Photo Credit: @ambgyphotography
If you grew up through the 90s and early 00s or were involved in the skate culture Less Than Jake and Bowling For Soup were staples in your life.
Wednesday night brought the two to Hull as they continue their ‘You Asked For It’ tour, which sees Bowling For Soup celebrating 30 years of being a band and they definitely made sure the night felt like one massive party.
Opening the night was Vandoliers who joined the band from Texas, from the moment they hit the stage it was pure energy and as the arena slowly started to fill up, people started to get in the mood and were walking in to bop along with the alternative country band who finished their slot with a cover of the ever popular ‘500 miles’.
Before you know it, on walk Less Than Jake who opened their night with ‘Last One Out of Liberty City’ the mix of punk rock and ska along with Bright lights and wacky waving inflatable arm men, the night had gone into full motion and is just what you’d expect from the legends as they reminded Hull that it was their first time in the city and how they loved being there after spending their day in the city.
It was unbelievable how quickly their set came to an end, but throughout the set the energy remained the same, proving why Less Than Jake will always be a power house in the ska/punk scene. They closed their set with ‘Gainesville Rock City’ which felt like the perfect end to such an incredible set and the fans loved it just as much and with that, we wait for the main event.
A 5 minute countdown hit the screen as Motley Crue hit the sound system and we were all ready for what was about to go down.
As the countdown hit zero on walked the band without any hesitation and after a huge reaction from the crowd the night started and the band opened their set with ‘Emily’.
After 30 years the band have built up an incredible catalogue of songs that fans throughout the generations adore. Mostly playing songs off their insanely popular album ‘Drunk Enough To Dance’ the band hit full swing playing the hits. Between songs the band spoke about their time in Hull, how the management believed they should reduce the size of the venue and how they loved the city and what it had to offer.
The 3500 fans in the room definitely showed the band and crew if they returned they could easily sell out the show again as the room sang along to every song word for word. Embraced the laughs, the mistakes, the short toilet break, as well as their ‘photo opportunity’ half way through the set.
To finish the set off, Jaret pointed to a fan who had held up a sign all night asking to play ‘Girl all the Bad Guys Want’ on guitar and after a little hesitation, he changed original plans to invite him on stage as well as inviting a gentleman who had survived his battle with mental health which was greeted with a huge celebration from the crowd, it was a real moment on unity between everybody, as we all know someone dealing with mental health and know what a challenge it can be.
The night ended with the bands cover of SR-71s song ‘1985’ and it was the perfect end to the perfect night. Everyone on the way out had huge smiles on their faces and were talking about what an incredible night it had been.
It only cemented that after 30 years these two bands still have so much to give to their fanbases and to the industry.
Photo Credit: @ambgyphotography
Words by Alex Brown
Taped Magazine 