53° Preston

Bowling For Soup
The Dollyrots
Patent Pending

When American funny band Bowling For Soup's Preston show was announced I must admit I got a little bit excited!  This group was an influential band during my teenage years and I know I’m not the only one! Bowling For Soup formed in 1994. The Texan band soon began to make their place in the music world with achievements such as being nominated at the Grammy awards in 2003 for "Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals" with "girl all the bad guys want"  from their 2002 album Drunk Enough to Dance.

Tonight, The One Big Happy Tour comes to Preston and Bowling For Soup plan to drink, rock and party with us.

The night started off with means to go on, a packed venue in Preston's student area named "53 degrees" was filling to the rafters with punk rock fans ready to party! With a dimly lit room and the Simpsons theme tune Patent Pending kicks off the night. This young band is full of life and ready to grab the crowd by the balls and get them partying and they did this instantly. The band is really tight, well rehearsed and above all FUN! That's just what you want from a pop punk show, right?   Vocalist Joe Ragosta bounds around the stage with such life, you can tell he loves this just as much as the crowd and truly in his element. The band is the epitome of happy on stage; every member was wiggling to their track "Douche Bag" from their album ‘Second Family’ (you can request this track on Scuzz TV) with heavy pop punk riffs this song is intended to get you dancing. Patent Pending isn’t just all about being positive and happy, they slowed their set down with "One less heart to break"; this song talks about having someone there to talk to when you’re feeling shitty and low. This is what it’s all about.  These guys remind me of a younger Bowling For Soup and I expect they’re ones to watch. If you weren't at the show check them out at http://www.patentpendingmusic.com/

The Dollyrots is a female fronted band that has a very sassy punk rock vibe. Lead vocalist/ bassist Kelly Ogden has a unique voice and reminds me of a much sweeter Courtney Love. Luis Cabezas guitar/backing vox standing strong to her left, the pair really rock the stage and gel together. Their song “Hyperactive” makes you want to sway with every inch of you, they also played "Twist Me to the Left" which is a total party anthem and one can tell that Kelly Ogden loves this track as she rocked out with her bass. It took some time for The Dollyrots to grab the attention of Preston's crowd but by the end of their set they had the crowd rocking just as hard as they were. You can find The Dollyrots online at http://www.dollyrots.com

The audience eagerly awaits Bowling For Soup to take the stage. After all, this is what we’re all here for and we’re all ready to party!  The band walked on stage with "My Hometown" as their opener and they instantly had the crowd dancing. This song is a personal favourite and serves as a reminder of "getting the fu*k out of your home town" to achieve your goals. Setting the pace for the night they instantly rip into "High School Never Ends", with the fans going crazy the punk rock vibe is truly alive tonight.  Jaret Reddick is one hell of a front man who brings a smile to everyone's face and always manages to throw his guitar picks in the air and miss them, the man has style! After rocking their new single "Let’s Go To The Pub" they brought on their stage mini-bar and invited the boys from Patent Pending to sit and drink in the Bowling For Soup bar and this is the point in the show where it gets crazy. The banter on stage begins to flow and Bowling For Soup name themselves the band that waves! As they wave at the crowd it is reciprocated immediately by everyone in the building. The band play all the hits Ohio (Come Back to Texas), Almost, Punk Rock 101, Emily, Girl All the Bad Guys Want, 1985.The band love to play their classics and it shows. They close what was a brilliant night with The Bitch Song, joined on stage by Kelly Ogden from The Dollyrots. They all rock out the classic together clearly showing the genuine camaraderie there is between the bands. A great evening was definitely had by all. 

Wendy Keogh