstasy plastered their faces as the nostalgia hit, feelings and experiences of youthful years flooding back. 
It was a veritable greatest-hits show from the pop-punk pioneers. Timeless classics Almost, 1985, Ohio, Last Call Casualty and Ridiculous rolled out the speakers as fresh as if they had been released last week, with the additional benefit of 20 years worth of fans belting the lyrics back.
It would be an easy cliche to insist the band performed with the same energy as they had in the early noughties. However, no band owns the fact that they have aged quite like Bowling For Soup. There are no on-stage backflips or daring ascents up speaker rigs. Instead, Reddick proudly celebrated their achievement of playing two songs back to back without any breaks. 
The show was peppered with entertaining skits between songs, the band leaning on their sharp wit and extensive experience of dealing with the unique British sense of humour. It is the sort of show where you could be relentlessly bullied and be thankful for it.
Reddick regaled in local memories of warm beer, Robin Hood and the subpar showers of Rock City, the city havingclearly left a mark on the frontman. He was pleased to announce that the UK has, in recent visits, upped its beer game and now offers a temperature of beverage more fitting to his American sensibilities. 
Late into the set a fan was invited up to stage, on what was revealed to be her birthday, for an opportunity to spin the wheel for the next song. Through a small amount of manipulation from Reddick, the lucky fan received her choice of song, Life After Lisa, which she witnessed from the comfort of the on-stage bar. What more could you ask for on your birthday?
Despite all of the humour and silliness, the show wasn’t without its sincerity. Prior to their performance of Down For The Count, Reddick was sure to highlight the importance of mental health awareness and self-care.
He pointed out that he is probably the last person anyone would expect to have struggled with mental health, given his spirited on-stage persona, highlighting that this can happen to anyone and not only to care for one another but remembering to care for yourself too.
As we approached the final tracks of A Hangover You Don’t Deserve, I began to wonder how the show would be wrapped up. Would it come to a close with the final album song? As expected, the band performed the last track of the album Friends O’ Mine and departed from the front of the stage to the bar at the back of the stage.
Reddick later explained that they would have left the stage in accordance with encore tradition had there not been stairs to contend with. 
They returned to a performance of the Phineas And Ferb theme song Today Is Gonna Be A Great Day, a playful, childish delight aptly reflecting the mood in the room. The show concluded with Girl All The Bad Guys Want, paired with a procession of confetti cannons and thanks from the band as they wrapped up their performance.
One needs not seek a deeper and more philosophical meaning of the show than the ear-to-ear grins on the crowd’s faces as they depart into the cold Nottingham night. The evening was a sparkling mutual celebration of the crowd’s love for a timeless band and the band’s appreciation for the unending support of their lifelong fans.
Bowling For Soup have come along for the ride with us. They’ve grown as we’ve grown and they’ve always met us where we’re at.
I don’t feel like I’m witnessing a famous band at their show. I feel like I’m spending time with an old friend, and I will be sure to catch up with that friend once more the next time they’re in town.
