‘YOU ASKED FOR IT’ NAUGHTIES POP-PUNK FAVOURITES TEAM UP FOR CO-HEADLINE TOUR

BOWLING FOR SOUP AND LESS THAN JAKE PLAY TWO MANCHESTER SELL OUTS | BY CRAIG HARSTON

The ‘You Asked For It‘ co-headline tour from two of North America’s most loved 00’s pop-punk icons finally landed in the UK this week. Less Than Jake and Bowling for Soup joined forces to bring the pop-punk tour of dreams. Bringing their dynamic collaboration to cities across the country, it was Manchester who were screaming out the loudest. Two sold out nights at Manchester Academy and we bring you what happened on night two.

Arriving just in time for Vandoliers, I’d not had chance to check them out beforehand but from what I saw I’ll be giving them a proper go in the future! I love it when an opening band plays like they’re headlining and Vandoliers gave it their all with their country-infused punk rock. Think Bowling For Soup if they had a baby with Flogging Molly.

Less Than Jake were up next and as ever they did not disappoint! I think this is the 10th time I’ve seen them -I’ve lost track now – and they were the highlight of the show. Opening strong with ‘Last One Out Of Liberty City‘, they played an energetic set including ‘All My Best Friends Are Metalheads‘, ‘Johnny Quest Thinks We’re Sellouts‘, ‘Plastic Cup Politics‘, ‘Look What Happened‘, ‘Nervous In The Alley‘ (possibly my favourite Less Than Jake song), ‘The Science Of Selling Yourself Short‘ and finishing equally strong with Gainesville Rock City. I was pleased they managed to fit in two songs from latest album Silver Linings – The High Cost Of Low Living and Lie To Me. Less Than Jake are one of my favourite bands so maybe I’m a little biased but they really should have been the headliners.

On the other hand Bowling For Soup were sadly a little disappointing. This was my fourth time seeing them but it felt like the fourth exact same show with only slight variations. They played for twice as long as Less Than Jake and it really felt like it with the amount of talking they did between songs. I like a bit of banter but not at the expense of more songs! And that ridiculous photo shoot bit halfway through Punk Rock 101 pisses me off every time! When they were playing they were really good. Songs such as ‘Emily’, ‘The Last Rock Show’, ‘The Bitch Song’, ‘High School Never Ends’, ‘Girl All The Bad Guys Want‘ and ‘1985‘ amongst others are great songs but I don’t think I’d go out of my way to catch them live again. It was also disappointing not to hear any tracks from their most recent album, Pop Drunk Snot Bread.

Thankfully the night was redeemed by picking up a tour exclusive copy of ‘Bait and Switch Vol. 1‘. A lovely black and pink splatter 7″ vinyl featuring each band covering one of the other bands songs. Bowling For Soup cover 2003’s ”The Science of Selling Yourself Short‘, which is good but not as good as the original. Less Than Jake cover 2006’s High School Never Ends, which again doesn’t quite live up to the original but is a decent ska version of the song none-the-less.

Overall, it was a bit of a disjointed gig experience. After such a strong opener with Vandoliers then that fantastic performance from Less Than Jake, it was a bit of an anti-climax by Bowling For Soup but for nostalgia purposes, it was quite the trip.

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