When Bowling For Soup played in Brighton on their ‘Together Again! You’re Welcome’ tour, the show became notable for three reasons: the tour marked the last time guitarist Chris Burney would visit the UK as a touring musician; the band managed to hit the Sussex coast just as Storm Dennis hit and it was interesting to see fans of all ages and sizes struggling to navigate the seafront and actually get into the venue (at one point, it wasn’t even a guarantee it would be safe to leave once the gig was over), but most importantly – although nobody knew this at the time – this would be the last big night “out out” for many, since everything went into a lengthy pandemic lockdown just a few weeks later.
Tonight, six years on from that memorable night, they’re kicking off the UK leg of their ‘Bowl My Bones’ tour in sunny Margate. It’s been four years since the band were last here, and tonight, they’re co-headliners with Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls, who’ve just finished an absolute stormer of a set – one that BFS will almost certainly struggle to equal. As it turns out, they don’t even try. They approach their time on the huge stage in the same manner they would in a small club, and treat the sizeable crowd the same way they’d treat an audience of fifty.
Following a lengthy intro tape culminating with the BFS ‘Theme Song’, the band appear on stage and quickly launch into the power pop classic ‘Always’. The guitars are ragged – not entirely in tune – and the vocals are slightly lost. By the first chorus, things have levelled out and the track’s more melodic aspects begin to shine. As one of the band’s finest sing-alongs, it’s actually the perfect set opener to get most people onside. Then, without any fuss, they tear through an even better sounding ‘High School Never Ends’ – another cast-iron fan favourite – and ‘Emily’, another number which shows off frontman Jaret Reddick’s easy knack for a melodic hook.
It’s following the opening trilogy of admittedly great tracks that a few cracks start to show. Jaret looks at the audience and starts questioning the audio. Apparently, someone has attracted his attention and is pointing at their ears. It appears that nobody at the front can hear anything. This is thrown into further confusion by everything coming through fine near the back of the outdoor event space. The discussion about what to do continues for what feels like a painfully long time. Once the crowd seems satisfied, Jaret jokes about starting the show again, walks off stage, and comes back singing the BFS theme. All the while, the clock is ticking down to an early curfew…
After a rough and ready ‘Ohio’, Jaret questions the audio again, and he and bassist Gary go through a similar routine to earlier on. At this point, it isn’t clear whether there’s a genuine problem, or it’s just a misjudged BFS gag (some of the night’s lengthy banter – including a discussion about putting their penises into the electricity supply – misses the mark, and a joke about the Great White fire is definitely unwarranted). Much like before, it feels like an eternity before the band attempt another song. ‘Today Is Gonna Be A Good Day’ passes without incident, but has none of the memorable factors of the earlier numbers, and a speedy ‘Punk Rock 101’ starts well, but then seems to be aborted. Jaret tells the audience they’ve requested what comes next, and a bunch of people file onto the stage to the sound of The Proclaimers’ ‘500 Miles’ sourced from a backing tape. It’s not explained why this is happening – and it honestly smacks of a band playing for time. After the show’s previous setbacks, it’s also frustrating.
At the point where things start to look and feel…decidedly unprofessional, Bowling For Soup come back strongly with a great run of tracks. Predictably, their cover the Fountains of Wayne classic ‘Stacy’s Mom’ gets a huge response, and is greeted by a sea of mobile phones; following a passionate speech about mental health issues and looking out for each other, Reddick sounds great during the acoustic ‘Turbulence’ and ‘Friends o’ Mine’, and a genuine set highlight is supplied by the ever popular ‘Girl All The Bad Guys Want’, capturing the whole band in good form.
In between endless rounds of banter between Jaret, Rob and drummer Gary (whose kit sounds immense tonight) – there are hit and miss renditions of ‘Everybody’s Getting Old’, ‘Scope’ and ‘The Bitch Song’, complete with off-key guitar solos, before the encore sets everything back on track with a solid ‘Star’ and absolutely rousing ‘1985’ which, although not matching ‘High School…’ or ‘Girl All The Bad Guys Want’, still hits the spot tonight, ending the gig on a high.
On a good night, this casual, very genial approach to live performance really works for BFS, but on this occasion, they’re…just that little bit too casual. Bits of this show still resemble the BFS fun of previous years, but something that is obvious, however, even during the show’s better moments, is how much the arrangements really miss Chris. Stripped down to a single guitar, some of the best BFS arrangements lack the depth – and, a little too often, the melodic aspects – they need and deserve.
Jaret has always been very open about his mental health issues, and it’s clear that being on the road with his friends makes him happy. The validation he gets from the often devoted audiences really feeds into that, and since he obviously needs that to stay happy, he should keep trucking as long as he feels able. At this point, the BFS shows are obviously played on his own terms – after nearly three decades, he’s sort of earned that right. But, those about to see the band in 2026 – especially if they’ve not seen the band live previously – should certainly expect an experience that’s less than perfect.
Words by Lee Realgone
Photos by Katy
June 2026